The idea of generating and testing hypotheses correlates very closely to the learning theory of constructivism. If students are asked to create his/her own learning based on previous experiences, they are in fact making a hypothesis based on previous knowledge. “When students generate and test hypotheses, they are engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge like facts and vocabulary, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content” (2007, pg. 202). When students are engaged in activities where they are doing a task over and over, the lesson begins to be very boring and tedious. If students are shown how to create a spreadsheet of some sort, they are then able to take their learning to a higher level. Another important aspect when creating a spreadsheet for students to use during a lesson, we need to remember that it needs to be student friendly and allow them to manipulate it in a way best suitable for them. “By calling the spreadsheet interactive, we mean that the students will be able to manipulate it, consider graphical patterns, and test their predictions by receiving quick feedback on multiple scenarios” (2007, pg. 204). I feel this type of lesson would be very beneficial for my students because it will be a nice depiction of a graph or table of the information they have gathered or tested.
Resource:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
The ease of the spreadsheet is key, as the tool needs to be a time saver not a time waster...sort of defeats the whole purpose of being able to quickly generate results otherwise. I foresee students being more involved in the learning process when they are able to get answers without all of the "grunt" work involved. But hey that is just my hypothesis;)
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