Piaget's Cognitive Development
Like: I like the different stages that Piaget's has outlined. They make sense to me, sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete and formal all seem to go in accordance with what I understand.
Dislike: I dislike the confusion I have between assimilation and accommodation. They're so closely related and it's hard for me to differentiate between them using examples. I also have some frustration knowing which stage applies to some examples we've gone over. Concrete and Formal seem very similar to me.
Vygotsky's Cognitive Development
Like: I like the Zone of Proximal Development, it is easy to understand and explain. I can see how students and all people move up and down in this learning development theory. It's simple, what we can and can't do on our own and what we can do with help.
Dislike: I also have trouble with the definitions for scaffolding and guided participation. From my loose understanding, the only difference is that scaffolding is help from a superior and guided participation is more with groups and people from a peer group.
Erikson's Psychosocial Development
Like: I like Erikson's theory because it goes into more depth than Piaget's or anyone else. The 8 stages are easy to understand and are adequately explained to help me see where people fall into categories. I can also see where I have been at stages of my own life and see what stage I might be in right now.
Dislike: There are so many of them! They all make sense, but some of the definitions are explained differently then what I'm used to. I have a hard time remembering all of them. If I can' tremember all of them off the top of my head, the odds that I actually think of them and use them while teaching are slim.
Kohlberg's Moral Development
Like: I don't like anything about Kohlberg's theories, mostly because I don't understand them, I did worst on the test on these sections.
Dislike: The reasoning behind each theory was confusing to me and I didn't understand how he came to the justifications and explanations that he did. Each of the stages seemed interchangeable to me and that's why they were confusing on paper.
Goleman's Emotional Intelligence
Like: The idea that it is something that I can recognize and manage. And being able to do so with others is beneficial in the "real world."
Dislike: There is nothing I disagree or dislike about emotional intelligence.
Information Processing
Like: Making the analogy between learning and computers makes sense to me. Information can be input, stored and retrieved later is broken down into simple enough steps that it makes following it easier. I also liked doing the visual model in class, that helped me understand it's process too.
Dislike: The two different lost stages were confusing at first, I couldn't understand how there could be two or where they'd fit. The different categories that fall into long term memory were also a little confusing in order to try and find where new information would be stored.
Knowledge Construction and Higher-order Thinking
Like: I liked the community of learners, spiral organization and problem-based learning definitions and examples from this section. These ideas made clear sense to me and helped me understand how I can implement them in my future classroom, especially creating a community of learners.
Dislike: Bloom's Taxonomy gave me all kinds of trouble throughout the semester. I disliked the different verbs and how I was expected to remember them all or at least under which category they fall. Especially in curriculum, they killed me. However, I understand that it will be important for me to utilize them correctly in my classroom in order to test and evaluate students most appropriately.
Behaviorism
Like: Token economy hit home for me because it was my fifth grade teacher, through token economy, that taught me to be responsible. He would give out "bucks" for assignments and we would use them for just about anything, parties, prizes and whatever else we could think of. It taught me responsibility. It worked behavior on me.
Dislike: I'm pretty sure the majority of the class feels the same about negative and positive reinforcement and removal and presentation punishment that I do. They are confusing!
Social Cognitivism
Like: This one also helped me understand better the way I learn. I learned about self-efficacy and vicarious reinforcement as well as self-regulated learning. All of these summarize how I learn and it made things more clear for me. In my future classroom, I need to be a good enough teacher to encourage students and help them develop a positive self-efficacy.
Dislike: Reciprocal Causation has been muddy for me since the beginning. I can't tell if it's something that we are supposed to manage as teachers or if it's something the students are supposed to be aware of as learners.
Group and Individual Differences
Like: There was nothing I like about group and individual differences.
Dislike: I disliked the stereotypes that come with groups and then placed on individuals.
Motivation
Like: I liked learning about all the different ways to motivate myself and my future students. I think this one is important because with all the different students will come different ways of motivating them. Learning the differences will help me help them. Specifically, intrinsic motivation helps me and is clear
Dislike: There is nothing I dislike about motivation.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Course Contract #3
What are you doing well? I'm feel like I'm staying up to date on most of the assignments. I don't necessarily get them done early, but I know what is expected and although it is a lot of work I feel like I'm able to stay on top of it. If I have questions I ask those around me and study well with a few others in the class.
What are you not doing well? I'm not doing very well at remembering and memorizing all the theories. When we discuss them in class they all make sense and flow nicely, but when I am asked to recall the information it begins to get fuzzy.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals? I do feel like I'm making progress on my goals. I feel like all of the things I'm learning and am able to remember are going to really help me become a better teacher.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals. I need to try to be even more on top of getting assignments in on time. If I do this it will help me to prepare sooner for the exams and give myself more time to study for them.
How is your motivation? Are you focusing on mastery or performance goals? Does anything need to change? To be completely honest, my motivation is slacking. This semester is a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be and I beginning to become more worn out. The assignments and projects are not extremely difficult, but the work load has been rough. I still do really enjoy my classes, and the things I'm learning are extremely applicable to teaching and I will use them in my classes. I think that if I can get my TWS and other observations done before spring break then I can relax and come back ready to learn again.
What are you not doing well? I'm not doing very well at remembering and memorizing all the theories. When we discuss them in class they all make sense and flow nicely, but when I am asked to recall the information it begins to get fuzzy.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals? I do feel like I'm making progress on my goals. I feel like all of the things I'm learning and am able to remember are going to really help me become a better teacher.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals. I need to try to be even more on top of getting assignments in on time. If I do this it will help me to prepare sooner for the exams and give myself more time to study for them.
How is your motivation? Are you focusing on mastery or performance goals? Does anything need to change? To be completely honest, my motivation is slacking. This semester is a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be and I beginning to become more worn out. The assignments and projects are not extremely difficult, but the work load has been rough. I still do really enjoy my classes, and the things I'm learning are extremely applicable to teaching and I will use them in my classes. I think that if I can get my TWS and other observations done before spring break then I can relax and come back ready to learn again.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Behaviorism and Social Cognitivism Case Study
Behaviorism (Ch. 5) Questions:
1. Does Mr. Kessinger's class represent a community of learners as defined in Constructivist theory? Why or why not? Not at all, the student was trying to learn from other students and she went beyond what was asked by creating the concept map. The teacher completely shattered her motivation to learn on her own.
2. Does Mr. Kessinger utilize presentation punishment or removal punishment with Robin? Justify your response using definitions and evidence from the case. He used Presentation Punishment. The new stimulus was presented in response to a behavior in an effort to decrease the behavior.
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? By using notes in one class and getting in trouble for it, Robin automatically thinks that she will get in trouble for using notes in every class.
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. Changing a behavior or idea that someone has been trained in can be really difficult to do. Shaping could be used to form an existing response by gradually changing across successive trials towards a desired target behavior by rewarding exact segments of behavior. Reinforcement can be used with a reward system being pretty consistent in the beginning, and then taper off slowly as the student becomes more consistent with the behavior.
Social Cognitivism (Ch. 8) Questions:
1. Which teacher in the scenario demonstrates vicarious reinforcement? Justify your response with definitions and an example from the case study. I would probably say that Mr. Kessinger is demonstrating that. He probably had an experience before that where someone else got mad at him for using notes and then in turn used that same philosophy with his students.
2. Is Mr. Kessinger considering reciprocal causation in his class? Explain your response, including all aspects of reciprocal causation in your reasoning. His actions toward her using notes in his class cause her to shut down even more, and to probably try less to succeed in his class, which in turn makes him more frustrated with his students. The learning environment that he has created will affect the behavior of the students in his class.
3. Which self-regulated learning process is Robin engaging in when she creates her concept maps? Explain your reasoning. Performance stage: because she was self-recording, keeping a journal/log book and making a concept map. She was also using self-instruction to remind herself about the material.
4. How do you think Robin's self-efficacy has been affected by this experience. Be specific about which self-efficacy's have been affected and justify your response with examples from the case study. She will most likely have a hard time being able to really apply herself in learning. That one experience will make her afraid to go the extra mile and really try to learn material. She won't do anything on her own, most likely she will wait to be told what to do in a situation so that she doesn't get in trouble.
1. Does Mr. Kessinger's class represent a community of learners as defined in Constructivist theory? Why or why not? Not at all, the student was trying to learn from other students and she went beyond what was asked by creating the concept map. The teacher completely shattered her motivation to learn on her own.
2. Does Mr. Kessinger utilize presentation punishment or removal punishment with Robin? Justify your response using definitions and evidence from the case. He used Presentation Punishment. The new stimulus was presented in response to a behavior in an effort to decrease the behavior.
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? By using notes in one class and getting in trouble for it, Robin automatically thinks that she will get in trouble for using notes in every class.
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. Changing a behavior or idea that someone has been trained in can be really difficult to do. Shaping could be used to form an existing response by gradually changing across successive trials towards a desired target behavior by rewarding exact segments of behavior. Reinforcement can be used with a reward system being pretty consistent in the beginning, and then taper off slowly as the student becomes more consistent with the behavior.
Social Cognitivism (Ch. 8) Questions:
1. Which teacher in the scenario demonstrates vicarious reinforcement? Justify your response with definitions and an example from the case study. I would probably say that Mr. Kessinger is demonstrating that. He probably had an experience before that where someone else got mad at him for using notes and then in turn used that same philosophy with his students.
2. Is Mr. Kessinger considering reciprocal causation in his class? Explain your response, including all aspects of reciprocal causation in your reasoning. His actions toward her using notes in his class cause her to shut down even more, and to probably try less to succeed in his class, which in turn makes him more frustrated with his students. The learning environment that he has created will affect the behavior of the students in his class.
3. Which self-regulated learning process is Robin engaging in when she creates her concept maps? Explain your reasoning. Performance stage: because she was self-recording, keeping a journal/log book and making a concept map. She was also using self-instruction to remind herself about the material.
4. How do you think Robin's self-efficacy has been affected by this experience. Be specific about which self-efficacy's have been affected and justify your response with examples from the case study. She will most likely have a hard time being able to really apply herself in learning. That one experience will make her afraid to go the extra mile and really try to learn material. She won't do anything on her own, most likely she will wait to be told what to do in a situation so that she doesn't get in trouble.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Special Needs Case Study Analysis
1. What classic symptoms of a learning disability does Nathan exhibit?
He knows the material, but he doesn't stay focused enough to complete the assignments. He is better verbally then he is when it comes to writing, and he "forgets" to turn in his work.
2. What accommodations has Nathan received in the past?
It said he received medication, which I don't know if that is counted as an accommodation or not. And he also was in several resource classes in elementary school.
3. What strategies would you recommend to help Nathan work with his learning disability? Why?
May give him a schedule for each day and maybe give him tests verbally instead of written. Or possibly a project would keep him more interested and be able to show what he really knows.
4. How many students like Nathan will you likely have in your classes? Justify your response by summarizing the information from a link or reference (include the link/reference).
According to (http://www.bsu.edu/web/PGPBSU/exceptionalities/Phase1/high%20incidence.html#ld) approximately 52% of students have a learning disability. I never realized that number was so high. That means that I'll be catering to the majority of the kids in my class that have learning disabilities. It shows the extreme need for differentiation with the material I teach.
He knows the material, but he doesn't stay focused enough to complete the assignments. He is better verbally then he is when it comes to writing, and he "forgets" to turn in his work.
2. What accommodations has Nathan received in the past?
It said he received medication, which I don't know if that is counted as an accommodation or not. And he also was in several resource classes in elementary school.
3. What strategies would you recommend to help Nathan work with his learning disability? Why?
May give him a schedule for each day and maybe give him tests verbally instead of written. Or possibly a project would keep him more interested and be able to show what he really knows.
4. How many students like Nathan will you likely have in your classes? Justify your response by summarizing the information from a link or reference (include the link/reference).
According to (http://www.bsu.edu/web/PGPBSU/exceptionalities/Phase1/high%20incidence.html#ld) approximately 52% of students have a learning disability. I never realized that number was so high. That means that I'll be catering to the majority of the kids in my class that have learning disabilities. It shows the extreme need for differentiation with the material I teach.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Constructivism Case Study Analysis
Questions:
1. Describe two similarities between the traditional lesson and the constructivist one as described above. What are two differences?
Both of the lessons provided the students a chance to get out of their seats and learn kinesthetically. They also got to participate in their learning by physically seeing how large something was that they needed to measure. They were both active and engaged in each lesson.
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.
Benefits - The students were actively participating in constructing new knowledge. It was not only teaching them about this specific topic, but it gave them the tools they needed to problem solve for themselves in other topics or life situations.
Drawback - The constructivist approach in very time consuming. As it was mentioned, it took the class 3 days to come up with a conclusion. From a teachers perspective 3 days is a really long time to cover one concept when you have a whole list of objectives we need to cover every semester/year. Occasionally I think some teachers have good intentions when using this model. However sometimes the material or inforamtion that is provided may still be too difficult for students to work through. They then could be come very frustrated and cut themselves off from wanting to participate and learn.
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.
Critical Thinking - (book definition)the process of systematically examining available information and coming up with conclusions that are based on evidence. But to me it just means knowing how to think through difficult situations and being able to problem solve.
The teacher in the second example required the students to apply past knowledge to their current situation to figure it out on their own. He never flat out gave the students the answers they were looking for, but he made sure he guided them to the correct conclusion.
4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Why or why not? I would absolutely consider the activity authentic. It measured the students performance on the ability to complete something that would apply to a really life situation.
1. Describe two similarities between the traditional lesson and the constructivist one as described above. What are two differences?
Both of the lessons provided the students a chance to get out of their seats and learn kinesthetically. They also got to participate in their learning by physically seeing how large something was that they needed to measure. They were both active and engaged in each lesson.
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.
Benefits - The students were actively participating in constructing new knowledge. It was not only teaching them about this specific topic, but it gave them the tools they needed to problem solve for themselves in other topics or life situations.
Drawback - The constructivist approach in very time consuming. As it was mentioned, it took the class 3 days to come up with a conclusion. From a teachers perspective 3 days is a really long time to cover one concept when you have a whole list of objectives we need to cover every semester/year. Occasionally I think some teachers have good intentions when using this model. However sometimes the material or inforamtion that is provided may still be too difficult for students to work through. They then could be come very frustrated and cut themselves off from wanting to participate and learn.
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.
Critical Thinking - (book definition)the process of systematically examining available information and coming up with conclusions that are based on evidence. But to me it just means knowing how to think through difficult situations and being able to problem solve.
The teacher in the second example required the students to apply past knowledge to their current situation to figure it out on their own. He never flat out gave the students the answers they were looking for, but he made sure he guided them to the correct conclusion.
4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Why or why not? I would absolutely consider the activity authentic. It measured the students performance on the ability to complete something that would apply to a really life situation.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Cognitive Psychology/Information Processing Case Study Analysis
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 differentiation that those students got to experience while learning are drastically different than those of the students that read it from the textbook. Its hands on and not only will the students remember what happened but they will mostly likely remember the people that experienced those conditions too.
2. How does Mr. West’s use of a Civil War re-enactment engage students’ emotions? What is the relationship between emotions and learning? It evokes emotions from the students about the topic that they didn't know before that experience. They learn that those people were real and can put a face and name to them. They can relate in some way to all of those people. Emotions make up our memory. Every memory I have can be related to an extreme emotion that I experienced at that time.
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? Mr. West can be effective for the students to read about the events as well. It is combining their visual knowledge/experience with a reading assignment and then a discussion.
4. Who do you think provides better instruction for his students? Support your answer from an information processing perspective. I believe Mr. Richards provides better instruction. His method allows for differentiation for all learning types and keeps the attention of more of the students. He actually requires the students to think and use their minds. In Mr. Dunkin's class students are simply taught what to think and how to memorize facts, not to think through problems and come to their own conclusions.
5. How would you expect the students’ learning outcomes to differ depending on which teacher they had? Like I said above, students will have an array of methods to process information and reach their own conclusions rather then only being able to act based on what they have been told by others.
2. How does Mr. West’s use of a Civil War re-enactment engage students’ emotions? What is the relationship between emotions and learning? It evokes emotions from the students about the topic that they didn't know before that experience. They learn that those people were real and can put a face and name to them. They can relate in some way to all of those people. Emotions make up our memory. Every memory I have can be related to an extreme emotion that I experienced at that time.
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? Mr. West can be effective for the students to read about the events as well. It is combining their visual knowledge/experience with a reading assignment and then a discussion.
4. Who do you think provides better instruction for his students? Support your answer from an information processing perspective. I believe Mr. Richards provides better instruction. His method allows for differentiation for all learning types and keeps the attention of more of the students. He actually requires the students to think and use their minds. In Mr. Dunkin's class students are simply taught what to think and how to memorize facts, not to think through problems and come to their own conclusions.
5. How would you expect the students’ learning outcomes to differ depending on which teacher they had? Like I said above, students will have an array of methods to process information and reach their own conclusions rather then only being able to act based on what they have been told by others.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Course Contract Review #2
What are you doing well? I'm feel like I'm staying up to date on most of the assignments. I don't necessarily get them done early, but I know what is expected and although it is a lot of work I feel like I'm able to stay on top of it. If I have questions I ask those around me and study well with a few others in the class.
What are you not doing well? I'm not doing very well at remembering and memorizing all the theories. When we discuss them in class they all make sense and flow nicely, but when I am asked to recall the information it begins to get fuzzy.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals? I do feel like I'm making progress on my goals. I feel like all of the things I'm learning and am able to remember are going to really help me become a better teacher.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals. I need to try to be even more on top of getting assignments in on time. If I do this it will help me to prepare sooner for the exams and give myself more time to study for them.
How is your motivation? Are you focusing on mastery or performance goals? Does anything need to change? To be completely honest, my motivation is slacking. This semester is a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be and I beginning to become more worn out. The assignments and projects are not extremely difficult, but the work load has been rough. I still do really enjoy my classes, and the things I'm learning are extremely applicable to teaching and I will use them in my classes. I think that if I can get my TWS and other observations done before spring break then I can relax and come back ready to learn again.
What are you not doing well? I'm not doing very well at remembering and memorizing all the theories. When we discuss them in class they all make sense and flow nicely, but when I am asked to recall the information it begins to get fuzzy.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals? I do feel like I'm making progress on my goals. I feel like all of the things I'm learning and am able to remember are going to really help me become a better teacher.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals. I need to try to be even more on top of getting assignments in on time. If I do this it will help me to prepare sooner for the exams and give myself more time to study for them.
How is your motivation? Are you focusing on mastery or performance goals? Does anything need to change? To be completely honest, my motivation is slacking. This semester is a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be and I beginning to become more worn out. The assignments and projects are not extremely difficult, but the work load has been rough. I still do really enjoy my classes, and the things I'm learning are extremely applicable to teaching and I will use them in my classes. I think that if I can get my TWS and other observations done before spring break then I can relax and come back ready to learn again.
Social and Moral Developement Case Study
1. Laura's preoccupation with herself is a good example of imaginary audience, she believes that people are looking at her all the time. She could also be at a stage in her life when she wants intimacy or trying to figure out what role she plays. I thinks she's border Identity v Role Confusion and Intimacy v Isolation. Her social development is all pending (according to her) on what people think of her and how they'll interact with her.
2. For social matters, I don't know if it's a strategy but it's an activity that could help Laura gain the attention she desires. She could be encouraged to try out for the cheerleading team, any of the class student body positions or be made the school's announcer, the one that does the date, flag salute, etc. In the classroom, a teacher can use the strategy of group work and presentations in class to incorporate her with other people and have her stand and present what she's worked on.
3. I think she's in the conventional level of Kohlberg's theory because it seems to me that she reasons in her ways of thinking mostly about how it would be compared to society's view and expectation. She is always thinking about what people see her as and thinks people are always looking at her. She seems more interested in what society would tell her is right and wrong rather than what her superiors would. Mr. Marculescu could help her develop a higher level of moral reasoning by helping her see that her views are important because they're her own, she shouldn't have to worry about what society thinks.
4. A debate class is good for the development of all these attributes. First, a cognitive development because in order to debate about something you have to study about that subject. It would be very hard to debate about something you didn't know, or people could tell that you were making it up. It is good for linguistic development because you have to speak in front of multiple people who are usually waiting to dissect every word you say. With helpful critiques you can become a very linguistic person through debate. Social development through debate happens because you learn the ability to read people and read the words that are coming out of their mouths. You are exposed to a lot of people and that will help your social development. Moral development hopefully comes by winning the debates that are morally correct to you.
2. For social matters, I don't know if it's a strategy but it's an activity that could help Laura gain the attention she desires. She could be encouraged to try out for the cheerleading team, any of the class student body positions or be made the school's announcer, the one that does the date, flag salute, etc. In the classroom, a teacher can use the strategy of group work and presentations in class to incorporate her with other people and have her stand and present what she's worked on.
3. I think she's in the conventional level of Kohlberg's theory because it seems to me that she reasons in her ways of thinking mostly about how it would be compared to society's view and expectation. She is always thinking about what people see her as and thinks people are always looking at her. She seems more interested in what society would tell her is right and wrong rather than what her superiors would. Mr. Marculescu could help her develop a higher level of moral reasoning by helping her see that her views are important because they're her own, she shouldn't have to worry about what society thinks.
4. A debate class is good for the development of all these attributes. First, a cognitive development because in order to debate about something you have to study about that subject. It would be very hard to debate about something you didn't know, or people could tell that you were making it up. It is good for linguistic development because you have to speak in front of multiple people who are usually waiting to dissect every word you say. With helpful critiques you can become a very linguistic person through debate. Social development through debate happens because you learn the ability to read people and read the words that are coming out of their mouths. You are exposed to a lot of people and that will help your social development. Moral development hopefully comes by winning the debates that are morally correct to you.
Cognitive Developement Case Study
1. Pre Operational. Laura was unable to think through the problem wiht logical reasoning. Its all based on perception and she was unable to budge on her idea on polution even though her teacher made very logical and realistic points.
2. Laura is using her perception of the world to solve the problem. Her perception and intuition may not include enough information to solve this problem. She was unable to understand conversation. She egocentric, unable to consider the wold from a perspective other then her own.
3. By constantly posing new questions to Laura, Mr. Marculescu is trying help her move to the next stage of Concrete Operation. Potentially it should also help Laura to view someone else's perspective, learn from others, and help to further educate her about polution.
4. Concept of Play
Piaget: He believed that a child's efforts to make their environment match his or her own concepts. His theory holds that play does not necessarily result in new cognitive structures. Piaget claimed that play was just for pleasure. And this play for Laura shows just that. She is not learning or producing new congnitive structures during the debate even though new ideas or perspectives are put right in from of her.
Vigotsky: His theory states that play actually facilitates cognitive development. Children not only practice what they already know-they also learn new things. This doesn't seem the case in Laura's situation. She isn't showing any new congnitive development once she has applied what she already knows.
Piaget wins!
2. Laura is using her perception of the world to solve the problem. Her perception and intuition may not include enough information to solve this problem. She was unable to understand conversation. She egocentric, unable to consider the wold from a perspective other then her own.
3. By constantly posing new questions to Laura, Mr. Marculescu is trying help her move to the next stage of Concrete Operation. Potentially it should also help Laura to view someone else's perspective, learn from others, and help to further educate her about polution.
4. Concept of Play
Piaget: He believed that a child's efforts to make their environment match his or her own concepts. His theory holds that play does not necessarily result in new cognitive structures. Piaget claimed that play was just for pleasure. And this play for Laura shows just that. She is not learning or producing new congnitive structures during the debate even though new ideas or perspectives are put right in from of her.
Vigotsky: His theory states that play actually facilitates cognitive development. Children not only practice what they already know-they also learn new things. This doesn't seem the case in Laura's situation. She isn't showing any new congnitive development once she has applied what she already knows.
Piaget wins!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Brain Awareness Project
I'm not exactly sure what my project will consist of. I'm teaming up with another student in the class. But we have chosen to do a project on memory. We have a few idea's but nothing set in stone yet.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Educational Neuroscience
What: I chose to look at Judy Willis and her R.A.D. teaching method . She teaches parents and teachers strategies that will help ignite a students learning. She teaches ways to engage the heart and mind to challenge students and enable them to reach their highest potential. Her method is called R.A.D., which stands for Reticular Activating System, Amygdala, and Dopamine.
So What: Knowing how to engage the heart and mind to challenge students and enable them to reach their highest potential is a huge part of teaching. To me this seems like the one of the biggest parts of being a teacher. Maybe that's how teachers should measure their success. Ask ourselves if we helped them reach their highest potential while in my class.
Now What: Dr. Willis suggested the following as tips for improving students memories: Destress, grab attention, color, novelty, personal meaning, relational memories, pattern, mental manipulation, practice makes permanent, and syn-naps. These seem not only great for students I teach, but for me in comprehension. I makes me want to learn more about how I can better help students I teach to reach their full potential.
So What: Knowing how to engage the heart and mind to challenge students and enable them to reach their highest potential is a huge part of teaching. To me this seems like the one of the biggest parts of being a teacher. Maybe that's how teachers should measure their success. Ask ourselves if we helped them reach their highest potential while in my class.
Now What: Dr. Willis suggested the following as tips for improving students memories: Destress, grab attention, color, novelty, personal meaning, relational memories, pattern, mental manipulation, practice makes permanent, and syn-naps. These seem not only great for students I teach, but for me in comprehension. I makes me want to learn more about how I can better help students I teach to reach their full potential.
Course Contract Review #1
1. I'm staying on top of my homework and making sure I get my assignments done on time. I've talked to someone in the class and kind of teamed up to help each other to remember assignments and discuss projects and readings. That seems to help a lot.
2. I still need to work on my comprehension while I read. While I'm reading everything seems to make sense and I follow it quite easily. But as soon as I'm asked to repeat what I learned I seem to automatically forget it.
3. I do feel like the things that we've talked about will help me improve as a teacher. Learning how to connect with my students and how they learn will play a huge role in how I go about teaching them.
4. Rereading assignments and taking better notes will help me to better comprehend what I've read and help me to remember it better for tests.
5. As of right now I'm probably more focused on my performance rather then mastery goals. I am realizing that after so long of having performance based goals rather then mastery goals its really hard to change my mind set. But hopefully if I focus on how all of this can apply to my teaching mastery goals will become easier.
2. I still need to work on my comprehension while I read. While I'm reading everything seems to make sense and I follow it quite easily. But as soon as I'm asked to repeat what I learned I seem to automatically forget it.
3. I do feel like the things that we've talked about will help me improve as a teacher. Learning how to connect with my students and how they learn will play a huge role in how I go about teaching them.
4. Rereading assignments and taking better notes will help me to better comprehend what I've read and help me to remember it better for tests.
5. As of right now I'm probably more focused on my performance rather then mastery goals. I am realizing that after so long of having performance based goals rather then mastery goals its really hard to change my mind set. But hopefully if I focus on how all of this can apply to my teaching mastery goals will become easier.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Motivation Blog
I'm here at UVU as a History Education major because I love to teach, and I love history! Everyone says that they love kids... OK, maybe that's just El Ed majors. But I really love high school age kids! They are smart, witty, creative and most of the time just need help figuring out where to put all their energy. Yes they can be a pain, be immature and have attitude, but that's part of the reason I love that age group so much. I just know that if I can share with those students my appreciation and love for history it will all be worth it.
I succeed and am motivated when I am passionate and excited about something. And its just the opposite when I fail. I am bored or not interested in whatever I'm doing.
I do think that my goals that I mentioned in my course contract cover both mastery and performance goals. I want to do well in the class by staying on top of assignments and coming prepared to class. By doing/performing well in this class it will help me reach my ultimate goal of becoming a better teacher.
If I can stay in line with my goals in my course contract I believe I will stay motivated to do well in the course and ultimately become a greater teacher.
I succeed and am motivated when I am passionate and excited about something. And its just the opposite when I fail. I am bored or not interested in whatever I'm doing.
I do think that my goals that I mentioned in my course contract cover both mastery and performance goals. I want to do well in the class by staying on top of assignments and coming prepared to class. By doing/performing well in this class it will help me reach my ultimate goal of becoming a better teacher.
If I can stay in line with my goals in my course contract I believe I will stay motivated to do well in the course and ultimately become a greater teacher.
Course Contract
Goal #1 - Become a a better teacher. I know I love to teach and that it makes me happy. But I wouldn't say I'm great at it. I have a lot to learn and am eager to improve.
Goal #2 - Stay caught up on my assignments. From what I hear this class can be a little overwhelming. Not that its necessarily difficult, but that there is a lot of work to do. I would like to make sure I stay on schedule so that I can focus on each assignment as it comes.
Every day following class I have set aside time to work on any projects that will be due the following time we meet for class. I wait till the day before class to do any reading we have been assigned so that it is fresh in my mind and I can actually remember it for any class discussions. The best thing for me to do for this class will be to do the reading and work on the assignments before class and come prepared.
If I don't understand something I will first look it up online. I know a few people in the class. So if I still have questions or don't understand something I would go to one of them and see if they can help explain it to me more clearly. If I am still having problems I will e-mail you to see if I can meet with you to get some more clarification.
I will reach my goals for this course by staying caught up on my assignments, attending class, coming prepared to class having read the assignments and completed any projects, and by asking questions if I have any.
Goal #2 - Stay caught up on my assignments. From what I hear this class can be a little overwhelming. Not that its necessarily difficult, but that there is a lot of work to do. I would like to make sure I stay on schedule so that I can focus on each assignment as it comes.
Every day following class I have set aside time to work on any projects that will be due the following time we meet for class. I wait till the day before class to do any reading we have been assigned so that it is fresh in my mind and I can actually remember it for any class discussions. The best thing for me to do for this class will be to do the reading and work on the assignments before class and come prepared.
If I don't understand something I will first look it up online. I know a few people in the class. So if I still have questions or don't understand something I would go to one of them and see if they can help explain it to me more clearly. If I am still having problems I will e-mail you to see if I can meet with you to get some more clarification.
I will reach my goals for this course by staying caught up on my assignments, attending class, coming prepared to class having read the assignments and completed any projects, and by asking questions if I have any.
Friday, January 8, 2010
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