I have been teaching English and Social Studies to grade 7 and 8 students at a school in Lake Country, B.C. I would like to design an online teaching and learning experience that would be suitable for these classes around the topic of social justice. There are so many interesting things happening in the world right now that could be incorporated into the lessons. I plan to use a combination of the learning theories we have studied this week. Behaviourist elements would include learning outcomes for each module, sequenced material, and quizzes to assess understanding. Cognitivist element examples are different modes of presenting information like readings, visuals, and video, connecting content from a previous module to future modules, and chunking information to prevent overload. Constructivist elements are collaborative and reflective activities, with the opportunity for learners to have control over their learning process. Last, connectivist elements would include being open to a variety of students, networked learning, and the independence of the learners.
References
Ally, M. (2008). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In Anderson, T. (Ed.). The theory and practice of online learning (pp.15-44). Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University Press. Retrieved from “http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/01_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf” \h
January 31, 2021 at 8:30 pm
Hi Aaron,
What a great idea for an online teaching and learning experience. One of the teachers I worked with in my previous school was very passionate about exposing students to social justice issues. In doing so there was a large ME to WE group in the school and the students and staff were working towards having the school declared a UNESCO ASPnet school. She and I were talking recently, and she mentioned that WE.org has a new program called WE Teachers which provides training and resources for teachers. It may be something to look into if you are looking for resources. https://www.we.org/en-CA/our-work/we-schools/we-teachers/
🙂 Abbi
February 1, 2021 at 8:42 pm
Social justice, what a great topic to be delving into! Reading your post reminded me of an article I was recently reading, Becoming Relevant Again (Utecht & Keller, 2019), on the subject of connectivism. The importance of encouraging and modelling connected learning environments for students was discussed. I think your plan for “networked learning” aligns so nicely with the principles of connectivism learning theory. So many possibilities to consider and reflect on diverse opinions.
I wish I could be a fly on the wall in your classroom!
Link to article https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1219672.pdf