Every person has a web within
themselves of information that they have acquired over the years of their life.
Some information might be similar from person to person, but no ones’ is going
to be exactly the same. Yet for years, education systems have treated students
like they are all coming in with the same clean slate, ignoring student
backgrounds and learning styles and generational differences. These different experiences
are what makes us unique and makes our learning styles individual. Over the
past few weeks in this program we have heard this idea of differentiation
brought up again and again. We are constantly being reminded that our students
are all coming from different experiences that affect how they learn and
process information. While this sounds like a somewhat daunting thing to face
in our classes, there is another way to look at it as well. We could use this all the information our
students bring from their experiences to expand the network of knowledge in our
classrooms. There is no way for everyone to experience everything in their
life, but we can share our experiences and the knowledge we have gained through
them to help others expand their knowledge web. How does one go about doing
this? Why the internet of course! Connectivism is a relatively new learning
theory that emphasizes the use of technology in expanding student learning.
Blogs, videos, chatrooms and other resources like these are great tools to use
in classes to get students talking and thinking collaboratively. It offers differentiation
options for students who like to write their thoughts instead of speaking in
class or students who process written information better than spoken dialogue.
Connectivism allows for students to learn how they learn best. Being an introvert
myself, connectivism sounds like a pretty appealing theory. It is much less anxiety
inducing for me to write out my thoughts than to have to string sentences
together verbally. Knowing how using technology reduces my stress gives me a
huge incentive to utilize this theory in my future classrooms. Giving students
opportunities to explore the internet and learn in ways that make sense to them
greatly increases their learning and motivation in school.
Caylee,
ReplyDeleteWell said! As a fellow introvert myself, I get tired of hearing that I'm not as engaged in a class because I'm not speaking my ideas out! I agree with you - I really like the theory of connectivism because it gives a chance for introverts to share their ideas in ways that they are comfortable with, and like you, I think this is something that I will be using in some way in my future classrooms.
Thanks for sharing! Danielle
Hi Caylee,
ReplyDeleteYou made some great points! When talking about different student perspectives, I love how you said we can use each student's experiences 'to expand the network of knowledge in our classrooms.' I think that really encompasses the purpose of connectivism.
I am also an introvert, and I appreciate your perspective on differentiation through the lens of connectivism. I believe it is a teacher's responsibility to give students different options for expressing their knowledge and learning especially with the diverse students we will have in our classrooms. I love how technology can play a huge role in helping assist teachers with this. Hooray for more options for introverts to share their knowledge with the world!