Uses of Standarized Testing

I do beleive that standarized testing has benefits and as of know is needed in our education system.  Many competitive colleges look at these scores to admit students.  Without this they would not have anything to make a judgement on regarding admittance.  The problem that exists with these tests is the interpretation of these scores.  People analyzing the tests should look at the location and background of students as well as the types of questions on the test.  Colleges do try to control for this overinterpretation by looking at a student's location, socio-economic status and other factors when comparing one student's score to another.  They also control for this by having the student's write essays.  This essay gives the student a chance to explain their background and talk about factors that influence their grade (fluctuations due to divorce, death, etc.) Overall these tests are needed and helpful as our education system exists today. 

Motivation 2

In my previous motivaiton blog I addressed how students can be motivated in the long run, when intrinsic motivation (understanding of content) is applied in a classroom instead of extrinsic motivation (stickers, candy, points).  However, ensuring motivation on a day to day basis will be another area I will need to focus on.  Many of these day to day activities that will keep students motivated, overlaps with the necessities of classroom management.  One specific activity I will utilize will be to work in groups or pairs.  Students often are exicted and motivated to work with other peers rather than to work by themselves.  This can be seen as early as preschool years.  Students greatly prefer the presence and interactions with other students over the chance to play alone.  Another important aspect of this activity is that students who are struggling with a concept are able to receive support from a peer.  Sometimes hearing an idea explained by a peer rather than an adult is better understood, since the peer is able to use more familiar language as they have similar schemas which are less complex then the teachers.  This explanation with simlar expression and more familiar language can prove to be a more concrete representation then what the teacher had originally used.  Also, it is easier to stay actively mentally engaged when you are working with a peer who is holding you accountable for having input.  When you are working alone there is no one next to you bringing your attention back to the assignment or asking you what you think. You can easily let your mind wonder off task. 

Classroom Management 2

To give a specific example of how I would use classroom management I will address the issue of a student using a cell phone in class.  My immediate response to this situation would be to go over and stand by the student while I continue to speak to entire class.  Many times my mere presence and will alleviate the problem.  Although if a student was continuing to use the cell phone throughout class I would then pose a question to the class to begin group discussions so I could go ask the student if there was an emergency situation that required him/her to step out of the classroom to make a phone call.  If they did not have an emergency I would inform him/her that phones can not be used inside the classroom for any reason as it causes a disruption of participation.  My long term plan would also be to analyze the material I am discussing in class to gauge whether or not the material is within this student's ZPD.  This will help to determine if the student is bored or frustrated with class content.  I will also analyze my content with regards to this student's background to determine if the concrete-abstract representations of the subject material I am giving, fit into this student's schema. Since this student seems to be motivated by social interaction I will also make sure I am having the students work with each other whenever possible and appropriate, to help bridge some of the learning gaps with peer to peer language and interactions.   

Motivation

When I think about what motivates students in a classroom, my immediate response is reinforcement.  Although extrinsic motivation can be highly reinforcing at first the reinforcing measuring is short lived as students tire of the same reinforcement they are given, and it no longer becomes reinforcing.  To address this I will do my best to motivate my students to learn the material.  I will let them know on the first day that their success in the class will not be measure test by test or assignment by assignment but rather as an ultimate goal.  At the end of the semester if they can prove they understand and can apply the material than they will have been successful. 

classroom management

Classroom management should begin on day one of the school year (BLT). Setting clear expectations for my children and modeling for them will help to ensure they at least know how they are expected to act in class.   We should never assume that children just know your expectations if you never actually tell them or model them, for the students to actually see.  They could have a different idea of a rule so it is important to make sure you all are on the same page.   The other influential factor will be to keep my children atively mentally engaged (CLT). Many times children misbehave due to boredom or frustration.  By asking open ended questions about the subject material, I am sure to get at least someone's response, which means they will have to be engaged and thinking about the material at hand.  The SLT informs us that when teaching a subject matter is important to stay within a student's ZPD.  This goes back to children misbehaving due to frustration or bordeom.  Students will be frustrated if the subject is too abstract and bored if the material is too easy. This idea of staying within student's ZPD can be assisted with the use of the DLT.  When starting any new subject with any age group it is important to exhibit the most concrete version of the subject material, as the DLT informs us it is easier to understand a concrete object more than an abstract idea.  When ideas are abstract before they are concrete, we are venturing outside of the student's ZPD since the abstract idea is to complex.    

Group Presentation

I think my group did a good job of incorporating all aspects of the four main learning theories.  If I were to give the same lesson in front of a real fourth grade class, I would make sure that I spent a bit more time in my explanations of food nutrients.  Younger people would have a harder time understanding how the different foods really contribute to your overall health and how they effect the way you feel.  I would give more examples of how the fats and oils group gets stored in your body and leaves you feeling fatigued.  I would also take a bit more time to talk about what good things are in fruits and vegetables and how they interact with your body to benefit your overall health (heart, organs, and energy level). More examples and longer wait times for responses would be two aspects I would consider when giving this presentation again. 

Group Lessons

Tuesday:
Group 1- I liked how you guys used all aspects of SLT.  Having us work in groups and in trios on the board was a great way to incorporate the MKP.  I think the CLT was also incorporated as we came up with words we commonly mispell and thought about what rules we use to spell these words.  I think the DLT was hard to pick up on but could be due to the fact that words are abstract.

Group 2-I liked how this groups again used the SLT right away by having us talk about the social norms we were witnessing as a group or class.  I also liked how concerete these examples were, as the group modeled the social norms themselves.  Great job incorporating CLT by having us think of how we see this in our lives.

Group 3- The DLT was immediately used as we seen two examples of speeches from the group.  Nice job of incorporating candy(BLT).  I seen SLT used as we talked in group about why these speeches were good and bad.  The CLT was used as we related how we seen examples of good and bad speeches in our own lives.

Group 4- Good idea of using a map to point out states(DLT).  Having a picture of each state's bird, flower, etc., was great to visualize these things.  Working in groups and presenting it to the class was a good idea as it helped me to think about these items as I spoke about them(SLT). 

Group 5- I really liked the concrete example you gave, which helped relate conjugating verbs to a more familiar example(DLT).  I also liked how we went through each conjugation as a group(SLT).  This was one of the best examples of conjugating verbs I have been given.

Why Can't I Leave?

I have come to realize that I can not bring myself to show up early to any event.  Even when I am going somewhere that I really want to go to, I still seem to be held up doing things to the last minute before I have to leave. I have thought about why it is, I struggle to get places on time. The simplest answer to this is that I am always busy.  I occupy my time with school, two jobs, a boyfriend, my friends and my family. Though, when considering the different Learning Theories and how they might help explain the thinking patterns that are recurring, I can start to piece together what is maintaining my  behavior.  When thinking about the BLT, I have to say my behavior of occupying my time up to the last minute is positively reinforced by the tasks that I complete. Since I do not have time to always do what I'd like at home, it is reinforcing to me to finish these tasks. This feeling of reinforcement is competing with the adversive feeling of having to show up somewhere early. 
     I think there are social aspects that maintain my behavior as well.  I have seen in the past that other people have showed up late to various events (SLT).  I have noticed in some settings it is less appropriate and akward if you show up late but in other settings (usually less formal) being late is not as much of an issue.  This prior knowledge can play apart in my sense of urgency when leaving my apartment.
     When I look to other areas in my life (mainly my free time in general) I can see how this behavior shows up again and again.  Even on my one day off a week, I find myself trying to go five different places.  Since it is my day off, I want to make the most of my time and see the people that I can but I often end up regreting some of the plans I make as I am constantly rushing around on my one free day.  Even though I really want to fulfill all the plans I make, I have to remember to give myself some free time which is hard with all of these competing feelings.  Parallel to scheduling my day off to the last minute, I do homework on my breaks at work, and work/clean in the morning before I leave for school.  I think this behavior is effected by my  school and social schemas (CLT).  My prior knowledge tells me that acting this way is productive and functional. I get tasks accomplished and manage to show up places on time (somehow).        

Consequences for Behavior-Informed by Learning Theories

Since in the future, I plan to work with children doing behavior interventions, I chose to focus on behavior.  I asked one of my friends with a 3 year old boy (very advanced I might add) what she does as a concsequence when Ethan misbehaves. She said that in a case where he hits or is aggressive with his little sister (20 mos.) he goes into time out for three minutes.  I asked her why she does this and she said this is due to the fact that "he knows better." She says he should know better since he has been punished before for the same action.  (CLT-she seems to be drawing on past knowledge). She also claims that he does not like time out and that this has been an effective discipline before. In the past in timeout, Ethan would throw a fit for about 2 minutes, then look at her and say "mom" when he is done tantruming. She asks him, "Are you all done" and he says "A..Yeah." (CLT). When I asked her why she originally came out with the concept of timeout as a consequence she said she had seen this be effective for other children and mothers. (SLT-she is looking at the more knowledgable or experienced peer for a better understanding.)

If I were to teach a group of kindergarteners about class mngmt. skills I could use both the SLT and the DLT to inform my strategies for teaching the content. First I would ask the students if they could tell me an aspect of class mngmt. skills like, how to get the teacher's attention. This would allow me to guage their zone of proximal development (SLT). By asking these questions, I may come across the more knowledgable peer who already has some knowledge of class mngmt. skills that other students do not possess (SLT). The peer's explanation may also be beneficial, since explaining the skill in his/her own words allows classmates to gain the understanding from a person with a more equivalent understanding.  This can happen when the peer uses more familiar language (SLT).
     Next, I would use a concrete representation available, to model four aspects of class mngmt. skills I think they should know (DLT).  These aspects include sitting at a table, sitting on the floor, requesting to use the bathroom, and requesting the teacher's attention.  The most concrete representation would be myself, since the children (ideal model) need a seperate source to learn from.  I would then put the kids into pairs to demonstrate these aspects.  Again, the more knowledgable maybe a big help to the children who do not possess these skills yet (SLT). 
     Since the children are 5-6 years old they would not be able to demonstrate in writing their understanding of these class mngmt. skills, which would show they have an abstract understanding.  So to solidify these skills and help them to begin to think a bit more abstractly, I would ask them as a class, to show me bad examples of each of the aspects.  This would show that they understand what the skills look like and what they do not look like, which shows they have somewhat of a distinct understanding of how to spot the skills and demonstrate them as well.

Utilizing the Developmental Learning Theory

    The Developmental Learning Theory can be used to inform one's method of teaching. Using this thoery, it is believed that the most effective way to teach new material is to begin by displaying and explaining the most concrete or familiar representation of a new subject. Once this represetnation is given and discussed the instructor should show a more abstract representation of the material so that learners can gain understanding of the new subject.  This allows the learner to begin to think in more complex and abstract forms, which allows them to better know the material.  However, young children will not be able to process abstract material due to the lack of brain development that has taken place.  In this case, the instructor should not give the more abstract form since the child is not able to understand much more than a concrete representation. 
     To use an example, one could begin by modeling the three branches of government within a classroom.  This would allow the students to experience a direct representation (almost) hands on.  There could be a president and congress and supreme court judges.  I recall doing something similar when I learned about government and this experience has stuck with me ever since.  We each had opportunities to write and revise bills which we brought before congress to get voted for or against.  The bill would than go to the president who could sign off on it or veto it. As a last resort, the supreme court judges can find the bill to be invalid if it violates the constitution. I think experiencing all of these actions myself, has allowed me to further understand how it would take place in real life. 
     The Developmental Learning Thoery can be used to inform assesment mehtods as well. WIth older youth, the most complex and thorough way of understanding occurs in an abstract form.  To asses a student's understanding than, the instructor would want to test the learner for his/her most abstract explanation.  This could be done in an essay format, since words and explanations are much more complex to process than a visual representation, like a diagram of model.  To test the scenario I described above, I would definitely use written scenarios on a test, to see if the student was able to tell me how a bill could become passed.