Reflection Justifying Instructional Decisions

My approach to instruction is heavily influenced by social constructivism. My instruction

starts with introduction to a phenomenon, an activation of prior knowledge, and a discussion on

misconceptions. During this initial introduction all the students are accessing their own knowledge

to participate in the conversation. There are established rules of conduct in place to insure that

students are respectful with each other and there is no judgement based on what students contribute

to the conversation. The students are involved and I have created an interactive experience between

the students and the content, which is not limited to activities and labs. Because when students are

engaged and challenged, they are more likely able to retain the information that is presented to

them. They are also able to understand the material on a more complex level (Settlage,

Southerland, Smetana, & Lottero-Perdue, 2018).

When the students are conversing amongst each other and with me in an environment of

discovery is generated and they are learning. In my artifact I highlight a portion of my lecture on

the types of blood cells. In the clip I prompt the students to start thinking critically about the

information that is presented to them. For the purposes of a science classroom supporting the

students in this way provides a framework for them to build upon as we move forward in our

lessons. Students are actively participating, collaborating and building knowledge. By opening the

lesson in discussion, the problems and misconceptions that were talk over earlier are known and

can be addressed in the moment, while they are forming, or as the lesson continues. This makes

for easy refutability through evidence that they observe or receive during lecture. It is important

when using this learning theory that once you move on to grouping students, that the students are

paired or grouped evenly based on their strengths and weaknesses. Groups that contain both strong

and weak members help each other. It pushes strong group members to explain, defend and
strengthen their arguments, while pushing weak members to seek help, ask questions, and also

defend, explain and strengthen their arguments.

Interaction with other students is essential to learning, a lot of science does not happen in

a bubble. The instructional strategies that I adopt in my classroom are designed to support learners.

To encourage students innovation through learning creatively which aims to create a thinking

process (Seechaliao, 2017). In both my pre and post assessments the assignment requires the

students to take the information that they have learned or already know and apply it in real world

situations and applications. The assessment is based on application of knowledge and not just

regurgitation.

I want to incorporate technology in my instruction in the classroom as much as I can, I try

to practice these four pedagogical principles: active learning, mediation, collaboration, and

interactivity (Gorder, 2008). Active learning focuses on students performing activities using

technology that helps them learn the content material. Mediation occurs when students and

teachers have the opportunity to interact with one another, and collaboration is when students are

pushed to the forefront of the learning process by collaborating with the teacher and exchanging

information. Finally, interactivity promotes hands-on activities between students and between

students and teachers to promote learning.

Lab work is often done in groups, so the students are getting a glimpse of what working

scientists do every day. It is very important to me for students to feel comfortable in what they

understand, and expressing what they do not understand. Social constructivism gives me the

opportunity to create a supportive learning and trusting learning environment between students

and in turn this creates a stronger one with me.

References
Gorder, L. M. (2008). A study of teacher perceptions of instructional technology
integration in the classroom. The Journal of Research in Business Education, 50(2). 63.

Seechaliao, T. (2017). Instructional Strategies to Support Creativity and Innovation in

Education. Journal of Education and Learning, 6(4), 201. doi:10.5539/jel.v6n4p201

Settlage, J., Southerland, S. A., Smetana, L. K., & Lottero-Perdue, P. S. (2018). Teaching
science to every child: Using culture as a starting point. New York, NY: Routledge.