Looking into the 21st Century of Education from a students' perspective

1. The 21st Century Learner Inside a Constructivist Classroom

2. I am a 21st Century Learner

3. I can use all types of technology, with some help from you.

4. “Communication tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring”(Shirky. C. 2008. pg.205). For students’ of the 21st Century these tools are the ‘norm’, they are tools that most children know how to use effectively and efficiently, but at the same time these tools still intrigue them.

5. I am like a sponge, ready to absorb all the knowledge that I can cope with. But please don’t overload me, I am still only a child and can only cope with so much. Piaget’s stages of development is an example of this. Children can be at different stages and need to be taught in different ways to accommodate this. Image retrieved 10/7/2010 from: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/02/from-the-forums-natural-v-synthetic.php

6. Please do not lecture me on subjects; I will not pay attention and will not learn from it! Attention:Did I get your attention? As a teacher it is essential that we attract and maintain our students attention. If we fail to engage the student they will simply not pay attention. This is where actively involving the students in the lesson can help to initially grab their attention and also to maintain their attention. (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010, pg.209). It is also important that students are cognitively active throughout the whole lesson. To enable them to be able to build upon their long term memory, they need to be recalling the knowledge that they already have, activating a scheme and elaborating on it. Maker: Nickolas Murray (American 1892-1965). Title: PICTORIAL REVIEW. Date: ca. 1936 George Eastman House Collection. http://www.eastmanhouse.org/inc/collections/photography.php Retrieved 28/6/2010 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/george_eastman_house/3123694484/in/photostream/

7. Early constructivist theories have been around for more than seventy five years. With experts like Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner and John Dewey all contributing to the theory. “Like Piaget, Bruner argues that conceptions that children arrive at on their own are usually more meaningful than those proposed by others.” (Snowman & Biehler, 2006, pg.311)

8. Please guide me so I can construct my own knowledge. Piagets’ constructivists views on learning illustrate this, whereby teachers now see “learning as an active process in which learners construct their own knowledge” (Eggen & Kauchak. 2010, p43).

9. “We should be teaching our students how to interpret the materials they get on the web” (Boyd. d. Retrieved from: http://many.corante.com/archives/2005/12/17/wikipedia_academia_and_seigenthaler.php) 21st Century learners will need to learn how to filter through all the information that will be available to them on the World Wide Web. Teachers will need to guide students with advice on which information would be appropriate to use and what information is incorrect, outdated or biased . The WWW stores a lot of valuable information, but it also stores a lot of nonsense as well.

10. Please keep in mind how old I am, do not show me things that are beyond my comprehension. Piagets’ theory of cognitive development is an example of this. “Cognitive Development, changes in our thinking that occur as a result of learning, maturation, and experience” (Eggen& Kauchak,2010,p.30).

11. I need to be motivated to learn, so motivate me! “Children can achieve just about anything if they are motivated enough, yet they will learn very little if motivation is missing” . “Research suggests that purpose and relevance are essential for many kids to learn. The great challenge for many parents and teachers is to keep children interested in learning until its relevance becomes apparent”. (Grose.M. Retrieved from: http://www.pedarecc.sa.edu.au/parents/documents/11MGP21Motivation.pdf).

12. I learn from doing, so let me explore things for myself. “Children learn by engaging in meaningful experiences. Experiences which are meaningful to their life, ability, culture, age and which they find interesting” (Retrieved from: http://www.itz4kidz.com.au/education/articles/learning-through-play.aspx). “They will learn far more, far quicker and with enjoyment, in a structured play environment, than by trying to 'teach' them letters, and reading and maths in a formal setting” (Retrieved from: http://www.itz4kidz.com.au/education/articles/learning-through-play.aspx). This relates back to the constructivist theory that children construct their own knowledge.

13. I learn from seeing, so show me how and model it for me. If I am not understanding, help me to understand. As Vygotsky believed, a student will benefit more when they are working within their ‘zone of proximal development’. By assisting the student with scaffolding you are helping them “progress through the zone of proximal development for the task they are attempting” (Eggen & Kauchak. 2010. pg.47). Types of scaffolding include; modelling, thinking aloud, questioning, adapting instructional materials, prompts and cues.

14. I like to get things right but if I make a mistake, guide me, on ways that I can correct it for next time. Piaget believed that children can adapt, through assimilation and accommodation. If a child’s equilibrium is disrupted they need to find a way to answer the problem in order to achieve equilibrium again. One way of doing this is through adaption. By trying to fit “an experience into an existing scheme” (Snowman & Biehler, 2006, pg.65), the child is trying to assimilate. By “changing the scheme or creating a new one to incorporate the new experience” (Snowman & Biehler, 2006, pg.65), the child is trying to accommodate.

15. I like to work with my peers, it helps me to learn. Whether it’s within the classroom or online. MSN Wikis Facebook Vygotsky believed that social interaction enabled development within students(Eggen & Kauchak, 2010, p45). Vygotskys’ work also influenced the theory of social constructivism which suggest that learners first construct their knowledge through social interaction then assess it individually. This would be very effective with the use of the internet, Students can first search out their information online, then verify elsewhere. Images from MSN website and Wikispaces website

16. I like to know how I am doing at school so please reward me for good work or behaviour and if I should happen to do something wrong or misbehave please let me know. I will try and do better the next time! Use of positive reinforcers would be an example for rewarding good work. However, use of punishment for bad behaviour must be used sparingly, it “requires sound professional knowledge” (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010, p.173). Images are from Microsoft Clipart. Retrieved 28/6/2010 from http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/images/

17. In my world, we are ‘digital natives’, we live in the cyberworld, so show me how to be polite and interact with others over the World Wide Web. “Our children today are being socialized in a way that is vastly different from their parents. The numbers are overwhelming: over 10,000 hours playing videogames, over 200,000 emails and instant messages sent and received; over 10,000 hours talking on digital cell phones; over 20,000 hours watching TV (a high percentage fast speed MTV), over 500,000 commercials seen—all before the kids leave college. And, maybe, at the very most, 5,000 hours of book reading. These are today’s ―’Digital Native’ students.” (Prensky. M. (2001). Retrieved from: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf) Teaching students about netiquette, how to digitally speak to others on the internet, would be one example.

18. I will still need to know how to interact with people, so show me the social etiquette that I need, demonstrate it for me. Children in the 21st Century will spend a lot of their time online. They will need to know how to behave appropriately. This would include being polite whilst talking to others on the net, netiquette and recognising cyber bullying. When you are online everything seems a bit impersonal and if students are not supervised they may unintentionally hurt another students feelings or bully them in some way. “The methods used are limited only by the child's imagination and access to technology. And the cyberbully one moment may become the victim the next. The kids often change roles, going from victim to bully and back again.” (Stop Cyberbullying, retrieved from: http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html)

19. Help me to stay safe on the internet. Being online also means that students may be vulnerable to ‘internet predators’ and they need to be made aware that giving out any sort of personal details may make them even more vulnerable. As a teacher we need to provide this information to the students and make sure they have a total understanding of how to behave and what not to do when they are on the very public internet.

20. References: Biehler. R & Snowman. J. (2006). Psychology Applied to Teaching (11th edition). Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. boyd. d. (2005).Wikipedia, academia and Seigenthaler. Retrieved 9/7/2010 from http://many.corante.com/archives/2005/12/17/wikipedia_academia_and_seigenthaler.php Eggen, P. and Kauchak, D. (2010). Educational Psychology, Windows on Classrooms (8th edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson International. Grose. M. Motivation Children to Learn. Retrieved 8/7/2010 from: http://www.pedarecc.sa.edu.au/parents/documents/11MGP21Motivation.pdf Murray. N. (American 1892-1965). Title: PICTORIAL REVIEW. Date: ca. 1936 George Eastman House Collection. http://www.eastmanhouse.org/inc/collections/photography.php Retrieved 28/6/2010 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/george_eastman_house/3123694484/in/photostream Prensky. M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2; Do they really think differently? Retrieved 10/7/2010 from: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf Quotes on Slide 12: Learning From Play. Retrieved 8/7/2010 from: http://www.itz4kidz.com.au/education/articles/learning-through-play.aspx Quote on Slide 18: Stop Cyberbullying. Retrieved 10/7/2010 from: http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html Shirky. C. (2008). Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. New York: Penguin