Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Social learning theories emphasize that one constructs knowledge based on the society of which someone is a part. Dr. Michael Orey (2001) believes that in a classroom setting, when teachers choose to implement instructional models based on social learning theories, “the need for collaborating among learners and with practitioners in the society” is stressed. Dr. Orey (2001) also discusses that “Social constructivist approaches can include reciprocal teaching, peer collaboration, cognitive apprenticeships, problem-based instruction, webquests, anchored instruction and other methods that involve learning with others”. All of these instructional methods emphasize the social constructivist learning theory.

Based on my research this week, I found a few ideas that correlate with the principles of the social learning theories. One instructional method I read talked in detail about cooperative learning. Cooperative learning, according to Dr. Orey (2001), “promotes social interactions; thus students benefit in a number of ways from the social perspective. By having the students explain their reasoning and conclusions, cooperative learning helps develop oral communication skills”. A way in which I can use this method in my classroom is to have my students conduct interviews with a partner in Spanish, or in groups of four, and the students will have to share their findings with the class, using some sort of presentation tool to accentuate the presentation (Students can use visuals in PowerPoint, a VoiceThread, iMovie, etc.). In Spanish, students will have to pay attention to correct verb conjugations, grammar and tenses when speaking to one another and paraphrasing to the class.

Another tool which correlates to social learning theories and cooperative learning is using shared bookmarking. According to Pittler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski, “Now all a teacher has to do is bookmark her best resources on a social bookmarking site and make one link to it that stays at home or at school without having to remember a lot of URLs” (2007, p. 150). My World Language Department will be working on creating a social bookmarking site in two days to which we will all be contributing. Later, we will allow our students to have access to our Spanish resources via our classroom websites.


Another neat teaching tool about which I read this week is working with VoiceThread. This web-based program gets students working collaboratively on a task and then they are able to share their information not only with class members but with the community people all over the world. The projects I will have my students create will allow for each student to be able to receive feedback from the teacher and their peers. One example of using VoiceThread with my students is to have them create a restaurant review. Focusing on the preterite tense in Spanish and restaurant vocabulary, students will record their experience of a restaurant visit, taking pictures of the restaurant and the food they ate to upload to their VoiceThread. I will require students to comment on at least two other VoiceThreads.

References:

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.