1. Which teacher in the scenario demonstrates vicarious reinforcement? Justify your response with definitions and an example from the case study.
Ms. Yamashita and Mr. Kessinger are demonstrating vicarious reinforcement. Vicarious reinforcement is the process of learning by observing the consequences of anothers actions and adjusting behavior accordingly. Ms. Yamashita is using vicarious reinforcement by complementing Robin and encouraging the other students to do what she did because she is receiving positive attention, they are learning from the consequences of Robin's actions. Mr. Kessinger is using vicarious reinforcement in the opposite way. He is disciplining Robin for using a concept map and thus the other students are learning that this in unacceptable in his class so they should not do that.
2. Is Mr. Kessinger considering reciprocal causation in his class? Explain your response, including all aspects of reciprocal causation in your reasoning.
I don't believe that Mr. Kessinger is considering reciprocal causation in his class because he is not paying attention to the students environment, their personal beliefs, or their behavior. He doesn't realize that the students are worried about what their peers think of their and thus their environment is intimidating to them. Mr. Kessinger was not paying attention to Robin's behavior either because clearly she was frustrated after being yelled at and was unable to focus for the rest of the class. He also was not considering her personal beliefs about concept maps being acceptable because he tore her map to shreds.
3. Which self-regulated learning process is Robin engaging in when she creates her concept maps? Explain your reasoning.
When Robin is creating her concept maps she is in the forethought phase. She is analyzing the task that she has in front of her and then coming up with a way to handle it. She knows that she is going to be quizzed on the topics and wants to know the information to avoid embarrassment, so she makes the concept maps to help her retain the information and retrieve it on cue.
4. How do you think Robin's self-efficacy has been affected by this experience. Be specific about which self-efficacies have been affected and justify your response with examples from the case study.
Robin's self-efficacy has definitely been lowered! She no longer has a strong belief in her capability to perform or achieve certain goals. She has been put down by Mr. Kessinger when he embarrassed her in front of her entire class. She feels silly because she was unable to come up with the answer on her own. Even though she went through the effort of making a concept map, she was reprimanded for doing so and will most likely not choose to do that again. She has a lower view of her learning possibilities and isn't putting in as much effort as she was before she was humiliated.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Personal Learning Theory
My emerging theory results were B: 40 C: 36 H: 36, they were all very close but I definitely see myself as a behavioral learner and teacher.
Piaget's Cognitive Development: Like - I really liked Piaget's idea about assimilation and accommodation. I liked the idea that kids either make their new learning fit into an old category, or makes a new category for the information. Dislike - I didn't really like Piaget's idea that learning occurs individually. He thought that people learn from their own experiences and such, rather than learning from other people.
Vygotsky's Cognitive Development: Like - I really liked his theory about social learning. They people learn from others experiences and from more capable others. His idea of apprenticeship goes along with this. Dislike - There were parts of the Zone of Proximal Development that I didn't necessarily like, such as, the fact that in the ZPD it is with the teachers help that the student can accomplish the task. I felt like maybe the student should be in their ZPD when they are able to figure it out on their own but still feel challenged.
Erikson's Psychosocial Development: Like - I agree with all of Erikson's stages and I really like the order that he placed them in. Dislike - I don't really like that the stages seem to occur individually and not necessarily mixed together. I feel like a lot of the stages could be occurring at the same time.
Kohlberg's Moral Development: Like - I like the three general categories that Kohlberg divided his stages into (Preconventional, Conventional and Postconventional Reasoning) because it seems to be fitting for moral development. Dislike: I do not like the individual categories that Kohlberg divides the elements into though because I find it hard to distinguish what a persons true motives are in doing right or wrong.
Goleman's Emotional Intelligence: Like - I like the idea that we can handle our emotions and find ways to control them. Dislike - I don't like that emotions seem to be somewhat a of a determination of your intelligence though, that doesn't seem to relate.
Information Processing: Like - I really like this whole theory pretty much. I like the idea that through teaching information in many different ways, increases the likelihood that the student will remember the information because they are relating to it on several different levels. Dislike - I don't like the idea that once several memories make it to your long-term memory they are lost after not using them for a while. I think that they are just harder to recall, but not necessarily lost.
Knowledge Construction and Higher-order thinking: Like - I really like the idea of challenging the students and getting them to reach their full potential which encourages higher-order thinking skills. I think that all teachers should encourage this type of behavior. Dislike - I know that meta cognition is important, but I just don't like the way it works. It seems like students are learning how to learn versus actually learning something.
Behaviorism: Like - The idea that we pair stimuli with responses is an idea that I really like. I see this conditioning all of the time and I know that it truly happens. Dislike - I don't really like the idea that this should be encouraged as a method of teaching. I think that at times it causes motivation to be for the wrong reasons. When used properly and in moderation, I think it can be good, but not as a main source of motivation and encouragement.
Social Cognitivism: Like - Like I mentioned earlier about Vygotsky's theory, I love the idea of social learning. I think that all people learn from the experiences of others and things that happen in their atmosphere. If my sister were to run into a wall and get hurt, I would learn from that experience to not run into walls. Dislike - I don't necessarily like the idea of disinhibitory effects. First of all, because it is a very confusing idea, second of all, because I think that this isn't always true in the positive aspect. Even if a student sees a positive outcome occur when they expected a negative outcome, they won't necessarily believe that it will happen to them.
Group and Individual Differences: Like - We didn't learn about this topic. Dislike - We didn't learn about this topic.
Motivation: Like - Maslow's hierarchy of needs is one of my favorite theories! I agree with all aspects of the pyramid. I think that motivation begins with the lowest level of meeting basic survival needs and then gradually moves up to doing service for others. Dislike - I don't like the idea that even if some students don't have the motivation to do assignments, they aren't intelligent students.
I personally think that people learn mostly from their own personal experiences, and the experiences of others. If an individual is to go through a situation first hand, they will learn a great deal because they will be involved socially, emotionally and intellectually. They are involving several different learning aspects so they are more likely to relate it to themselves and retain more knowledge. I also think that people can learn through the experiences of others so that they don't have to suffer the consequences on their own, or they can benefit from the consequences because they have seen someone else do the same.
My emerging theory appears to be behaviorism. I think that this will influence my teaching style because I will have a lot of group activities so that the students can learn from each others experiences as well as their own. I will also probably use several different reinforcement methods in order the encourage the students to work hard in my class. I can also see myself using some classical conditioning in my teaching in order to achieve and maintain classroom management. I will encourage the students to do certain things when they come in the classroom and make it a routine.
When it comes to educational psychology I know that I need to improve in learning more about cognitive learners. That area seems to get me a little bit confused. If I can work hard on learning what exactly this theory is, then I could possibly teach that way better to my students that will prefer that style of teaching and learning. I will better understand where they are coming from and why it applies to them.
Piaget's Cognitive Development: Like - I really liked Piaget's idea about assimilation and accommodation. I liked the idea that kids either make their new learning fit into an old category, or makes a new category for the information. Dislike - I didn't really like Piaget's idea that learning occurs individually. He thought that people learn from their own experiences and such, rather than learning from other people.
Vygotsky's Cognitive Development: Like - I really liked his theory about social learning. They people learn from others experiences and from more capable others. His idea of apprenticeship goes along with this. Dislike - There were parts of the Zone of Proximal Development that I didn't necessarily like, such as, the fact that in the ZPD it is with the teachers help that the student can accomplish the task. I felt like maybe the student should be in their ZPD when they are able to figure it out on their own but still feel challenged.
Erikson's Psychosocial Development: Like - I agree with all of Erikson's stages and I really like the order that he placed them in. Dislike - I don't really like that the stages seem to occur individually and not necessarily mixed together. I feel like a lot of the stages could be occurring at the same time.
Kohlberg's Moral Development: Like - I like the three general categories that Kohlberg divided his stages into (Preconventional, Conventional and Postconventional Reasoning) because it seems to be fitting for moral development. Dislike: I do not like the individual categories that Kohlberg divides the elements into though because I find it hard to distinguish what a persons true motives are in doing right or wrong.
Goleman's Emotional Intelligence: Like - I like the idea that we can handle our emotions and find ways to control them. Dislike - I don't like that emotions seem to be somewhat a of a determination of your intelligence though, that doesn't seem to relate.
Information Processing: Like - I really like this whole theory pretty much. I like the idea that through teaching information in many different ways, increases the likelihood that the student will remember the information because they are relating to it on several different levels. Dislike - I don't like the idea that once several memories make it to your long-term memory they are lost after not using them for a while. I think that they are just harder to recall, but not necessarily lost.
Knowledge Construction and Higher-order thinking: Like - I really like the idea of challenging the students and getting them to reach their full potential which encourages higher-order thinking skills. I think that all teachers should encourage this type of behavior. Dislike - I know that meta cognition is important, but I just don't like the way it works. It seems like students are learning how to learn versus actually learning something.
Behaviorism: Like - The idea that we pair stimuli with responses is an idea that I really like. I see this conditioning all of the time and I know that it truly happens. Dislike - I don't really like the idea that this should be encouraged as a method of teaching. I think that at times it causes motivation to be for the wrong reasons. When used properly and in moderation, I think it can be good, but not as a main source of motivation and encouragement.
Social Cognitivism: Like - Like I mentioned earlier about Vygotsky's theory, I love the idea of social learning. I think that all people learn from the experiences of others and things that happen in their atmosphere. If my sister were to run into a wall and get hurt, I would learn from that experience to not run into walls. Dislike - I don't necessarily like the idea of disinhibitory effects. First of all, because it is a very confusing idea, second of all, because I think that this isn't always true in the positive aspect. Even if a student sees a positive outcome occur when they expected a negative outcome, they won't necessarily believe that it will happen to them.
Group and Individual Differences: Like - We didn't learn about this topic. Dislike - We didn't learn about this topic.
Motivation: Like - Maslow's hierarchy of needs is one of my favorite theories! I agree with all aspects of the pyramid. I think that motivation begins with the lowest level of meeting basic survival needs and then gradually moves up to doing service for others. Dislike - I don't like the idea that even if some students don't have the motivation to do assignments, they aren't intelligent students.
I personally think that people learn mostly from their own personal experiences, and the experiences of others. If an individual is to go through a situation first hand, they will learn a great deal because they will be involved socially, emotionally and intellectually. They are involving several different learning aspects so they are more likely to relate it to themselves and retain more knowledge. I also think that people can learn through the experiences of others so that they don't have to suffer the consequences on their own, or they can benefit from the consequences because they have seen someone else do the same.
My emerging theory appears to be behaviorism. I think that this will influence my teaching style because I will have a lot of group activities so that the students can learn from each others experiences as well as their own. I will also probably use several different reinforcement methods in order the encourage the students to work hard in my class. I can also see myself using some classical conditioning in my teaching in order to achieve and maintain classroom management. I will encourage the students to do certain things when they come in the classroom and make it a routine.
When it comes to educational psychology I know that I need to improve in learning more about cognitive learners. That area seems to get me a little bit confused. If I can work hard on learning what exactly this theory is, then I could possibly teach that way better to my students that will prefer that style of teaching and learning. I will better understand where they are coming from and why it applies to them.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Behaviorism Case Study (Ch. 5)
1. Does Mr. Kessinger's class represent a community of learners as defined in Constructivist theory? Why or why not?
I don't believe that Mr. Kessinger's class represents a community of learners as defined by constructivist theory because the students are not working together to get to an end goal. The students are on their own and the teacher is just firing questions at them and not encouraging them to learn from each other in a group setting. They may learn from the students right answers, but i don't feel as though the students are sharing knowledge necessarily.
2. Does Mr. Kessinger utilize presentation punishment or removal punishment with Robin? Justify your response using definitions and evidence from the case.
I believe that Mr. Kessinger uses presentation punishment because he is presenting aversive stimulus when an undesirable behavior is dispalyed. Mr. Kessinger yells and screams when he doesn't get the answer that he is looking for. He is punishing the students by having a bad attitude so that they no longer want to give a wrong answer. I don't agree with the way that Mr. Kessinger handles this situation, and I think that very little parents or teachers would agree.
3. Explain Robin's reaction in Ms. Yamashita's class from the perspective of classical conditioning. Which stimuli are paired and how does that condition her response?
Robin just expects Ms. Yamashita to get angry with her because Mr. Kessinger got angry with her in the exact same situation. Having a concept map and the teacher getting mad are paired. Through Robin's experience with Mr. Kessinger she has been conditioned to believe that all teachers are going to get mad when you take notes in class and when you answer a question wrong.
4. How might Ms. Yamashita encourage Robin to create concept maps in the future? Include behavioral concepts such as shaping, reinforcement, etc., in your response.
I think that Ms. Yamashita can encourage Robin to create concept maps in the future by positively reinforcing her. She can use words of affirmation that compliment her hard work on the concept maps, I also think that she did a great job by showing it to the class and wanting to use her work for the class. It is showing Robin that she truly appreciates her work and she hopes that she continues this behavior in the future. She can correct misconceptions and conditioned responses that she may have learned from other teachers by explaining that she appreciates that type of stuff in her class.
I don't believe that Mr. Kessinger's class represents a community of learners as defined by constructivist theory because the students are not working together to get to an end goal. The students are on their own and the teacher is just firing questions at them and not encouraging them to learn from each other in a group setting. They may learn from the students right answers, but i don't feel as though the students are sharing knowledge necessarily.
2. Does Mr. Kessinger utilize presentation punishment or removal punishment with Robin? Justify your response using definitions and evidence from the case.
I believe that Mr. Kessinger uses presentation punishment because he is presenting aversive stimulus when an undesirable behavior is dispalyed. Mr. Kessinger yells and screams when he doesn't get the answer that he is looking for. He is punishing the students by having a bad attitude so that they no longer want to give a wrong answer. I don't agree with the way that Mr. Kessinger handles this situation, and I think that very little parents or teachers would agree.
3. Explain Robin's reaction in Ms. Yamashita's class from the perspective of classical conditioning. Which stimuli are paired and how does that condition her response?
Robin just expects Ms. Yamashita to get angry with her because Mr. Kessinger got angry with her in the exact same situation. Having a concept map and the teacher getting mad are paired. Through Robin's experience with Mr. Kessinger she has been conditioned to believe that all teachers are going to get mad when you take notes in class and when you answer a question wrong.
4. How might Ms. Yamashita encourage Robin to create concept maps in the future? Include behavioral concepts such as shaping, reinforcement, etc., in your response.
I think that Ms. Yamashita can encourage Robin to create concept maps in the future by positively reinforcing her. She can use words of affirmation that compliment her hard work on the concept maps, I also think that she did a great job by showing it to the class and wanting to use her work for the class. It is showing Robin that she truly appreciates her work and she hopes that she continues this behavior in the future. She can correct misconceptions and conditioned responses that she may have learned from other teachers by explaining that she appreciates that type of stuff in her class.
Willy Wood Extra Credit
I listened to Willy Wood's podcast on attention. I really enjoyed the podcast and learned a great deal about things I can do to get my students attention and keep their attention well. One particular thing I learned that really interested me was that there are several students now that don't necessarily have ADHD, but they show symptoms of it because of how distracting our environment is. The educational environment holds so many distractions such as other students, technology, sounds, outdoor activities, and etc. It is such a struggle for teachers to be the most important thing going on in the students life in order to get them to learn the material they are teaching.
Another thing about the podcast that I really enjoyed and learned a lot about, is that two main things that take precedence before whatever it is that we may have to say are the basic needs; such as eating, sleeping, breathing, etc. and sexual desires; such as who is in their class that they may have a crush on. Competing with those two strong attention grabbers can be really difficult.
I also learned that attention grabbers can't remain the same throughout the whole school year because students will grow immune to them. They will get bored of whatever the signal or sound may be, and they will begin to ignore it. They may react to it just out of habit, but they may not truly be paying attention any longer.
Willy also discussed several different ways to get the students attention and maintain the students attention. It is very important to get them moving around, relating the information to them personally, using technology, using novelty, incorporating music, having individual work time, and several others. It is important to remember not to lecture for the entire time, but rather to give the students time to be active and work on things on their own because they definitely can not keep their attention focused on you for the entire class period.
Several things that Willy mentioned were in the book as well. He mentioned that it is very important to encode the information in a variety of ways so that the students can recall the information more easily. It is also very important to make the information relate to them emotionally as well because those are some of the things that we remember the most easily.
One of the last things that Willy mentioned that I really thought was interesting was that you should not have the students multitask on tasks that are very important to you. You need to be aware that the important information is being interrupted by the other things that you are asking them to do as well. The students will feel overloaded and lose focus on each particular item.
In conclusion, I was very happy that I listened to this podcast because I learned several techniques that I would like to apply in my classroom. I know that I have got to get the students attention and maintain their attention throughout my class period because that is the most important aspect of student learning. The student won't even begin to remember the information if it isn't something that interests them and grabs their attention.
Another thing about the podcast that I really enjoyed and learned a lot about, is that two main things that take precedence before whatever it is that we may have to say are the basic needs; such as eating, sleeping, breathing, etc. and sexual desires; such as who is in their class that they may have a crush on. Competing with those two strong attention grabbers can be really difficult.
I also learned that attention grabbers can't remain the same throughout the whole school year because students will grow immune to them. They will get bored of whatever the signal or sound may be, and they will begin to ignore it. They may react to it just out of habit, but they may not truly be paying attention any longer.
Willy also discussed several different ways to get the students attention and maintain the students attention. It is very important to get them moving around, relating the information to them personally, using technology, using novelty, incorporating music, having individual work time, and several others. It is important to remember not to lecture for the entire time, but rather to give the students time to be active and work on things on their own because they definitely can not keep their attention focused on you for the entire class period.
Several things that Willy mentioned were in the book as well. He mentioned that it is very important to encode the information in a variety of ways so that the students can recall the information more easily. It is also very important to make the information relate to them emotionally as well because those are some of the things that we remember the most easily.
One of the last things that Willy mentioned that I really thought was interesting was that you should not have the students multitask on tasks that are very important to you. You need to be aware that the important information is being interrupted by the other things that you are asking them to do as well. The students will feel overloaded and lose focus on each particular item.
In conclusion, I was very happy that I listened to this podcast because I learned several techniques that I would like to apply in my classroom. I know that I have got to get the students attention and maintain their attention throughout my class period because that is the most important aspect of student learning. The student won't even begin to remember the information if it isn't something that interests them and grabs their attention.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Constructivism and Higher-order Thinking Case Study Analysis
1. Describe two similarities between the traditional lesson and the constructivist one as described above. What are two differences?
One similarity was that they were both learning about measurements. Another similarity was that the students were confused in both lessons plans at one point or another. In the traditional lesson plan the students were confused at the end of the lesson and in the constructivist lesson the students were confused throughout the process. Some differences are that the constructivist theory required the students to figure out all of the measurements without the teachers help, whereas the traditional lesson plan had the teacher there and helping at all times. Another difference is that the constructivist lesson took much longer than the traditional lesson plan.
2. What are two benefits and two drawbacks of the constructivist approach as described above? Why? In your opinion, are the benefits worth the costs? Explain your response.
One benefit is that the students are relating to the lesson much more. They are experiencing the lesson hands on and having experience with it so that they will remember it more deeply. Another benefit is that the students are creating their own way of learning and teaching themselves how to learn in the future. They are reasoning their way through a problem which is helping them to practice doing this in the future. One drawback of this approach is that it takes a very long time and you may not know going into it how long it is going to take. The students may catch on quickly or they might not, so you never know how to plan for this type of lesson. Another problem with this idea is that students often times will get frustrated and just choose to give up. They will not be receiving help from the teacher and just think that they are never going to get the answer and give up! In my opinion the benefits are not worth the costs. I feel like we would lose too many students in the process of finding the answer and some subjects could not be covered because of the amount of time this lesson will take. I think there are better ways of helping the student relate to the material.
3. How does the constructivist lesson described above promote critical thinking? Give specific examples of critical thinking from the case study and include a definition of critical thinking to support your response.
The definition of critical thinking is the process of systematically examining available information and coming up with conclusions that are based on evidence. Critical thinking is encouraged in this type of lesson because students are learning it on their own and thinking of several different solution to a problem. They are using their environment and available resources such as students bodies, hands, feet and etc. in order to come up with an answer to their problem. The students are working their way through the problem by looking at it from a variety of different ways with a variety of different solutions.
4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Why or why not?
This is an authentic activity because it is measuring the students success by whether they come up with a solution or not. They are relevant to life outside of school as well because it is teaching students how to measure items as well as how to solve problems on their own. The students are learning what to do when they are faced with a dilemma and have to outside sources of help except for their environment and the resources given to them.
One similarity was that they were both learning about measurements. Another similarity was that the students were confused in both lessons plans at one point or another. In the traditional lesson plan the students were confused at the end of the lesson and in the constructivist lesson the students were confused throughout the process. Some differences are that the constructivist theory required the students to figure out all of the measurements without the teachers help, whereas the traditional lesson plan had the teacher there and helping at all times. Another difference is that the constructivist lesson took much longer than the traditional lesson plan.
2. What are two benefits and two drawbacks of the constructivist approach as described above? Why? In your opinion, are the benefits worth the costs? Explain your response.
One benefit is that the students are relating to the lesson much more. They are experiencing the lesson hands on and having experience with it so that they will remember it more deeply. Another benefit is that the students are creating their own way of learning and teaching themselves how to learn in the future. They are reasoning their way through a problem which is helping them to practice doing this in the future. One drawback of this approach is that it takes a very long time and you may not know going into it how long it is going to take. The students may catch on quickly or they might not, so you never know how to plan for this type of lesson. Another problem with this idea is that students often times will get frustrated and just choose to give up. They will not be receiving help from the teacher and just think that they are never going to get the answer and give up! In my opinion the benefits are not worth the costs. I feel like we would lose too many students in the process of finding the answer and some subjects could not be covered because of the amount of time this lesson will take. I think there are better ways of helping the student relate to the material.
3. How does the constructivist lesson described above promote critical thinking? Give specific examples of critical thinking from the case study and include a definition of critical thinking to support your response.
The definition of critical thinking is the process of systematically examining available information and coming up with conclusions that are based on evidence. Critical thinking is encouraged in this type of lesson because students are learning it on their own and thinking of several different solution to a problem. They are using their environment and available resources such as students bodies, hands, feet and etc. in order to come up with an answer to their problem. The students are working their way through the problem by looking at it from a variety of different ways with a variety of different solutions.
4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Why or why not?
This is an authentic activity because it is measuring the students success by whether they come up with a solution or not. They are relevant to life outside of school as well because it is teaching students how to measure items as well as how to solve problems on their own. The students are learning what to do when they are faced with a dilemma and have to outside sources of help except for their environment and the resources given to them.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Cognitive Psychology/Information Processing
Cognitive Psychology/Information Processing Case Study Analysis
Case 1: Mr. West wants his students to truly understand Civil War battles. He engages the help of a local Historical Re-enactment Society and assigns each of his students to the Union or Confederate side. His students join the re-enactors from 7:00am-7:00pm for a full day of activities which include a long march (complete with rudimentary battle gear), setting up camp, cooking over campfires, scouting territory, and engaging in a historically representative battle.
1. After participating in this activity, what do you think the students will remember? How might those memories differ from those students would have if they only read about the Civil War in their textbook?
I think that these students will remember the specifics of the Civil War. They were completely engaged in the experience so they will have fond memories of the activity. The fact that so many of their interests and senses were involved will encourage even more of the knowledge to be retained. Not only are they reading about the information but they are acting it out, smelling it, feeling it, thinking about it, seeing it, and just being in the actual atmosphere. They are getting the full experience so that more information will be remembered.
2. How does Mr. West’s use of a Civil War re-enactment engage students’ emotions? What is the relationship between emotions and learning?
The students emotions are engaged because they are acting as though they are actually in the civil war. They realize what other people were going through so now they relate to it more personally. The relationship between emotions and learning is that the more emotions that are connected to, the more likely the student will learn the information. If they are attached to the emotion and feel as though it relates to them personally, they are more likely to learn more.
3. Based on the principles of dual-coding theory, what activities would be effective for Mr. West to use as a follow-up to the re-enactment?
If Mr. West was to combind the kinesthetic activity with maybe a written activity or an oral presentation or something that comes from a different angle along with the re-enactment I think that the students would be able to remember the experience even more. Possibly if the students had a written activity they could explain what they felt and what they went through and then have that paper there later to refer back to and refresh their memory of the experience and the things that they learned.
Case 2: Mr. Dunkin and Mr. Richards, teachers at the same school, are debating in the teacher’s lounge about who provides the best type of organization for the students’ learning. Mr. Dunkin lectures and assigns reading and chapter problems Mondays through Thursdays. On Fridays he gives a short answer exam. In Mr. Richards’ class the students never know what will take place on any given day until they arrive in class and look at a detailed outline of the hour’s activities on the chalkboard. His class engages in mix of role-plays, lecture, videos, group projects and demonstrations. Mr. Richards occasionally gives surprise quizzes and his unit tests can include true/false, multiple choice, short answer, or essay.
4. Who do you think provides better instruction for his students? Support your answer from an information processing perspective.
I think that Mr. Richards provides better instruction for his students because he is involving several of their senses. He has a variety of activites that the students participate in so that they can better retain the information. When the information is repeated several times and in several different ways, it is much more likely that they will retain the information and they will be able to relate to it better which also encourages the students to learn more.
5. How would you expect the students’ learning outcomes to differ depending on which teacher they had?
I think that if the students had Mr. Richards they would learn a great deal more and enjoy the learning process more as well. I think that the students will relate to the information more so they will have the ability to remember it much better as well. They will have a positive memory of the experience so they will be more likely to remember the information instead of the awful situation that they were in instead. It also depends on what type of a learner is in each class though, some students may prefer the same monotonous stuff and the lecture style of teaching.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Social and Moral Development (Ch. 4) Analysis Questions
Social and Moral Development (Ch. 4) Analysis Questions:
1. From a social development standpoint, how might we explain Laura's preoccupation with her appearance? In particular, consider this statement by Laura: "I don't want people to think I'm a geek!" Include information from Erikson's theory and social development in general in your response.
Social Development is an important aspect of teens lives because they are becoming who they want to be and making friendships that will last for a very long time, possibly forever. A huge aspect of social development is peer pressure. If Laura doesn't want to associate with the so called "geeks" of the school, looking good is a must have for her. Erikson's theory relates to this situation because in his Identity versus Role Confusion stage teenagers are trying to identify who they are. They want to establish the group of people they are going to be around and the kind of person they want to be identified as. If Laura was to be labeled as a geek and never had the opportunity to break that mold, she would most likely be unsatisfied with her identity.
2. In suggesting that Laura join the debating class, Ms. Watkins is hoping to pique an interest in classroom subject matter by capitalizing on Laura's desire to be the center of attention. What two other strategies might the school faculty use to motivate students who seem to be more interested in social matters than in academic pursuits?
Faculty members could also encourage Laura to join a sports team. If Laura is on a sports team she will have people looking at her while she performs on the field or court or whatever it may be. She will also have the social aspect of the school environment because she will be surrounded by team mates that will also become her friends. Also, being on a sports team requires students to get good grades in order to remain on the team and in good stance to play. Another option for Laura would be to participate in the school play. Laura will once again have all eyes on her when she performs for the school and for any other people who want to watch. She will also have the social network of the other performers in the school play to be social with.
3. From the perspective of Kohlberg's theory, in which stage of moral development is Laura? Justify your response. How might Mr. Marcalescu help Laura to advance her moral reasoning?
I believe that Laura is at the Conventional Morality stage because she is still abiding by the rules of the debate team, but she is only doing so because she feels obligated. She has not chosen to relate the topic to her, or to internalize what it is that she is doing. She just wants to be the center of attention and will do whatever it takes to get to that point. There is no relation to her of why she is doing what she is doing, she is basically just doing what she is told. I believe that Mr. Marcalescu could help Laura move up to the Postconventional Morality stage by pointing out to her that it isn't all about her. Maybe at some point he could prove to her that her way of thinking isn't necessarily always the best option. He could show her a different way that works and explain to her that she needs to be open minded about things.
4. In what ways might a debating class contribute to students' cognitive, linguistic, social, and moral development?
A debate team will relate to a students cognitive development because it will encourage students to study certain topics in order to provide evidence for their opinion or whatever it may be that they are taking a stance on. It promotes linguistic development because students are talking in front of their peers and other individuals that may be judging them. By getting this experience they are becoming more comfortable with public speaking as well as just talking and reasoning things out in general. The social aspect is also addressed because there are several people on debate teams that work together with each other to form supporting arguments. Individuals are also working out their social skills by resolving conflicts and providing valid argument points. Last of all, moral development is established because students are forming their own opinions are certain topics and learning how to take a stance and defend the choice that they make. They have to decide what things are important to them and of value and then find ways to back up why they believe what they believe. All around the debate team is a beneficial option for students.
1. From a social development standpoint, how might we explain Laura's preoccupation with her appearance? In particular, consider this statement by Laura: "I don't want people to think I'm a geek!" Include information from Erikson's theory and social development in general in your response.
Social Development is an important aspect of teens lives because they are becoming who they want to be and making friendships that will last for a very long time, possibly forever. A huge aspect of social development is peer pressure. If Laura doesn't want to associate with the so called "geeks" of the school, looking good is a must have for her. Erikson's theory relates to this situation because in his Identity versus Role Confusion stage teenagers are trying to identify who they are. They want to establish the group of people they are going to be around and the kind of person they want to be identified as. If Laura was to be labeled as a geek and never had the opportunity to break that mold, she would most likely be unsatisfied with her identity.
2. In suggesting that Laura join the debating class, Ms. Watkins is hoping to pique an interest in classroom subject matter by capitalizing on Laura's desire to be the center of attention. What two other strategies might the school faculty use to motivate students who seem to be more interested in social matters than in academic pursuits?
Faculty members could also encourage Laura to join a sports team. If Laura is on a sports team she will have people looking at her while she performs on the field or court or whatever it may be. She will also have the social aspect of the school environment because she will be surrounded by team mates that will also become her friends. Also, being on a sports team requires students to get good grades in order to remain on the team and in good stance to play. Another option for Laura would be to participate in the school play. Laura will once again have all eyes on her when she performs for the school and for any other people who want to watch. She will also have the social network of the other performers in the school play to be social with.
3. From the perspective of Kohlberg's theory, in which stage of moral development is Laura? Justify your response. How might Mr. Marcalescu help Laura to advance her moral reasoning?
I believe that Laura is at the Conventional Morality stage because she is still abiding by the rules of the debate team, but she is only doing so because she feels obligated. She has not chosen to relate the topic to her, or to internalize what it is that she is doing. She just wants to be the center of attention and will do whatever it takes to get to that point. There is no relation to her of why she is doing what she is doing, she is basically just doing what she is told. I believe that Mr. Marcalescu could help Laura move up to the Postconventional Morality stage by pointing out to her that it isn't all about her. Maybe at some point he could prove to her that her way of thinking isn't necessarily always the best option. He could show her a different way that works and explain to her that she needs to be open minded about things.
4. In what ways might a debating class contribute to students' cognitive, linguistic, social, and moral development?
A debate team will relate to a students cognitive development because it will encourage students to study certain topics in order to provide evidence for their opinion or whatever it may be that they are taking a stance on. It promotes linguistic development because students are talking in front of their peers and other individuals that may be judging them. By getting this experience they are becoming more comfortable with public speaking as well as just talking and reasoning things out in general. The social aspect is also addressed because there are several people on debate teams that work together with each other to form supporting arguments. Individuals are also working out their social skills by resolving conflicts and providing valid argument points. Last of all, moral development is established because students are forming their own opinions are certain topics and learning how to take a stance and defend the choice that they make. They have to decide what things are important to them and of value and then find ways to back up why they believe what they believe. All around the debate team is a beneficial option for students.
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