We have designed a curriculum which incorporates numerous ICT tasks as part of a webquest to be completed over four lessons and are catered for the different ways students learn. To best meet the objectives of the SCSA syllabus, we have chosen to develop our curriculum in line with the established learning theories of Social Constructivism and Multiple Intelligences.
The Social Constructivist theory supports the shift away from rote learning and suggests instead that knowledge is best acquired through the experience of interacting with others. Furthermore, in order to build this knowledge, students need to continue to be active participants in the learning process (Madrid & Kantor, 2007). This theory marks a move away from the direct instruction model of teaching towards a more collaborative model that involves the teacher facilitating learning through active inquiry-oriented tasks.
Rather than teach ‘at’ the students, this social constructivism requires the teacher to facilitate learning by helping students to build on what they already know; it also involves the teacher providing opportunities for interaction and cooperative work. In line with this theory, the selected activities have been scaffolded across our 4 lessons requiring students to draw on prior knowledge attained from recent lessons and work collaboratively to develop their historical understanding of the beliefs, values, and practices of the ancient Egyptian death and funerary customs. These activities include:
QR Codes -
The code will be created by a pair of students that are assigned to investigate a particular type of tomb, this activity requires the students to work together and use their research to produce a slideshow with a URL code for their QR Code.
Gallery Walk -
Students will participate in a Gallery Walk reviewing other slideshows to compare and contrast the different types of tombs and gather information to add to their own slideshow.
Virtual Reality 3D Tomb Tour -
This encourages discussion between partners about the features they discovered specific to the tomb they chose for the 3D tour.
Class Discussions & Question/Answer Sessions -
There are numerous opportunities throughout the lessons when the class will participate in discussions relating to customs, beliefs and values encountered during the investigations.
Another established learning theory which underpins our curriculum planning is that of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. In this theory, Gardner challenges the traditional concept of intelligence being a measurable fixed entity and instead asserts that his theory results from a combination of eight separate intelligences, each one impacting individuals abilities to learn (Chen, 2007). The Multiple Intelligence theory therefore “defines intelligence as a potential” (Chen, 2007) and provides teachers with a model for professional practice that presents appropriate opportunities for all children to reach their full potential.
In designing our curriculum, we have also taken this theory into consideration and scaffolded the lessons to encompass a range activities targeting a number of different ‘intelligences’ including: Visual-Spatial, Logical-Mathematical, Verbal-Linguistic, and Interpersonal. Some of the different activities we have incorporated in our curriculum are there to engage and provide the best opportunity for all students to develop their capabilities, they include:
Visual-Spatial: Videos, Slideshows, eBooks, and QR Codes
Verbal-Linguistic: Padlet, Wordle, Crossword, eBook, Q & A Sessions
Logical-Mathematical: Text2map, Timetoast, Popplet, Online Research
Interpersonal: Slideshow, Gallery Walk, Class Discussion
N.B. A number of the activities have been selected due to their targeting multiple intelligences in the single task.
By planning and detailing our tasks according to the two aforementioned learning theories, students of all abilities will be able to feel a sense of satisfaction and achievement as they work through the webquest. We have designed it with consideration of different learning styles in order to engage all students equally and encourage communication and interaction with their peers.
References
Chen, J. (2007). Multiple intelligences, theory of. In R. S. New, & M. Cochran (Eds.), Early childhood education: an international encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. Retrieved from http://ipacez.nd.edu.au/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/abceceduc/multiple_intelligences_theory_of/0
Madrid, S., & Kantor, R. (2007). Social Constructivism. In R. S. New, & M. Cochran (Eds.), Early childhood education: an international encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. Retrieved from http://ipacez.nd.edu.au/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/abceceduc/social_constructivism/0
The Social Constructivist theory supports the shift away from rote learning and suggests instead that knowledge is best acquired through the experience of interacting with others. Furthermore, in order to build this knowledge, students need to continue to be active participants in the learning process (Madrid & Kantor, 2007). This theory marks a move away from the direct instruction model of teaching towards a more collaborative model that involves the teacher facilitating learning through active inquiry-oriented tasks.
Rather than teach ‘at’ the students, this social constructivism requires the teacher to facilitate learning by helping students to build on what they already know; it also involves the teacher providing opportunities for interaction and cooperative work. In line with this theory, the selected activities have been scaffolded across our 4 lessons requiring students to draw on prior knowledge attained from recent lessons and work collaboratively to develop their historical understanding of the beliefs, values, and practices of the ancient Egyptian death and funerary customs. These activities include:
QR Codes -
The code will be created by a pair of students that are assigned to investigate a particular type of tomb, this activity requires the students to work together and use their research to produce a slideshow with a URL code for their QR Code.
Gallery Walk -
Students will participate in a Gallery Walk reviewing other slideshows to compare and contrast the different types of tombs and gather information to add to their own slideshow.
Virtual Reality 3D Tomb Tour -
This encourages discussion between partners about the features they discovered specific to the tomb they chose for the 3D tour.
Class Discussions & Question/Answer Sessions -
There are numerous opportunities throughout the lessons when the class will participate in discussions relating to customs, beliefs and values encountered during the investigations.
Another established learning theory which underpins our curriculum planning is that of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. In this theory, Gardner challenges the traditional concept of intelligence being a measurable fixed entity and instead asserts that his theory results from a combination of eight separate intelligences, each one impacting individuals abilities to learn (Chen, 2007). The Multiple Intelligence theory therefore “defines intelligence as a potential” (Chen, 2007) and provides teachers with a model for professional practice that presents appropriate opportunities for all children to reach their full potential.
In designing our curriculum, we have also taken this theory into consideration and scaffolded the lessons to encompass a range activities targeting a number of different ‘intelligences’ including: Visual-Spatial, Logical-Mathematical, Verbal-Linguistic, and Interpersonal. Some of the different activities we have incorporated in our curriculum are there to engage and provide the best opportunity for all students to develop their capabilities, they include:
Visual-Spatial: Videos, Slideshows, eBooks, and QR Codes
Verbal-Linguistic: Padlet, Wordle, Crossword, eBook, Q & A Sessions
Logical-Mathematical: Text2map, Timetoast, Popplet, Online Research
Interpersonal: Slideshow, Gallery Walk, Class Discussion
N.B. A number of the activities have been selected due to their targeting multiple intelligences in the single task.
By planning and detailing our tasks according to the two aforementioned learning theories, students of all abilities will be able to feel a sense of satisfaction and achievement as they work through the webquest. We have designed it with consideration of different learning styles in order to engage all students equally and encourage communication and interaction with their peers.
References
Chen, J. (2007). Multiple intelligences, theory of. In R. S. New, & M. Cochran (Eds.), Early childhood education: an international encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. Retrieved from http://ipacez.nd.edu.au/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/abceceduc/multiple_intelligences_theory_of/0
Madrid, S., & Kantor, R. (2007). Social Constructivism. In R. S. New, & M. Cochran (Eds.), Early childhood education: an international encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. Retrieved from http://ipacez.nd.edu.au/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/abceceduc/social_constructivism/0
Author: Jane Golding