2 - Learning Theories

 The first day of my service learning was... hectic. There was a mix-up in which classroom I would be helping in, and I ended up spending about 30 minutes in one, and then 30 in another with two different instructors. While it was inconvenient, I actually began to appreciate the ability to sit in on two different teachers from the same department. This allowed me to sort of compare and contrast their teaching styles and the learning theories they employed. 

Both teachers taught 7th grade math. One teacher had me grade a stack of homework, the other had me file things into students folders. I was able to sit in a corner of the classroom for both which allowed a great position to observe.

Right away I THINK I was able to discern that both of the teachers were using constructivism. My biggest hint for this was that they both seemed to be using a reward-based motivation for their students to compete their work. In my first classroom, the teacher opened the lesson by reminding her students that they would not have homework over the weekend if they turned in their chapter practice questions. In the second class the teacher gave extra credit points to students who participated in a "math-off" by going up to write problems on the board. In my understanding of constructivism, this second activity also adheres to it by making learning a social experience. The students in the seconds class were far more excited and engaged during the "game" that their teacher provided rather than in the first when they just had to listen.

Another thing I think both of them did that displayed constructivism was that they tried to get their classes to figure out problems on their own before they showed them how it was done. They would ask questions that got the students to think and many of them were able to solve the problems without explicitly being told how by the teacher. I think this more "guided approach" was rather successful and I think the students are going to be able to remember the lesson!

Overall it was a good experience, though I do hope my next visit goes a bit more smoothly!