September 12 post

I agree with the author of our textbook that both constructivist and objectivist approaches to education are necessary to best serve learners and teachers. My tendency would be toward the more cooperative and creative approach that focuses on learning to learn and is more natrally motivating to students. But, in today's world of teacher accountability and student testing, an emphasis must be placed on direct instruction where required skills are systematically taught.
Technology can be helpful in making a merger of constructivist and objectivist teaching happen in the classroom. Students develop specific skills through drill-and-practice, instructional games, and tutorials as a part of objectivist learning activities. Multimedia technology and simulation software are best suited for helping students and teachers work cooperatively and creatively in constructivist learning activities and experiences. Technology can also be supportive of either model by creating motivation to learn, making the most of limited personnel and resources, removing physical/logistical barriers to learning, and developing information literacy and visual literacy skills. The text looks to the work of Tennyson (1990) as a guide to dividing time between objectivist and constructivist teaching. He suggests that about 30% of learning time should be spent in direct instruction of skills and procedures and about 70% be spent on the "employment of knowledge (contextual skills, cognitive strategies, and creative processes)".