Background+Theory+and+Key+Principles

 Active Discussion Board This page has an active discussion board for you to discuss the different theories and principles outlined below, and how they may be used in your own classrooms.

= Key Theories and Principles = 

** Constructivism **
This method of teaching places students as active participants in the learning process. The teacher's role is often characterized as the "guide on the side", rather than the "sage on the stage" method found in traditional classrooms. Please see more. 

Communities of Practice
These learning communities are either classroom, school-wide or on-line communities that build on Vygotsky’s theories that knowledge is constructed through social interactions and exposure. Having laptops in the classrooms can allow for greater construction of collaborative learning communities for students. Students can use tools to share ideas, information, reflections and resources both with each other, with their teachers and with learners outside their own school. Please see more.  ** Distributed Cognition **

Distributed cognition is not a theory, but rather a theoretical approach to learning; evaluating not only what goes on inside the learner's head, but also understand interactions with others, and their environment. Online environments and 1-to-1 classrooms lend themselves to collaborative environments; distributed cognition seeks to understand how groups collaborate and construct knowledge together. Please see more.

21st Century Skills
Many people, including our students, decry the fact that our to schools are, to some extent, teaching 19th century skills in the 21st century. In 2007, [|this video] created by Kansas State professor Michael Wesch and 200 of his students which highlights this rift was one of the most watched on Youtube. Educators are still debating what 21st Century Skills are, but there are certain congruencies in these discussions that are worth noting. Please see more.