What are you doing well?
I feel that I have gained control over completing my assignments according to the schedule I have set out. I also feel that I have gained a good grasp on all the material we covered during the semester (mostly thanks to all of the helpful assignments!!). I really feel I have come away with knowledge I will be able retain for a lifetime.
What are you not doing well?
I hope that next semester I will be able to take the studying strategies I have developed in this class and apply them to other classes. I hope to use study guides and reflections to help solidify information in my mind. I am not very good at doing this unless it is required of me.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals?
I feel that I achieved the needed progress on my goals to be successful in the class. I feel that I was able to complete all my assignments to the best of my ability and I hope I can retain the information I have learned.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals.
In order to meet my goals next semester I will need to set aside the needed time to use the study skills I have learned this semester. As I said before I would really like to incorporate study guides and reflections. Maybe I'll even keep new blogs for other classes to reflect. :) I have noticed this has helped me a lot in retaining information.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Personal Learning Theory
What?
After taking the quiz about my emerging theory, I discovered that I mostly align with what I believe to be humanist views. However, what I found to be interesting was that I also scored very high in the other areas. So it seems as though I am believer in many different areas. :)
Below I have listed my thoughts on the many different educational theories:
1) Piaget's Cognitive Development: I feel that Piaget has tapped into a very important part of how people develop. It seems as though he has developed a theory that accurately sums up the process the brain takes in developing cognitively. However, with the being said, I do not think his ages are particularly accurate. Since I was not a middle school student that long ago, I cannot remember any of my friends not being able to handle proportional reasoning or abstract ideas (characteristics of those in the stage of concrete operations). I feel as though Piaget was a little bit off in what ages people should be moving into certain stages.
2) Vygotsky's Cognitive Development: I am a big fan of Vygotsky's theories about cognitive development. I feel that he is able to explain how children learn in a very logical manner. I too feel that the development of language is extremely important in a child's cognitive development and I feel that it is the primary responsibility of adults to help children through the developmental process. I also feel that Vygotsky's idea of play is extremely important in helping children learn. However, although I feel an adult's influence is extremely important, I feel Vygotsky also needs to discuss more about how a child is able to take control over their own learning.
3) Erikson's Pyschosocial Development: I feel Erikson's findings to be very interesting. I feel that the different stages he believes people go through throughout their lives to very accurate. As I analyze my own life I am able to see how I have progressed through each of Erikson's stages. However, I also feel that Erikson needs to more fully address the different ways people can progress through each stage. For example, in the first stage, trust vs. mistrust, Erikson discusses how infants, depending on the treatment they receive, either learn to trust or mistrust people. I feel that Erikson needs to discuss alternate ways a child reacts to infancy besides the absolutes of either trust or mistrust.
4) Kohlberg's Moral Development: I also believe Kohlberg's theory on moral development to be very important in helping educators help their students. I feel that most people go through the different levels of morality which Kohlberg has outlined. However, something which is particularly interesting about Kohlberg's theories are that some people only stay at a certain stage of moral reasoning. I also feel that Kohlberg should've included studies involving girls rather than just boys.
5) Goleman's Emotional Intelligence: I believe Goleman's ideas about emotional intelligence to be very true. Throughout my life, I have noticed that people who are able to control their own emotions, read the emotions of others and manage relationships well seem to be control in other aspects of their lives as well. However, with that being said, I have also known plenty of people who are very emotional, have a hard time managing their relationships and are extremely successful.
6) Information Processing: The theory of information processing is a very practical and logical theory. By looking at the brain and how people process memories, information processing theorists have been able to create certain strategies, such as mnemonic devices, which seems to help the mind get a better hold on things a person is learning. However, I think information processing theorists need make more mention on how social experiences can effect how a person learns.
7) Knowledge Construction and Higher Order Thinking: I really the strategies which are discussed along with the constructivist theory. I feel that discovery learning, spiral organization and employing a community of learners are all very effective techniques. It seems as though a constructivist classroom would be a very effective place to learn. However, I also believe teachers need to focus on how to manage their classrooms as well. I think it is important to think about how to control your children before you teach them.
8) Behaviorism: I believe that being able to help students control their behavior is a big part of helping children being successful in school. Helping students pay attention, obey the rules, and work well with other students is a very important part of scholastic success. However, controlling a person's behavior is not the only part of successful education. It is necessary to also think about the brain, teaching strategies, etc, rather than just how your students are acting.
9) Social Cognitivism: This is another important theory which gives teachers strategies on how to model appropriate behavior to their students. The strategies presented help students learn how to regulate their own learning, help teachers learn how to model how to think and work, and provide great examples to help your students be successful. However, like the theory of Behaviorism, I believe that learning goes far beyond simply controlling your actions and behavior.
10) Group and Individual Differences: This is something which I believe all teachers need to take more seriously. Each student is different and each student learns differently. Teachers face students who have many different abilities. Some students are not able to read well, some students have problems paying attention, while other students are just bored. Teachers also face students who learn extremely well if there is a pattern involved, or if they are able to write something. I believe that different learning styles, such as Gardner's multiple intelligences need to be thought of as a teacher is preparing each lesson. However, the problem with trying to meet every student's needs is ultimately you can't. You just have to try your best with what you have and what you can do.
11) Motivation: How and why people are motivated is something which is very hard to pinpoint. It is sometimes hard to figure out why people are motivated to do certain things and how you help your students to be more motivated. I feel that motivation is a very important part of teaching. Obviously the best way to be motivated is to be intrinsically motivated. It is better for someone to have their own purposes for doing something rather than having to continuously give students reasons to complete their work. However, always maintaining some sort of motivation is key. Yet, motivating students is not the only part of learning. Just as I said before thinking of how the brain processes information and how to manage classroom behavior is also extremely important.
So what?
To me, people learn in a number of different ways. I feel that the only way to ensure a successful classroom is to take parts of all of the theories I discussed above. It is important to think about how your students are cognitively developing, it is important to think about how your students are emotionally and morally developing and it is important to think about how they process information. It is also vital to create a classroom in which the teacher has expectations for certain behavior and a certain level of respect for others. Teachers also need to think about the differences each of their students have and how they can help those students work with those differences. And of course, it is extremely important to motivate students to learn and excel. Therefore, if I cannot describe my personal learning theory into one concise statement. I feel what is most important is for a teacher to keep his or her mind open to change and to the thoughts and feelings of his or her students.
Now what?
As I become a teacher and start preparing lessons for my own classroom, I hope to keep in mind all the things which I have learned this past semester. I hope to employ strategies which will help my students achieve their highest potential and become well-adjusted people who can contribute to the world. It will be important that I always stay open to my students and to be prepared to adjust my teaching styles and strategies to help my students be as successful as they can be. I hope I can continue to improve on being more open to techniques which will help students with different abilities and different learning styles. I also hope that I will be able to have more experiences in which I will be able to refine my own personal learning theory.
After taking the quiz about my emerging theory, I discovered that I mostly align with what I believe to be humanist views. However, what I found to be interesting was that I also scored very high in the other areas. So it seems as though I am believer in many different areas. :)
Below I have listed my thoughts on the many different educational theories:
1) Piaget's Cognitive Development: I feel that Piaget has tapped into a very important part of how people develop. It seems as though he has developed a theory that accurately sums up the process the brain takes in developing cognitively. However, with the being said, I do not think his ages are particularly accurate. Since I was not a middle school student that long ago, I cannot remember any of my friends not being able to handle proportional reasoning or abstract ideas (characteristics of those in the stage of concrete operations). I feel as though Piaget was a little bit off in what ages people should be moving into certain stages.
2) Vygotsky's Cognitive Development: I am a big fan of Vygotsky's theories about cognitive development. I feel that he is able to explain how children learn in a very logical manner. I too feel that the development of language is extremely important in a child's cognitive development and I feel that it is the primary responsibility of adults to help children through the developmental process. I also feel that Vygotsky's idea of play is extremely important in helping children learn. However, although I feel an adult's influence is extremely important, I feel Vygotsky also needs to discuss more about how a child is able to take control over their own learning.
3) Erikson's Pyschosocial Development: I feel Erikson's findings to be very interesting. I feel that the different stages he believes people go through throughout their lives to very accurate. As I analyze my own life I am able to see how I have progressed through each of Erikson's stages. However, I also feel that Erikson needs to more fully address the different ways people can progress through each stage. For example, in the first stage, trust vs. mistrust, Erikson discusses how infants, depending on the treatment they receive, either learn to trust or mistrust people. I feel that Erikson needs to discuss alternate ways a child reacts to infancy besides the absolutes of either trust or mistrust.
4) Kohlberg's Moral Development: I also believe Kohlberg's theory on moral development to be very important in helping educators help their students. I feel that most people go through the different levels of morality which Kohlberg has outlined. However, something which is particularly interesting about Kohlberg's theories are that some people only stay at a certain stage of moral reasoning. I also feel that Kohlberg should've included studies involving girls rather than just boys.
5) Goleman's Emotional Intelligence: I believe Goleman's ideas about emotional intelligence to be very true. Throughout my life, I have noticed that people who are able to control their own emotions, read the emotions of others and manage relationships well seem to be control in other aspects of their lives as well. However, with that being said, I have also known plenty of people who are very emotional, have a hard time managing their relationships and are extremely successful.
6) Information Processing: The theory of information processing is a very practical and logical theory. By looking at the brain and how people process memories, information processing theorists have been able to create certain strategies, such as mnemonic devices, which seems to help the mind get a better hold on things a person is learning. However, I think information processing theorists need make more mention on how social experiences can effect how a person learns.
7) Knowledge Construction and Higher Order Thinking: I really the strategies which are discussed along with the constructivist theory. I feel that discovery learning, spiral organization and employing a community of learners are all very effective techniques. It seems as though a constructivist classroom would be a very effective place to learn. However, I also believe teachers need to focus on how to manage their classrooms as well. I think it is important to think about how to control your children before you teach them.
8) Behaviorism: I believe that being able to help students control their behavior is a big part of helping children being successful in school. Helping students pay attention, obey the rules, and work well with other students is a very important part of scholastic success. However, controlling a person's behavior is not the only part of successful education. It is necessary to also think about the brain, teaching strategies, etc, rather than just how your students are acting.
9) Social Cognitivism: This is another important theory which gives teachers strategies on how to model appropriate behavior to their students. The strategies presented help students learn how to regulate their own learning, help teachers learn how to model how to think and work, and provide great examples to help your students be successful. However, like the theory of Behaviorism, I believe that learning goes far beyond simply controlling your actions and behavior.
10) Group and Individual Differences: This is something which I believe all teachers need to take more seriously. Each student is different and each student learns differently. Teachers face students who have many different abilities. Some students are not able to read well, some students have problems paying attention, while other students are just bored. Teachers also face students who learn extremely well if there is a pattern involved, or if they are able to write something. I believe that different learning styles, such as Gardner's multiple intelligences need to be thought of as a teacher is preparing each lesson. However, the problem with trying to meet every student's needs is ultimately you can't. You just have to try your best with what you have and what you can do.
11) Motivation: How and why people are motivated is something which is very hard to pinpoint. It is sometimes hard to figure out why people are motivated to do certain things and how you help your students to be more motivated. I feel that motivation is a very important part of teaching. Obviously the best way to be motivated is to be intrinsically motivated. It is better for someone to have their own purposes for doing something rather than having to continuously give students reasons to complete their work. However, always maintaining some sort of motivation is key. Yet, motivating students is not the only part of learning. Just as I said before thinking of how the brain processes information and how to manage classroom behavior is also extremely important.
So what?
To me, people learn in a number of different ways. I feel that the only way to ensure a successful classroom is to take parts of all of the theories I discussed above. It is important to think about how your students are cognitively developing, it is important to think about how your students are emotionally and morally developing and it is important to think about how they process information. It is also vital to create a classroom in which the teacher has expectations for certain behavior and a certain level of respect for others. Teachers also need to think about the differences each of their students have and how they can help those students work with those differences. And of course, it is extremely important to motivate students to learn and excel. Therefore, if I cannot describe my personal learning theory into one concise statement. I feel what is most important is for a teacher to keep his or her mind open to change and to the thoughts and feelings of his or her students.
Now what?
As I become a teacher and start preparing lessons for my own classroom, I hope to keep in mind all the things which I have learned this past semester. I hope to employ strategies which will help my students achieve their highest potential and become well-adjusted people who can contribute to the world. It will be important that I always stay open to my students and to be prepared to adjust my teaching styles and strategies to help my students be as successful as they can be. I hope I can continue to improve on being more open to techniques which will help students with different abilities and different learning styles. I also hope that I will be able to have more experiences in which I will be able to refine my own personal learning theory.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Contract Review #3
What are you doing well?
I finally feel like I am keeping up with the tempo of the class and I feel like I am on top of all of my work.
What are you not doing well?
Something I feel like I have not been doing very well is reviewing all of the information I have learned. I also feel like I need to work better at communicating with my content group about the assessment inventory. Although we have a great time together, we have not been very effective at making time to review all of the work we have completed throughout the semester.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals?
I feel like I have made great progress on my goals. I feel good about all of the assignments I have completed, my study methods, and the content I am learning in the class.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals.
As far as communicating better with my group, we have recently met together and worked for a long period of time at editing all of the parts of our assessment inventory. I feel like we all know what we have to do and we are very organized. We have completed our assessment inventory and we feel good about our work.
I finally feel like I am keeping up with the tempo of the class and I feel like I am on top of all of my work.
What are you not doing well?
Something I feel like I have not been doing very well is reviewing all of the information I have learned. I also feel like I need to work better at communicating with my content group about the assessment inventory. Although we have a great time together, we have not been very effective at making time to review all of the work we have completed throughout the semester.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals?
I feel like I have made great progress on my goals. I feel good about all of the assignments I have completed, my study methods, and the content I am learning in the class.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals.
As far as communicating better with my group, we have recently met together and worked for a long period of time at editing all of the parts of our assessment inventory. I feel like we all know what we have to do and we are very organized. We have completed our assessment inventory and we feel good about our work.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Case Study Analysis - Chapter 10
1. Which teacher in the scenario demonstrates vicarious reinforcement? Justify your response with an example from the case study.
Mr. Kessinger demonstrates vicarious reinforcement in his classroom when he gets mad at Robin. When he asks Robin the question about the class material, notices her concept map, and then tears it up, he is using Robin as a bad example to the class. He believes her concept maps are a way of cheating, he cannot believe she is using one. When he tears up Robin's concept map, he explains his distaste to the whole classroom. After watching Robin get in so much trouble for creating a concept map, Mr. Kessinger's other students will most likely not create concept maps of their own. They will not want to experience the same form of public humiliation that Robin experience. Therefore, Mr. Kessinger is using vicarious reinforcement, or using Robin as an example to other students. Because of this, he will increase the number of students who will not take notes.
2. Is Mr. Kessinger considering reciprocal causation in his class? Explain your response, including all aspects of reciprocal causation in your reasoning.
No, I do not believe Mr. Kessinger is considering using reciprocal causation in his class. Mr. Kessinger seems to be completely disconnected from his students. He obviously is not affected by their emotions because he openly and harshly criticizes two of his students in the case study. I do not think Mr. Kessinger is thinking about how behavior, environment and a specific person's psyche effect how they learn. If Mr. Kessinger is trying to get his students to learn, then he probably does not think about how the harsh and unforgiving environment of his classroom affects his students. He seems to also care little about his students' personal characteristics. He openly tears down his students' actions. He is however, worried about the behavior of the students in his class. Mr. Kessinger does not want his class to create concept maps, and he does not want his class to come to class unprepared. I do not believe Mr. Kessinger is trying to create reciprocal causation.
3. Which self-regulated learning process is Robin engaging in when she creates her concept maps? Explain your reasoning.
Robin is exhibited self-regulated behavior. Robin obviously feels her classwork is important. She has many subjects which require memorization of terms, concepts etc. She analyzes how she learns and decides to make a concept map to increase her understanding and retention of the things she is learning in class. She is exhibiting very mature and responsible actions. Robin takes reponsibility into her own hands and makes the necessary actions to increase her learning. She is setting goals, and standards for herself and she is trying to keep them.
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 in taking notes and participating in class has probably gone down with her experience in Mr. Kessinger's class. Robin worked hard on her concept map and thought it was something which would help her in her classes. After Mr. Kessinger gets so angry over her concept map and calls her a cheater, it probably made Robin feel she wasn't as good at taking notes and doing well in class as she thought. Therefore, her self-efficacy, or her confidence level in doing a certain task well, has gone down.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Case Study Analysis - Chapter 9
1. Does Mr. Kessinger's class represent a community of learners as defined in Ch. 7? Why or why not?
Mr. Kessinger's class most definately does not represent a community of leaners. In a community of learners, teachers and students work together to simultaneously help the students learn and the teacher work to best help the students. This means students and teachers support one another in the classroom. When students put forth effort to learn, teachers should encourage them. Mr. Kessinger blatantly emabarrassed Robin who was only trying to be a more successful student. He was also extremely disrespectful to his other students who were also trying to do well. His actions thwarted his students's learning rather than helping them to succeed.
2. Does Mr. Kessinger utilize presentation punishment or removal punishment with Robin? Justify your response.
Mr. Kessinger utilizes presentation punishment with Robin. Presentation punishment means that a person adds a stimulus in order to decrease a certain behavior. Mr. Kessinger yells at Robin for making the concept map and embarasses her in front of the class. By yelling at her, he is presenting his anger and disappointment in Robin. This is a stimulus, as it mentions at the end of the case study, that causes Robin never to take notes in Mr. Kessinger's class again. The presentation fo Mr. Kessinger's actions decreases her behavior of taking notes.
3. Explain Robin's reaction in Ms. Yamashita's class from the perspective of classical conditioning.
In Mr. Kessinger's class, Robin was yelled at for making a concept map. Mr. Kessinger was extremely rude to her. When Robin goes in Ms. Yamashita's class, she is in a similar situation as Mr. Kessinger's class. She is being asked to answer certain questions and she is looking at her concept map. When Robin is asked a question by Ms. Yamashita, she looks down at her concept map to answer the questions. When Ms. Yamashita looks at her concept map, Robin immediately feels the same emotions as when Mr. Kessinger tears up her concept map. She does not pay attention to Ms. Yamashita's praise and runs down the hall because she expects Ms. Yamashita's comments to be negative. Mr. Kessinger has caused her to respond to a neutral stimulus (a teacher approaching her about her concept maps) in a similar way (she gets flustered and feels embarrassed).
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.
Ms. Yamashita could encourage Robin to create more concept maps by simply giving Robin more private types of positive reinforcement. Instead of presenting Robin's concept maps to the whole class, something she is now extremely nervous about, Ms. Yamashita could approach Robin personally and tell her how proud she is of Robin for making the concept maps. She can explain to Robin how impressed she is by her organizational abilities and for her dedication to studying the material. By personally explaining to Robin how she believes her concept maps are wonderful, and how she thinks they are a great study tool, Ms. Yamashita can encourage Robin to create more concept maps.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Case Study Analysis - Chapter 6
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?
The dual-coding theory is based off of the fact that people process visual and verbal information in different ways. When using both verbal and visual techniques when teaching a subject, a teacher can enhance a child's learning process. However, you must do this in a way which won't overwhelm the students. If you give a child too much verbal and visual stimulation at the same time, the child may get confused.
Some approriate verbal activties Mr. West can use to follw-up the re-enactment (since the re-enactment was a visual activity) are class discussions, personal written reflections and group brainstorms. Mr. West can have a big class discussion after the re-enactment where he has the students discuss what they learned during their day as Civil War soldiers. He can ask them what they felt about the different activities, what they feel about the real Civil War soldiers, what was hard about the experience, and what their favorite parts were. He can also have the students write reflections about their experiences. He can give them specific questions to answer and give them quiet time to give thoughtful responses. Another thing Mr. West could do is split the class into small groups. Once in the groups, he can have the students discuss their experiences and then make a written summary of all the things which they learned. He may even have the groups creat mnemonic devices to help them remember certain information. By combining these verbal and written activties with the re-enactment, the students should process the information more thoroughly.
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.
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?
After participating in this activity, I think the students will remember alot of things about the Civil War. One of the parts of RAD teaching is to give the students experiences which will allow them to make emotional connections. By giving students the opporunity to actually march carrying battle gear, set up a camp, participate in a mock battle, etc, the students will have feelings associated with those experiences. They will most likely feel sympathy for the soldiers because of how hard it was for them to do day to day things. They may feel gratitude for what they did and pride in the soldiers for how hard they worked. All of these emotions will allow students to remember the details of the life of a soldier in the Civil War.
If the students merely read about the Civil War from a textbook, their memories would be completely different. Although they may read about what the soldiers did each day, how long it took them to get to different battles, and how many friends they lost in the war, the students would probably grasp very little of what it was actually like for the soldiers. Since they would most likely have no emotions attached to the information they were learning, it would be harder for the students to remember the different concepts about the Civil War. Experience creates more vivid memories and emotional connections.
2. How does Mr. West’s use of a Civil War re-enactment engage students’ emotions? What is the relationship between emotions and learning?
As I said before, one of the main concepts of RAD teaching is to allow students to make emotional connections to the things they are learning. By letting the students particpate along with the re-enactment, Mr. West is letting the students establish emotional connections. The students experience struggle, excitement, industriousness, comraderie and maybe even some fear (I would be scared even in a Civil War battle re-enactment so some of the students may be also). By cultvating emotions, students can create more vivid memories. They can think about how they felt when they were marching with the re-enactors, or building a campfire. They have something they can connect the information with which will help them learn better and make a more lasting memory.
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?The dual-coding theory is based off of the fact that people process visual and verbal information in different ways. When using both verbal and visual techniques when teaching a subject, a teacher can enhance a child's learning process. However, you must do this in a way which won't overwhelm the students. If you give a child too much verbal and visual stimulation at the same time, the child may get confused.
Some approriate verbal activties Mr. West can use to follw-up the re-enactment (since the re-enactment was a visual activity) are class discussions, personal written reflections and group brainstorms. Mr. West can have a big class discussion after the re-enactment where he has the students discuss what they learned during their day as Civil War soldiers. He can ask them what they felt about the different activities, what they feel about the real Civil War soldiers, what was hard about the experience, and what their favorite parts were. He can also have the students write reflections about their experiences. He can give them specific questions to answer and give them quiet time to give thoughtful responses. Another thing Mr. West could do is split the class into small groups. Once in the groups, he can have the students discuss their experiences and then make a written summary of all the things which they learned. He may even have the groups creat mnemonic devices to help them remember certain information. By combining these verbal and written activties with the re-enactment, the students should process the information more thoroughly.
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.
From an information processing perspective, Mr. Richards provides better instruction for his students. Those who follow the information processing perspective are dedicated studiers of how a person processes information they are learning into long term memory. They study the reasons certain information lasts in the brain for a lifetime and why other information is lost. Through their study, they have found key activities which help people take new concepts and turn them into memories that last. Some of these strategies include guided instruction by the teacher (teacher leads the students to the most important topics), creating experiences which are relative to the new information, making connections to prior knowledge, and having group projects and activities which allow the students to have hands-on participation. Mr. Richards seems to involve all of these strategies into his classroom. He provides his students with many different activities which allow his students to learn in ways which will create long term memories. He allows them to interact with each other, have hands-on experiences and verbal instruction. All of these techniques are greatly encouraged by believers in information processing.
5. How would you expect the students’ learning outcomes to differ depending on which teacher they had?
I would expect very different learning outcomes with these two teachers. For those students in Mr. Dunkin's class I would expect students to learn the information, but I don't believe the information would stay in the students' brains for a long period of time. His students would probably feel pressure to "cram" the material each week so they could do well on the Friday tests. Although I believe Mr. Dunkin's class to have good organization, his students are not able to have varying experiences which would make it hard to make long term memories of the information they are learning.
With Mr. Richard's class, I would expect the students to be able to have a deep grasp of the concepts they learn in his class. He approches different subjects from many different ways which allows students to have multiple perspectives and multiple connections for any given topic Mr. Richards teaches in his class. Because of this, I would guess the students would be able to remember the information very well and be able to apply the information to later years of schooling.
Contract Review #2
What are you doing well?
I feel I am understanding all of the information I am learning very well. I feel comfortable with all of the concepts and I am really enjoying the class.
What are you not doing well?
I sometimes have trouble balancing my time. I am in three other classes, I work 25 hours a week and have a wonderful, wonderful husband to take care of. I know many other people in the class have much busier schedules than I do. I marvel how well they balance all the things required of them. I need to be better at making a schedule of when I am going to study certain concepts and when I am going to do my homework. I have not been doing this and I sometimes feel I am not leaving enough time to review all of the new information I am learning.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals?
I feel I am making some good progress on my goals. As I mentioned previously, I sometimes feel I do not have enough time for review andd for in-depth study. I would like to make more time to review and study the concepts we are learning in our class.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals.
I need to schedule a time for a review and homework. I know I usually have some extra time on Friday mornings I usually use for reading other books or visiting with friends. If I wake up early on Fridays and do some review I would feel more on top of all of the things which are required of me.
I feel I am understanding all of the information I am learning very well. I feel comfortable with all of the concepts and I am really enjoying the class.
What are you not doing well?
I sometimes have trouble balancing my time. I am in three other classes, I work 25 hours a week and have a wonderful, wonderful husband to take care of. I know many other people in the class have much busier schedules than I do. I marvel how well they balance all the things required of them. I need to be better at making a schedule of when I am going to study certain concepts and when I am going to do my homework. I have not been doing this and I sometimes feel I am not leaving enough time to review all of the new information I am learning.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals?
I feel I am making some good progress on my goals. As I mentioned previously, I sometimes feel I do not have enough time for review andd for in-depth study. I would like to make more time to review and study the concepts we are learning in our class.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals.
I need to schedule a time for a review and homework. I know I usually have some extra time on Friday mornings I usually use for reading other books or visiting with friends. If I wake up early on Fridays and do some review I would feel more on top of all of the things which are required of me.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Case Study Analysis - Chapter 3
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.
According to Erikson, Laura would be in the "Identity vs. Role Confusion" stage. Adolescents are often concerned with their appearance and how they are perceived by others. They are often worried they are always being judged or watched. They believe they are being critiqued by an "imaginary audience." Because adolescents are in between childhood and adulthood, they often question what their role should be and how they fit into the adult world. Laura is unsure of her identity and is constantly worried about the approval of others. She is experiencing "role confusion."
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?
If students are more interested in the social aspect of school rather than academic pursuits, teachers should try to incorporate social activity into academic exercises. For students who need social interaction, teachers should involve them in group work during class. They will be able to interact with other students while getting their class work finished. Teachers can also encourage students who need extra social interaction to get involved with differerent school clubs and extra curricular activities. Schools have sports teams, service clubs, academic clubs, etc. By getting involved in these acitivties students will be able to be involved in social interaction and may also be encouraged to focus on their school work.
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?
In Kohlberg's perspective, Laura is the "Good boy/Good girl" stage, or stage 3. Laura seems to be extremely worried about how other perceive her. She wants to please those around her, especially popular peers. She does not want to be thought of as a "geek" and when she is called in front of the class unsure of what she is supposed to do, she tries to seem as confident as possible. Mr. Marcalescu could help Laura advance her moral reasoning by relating to Laura of his own experiences in High School and college. He could explain to her how he once felt the pressure to please those around him, especially his peers, and how he later realized how conforming to others standards doesn't matter. This may help Laura to think on her own rather than worry so much about what is going on around her. Mr. Marcalescu could also explain the benefits of obeying laws and how laws maintain order in society. This may help Laura realize that it is important to keep school rules, obey national laws etc, as it keeps everything running smoothly.
4. In what ways might a debating class contribute to students' cognitive, linguistic, social, and moral development?
A debate class is a great arena for students to jumpstart cognitive, linguistic, social and moral development. Cognitively, students are being pushed to think independetly by those they are debating against. They have to draw on prior knowledge, push their brain to think critically about the topic they are debating about, etc. It allows them to develop skills which will enable them to think critcally about other topics in the future. Linguistically, students are able to develop because they are practicing the art of persuasion. In debate students have to learn how to use syntax, vocabularly, and the methods of pathos, ethos, etc, to make the audience belive their argument over their oppenents. It allows students to practice how to effectively communicate with those around them in a clear and pleasing manner. Socially, a debate class almost forces students to communicate effectively about controversial topics. It teaches students how to aruge in hopefully an uncontentious manner. It also allows students to be in a semi-atmosphere of "play" while discussing an academic topic. They are mimicking a real-life situation which will help them be sucessful in the future. Morally, it allows students to see different viewpoints on different controversial matters. It could help students to move into different levels of moral reasoning as they think about the arguments and reasoning of others.
According to Erikson, Laura would be in the "Identity vs. Role Confusion" stage. Adolescents are often concerned with their appearance and how they are perceived by others. They are often worried they are always being judged or watched. They believe they are being critiqued by an "imaginary audience." Because adolescents are in between childhood and adulthood, they often question what their role should be and how they fit into the adult world. Laura is unsure of her identity and is constantly worried about the approval of others. She is experiencing "role confusion."
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?
If students are more interested in the social aspect of school rather than academic pursuits, teachers should try to incorporate social activity into academic exercises. For students who need social interaction, teachers should involve them in group work during class. They will be able to interact with other students while getting their class work finished. Teachers can also encourage students who need extra social interaction to get involved with differerent school clubs and extra curricular activities. Schools have sports teams, service clubs, academic clubs, etc. By getting involved in these acitivties students will be able to be involved in social interaction and may also be encouraged to focus on their school work.
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?
In Kohlberg's perspective, Laura is the "Good boy/Good girl" stage, or stage 3. Laura seems to be extremely worried about how other perceive her. She wants to please those around her, especially popular peers. She does not want to be thought of as a "geek" and when she is called in front of the class unsure of what she is supposed to do, she tries to seem as confident as possible. Mr. Marcalescu could help Laura advance her moral reasoning by relating to Laura of his own experiences in High School and college. He could explain to her how he once felt the pressure to please those around him, especially his peers, and how he later realized how conforming to others standards doesn't matter. This may help Laura to think on her own rather than worry so much about what is going on around her. Mr. Marcalescu could also explain the benefits of obeying laws and how laws maintain order in society. This may help Laura realize that it is important to keep school rules, obey national laws etc, as it keeps everything running smoothly.
4. In what ways might a debating class contribute to students' cognitive, linguistic, social, and moral development?
A debate class is a great arena for students to jumpstart cognitive, linguistic, social and moral development. Cognitively, students are being pushed to think independetly by those they are debating against. They have to draw on prior knowledge, push their brain to think critically about the topic they are debating about, etc. It allows them to develop skills which will enable them to think critcally about other topics in the future. Linguistically, students are able to develop because they are practicing the art of persuasion. In debate students have to learn how to use syntax, vocabularly, and the methods of pathos, ethos, etc, to make the audience belive their argument over their oppenents. It allows students to practice how to effectively communicate with those around them in a clear and pleasing manner. Socially, a debate class almost forces students to communicate effectively about controversial topics. It teaches students how to aruge in hopefully an uncontentious manner. It also allows students to be in a semi-atmosphere of "play" while discussing an academic topic. They are mimicking a real-life situation which will help them be sucessful in the future. Morally, it allows students to see different viewpoints on different controversial matters. It could help students to move into different levels of moral reasoning as they think about the arguments and reasoning of others.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Case Study Analysis - Chapter 2
1. From the perspective of Piaget's theory, in which stage of cognitive development is Laura? Justify your response.
Laura is in the formal operations stage. Through analyzing Laura's debate with Mr. Marculescu, we can see how Laura can comprehend abstract thoughts, such as how to solve the problem of pollution. Laura can think of how to solve this problem and how the world can change. However, Laura exhibits formal operational egocentrism, meaning that although Laura can develop a solution to the idea of pollution. Laura cannot separate who own ideas from practical considerations. Some of her ideas on curing the problem of pollution can simply not be practically asked of people (i.e. people are not going to walk their trash to the landfill).
2. How is Laura's reasoning affected by her knowledge base--that is, by what she does and doesn't know about pollution?
Laura focuses on one main problem of pollution and that is how car exhaust can cause air pollution. Laura obviously knows some facts about how cars can hurt the environment. Her main argument is that people should cease to drive cars as to eliminate damage to the atmosphere. However, Laura seems to feel land fills are not also a serious problem of pollution. She discusses how people will still walk their trash to land fills, but the problem of pollution will be solved because the use of gasoline will be eliminated. Laura's reasoning reveals her knowledge base.
3. By posing a series of questions, Mr. Marculescu continually challenges Laura to reconsider her thinking about the pollution problem. What are potential benefits of this strategy? Use terminology from Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories in your response.
Interation with others and the use of language is important to both Vygotsky and Piaget. Piaget believes when children and adolescents cannot apply a concept into a current scheme, they must either assimilate (adjust a current scheme) or accomodate (create a new scheme) to deal with the new concept. Mr. Marculescu is helping Laura to assimilate her current scheme of thinking about pollution by questioning her reasoning. This is making Laura aware of new viewpoints (whether or not she accepts them).
Vygotsky believes strongly in the mentoring of young and adolescent children by adults. The situation occurring between Mr. Marculescu and Laura is a perfect example of a cognitive apprenticeship. In a cognitive apprenticeship, someone who is older and more expriences explains how they think and reason about a certain topic in order to help a younger and less experienced individual learn how to reason on his or her own. Through his questioning, Mr. Marculescu is giving Laura cues as to how she should properly think about pollution.
4. How does this scenario represent Piaget's and Vygotsky's conceptions of play?
As I said before, both Piaget and Vygotsky believe very strongly in the benefits of social interaction. Piaget believes young children and adolescents learn as they socially interact with others. As Laura is interacting with Mr. Marculescu, she is engaging different parts of her brain that she ay not have used on her own. Through interacting with Mr. Marculescu, Laura is thinking about pollution and associating them with her interactions with Mr. Marculescu. By having some sort of connection, Laura will be able to better remember what she is learning.
Vygotsky believes strongly in the concept of "play." Vygotsky argues that play helps a person develop cognitively. When children play, they often imitate real world situations. Laura and Mr. Marculescu are simulating a debate, which often happens in the business and work atmostphere. Mr. Marculescu is helping model a real world situation which will help Laura understand how to appropriately argue in the future.
Laura is in the formal operations stage. Through analyzing Laura's debate with Mr. Marculescu, we can see how Laura can comprehend abstract thoughts, such as how to solve the problem of pollution. Laura can think of how to solve this problem and how the world can change. However, Laura exhibits formal operational egocentrism, meaning that although Laura can develop a solution to the idea of pollution. Laura cannot separate who own ideas from practical considerations. Some of her ideas on curing the problem of pollution can simply not be practically asked of people (i.e. people are not going to walk their trash to the landfill).
2. How is Laura's reasoning affected by her knowledge base--that is, by what she does and doesn't know about pollution?
Laura focuses on one main problem of pollution and that is how car exhaust can cause air pollution. Laura obviously knows some facts about how cars can hurt the environment. Her main argument is that people should cease to drive cars as to eliminate damage to the atmosphere. However, Laura seems to feel land fills are not also a serious problem of pollution. She discusses how people will still walk their trash to land fills, but the problem of pollution will be solved because the use of gasoline will be eliminated. Laura's reasoning reveals her knowledge base.
3. By posing a series of questions, Mr. Marculescu continually challenges Laura to reconsider her thinking about the pollution problem. What are potential benefits of this strategy? Use terminology from Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories in your response.
Interation with others and the use of language is important to both Vygotsky and Piaget. Piaget believes when children and adolescents cannot apply a concept into a current scheme, they must either assimilate (adjust a current scheme) or accomodate (create a new scheme) to deal with the new concept. Mr. Marculescu is helping Laura to assimilate her current scheme of thinking about pollution by questioning her reasoning. This is making Laura aware of new viewpoints (whether or not she accepts them).
Vygotsky believes strongly in the mentoring of young and adolescent children by adults. The situation occurring between Mr. Marculescu and Laura is a perfect example of a cognitive apprenticeship. In a cognitive apprenticeship, someone who is older and more expriences explains how they think and reason about a certain topic in order to help a younger and less experienced individual learn how to reason on his or her own. Through his questioning, Mr. Marculescu is giving Laura cues as to how she should properly think about pollution.
4. How does this scenario represent Piaget's and Vygotsky's conceptions of play?
As I said before, both Piaget and Vygotsky believe very strongly in the benefits of social interaction. Piaget believes young children and adolescents learn as they socially interact with others. As Laura is interacting with Mr. Marculescu, she is engaging different parts of her brain that she ay not have used on her own. Through interacting with Mr. Marculescu, Laura is thinking about pollution and associating them with her interactions with Mr. Marculescu. By having some sort of connection, Laura will be able to better remember what she is learning.
Vygotsky believes strongly in the concept of "play." Vygotsky argues that play helps a person develop cognitively. When children play, they often imitate real world situations. Laura and Mr. Marculescu are simulating a debate, which often happens in the business and work atmostphere. Mr. Marculescu is helping model a real world situation which will help Laura understand how to appropriately argue in the future.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Contract Review #1
What I am doing well...
Something I feel I am doing well with is 1) staying up with the rythm of the course and 2) reviewing the information that I have learned in class. I feel as though I have been able to complete all of the needed assignments and I have felt very comfortable with the information I have learned in class. I am grateful for all of the different angles you have taken with each topic because it has helped me grately in remembering all I have learned.
What am I not doing well...
Something I need to be better at is planning ahead for big assignments. We have the multiple intelligences project and the visits we need to make to a secondary classroom which I have not planned to start yet. I would like to be more on top of these two things.
Am I making progress on my goals...
I feel as though in some aspects I am making progress on my goals. I feel good about all of the assignments I have completed thus far, but as I said before I need to continue to go over what lies ahead in the class so I can be prepared for big assignments. This is something I still need to work on.
Things I need to change in order to meet my goals...
1) I need to be more diligent in looking ahead at my calendar.
2) I need to plan out specific time to complete big projects.
Something I feel I am doing well with is 1) staying up with the rythm of the course and 2) reviewing the information that I have learned in class. I feel as though I have been able to complete all of the needed assignments and I have felt very comfortable with the information I have learned in class. I am grateful for all of the different angles you have taken with each topic because it has helped me grately in remembering all I have learned.
What am I not doing well...
Something I need to be better at is planning ahead for big assignments. We have the multiple intelligences project and the visits we need to make to a secondary classroom which I have not planned to start yet. I would like to be more on top of these two things.
Am I making progress on my goals...
I feel as though in some aspects I am making progress on my goals. I feel good about all of the assignments I have completed thus far, but as I said before I need to continue to go over what lies ahead in the class so I can be prepared for big assignments. This is something I still need to work on.
Things I need to change in order to meet my goals...
1) I need to be more diligent in looking ahead at my calendar.
2) I need to plan out specific time to complete big projects.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Multiple Intelligences Project Proposal
I am primarily a musical and interpersonal learner. Since I do not believe I have the skill to write a song (even though that would be rad), I have chosen to do a group project. I propose (drum roll....) to film a cooking show. I would like to make a show about how to bake a cake (I will bring the cake into the class of course). I will also write a paper on how to bake a cake. The goal of my project is to show the difference between a performance and paper-and-pencil assessment. Let me know your thoughts. :)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Web Quest Step #3
What?....
Descriptive Research: Descriptive research is when the researcher takes a straightforward measurement (qualitative or quantitative) of a classroom behavior, score, opinion, attendance rate, etc. In this kind of research a person could do anything between keeping track of a particular classroom's reading test scores, or making a log of the most prevalent behavioral problem in a 6th grade class. The most common descriptive research techniques include interviews, case studies, logs, databases, or spreadsheets. Basically, descriptive research allows you to "describe" a certain aspect of a student or classroom.
Correlational Research: Correlational research is a form of descriptive research involving comparisons. Through correlational research, a researcher can find relationships between two different sets of data. For example, a person could compare math test scores of a class in 8th grade and a class in 10th grade. A person could also examine behavioral problems of students in 6th grade and the same students when they get to 9th grade. They can measure changes or constants and determine a relationship. Correlational research, although it can help with seeing how relationships work, does not establish causation -- it cannot prove that x causes y.
Experimental Research: Experimental research establishes "causation." It is a formal experiment. A researcher finds a question they want to answer -- for example "Does background music stimulate learning in students in the 6th grade?" -- and then tries to answer the question. The researcher would randomly split the classroom into two groups -- a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group would be subject to background music during their time in class and the control group would experience no background music. After a determined period of time, the teacher would compare the grades and test scores of the students. In most situations a teacher can't perform perfect experimental research in his/her classroom because it is hard to separate the class, keep them unaware of the treatments being imposed on them, etc. However, they can perform "quasi" experiments or a sort of modified experiment according to the teacher's needs.
Action Research: Action research is research the teacher or any part of a school's faculty performs in a classroom. This usually involves a teacher implementing a new teaching program to see if it affects his or her students' test scores or learning capabilities. This is usually done in the form of a quasi-experiment. By doing this, the teacher can determine the effectiveness of the program in his or her own classroom. However, the teacher can not apply the findings to a general population of students since teachers can rarely perform a perfect experiment. Basically, action research is when a teacher takes "action" in his or her own classroom to measure effectiveness of a new teaching strategy or program.
So What?....
Educational research is extremely important because it allows a teacher to adapt to his or her students. The worst teachers are those who refuse to change. I know of some teachers who teach the same lesson plans each year without thinking of how they fit their students. Students change each year and with that comes a whole new set of personalities. Each of these personalities requires attention and care. It is important for a teacher to notice where his or her teaching methods are not effectively helping the students. Educational research allows a teacher to continually measure his or her affectiveness and makes him or her aware of the possibility of improvement. Teachers can answer questions through research, make discoveries about new programs, and solve problems they may have in their classrooms.
Now What?....
1) I still need to learn many things about educational research. For one, I am not naturally an experimental person. I love history, stories, hard facts, and do not have much of the ways of exploration. Since I have never really experienced the methods of experimentation, I would love to become more acquainted with how to go about different methods of study. For example, in descriptive research you can interview students, employ case studies and many other things. I am unsure how you would record results and how you would determine what to do with those results. These are all things which I need to learn.
2) Once I learn the proper processes of experiments and how to evaluate them, I plan to use educational research as a means of constantly improving my teaching. I want to be the kind of teacher that inspires students to learn and take hold of a subject. I believe the only way to do this is to always make evaluations of my teaching methods and styles. The best way to be aware of how effective my teaching is to the students is through research. I can interview students about a particular assignment, record test scores, or see the effects of a new program. All of these things will allow me to always improve my teaching.
Descriptive Research: Descriptive research is when the researcher takes a straightforward measurement (qualitative or quantitative) of a classroom behavior, score, opinion, attendance rate, etc. In this kind of research a person could do anything between keeping track of a particular classroom's reading test scores, or making a log of the most prevalent behavioral problem in a 6th grade class. The most common descriptive research techniques include interviews, case studies, logs, databases, or spreadsheets. Basically, descriptive research allows you to "describe" a certain aspect of a student or classroom.
Correlational Research: Correlational research is a form of descriptive research involving comparisons. Through correlational research, a researcher can find relationships between two different sets of data. For example, a person could compare math test scores of a class in 8th grade and a class in 10th grade. A person could also examine behavioral problems of students in 6th grade and the same students when they get to 9th grade. They can measure changes or constants and determine a relationship. Correlational research, although it can help with seeing how relationships work, does not establish causation -- it cannot prove that x causes y.
Experimental Research: Experimental research establishes "causation." It is a formal experiment. A researcher finds a question they want to answer -- for example "Does background music stimulate learning in students in the 6th grade?" -- and then tries to answer the question. The researcher would randomly split the classroom into two groups -- a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group would be subject to background music during their time in class and the control group would experience no background music. After a determined period of time, the teacher would compare the grades and test scores of the students. In most situations a teacher can't perform perfect experimental research in his/her classroom because it is hard to separate the class, keep them unaware of the treatments being imposed on them, etc. However, they can perform "quasi" experiments or a sort of modified experiment according to the teacher's needs.
Action Research: Action research is research the teacher or any part of a school's faculty performs in a classroom. This usually involves a teacher implementing a new teaching program to see if it affects his or her students' test scores or learning capabilities. This is usually done in the form of a quasi-experiment. By doing this, the teacher can determine the effectiveness of the program in his or her own classroom. However, the teacher can not apply the findings to a general population of students since teachers can rarely perform a perfect experiment. Basically, action research is when a teacher takes "action" in his or her own classroom to measure effectiveness of a new teaching strategy or program.
So What?....
Educational research is extremely important because it allows a teacher to adapt to his or her students. The worst teachers are those who refuse to change. I know of some teachers who teach the same lesson plans each year without thinking of how they fit their students. Students change each year and with that comes a whole new set of personalities. Each of these personalities requires attention and care. It is important for a teacher to notice where his or her teaching methods are not effectively helping the students. Educational research allows a teacher to continually measure his or her affectiveness and makes him or her aware of the possibility of improvement. Teachers can answer questions through research, make discoveries about new programs, and solve problems they may have in their classrooms.
Now What?....
1) I still need to learn many things about educational research. For one, I am not naturally an experimental person. I love history, stories, hard facts, and do not have much of the ways of exploration. Since I have never really experienced the methods of experimentation, I would love to become more acquainted with how to go about different methods of study. For example, in descriptive research you can interview students, employ case studies and many other things. I am unsure how you would record results and how you would determine what to do with those results. These are all things which I need to learn.
2) Once I learn the proper processes of experiments and how to evaluate them, I plan to use educational research as a means of constantly improving my teaching. I want to be the kind of teacher that inspires students to learn and take hold of a subject. I believe the only way to do this is to always make evaluations of my teaching methods and styles. The best way to be aware of how effective my teaching is to the students is through research. I can interview students about a particular assignment, record test scores, or see the effects of a new program. All of these things will allow me to always improve my teaching.
Cool Brain Research - John Ratey
What?....
John Ratey is currently researching how exercise effects the efficiency of the brain. In his recent book entitled, Spark, and in recent interviews Ratey argues that exercise greatly enhances the capacity of the brain to learn. He claims firstly, that exercise sharpens a person's impulse control, reasoning skills, and memory and learning system (basically enables the frontal cortex to work more effectively). Secondly, Ratey argues exercise releases neurotransmitters and hormones which help our brains change, grow and adapt. Lastly, he believes exercise stimulates neurogenesis, or the development of new brain cells. All of these things lead to a harder working, more controlled, more effective brain.
So What?....
John Ratey's research has already helped teachers and schools make big break-throughs in education. Two examples of this exist in Naperville High School and City Park Collegiate in Saskatoon. Naperville High School has all of its students participate in rigorous aerobic activity for 45 minutes each morning. This school has the lowest rate of obesity and also the highest scores on tests (on one test they scored #1 in Science and #6 in Math in the world). Ms. Allison Cameron, a teacher at City Park Collegiate, read Dr. Ratey's book and decided to implement an exercise program in her own classroom. Her school is a place where kids with behavioral problems, drug and alcohol problems, etc., come to as a last resort for education. After she started requiring her students participate in aerobic activity for 20 minutes each day of class, she noticed a big change in the students. Behavioral problems were almost eliminated and within four months the students jumped up at least a grade-level in reading (most of her 8th grade students only read at a 4th grade level). These two schools have already proven that Ratey's theories are very valuable in the educational sphere.
Now What?....
After researching John Ratey's theories, I am very excited about implementing his findings in my own classroom. I am someone who tries to run as much as a can during the week. My goal is always to run 15 miles a week (3 miles, 5 days a week). Even before reading about Ratey's theories, I have noticed on the days that I run my mind is more focused, I do better in my school work, I get more accomplished, and I my body feels happier and more invigorated. So of course exercise would help a class of teenage students. I would love to be able to have treadmills within my own classroom -- the students' bodies and minds would get a jump start, they would learn the importance of diet and exercise firsthand, and I could knock out my own workout with the students each day. However, I realize my dream is probably out of the question for the budget of most schools. With that being said, I believe by simply presenting Ratey's theories to the students and maybe giving assignments to do an aerobic activity after school in place of book work, I could implement some sort of exercise program into my classroom.
(To see where I found my information click here and here)
John Ratey is currently researching how exercise effects the efficiency of the brain. In his recent book entitled, Spark, and in recent interviews Ratey argues that exercise greatly enhances the capacity of the brain to learn. He claims firstly, that exercise sharpens a person's impulse control, reasoning skills, and memory and learning system (basically enables the frontal cortex to work more effectively). Secondly, Ratey argues exercise releases neurotransmitters and hormones which help our brains change, grow and adapt. Lastly, he believes exercise stimulates neurogenesis, or the development of new brain cells. All of these things lead to a harder working, more controlled, more effective brain.
So What?....
John Ratey's research has already helped teachers and schools make big break-throughs in education. Two examples of this exist in Naperville High School and City Park Collegiate in Saskatoon. Naperville High School has all of its students participate in rigorous aerobic activity for 45 minutes each morning. This school has the lowest rate of obesity and also the highest scores on tests (on one test they scored #1 in Science and #6 in Math in the world). Ms. Allison Cameron, a teacher at City Park Collegiate, read Dr. Ratey's book and decided to implement an exercise program in her own classroom. Her school is a place where kids with behavioral problems, drug and alcohol problems, etc., come to as a last resort for education. After she started requiring her students participate in aerobic activity for 20 minutes each day of class, she noticed a big change in the students. Behavioral problems were almost eliminated and within four months the students jumped up at least a grade-level in reading (most of her 8th grade students only read at a 4th grade level). These two schools have already proven that Ratey's theories are very valuable in the educational sphere.
Now What?....
After researching John Ratey's theories, I am very excited about implementing his findings in my own classroom. I am someone who tries to run as much as a can during the week. My goal is always to run 15 miles a week (3 miles, 5 days a week). Even before reading about Ratey's theories, I have noticed on the days that I run my mind is more focused, I do better in my school work, I get more accomplished, and I my body feels happier and more invigorated. So of course exercise would help a class of teenage students. I would love to be able to have treadmills within my own classroom -- the students' bodies and minds would get a jump start, they would learn the importance of diet and exercise firsthand, and I could knock out my own workout with the students each day. However, I realize my dream is probably out of the question for the budget of most schools. With that being said, I believe by simply presenting Ratey's theories to the students and maybe giving assignments to do an aerobic activity after school in place of book work, I could implement some sort of exercise program into my classroom.
(To see where I found my information click here and here)
Friday, September 11, 2009
Hidden Assignment - Course Contract
2-3 goals I have for this course...
1. Firstly, I want to come away from this course having a knowledge of how to better understand the kids I am teaching. I want to know how they learn and not only that, but how to learn ways to determine a student's learning style.
2. I want to be interactive and actively involved in my own learning process. I want to be able to take hold of the material I am learning and understand how I can apply it to experiences I will have as a teacher.
3. I just want to keep up with the "rhythm" of the class. :)
My weekly preparation plan...
As I said before, one of my goals is to stay up with the "rhythm of the course" that we discussed on the first day of class. In order to do this I know that I need to stay on top of things and be very aware of what is required of me. I will do this by having a time during the week, maybe right after class, when I look over the schedule and see what is required of me the following week. I will look at both what is due the next week and bigger assignments which are due farther in the future. For my other classes I usually make a calendar listing all of my assignments that are due for the semester. I plan to do this for this class as well.
My study strategies...
Throughout my high school and college career, I have discovered that I learn best by first taking notes (writing out notes, not just typing them on a computer) and then going over them repeatedly. I usually do this by making flashcards or keeping a log of different terms somewhere in my notebook. As long as I stay on top of this I never have to "cram" for a test or assignment.
The process I will follow if I do not understand a topic...
Firstly, if I do not understand a topic I will ususally first try to figure it out on my own -- looking in the textbook, looking online, etc. However, it that does not work I will try to find a classmate who does understand the topic and then go over it with them. If stage two does not work, I will then go to you, Dr. Cox and then hopefully I will be able to get my problem worked out. :)
I will reach my goals in this course by....
1) Using my time wisely,
2) Being aware of assignments,
3) Asking for help if I need it,
and
4) Being awesome!!
1. Firstly, I want to come away from this course having a knowledge of how to better understand the kids I am teaching. I want to know how they learn and not only that, but how to learn ways to determine a student's learning style.
2. I want to be interactive and actively involved in my own learning process. I want to be able to take hold of the material I am learning and understand how I can apply it to experiences I will have as a teacher.
3. I just want to keep up with the "rhythm" of the class. :)
My weekly preparation plan...
As I said before, one of my goals is to stay up with the "rhythm of the course" that we discussed on the first day of class. In order to do this I know that I need to stay on top of things and be very aware of what is required of me. I will do this by having a time during the week, maybe right after class, when I look over the schedule and see what is required of me the following week. I will look at both what is due the next week and bigger assignments which are due farther in the future. For my other classes I usually make a calendar listing all of my assignments that are due for the semester. I plan to do this for this class as well.
My study strategies...
Throughout my high school and college career, I have discovered that I learn best by first taking notes (writing out notes, not just typing them on a computer) and then going over them repeatedly. I usually do this by making flashcards or keeping a log of different terms somewhere in my notebook. As long as I stay on top of this I never have to "cram" for a test or assignment.
The process I will follow if I do not understand a topic...
Firstly, if I do not understand a topic I will ususally first try to figure it out on my own -- looking in the textbook, looking online, etc. However, it that does not work I will try to find a classmate who does understand the topic and then go over it with them. If stage two does not work, I will then go to you, Dr. Cox and then hopefully I will be able to get my problem worked out. :)
I will reach my goals in this course by....
1) Using my time wisely,
2) Being aware of assignments,
3) Asking for help if I need it,
and
4) Being awesome!!
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