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.