FINAL BLOG/MODULE 9

How people learn

From the readings of social cognitive theorists it seems as they combine how environmental, behavioral, and personal factors of the individual person shapes how learning occurs. According to Dweck, it is the belief of one’s individual potential that can motivate learning. He advises that we as educators should not lower standards as it will only serve as a disappointment to students self esteem later in life. For example if an individual has been praised with low standards and the content begins to involve critical thinking skills or more problem solving they will give up and think they are unable to learn at that point. Individuals learn whether they are stimulated extrinsically or intrinsically. A change in a person’s behavior can happen through environmental influences that can affect one’s perception, memory, cognitive development and personality. Social learning occurs through interactions with peers, family or a group. Cognitive development can expand by developing meaning or through a connection to enhance knowledge of a particular subject or content. According to Piaget theory of cognitive development, when a discrepantacy occurs between existing knowledge and new information an individual arrives at a state of disequilibrium. Arriving at this point of uncertainty may cause the individual learner to problem solve or make a decision. It was believed by Piaget that if students encounter enough of disequilibrium experiences it can lead to a change in behavior or thought pattern.

William James (1980) believed the intervening variable between a low or high academic performer is personal expectation. Increasing the expectation of self can lead to success (Bandura, 1997). Self image is a conscious reflection of one’s identity separate from the environment. It is believed that attitudes, behavior, self-concept, and meaningful purpose/connection all will need to be examined to prepare youth for an academic success (Huitt, 2004).

References

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

James, W. (1890). Principles of psychology. New York: Henry Holt.

Huitt, W. (2004, October 29). Becoming a Brilliant Star: An introduction. Presentation at the Forum for Integrated Education and Educational Reform sponsored by the Council for Global Integrative Education, Santa Cruz, CA. Retrieved April 29, from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/brilstar/brilstarintro_s.pdf

R10

R10

Inspiring quotes: "The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wondering attention, over and over again, “he wrote is the very root of judgment, character, and will” (Rosen, 2008, p.109).

“After all, information is power, and if one can process more information all at once, perhaps one can be more powerful.”

Question: If singular focus is a mark of intelligence then why are most employers requiring the skill of multitasking?

Connections: According to Rosen (2008) some individuals “get bored if it’s not all going at once, because everything has gaps” (p. 108). I recall having to share an office with a colleague that had a fan and radio going at all times throughout the day and could not function without it. At first it was a bit annoying because I could not focus with so many distractions, until I brought a heater that drown out the noise on the opposite side of the office which oddly allowed me to concentrate better on my work, or so I believed. After reading the Rosen article I now realize that all of these distractions in addition to the phone calls, walk-ins, and e-mails contributed to increased loss in productivity at the workplace. Often, I found myself taking more work home or altering my work schedule to come in or stay late in order to complete more tasks for the day, specifically to meet deadlines and project goals.After reading this article it made me think the Attention Deficit Trait is contagious. Adapting to the environment around me made it easier for me to believe I was becoming more productive, when in fact by giving more tasks partial attention, I was becoming less productive in completing tasks during work hours and it ultimately affecting my social and personal life at home.

Below is a video I found on how NASA wanted their pilots to become better focused and participated in a study using video games to help decrease ADD. Maybe I should have brought my first co-worker a video game to play instead of buying a heater.

Treating Attention Deficit Disorder with Video Games

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/nasa/2135-treating-adhd-with-video-games-video.htm

Module 7

After reading the information from Module 7 I found this video that explains the use of Concept Mapping. The first video explaines how the process works and the second link is a testimonial from experts that have used this technique in their class. Students can use this as a tool to show a connection to the new information presented. Teachers can use the tool as a guide to see students misconceptions of how a particular concept connects to their prior knowledge.This will allow teachers to guide students on how to integrate the new information correctly.

Concept Mapping Process:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QENMp0K2-Zk&feature=related

Hear from experts on the benefits of concept mapping:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwl08n7ZlcE&feature=related

R9

Quote: "If the information is going to move from students’ short-term to long-term memory, it must make sense and have meaning” (Friedrichs, 2001, p.77).

Question: In the one lesson discussed in the reading the teacher allowed time for multiple associations to take place for a variety of retrieval cues opportunities, I wonder how much preparation time is needed to plan activities ahead of time and what other information will the teacher need to collect about the students prior to planning activities to enhance the organization process of associations?

Connection: While reading this article it reminded me of William James Chapter 7 on Memory. According to Friedrichs’ (2001) "a new learning experience must be connected to student’s prior knowledge because the connection will serve as an “emotional hook” to engage students with their learning (p.76). I believe that William James would agree with this strategy to improve memory because he stated, “the secret to a good memory is thus the secret of forming diverse and multiple associations with every fact we care to retain” (James, 2001, p. 61). In the reading we learned of various mental and physical cues to help students recall new information that they have learned from visual, kinesthetic, musical/rhyme, verbal, and written. The goal was to provide multiple cues so that at least one will best fit with the way a student best learn and retain information. The activities should stimulate the minds of students and serve as mental cues when they need to retrieve it for an assessment. James (2001) defined an educated memory as an “organized system of associations and a sufficient number of cues” in order to recall the information enhancing the quality of native retentiveness (p. 60). Throughout the activities the teacher incorporated in the lesson each day it continues to focus on the goal to move the information from short-term to long-term memory.

References

James, W. (2001). Talks to teachers on psychology and to students on some of life’s ideals.

Mineola, NY: Dover.

Module 6

After reviewing the information about sensory registers I am reminded of how teachers sometimes make accommodations in the classroom for students with ADD. From the readings I we learned that students have to attend to the information presented and a deficit in this area could disrupt the process of receiving information in a classroom setting.  I recall the video presented on the link below of how teachers made a sensory accommodation for a student with ADD. His teacher simply placed band around his chair to keep him focused and seated during instruction time. If you look closely at the video you will see that he is still moving around a bit, but he does not move from his seat. Another technique I have tried before was placing an object under the desk in order to give students something to touch and squeeze while sitting at their desk to keep them from distracting to others around them. Students knew it was there for them and the urge to look for something to play with during instruction time which in turned distracted others was reduced.

The most interesting part of the PowerPoint was how distracting the physical environment could be to student’s sensory registers. Taking the test of moving the objects (i.e. triangle and squares) was quite difficult with other students talking over the teacher. I missed 1/3 of the photo that was suppose to be created after moving all of the objects in place.

Sensory Accomodation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnKkKV95bHE

R8

Quote: "Relativist’s are less concerned with how we see objects than with how we categorize them: how we sort our experiences into conceptual categories like birds, tools, and people” (Pink, 2002, p. 201).

Question: Postmodern theorist expose us to examples of social constructivism (received truth) and its influence on perceptions of various groups in the world, however based upon their observations how would one explain the complex relationship within and between groups with a historical root of privilege and oppression in society?

Connections: According to Pinker, language is important to cognitive development because it is a way to communicate your experiences in the world. The reading was interesting as it reminded me of a message from our pastor last Sunday. In his message he advised the college age youth of our church to be mindful of the postmodern age that we are living in particularly during their educational training when they begin to learn of various theories of how we came into existence. He shared his thoughts on how we have moved from a pre-modernism age and the spread of Christianity, to the modern age of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution that resulted in the creation of atheist groups or non believer of Christ. The pastor warned the youth to become more frightful of the postmodern age because the perspective on history is worse compared to the modern age. During this age it is conceivable to question the truths of the world that have been proven scientifically or not. His main point was this postmodern age is a shift in worldviews and theories of knowledge making it easier for Christians to become complacent and accepting of non Christ like activities of the world.

Another interesting point from the reading implies that relativists believe that “reality is socially constructed by the use of language, stereotypes, and media image” (Pinker, 2002, p. 199). Pinker suggests that postmodernist believe that meaning is constructed by an identified social group and their language not by the individual. “Postmodernists and other relativists attach truth and objectivity because they feel it is the best way to pull the rug out from under racists, sexists, and homophobes” (Pinker, 2002, p. 202). Overall, I interpreted the reading to suggest that during this new age old truths that are challenged based upon a specific social group’s perspective of how they perceive true democracy in the world according to their cultural values and beliefs outside of the Westernized norms.

Quick fixes to engage students....

Greetings All,

Below you will find a link related to yesterday's discussion about quick fixes that may or may not work that educators could use to engage more students in the classroom.

http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewprd.asp?idProduct=9088&r=eu10121&REFERER=

Enjoy!