technology4kids

2nd Edition: Caregiver study guides

Welcome!_

 

This website is associated with technology4kids, a copyrighted online textbook [URL http://www4.ncsu.edu/~stmullin/Home.html] 2006-2014 by Shirley Mullinax Lombardi with all rights reserved [Library of Congress Registration Number TX 7-333-365], providing children and caregivers access to learning resources. The 1st Edition of this site was originally provided as a public service to teachers who were integrating technology (communication, construction, manufacturing, power & energy, transportation, and medical) into core curriculum; in addition, it serves to link parents to technology resources for enhancing their own education as well as their child's education. The 2nd Edition added Caregiver Study Guides from my dissertation. The Second Edition became only screen captures after moving its domain to a new account. This Edition replaces what was lost. We hope that you find the sites useful, intriguing, and engaging. We invite your feedback and contributions! The blog may be found by clicking this button:

Behaviorism (philosophy of education)

Examples of Teaching Tools: acronyms, rhythmic repetition to memorize rules, flash cards, behavior charts with stickers.

Behaviorists maintain that knowledge is continuously revised as a result of tentative, probabilistic, direct sensory experiences. The Behaviorist perspective asserts that a change in knowledge can be controlled by stimulus/response conditioning where the instructor/caregiver observes, measures, and modifies behavioral changes in a specified direction. The epistemology associated with Behaviorism is empiricism, which defines knowledge as scientific information and observation without regard to subjective or metaphysical realities. Learning is a response to the natural world rather than a priori reasoning, intuition, or revelation. Learning, instigated by sensory experience, is controlled by conditioned responses based on trial and error with positive or negative outcomes that determine what is learned. Behaviorist instructors/caregivers look for observable, measurable patterns to bring about behavior changes. Curriculum and method are guided by scientific inquiry, which include experiments that use validated measurement tools, and research derived solely from experience. Employing scientific method requires that all hypotheses and theories be tested against observations of the natural world rather than resting solely on tradition, intuition, or reasoning. The learning goal for behaviorism is the lowest order of learning: memorization of factual knowledge, skill development, and training.

Cognitivism (philosophy of education)

Examples of Teaching Tools: matching games, puzzles, quizzes.

Cognitivists believe that learning is sequential and that true learning involves rational, logical processes in addition to what is experienced by the senses. The Cognitivist's perspective is based on an individual's sequential development of cognitive abilities, such that mental processes of recognize, recall, analyze, reflect, apply, create, understand, and evaluate are developed through careful guidance by a trained instructor/teacher. The epistemology associated with Cognitivism is rationalism. Rationalists assert that the intrinsically logical structure of reality provides certain truths that the intellect directly grasps. These principles exist in logic, mathematics, ethics, and metaphysics. Also, that these principles are so fundamental to truth that denying them would cause contradiction. Learning occurs when an event, object, or experience conflicts with what the learner already knows; therefore, the learner's previous experiences determine what can be learned; thus, learning is sequential. Initially, the learner organizes his or her understanding in structures called schemata. When something new is experienced, the learner must modify these structures, the schemata, in order to conditionalize or have ownership of the new information. The learning goal is a low order learning of conceptual knowledge, techniques, procedures, and algorithmic problem solving; in other words, solving well-defined problems.

Humanism (philosophy of education)

Examples of Teaching Tools: role playing, book clubs, community action projects.

Humanists give cultivation of the intellect highest priority, they seek enduring truths, and they assert that the essence of nature and humanity does not change. The Humanist perspective emphasizes an in depth knowledge of self and others developed through guided interaction that evokes the affective component of learning to motivate fulfillment of maximum potential. This learning process is needs motivated adaptive learning that accepts humans as rational beings whose minds need to be developed. Perennialism is the epistemology associated with Humanism. Perennialists believe that one should teach the things that one deems to be of everlasting relevance to mankind. This educational philosophy considers development of the person to be the most important topic(s) in education. A particular strategy with modern Perennialists allows the learner to view the human nature aspects of science by teaching scientific reasoning rather than memorization of facts. The illustrations of reasoning in action, with original accounts of famous experiments, reveals all of the ambiguity, vagueness, and false steps of mankind's scientific inquiry. This cultivation of the intellect with respect to human nature and human needs is the humanist definition of a worthwhile education. The curriculum focuses on attaining cultural literacy and stressing the need for growth in the enduring disciplines. The learner develops skills and ideas which have the potential for solving problems in any era. This represents a high order learning: strategy, expertise, procedural knowledge, reasoning, and analytical abilities

Constructivism ( philosophy of education)

Examples of Teaching Tools: projects, lab work, studio work.

Constructivists believe that the learner actively constructs understandings of reality through interaction with objects, events, and people in the environment; reflects on these interactions; then incorporates the new knowledge into existing knowledge. The Constructivist perspective is based on experiential learning through real life experience to construct and conditionalize knowledge. The epistemology associated with constructivism is progressivism. Progressivists place emphasis in educating the whole person with minimal participation by an instructor. This educational philosophy stresses that students should test ideas by active experimentation. Learning is active, not passive. The learner is a problem solver and thinker who develops meaning through individual experience in the physical and cultural world. The learning goal is the highest order of learning: heuristic problem solving, metacognitive knowledge, creativity, and originality.