The information contained in these slides was shared by Louise Maine, TeachersFirst Contributor and MySciLife Implementation Coach, during PETE&C's 2017 Annual conference held in Hershey, Pennsylvania on February 12-15, 2017. PRESENTATION OVERVIEW This presentation introduces you to the concept that we are social by nature and learning is a social endeavor for students. See how you can foster interactions between students and enhance learning with collaborative activities adaptable to a variety of technology environments to engage and empower learners. ABOUT TEACHERSFIRST TeachersFirst offers a wealth of K12 teacher-reviewed tools, sites and apps to help teachers infuse technology into their classrooms. Visit www.TeachersFirst.com to discover a wealth of free K12 curricular resources, exclusive lesson plans, and more!

1. Engaging Students with
Social Constructivism
Presented by
Louise Maine
TeachersFirst Contributor and MyScilife Implementation Coach

2. house
What comes to your mind?

3. Any of these?
house

4. What comes to
mind when you
hear the words
Social
Constructivism?
So, what does Social Constructivism mean to you?

5. So, what does Social Constructivism mean to you?
Website and link to Padlets:
https://goo.gl/OQGbzq

6. ...So What is Social Constructivism?
Learning is constructed by the
learners through an active mental
process of development; learners
are the builders and creators of
meaning and knowledge through
social negotiation.
Students learn from each other
while working through problems.

7. Learning is not necessarily an outcome of teaching
● Background and experiences
determine present ideas
● Students search for meaning
in content
● Issues related to students
provide active construction

8. Learning is not necessarily an outcome of teaching
The true direction of the
development of thinking is
not from the individual to
the social, but from the
social to the individual.
Vygotsky

9. What does this mean for students?
● Construct not memorize
● Apply past knowledge
● Listen with empathy
● Think flexibly - RAFT
● Metacognition
● Practice by doing

10. What does this mean for teachers?
“Be open to new possibilities
you must”
● Identify misconceptions
● Scaffold
● Open ended
● Connect to prior
knowledge
● Assessment

11. Why Social learning?
● Exciting
● Relevant
● Meaningful
● Creative
● Interactive
● Challenging
● User Generated Content

12. Collaboration
Effective way to
construct knowledge
● Teamwork
● Discussion
● Open mindedness
● Fluid groups
● Peer learning

13. Background image goes here
Designing a constructivist classroom
● Consider student experience
● Imbalance
● Scaffolding
● Unit flexibility
● Case based scenarios/Issues
● Personification
● Meaningful
● Active Inquiry/problem solving

14. The 5 E’s
● Engage
● Explore
● Explain
● Elaborate
● Evaluate

15. Reflection and assessment
● Question all student answers
● Provide a new lens
● Thoughtful reflection
● Peer assessment
● Assess process

16. MySciLife
● Middle School
● Brings science
to life
● Personification

17. MySciLife is Social Constructivist
● Safe, social learning environment
Students design and maintain
science "identities"
Community of students, interact as
a science concept
individuals learn about one
concept
then interact in a group
create understanding of the
whole

18. MySciLife prompt example

19. Making connections
Prompt
assignment of
chemical
identities

20. Making connections
https://myscilife.org/mycontent/21080

21. Making connections
https://myscilife.org/mycontent/21031

22. Making connections
https://myscilife.org/mycontent/21001

23. Personification
https://myscilife.org/mycontent/20958

24. Personification
https://myscilife.org/mycontent/20932

25. Student thoughts on collaboration
“It felt like one huge classroom
that was spread around the
country.”
“I read their posts and learned so
much new stuff about their
identity and how it related to
mine, and how it lived, and how it
interacted with other organisms.
It was so wonderful to be
corresponding with them and
learning about them and
teaching them about me.”

26. Investigate and discuss
Class traits and student
creation of their pedigrees

27. Personal connection
Habitat and Niche
Students identify
their habitat
and niche

28. Personal choice and working together
Design a Food
Challenge

29. Inquiry
Are fruits and vegetables
made of cells? Prove It!

30. Research and discussion
Sugar and
Marketing

31. Collaborative project
Edible
Cell
Model

32. Collaborative project of watershed
Greenspace Redesign
Project

33. Maker Movement
Design a
Theme
Park Ride
based on
Chinese
Culture

34. Final thoughts
Together we learn
to:
● Combine Ideas
● Construct New
Knowledge
● Share
Information

35. @TeachersFirst
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