-
49
What Classroom ActivitiesReflect
Constructivism?(Activities)Translating theory into
constructivist-based practices can be guid-ed by a number of key
design principles. Murphy (1997a) summar-izes Jonassens (1994, p.
35) eight principles for guiding instruc-tional design as
follows:
1. Provide multiple representations of reality.2. Represent the
natural complexity of the real world.3. Focus on knowledge
construction, not reproduction.4. Present authentic tasks
(contextualizing rather than abstracting
instruction).5. Provide real-world, case-based learning
environments, rather
than predetermined instructional sequences.6. Foster reflective
practice.7. Enable context- and content-dependent knowledge
construction.8. Support collaborative construction of knowledge
through social
negotiation
With these guidelines in mind, the following activities are
offeredto reflect instructional materials that are process
oriented, problembased, contextual, interdisciplinary, and
metacognitive in nature.They provide examples of ways teachers can
incorporate construc-tivist practices of teaching and learning into
their instruction, curric-ulum, and assessment practices.
Each activity begins with a description of the constructivist
peda-gogy addressed in the activity, the teaching strategy to be
used, thelearning activity that describes the problem or situation
to be ad-dressed, the evaluation criteria to be conveyed to the
students, theoperational steps to guide student learning, and a set
of reflectivepractices.
The activities are organized by theme and title (e.g.,
CurriculumPractices: Applied Learning Designs), not by topic or
level ofdifficulty. The activities span various disciplines. It is
the respon-sibility of the teacher to modify the activities, making
them more
-
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
50
simple or complex, to meet learner learning needs and
instruc-tional/occupational standards of the school, state, or
profession.
Murphys (1997c) checklist of constructivist characteristics is
re-printed here as a guide for reviewing the implementation of
theseand other activities in the instructional setting. Although
not allcharacteristics may be evident in each activity, the list
provides atool for reflection. Through ongoing collaboration in
modifying theconstructivist-based activities selected for use in
the classroom,teachers can model the behaviors and practices
expected of thelearners.
Checklist
Characteristic Supported Not Supported Not Observed
Multiple perspectivesStudent-directed goalsTeachers as
coachesMetacognitionLearner controlAuthentic activitiesKnowledge
constructionKnowledge collaborationPrevious knowledgeProblem
solvingConsideration of errorsExplorationApprenticeship
learningInterrelated conceptsAlternative
viewpointsScaffoldingAuthentic assessmentPrimary sources of
data
Source: Murphy, Elizabeth. Constructivist Checklist. In
Constructivism: From Philosophy to Practice by E.Murphy. Summer
1997c. Reprinted with permission.
-
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
51
Summary of Classroom Activities that Reflect Constructivism
Curriculum Practices
1. Applied learning designs2. Interdisciplinary integration3.
Field-related experiences4. School-community linkages
Instructional Practices
5. Experiential learning6. Problem-based learning7.
Student-directed learning8. Mentoring
Assessment Practices
9. Journal writing10. The scoring rubric11. Portfolios12.
Observation checklists
-
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
52
-
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
53
Curriculum Practices
-
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
54
-
55
Applied Learning Design
This activity involves the application of mathematics to the
solu-tion of a real world problem. Students direct their own
searches forinformation, incorporating the use of Internet
technology. Theyconduct interviews with people in the social
community, analyzeinformation, and engage in the physical
construction of a blueprintor model using relevant occupational
tools. The principles of ap-plied learning and constructivist
pedagogy are used to promote stu-dents understanding and
application of math concepts throughsocial, contextual, and
experiential methods of learning.
Applied learning strategies are used to lead students to the
solvingof authentic problems. Teamwork, collaboration, exploration,
andnegotiation are highlighted learning concepts. Open-ended
ques-tions are used to guide inquiry. Small group discussions and
inter-action are used to facilitate learning.
A local company has contracted with your company to design
aprototype deck that could be mass produced at their
manufacturingfacility, assembled on site, and sold to homeowners in
the Sun Viewsubdivision. There are approximately 300 homes in this
subdivisionand most have east or west exposure. Corner lots are
allocated forrecreation space.
Your task is to assemble groups of 4-5 learners to prepare
groupdesigns for the prototype deck. Each group will need to make
apresentation to the client to promote its design. The
presentationmust include the following:
A scale drawing or blueprint containing specifications of
thedeck.
An explanation of the aesthetic and utilitarian value of
theproposed design.
A justification of the design in regard to the availability
ofmaterials and ease of parts assembly.
A comprehensive materials list, including how the pieces willbe
identified for final assembly at the site of final
installation.
A cost estimate for materials. A description of the process that
will be used to assemble the
deck. An estimate of assembly time and numbers of workers per
deck.
1
Constructivist Pedagogy
Teaching Strategy
Learning Activity*Scenario
*This activity is a modification of the Deck Design problem
noted in Applied Mathematics: Targets for Learning,p. 330
(Vocational Instructional Materials Laboratory 1998).
-
56
Evaluation Criteria
Operational Steps
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
Note: The company will pay a bonus if the presentation includes
athree-dimensional scale model.
The Applied Math Project Rubric (p. 58) will be used for
evalua-tion. An evaluation of unacceptable or marginal will result
inrejection of the project and a maximum timeline of 1 week to
bringthe project up to standard.
Work together with students to assess their qualifications
forproblem solving by discussing with them
prior experiences, knowledge, and/or skills each student
bringsto the problem situation, and
new knowledge and/or skills students must acquire to performthe
activity, e.g., blueprint drawing, knowledge of the
variouscharacteristics of building materials, math calculation
skills,and knowledge of construction principles.
Engage student work teams of 4-5 students in discussion
andnegotiation of strategies to use in preparing the deck design.
Haveeach team prepare a list of steps they will follow in the
inquiryprocess.
Provide access to relevant resources, emphasizing those
available on theInternet. Offer guidance on strategies for
interviewing local deck buildersto learn the standards the deck
designs must meet to acquire buildingapproval.
Bring the teams together for a sharing of their plans for
inquiry.
Facilitate discussion by writing on a flip chart the inquiry
ideas presentedby the teams. Ask questions to prompt further
thinking. For example,How could you learn about the deck
preferences and requirements ofpotential homeowners?
Have the work teams reassemble to discuss and refine their
lists.
Circulate among the teams, asking open-ended questions to
triggerlearners thinking about any inquiry steps they might have
overlooked.
Have each team determine the responsibilities of individual
teammembers. For example, will all members of the team perform
thesame steps or will each member have an individual activity, such
as
-
57
finding out what materials are stocked by local suppliers,
deter-mining the prices of various materials, locating samples of
variousdeck designs, conducting a survey of customer needs, and so
forth.
Observe the teams delegation of responsibilities to ensure that
alllearners have a role in the problem solution.
Engage teams in performing the responsibilities they have laid
outin preparation for the client presentations.
Offer guidance as necessary by demonstrating a procedure and
helpingstudents to follow your performance model, gradually
decreasing yourassistance throughout the process.
Have the teams practice their presentations to the client.
Circulateamong the practicing teams to discern whether or not they
are jus-tifying (giving reasons for) as well as describing their
deck designs.
If necessary, ask questions to guide students reflections and
criticalanalysis.
Host the team presentations.
Play the role of the client. Ask questions for clarification of
ideas asnecessary.
Have students reflect upon the various resources used for
theirinitial inquiry. How would they streamline or target their
effortsshould they encounter a similar problem in the future?
Ask students to identify the unique characteristics of group
mem-bers that contributed to the team product and presentation.
Discuss the transferability of the knowledge acquired through
thisproject by asking students to consider why and how they
mightmodify their deck designs if the subdivision was located in
anotherpart of the country, e.g., mountainous areas.
Engage the class in a discussion of qualities about
eachpresentation that they especially liked and any suggestions
theymight have regarding subsequent presentations.
Make notes of ways you might promote continuing knowledge
de-velopment among future students based upon the directions the
teamshave chosen to pursue problem solving.
STEP 6
STEP 7
STEP 8
Reflective Practices
-
58
Evaluation Have all the teams use the rubric included in this
activity as a wayto critique their teams as well as the other teams
presentations.
Critique the presentations against the rubric also. Review all
commentswith each team, providing them with feedback and guidance
for thatcould help them in future efforts.
Applied Math Project Rubric
Difficulty Unacceptable Marginal Acceptable Exemplary
Depth ofThought
Major gaps areevident. Little orno reasoning isdemonstrated.
There are majorgaps in reasoning.Reasoning is some-what
apparent, butis flawed.
Reasoning isapparent, but a fewminor gaps or flawsexist.
Reasoning is clear,concise, andeffectivelydemonstrated.
Presentation Oral presentation ischaracterized byhaphazard,
sloppy,or missinginformation.
The presentationlacks major pointsof emphasis and/orinformation
is notprovided in aprofessionalmanner.
The presentation ispleasant, pleasing,and informativeand is
clearlydesigned aroundinforming theintended audience.
The presentationmimics professionalquality. Themessage is
clearlyarticulated to theintended audience.
Feasibility The projectsolution is clearlynot possible withinthe
parameters setforth by theproblem.
The solution maynot be possiblewithin theparameters of
theproblem, unlessmodified.
Although thesolution is valid, itmay not be easilyreplicated
It is clear that themethod of solutionis valid and can beeasily
replicated.
Attention toDetail
The project isgenerallycharacterized bysuperfluous orsurface
knowledge.
Only a fewquestions areanswered in detail.The work generallydoes
not attend tothe underlyingdetail required.
Most of thequestions posed bythe problem aredirectly answeredin
detail.
Questions areanticipated andaddressed. Allmeasures, scales,and
other requiredannotations aredocumented.
Creativity The approach tothe project is adirect replication ofa
previous design.
No new ideas aredemonstrated;some novelty isshown, however.
The design issimilar in approachto others,
butuniquecharacteristicsmake it stand out.
The approach tothe design is fresh,novel, and unique
Reprinted with permission from VIML (1998).
-
59
Interdisciplinary Integration
Interdisciplinary curriculum often uses a problem-centered
ap-proach for instruction, which involves students in solving
problemsthat matter to them and/or their community. This activity
is de-signed to help students recognize the broad scope of
informationrequired for problem solving, the interrelatedness of
academic andvocational skills, and the value of multiple
perspectives. It encour-ages individual initiative, self-directed
learning, dialogue, andmetacognition. Knowledge is constructed
through negotiation inthe social community of practice.
Interdisciplinary integration is facilitated through team
teaching,inter-departmental planning, and thematic projects. Key
ideas fromeach discipline are addressed collaboratively among
teachers whoseinteractions model teamwork. These ideas are then
communicatedto students who must pool their strengths to solve the
ill-structuredproblem. Learning is grounded in the context of
real-world applica-tions. Manipulating information, critical
thinking, and in-depthunderstanding are learning concepts promoted
through inquiry.
A local apartment complex is trying to decide whether or not
tostock the lake in the middle of the complex with fish that could
eatthe algae and keep the waters clean. Stocking the lake will
cost$3,000-$9,000 more than is currently being spent on algae
removal,depending upon the type of fish selected. The cost of
stocking thelake will be assessed to the 50 residents of the
apartment complexover the next 3 years. The apartment complex is
new and surveyfindings indicate most of the residents will stay at
least 3 years. Theowners of the complex have requested that your
firm submit aproposal that recommends a decision and presents a
strategy forimplementing it.
Your task is to engage your students (the firm employees) in
meet-ing the owners request. (You will need to identify a body of
waterto serve as the lake.) Divide the class into 7 groups and
present thegroups with their tasks for contributing to the problem
solution.
Marketing (English). Write an article about the project for a
newsrelease to the local newspaper. Use good grammar. Edit the
finalcopy.
Advertising (Commercial Art). Create a brochure to publicize
theissue. Conduct interviews to obtain facts about stocking lakes
andthe aesthetic value they offer the community. Write the text
using
2
Constructivist Pedagogy
Teaching Strategy
Learning ActivityScenario
-
60
Evaluation Criteria
correct English. Lay out and design the brochure using
establishedprinciples of design.
Civil Engineering (Mathematics). Measure the lake to determine
thenumber of cubic yards or acres. Calculate the number of fish
re-quired for the lake. Also calculate the cost per resident for
eachtype of fish under consideration. Prepare a report of this
informa-tion to share with the other departments of the
organization.
Environmental Resources (Vocational Education). Investigate
thecharacteristics of several kinds of algae-eating fish. Analyze
thealgae and lake water characteristics along with the
environmentalconditions to determine which fish will be most
effective in reduc-ing the algae and able to live in the lake. Also
investigate the lifespan of each type of fish being considered.
Prepare a multimediapresentation to share this information with the
other departments.
Chemical Engineering (Chemistry). Test the algae and the lake
waterto determine their characteristics. Illustrate these
characteristics ona chart or other visual.
Accounting (Business). Establish a payment plan. Determine
wheth-er to offer payment options, e.g., yearly deductions in a
lump sum;yearly deductions prorated over 12 months; one single
deduction inthe first year for the 3-year amount. Investigate the
tax benefits ofvarious types of payments. Create a table to explain
the informa-tion you have gathered.
Data Processing (Computer Technology). Develop a spreadsheet
onwhich to record apartment resident payments.
Point out that none of these tasks can be performed in
isolation.Therefore inter-group as well as intra-group
collaboration will berequired.
Each student will be required to write a project summary that(1)
describes how academic and vocational skills were used to solvethe
real-world problem and (2) demonstrate skill applicationsthrough
written, oral, audio, or visual symbols, e.g., spreadsheet,report,
table, presentation. The criteria of accuracy, comprehen-siveness,
clarity of expression, and visual/audio appeal will be ap-plied for
summary assessment.
-
61
Have each group (company department) plan its strategy for
com-pleting its task, including plans for interacting with other
groups toobtain necessary information. The groups should also
identify theinformation they wish to gather from each group.
Provide relevant resources, but also direct students to reflect
upon theprior knowledge they bring to the project task, e.g.,
knowledge ofchemistry, knowledge obtained through work-related
experiences.
Engage students in task performance.
Ask students to present their ideas about how and from whom they
mightobtain necessary information and/or guidance. Use student
input as abasis for further guidance.
Have students keep journals in which they describe not only
theiraccomplishments and difficulties, but also their feelings and
atti-tudes at different stages of the discovery process.
Circulate among groups when students are in class, coaching
themthrough the process of thinking and reasoning, defining new
problems,and crafting solutions. If they need help in developing
their visuals forpresentations, demonstrate how the task could be
done and then helpthem to create their own designs by asking
leading questions.
Bring the groups together to plan their presentation to the
custo-mer and to practice their execution of the perspective
report.
Engage the entire class in a discussion of the qualities of the
presentationthat they considered good and those they believe need
improvement.These qualities should be generally stated, e.g., more
enthusiasm, gooddescription of facts, larger type in visuals.
Conduct the final presentation.
Ensure that all students have an opportunity to present their
findingswithout criticism or other negative reactions from the
other workers.
Have students reflect on the scope of information their
groupsuncovered during their inquiry into the problem.
Ask students to describe how the work of one group facilitated
orcomplemented the work of the other groups. What were the pri-mary
concerns, knowledge, and skills of the respective groups?
Operational Steps
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
Reflective Practices
-
62
Evaluation
Have each group of students make a list of the academic and
voca-tional skills they used to complete their tasks and share
those listsin an all-group session.
As the vocational teacher, describe how students occupational
task per-formance is hampered by lack of basic skills. As the
academic teacher,identify the major barriers to students learning
the basic skill, e.g., notrealizing the value of learning school
subjects.
Have students prepare their summaries and lists of commonly
usedskills in problem solving. Suggest that they include a graphic
toillustrate how the knowledge and skills addressed in various
aca-demic and vocational classes were used for problem
solution.Assess the audio, visual, oral, and written demonstrations
ofstudent learning as exhibited in their summaries, using
accuracy,comprehensiveness, clarity of expression, and visual/audio
appealas criteria.
-
63
Field-related Experiences
In a transdisciplinary or field-based integration model,
teachersexpand the boundaries of the classroom, creating
opportunities forstudents to learn or practice skills and knowledge
in the field or at aworksite. In this activity, students visit a
worksite of their choice,make observations, interpret what they see
and hear, discuss anddebate the on-the-job application of given
knowledge and skills,and reflect upon the interrelatedness and
value of academic andvocational education in the real world of
work. By interacting withworkers on the job, students are able to
obtain relevant, up-to-theminute information to help them expand
their thinking about theworkplace and their preparation for work in
it.
Seeing first hand what is being done at worksites can enlighten
anyeducator academic or vocational who is attempting to
preparestudents for the future and the workplace. Often, as a form
of pro-fessional development, teachers visit worksites to learn
first handhow skills and theory taught in the classroom are used on
the job,which can help them to plan meaningful worksite visits for
theirstudents. More importantly, as teachers discover and discuss
theconnections they see between different content areas, they can
bet-ter discern the types of questions they can ask to lead their
studentsto make their own connections between school and work.
Scaffold-ing, asking open-ended questions, and actively engaging
students inlearning are a few of the teaching techniques promoted
in thisactivity.
The Madison School District has made a commitment to
integrateacademic and vocational education in its four high
schools. One ofits efforts is to expand classroom boundaries. Its
administratorshave asked you to identify criteria to use in
assessing the relevanceof field-related experiences that can serve
as a prelude to workplaceinternships. Your task is to engage
students in developing a set ofcriteria to use in assessing the
relevance and quality of worksitevisits, test the utility of the
criteria, and revise the list based on re-flection and feedback. As
a preamble to this activity, engage in aworksite visit with other
academic and vocational teachers and usethe information you gather
through your visits to mentor and guidestudent efforts.
The criteria students establish in conjunction with their
teacher atthe onset of the activity will be used as a basis for
self-reflection andpeer review.
3
Constructivist Pedagogy
Teaching Strategy
Learning ActivityScenario
Evaluation Criteria
-
64
Operational Steps
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
Engage a team of academic and vocational teachers to visit a
givenworksite with you. Prior to the visit, meet to determine the
who,when, where, and why of the visit. To help focus your learning
atthe worksite, develop a set of basic questions to ask the
employersand front-line workers regarding their job knowledge and
skill re-quirements, including those that promote
employability.
As you observe and talk with workers at the job site, think
about the skillstandards you address in your curriculum and how
those standards arebeing applied in the workplace.
Immediately after the visit, meet as a team to discuss your
observa-tions and share ideas about ways you can modify your
curriculumand activities to bring students to an awareness of
connectionsbetween school and work. Some options might include
arranging school visits by one or more of the employees thatyou
and the other team members met during the visit; and
making arrangements for students to engage in a worksite
visitexperience.
Engage with colleagues in a discussion of such questions as the
following(Norton et al. 1997):
How might worksite visits inspire academic and vocational
teachersto develop learning activities that will help students to
understand thevalue of school learning?
How might worksite visits motivate students to learn? What are
some positive outcomes of the business/industry
relationships established to accommodate worksite visits? What
is one way in which you can adjust a segment of your cur-
riculum to reflect the application of knowledge and skills in
theworkplace?
What logistics are necessary to infuse an integrated activity in
theclassroom? Who? What? Where? Why? When?
Enlist a group of academic and vocational students to
participate ina worksite visit experience. Meet with the team and
describe theirchallenge, which is to plan, implement, and follow up
a worksitevisit.
Share reflections about your worksite experience with the
students bydescribing why the visit was of value to you as a person
and as a teacher.
-
65
Engage students help in the development of criteria they can use
toassess the quality of their worksite observations and
investigations.List these criteria on the chalkboard or flip chart
so students cancontinually refer to them to guide their
performance.
Draw upon the criteria you and other teachers developed
subsequent toyour worksite visit experience as a tool for guiding
students. Ask ques-tions to trigger students participation in
thinking about and developingthe criteria upon which they wish
their performances to be assessed.
Have students brainstorm to identify the specific worksite
theywould like to visit and how that visit might promote their
under-standing of school and work connections. Help them in
thebrainstorming process by asking questions similar to the ones
youhad to answer to set up your own worksite visit.
Examples of questions to facilitate brainstorming:
1. Who or what worksite should you visit? Why?2. What do you
hope to learn at that worksite?3. Where is the worksite located?4.
Why should you visit the specific worksite? 5. When shall you visit
the worksite?
Lead students to plan their worksite visits. Have them
self-selecttheir teams to be composed of 3 or 4 students who share
similarinterests. Give the teams the following directions:
Develop a set of basic questions to ask prior to and during
thevisit.
Prepare a list of the academic, vocational, and
employabilityskills you expect to see demonstrated in the
worksite.
Have students draw upon previous teachings and experiences that
havehelped them to form opinions about the application of skills in
theworkplace.
Guide students through their learning experiences, ensuring
thatthey conduct themselves well in the work setting. Provide
themwith some guidelines for acceptable ways to behave in their
roles asobservers and interviewers that you have gleaned from your
ownworksite experience.
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
STEP 7
-
66
Reflective Practices
Evaluation
Highlight a few of the courtesies students should afford the
workers andcompanies they visit, e.g., following the visit, e.g.,
students should writeletters of thanks to appropriate people at the
worksite, also stating whythe experience was meaningful to
them.
Discuss with students their conclusions about the application
ofknowledge and skills in the workplace. Have them do
thefollowing:
Identify the academic or vocational skills they observed
beingapplied in the workplace.
Identify the employability skills they saw demonstrated on
thejob.
Describe the benefits of partnering with business/industry
per-sonnel to enhance learning.
Describe the connections they observed among the
differentdisciplines or content areas when applied on the job.
Discuss reasons why separating knowledge and skill develop-ment
into separate disciplines such as math, English, and voca-tional
education is not a realistic reflection of what happens inthe
workplace.
Present their ideas about activities that could be included in
anintegrated curriculum
Use the criteria established at the beginning of the activity as
abasis for student evaluation. Have teams explain ways they met
thecriteria and offer each other peer reviews of their
self-analyses.Offer feedback to students, giving them guidance in
ways toimprove their learning through observation, questioning,
andreflection.
-
67
School and Community Linkages
Applying classroom skills to solve real problems of the social
com-munity is a critical feature of experiential learning.
Whenreflection is added to the learning process and community
serviceactivities are fully integrated into the curriculum, the
process isreferred to as service learning. Service learning places
students indecision-making roles that give them a sense of
ownership in theproblem, and in service roles that move them from
passive receiversof service to active providers of service.
Self-esteem, contributionto society, and a sense of self-worth are
promoted throughconstructivist-based service learning activities
(Fleckenstein 1997).
Although the purpose of a service learning activity is to
enhancestudent learning through community service, activities must
alsoforge an authentic connection between the school and
community.This connection is realized by engaging students in
real-life rolesthat expand their knowledge and skills, and increase
theirunderstanding of community issues, problems, and
populations.Literacy skills are highlighted in the activity.
A local senior citizen center has contacted you to ask if your
stu-dents could be enlisted to visit some of their residents and
providethem with companionship. Your task, as the English teacher
ofstudents with low literacy skills, is to engage your students in
pro-viding companionship to these elderly persons in ways that
willhelp them improve their literacy skills. For example, students
couldelect to talk to the senior citizens, read to them, discuss
books theyhave read, interview them to learn their experiences
living in aprevious generation, etc. As a means of knowledge
construction,ask students to write in journals their reflections
about their ex-changes with the senior citizens what they did to
provide service,what literacy skills they improved, what they
learned about thelives of senior citizens.
Journal writing will be used as a means of helping students to
assesstheir interactions and performances in ways that are
meaningful tothem.
*This activity was developed from an idea presented in Rural
Clearinghouse forLifelong Education and Development. Service
Learning Benefits Students,Communities. Manhattan: Kansas State
University, 1995. (ED 391 620)
4
Constructivist Pedagogy
Teaching Strategy
Learning Activity*Scenario
Evaluation Criteria
-
68
Operational Steps
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
Set up the problem situation. For example, ask students to
brain-storm ways they can work with senior citizens to improve
their lit-eracy skills. Some examples could include reading to the
seniors,making checkbook calculations, reading and interpreting
guidelinesfor getting medicare or medicaid reimbursements for
medical ex-penses, and so forth. (Literacy deficiency can be at any
level, de-pending upon your student population.)
Write and post on the chalkboard or flip chart the literacy
skills studentshope to improve or acquire as a result of their
service learning project.Offer suggestions as necessary to ensure
that the academic and/or voca-tional literacy standards established
for your state are among thoseidentified.
Ask students to contact senior citizens with whom they have
beenpaired. During the conversations, students should discuss their
de-sire to be helpful, the skills they want to improve upon during
theirinteractions with others, and the services the senior citizens
mightwant them to perform, e.g., reading newspaper, writing
letters.These discussions can take place over the telephone or in
person,depending upon the desires of the parties involved.
Role play appropriate telephone courtesies by assuming the role
of seniorcitizen as students practice their telephone conversation
skills.
Following an established time frame (allow 3-6 months for this
ac-tivity), have students make regular contacts with their senior
citi-zen partners.
Provide ongoing coaching in the kinds of help students should
provide aswell as seek from the senior citizens. For example, some
students mightelect to engage the senior citizens in conversation
by interviewing them tolearn what it was like growing up in the
older generation. They couldrecord that information by taking notes
or taping their conversations totranscribe at a later date.
Activities that encourage mutual contribution(service) and reward
(learning) should be encouraged.
Instruct students to make journal entries after each of their
con-tacts to record what happened, what was said, what they
learned,problems they encountered, and their feelings about the
seniors andtheir experiences.
-
69
Review and provide feedback to students regarding their journal
entriesand their verbal reports of interactions with their
partners. Create scaf-folding to help students move through any
situations that are difficult anddevelop new strategies for
maintaining good communication with others.
At the end of the designated time frame, have students
concludetheir programmed involvement with the senior citizens by
creatingposters to give to their senior partners, illustrating the
services theygave to the seniors, the services they received from
the seniors, thecompetencies they have developed through the
experience, andthings they learned and value about the older
generation as a resultof their interactions.
Model appropriate courtesies by arranging for the class to visit
the seniorcitizen center some evening or weekend and have a final
party for theprogram participants during which students can share
their posters withtheir partners.
Ask each student to write a paragraph describing how this
servicelearning experience has contributed to their knowledge
develop-ment and to their motivation for further learning.
Allow time for students to discuss their posters with the class,
high-lighting ways in which their knowledge about and attitudes
towardsenior citizens in the community have changed as a result of
theservice learning project.
Have students reread their journal entries and summarize (1)
waysin which their communications have improved over time, (2)
bar-riers to learning that they have had to overcome, and (3)
newknowledge they have acquired about senior citizens in
theircommunity.
STEP 5
Reflective Practices
Evaluation
-
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
70
-
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
71
Instructional Practices
-
72
-
73
Experiential Learning
In moving from school to work, the skill of working with others
isvital to success. Many companies are embracing the teamwork
ap-proach to management and production as part of total quality
im-provement. Collaboration and teamwork, however, cannot belearned
through reading, listening, and memorization. Studentsmust be
involved in collaborative experiences to gain a comprehen-sion of
the intricacies of personal interactions, group dynamics,
andrespect for the views of others. This activity involves students
inthe active construction of knowledge by having them work
collab-oratively with others to investigate a problem, negotiate
solutionsthrough whole brain involvement, and justify their
recommen-dations.
Knowing how to work with others and to build upon the knowl-edge
and experiences of diverse groups of people requires two
skillscrucial to students academic and career development
creativethinking and problem solving. This activity is designed to
help stu-dents establish patterns for creative thinking that they
can drawupon to solve problems in all aspects of their lives, both
in schooland out of school. It involves students in a shared
responsibility forinvestigating a problem hypotheses. Working in
teams, studentspursue various approaches to thinking about a
problem and sharewith each other their multiple perspectives of way
to approach it.The value of incorporating different ways of
thinking in devisingproblem solutions are highlighted.
The employees of a local hair salon want their owners to adopt
anopen floor layout at their salon. (Currently operators have
parti-tions separating their stations.) The salon owners have asked
theemployees to present an argument in support of the
proposedchange in 12 working days. Your role is to involve students
asemployees of the company to investigate the open layout designand
prepare a presentation to support it, applying different cogni-tive
styles of thinking to the investigation process. Among
theinteractions required as employees collaborate to come up with
arationale are those of negotiation and conflict resolution.
*This activity was developed from the ideas presented in
Leonard, D. andStraus, S. Putting Your Companys Whole Brain to
Work. Harvard BusinessReview 75, no. 4 (July-August 1997):
110-113.
5
Constructivist Pedagogy
Teaching Strategy
Learning Activity*Scenario
-
74
Evaluation Criteria
Operational Steps
STEP 1
STEP 2
Criteria developed collaboratively by students and teacher will
beused for peer assesssment of successful task performance. A
ques-tionnaire will be used to obtain feedback on each groups
portion ofthe presentation.
Identify the goal of the investigation and state students roles
as fol-lows, dividing the class into four groups of company
employees:
Group One: Prepare an argument to support the proposed
openlayout by using analytical thinking. For example,this group of
employees could conduct research todetermine the benefits of open
architecture andways to overcome its drawbacks. They could
alsoanalyze the cost implications of converting to anopen layout
floor design.
Group Two: Prepare an action-orientated argument that exam-ines
implementation issues. For example, this groupof employees could
find and present informationabout how long the office conversion
will take, newfurniture that might be needed, acoustical issues,and
so forth.
Group Three: Prepare a people-oriented or emotional argument
tosupport the proposal. For example, this group coulddiscuss how an
open layout might affect interper-sonal relationships among
operators and clients,how the setup might affect worker morale, and
howthe concerns of operators who prefer to work in iso-lated booths
could be addressed in an open layoutscheme.
Group Four: Prepare an argument from a future-oriented
per-spective. For example, this argument could includegraphics or
blueprints of the proposed layout.
Give students a chance to ask questions to clarify their
assignments andresponsibilities.
Involve students in a brainstorming session to explore
techniquesthey might use for their investigations. For example,
techniquescould include interviewing students, parents, and/or
communitymembers who frequent salons to learn their opinions about
openstore layout; reading research data, technical publications,
or
-
75
periodicals on salon layouts to learn the latest trends and the
ra-tionale for adopting them; and communicating over the Internet
toobtain addition information and resources.
Model using the World Wide Web to locate resources. Show
studentshow to locate associations from which they could obtain
information andhow to link with appropriate listservs. Give
students an opportunity topractice Web use while you watch and
guide their practices. Then, re-lease the learning responsibility
to them.
Establish with students the criteria by which they can assess
theirarguments for open floor layout.
Give students leadership in brainstorming meaningful criteria,
but alsoprovide resources such as established math, drafting, and
communicationstandards that students can draw upon in establishing
the performancecriteria by which their reports will be
assessed.
Engage the employee teams in their respective forms of
investiga-tion. Underscore the importance of respecting underlying
differ-ences of group members and provide guidelines for intragroup
in-teractions, e.g, everyone has a chance to agree with or object
to apoint of view, reasons for each perspective must be given.
Keep the goal preparation of an argument in support of open
layoutat the forefront of students minds. Be available as a
reference person,guiding students and asking them questions to help
them clarify theirthoughts so that they can present them
verbally.
Bring together the four groups and have each group select
onespokesperson to present its argument. Allow enough time for
di-vergent (brainstorming) discussion to uncover imaginative
alter-natives and convergent (action planning) discussion to arrive
atthe best points to highlight in the client presentation.
Facilitate the execution of good group dynamics. Do not allow
one ap-proach to dominate the discussion time so that the entire
class may arriveat the best rather than the first viable
option.
Engage the groups in final collaboration to highlight the points
tobe included in the client presentation. Remind them that owners
ofthe salon, as well as the salons customers, reflect the same
varietyin thinking styles as those demonstrated by the salon
employees.
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
-
76
STEP 7
STEP 8
Reflective Practices
Depersonalize conflict as a means of collaboration and solution
building.Intellectual disagreements can cause a great deal of
tension in any group,yet successful outcomes require the
cross-fertilization of different ideas.Most business projects
require collaboration between people who thinkand perceive
information in different ways. Therefore, the presentationwill be
most effective when it satisfies whole brain thinking.
Have students brainstorm the questions they would like to place
ona questionnaire for the salon staff to answer in assessing their
pre-sentation. Questions such as What did you especially like
aboutthe presentation? and How could the presentation be
improved?will give feedback that students can draw upon for
futurepersuasive arguments.
Support rather than lead students.
Have students make their final presentation before another
class.This class should be told their role as salon staff.
Engage students in a discussion of critical thinking by asking
themto identify the qualities of a good thinker. Write the
qualities onthe chalkboard as they are presented.
Ask students to volunteer words that describe what
goodcollaboration looks like and sounds like to them. Fill in the
wordson a T-Chart as they are given. (See the following
example.)
Looks Like Sounds Like
Smiling faces Thats good!Eye contact I like thatNodding head I
was thinking . . .Questioning looks How about . . .Handshakes How
can we . . .
Discuss how collaboration is demonstrated. For example, does
onegroup talk while the other groups listen? Does collaboration
meanthat each group does a segment of the work and then put the
partstogether to form a report or recommendation? Why? Why not?
Ask students to describe ways in which looking at a problem
fromvarious frames of reference might help them to arrive at
betterproblem solutions.
-
77
Have students review the evaluation forms completed by the
salonstaff audience and prepare lists of the best qualities of
their pre-sentation and the qualities they need to improve upon.
Also havethem assess their ability to complete their tasks
successfully by us-ing the criteria they established at the onset
of the activity. Each ofthese items may be placed in their
portfolios of work samples, ifdesired.
Evaluation
-
78
-
79
Problem-based Learning
Little classroom instruction is devoted to solving problems
forwhich there are no definite answers. More typical of instruction
isthe 2 + 2 = 4 philosophy, which encourages rote
memorizationrather than critical thinking. Most problems of the
real world, how-ever, have any number of possible solutions that
are dependentupon available information and the individuals
involved. This ac-tivity involves students in the actual
experiences of solving a prob-lem that has real-world significance
beyond school. It affords a con-nection with constructivist
pedagogy in that it contains academicchallenges that provide a
focus for knowledge development andreal life scenarios that cast
students in roles they may actually as-sume or have assumed in real
life.
Using ill-structured problems problems that have no one
rightsolution is an instructional strategy used to promote
criticalthinking and problem solving within the context of real
worldapplications. By thinking through ill-structured problems,
studentsare able to expand and refine their knowledge through
self-directedsearches for information, active discourse with
others, analysis ofconflicting ideas and appeals, and decision
making. Problem-basedlearning is apprenticeship for real-life
problem solving (Stepienand Gallagher 1993, p. 26).
The Performance Checklist included at the end of this activity
willbe used for student assessment. Post a copy of this checklist
in theclassroom for students to use as a guide to your
expectations.
The Randolph Street School Board is interested in offering
severalhigh school courses over the Internet. Students would be
able totake these courses without attending school, accessing the
informa-tion from their home computers and communicating with
theirteachers and other classmates through e-mail. Due to the fact
thatnot all students have access to home computers (although they
areavailable at the library), and because students would not need
to bephysically present in class, the suggestion is an issue. The
partiesaffected by this decision would be students, parents, school
faculty,and the business community. Your company has been asked
toinvestigate the issue and come up with a recommendation to
pre-sent to the school board.
6
Constructivist Pedagogy
Teaching Strategy
Evaluation Criteria
Learning ActivityScenario
-
80
Operational Steps
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
Have students identify an hypotheses for problem solution.
Brainstorming can be used as a strategy for compiling a list of
issuesrelative to the problem.
Identify the roles of problem solving groups. Explain that there
willbe four teams of investigators to prove or disprove the
hypotheses,with each group representing one of the four types of
stake-holders people from business and industry, school faculty,
highschool students, and parents. One member of each team should
bechosen by the team members as the panelist who will representthem
at the public forum to be held in 2 weeks at the school
boardmeeting.
Encourage student self-selection of Internet user roles to
assume, basedon the focus of their interest.
Describe each teams responsibility, which is to gather
informationin support or rejection of the hypotheses. Each
panelists responsi-bility is to present his/her teams rationale for
or against censorshipof Internet usage in the classroom.
Engage in scaffolding by helping students to connect their
responsibilitiesto various methods of application. For example, use
questioning to helpthem clarify their roles and ways to perform
them, letting their responsesdirect the way you offer
leadership.
Initiate the research part of the investigation by guiding the
fourgroups to appropriate resources, including the Internet.
Addition-ally, provide the teams with background information on
censorshipand the students right to know.
Provide primary sources, along with manipulative, interactive,
and phy-sical materials to encourage inquiry.
Brainstorm with students other methods for obtaining
information,such as interviewing community members, conducting
surveys, andpersonally soliciting opinions of parents and other
students.
Guide students in ways to structure questions to use in
interviews. Cir-culate among and coach students as they attempt to
follow your model.
-
81
Engage students in critical thinking and reasoning. Have
teammembers work together to identify the facts and values that
sur-round the problem and develop criteria to evaluate the
appro-priateness of information available on the Internet.
Explain that because social issues are often the basis for
ill-structuredproblems, students should give special attention to
values ethical,economical, moral, legal, environmental, health, and
safety-relatedvalues when devising problem solutions. Ask
open-ended questionssuch as What is important to the students,
parents, schools, andcommunity? What ethical issues are involved in
the decision?
Facilitate problem resolution by having team members
collaboratewith each other to identify possible solutions to the
problem andprepare a rationale supporting or rejecting the
censorship of Inter-net usage. Prompt students to relate the value
principles they usedto guide their decisions and offer facts to
support those principles.
As leading questions such as What information is reliable? What
aresome possible options to the issue of Internet courses? What
will hap-pen if . . . (pros and cons)?
Direct students to make a decision based on the consensus of
thefour groups.
Monitor the exchange of information and discussions among
studentsand guide students toward conflict resolution if
necessary.
Have students discuss the importance of various perspectives
onInternet courses obtained through their research. Ask them
toidentify how the omission of one of those perspectives might
alterthe decision they made.
Have students identify how values (medical, academic, family)
in-fluence decisions about which solutions to ill-structured
problemsare the best ones. Ask them to offer examples of how bias
is re-flected in the way data are interpreted.
Engage students in a discussion of how each type of information
isimportant to consider in solving an ill-structure problem.
Involve students in debriefings about the team activity:
What was most difficult for you in the team activity? What was
one of the most positive things to come from your
team interactions?
STEP 6
STEP 7
STEP 8
Reflective Practices
Evaluation
-
82
Have teams assess their own process of problem solving
byresponding to the following questions. (See the
PerformanceChecklist.)
Performance Checklist
Part 1: To what extent were the following guidelines for team
interactions followed:
Item Always Sometimes Rarely Never
The specifics ofthe problemwere clearlyidentified by theteam
Sufficientinformation wasgathered forreview
Severalperspectives tothe problemwere consideredby the team
The pros andcons of eachrecommendationwere presented
The solutionwasunanimouslyselected
-
83
Part 2: Identify the extent to which the following practices
were evident in your teaminteractions:
Practice Always Sometimes Rarely Never
Demonstrationof good listeningskills
Free submissionof ideas forgroupconsideration
Demonstrationof respect for theopinions ofothers
Activeconsiderationgiven to allsuggestions
Negotiationwith others toreach teamagreement
-
84
-
85
Student-directed Learning
New approaches to teaching and learning reflect a movement
fromthe traditional teacher-directed classroom to a
learner-directedenvironment of collaborative, participatory, and
continuous learn-ing. The self-directed learner is neither
independent or dependent,but interdependent, forming new
understandings through dialogue,feedback, and reflection with
fellow learners and facilitators(Kerka 1994, p.2). This small-group
activity leads students todevelop new understandings of work in a
given occupational areaby engaging in dialogue about past
experiences, obtaining feedbackabout the value and meaning of those
experiences, and reflectingabout their learning and the learning
process.
Small group learning is sometimes avoided because teachers
andstudents are unfamiliar and/or uncomfortable with a process
thatengages them in problems and issues of social interaction,
conflict,dominance, and gender. The small group, however, has many
ad-vantages: it encourages critical thinking, teamwork, and
problemsolving; it enhances students self-esteem by helping them
realizethey have much to offer other group members as a result of
theirexperiences; it broadens the expertise of group members; it
helpsmeet the diverse and complex needs of learners; and it eases
thedistinction between teachers and learners, creating an
environmentthat is less hierarchical than traditional environments
(Imel et al.,1994). Small group learning is the teaching approach
highlightedin this activity.
Jason Technology has been experiencing a high rate of
turnoveramong its employees. Although all new employees have
beenscreened to show that they have the knowledge and skill
requiredfor their positions, they tend to quit or be fired soon
after they arehired. The personnel department wants your company to
develop astrategy its staff can use to learn about their applicants
employ-ment needs so that they can better match workers to jobs.
Yourtask is to engage your employees (students) in small group
activitiesto produce a document (e.g., questionnaire, survey,
table, chart) forJasons staff to screening applicants. Encourage
students to pursuetheir preferred styles of learning to obtain
information: personalinterview, Internet or e-mail chats, online
literature searches andreviews, and so forth.
Student-directed goals and objectives will provide the basis for
self-assessment and peer review of student achievement.
7
Constructivist Pedagogy
Teaching Strategy
Learning ActivityScenario
Evaluation Criteria
-
86
Operational Steps
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
Establish small group roles. Divide the class into five groups
andpresent the following group functions. Ask the groups to
negotiateamong their members to determine if all group members will
per-form the same role, separate roles, or combinations of
roles.
Facilitator (helping the group to work together)Researcher
(finding resources and information to facilitate knowl-
edge and/or skill development)Writer (describing on paper the
process the group follows to devel-
op new knowledge and/or skills)Presenter (telling other groups
what members did to develop the
knowledge and/or skill)Timekeeper (monitoring the time the group
spends on each part of
knowledge/skill development)
Give students leadership is establishing these roles through
negotiation.However, explain that it is acceptable for all students
to be the research-ers and to also have another function as well,
such as researcher andfacilitator.
Set group goals and objectives. Direct each group to collaborate
indetermining one occupational area to investigate, the
informationthey wish to obtain, and the ways in which they will
conduct theirinvestigations. Have them state these decisions in
goal and objec-tive statements and post them on the wall for
ongoing referencethroughout the learning experience.
For example, the group may have the goal of learning more
informationabout a career as a professional golfer. Their
objectives may be to(1) identify things about playing competitive
golf that they like and dis-like; (2) give examples of prior
experiences that have led them to theirperspectives about
competitive golf; (3) list attitudes and values that areconsistent
with successful golf play; and (4) describe ways in whichlearning
new information about the life of a professional golfer has
in-fluenced their decision to pursue the career choice or select
another one.Work collaboratively with students in each group to
negotiate the finalgoals and objectives.
Facilitator: Guide facilitators to ask leading question to
triggerbrainstorming and discussion about the information the
grouphopes to obtain, how the group will obtain that information,
andfrom whom the information will be acquired. For example,
studentsmight want to know how a person who works in the
chosenoccupation combines work and family life; students could
interview
-
87
workers, read magazine articles, search the Internet, use e-mail
tofind and communicate with workers through chat groups,
listservs,and associations.
Monitor the facilitators ability to realize the open exchange of
ideasamong group members and ensure that all members have a chance
tospeak and be heard.
Researcher: Have researchers engage in various means of
inves-tigation to obtain the information the group has agreed to
seek,e.g., work-related likes, dislikes, attitudes, knowledge,
skills, con-flict areas, and so forth.
Provide resources, give suggestions, guide.
Entire group: Engage each small group in finding the
informationidentified by the group, using sources deemed
appropriate by thegroup. Reconvene the groups and have them discuss
what eachmember learned through investigation. After discussion of
the find-ings, have the groups discuss the meaning and value of the
infor-mation the groups gathered, and determine what information
eachgroup will convey to others and how that information will
beconveyed.
It will be important to coach the facilitator in his/her role
during thisperiod of group interaction. The facilitator should
encourage groupmembers to think for themselves, proceed with
minimal direction, expresstheir ideas clearly, and engage in
reflection to reconstruct their under-standings of work in the
occupation.
Recorder: Guide the recorder to write descriptions of the
groupsprocess for learning, the value of the unique information the
groupgathered during its investigation, the groups reaction to the
work-ers comments, and any comments by group members that
indicateawareness of the need to continually update skills.
Coach recorders to be attentive to continue recording processes,
behav-iors, difficulties, conflict, and so forth and to avoid
distractions. It isimportant that all aspects of the group
interaction be recorded so thatstudents can later reflect upon
their learning processes.
Presenters: Engage presenters in deciding how they will present
theinformation gathered by the group. Offer guidelines regarding
theamount of detail expected for the presentation.
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
STEP 7
-
88
STEP 8
Reflective Practices
Evaluation
Encourage the use of various methods, e.g., use of graphics,
audiovisuals,charts,
All class members: Engage all class members in a large-group
dis-cussion of the categories of information they touched upon in
theirinvestigations. Also discuss what information the class
believes willbe especially useful to them in making career
decisions. Discusshow learning about the personal experiences of
people in their so-cial environments can influence a persons
decision to become in-volved in various school, family, or other
life experiences as well asoccupational ones.
Facilitate the small-group discussions.
Engage students in discussion of the following questions:
What was difficult about working in the small groups,
e.g.,sharing experiences, determining what was to be conveyed
toothers, giving and receiving feedback? What was the easiest?
How was learning expanded because of the interactions
withintheir groups?
How did having specific group roles contribute to the
comple-tion of the activities?
What skills were needed to perform in each group role? How was
the activity relevant to each students lifelong learn-
ing process?
Have each group of students assess their performance in meeting
itsgoals and objectives. Then, have them gather feedback from
othersby asking the other groups to assess their groups
performance.
-
89
Mentoring
Mentoring is not a new concept. Over the years, it has been
pro-vided in both informal and formal ways as a technique for
improv-ing the quality of learning in social, family, and work
environments(Lankard 1996). This activity involves students in the
active pro-cess of helping others to learn through mentoring
relationships. Inkeeping with the constructivist theory that
promotes authenticityin learning, students draw upon their prior
knowledge about asubject area and their process for learning, share
and test theirunderstandings and strategies through engagement with
others, anddevelop new knowledge about the learning process through
socialinteractions and negotiation with others.
Mentoring offers a way to facilitate students intellectual,
personal,and social maturity as well as occupational development
when re-lated to skill development. It can be used as a strategy
for helpingone perform a task, develop new academic and vocational
knowl-edge and skills, and alter behaviors. Bagley et al. (1994),
in de-scribing their shared-ownership technology model for
restruc-turing the classroom, promote use of mentoring (reflective
class-room management) in combination with cooperative
learning,project-based learning, computer use, authentic
assessment, andstudent empowerment.
Five retired plumbers were recruited to serve as mentors to
studentsin a vocational education class. They provided mentoring on
aninformal basis, as needed. However, last week they decided
toadopt a more formal approach to mentoring and have asked
youradvisors to prepare a set of guidelines they could use to help
theirstudents reach their learning goals. Your task is to engage
yourstudents, as the team of advisors, in developing a mentoring
rubricfor the plumbers use. The rubric must include the
performancecriteria and standards by which mentoring can be
assessed.
The Mentoring Rubric at the end of this activity will serve as
amodel for evaluation of the students rubric and of their
mentoringperformance.
Introduce the concept of informal mentoring by connecting
men-toring to students social and school experiences. For
example,have students identify experiences they have had when a
friend,parent, or sibling acted as a mentor to them in helping
them
8
Constructivist Pedagogy
Teaching Strategy
Learning ActivityScenario
Evaluation Criteria
Operational Steps
STEP 1
-
90
STEP 2
STEP 3
complete a task such as car maintenance. For example, ask
thefollowing types of questions:
How did you learn how to maintain a car? Did anyone give
youadvice? How was that advice given? Did the mentor list thethings
you were required to do to maintain the car? Did thementor
criticize you when you forgot to perform a maintenancestep such as
adding windshield wiper fluid? Did the mentorcompliment you when
you performed a step well? Did the men-tor tell you how you could
improve your car maintenance, e.g.,rotate the tires regularly? Did
the mentor show you a better wayto do something, like waxing the
car? Did the mentor take youto the workplace to show you how auto
mechanics perform atask such as changing the spark plugs?
As students share ways in which mentors have helped them learn,
writethe key terms on the chalkboard, e.g., advising,
demonstrating, andencouraging.
Introduce the concept of formal mentoring by describing it as
aprocess by which individuals follow a structured set of guidelines
tolead others to indepth knowledge about a concept, rather than
oneisolated task. Explain that formal mentoring requires a
long-termcommitment of time and on-going involvement of a qualified
per-son whose purpose is to help learners achieve certain
learninggoals.
Give students an example of a long-term mentoring relationship
that youhave observed in school or on the job as a means of helping
them connectto the concept.
Engage students in a discussion of the kinds of ongoing
activitiesthat mentors engage in to provide guidance, support, and
coaching.Following a constructivitist classroom practice, ask
students toelaborate on their views before presenting your own.
Consider ways to elicit the following ideas that should be
considered bystudents:
Meeting with the person you are mentoring over breakfast or
lunchto discuss his/her progress in learning or understanding an
issue.
Exchanging notes of encouragement and progress with the
personyou are mentoring.
Having the mentee visit your place of work or a place that
reflectsthe students career or special interests.
-
91
Inviting the person you are mentoring to go to a professional
meetingwith you.
Helping the person you are mentoring with a special project.
Providing resources that the student can use to find out more about
a
subject.
Engage students in a discussion of the criteria they would use
toevaluate successful mentoring. As recommendations are
given,record them on the chalkboard or flip chart. When students
haveexhausted their ideas on the subject, have them make a final
se-lection of the criteria to include on a rubric. Also have them
dis-tinguish three levels of performance.
Use the Mentoring Rubric on the last page of this activity for
guidance.
Engage students in a mentoring experience by pairing them
withstudents from another class (in a lower grade) who require help
intheir academic or vocational knowledge and skill development.
Collaborate with another teacher who shares an interest in this
activityand establish the goals for each students mentoring, e.g.,
developing skillsfor applying technology principles of electricity,
fluid dynamics, andthermo dynamics to solve problems of the real
world.
Have the mentors work independently and with the student theyare
to mentor to plan the mentoring experience. For example, thementor
may decide to
write notes of encouragement to the student on a regular basis,
ask the student to study with him/her periodically, and design
exercises the student can use to practice an application.
The mentor and student may decide to
meet regularly to review learning progress, schedule times for
special tutoring, and locate resources for use in learning.
Facilitate but do not lead students in their decision making.
Encourageself-directed learning.
Have students participate in the mentoring activity. Give them
atime frame for their involvement as mentors, e.g., 1 month.
Allowtime for student mentors to share their practice and progress
atmentoring.
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
STEP 7
-
92
Reflective Practices
Evaluation
Serve as a mentor yourself, giving the student mentors
encouragementand recognition for their efforts.
Gather the mentors together in a group to discuss the
followingquestions:
Why is mentoring mutually beneficial to the mentor and to
theperson receiving mentoring?
How can mentoring lead to improved self-image and
selfconfidence?
In what ways could mentoring help students to link school
towork?
Prompt student to provide personal examples to support their
answers
Have mentors complete the mentoring rubric to assess
theirperformance. Also, have the students who received
mentoringcomplete the rubric to indicate ways in which their
mentors helpedor failed to help them. Discuss the two completed
rubrics with eachstudent as a form of feedback to guide
learning.
-
93
Mentoring Rubric
Levels of PerformanceCriteria Poor Good Excellent
Maintained regularmentor/studentmeetings
Showed personalinterest in the student
Discussed issues ofimportance to thestudent
Used relevant personalexperiences to make apoint or
provideexplanation/example
Demonstrated aprocess for doingsomething, e.g.,performing a
mathcalculation, whenappropriate
Visited a work-relatedsite with the student
Provided help/assistance inperforming a task
Offered support andencouragement
Met only if asked
Asked questions thatinvolved a yes/noresponse
Told your views only
Talked about otherstudents
Referred student to thetextbook
Observed workers atsite
Performed the taskyourself
Complimented only onfinal product if donewell
Met at least once aweek
Asked a mix of yes/noand open endedquestions
Shared viewpointsabout issues
Used examples ofnationally knownfigures
Performed stepsyourself while studentsobserved
Shadowed a worker atsite
Discussed ways toperform the task
Complimented onsuccessful steps only
Met 3 times a week atset time and place
Asked open-endedquestions
Focused on studentsinterests
Used examples frompersonal life
Led student step-by-step through theprocess
Interviewed a workerat site
Offered suggestions toguide student
Complimented onsome aspect of eacheffort
-
94
-
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
95
Assessment Practices
-
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
96
-
97
Journal Writing
Reflective journal writing is an effective tool for
self-assessment inthat it engages students in thinking about
certain ideas and experi-ences and envisioning new ways of
responding to them. This activ-ity combines journal writing with
the use of technology as a meansof extending constructivist
learning in the classroom. It engagesstudents in working on an
Internet-based project that is meaningfuland challenging, places
them in control of their learning, enablesthem to work
collaboratively with a diverse community of learners,and connects
them with expert workers.
Journal writing as an authentic tool to guide reflection,
self-assess-ment, and learning. It provides students with an
opportunity torecord what is happening in their lives and clarify
their feelings,attitudes, beliefs, and values so as to develop
self-knowledge andinspire self-directed learning. The teachers role
in promoting re-flective journal writing is that of coach and
mentor, helping stu-dents to focus on the what is happening in the
moment and usingthat information to guide future participation in
life events.
The local Chamber of Commerce wants to produce a
publicationdescribing some of the top careers in the local area.
Your task is toengage students in developing this publication by
having each ofthem focus on a specific occupation of interest.
Information for thisproject must be acquired, synthesized,
interpreted, reviewed, re-vised, and presented in final form
through use of Internet technol-ogy, e.g., listserv exchanges,
e-mail communication, private journalwritings, and public postings
on the Internet.
Evaluation of students performance will be based on their
demon-strated ability to
plan, organize, and monitor the collection of relevant
informa-tion about a self-selected occupation;
work collaboratively with others to gain multiple
perspectivesabout problem issues and solutions; and
reflect new understandings through journal writings that con-vey
thoughts, assumptions, and arguments.
Evaluation of the publication will be based on its acceptability
tothe Chamber of Commerce. A rejection of the publication
willrequire writers to revise it within a 1-week period.
*The idea for this activity evolved from reading Ravitz
(1997).
9
Constructivist Pedagogy
Teaching Strategy
Learning Activity*Scenario
Evaluation Criteria
-
98
Operational Steps
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
Have students select the occupations they wish to
investigate.
Provide resources of occupations common in the community.
Includecompany brochures, yearly reports, and so forth.
Help students establish their teams. For example, a student
mayselect mentors, teachers, students with similar interests,
members ofrelevant associations, and parents to be part of his/her
interactivelearning team.
Help students to use communication technology to locate
individuals toserve on their teams.
Introduce students to several kinds of communication
channelsthey can use in their project work:
Listserv exchanges through which team members can sharetheir
research findings and ideas with each other;
E-mail exchanges between the student and teachers and/orother
mentors through which students could present their workfor review
and feedback;
Private journal writings in which students can record
theirthoughts and feelings about their experiences, including
frus-trations, insights, and issues to address sometime in the
future;and
Public postings on the Internet that can be read by all
Internetusers.
Demonstrate the use of these four channels of communication
availablethrough Internet technology. Coach and guide students,
helping them tomake use of all four channels as they engage in
project activities.
Ask students to begin their projects by publicly posting
requests forresources over the Internet and World Wide Web. These
informa-tion searches should be for human as well as print
resources, e.g.,names of subject matter experts, professional
organizations, and/orcolleagues.
Encourage students to interact with resource people other than
those ontheir listservs, or to add others to their listservs as
interested parties arediscovered. For example, an applied science
teacher could be consultedfor information about new technologies in
the field, mathematics or sta-tistics teachers could be valuable
resources for data related to the field,e.g., growth figures, stock
performances of small and large businesses in
-
99
the field. Also prompt teams to share their planning, learning,
anddevelopment approaches across teams.
Encourage students to share their research findings,
includingnames of contact persons, with the people on their
listservs. Askthem to make entries about their processes for
inquiry to share withothers and to solicit feedback.
Observe students as they work, providing scaffolding to help
themengage in listserv exchanges. Help them to connect what they
are learningto what they already know.
Have students use e-mail to communicate with their teachers
andother mentors/learners. Their exchanges can consist of ideas
forperforming the project activity, problems they are
encountering,and any other information or questions for which they
would liketo receive feedback.
As the facilitator, it will be easier for you to communicate one
on onewith students over the Internet than it is during a classroom
session.Immediate feedback is important to enable students to make
adjustmentsto enable them to advance in their learning. It also
gives you an oppor-tunity to compliment and encourage students so
that they are motivatedto continue learning.
At regular intervals or key points in the investigation,
remindstudents to write entries in the personal journals they have
createdin their program files. Encourage them to record
descriptions ofproblems they have encountered, solutions they have
tested, les-sons they have learned, plans they have changed, and
new direc-tions they are taking. Also ask them to reflect on their
feelings,attitudes, and perspectives about these issues.
Stress the importance of documenting these experiences
thoroughly andregularly as a way to retain opportunities for
reflection, dialogue, andfeedback.
Offer continuing guidance and support as students move forward
intheir investigations of relevant information, decisions about
whatdata to include in the publication, and their strategies for
develop-ing and distributing the final publication.
Although students must be encouraged to direct their own
learning pro-cess for this project, offer ongoing support and
encourage them to interactwith classmates in large and small
groups.
STEP 5
STEP 6
STEP 7
STEP 8
-
100
STEP 9
STEP 10
Reflective Practices
Have students publicly share via electronic communications
vari-ous portions of their writings and to ask for feedback from
thoseInternet users.
In presenting the product for review, guide students to include
the ob-jectives of the project and the type of feedback they seek
so they can re-vise as necessary.
After students have reviewed and revised their writings, engage
theentire class in preparing the final publication for the Chamber
ofCommerce and in distributing it to the public through an
Internetentry or through linkage to the Chamber of Commerce
website.
Facilitate students in their attempts to do this. Enlist a
member of theChamber of Commerce to conduct the review.
Divide the class into five groups. Ask each group to formulate
ananswer to its assigned question and present that answer to the
class:
Group 1: In what aspects of my life can I follow a similar
pro-cess for learning by using new communicationtechnologies?
Group 2: What learning concerns did the experience bring
tomind?
Group 3: In what way were values reflected in the
experience?Group 4: What new insights about myself did the
experience
trigger?Group 5: How did (or didnt) reflection about the
experience
change the way I think?
Ask students to reflect upon interpersonal communications
andsocial interactions over the Internet. Use the following
questions toguide this reflection:
In what ways did you feel comfortable (or uncomfortable)
ex-changing ideas over the Internet?
What channels of communication did you use most frequentlyto
communicate your feelings? Why?
Was it possible to assemble a geographically, socially, and
cul-turally diverse team? If yes, explain how this was
accomplished.If not, describe the factors that prevented this from
happening.
Point out to students that journal writing can be assigned
criteriaagainst which assessments can be made. These criteria could
be
-
101
specified in a rubric, for example, and related to the
following(Allenspach et al. 1996, p. 80):
Reflectiveness Depth of response Number of entries Originality
Use of concrete images Length of response Descriptive words
Evidence of thoughtfulness Creativity Connections to other subjects
Responses to posed question or lead-in statements Connections to a
life experience
If desired, have students link performance standards to
journalwriting. Have students create a rubric to assess their
reflectivejournal writing, using criteria like the ones listed and
identifyingthe varied levels of performance. (Assigned weights are
optional,depending upon the intent of the experience.)
Conduct assessment of the project objectives by determining
theextent to which they demonstrated achievement of the
processobjectives. Public sharing and Chamber acceptance of the
docu-ment meets the criteria for successful evaluation. Offer
feedbackregarding both process and product so that students will be
directedto learn from their experiences and be able to transfer
thatknowledge to other situations and project work.
Evaluation
-
102
-
103
The Scoring Rubric
Constructivist learning requires students to demonstrate
in-depthknowledge of a concept and an ability to apply that
knowledge inreal-world situations and practices. This activity
involves studentsin developing resumes, discussing the relevance of
key components,preparing drafts for purposes of testing
appropriateness and obtain-ing meaningful feedback, revising the
resume based upon relevantinput, and preparing the resume for final
presentation. The perfor-mance-based rubric is used as a tool for
authentic assessment, help-ing students to evaluate how well they
have met the criteria for ac-ceptance, determine where they are in
the learning process, andwhat they need to do to move forward.
The scoring rubric aids the assessment process by providing to
stu-dents at the onset of a learning activity clearly defined
performancetargets for reaching agreed-upon standards. A scoring
rubric con-sists of fixed scales related to a list of criteria
describing perfor-mance. Each scale is composed of anchors that
describe the variouslevels of performance complexity. Assigned
weights, which give therelative value of each criterion, are used
in the process of scoring toascertain whether the standards have
been met (Allenspach et al.1996, p. 10). To the extent possible,
rubrics focus on the charac-teristics of understanding, rather than
on fragmented bits of infor-mation. They are designed to aid in
evaluating the quality of a stu-dents work, not the quantity of
work performed. The scoring rubricis a strategy for connecting all
aspects of the learning processinstruction, performance, and
assessment. The purpose of this ac-tivity is to engage students in
using the scoring rubric to guide theirtask performance and
self-assessment of their learning progress andperformance.
The Ellison Local High School has invited the Get It
TogetherEmployment Agency to hold a workshop session on resume
prep-aration for the school districts annual Career Week. As
thetraining director for Get It Together, you have been asked to
helpstudents who register for the session to develop resumes that
will bewell received by future employers. Your task is to engage
studentsin the construction of a rubric by which they can assess
theirresumes for acceptability to potential employers, preparation
oftheir individual resumes, and subsequent assessment of their
com-pleted resumes using the criteria they identified in the
rubric.
A resume writing rubric will be constructed by students with
assis-tance from the teacher and used to evaluate their
self-preparedresumes.
10
Constructivist Pedagogy
Constructivist Pedagogy
Learning ActivityScenario
Evaluation Criteria
-
104
Operational Steps
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
Describe to students the task they are to perform and ways
theirperformance will be assessed for this activity so they can
visualizethe attributes required of the final product.
For example: post where visible to the class the following
performanceobjective: Prepare a resume to use in a job search
according to the stan-dards established by the class. Also post the
knowledge and skills to beassessed as follows: Given a list of
information typically required on aresume, the student will
compile the information, select a type of resume to prepare,
prepare a draft copy of a one-page resume, edit the resume to
correct any errors, and prepare the final copy of the resume.
Ask students to discuss What makes a good resume? Then, havethem
brainstorm criteria for assessment and the standards by whichthey
will determine their levels of progress toward the
performancestandard.
By using open-ended questions, lead students to an awareness of
thefollowing criteria and ratings:
Criteria: Neatly typedAttractive formatAccurate
informationComplete contentWell organizedCorrectly edited
Standard Levels: Excellent as presentedRequires correctionsMust
be redone
Engage students in assigning weights to the criteria, e.g., the
high-est number should be assigned to the most important criterion
forsuccessful task performance. Allow time for student discussion
ofrecommendations so all points of view are able to be
considered.Promote the use of negotiation skills to help students
arrive at aconsensus about the weight to be assigned to each
criteria.
-
105
Use the following example to guide your manner of facilitating
studentlearning, being careful to guide students so that they
devise an examplesimilar to the one that follows rather than having
that example presentedto them for acceptance:
Criteria WeightNeatly typed 3Attractive format 1Accurate
information 4Complete content 4Well-organized 2Correctly edited
3
List on a flip chart or chalkboard the types of information
typicallypresented on a resume and describe each category. For
example:
Personal Data. This includes name, social security
number,mailing address, telephone number (including area code).
Career Objective. The career objective should be a one-sentence
statement that indicates the job desired (e.g., sales),the desired
responsibility (e.g., sales person), and the relevantskills (e.g.,
communication)
Formal education and training. This includes the names
andlocations of schools attended, the dates you entered and left
theschool, special courses of study, grade point average
Special skills. Job-related skills should be noted here along
withany other relevant skills. (Point out that people get paid
forusing knowledge, not having knowledge.)
Work experiences. This list should provide information
aboutspecific jobs the applicant has held and the job duties
he/shehas performed, and tools and technologies used.
Special awards and memberships in professional
organizations.
Distribute completed copies of resumes as samples for students
to review.
Direct students to compile the information they need to
preparetheir personal resumes.
Serve as a mentor, helping students to determine where they can
find theinformation they need and who they might need to talk with
to locateinformation about which they are unclear.
Once students have gathered the information for the resumes,
askthem to select a format to use and direct them to put the
informa-tion in draft form.
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
-
106
Reflective Practices
Evaluation
Provide students with examples of resume formats or direct them
to theappropriate resources.
Engage students in a discussion of the value of using a scoring
rub-ric to assess other school work and using that assessment to
helpthem plan where to direct their future efforts.
Have students discuss the advantages of developing rubrics for
self-assessment of performance in occupational task areas, e.g.,
repair-ing lubrication and cooling systems for an auto
mechanicsoccupation.
After all students have prepared draft copies of their resumes,
havethem critique their own copies using the rubric they
prepared.Allow time for students to continue working on their
resumes toimprove them and to obtain constructive feedback from
otherstudents to guide their efforts.
-
107
Portfolios
Assessments from a constructivist perspective focus on
generallydefined outcomes that are constructed by teachers and
students asthey advance through the process of learning. This
activity engagesstudents in using the portfolio as a tool by which
to constructmeaning. It engages students in the compilation and
selection ofitems to include in the portfolio. Because the
portfolio representsthe processes of learning over time, it is a
record of learning itself.Meaning is individually constructed by
students through reviewand analysis of its varied contents and
purposes for inclusion. Theconstructivist approach puts a premium
on the selection of itemsthat reflect learning from the students
perspective (Paulson andPaulson 1994, p. 1).
Portfolios represent a new model for assessment in which the
stu-dent is a full stakeholder in the process. They offer the
teacher astrategy for helping students to determine their own
purposes forvarious demonstrations of learning and a resource from
which tomake informed instructional decisions that are consistent
withstudent needs. Because they can be used to promote
student/teacher collaboration in developing criteria and standards
for workevaluation, portfolios represent a total learning
environment, forg-ing a connection between instruction and
assessment (ibid.).
The election of officers for a professional association will
take placein 6 weeks. The candidates for the offices will be asked
to submitevidence to support their qualifications for the
positions. Your taskis to engage students as potential candidates
and ask them to deter-mine the qualities about themselves that they
would like to high-light and collect evidence that they possess
those qualities.
Evaluation will be based on students interpretations of the
value oftheir portfolio contents in demonstrating their leadership
qualities.An election of officers will serve to provide feedback on
peerreview of the campaign.
Involve the class in discussion of the qualities they would seek
inthose elected for office. As suggestions are given, write them on
thechalkboard. Require students to give a rationale supporting
thevalue of each quality in regards