ExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritique ETEC512ExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritiqueShaunPepperUniversityofBritishColumbiaExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritiqueIntroductionThis paper is an analysis of applied learning theories put into practice in a 6th grade math lesson that has been presented and recorded by the California Department of Education (CDE), on Youtube found here:http://youtu.be/YvIR7M34nk. In order to give the analysis structure,threetheorieswillbeanalyzedbuildingonworkaspresentedbyAlly(2008):1. Behaviourism2. CognitiveTheory/InformationProcessing3. ConstructivismBehaviourism1. Learnersneedtounderstandtheexplicitoutcomesoftheirlearningandthetasktheyarecompleting.There was no explicit outcome stated to guide students throughout the lesson to see if they were learning the behaviour being taught. At the beginning of class she could have started with a learning outcome(s). For example: "By the end of this lesson you will be able to create percents of a number by using one of the three strategies and apply them to any number under 1000". This would provide guidance to the students on what behaviours should be mastered within the class.Then, the explicit outcome should be reinforced throughout the class allowing children to explicitly understand what learning objective(s)theyareengagingwith.2. Thereneedstobeatestofknowledgefortheteacherandstudenttodeterminewhetherornottheyachievedtheoutcome.An exit card was given as a test of knowledge and feedback. This was given after the bingo game. The sooner the feedback, the better response stimulus to cause and ExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritiqueeffect behaviour. Perhaps students would be able to get the feedback of their answers instantly and given homework according to their level. An example of this in practice is builtintosoftwareprogramslikeKhanAcademy.3. ThematerialsmustbesequencedappropriatelysothatconceptsarebuiltupononeanotherThe Teacher started with students demonstrating previous knowledge, by having the students explain previously learned strategiesthen she moved on to having students independently practice, and in the sequence, working in groups and sharing their knowledge and constructing it, and back to individual assessment and feedback. The sequencing was not conducive for building upon previous knowledge as a starting point.A suggestion may be grouping students according to their knowledge and understanding could increase motivation. This motivation to work can engage learners in furtherdiscoveryinthesubjectmatterorcontent.4. Learnersmustreceivefeedbacktomonitortheirprogressinachievingtheoutcome.Multiple feedback tools were used throughout the lesson. This was seen by teacher reinforcement in procedures, such as: you should be saying yes right now and verbal feedback from the teachers and peers, for example, "make sure that everyone in your group has their card filled out and it is correct". This was also seen by use of touch andproximity as theteachermoved around the classroom.Feedback mustbe immediate and have relevance to be effect. If another student is providing feedback, it should be placed in solving a group problem. Feedback given by students toward individualworkcancreatebehaviouraldivides,especiallyinyoungerstudents.ExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritiqueCognitivetheoryandInformationprocessing1. Learningmustfacilitateastimulussensoryresponse(s)(visually,auditorily,kinesthetically)inthechildandaccommodatestorageintoworkingmemory.The Teacher found ways to incorporate visually and auditorily and kinesthetically in her classroom. The talking points were short and usually specific. This is important for learners at the grade 6 level as they do not have the same ability as higher grades to filter out the noise from stimulus. A suggestion, if available, would be to incorporate technology to enable differentiation of sensory stimulus and formats (video, animations, pictures,applications,timelines,andothers).2. InformationthatisimportantinthelessonshouldbehighlightedtomakeitstandoutfromotherinformationThroughout the lesson, besides the recall of the 3 strategies provided, there was no attempts observed to highlight the key important pieces in the lesson. Work on helping students identify important pieces of information. This could be done by having students explore the topic through mind maps and working together as a group about theimportantinformationinaproblemorequation.3. Strategiesshouldallowretrievalfromlongtermmemorytomakeconnectionsandbuildoninformationandstoreitbackintolongtermmemory.Most of the lesson consisted of procedural knowledge. I observed no relationship to practicaleveryday application to allow students to form deep connections. One ExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritiqueexample of coding, was the three strategies mentioned. Having student role play a game where they would have to tip 10% would be one way to have students build on knowledge. This would allow them to have a real experience that they would be able to witnessinreallife.4. Avarietyoflearningstrategiesisoptimalinfacilitatingprocessingandtransferring.There was many different teaching strategies and activities incorporate into the lesson to facilitate stimulus response, coding and retrieval. Students were consistently engaged in participating in the lesson, however they did not have very much autonomy over the learning activities. Students should have autonomy over their learning and application.5. Learningmustbeengagingtothestudentandthestudentmustbemotivated.Students seemed to be engaged in the lesson. The teacher made an effort for every student to become an active participant in the classroom. There is, however, external factors (being videotaped) that could be affecting their behaviour. A suggestion wouldbetoallowstudentstohavechoiceandautonomyintheirlearning. 6. Environmentsthatcanbeapplytoreallifeseemstoallowforbettertransferintolongtermmemory.This was absent in the lesson. There was no reallife transfer of the skills that were observed. By adding applied practical examples of knowledge, transfer to long term memorythroughepisodicmemorycouldbeimproved.ExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritiqueConstructivism 1. Learningisanactivenotpassiveprocess.The learners were constantly active and engaged during the lesson. There were multiple activities individual, group work and instructorstudent lecture or guidance. The culminating activity of bingo could have been more meaningful in achieving higher order thinking. An activity like constructing possible uses fordecimals mightbe more appropriate.2. Learnersneedtoconstructtheirownknowledgenotjustmirrorteacherorbehaviour.Learners were not able to construct their own knowledge in the activities. The modelforteachingalthoughactivedidnotengagelearnersintheirpastexperiences.3. Collaborationandcooperativelearningplaceslearninginrealworldgroupsettings.Collaborationandcooperativelearningwaspresenthoweveritwasusedasfeedbackandreinforcementandstudentsdidnotconstructknowledgetogether.4. Learnersshouldbegivencontroloftheirownprocesses,whenappropriate.This was present in choosing one of the three strategies for solving the math problems.ExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritique5. ReflectionofhowandwhythelearningtaskisimportanttothemThis was not present in the lesson. One strategy to make it clear to students is to formitintoaguidingquestionssuchas:"Howdodecimalsaffectourlife?".6. Learnersrelationshiptocontentiskey.Students visibly appeared to be having fun in the classroom. This means that theirrelationshiptothelearningenvironmentwaspositive.7. Learningshouldalsobeengagingandinteractivewithachancetoengageinaconversationwithapeeroragrouptask.This was present throughout the lesson. Students had multiple opportunities to engage with peers and provide feedback. However, the feedback concerned with the result or answer and not with how students constructed the answer. Better group or peer questions might be How did the people in your group arrive at their answers? or "You think their way is easier or harder than how you arrived at yours? Explain." This creates a more emotionally safe environment, removing students from being wrong or right, and allowsthemtothinkdeeplyabouttheirstrategiesforsolvingtheproblem.ConclusionThelessonpresentedinthevideodemonstrates an instructorled classroom.It emphasises teacherled instruction with activities that are social in nature but not necessarily constructive in allowing students to build on their individual knowledge and apply it in unfamiliar ExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritiquesituations. By attempting to recreate the lesson plan, I wanted to ensure students had the ability to construct their own knowledge and beliefs about the content by forming connections from their own past experiences and that of group members. This is evident in the studentcentric nature of my lesson plan.In doing this, my goal or objective or perspective is to allow students to make deep and meaningful connections that allow for learning to be applied in the realworld and give them the tools and learning to approach and provide evidence based solution to unfamiliarproblems.It is understood that the implication for Allys work was written for online environment, however, it is the authors goal not to separate the online and physical classroom in an attempt of making his analysis and lesson easier to move between a physical and online environment. The lesson he presents will be delivered using a blended approach where students will have to worksynchronouslyandasynchronouslytoaccomplishtheirtaskandinclassandathome.The Lesson Plan attached has been adapted from a Unit plan framework used by International Baccalaureate program related to Year 1 (Grade 6) Math. Since the objective of this paper is to provide only a lesson plan, and not a unit plan, the template has been adapted accordingly.References ExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritiqueAlly,M.(2004).Foundationsofeducationaltheoryforonlinelearning.Theoryandpracticeofonlinelearning,2,1544.BritishColumbiaMinistryofEducation.(2010).Grade6CurriculumPackage.Retreivedfromhttp://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/curric_grade_packages/gr6curric_req.pdfDriscoll.M.P.(2005).PsychologyofLearningforInstruction(pp.384407Ch.11Constructivism).Toronto,ON:Pearson.Farmer,C.(2012).InternationalBaccalaureateMathematicsTeacherTrainingWorkshop.Retrievedfromhttp://www.ibo.org/iba/workshops/documents/CincinnatiMathematicsImplementingtheMiddleYearsProgrammeMYPcurriculum.pdfFudge,D.L.,Skinner,C.H.,Williams,J.L.,Cowden,D.,Clark,J.,&Bliss,S.L.(2008).Increasingontaskbehaviorineverystudentinasecondgradeclassroomduringtransitions:Validatingthecolorwheelsystem.JournalofSchoolPsychology,46(5),575592.Gagn,R.M.(1985).TheConditionsofLearningandTheoryofInstruction(4thEdition).NewYork:CBSCollegePublishing.Gagn,R.M.&Driscoll,M.P.(1988).EssentialsofLearningforInstruction(2ndEdition).NewJersey:PrenticeHallInc.ExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritiqueHare,J.(2006).Towardsanunderstandingofholisticeducationinthemiddleyearsofeducation.Journalofresearchininternationaleducation,5(3),301322.Lutz,S.,&Huitt,W.(2003).Informationprocessingandmemory:Theoryandapplications.EducationalPsychologyInteractive.Valdosta,GA:ValdostaStateUniversity.Retrievedfromhttp://www.edpsycinteractive.org/papers/infoproc.pdfMarzano,R.J.,&Kendall,J.S.(Eds.).(2008).Designingandassessingeducationalobjectives:Applyingthenewtaxonomy.CorwinPress.Orey,M.(2002).InformationProcessing.InM.Orey(Ed.),Emergingperspectivesonlearning,teaching,andtechnology.Retrievedfromhttp://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Information_processingStandridge,M..(2002).Behaviorism.InM.Orey(Ed.),Emergingperspectivesonlearning,teaching,andtechnology.Retrievedfromhttp://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=BehaviorismVonGlasersfeld,E.(2008).LearningasaConstructiveActivity.AntiMatters,2(3),3349.Retrievedfromhttp://antimatters.org/articles/73/public/73661PB.pExploringLearningTheoriesinaGrade6MathClassroom:ALessonPlanCritique