Course Contract Review #4

What are you doing well?


I am doing well that this is over with and I don't have to stress anymore. I was able to stay on top of my assignments and complete every by the deadline.

What are you not doing well?

I did not do well controlling by anxiety levels. I couldn't sleep last night before the final. I woke up several times and didn't even eat breakfast before I came to class! Secondly, I don't know how I feel about the field response journal part 2. I did my best, but I guess we will see.....

Are you making sufficient progress on your goals?

Yes, I am making sufficient progress on my goals because for the final I feel like I knew the material fairly well. I took more time to study than ever before and it paid off. I know the material! I'm so excited.

List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals.

I don't need to change anything to meet my goals. I made flashcards for the final and used all your study material provided online. Life is good!

How is your motivation? Are you focusing on mastery or performance goals? Does anything need to change?

My motivation was good. Before I started studying I just wanted to though in the towel and say whatever I don't care. But I did care and starting studying and after I studied I was able to write the paper. I believe finally on this exam I was more focused on mastery goals and because of that I was able to meet performance goals too! No, nothing needs to change! This class is over!!!!!!! No more stress.

Final Learning Log

Piaget's Cognitive Development

Like: How Piaget explain what happens when we learn new information and it does not match the old.
Dislike: His stages are bound to age and I believe you can be in multiple stages at one time.

Vygotsky's Cognitive Development
Like: How children can be scaffolded through different zones of development. With work students can achieve difficult material.
Dislike: Yet it seems constricting that individuals are not allowed to discover information on their own.

Erikson's Psychosocial Development
Like: How I really understand this model and that it can happen at all stages of life.
Dislike: Erikson should have indicated that these stages can happen at any time and can go back and repeat due to situations.

Kohlberg's Moral Development
Like: Showing the progressing through life and morals. We develop our own ethics.
Dislike: It’s almost impossible to move through all the stages of moral development. It seems overwhelming.

Goleman's Emotional Intelligence
Like: I like how it indicates better communication and healthy relationships.
Dislike: It is very broad and almost anything can be accepted under emotional intelligence.

Information Processing
Like: How breaking down the process how our brain processes and stores information.
Dislike: I don't think I will ever sit in class and go through this process in my head. I don't think this is 100% practical for me.

Knowledge Construction and Higher-order thinking
Like: Students can be reached that are on different cognitive levels. These way students aren't just always recalling information. Critical thinking happens.
Dislike: Some students will never be able to reach higher levels. They will have disabilities and this is not practical for them to move all the way through higher order thinking.



Behaviorism
Like: This logically makes a lot of since to me. We learn by seeing from our different experiences.
Dislike: Your results can not be measured.

Social Cognitivism
Like: It's working and learning from others. This sounds like real life. The work force!
Dislike: I don't have any dislikes besides some stuff does seem a little redundant when working in groups how to evaluate.



Group and Individual Differences
Like: All students are different and learn in their each own individuals ways.
Dislike: It seems overwhelming trying to meet all the needs of your students. Not always practical.

Motivation
Like: Interest and goals has a huge impact on student motivation.
Dislike: Mastery and performance goals. They are true, but I just don't like thinking about it I guess.

Decide how you think people learn and discuss specific ways that your theory will impact your teaching.
I believe people learn from others! Social Constructivism is very relevant to my way of learning. Group work is essential. We work together in life and we should work together in the classroom. This also allows for students to be paired with each other that might be on different cognitive levels. They then are able to teacher one another. Also, my beliefs on peer teaching are that students might be able to teach information better than I can. They can present the information in a different manner. Everyone learns differently, but group work will be a big part of my classroom.

What?

My results from the quiz indicated that I was close with Constructivism and Higher-Order Thinking. My scores where B: 31, C: 35, H: 36. In my opinion, this relates the best to how I learn personal. Once I learn new material I am always trying to relate it to information that I already have and I love working in groups. I enjoy listening and getting new ideas from people. This has helped a lot being in the education program compared to the community health program that is all individual work bases. Behaviorism is study of behavior rather than the study of the human mind. Constructivism (I’m going off social constructivism) is when learners share individual perspectives with others and construct understanding together that could not happen individually. Higher Order Thinking is critical thinking. Allowing students to process the information and take an abstract look at the material.

So What?

My personal learning theory is social constructivism because working in groups is realistic. Working with peers allows for listening and getting new ideas from people. Students on different cognitive levels still have the opportunity to me learning from each other. They can help teach each other information in a different perspective. Life is social and I believe learning this way is essential. Learning in groups will allow for more hands. Its active learning and more fun! For the most part students learn better this way and they retain information better when they teach someone else.

Now What?

Step 1- Social Constructivism translates into my teaching strategies for the future is how my class will be set up. Students will have the opportunity to work with classmates and to seek out people in the community and learn from them. My class will have activities, but they will have a purpose. They will learn hands on; learning by doing!

Step 2- I need to improve my knowledge on Kholberg's Moral Development and Erikson's Stages. Understanding and having more information on these theories would help me to better progress my students throughout the different stages. Progressing positively through moral development and psychosocial development will make my students become better students and better members of society. Positive progression! This way they can be more effective moved through the stages. They will morally do what is right. This should hopefully turn into motivation. I need to improve my understanding on how to progressively move students through both of these stages. Our textbook offers situations and how to's to do this. I will need to study this more in depth.

Extra Credit The Teen Brain: Primed to Learn, Primed to Take Risks

What?

This article discusses how the brain functions, at what levels, and at what speed. It discusses a lot on adolescent people and the levels of their brain functions, then towards the end it goes through the process of how it changes to teen levels and even through late purbity. This discussion shows the connection of the brain and the process it goes through. It shows how the brain is perfect and that it is the reason why we can live in just about any environment because the brain can make us adapt to where ever we are over time. The brain is adaptable. 

So What?

 I completely agree with this concept that the article had brought up.  I also agree with the speed of the brain, that it works and fires so fast when we are young and then as we get older things slow down. The brain is functioning at a very high rate, but if we give it a chance with inactivity than this can cause the brain to help slow down as well.  But hopefully in the learning process as we grow there are many new connections made which stimulates new or different information in our brain. So I believe more is learned at younger ages verses at the older ages.  I believe this but the younger ages is bery broud as well. 

Now What?

Coming close to becoming a secondary education teacher I need to hope other adults and teachers have done their job to ensure student learning by the time they reach to me. More importantly, it is very important for student to realize the affects alchohol and drugs can have on a young teens mind.  The reprocautions can be greatly different because of the state of mind they are in.  I also need to give them as much opportunity to learn because after high school the brain isn't learning or firing as fast and it only gets slower.  Learning new material will be accomplished by creating new "file folders" for processing.  If the new file folders are created students will have an easier time finding the information or remembering the material! We will see!!!!

Extra Credit- Study: Students more stressed now than during Depression?

What?

A new study reported that young people and college students are more stressed out today than in comparison to students in the great depression. Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychology professor indicates that youth are more concerned with finances and success. Parents are not teaching children coping skills to handle stressful situation and on top of it divorce rates are increasing which does not allow for children to grow up in a stable environment. On the contraire, critics claim that just more people are of aware of mental disorders and where to go for help.

So What?

As teachers to this over anxious generation where students are typically struggling more with mental illness than ever before this will take time and consideration in classroom lectures. Student affect will be taken into high account. It will be important to put expectations on students still but they must be reachable expectations for each individual student.

Now What?

As I soon become a health teacher to more teens struggling with mental illness than ever before I will have to teach mental health very carefully. Mental health and mental illness will be taught with careful consideration of classmates that might be struggling with these different diseases. I will show student effective ways for treatment, where to receive help, and to know what they are looking for. I will let my students know this is not something to be taken lightly and stress the importance of understanding and not to judge.

Social Cognitivism Case Study

1. Which teacher in the scenario demonstrates vicarious reinforcement? Justify your response with definitions and an example from the case study.


Mr. Kessinger demonstrates vicarious reinforcement in the scenario. The definition of vicarious reinforcement is when an observed behavior leads to a positive or negative outcome. If the outcome is positive the behavior is repeated and if it is negative then the behavior is not. In the case study it is noted "Robin never again took notes of any kind in Mr. Kessinger's class." Mr. Kessinger received the response he was looking for.

2. Is Mr. Kessinger considering reciprocal causation in his class? Explain your response, including all aspects of reciprocal causation in your reasoning.

I do believe that Mr. Kessinger is modeling reciprocal causation in his class. Mr. Kessinger is taking into count the environment component, the behavior component and the personal component. The environmental component is evident because of the use of the teacher as the social stimuli and behavior component because Mrs. Kessinger has created an emotional response with the given situation (the concept map). Most of all Mr. Kessinger has affected Robin's personal component because he has imposed beliefs that she was cheating and humiliated her in front of the class and now has affected her learning potential.

3. Which self-regulated learning process is Robin engaging in when she creates her concept maps? Explain your reasoning.

Robin was engaging in self-control when she created her concept maps. Robin demonstrated this step by creating the maps to help her link information about leading into WW2. This concept map (a strategy) was allowing Robin to help achieve her goals. Her goal was to understand and link the correct material together and the concept map allowed her to do so.

4. How do you think Robin's self-efficacy has been affected by this experience. Be specific about which self-efficacies have been affected and justify your response with examples from the case study.

Robin's self efficacy has been negatively affected by this experience. Specifically, Robin's outcome expectancy has been damaged because Mr. Kessigner has damaged the outcome of a performance (the concept map). When Mr. Kessinger claims she is cheating in class when she only thought she was trying to learn the material. Mr. Kessinger has enforced she was cheating by using notes. She no longer takes notes in his class, she doesn't believe she can.

Behaviorism Case Study

1. Does Mr. Kessinger's class represent a community of learners as defined in Constructivist theory? Why or why not?


No, Mr. Kessinger's class does not represent a community of learners. A community of learners is when students co-construct knowledge but also work together in the design of their learning environment. There was no indication that students were working together besides listening to other students answers and when Robin was in trouble for having notes during a class discussion she did not have the chance to decide the design of her learning environment.

2. Does Mr. Kessinger utilize presentation punishment or removal punishment with Robin? Justify your response using definitions and evidence from the case.

Mr. Kessinger uses removal punishment with Robin. The books definition defines removal punishment as removing desirable stimuli to try to stop an undesirable behavior. Examples from the case study to help justify my response, is when Mr. Kessinger yells and rips up the note concept map because he doesn't want that behavior to happen again in his class.

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?

The stimuli are paired when both teachers caught/found the note maps. This is the conditioned stimulus. Mr. K caused so much fear for creating and using the map in that that when Ms. Yamashita saw the map Robin was unable to differentiate the response from the teachers. This is the conditioned response.

4. How might Ms. Yamashita encourage Robin to create concept maps in the future? Include behavioral concepts such as shaping, reinforcement, etc., in your response.

I believe Ms. Yamashita would need to speak to Robin after class. Ms. Yamashita would need to first find out why Robin was so upset and why she stormed out of the room crying. Once, Ms. Yamshita comes to the understanding what happened in Mr. K's class. Ms. Y can use shaping to encourage the use of her concept maps in psychology. Robin would need positive comments and continuous reinforcements to help correct the conditioned response that she has created. By continually praising Robin or even making copies of the concept maps for the class would help reinforce Robin to continue the good behavior in your classroom.

Constructivism Case Study Analysis

1. Describe two similarities between the traditional lesson and the constructivist one as described above. What are two differences?


In both lessons the teacher had something in mind that she wanted measured. Lesson one the class measured the whale and lesson two the boat. In both lessons students were excited to see the length of the whale or where excited to figure out the length. The differences in the two lessons are more visible by in the second lesson students were using problem-based learning to find the length of the ship. In the first lesson were unable to define features of measurement after they played around the idea of measurement for three days they were able to define the need to have set rules for measurement.

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.

In the second lesson was a good demonstration of constructivism. The drawbacks that the students spent so much time trying to solve the problem and when they felt they had solved the problem they arrived with incorrect answers repeatedly or naive theories about measurement. On the other hand the benefits to constructivism create a more lasting imprint (they remember what they learned) and it allows for higher order thinking. Students are critically thinking to solve a difficult problem. In my opinion, the benefits out way the cost because it demands students to dig deep and look for answers. They can't always just be spoon feed the material. They remember material better when they aren't just always handed to them.

3. How does the constructivist lesson described above promote critical thinking? Give specific examples of critical thinking from the case study and include a definition of critical thinking to support your response.

The lesson allows for critical thinking because the students are expected to find the solution. They weren't just given the answer. For example when Tom raised his hand and said, "Mrs. Hendry, I know it can't be three feet because the nurse just measured me last week and said that I was four feet, and this boat is much bigger than me!" and when "The children decided that it was necessary for Mark to make sure that he began exactly at the beginning of the boat and did not leave any gaps in between his palms and his fingers as he placed them on the tape." Students were critically thinking in these situations to correct misinformed material. Critical thinking is defined as the process of systematically examining available information and coming up with conclusions that are based on evidence.

4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Why or why not?

Yes the constructivist activity would be considered an authentic activity because it is a real world activity/experience. The Mayflower was a real ship, there are ships today, and people need to know ship sizes all the time for different reasons.