3rd class (4th week) : BeHaViOuRiSt vs CoNsTrUcTiViSt.

What is the behaviourist (directed instructional ) approach?

Direct Instruction assigns a central role to the teacher in explaining, modeling, and providing opportunities for practice with feedback. The goals are understanding, logic behind skills; automaticity, skills are over learned to the point that they are used with little mental effort; and transfer, something learned at one time is applied later in another setting.
 (for more explanation of this approach, you may visit this site :

http://ematusov.soe.udel.edu/final.paper.pub/_pwfsfp/0000017b.htm

This approach proposes a teacher-centered classroom. I requires teachers to be an efficient planner of the whole lesson. Lesson can be very structured as they have to follow teacher's instructions and steps in order to learn a subject. I think this is a very rigid condition of learning. However, this is also useful when it comes to theoretical based-learning and the lesson taught should achieve intended learning outcomes. Thus, procedures are needed to monitor the progress of the lesson, so that no steps is left behind. 

The same goes to websites for learning science. Some of them are designed to be in this approach, so that students who do not have prior knowledge about the subject matter may not be having problems to construct their knowledge. So, this will play a lot as a helping hand too for students who need more guidance when it comes to 'Science'. 

Some of the sites that adopt the use of this approach are:

 1. http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/  
 

2. http://www.sciencetoymaker.org/

Niava Air Rocket

A rocket model

What is the constructivist approach?

Learners construct their own understanding rather than having it delivered or transmitted to them. Learners use their own experiences to construct understandings that make sense to them. New learning depends on prior understanding and is interpreted in the context of current understanding, not first as isolated information that is later related to existing knowledge. 

So, now let's see the benefits of this approach when it is inculcated in science learning via technology. 

(a) There are opportunities provided for students to view and explore themselves about the information.

(b) They provide more activities that are creative and to make students think about the causes and consequences.

(c)  More discoveries rather than reading concepts and facts.

Some of the websites are:

 1) http://www.kidsastronomy.com/ 

2. http://www.coolscience.org/CoolScience/kidszone.htm

Question may activate prior knowledge

3. http://www.tryscience.org/

 All in all, both approaches should be applied and neither should be rejected. So, see you on the next entry!!!

The second Class: Slowly Immersing!!!

Thursday, 29th July 2010

It's a replacement class as Prof was busy on Tuesday (27th July 2010).

Today, we learn about computers and common terminologies associated with this invention. Generally, computers are a blessing to us. It is an enormously powerful tool for doing quick accurate computations. Thus, computers are used in mass communication, in flight reservations, in air traffic control, in banking, in scientific research, in teaching and learning process and virtually any types of activity that requires fast reliable calculations and quick data processing. I shall say, it's fantastic!!!  

Some knowledge we learnt during the class and it is actually the tools related to computers. They can be divided into hardware and software. Hardware refers to input devices and output devices. 

Some of the input devices are:

MOUSE

  

SCANNER

Some of the output devices are:

PRINTER

SPEAKER

And softwares:

WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER

  

INTERNET EXPLORER

Now, let's move on to the gist of the lecture:

1) Artificial intelligence

What' that??? This term refers to:


(a) intelligent tutoring systems
(b) intelligent learning environment
(c) adaptive hypertext systems
(d) computer-supported collaborative learning systems


The role of AI in education has been multiplied since the evolution has taken its place. Some years ago, the role of AI is just to develop techniques which stimulates human intelligence. But, with the tremendous improvement in technology, it is also used to support communication with the learner. 


From my point of view, AI has lots of benefits in education. It caters the interaction setting for education to take place. By online interaction, learners can share ideas and information with just a click.  Online tutoring is one of the advantages of AI. This proves that learning can occur anywhere and learning is actually beyond vicinity of students' classroom. Thus, the application of AI does make learning to be effective and proactive. 

2) Virtual Reality

Based on the article entitled 'Exploring Virtual Reality for Classroom Use : The Virtual Reality and Education Lab at East Carolina University', Stuart and Thomas (1991) has listed 8 roles of virtual reality:

(a) explore existing places and things that students would not not otherwise have access to

(b) explore real things that without alteration of scale in size and time, could not otherwise be effectively examined.

(c) create places and things with altered qualities

(d) interact with people who are in remote locations through global clubs with a common interest or collaborations on projects between students from different parts of the world

(e)interact with real people in imaginary spaces to support interactive design. 

(f) interact with real people in non-realistic way

(g) create and manipulate abstract conceptual representatives, like data structure and mathematical functions

(h) interact with virtual beings, such as representations of historical figures and agents who are representatives of different philosophies and viewpoints participating in simulated negotiations.

Thus, virtual reality provides us with manifold benefits in education. Perhaps we should start looking at how technology can benefit us, instead of taking care on the disadvantages of technology. 

Ok... I shall call it an 'entry' then...See you on the next post with more sights of technology in science education... until then...start thinking about what technology can offer us if we are willing to exploit it... 

The first date with Prof. Dr. Rohaida...

Tuesday, 20th of July 2010

It is the second week of the semester, but it’s the first time we met with our lecturer due to our ignorance, last week. For this time around, I would not be saying ignorance is bliss. We should be trying to reach her by any means even though we were still new in the faculty. So, we learn a lesson and I am sure we won’t repeat it anymore. For the time being, I just have this to say, 

“Sorry, Prof.”

Ok…Let’s reflect!!!

First and foremost, the ‘date’ began with the introduction of the course and the assignments. We were informed about the expected learning outcomes of the course, too.

Secondly, we were asked to create a blog to write our own reflection about our progress with this course. It’s a bit frightening as I am not that good in writing blogs. It’s a new thing for me. But, one thing that I know, to get use of something is to do it again and again without hesitation. For me, this would improve the way I express myself and help tracking the progress of my learning within these fourteen weeks.

The next thing on the list is the tools that we learnt on that day. There were four old technological tools used in teaching of science. They were 

OHP, visualiser, television and video player. 

We were divided into 4 groups and each group took one tool and discuss. Then, we would have to explain it to the whole class.  

My group members are:

1.MARHANI

2.HAFIZUDDIN

3.NIZAM

4.NAZRUL

These tools are some of the man-made things that have improved the quality of teachings immeasurably. Thus, each of these things has its own functions.

OHP a.k.a Overhead Projector.

I’ve been seeing this tool since 7 years old and it’s still being used effectively by teachers in many schools to aid teaching and learning process. OHP works together with transparency. In later days, we have teachers to write on it, but today we may produce the typed version of it by just photocopying from books onto the transparency. So, technology never stops improvising things until it gets easier. 

 Visualiser.

What’s that??? This is the first thing that popped into my head. I didn’t know about the existence of this tool as it was quite expensive and rarely found in common schools in Malaysia. So, my group has to search for the information and explain its features and usage in teaching science in a short presentation by the end of the day. As far as I’m concerned, this tool is actually a more sophisticated version of OHP. It is more efficient as it may project coloured objects on a screen without affecting their original colours. It could also be connected to computers to transfer information. Thus, I found this tool is interesting and fantastic. This could make science as an interesting subject to children as they view objects in colours, rather than in old black and white forms.

 Television + video player.  

It’s tv!!! So, I guess nobody would dare to admit if he does not know what is a tv… In education, tv works best with video player. Both complement each other. Without the tv, image or videos cannot be flashed and watched. And without a video player, videos cannot be played. So the interdependence which exists between both of them helps to make them function better.  

  

Look!!! There are some old magazines about tv...