Big Idea: A mixture of nurture and nature develop knowledge in children. This includes their natural eagerness to learn and to become familiar with the world around them, as well as to associate with the people around them. This is very important from the time they are born because they begin to develop these skills as very young children.
Activity: An activity that could include both of these aspects would be one in which each student would be given a different object to observe. Time would be given to this student to figure out the function of the object, to play around with the object, and to simply observe characteristics of the object. They are able to discover by themselves different aspects of the object. After students have observed their objects, they would form into groups of maybe three or four people. They would then share their observations in that group and see what the other students had to say about their object. This allows for social experiences for each of the students.
Reflection: This diagram is very different from my first one because it incorporates much more than hands-on learning, which is what I originally thought was the way in which most students learn. However, after reading Module 7 and Piaget's theory, I have expanded my thoughts on learning. I know hands-on learning is important, but other types of learning and ways of gaining knowledge are vital in early development. Piaget's four factors of students thinking (biological maturation, active exploration in physical environment, social experiences, and equilibrium) all play a significant role in development and should not be overlooked in the classroom.
Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your idea for an activity that students could participate in while using both individual and social constructivism. The task of observing and object and trying to come up with its function would stimulate the students' thinking as well as get them interacting with the subject they are trying to figure out.
I do agree with you that hands-on learning is not the ONLY way students should learn. Children's development can be enhanced through many different mediums as you have explained in your post.
One critique I have has to deal with your explanation of nature vs. nurture. I feel that your examples may be a little confusing. Nature has to deal with childrens' natural curiosity and ways of thinking because of their instinct. Nurture has more to deal with the way that their environment has shaped their thinking. For example, if a teacher has taught the student to investigate the objects in a certain way (using 5 senses to record characteristics), and the student tries to figure out the function of the object in this way, this would be a sign of how that student has learned through nurture.
one thing i see about the activity of observing is that the kids need to learn how to make observations first. color, shape, texture,ect. Observing is a skill in itself. I like that you said they should try and guess what the object is used for. This would be a great way to work on the scientific concept of hypothesis.
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