Page 68 - Educational Technology A Primer for the 21st Century

56 3 Linking Learning Objectives, Pedagogies, and Technologies

Classroom Meeting Strategy
The classroom meeting model is a multipurpose approach for classroom manage-
ment by setting aside time for students to discuss classroom issues as a
group. Examples of a classroom meeting model are holding class meetings to
involve students in addressing question like “How should cheating be handled?” or
“What can we do about teasing and bullying in our school?” (Class Meetings—
TeacherVision, n.d.). While classroom instruction has been much criticized, it has a
wide range of applicability.
Project-Based Learning Approach
Project-based learning is a pedagogical approach that encourages active learning
within the constraints set by the teacher. Within this framework, students pursue
solutions to non-trivial problems by asking and refining questions, debating ideas,
making predictions, designing plans and/or experiments, collecting and analyzing
data, drawing conclusions, communicating their ideas and findings to others, asking
new questions, and creating artifacts. With the support of today’s technology,
project-based learning is making a strong comeback in the classroom. Throughout
the process, students use digital tools for gathering information and multimedia to
create learning artifacts. They are guided by what they think the end result of their
project should be. The teacher coaches the team to keep students on task and keep
their work productive while students develop self-management and collaboration
skills. By providing peer feedback on the content and demonstrating respect for
their own findings, more substantive content is learned. The end product of each
team is often presented to the whole class, demonstrating their understanding of
what they learned.
Inquiry-Based Learning Approach
Inquiry-based learning approach is a method with which students learn knowledge
driven by specific questions or a complex problem. The teacher scaffolds and helps
students as they make contributions, identify questions, and gather relevant data on
the Web. The setting of the problem is crucial during this process.
Collaborative inquiry holds process similarities with project-based learning
although it is distinctive in its focus on a driving question, or a complex problem,
with respect to which students gather data for later analysis. In inquiry-based
learning, the setting of the problem is as important as, if not more important than,
finding solutions. The teacher scaffolds and helps students as they make contri-
butions, identify questions, and gather relevant data on the Web. With mobile
technologies, data from the field become more easily accessible with analytic tools
to make sense of what has been gathered.
Possible technologies to support the constructivist approach include toolkits and
other support systems. Access to resources and expertise offers the potential to
develop engaging, student-centered, active and authentic learning environments;
Microworlds and simulations are likely technologies.