论文摘选：Constructing Learning: Using Technology to Support Teaching for Understanding

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Swan

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Dec 1, 2005, 9:35:55 AM12/1/05

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Sherman, T.M. & Kursha, B. Constructing Learning: Using Technology to Support Teaching for Understanding [J]. Learning & Leading with Technology, Vol. 32(5), 2005: 10-13, 39

(For the original academic paper, contact Swan by email please)

² We explore eight teaching characteristics that are consistent with constructivist principles:

* Learner centered

* Interesting

* Real life

* Social

* Active

* Time

* Feedback

* Supportive

² Interested students challenge their existing knowledge and are more likely to develop conceptual frameworks that integrate prior knowledge and new information into understanding.

² Understanding grows from studying difficult concepts several times and in different ways.

² Supportive scaffolding shows students that you understand their needs and "walk" with them as they work to meet learning goals.

² You can provide opportunities for students to self-select learning activities that are developmentally and topic appropriate as well as capture their personal interests.

Conclusion

We have described eight characteristics of effective learning environments consistent with modern constructivist theory. As we see research becoming more interdisciplinary-including not only education but also the physiology of the brain, neurology, psychology, and medicine-the constructivist explanation of how to influence learning and learners appears more and more consistent with the emerging evidence. This research has direct and important implications for what we do in classrooms. Classrooms that are active, interesting, learner centered, focused on real life, and social and provide time to learn, frequent and facilitative feedback, and support both learning to be good learners as well as learning content have consistently been shown to be more effective with all learners.

Creating these environments is a daunting challenge and requires considerable restructuring of classroom routines and teaching practices. Nobody denies the challenge is great, and we do not claim that technologies will make the task easy. But, as we have illustrated, technologies can provide teaching tools that you can genuinely integrate into the instructional fabric of classrooms. In addition, we can teach our students to use technologies to meet their own responsibility to become good learners and also use these technologies as effective tools to teach content. The goal of constructivism-teaching students so they know how and what to learn-is the path to fuller and more relevant understanding of life's important lessons.