Constructivism and Social Constructivism - Post 5

Over the past few weeks, we have been learning about different learning theories and how we can use the computer to facilitate some of the ideas expressed in the theories. First of all, I remember studying about most of these theories in undergrad, but I did not remember them all. Secondly, I have always referred to myself since the beginning of this course as a constructivist teacher. Although I believe I possess some of the aspects of that theory, I also feel I am a social constructivist, behaviorist, and cognitivism teacher also. I think there is a place in the classroom for all the different theories depending on your make-up of students and the learning experience you want your students to have. An example would be that sometimes I am constructivist because I want my students to think for themselves and create things rather than working with a group. Some students work better by themselves and I want to give them this opportunity. On the other hand, I am also a big advocate of social constructivism because I think collaborative groups are essential to students constructing knowledge. I think they are essential because students learn so much from each others schema and background knowledge. Different students have different experiences that they can share with their classmates. Next, I also believe in some cases I believe in the ideas of cognitivism because it is also based on experiences you go through in order to process different ideas you are having. Lastly, although I agree with this one the least, I do have some behaviorism concepts taught in my room though the computer and a program called Fast Math that students use to become fluent in their Math facts. Although I am not totally sold if it really works to help them retain the facts, it is worth a try for some students that are not getting it otherwise.
Overall, I have enjoyed having a refresher of all the different learning theories and how important they are in thinking about HOW our students learn! They need to be able to think about their thinking and build on what they know to be true learners!