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