Connectivism in Your Discipline

As it is, the profession I am aspiring to enter into is elementary school teaching. With this, I feel that the foundation of the connectivist theory is already applied in a classroom environment; however, it does not come without challenges in the online sphere. At this moment, my own knowledge in elementary school teaching and online integration is still very limited. Even with the influence of the pandemic speeding up the process of online integration, there is still much to be learned about the effect of online learning environments and young learners.

I chose this topic because the integration of online learning with elementary school children is important in order to develop technologically literate students. “(We are) going from an industrial economy to an informational economy. We are currently educating students for jobs that do not exist yet.” – Sal Amin Khan, Most Likely To Succeed, 2015.

In exploring the principles of connectivism and considering the potential challenges, I compiled some takeaways for a classroom environment.

1. Mode of Teaching

Connectivism is a set of principles that supports a learning environment that is student-centered while focusing on building networks within social spaces. The set of principles include: decision-making, up-to-date knowledge, holistic connection across various fields, nurturing relationships for continual learning, and at its core that knowledge rests in the diversity of perspective, opinions and lived experiences. Within this, the role of a teacher is to facilitate learning instead of instructing it. This has already been implemented in classroom environments for a number of years with foundational philosophies that date back to Rousseau in Emile in which some ideas are echoed by Dewey. Dewey believed an instructor’s mission was to guide students to handle social influencers and to foster a continual construction of knowledge. So that being said, not too much would change in the field of elementary education. I believe there is already an understanding that learning is chaotic, however with younger learners there may be more structured chaos.

2. Learning Activities

Under connectivism, learning activities are structured keeping in mind 4 key activities: aggregation, relation, creation, and sharing.

  • Aggregation: Learners are encouraged to gather information from a variety of sources that are available to them. This can include books, articles, newspapers, magazines (both physical and digital), professionals and social media. However, learners must first develop the knowledge and skill set to navigate what is a reliable and up-to-date source of information. 
    In this age range, navigating information is a primary focus. What some teachers have done in the past is create a website about a particular topic that students must then do research on (i.e. a species of seaweed and its health benefits). This site would be laced with false information without the students’ knowledge. The idea, to see if they could gather additional information to back up the claims on this site or debunk them.
  • Relation: Learners are exposed to learning material that connects to a variety of subjects that build off previously learned material. They use personal experience and knowledge to connect to the present material and make meaning. They are able to analyze information in one area and use it in relation to other content in a holistic approach. This practice ensures they engage in critical thinking and develop understanding in how to recognize and apply a variety of relationships and patterns from one area to another. This practice can be reinforced by allowing learners to have time to reflect on their learning.
  • Creation: Learners are able to utilize a wide range of skills to express their learning. This can include anything that is auditory, visual, text, or digital. The important thing is that they create a documentation of their learning and are able to identify what they have learned and why they created that artifact.
  • Sharing: Learners are prompted to share their knowledge, thoughts, and learning artifacts with others. This can be demonstrated by sharing in partners, groups, class discussions, the school, or the wider community. By sharing, learners build confidence in their voice and are more likely to build stronger community ties.

3. Assessments

Within connectivist practices, assessments would focus on a learner’s abilities by ways of how they express their learning and not by traditional assessments such as tests. This would include methods and approaches such as:

  • Authentic Assessment: ​​a form of evaluation that uses creative learning experiences in “real-life” or realistic situations to test students’ skills and knowledge. It requires students to apply what they’ve learned in new, complex circumstances. It asks students to engage in scenarios or practices that are complex, realistic, and sometimes messy. This form of assessment is typically scaffolded throughout a course or class and allows the instructor to provide feedback so that students can continue to develop in said area.
  • Multimodal Approach: This approach focuses on how children make meaning using a wide range of modes that they have developed. As children utilize these modes it empowers them to take control of their learning and to generate new and diverse organizations of meaning.
  • Collaboration: Evaluating a learner’s ability to work with others. This exposes learners to diverse perspectives, compromising, and identifying key roles within a group so that everyone participates.
  • Student-Led Conferences & Learning Portfolios: Learners lead conferences in which they demonstrate and describe their previous learning with their adult(s). This practice allows learners to reflect on their own learning journey and to display and demonstrate their growth over a period of time.
  • Inquiry Projects: Learners have the ability to choose something that interests them, develop a question about that interest, and use previously learned techniques and knowledge to answer said question. This practice creates an opportunity for experiential and relational learning.

I believe that connectivist principles are already successful within the elementary classroom however, they do run into challenges when it comes to bringing them into the online sphere. Younger students would need to develop the skills and knowledge with adult guidance prior to working on their own in order for them to thrive.

The 3 major challenges for learners in a connectivist class, as outlined by Weller, include:

  • Self-directed Learning: Learners must be autonomous and confident to be able to learn independently and to be comfortable in aggregating, relating, creating, and sharing activities.
  • Presence: Connecting with other learners is a key aspect of connectivism, and so it requires learners to have a high degree of online presence. This may be difficult for learners to be able to pull themselves away from in order to establish a sense of place.
  • Critical literacies: In order to be able to work effectively in the distributed, technology based connectivist environment, learners need a range of competencies including technical ones, communication skills and the ability to critically assess content they find.

Resources:

Barnes, C.L. (2016). “Where’s the Teacher? Defining the Role of Instructor Presence in Social Presence and Cognition in Online Education.” Humanizing Online Teaching and Learning. https://humanmooc.pressbooks.com/chapter/wheres-the-teacher-defining-the-role-of-instructor-presence-in-social-presence-and-cognition-in-online-education/.

Weller, M. (2020). “Chapter 17 – 2010  Connectivism.” 25 Years of Edtech. AU Press. https://read.aupress.ca/read/25-years-of-ed-tech/section/198057f5-1a3e-4436-a4b8-c6e1a3e0bd69#ch17.

Most Likely To Succeed. Directed by Greg Whiteley. Produced by Ted Dintersmith and Tony Wagner. 2015.