Resource/Reflection - Constructivism in early childhood classrooms

As a former kindergarten teacher, I was very interested in the article "When Children Make Rules." Classroom rules are traditionally made by teachers but constructivist principles advocate allowing children to have input in developing class rules. In preschool and kindergarten, I thought. How would that work? This article explains that constructivism does not mean complete freedom. Constructivist teachers aren't permissive and they must at times exert external control. The authors present four general guidelines for using external control. The first guideline emphasizes the importance of providing an environment of cooperation and community. This also supports the concept of "learning community" that I researched for the wikibook. As I read examples in this article of young children helping to make rules through class discussions, I thought about a workshop I went to on classroom meetings in relation to character education. It's really the same thing- letting students have a voice and giving them choices. It totally makes sense that if we want students to think for themselves and exercise autonomy we must let them in on decision making - even in kindergarten. This article really makes that seem possible.

DeVries, R. & Zan, B. (2003, September). When children make rules. Educational Leadership, 61(4), 64-67.

Resources - project-based learning books

Here's a guide for teachers who want to implement project-based learning activities. What makes this one different? It has a technology focus for the 21st century by addressing web 2.0 tools - wikis, blogs, podcasting, skype, flickr etc.

Boss, S., Krauss, J. & Conery, L. (2008). Reinventing project-based learning:
Your field guide to real-world projects in the digital age.  Washington, DC:
International Society for Technology in Education.

The title of this book caught my attention because it mentions that dreaded word - "test". The first part of the book reviews differentiating instruction and then includes model projects for the four core subject areas.

Schlemmer, Phil & Schlemmer, Dori. (2007).  Teaching beyond the test:
Differentiated project-based learning in a standards-based age: For grades 6 & up.
Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing.

Resources - 2 articles on Inquiry/Experiential Learning

This aritlce describes a high school social studies experiential learning project where the students renacted an 1840s wagon train. My sharing anecdotes from this experience the author hopes to inspire other teachers to initiate experiential education in their school.

Byerly, S. (2001, May). Linking classroom teaching to the real world through experiential instruction. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(9), 697. Retrieved February 28, 2009 from Academic Search Premier database.


This article states that the ability to conduct inquiry is basic to an understanding of science. The authors present the findings of a study where the authors assessed the ability of students to pursue inquiry. What did the results show? - Teachers need help to move beyond superficial science teaching.

Pine, J. & Aschbacher, P. (2006, December). Students' learning of inquiry in 'inquiry' curricula. Phi Delta Kappan, 88 (4), 308. Retrieved February 28, 2009 from Academic Search Premier database.

Resource/reflection - an impressive learning community

As a result of researching for my wiki book chapter, I've really become interested in learning communities and inquiry and problem-based learning. So over the past week I've been searching the Internet and found some great websites for online collaborative projects and have posted information about some of them. Another one that I discovered is KIDPROJ which is a part of KIDLINK and enables students through high school to join global educational projects. Some of the projects are very short term, some just involve posting artwork or comments, while others involve a longer time committment. While I was browsing the website I came across a map that showed schools participating in current projects and one marker looked like it was in Missouri. The school is in Hannibal and there's a link to the teacher's website http://www.smithclass.org/. Wow! I want to be in his 4th grade class. He has a page for project-based learning (http://www.smithclass.org/proj/projects.htm) where he writes,
"Project Based Learning in a global classroom is about as close as a kid can get to the real world - while being in school all day! We keep a project atmosphere alive in all that we do. That means we stay open-minded about assignments and discussions, recognizing that everybody knows something about something, and nobody knows everything about everything - even the teacher! Students' great ideas often reshape our whole lesson plans! Kids use their thinking skills and communicate, plan, problem solve, create, and evaluate."
That's what being a learning community is all about. His class has friends in the UK, Pakistan, Japan, South Africa and more. There's a class wiki, blog and podcasts. His class participates in Internet chess and actually has matches with classes from several countries. I would love to visit his classroom and see it in action. Hannibal really isn't that far from St. Louis!

KIDPROJ. Retrieved February 25, 2009 from http://www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/index.html

Smith, T. (2009). Terry Smith's 4th Grade 2008-09. Retrieved February 25, 2009 from http://www.smithclass.org/

Reflection/Resource - CIESE

Here's another site that offers online projects. CIESE (The Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education) began in 1988 with a goal of improving K-12 science and mathematics education through the use of technology. According to the curriculum overview page "CIESE curriculum projects use ‘real-time’ data from government and commercial databases; engage students in telecollaborative projects using ‘pooled’ data from shared, Web-based databases; involve student publishing on the Web; and provide access to unique and primary source information." This link http://www.ciese.org/currichome.html will connect you to the K-12 projects. I wish I could get some teachers in my school to participate in one of these online projects. They hesitate to get involved with projects because of the emphasis on preparing for the state test (MAP). The more I read about constructivism and project-based learning the further I feel my district is moving away from this type of learning. Everything is curriculum and grade-level expecation and testing, testing, testing. Teachers get so focused (and feel pressured) on the "what" they have to teach that I think they feel they have to be the "fountain of knowledge". I think we're making many students more dependent on the teacher rather than independent learners.

Resource - iEARN

iEARN(International Education and Resource Network) provides opportunities for teachers and students around the world to collaboratively use technology to enhance education and improve the world. There are over 150 projects that are designed and facilitated by teachers and students to fit their curriculum and classroom needs and schedules. Every project not only meets curriculum needs but also has to answer the question, "How will this project improve the quality of life on the planet?" These projects are great ways to establish global learning communities. Learn more about these collaborative projects at http://www.iearn.org

Resources/reflection - science videos

As I was searching this week for information in the Webster library catalog for my wkikbook chapter on learning communities, I discovered an online professional development video on inquiry learning in science. When I accessed it I realized that most teachers in the St. Louis area also have access to this Annenberg Media website (learning.org) through MOREnet. In order to access these professional development videos through Webster you do need to create an account. I watched the 1 hour video "Setting the Stage: Creating a Learning Community" which is the second workshop in the series Learning Science Through Inquiry. This series consists of 8 -1 hour videos for K-8 science teachers. "Setting the Stage: Creating a Learning Community" presented segments of science lessons showing strategies that teachers use to establish a learning culture in an inquiry classroom. It was interesting to see actual lessons and how students responded to these strategies and activities. I also enjoyed watching how the teachers interacted with the students and established interpersonal relationships. One statement in the video that really stood out was that before starting an inquiry activity the teacher must consider the amount of experience each child has previously had working independently. You can't just expect every child to be ready for this approach.

Private Universe Project in Science is another series availabe through Annenberg Media and includes 9 -90 minute video workshops for K-12 science teachers. The first workshop includes an introduction to constructivism and the final workshop is "Constructivism: A Vision for the Future".


Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. (1995). Private universe project in science. Retrieved February 16, 2009 from http://www.learner.org/resources/series29.html

Thirteen/WNET New York. (2000). Learning science through inquiry. Retrieved February 16, 2009 from http://www.learner.org/resources/series129.html