scholarly essay (sarbit)

8/12/2019 Scholarly Essay (Sarbit)

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Using Twitter To Effectively Support SocialConstructivist Learning Environments in the

Upper Elementary Classroom

Emma SarbitDecember 2012

ETEC 511


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Introduction:

Youd better start swimming or youll sink like a stone; for the times, they

are a changing. With these lyrics Bob Dylan foreshadowed !stcentury

education where a notable shift is occurring from teachers teaching with

technology, to students learning with technology. "his change, made #ossible by

a$ailable social software, is increasing the feasibility of using a social

constructi$ist a##roach to achie$e dee#er and more meaningful learning in the

u##er elementary school classroom %odark, ''(). "he #ur#ose of this #a#er

is to describe the theory of social constructi$ism, e*#lain one #articular as#ect of

social software %social networking, s#ecifically "witter), and finally, link the two by

showing how educators can utili+e this tool to im#ro$e the social learning

en$ironment in their classrooms.

Social Constructivism (Epistemology and Pedagogy:

&ocial onstructi$ism attem#ts to address how students naturally learn

best. "he theory is built u#on the notion that a learners creation of knowledge is

dynamic, constantly changing, and a result of social interactions with other

students, teachers and the world-at-large. t em#hasi+es the role of social

relationshi#s in the de$elo#ment of cogniti$e function and #laces high im#ortance

on language, culture and conte*t in the creation of understandings.

"he early roots of onstructi$ism stem from the educational theories of

/ohn Dewey and /ean 0iaget who focused on how learning is #rocessed and

structured %Brown and 1reen, ''2). Dewey, an 3merican #hiloso#her, set the

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foundation for onstructi$ism by highlighting learning as an interacti$e #rocess.

4e stressed the im#ortance of in5uiry-based learning where students e*#erience

and interact with curriculum, allowing them to #artici#ate their own learning.

0iaget, a &wiss de$elo#mental #sychologist added to these #hiloso#hies by

e*amining the conce#ts of assimilation %how we take in new information or

e*#eriences and incor#orate them into our e*isting thoughts), accommodation

%how ideas are then changed or re#laced based on new information), and

schema %the catalogue of information indi$iduals #ossess).

6e$ 7ygotsky, a 8ussian #sychologist, further de$elo#ed the theory of

onstructi$ism by formally introducing a social as#ect to learning. 7ygotsky

indicated that a learners construction of knowledge was the #roduct of social

interaction, inter#retation and understanding %7ygotsky, !92). 4e belie$ed that

ac5uisition and #artici#ation were synergistic in learning. "hus the birth of &ocial

onstructi$ism, which connects the #rinci#les of constructi$ist thinking to social

settings, where grou#s co-construct knowledge and create a culture of shared

artifacts and meanings.

Characteristics of a Social Constructivist Classroom:

&ocial onstructi$ist classrooms aim to #resent ideas in conte*ts that are

meaningful to students. "hey do this by #ro$iding an a##reciation of multi#le

#ers#ecti$es, embedding learning in realistic and rele$ant conte*ts, encouraging

ownershi# and $oice in the learning #rocess and engaging in social learning

e*#eriences %3nson : iller-ochran, ''9).


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#rocess. "he teacher is encouraged to act as a facilitator to #ro$ide scaffolding

and em#ower students to take res#onsibility for their own learning.

Collaborative/Social Classrooms:

0eo#le learn most effecti$ely when they interact with others %Bandura,

!9==). 3 study from the 4ar$ard &chool of


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understandings. "herefore, in &ocial onstructi$ist classrooms students are not

sim#ly #assi$e reci#ients of knowledge, but instead interact with content through

#roblem-based education, coo#erati$e learning, in5uiry-guided instruction and

other student-oriented methods.

Student$led Culture of "earnin#:

n a &ocial onstructi$ist classroom the res#onsibility of learning lies

within the student. "he teachers role is to #romote in5uisition by challenging

learners to 5uestion, seek understanding, reflect and make sense of their own

learning e*#eriences and those of others. t is acce#ted that indi$idual learners

will construct knowledge differently, as they will each uni5uely ac5uire, select,

inter#ret and organi+e information %3dams, ''2).

Social Software E!ample (Twitter:

&ocial &oftware a##lications are interacti$e communication tools found on

the nternet that su##ort grou# interaction. "hese $irtual s#aces are built around

the notion that many minds are better than one. "hey allow for acti$e co-

construction of meaning and understanding by facilitating and focusing on the

establishment and maintenance of connections and con$ersations between

users %3llen, ''>). ore s#ecifically, social media technologies allow

indi$iduals and organi+ations to create, engage and share content through digital

communication.

"witter is one e*am#le of social media technology. "witter is a #owerful

and con$enient community-controlled microsharing en$ironment that allows

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users to share ideas and resources, ask and answer 5uestions, as well as

collaborate on #roblems %Dunla# : 6owenthal, ''9). t facilitates real-time

interaction by connecting friends, family and co-workers in the e*change of short

%!>' characters or less) res#onses %"witter, n.d.) ndi$iduals utili+e "witter for a

$ariety of #ur#oses, both #ersonal and #rofessional. "he main intentions of

"witter #artici#ants ha$e been categori+ed into daily chatter, con$ersations,

sharing resources and ?86s and re#orting news %/a$a et al., ''=). @rom a

&ocial onstructi$ist educators #oint of $iew, "witter has the #otential to create

dynamic communities of #ractice where learners can collaborate and share

ideas.

Twitter in the Social Constructivist Classroom:

%enefits and Eam!les &or 'nte#ration:

"he introduction of "witter into the classroom o#ens the door to new and

inno$ati$e a##lications of onstructi$ist teaching. Aot only does it engage

students in collaborati$e knowledge building, but it also creates ongoing,

#ur#oseful acti$ity with the ability to o#erate both in and out of the classroom

%3nson : iller-ochran, ''9).

&ocial media technologies such as "witter enable students to interact with

each other and hel# build a sense of community. "hrough their use, students are

challenged to become more socially #resent and #artici#ate more acti$ely in their

own education. @or e*am#le, a student uses "witter to #ost a remark concerning

subect matter brought u# that day in class. Cther classmates oin in on the

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discussion, tweeting their o#inions and #erce#tions. 3s a result of the "witter

feed, students research the conce#t further and hel# one #articular classmate

who is ha$ing difficulties com#rehending the information.

n addition to engaging students in their own learning, using "witter in the

classroom breaks down the traditional boundaries of schooling. t encourages

global connectedness by linking students to a world far beyond their local

community. lassrooms around the world can work together using "witter as a

communication tool. @urthermore, it allows students to continue communication

with classmates and teachers outside of regular school hours. @or e*am#le, a

student is working on her science homework after school but cannot remember

how many 5uestions she is to com#lete. &he immediately tweets her 5uestion

and gets three res#onses within ten minutes. &he also recei$es a comment from

a #racticing #rofessional in the field related to her assignment, #ro$iding her with

some clarification on the subect matter. "witter can also be utili+ed to kee#

#arents informed and in$ol$ed with what is ha##ening in the classroom.

"eachers are able to #ost information about u#coming acti$ities, tests, #roects

and more.

"witters greatest im#act howe$er, may be in the area of social interaction

and collaborati$e learning. "hrough the use of this software, students are

e*#osed to and de$elo# effecti$e strategies for communicating with others,

asking and answering 5uestions and sharing resources %Dunla# : 6owenthal,

''9). "his discourse creates a shared re#ertoire of resources, e*#eriences,

stories and tools, which enable learners to collaborati$ely brainstorm, #roblem,

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sol$e, reflect and subse5uently build knowledge. @or e*am#le, students can

create hashtags %a way to highlight rele$ant keywords or #hrases in order to

organi+e and categori+e "weets) to discuss a no$el they are reading, in essence

creating a collaborati$e online book study. "he teacher can then add o#en-

ended 5uestions regarding the author, #lot or characters in order to encourage

students to res#ond. 3dditionally, at the end of a class students can summari+e

what has been learned that day. "his will then stimulate discussion and

reflection amongst the classmates, #rom#ting increased grou# understanding as

well as reflection. When used as a collaborati$e literacy #roect, students take

turns creating #arts of a story. ?sing hashtags to kee# it all together, each

student takes a turn tweeting the ne*t line of the narrati$e. &tudents can then

collecti$ely re$iew and edit.

aking use of current technologies such as "witter kee#s learning

authentic, as the use of online communities is $ery rele$ant to young #eo#le in

the twenty-first century. 3lthough students may begin using it with information

and #ractices relating to school, they will end u# creating skills transferable to

continuous, lifelong learning that will e*tend far beyond graduation %Brown :

3dler, '')

Challen#es and (otential )isks:

3s #lentiful as the benefits to using "witter in the classroom are, there are

also some #otential challenges and risks to students and educators. Well-

established traditional education methodologies can be difficult to alter for both

teachers and students. any are intimidated by new technological tools and as

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a result, are uneasy about the ac5uisition of skills necessary in order to utili+e

them. 3dditionally, students and teachers need to ha$e ade5uate accessibility to

the hardware re5uired. 3lthough "witter can be utili+ed for free through the web

which re5uires access to a com#uter only, it can also be used through cellular

tele#hones. 4owe$er, if students, #arents or teachers are accessing "witter from

their tele#hones they must be made aware that te*ting or data fees may a##ly.

"he successful integration and use of collaborati$e technology such as

"witter does not ha##en on its own. "eachers need to take the time to carefully

#lan for use as well as monitor the e-learning en$ironment %3nson : iller-

ochran, ''9). 3de5uate su##ort from school administration as well as

#rofessional de$elo#ment o##ortunities should be in #lace.


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concerns. &tudents should be instructed to use a means of identifying

themsel$es $irtually that isnt easily connected to their e$eryday self. @inally,

students need regular reminders of a##ro#riate ways to communicate online

including discussions about tone, language and bullying.

Conclusion:

onstructi$ist learning #edagogies ha$e been altered and em#owered by

the introduction of technology as a learning tool. "he use of social media

technologies in the classroom increases the 5uantity and 5uality of

communication and collaboration between #eers, teachers and e*#erts. "his

leads to the creation of more meaningful learning situations. "witter s#ecifically

allows for the establishment of a #latform that su##orts the e*change of

information and co-construction of knowledge amongst its members. "hrough

the use of "witter, elementary school students will be e*#osed to multi#le

#ers#ecti$es while engaging in the social #rocess of knowledge construction.

?##er elementary school educators wishing to incor#orate social constructi$ist

theories into their classrooms must um# in to social media technologies with

both feet if they want to kee# u# with their !stcentury students. 3s Bob Dylan

suitably said, constructi$ist educations must admit that the waters around %them)

ha$e grown, and acce#t it that soon %theyll) be drenched to the bone.

"eferences:

3dams, 0. %''2) F-(=

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3llen, . %''>) "racing the G!'GtracingHtheHe$o.html

3nson, . : iller-ochran, &. %''9) ontrails of 6earningE ?sing Aew

"echnologies for 7ertical Inowledge-building. om#uters and om#osition %2)##.F->

Bandura, 3. %!9==) &ocial 6earning "heory. 0rentice 4all.

Brown, 3. : 1reen, ". %''2) "he ) "he "imes "hey 3re a-hangin. olumbia &tudios, AY./a$a, 3., &ong, K., @inin, ". : "seng, B. %''=) Why we "witterE ?nderstandingicroblogging ?sage and ommunities. 0roceedings of the /oint 9thW

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