module+3

Hi guys, here is a modified draft of the draft of the draft........he he he he. The word count is 505words and I think I've incorporated everything we spoke about on Tuesday night in Chat. Let me know what you think? I will post it onto the discussion board as soon as the server lets me into the blackboard.....have been trying for a couple of hours now.The only think missing from this one is the page number for the quote in the second paragraph.....can anyone remember what it was? That was me (Jess) I've added the page number now :) but I've just noticed there's another one with ??? in para 4 from Killen not sure about that one sorry ...anyway, here it is: ﻿ HI(leah here) this looks really good girls, great work! Possibly need to change the conclusion around so we not ending on a quote.

Hi (Jody here) I have found the missing page number....and have added a sentence to the end of the draft as a conculsion.....not sure if you like it??? Hi (Leah here) i think this still needs a bit of work on it, i agree with Kelly about the conclusion. also the Vialle in text reference is very clunky, do we need to list the three authors in text? Hi (Jess here) I have copied over Cass's intro and conclusion ready fro tonight....it is 502 words :)

Hi Cass here, that quote was left over from previous work and i have deleted it 21/10

====Discussion based learning can help teachers educate in ways that are consistent with Piaget’s theory of cognitive development by prompting active investigation beyond the student’s existing knowledge base. Social environments and co-operative learning strategies coupled with opportunities for effective discussions with peers, all contribute to a child’s cognitive development and are in line with Piaget’s theory. ====

====Piaget’s theory of constructive learning suggests that children learn through investigation and actively construct learning into knowledge. As Piaget explained, knowledge is acquired through the process of organisation and adaptation of existing knowledge, which modifies an individual’s mental structures. Adaption involves either assimilation or accommodation where knowledge is blended to fit with current understandings (Vialle, Lysaght & Verenikina 2005:26). Furthermore, Piaget believed children's mental structures are modifiable through experiences and discussions can provide such a learning experience. Students develop their meta cognitive skills by discussing concepts that address their own thinking process (Killen 2009:150). ====

==== Piaget found that children make discoveries by socially interacting with peers, family and teachers which is developmentally significant (Vialle, Lysaght & Verenikina 2005:29). D iscussions can help give students the opportunity to gain understanding of new concepts rather than more traditional style teaching encounters (Hoyles 1985 & Karr 1988 cited in Killen 2009:150). In this type of environment, students can move from seeing learning as the memorisation of facts to a collective understanding (Killen 2009:216). Importantly, students are also exposed to a variety of opinions and perspectives, enriching knowledge by assimilating or accommodating their own knowledge (Killen 2009:150). Cooperative learning strategies, including those that involve discussion, can change students’ views about learning. ====

==== As outlined by McInerney and McInerney (2006:38), the essentials of a Piagetian personal constructivist perceptive found teachers should guide students to ask questions, find their own answers, and discuss these with peers. Well-organised discussion involves all students sharing thoughts, listening to others opinions, reviewing their own views, applying their knowledge and reflecting on their attitudes and values (Killen 2009:147). When using discussion as a learning tool in the classroom, a student has to firstly determine their own ideas, then through discussion thoroughly examine their thoughts and ideas by comparing and defending these against other class members (Vialle, Lysaght & Verenikina, 2005:43). This will facilitate the process of accomodating and assimilating information. Motivation also can improve amongst students when it is clear that others value their thoughts and respect their opinion (Killen 2009:150). An additional benefit of discussion-based learning is that it provides opportunities to ‘build on the familiar’ which is also in line with Piaget’s theory (Hill 2006:63). ====

====In conclusion, Piaget theorises that a child’s mental structure can be modified by their experiences and that children gain intelligence by organising and adapting existing knowledge to new information. Discussion based learning provides an environment that enables new information to be investigated and allows the student to compare this information with their current knowledge and then defend their ideas. This creates a social experience capable of changing a student’s views of learning thus making discussion based learning consistent with Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. ====



References:

Hill, S. 2006, Developing early literacy: Assessment and teaching, Eleanor Curtain Publishing, Prahran, Vic.

Killen, R. 2009, Effective Teaching Strategies Lessons from Research and Practice, Cengage Learning Australia, South Melbourne

McInerney, D. M. & McInerney, V. 2006, Educational Psychology Constructing Learning, 4th edn, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forrest NSW

Vialle, W., Lysaght, P. & Verenikina, I. 2005, Psychology for Educators//,// Thomson Social Science Press, South Melbourne, Vic.

How can the use of discussions help you to teach in ways that are consistent with Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?

I had a go at reordering a few things and smoothing out some sentences, the last paragraph is a little bit repetitive if you look at content in para 3, not sure if it can be reworked to sound less repetitive or a conclusion. I will have another read tomorrow with fresh eyes. Also i combined the odd sentence so lost a few words. Jess 12:10pm 14/10/10 (currently 437 words)

Piaget’s theory of constructive learning suggests that children will learn through investigation and actively construct learning into knowledge. Piaget explained knowledge is acquired through the process of organisation or adaption of existing knowledge which will modify an individual’s mental structures. Further to this, adaption involves either assimilation or accommodation where knowledge is blended to fit with current understandings (Vialle et. al. 2005). Students develop their meta cognitive skills using discussions by looking at their own thinking process (Killeen 2009:150). Piaget believed children’s mental structures are modifiable through experiences (Piaget & Inhelder 1969 cited in Vialle et. al. 2005:26) and discussions can provide such a learning experience.

Socially interacting with peers, family and teachers was found by Piaget to be significant developmentally due to these situations enabling the child to make discoveries (Vialle et. al. 2005:29). In this environment, students are exposed to a variety of opinions with a variety of perspectives (Killeen 2009:150) enriching knowledge by assimilating or accommodating their own knowledge. Cooperative learning such as using discussions, can change students’ views about learning. Students move from seeing learning as the memorisation of facts to a collective understanding (Killen 2009:216).

The essentials of a Piagetian personal constructivist perceptive for education, as listed by McInerney & McInerney (2006:38) found teachers should teach learners to ask questions, find their own answers and discuss with peers. In using discussions in the classroom, a student has to determine their own ideas, then through discussion thoroughly examine their thoughts and ideas by comparing these against others class members and answer questions on their contributions should others critic them (Killen 2009:150, Vialle et. al. 2005:43). During discussions, students interact with the content that is most important in the learning process and this facilitates the process of synthesising and integrating information (Killen 2009**:????**). Motivation can improve amongst students when it is clear that others value their thoughts and respect their opinion (Killen 2009:150).

A well organised discussion involves all students sharing thoughts, listening to others opinions, reviewing their own views, applying their knowledge and reflecting on their attitudes and values’ (Killen 2009:147). Teachers should be involved to control the input and to encourage responses (Vialle et. al. 2005:43). Throughtout discussions, Teachers can point out differences in opinions or discussion points of the topic. If the information contains contradictions, errors or omissions or would benefit from an opposing opinion, the Teacher can lead the discussion on a different path (Vialle et. al. 2005:44). Discussions have also been said to give the student the opportunity to gain understanding of new concepts, rather than more traditional style teaching encounters (Hoyles, 1985 & Karr, 1988 cited in Killen 2009:150).