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Illustrations of a constructivist approach to transform and assess the teaching and
learning process in introductory science and education courses.
Carmen Bellido, Ph.D
Division of Education and Professional Studies, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
[email protected]
Abstract (300 words)
One of the results of the Collaborative for the Excellence on Teacher Preparation of
Puerto Rico (PR-CETP), has been to bring together a group of professors from Biology,
Physics and Education and motivate them to improve their courses. In this panel we will
present and discuss content-based examples to illustrate our approach to promote
discovery and transform traditional lessons. The common denominators of our
methodology are constructivism, active learning and authentic assessment.
Examples from Physics will assess misconceptions on the behavior of falling objects and
the use of peer discussion and technology to overcome them. In Biology, we will show
how the application of biotechnology to relevant problems serves to clarify the
underlying biological concepts. The use of pictorial representations to identify
misconceptions in conditioning learning theory will be modeled within an educational
psychology setting. Finally, we will use examples from pseudoscientific theories to
demonstrate how critical thinking skills are essential for objective interpretations of
scientific data.
Abstract (50 words)
A team of Biology, Physics and Education professors will present and discuss contentbased examples to illustrate their approach to promote discovery and transform their
lessons into constructivist ones, promoting authentic assessment. A common theme of
content-based, student-centered activities will provide the framework for this panel
discussion.
Thinking in pictures; the use of pictorial representations as a learning and
assessment tool.
We are intensely visual animals. The eyes contain nearly 70 percent of the body’s
sensory receptors and send millions of signals along the optic nerves to the visual centers
of the brain. It is not surprising that the visual components of a memory are so robust and
that it is why visuals are powerful retention aids that also serve to increase understanding.
The ability to transform thoughts into images is often viewed as a test of true
understanding[1]. In the exercise that I ask my students to do they have to translate their
understanding of classical learning key concepts into a visual example. This serves as
learning and assessment tool, notwithstanding their ability to draw and also lets me
pinpoint what could be confusing or vague in my explanations. It is an exercise that could
be used in any kind of course.
The process is very simple. I start by showing them in a transparency a picture that
frequently appears in textbooks illustrating the central concepts of classical conditioning
(see Figure 1 [2]). After a brief explanation of the theory, I ask the students to work in
pairs to make a list of all the key terms that either appear or are implied in the illustration.
When they finish the list, we write it on the blackboard to make sure that everybody has
the complete list. Then I ask them to continue to work in pairs to draw an original
example of a learning situation (either in people or animals) that could be explained with
the classical conditioning theory, following much or less the same format that appeared in
the book. I give them 8 to 10 minutes to finish their work in a sheet of paper showing all
the key terms of the list in their example and then I collect them. I evaluate the
illustrations in terms of accuracy and completeness in the usage of the concepts to discuss
it on the next class.
Trough this simple exercise it is demonstrated what the students have understood of the
lesson and is interesting to notice the wide variability in their explanations. Often the
concepts are confused with elements of other theories of learning (as those of operant
conditioning) allowing me to address these misunderstandings on time. I used several
approaches to correct them in the next class. Sometimes, I use students who demonstrate
correct understanding of the terms to explain others that did not.
Oftentimes I make transparencies of pictures that show frequent incorrect usages of the
key terms (making sure they are from past year sessions and without the name of the
authors) for a group discussion. It is a version of the game “what is wrong with this
picture” that results in a simple and pleasant way of engaging the students to probe their
own understanding of the lesson. As educators many times we assume that because we
show it with a picture from the book it its so clear, that everybody understood
immediately what we want to communicate. Now picture, how wrong we could be!!
Figure 1. From Lifespan Development, 1997.
[1]
Wolf, P. 2001. Brain Matters: Translating research into classroom practice Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
[2]
Seifert, K, Hoffnung, R., Hoffnnung, M. 1997. Lifespan Development. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin
Company (p.42)