Final Learning Log

I took the quiz and my scores were as follows:
Behaviorism 42/49
Cognitivism 45/49
Humanism 41/49
What? I scored the highest under Cognitivism. There are three main parts of social cognitive theory: the power of observation, the role of control, and the importance of motivation. When talking about the power of observation, social cognitive theory is mainly about learning by observing others. By doing so, you can learn new behaviors from models. For example, take vicarious punishment and vicarious reinforcement; people learn what behaviors are most likely to lead to reinforcement and punishment by watching others who experience it. Also, by watching others, they get a good understanding of what they are and aren’t capable of doing. The social cognitive theory also talks about how people can be in control of their surroundings. When people watch others, they control what they learn, and if they learn, by paying attention or not paying attention. When people self-regulate, they take charge of their own behaviors and their own learning by setting goals and doing self-evaluations. Lastly, it is important to be motivated. Most of people’s behaviors are goal-based. Also, through observing, people form their own expectations of future outcomes of certain actions. It’s found that, in order to be completely motivated, people must have high self-efficacy and believe they will be successful, to some degree or another. Most people take charge of their own motivation by evaluating future responses. I believe that it is so important for students to be motivated, and this is the reason why I think I scored the highest in that section.
So What? It is important to know this information because we, as teachers, will deal with this for the rest of our career. In every classroom there is AT LEAST one student who struggles, is disabled, or is special needs. It is important for the teachers to be well educated in how to handle these kinds of situations so they are able to reach out to every one of their students, whether they are disabled or fully able. As I further my education and career, I will become more aware of which abilities and behaviors are typical for a particular age-group and will be able to identify children who are atypical in one way or another. The job of referring students to a specialist or for assessments ultimately comes down to the teacher, so it is important to be aware and educated on this information. For all I know, in the school I teach at, they might practice inclusion. I would need to provide specialists with information for IEP's and detailed specifics about the disabled students.
Now What? Now that I have learned about the information in Chapter 5, I feel a LITTLE bit more confident in going into teaching and being aware that I will encounter these kinds of situations. I am still nervous because of the unknown, and actually having them in a classroom compared to just doing textbook exercises on the information. I believe I will be able to express my knowledge about inclusion and IEP's, as well as apply to my classroom the concept of "Least Restrictive Environment", which is extremely important to have in the classroom. As a teacher, it is my job to teach everyone in my classroom, not just those who are willing and able. I need to reach out to those who have severe to minor disabilities, as well as special needs. Whether or not my school I teach at practices inclusion, I need to be aware of what it is and how to adapt my classroom to it. From Chapter 5's information about individual differences, I think it is very important for the students in the classroom to be aware of the differences amongst the students around them, and it doesn't matter if the differences are minor or major.

Chapter 4 Learning Log

What? Who we are is composed of our past experiences, beliefs and knowledge. This is an important concept because it applies to the social relationship between teachers and students. All of us get in the habit of looking at the world through our own cultural lenses, seeing things the way we believe they are supposed to be seen. But, what happens when a student sees the world differently than other students see it, or how the teacher sees it? This is why it is so important to have an open mind as a teacher. In order to effectively work with students, teachers must try hard to overcome these biased behaviors. For example, in some cultures, children do not look adults in the eye as a sign of respect. The best thing to do is to know who your students are. Communicate with the parents to find out if there are any cultural differences that you should be aware of as their teacher. As a teacher, it is also very important to be able to quickly adapt and modify your teaching style to those students who are culturally different.
So What? It is important to know these things because in the classroom I will have many students from diverse cultures. I need to know how to handle situations where students may think other students are weird for being "different", but in fact every one is different, and it is my job to make each and every one of my students aware of that. No parent wants to send their child off to school when they are unsure of how their child is "viewed" each day. It is the teacher's job to make sure that there is an atmosphere of respect that is maintained in the classroom.
Now What? Now that I know this information, I am more aware of the cultural aspects of a classroom. I will be able to educate my students about the differences between all the students. I could maybe have a "Me Day" where each student chooses a way to present themselves to the class. I could do this activity in the beginning of the school year as an introduction activity. I think it is so important, and so much more important after reading Ch. 4, to be educated about cultural differences among students. The better you know the students, the more comfortable they will feel around you as their teacher, and the more successful they'll be in your class.

Chapter 5 Learning Log

What?  There are several ways in which students in any classroom may be different from one another.  Starting out, teachers may find this to be overwhelming.  however, with time and experience, I'll learn how to bring diversity into the classroom and make each student feel special and loved.  It is very important to know as much as you can about each student.  What's it like for them at home?  What languages do they speak?  Any information will be helpful to the teacher in providing that student with the proper learning environment.  Individualize instructions for those students who are non-disabled, as well as disabled and special needs.  It is VERY important to have good communication with the students' parents, because the more information about their child you swap, the more successful the teacher will be in reaching out to that student.  When dealing with inclusion, it is important to take into consideration their disabilities.  Your classroom always should be LRE (Least Restrictive Environment), meaning the teacher should do everything they can to reach every student, and the way they are teaching should benefit everyone in the classroom and leave nobody out.

So What? It is important to know this information because we, as teachers, will deal with this for the rest of our career.  In every classroom there is AT LEAST one student who struggles, is disabled, or is special needs.  It is important for the teachers to be well educated in how to handle these kinds of situations so they are able to reach out to every one of their students, whether they are disabled or fully able.  As I further my education and career, I will become more aware of which abilities and behaviors are typical for a particular age-group and will be able to identify children who are atypical in one way or another.  The job of referring students to a specialist or for assessments ultimately comes down to the teacher, so it is important to be aware and educated on this information.  For all I know, in the school I teach at, they might practice inclusion.  I would need to provide specialists with information for IEP's and detailed specifics about the disabled students.

Now What? Now that I have learned about the information in Chapter 5, I feel a LITTLE bit more confident in going into teaching and being aware that I will encounter these kinds of situations.  I am still nervous because of the unknown, and actually having them in a classroom compared to just doing textbook exercises on the information.  I believe I will be able to express my knowledge about inclusion and IEP's, as well as apply to my classroom the concept of "Least Restrictive Environment", which is extremely important to have in the classroom.  As a teacher, it is my job to teach everyone in my classroom, not just those who are willing and able.  I need to reach out to those who have severe to minor disabilities, as well as special needs.  Whether or not my school I teach at practices inclusion, I need to be aware of what it is and how to adapt my classroom to it.  From Chapter 5's information about individual differences, I think it is very important for the students in the classroom to be aware of the differences amongst the students around them, and it doesn't matter if the differences are minor or major.

Chapter 10 Learning Log

What? There are three main parts of social cognitive theory: the power of observation, the role of control, and the importance of motivation. When talking about the power of observation, social cognitive theory is mainly about learning by observing others. By doing so, you can learn new behaviors from models. For example, take vicarious punishment and vicarious reinforcement; people learn what behaviors are most likely to lead to reinforcement and punishment by watching others who experience it. Also, by watching others, they get a good understanding of what they are and aren’t capable of doing. The social cognitive theory also talks about how people can be in control of their surroundings. When people watch others, they control what they learn, and if they learn, by paying attention or not paying attention. When people self-regulate, they take charge of their own behaviors and their own learning by setting goals and doing self-evaluations. Lastly, it is important to be motivated. Most of people’s behaviors are goal-based. Also, through observing, people form their own expectations of future outcomes of certain actions. It’s found that, in order to be completely motivated, people must have high self-efficacy and believe they will be successful, to some degree or another. Most people take charge of their own motivation by evaluating future responses.
So what? It is important to know the information in chapter 10 because, as a teacher, you need to enforce the importance of the students paying close attention to the teacher, as well as other students.  It is very important that a classroom has a positive and stimulating learning environment.  To do this, the students need to cooperate and behave well.  It is important for teachers to encourage their students to keep the atmosphere in the classroom a positive one.  Self-efficacy is a dire thing all students need at some level.  This will give them confidence in the person that they are.  If the students observe each other, and one student sees another with self-efficacy, that student who is observing could gain self-efficacy in some area if they see another student be confident in what they do.  As a teacher, it is VERY important to be a good model to your students.  They look up to you in every way, and in order to prepare them for their future, we need to prepare them in the best way possible: by providing them with a positive model.

Now what? After reading chapter 10, I will be able to apply what I've learned in the classroom.  I now know how important it is to be on a watch 24/7 for how I behave in order to be a model for my students.  It is also important to keep the behavior of all the students on a good level, because students also look to other students as models.  I am going to be as positive as I can, in both my personality and how I arrange the classroom, in order to promote self-efficacy in my students.  I think it is so important for students to believe that there is at least one thing they are exceptionally good at.  If they have this feeling about something, they can use that feeling and build off of it to gain self-efficacy in other areas as well.

Chapter 9 Learning Log

What? A great way to learn about human learning is by examining stimulus-response principles. Antecedent stimuli tend to evoke certain kinds of responses, either in classical conditioning or operant conditioning. It is these responses that lead to changes in the learner’s environment. For example, they may lead to reinforcement or punishment. By altering any part of the chain of events, whether by changing the classroom environment or teaching a more effective way of responding to the environment, we can help our students acquire more productive school behaviors. Also, we can help them gain the attention of their peers by teaching effective social skills through reinforcement.
So what? It is important to know this information because it was all about how children respond to different stimuli. This is a huge part of understanding human learning. In the classroom, it is important to know how students will respond to what and why they respond in the way they do. This lesson also teaches about reinforcement, both positive and negative. It is very important to understand the difference between positive and negative reinforcement: positive reinforcement is where you reward someone with something that they see as positive. An example of this is, if the all the students read over winter break and write about the book they read, they will have a pizza party when they come back. This is positive reinforcement because you are rewarding the students with something positive (pizza). Negative reinforcement IS NOT punishment. The word negative in this context is very misunderstood. Negative reinforcement is rewarding someone by taking away something that is negative in their eyes. An example of this is, if the students score an 80% or higher on their spelling test, they won't have any homework that weekend. This is an example of negative reinforcement because you are taking away something negative (homework) as a reward, because the students won't have to do homework that weekend and that is a reward to them. It is so important to know these terms because I will use them in my class a lot and I will be able to distinguish the difference between what kind of reinforcement I am dishing out.
Now what? In the classroom, I will be able to apply everything I've learned in Chapter 9. I especially look forward to testing out different kinds of stimulus-response principles. I'll be able to experiment in my classroom to see what different cues work better than others, and that way I will be able to run a more effective classroom. Chance are, different cues will work better for different classes, seeing as every child is different and one year will differ from the previous year. I will also be able to see which stimulus students respond better to. If students are more motivated if they are rewarded by a pizza party than extra recess, I will know what to use as positive reinforcement from then on if I want a result that I am not seeing in my students. I will also see examples of operant conditioning in my classroom, as well as possible results from past classical conditioning. The classical conditioning includes phobias the students may have, and it is important to be sensitive to these.

Investigations Math: Extra Credit

◦What is investigations math? Investigations Math is a program where the students discover mathematics for themselves instead of being taught it. It has been found that it does not help the students grow in their understanding of math; in fact, it take them back grades. It removes all teachings of the times tables and memorization of math facts.
◦What were the results of its use in Alpine? In the Alpine School District, they have been patching this program every year for 4 years, as it was implemented 5 years ago. They know the program has major weaknesses and they are under the false impression that you can turn a 40 horse-power car into a hot rod if you just put enough other corvette body parts on the vehicle. It's the ENGINE that is the problem. You would be far better off replacing the core engine and later patching anything you felt was still an issue. Even the district curriculum specialist said it's not a matter of "if" they'll change the program, but "when."
◦What were the arguments for and against its use? The arguments for it's use are as follows: the games and activities are child-oriented and fun, they build upon some first grade concepts, and it has a math workshop model built into it. Some cons are: TREMENDOUS gaps in our first grade curriculum (missing some MAJOR topics which we need to supplement), for the first year or two you spend a lot of time cutting and organizing, it still requires a lot of prep time, and there's not enough practice time in learning math strategies (worksheets).
◦What is your opinion? After doing the research, I think it's fair to say the cons definitely outweigh the pros. This doesn't sound like something I would want to use in my classroom at all, even though some teachers have found that they like using it with their students. I'm glad I stumbled upon the message board about it (my second source below) because I actually got to read about actual teachers that have used Investigations Math in their classroom, and they all seemed to say both negative and positive things about it. Overall, I didn't get a very good first impression about it because of the first source I looked at (listed below) and I just really hope I don't have to use it in my classroom. I'd like to teach math another way than that.
◦Sources: http://www.oaknorton.com/imathstart.cfm, http://www.proteacher.net/discussions/showthread.php?t=116091

Chapter 7 Learning Log

What? Students are always adding to and modifying their understanding of the physical and social world they live in. Their knowledge is that of their own because they must individually create their own views of the physical and social phenomena. Their knowledge and beliefs are also influenced b y their environment and experiences. Every student constructs their own unique view of the ideas and events they encounter in and out of the classroom. Their views may be both good and bad. They can be good because their understandings are equally legitimate. However, they may interfere with growing socially. It is our job as teachers to make sure they interpret the world around them in ways that will benefit them.
So what? It is important to know this information because teachers need to know that there are common misconceptions that the students have due to their age. There are many ways of promoting conceptual change: identify existing misconceptions before instruction begins, look for and then build on kernels of truth in students' existing understandings, convince students that their existing beliefs need revision, motivate students to learn correct explanations, and monitor what students say and write for persistent misconceptions. It is important to know these ways of promoting change because the students need to be corrected when they have misconceptions.
Now what? In the classroom I will know what to teach and in what way because of the misconceptions the students have. They have their schema, which we learn about in a lot of my classes this semester, and I will be able to help my students use their schema to altar it with the correct information. If I overlook what my students know prior to me teaching the units, their schema would stay the same and they wouldn't learn anything because they would be building off of the wrong information while they are learning. The best way to do this is by scaffolding and walking the students through this step by step so they aren't confused when the teacher tells them that what they've thought all along was wrong, and what's right is completely different than that they thought.