Engaged Learning Workshop Series
Learning about Constructivist Practices by
Engaging in Them
Session 1 - Restructuring Lessons and Classroom Context to Include Engaged Learning Tools
Designed and Facilitated by:
Susan Belgrad, Ed.D.
Professor of Education
California State University Northridge
818-677-4901
Objective: Work in a small group to share your lesson materials and how they have already helped you to achieve student understanding of the concepts they promote. After each group member has described the lesson materials, the group will select one which could be most easily modified using the following strategies and tools.
a. Can be used as a cooperative learning activity
b. Can begin with primary sources or an important question/hook.
c. Can immerse students in using a variety of learning styles/senses
d.
Can lend itself to assessing both content and performance of students
using thinking skills, social skills and “intelligent behaviors.”
CHARACTERISTICS OF INTELLIGENT BEHAVIOR
How might you build these habits of mind into the context of your restructured lessons?
ü Check those that might apply as you brainstorm on ideas for the lesson.
[ ] Persistence
[ ] Decreasing impulsivity
[ ] Empathic listening
[ ] Flexibility in thinking
[ ] Metacognitive awareness
[ ] Checking for accuracy
[ ] Questioning
[ ] Problem posing
[ ] Drawing on past knowledge
[ ] Application to new situations
[ ] Precision of language and thought
[ ] Using all the senses
[ ] Ingenuity, originality, insightfulness and creativity
[ ] Inquisitiveness, curiosity
[ ] Enjoyment of problem solving
Reuven Feuerstein
Arthur Costa
CONSTRUCTIVIST LEARNING PRACTICES
Review this list to select at least five characteristics that might be built into your restructured lesson.
ü Check those that might apply as you brainstorm on ideas for the lesson.
o Encourage and accept student autonomy, initiative and leadership.
o Whenever possible, use raw data and
primary sources along with manipulative,
interactive and physical
materials.
o When framing tasks, use cognitive terminology like classify, analyze,
predict, and so on.
o Allow student thinking to drive lessons. Shift instructional strategies of alternative content based on student responses.
o Ask students for their theories about the concepts before sharing the
facts or background of these concepts.
o Encourage students to engage in dialogue both with the teacher and
with one another.
o Seek elaboration of students’ initial responses.
o Pose contradictions to students’ hypotheses (in diplomatic ways) and
then encourage alternative responses.
o Encourage student inquiry by asking thoughtful, open-ended questions
and encouraging them to ask questions of others.
o Allow wait time after posing questions.
o Provide time for students to discover relationships and to create
metaphors about the topics of their learning experiences.
o Encourage students to reflect on experiences and actions, and then
participate in deciding future activities or predicting future outcomes.
2. Use the tools provided to you in M & M Math or Amazing Egg Drop as well as the Constructivist Practices Rubric to work together on a lesson throughout this session.
3. Work together during the session to prepare your lesson plan for teaching the remainder of the workshop group.
4. Make sure you create an assessment form to evaluate how you will know the restructured lesson is successful (members of the group will assist in making suggestions for improvement).
Engaged Learning Lesson Template
How will you embed the direct instruction in the beginning of your lesson? How will you promote active exploration, hypothesis testing and construction of new ideas? (Dimensions of Teaching and Learning)
Suggestion: Use the direction sheets provided in the introductory activity as a template that will assist you.
PART I Directions
A. Introduction of Lesson “Getting Started”
B. Demonstration when needed
C. Teams form and assign roles. (15 minutes)
Note: This has to be a smooth transition—little wait time should occur between the conclusion of directions and the teams acquiring the materials and beginning their work.
Part I I Teams Begin the Exploration and Prediction (20 minutes)
Note: How will you facilitate during this time? Will you use this time to assist individual learners who have difficulty with cooperative work? Will you observe and assess using a checklist?
PART III Teams begin trials (activity) (30 minutes)
PART IV Teams engage in processing of the activity results
(Create Processing Worksheets) (30 - 60 minutes)
Note: This step is extremely important for students to reflect on the content learned, the questions and ideas which occurred during the activity and an opportunity to reflect on social skills and set goals for future responsibilities in individual and group work. Will you include a graphic organizer, simulation, presentation of outcomes so students demonstrate their achievement of lesson goals and objectives?
PART V Teams present outcomes to the group. Group responds with questions and comments and silent cheers or energizers.
PART VI Teacher leads group in processing entire sequence of lesson.
Sharing comments and questions and setting goals for future work. For example: Assignment of expert teams for problem based learning.
Elements of Engaged Learning Curriculum Planning
To begin constructing lessons or units that will meet the learning needs of all students, the following questions can be considered:
1. What educational purposes should the lesson attain?
consider the learner
consider the learning community
consider the subject matter
screen through belief about how learning occurs
state in terms of behavior and content
2. How can the learning experiences be selected which are likely to be useful in attaining these objectives?
The Learning experiences are:
consistent with your objectives
satisfying to the learners (intrinsically motivating, mix of individual and collaborative work and responsibility)
variable (engages multiple intelligences)
multiple effects (outcomes can lead to varied study and thinking)
3. How can the learning experiences be organized for effective instruction?
Continuity (direct instruction through engaged learning/construction)
Presence of breadth and depth (of content exploration/construction)
Integration (several subject areas or skills are employed)
4. How can the effectiveness of learning experiences be evaluated?
assessment of learning objectives (rubrics of learning outcomes are presented)
assessment of learning dispositions, social skills, intelligent behaviors
assessment of lesson effectiveness – opportunity to fine tune is built in to the lesson evaluation questions
Adapted from Tyler, R. W. 1949. Basic principles of curriculum and instruction .Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
How might you assure engagement of many kinds of intelligence into the context of your restructured lessons?
ü Check those that might apply as you brainstorm on ideas for the lesson.
[ ] Verbal
[ ] Visual/Spatial
[ ] Logical Mathematical
[ ] Musical
[ ] Intrapersonal
[ ] Interpersonal
[ ] Body/Kinesthetic
[ ] Naturalistic
Howard Gardner
Follow
this Link to the Amazing Egg Drop 
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