Chapter six: text review

Chapter Six: text review

I was reading chapter six, I was somewhat overwhelmed. But I was soon able to understand why the constructivist philosophy was critical. The text states, "The constructivist philosophy of education helps teachers create a curriculum that is meaningful and adaptable to a rapidly changing world. Constructivist teachers believe that students create meaning based on their experiences, ideas, and perceptions. When students face real, motivating learning activities and problems posed by teachers, learning becomes meaningful for students."The constructivist philosophy explains that students learn better using real-life examples rather than having information thrown at them. This chapter also gave me an overview or background about content knowledge and cultural literacy. The text states, "The concept of cultural literacy, content knowledge about cultural information, references, and allusions, is often identified with E. D. Hirsch, Jr. Hirsch is the author of books that identify what he considers to be essential content knowledge for all Americans. Some schools have adopted Hirsch's Core Knowledge® approach in designing the curriculum for their schools." By using real-life examples, information may become more meaningful to students. I also learned about how vital cooperation was in history. The text states, "Throughout American history, there are many examples of neighbors helping each other. In a CBS News American Spirit video example, community members help a neighbor who has lost his barn to fire. Democratic classroom communities provide opportunities for children to experience the benefits of working together that have been such an important part of the American tradition." I was also able to learn about democratic classrooms and the factors which help a domestic classroom function. The text states, "Democratic classroom communities are found in classrooms where teachers model and implement the ideals and practices of American democratic society. While these classrooms are productive places where learning takes place, they also provide experiences that are important for children's success in school and for their future responsibilities as American citizens." 

The text also explains five significant factors which make the classroom function. These factors, as stated in the text, are:

1. They feel safe and secure in the class.
2. They experience academic and social success.
3. They identify areas of personal talent and interest.
4. They feel accepted by other children and adults.
5. They contribute to the success of the class and view themselves as an important part of the class.

The text also explains activities a teacher can use to help students work well together. The text states "Group building activities help to remove barriers for working together by building trust, providing successful experiences in working together, and fostering mutual acceptance. Group building activities help to build class morale and to develop team spirit. While some time is necessary for group building activities to take place, these activities are an essential part of a democratic classroom community." The group building activities are a great thing for teachers to use at the beginning of the year to get a feel for who their students are as people. Democratic classrooms are excellent but may also have many problems. These problems as states in the text "include conflict with peers, bullying, and cliques."

The text also explains how class meetings are beneficial to a democratic classroom. The text describes the purposes a class meeting can have. As stated in the text, the goals of a class meeting are as follows: 

1. Sharing and celebrating meetings – used to share positive information and compliments with other students and to celebrate individual and group successes in the classroom
2. Check up meetings – used to evaluate how well things are going in the classroom and how well students are working together and getting along
3. Review meetings – used to review rules, procedures, or other information that students may be forgetting and to determine if changes are needed
4. Problem solving meetings – used to discuss individual and group concerns
5. Planning meetings – used to plan for class projects and for activities such as a field trip. Additional suggestions for using classroom meetings can be found in an Edutopia article.