1. What is Making & Constructionism? This learning theory is rooted in the ideas that students learn best by doing. Students retain information more quickly and connect to the learning material better by making and constructing products either tangibly or digitally. This can be accomplished through Makerspaces, STEM Centers, and other hands on activities.
1.1. What is Constructionism?
1.1.1. Watch this short video of an overview of Constructionism.
1.1.2. Constructionism & Seymour Papert: Seymour Papert describes Constructionism as "learning by making". He makes two claims for Constructionism. One being "it suits some people better than other modes of learning". The other being "it is better for everyone than the prevalent "instructionist" modes practiced in schools". He also suggests that Constructionism suits learning from a wide variety of styles and preferences that can work simultaneously. To read the full introduction to his book, click the paper clip icon.
1.1.3. Constructionism is - Learner Centered: What does the student find meaningful? Why are they invested in learning about this material? - Collaborative: Students work with others and the community to build knowledge. - Technology Integration: is used to extend knowledge, create new products, and collaborate with others.
1.1.4. Constructionism VS Constructivism
1.2. Class Discussion Respond with your answers to the following questions by clicking on the text for each question and then the plus sign on the bottom.
1.2.1. 1. What is one big take away you have about Making & Constructionism?
1.2.1.1. David Foley: What is Making & Constructionism? resonated with me. I have struggled to find ways to not only build up the academic growth of children, but also their socioemotional learning. My big takeaway is that children must be given the opportunity to have choice and be given the opportunity to fail in order for a maker spaces to truly be successful.
1.2.1.1.1. Hayley Clough: I feel that constructionism really reiterates the importance of hands on learning and the ability for the students to learn through exploration and hands on problem solving.
1.2.2. 2. Papert states in his opening chapter that one day science may be able to show us the "best way" to learn, but it hasn't been proven yet. He also states that individuals may still prefer to think and learn their own way rather than the determined "best way". After reading about all of the learning theories this semester, do you think there will ever be a "best way" to learn or do you think learners will continue to choose their own way? Why?
1.2.2.1. David Foley: I lean more toward children learning in their own chosen "way". In reality, there is no one size fits all approach to education. The "product" of education is well-informed humans. As we are not dealing with computers or robots, the "best" way for some might be the "best" way for others. In essence, when we say there is a best way of teaching, we are taking the art out of teaching and only leaving the science.
1.2.2.1.1. Hayley Clough: I know that I this concept has come up in some of my other grad school courses. There is no one modality or model that is best for teaching and learning. The best practices come from a mixture of the theories and models being used in the classroom.
1.2.3. 3. How do you see yourself implementing Making & Constructionism in your classroom?
1.2.3.1. Hayley Clough: I really like how the one teacher was able to make her own STEAM closet and icoporate a lot more hands on learning and STEAM projects with her students. My school has a STEAM lab and it is a special that my students go to twice a week. Our STEAM lab is not alligned with what we are teaching in the classroom so I would love to either incoporate some more collaborative instruction with out STEAM teacher or find ways to incporate STEAM projects into the learning my students are doing in my classroom. I thought it was really cool how the teacher in the video had such a large closet to use for a seperate work space.
1.2.3.1.1. Mackenzie Salm: I would love the opportunity to incorporate more STEAM into my classroom and enjoyed watching the video of the teacher creating her own Maker's Space. While thinking of how and when to incorporate this, I remembered that some of my coworkers have "soft starts" at the beginning of the day that allow students to build and create before the day even starts. I would love to gather materials in order to do this as well.
1.2.4. Janelle's Feedforward: I really enjoyed reading everyone's responses to the material! I had many similar connections and ideas. I also love the hands-on aspect of Making & Construction. I have used this during science exploration activities, modeling math problems, and final projects in novel studies. When I taught first and second grade I used to have STEM bins instead of morning work. Students would have a bin of materials and they could create whatever they wanted with the materials. The students shared ideas and learned from eachother. I saw students persevering when their idea failed, and I saw a rise of student interest. It seems to me that we all agree that there will never be no "best way" to learning. That is what I believe this course is designed to get us to think about and understand. There are many different learning theories and we will all use a variety of them throughout our careers to reach students and create authentic learning experiences.
1.3. Making & Constructionism in the Classroom. Start with "What is a Makerspace?" Then pick from one of three options below it to watch/read.
1.3.1. What is a Makerspace? Click on the paper clip to access the article
1.3.1.1. This blog goes over practical ideas to get maker programming such as MakerSpaces, STEM time, or Genius Hour started in your school day. Click the paper clip to go to the article
1.3.1.2. Middle School Classrom This video is from quite a few years ago, but still has great ideas for how STEM and constructionism projects worked for middle grade students.
1.3.1.3. Elementary Classroom This teacher goes over how she has created a STEM makerspace in her classroom