So this is it Ed Psycher’s! This is our last blog posting for the Summer I session.  It has been a great semester.  We learned about, discussed and reviewed Behaviorism, Cognitive Development, Social Cognitive Theory, Memory, the brain, the Bell Curve, Applied Behavior Analysis (a heated and debatable topic) and the list goes on.  We also had excellent group presentations that reinforced all of the important topics that we have learned.  The presentations had informative and even humorous videos and cartoons that added to the pleasure and understanding of the topics.  We also read books and watched movies that were inspiring and reinforced our efforts as New York City special education teachers.  It showed us (as we already know) just how challenging it is to be an educator in a high-need school and also how rewarding it can be.

We started the evening by reviewing the quizzes and taking care of housekeeping.  Then Pete started the class with a warm-up activity where we were to discuss “Behaviorist Models of Teaching and District 75 Students”.  The crux of the debate was on Applied Behavior Analysis.  One classmate talked about how in District 75 one may not see a lot of self-efficacy.  Therefore, it is useful to use extrinsic motivators to build toward intrinsic motivators.  Another classmate mention that ABA is proven to work and that it is a basic understanding of human beings and how they work.  One classmate states how there are many students in District 75 whose families have limited resources and school is their best source for acquiring life skills.  At home, many of these students lack consistency.  ABA is the most productive use of school time and resources.  One classmate countered that ABA is manipulative.  Teachers can instill joy in children’s learning (Maslowian) and learning can be its own reward.  Other classmates discussed how ABA is not used properly as prescribed with the DOE and uses a one-dimentional approach.  The debate went on to discuss how children are raise and we talked about values, etc.  Pete ended the great debate and brought our session to a close by telling us to, “Be a Reflective Practitioner and you are all set!”

We then wrapped up the last session by having two great presentations: one by Paul and David and the other by Corinne and Hope.  The first presentation was on Behaviorism and Student Learning and the second was on Social Cognitive Theories. 

David Gonzalez

            Throughout the semester, I’ve learned that much of what we know about human thoughts and behaviors have emerged due to major psychological theories. For example, behaviorists displayed how conditioning can be used to learn new information and behaviors. It is important for both psychologists and teachers to have a deep understanding of these important principals. As with all theories in science, some theories fall out of favor while others still remain widely accepted and utilized. Despite this, all have contributed widely to our understanding of human learning and behavior. I will be concentrating on the two major theories we worked on this semester, Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology. 

            Behaviorism is a theory in psychology that is based upon the thought that all human (as well as animal) are acquired through conditioning. These theories were famously championed by psychologists such as Skinner and Watson. Behaviorists believe that conditioning occurs through an individual’s interaction with it’s environment, and our behaviors, including all learning, is shaped by environmental stimuli and our learned responses to those stimuli.

            Cognitive psychology revolves around our internal states: particularly that of motivation, critical thinking, attention and sociability. The focus on cognitive education theories revolve around how people acquire, process and store information. Until the 1950’s, behaviorism was the dominant school of thought utilized in psychology, but due to the cognitive revolution, attention began to move toward attention, memory and problem solving. Cognitive theory focuses upon an individual’s internal state; this contrasts with behaviorism, which concentrated hard observable interactions with an individual and it’s environmental. 

kevin's overview

       I found this class to be very helpful - both the class discussions, the instruction, and the Ormrod textbook.  It is a book I will keep and refer to as I teach -- and I haven't kept many text books in my life.  
        I haven't had a psych class since introduction to Psychology many years ago, and it's fascinating to me how directly what we are learning applies to what we are doing. I remember studying Skinner - when I studied him, he was still cutting edge science.  There was a book I read at the time, called Walden Two, that imagined a changed and better world where behaviorism made everything better.  I think rearticulating ABA and being reminded, as we have been in this class, that students can be taught using rewards and reinforcement schedules, will change how I teach.  I have done those things instinctively, but though it seems obvious, I have been teaching somewhat instinctively.  I think it's been working, but sometimes reinforcement was hapazard, sometimes long after the behavior in question, and I have learned to make it more effective.  And that's just the ABA.    I gave the talk, with Ariella, on Maslow -- and I was really impressed how he articulated something I've thought about before -- but never had put into words.  It was such an eye opener after studying simple behaviorism.  I find the idea of an hierarchy of motivation so apparently true, and such a nice expansion on the idea that we just move toward incentives.  I see parallels with capitalism and socialism.  Are we working for rewards or for a higher good?  I saw a few of the videos on Skinner, particularly the one assigned on our day off, and I was surprised at how clinical and detached he seemed. 
        I was delighted to read Chapter 2 on Piaget and Vygotsky, I had been unaware of their work.  I enjoyed Chapters 6 and 9 almost as much.  I think those chapters and the discussions that followed will directly affect the way I teach.  Although all we've covered seems pertinent and applicable to what we do for a living, it was the learning processes that I will take away.  I had never seen the Blue Eye/Brown Eye Study.  I'll never forget it.  Words count.  What we say and how we express our feeling for our charges makes a huge difference.  I think as teachers and as members of society, we have a responsibility to make the world a fair and more accommodating place.  I also enjoyed Speak quite a bit -- and find it ties in nicely to the idea of there being a responsibility we have taken on to our students.   Thanks everyone, and mostly to Prof. McDermott

Class 7/9/2012: Jenna & Lauren

Overview of class on 7/9/12, written by Jenna and Lauren

We opened with a discussion of the cognitive revolution.  Cognitivism came about in the 1950s in response to behaviorism.  Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner are all major theorists contributing to Cognitivist theory.  Cognitivism focuses on the mind and goes beyond the behaviorist idea that environment alone impacts our behavior.  Rather, cognitivists claim that learning is an internal process and environment may or may not lead to change in behavior. 

According to cognitivists, people and environment influence each other; it is not a one-way process.  We talked about self-regulation and how behaviors change gradually because of internal motivation.  This is relevant to us as educators because we want our students to set their own goals for learning and to eventually monitor their own progress.  This requires scaffolding, which is gradually removed.

How much of an impact does the teacher have on student achievement?  Teachers are the largest in-school factor, but there are a number of external factors that we can’t control.

There are three kinds of knowledge: declarative, procedural, and conditional.  Students need to be able to transfer skills to new settings and apply strategies to new contexts.

Problem solving is done either utilizing algorithms or heuristic problem solving.  Task analysis breaks down tasks into step-by-step directions, often conveyed in visual flow charts.

              In addition to learning about cognitivism, Sheila and Sheetal presented on the topic of motivation. Their presentation began by reviewing the cognitive facts in motivation, they are as follows:

1. Interest

Perception that an activity is intriguing; typically accompanied by both cognitive engagement and positive affect (Situational and Personal).

2. Expectancies and values

Expectancy: A belief about the likelihood of success in an activity, given one's present ability levels and external circumstances that may help or hinder performance 

Value: Belief about the extent to which an activity has benefits, direct or indirect

3. Goals

Achievement Goal: Mastery and performance in a desired area

Work-Avoidance Goals: Desire to avoid classroom task or to complete them with minimal effort

Core Goals- Long term goals that drive much of what a learner does

4. Attributions

Personally constructed causal explanation for a particular event, such as a success or failure

             Sheila and Sheetal then asked the class to complete a Behavior Interview and Reinforcement Survey. After completing the Survey, the group engaged in a group discussion on the value of rewards and how it relates to teachers. As teachers, we all receive a paycheck which is a form of reinforcement; however, we all agree that other types of reinforcement would make an impact on how we feel about our jobs. For example, receiving praise from an administrator would boost the confidence level of a teacher and as a result the teacher's motivation might be increased. We then ended the discussion by discussing our students and the importance of finding value reinforcers for them as well.

Edu 631 July 2 Online Class

Corrine and Hope – Online Blog

July 2, 2012

This week’s class focused on the behaviorist views of learning and its importance in educational psychology.  Unfortunately being that Independence Day was celebrated this week, Pete decided that it was best to conduct class online. While the activities were both stimulating and engaging, Corrine and I were unable to blog on any particular classmates’ comments.

The online class began with a lecture by Pete which summarized Chapter 9 of our textbook. Our first activity focused on how well we believed Pete summarized this chapter. Both Corrine and I thought he did an excellent job. Pete reinforced our readings with clear examples of Classical and Operant Conditioning, giving clear examples of classroom management in relation to these behaviorist ideas. Pete did note that when using reinforcement techniques, it is important to note that negative reinforcement should never be used in the classroom; positive reinforcement techniques work best. I, though having some familiarity with the theory of self-regulation, believed that possibly self-regulation can be implemented in the classroom setting. It would be interesting to read some other views on this.

Our second activity invited us into the world of Yale University. We learned about three radical theories of behaviorism. The first theory illustrated the idea that behaviorists place strong emphasis on learning. Behaviorists believe that everything you know and everything that you are is a direct result of experience. What you are is what you learn. The second theory focused on the idea that desires emotions, etc. can never form the basis for science. These internal mental states can never be proved scientifically. Corrine and I also agreed with this theory. We agreed that internal mental states also drive behavior.The third theory focused on lack of differences across species. Behaviorists believe that environments control behavior and this is what causes a difference between species. While I am apt to agree with this, I also believe that human beings don’t rely necessarily on instinct for survival and our behavior can be self-regulated.

In activity three and four, we learned about classical and operant conditioning and how it relates to behaviorism.  We were able to view the Pavlov and Skinner classical experiments on positive and negative reinforcement. Pete’s lecture was also of value here, as we saw the importance of positive reinforcement and how it can relate to change in behavior in the classroom environment.

The final activity illustrated the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis and how this is used to assist children diagnosed with Autism to learn new skills. ABA is very child specific and can have great rewards if used properly.  Teachers equipped with this training can have a great impact on the life of an Autistic child.

June 27 - Pizza and Psychology - A formal study

By Paul Z. and Ariela A.


An oft overlooked pre-requisite for student success is the necessity for the student to be sound in body, as well as hopefully in mind.  In a concrete example of the importance of nutrition to the maintenance of concentration, our class began with a pizza party.  Unfortunately, while typing this blog, we were unable to eat and type at the same time.  A monkey was brought in as a control, but he just threw the food at other students.  We will have to withhold final conclusions on the efficacy of our "food-for-thought" until a later date.

Our class, recovering from a surfeit of delectable dough and tomato sauce, then began the rigorous task of attempting to maintain concentration after being subjected to a full year of unique and sometimes bizarre behaviors (I am referring to other teachers, of course - the students are always perfect).

As for the online class posted Monday, we discussed the use of "popplet".  Prof. McDermott's grandson featured prominently in this portion of the class.  You can copy and paste to your hearts content.  Voicethreads are also achievable, if you can speak and think at the same time.

Note: the website is "Voicethread.Com"

Portland lesson audio provided a moment of comic relief, thank you Kevin.  Kevin then had another slice of pizza.  (And for some reason, he used a fork).

Actual course:  (@ 5:59 PM)

Creativity (Chapter 8) of textbook.

Question:  What is creativity?  And, can you (the generic you) teach it?

Referenced meta-cognition.

Kevin opines that individual "mis-behaviors" are attention seeking and should not be arbitrarily suppressed.  Rachel believes in the use of open-ended, non "yes or no" questions.
Amy believes that creativity may be expressed in different ways.  Allison noted that students are used to rigid structure, and may not know what to do with unstructured formats.  Allison guides students into new possibilities, utilizing non-standard materials.
Hillarie does not use formal structure in art - allowing various choices.
Ann teaches music, and exposes children to many new styles - and finds that students take the "example" as the absolute and only answer.  Ann asks students to draw what they hear.
And finds some intriguing and amazing results, i.e. rainbows, or scribbles (or is it modern art?).
Charles discussed a project with experimental painting, with options to use either collaborative pieces, and finds students come up with interesting ideas.

Paul blathered on.  Ariela had to suppress her annoyance with Paul.

Amy 2:  Alternate assessment for high school -- for sub-par students -- creative work, such as art, may be the only positive expression they can share.

Viewing a NPR podcast ALL THINGS CONSIDERED:  "How Creativity Works; It's all In your Imagination"  (March 21, 2012), an interview with Jonathan Weir.

Thoughts: When you 'hit the wall' walk away from your desk (or take a long warm shower - hygiene is important) -- essentially, relaxation is a trigger for creativity.

Steve Jobs concepts of forcing collaboration and meetings through planned design of the work facility.

Triggers of creativity - reassembling old ideas through "chance" occurrences.

JUST DO IT - the source of the ad campaign - required a shared slogan - Norman Mailer enters into the creator's head - Gary Gilmore - famous last words "Let's do it!".  And voila.  A volley of shots, and an ad slogan is borne.

Amy 2 pointed out that class time scheduling is not always optimal for the child's best "learning time".

Creativity (from Ormrod).

A consensus seems to emerge that break time is useful for encouraging creativity.

Focus student on internal rewards, etc., and other methods to nurture students.  Ie. give students freedom and security, and provide creativity time.

And now -  the Stanford Prison Experiment.

How does it apply to teaching?  (View a BBC video).

The Stanford experiment - a landmark, along with Milgram.

Allison discusses authority figures.  Amy references wars in the social studies context - and discusses causes of war.  Her students would not identify with someone going to war.

Ariela discusses Abu Ghreib, and the ramifications.

Prof. McDermott references the "blue-eye brown-eye" experiment.

A theory of classroom management - intervene early.

Amy elaborates on District 75 - her kids are standard assessment - if they receive a doable task, they just rebel - because "I am in special ed" - and Amy tries to reject their assertion - it is not an excuse.

Maureen mentions promotional criteria, and the students taking advantage of the percentage game.

Ann:  remembers a student with a very unique "prisoner-guard relationship" with the homeroom teacher ( a fabulous teacher); night and day with other teachers.

Amy 2 conducted a re-evaluation (and a tri-annual rejected by the mother).  A child at  a 30% level who would have a chance in a  gen ed school.

Paul references Orwell.  Group think.

Allison discusses the various behaviors exhibited on various floors in the school.

Kevin mentions witnessing teachers behaving  less than perfectly, and the tendency not to intervene.

Ariela discusses the Milgram study - 2/3 went all the way in applying the "shocks" to the subject.


COGNITIVE DISSONANCE PRESENTATION  - Hillary

inconsistency of attitudes, thoughts and behaviors.

behavior conflicts with beliefs.

Leon Festinger study (rewards and expectations, and justifications).

(Fun and interesting versus payment).

Justification of contradictions, by self-persuasion if not through monetary compensation.

Dilbert makes an entrance.  (Accept things you cannot change)

A youtube video on 'dissonance' and 'justified'.  (Humor and cartoons).

The link to education -->  students' abilities clash with expectations
--> acting out, "work is boring", "not their favorite subject"

Hillarie then conducted a cognitive dissonance experiment to determine if your actions and thoughts are in sync.  For example:  Are you concerned about world hunger; and do you in fact donate to that cause?

A class discussion follows regarding student perceptions and the realities - a example of cognitive dissonance.

Class on 6/25

Monday, June 25th

Caleb and Anne

Our first activity on June 25^th involved an article titled “A Fan’s Brain,” which explored the psychological perspectives of two groups of fans, one from Dartmouth College and the other from Princeton University, respectively, watching the same sports game. The article reflected Confirmation Bias among the two groups, showing the differences in how the fans saw theirs and the other team. We then moved on to a group activity in which groups recalled theories of teaching and learning that we’ve covered so far in the course and identified those that are most applicable to our teaching positions. Relevant theories discussed across the groups included the Pygmalion Effect; Kohlberg’s Stages of Morality; Vygotsky’s Mediated Learning Experiences; and Piaget’s Developmental Stages.

Two new theories of learning were introduced:

1. John Carroll’s Model of School Learning

This theory states that learning is a function of time, as illustrated by the following equations:

School Learning = F(time spent/time needed)

Time spent = opportunity and engagement

Time needed = aptitude + ability to understand instruction + quality of teaching.

As district 75 teachers, our model is probably more skill-oriented, while a general education teacher would take a more holistic approach. This is a very functional model to use when looking at teaching and learning. Students with special needs will never catch up unless they are to be given more instructional time. However, it can be difficult to find the line between effective additional time and excessive amounts of added instructional time. 

2. Weiner’s Attribution Theory

We discussed the following prompt: How do you attribute your success in life so far?

Responses included family and social expectations, the value of education in upbringing, public school with historically high achievers, and the freedom to explore. We watched a video entitled ‘Motivating Adult Language Learners.’ This video outlined differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. There is a very important emotional connection between what happened in the past and what we think will happen in the present and future. In other words, our brains retain emotions.

The four major attributes: Ability, Task, Effort, and Luck. We should frame students' thinking so that they believe that their success is attributable to their effort. They will have more long-lasting achievement than if they think their success is due to ability.

Parenting styles were discussed next. We watched an interview with the author of the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. The author suggested that parents should ideally self-question, listen to their children, and never expect that their children are weak at anything (in other words, have only the highest expectations). Then we discussed the controversy surrounding ‘Tiger Mom’ parenting styles. Viewpoints ranged from communicating extremely high expectations, practicing moderation in expectations, keeping children’s individual needs and learning styles, abilities, disabilities, etc. in mind. As presented in our textbook, there are four main parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved. Authoritative parents most consistently raise their children to be balanced, well-rounded, successful members of society. These parents are loving, supportive, communicate high expectations, explain behaviors, and enforce household rules. Children from authoritative homes grow up to exhibit the most positive characteristics.

Tonight’s presentation was on Applied Behavior Analysis and whether it is good or bad. Bea and Teresa’s presentation explored the evolution of ABA as well as the controversy surrounding the use of ABA. When it comes to implementing ABA, “Doing the Right Thing” does not necessarily mean following all the rules. Doing the right thing involves: creating a therapeutic environment, having the overriding goal be personal welfare, implementing programs that teach functional skills, and enforcing accountability. 

At the end of the presentation, we partook in an activity that measured how good we are at Behavioral Analysis. We watched a video and were asked to observe and describe good AND bad behaviors in a segment of a class period.

Take-aways from the presentation:

1. Do the right thing

2. Consider individual rights

3. Extensive professional development

4. Understand our students

6/20 Class: Bea Pohl & Tree Girolamo

Bea Pohl and Tree Girolamo

SUMMARY

Perceptive bias/selective attention means focusing on what is anticipated.  Memory and viewing/reading are very dependent upon schemata and directions. 

Confirmation bias refers to arriving to an anticipated answer.  A teacher who knows students have ASD may tend to attribute challenging behaviors to their disability.

Our minds organize schemata and concepts by class (general grouping), property (distinctive features) and examples.  This helps us turn chaos into cosmos.  I searched “chaos,” and found this character.

We should use authentic learning activities to provide students with (cultural) contexts for building concepts.  If teaching about the diversity of NYC, you might go to Chinatown.  We accept information as prior knowledge, reject it, modify it, or create a new concept.  Are concepts and schemata interchangeable?

In the classroom, be clear with directions, keep an open mind, teach with a context so information is meaningful, and use graphic organizers to help students turn chaos into cosmos. Like Joan Myers said, good teaching is good teaching -- a strategy, such as visual organization, is good for students with disabilities, as well as for typically developing peers.

KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION

“Knowledge Construction” how we interpret information and construct it creates critical

thinking in our students. Basically our brains work like a computer, we receive data and input and we

send output. And just like a computer who is programed, we can only construct from what is entered

into our brain. If information is sketchy or missing, so will our final output. As the saying “goes garbage

in, garbage out.”

This is why techniques like schema, scripting, providing opportunities for experimentation,

getting expert perspectives, collaborating with peers and scaffolding is so important to teaching. Our

students can only learn effectively when we give them detailed information. Promoting classroom

dialogue creates a collaborative environment for students to talk to one another when working on

complex tasks or topics. Like the old saying, “two heads are better than one.”

Class on June 12, 2012

Joelle Fernandez
Charles McMillan

We began discussing concerns about teacher affection. The class agreed boundaries must be established and maintained. Teachers are cognizant of rapports they maintain with individual students.

When discussing Educating Esme most were annoyed; however, most found merit in much of Esme’s work. Many were unable to relate to Esme’s classroom environment and thought she glossed over the needs to collaborate with other professionals onsite.  Positive themes of the book include persistence, and making a difference as a teacher. Theories of learning from the book include engagement, modeling, and the joy of reading.

We discussed intelligence assessment and were reminded that intelligence tests are imperfect, that there is variability between texts as well as potential bias, among other issues. Sternberg said intelligence is always developing and is situationally dependent.  It can be socially constructed and changes over generations.  

We watched the brown-eyed blue-eyed experiment.  The video highlighted prejudice (expectations) and its effects.  The class discussed the potential pitfalls of positive praise while acknowledging the continued need for it. Legal research requirements have changed for good reason.  

Vygotsky’s Theory of Learning was also discussed in class. Piaget believed in mostly internal developments. Vygotsky focused on social interaction. Students are often mixed heterogeneously on purpose to supplement skills or bring peers to higher levels of understanding. Adults help through formal and informal demonstrations; every culture shares knowledge through demonstration and talk. Learning begins with the social and moves to the internal. Students learn through guided participation and peer interaction.

Monday: June 18, 2012

by J.S. & H.G.

           

Learning and Cognition: Memory (short, long, and sensory memory)

& Culturally Responsive Teaching

First we watched a video clip, Google’s Effects on Memory,which explained that when people expect to have information accessible to them (in the future), they do not attempt to memorize information. Psychologist, Betsy Sparrow, said that people do not get dumber because they will find a way to learn information by going to the library or asking an expert. We also talked about way to help students memorize information such as mnemonic devices. 

Next we talked about how much route memorization should occur in school and what strategies teachers should use when working with students with disabilities. Amy said that memorization should be used when route memorization can be applied to other skills (multiplication à higher algebra). Kevin said that he believed memorization helps form connections to other information. Ariela also stated that there should be a foundation of memorized facts to help analyze new material.

When working with students with disabilities people can use assisting technologies (recorders, cameras, headsets, visual picture symbols).

We also learned that there are three kinds of memory. Sensory memory lasts 1-2 seconds, is not encoded, and must be moved to working memory to save. To help understand sensory memory the entire class participated in a number memorization experiment. We also learned that short-term memory doesn’t last very long and needs to be converted to long-term memory, which requires understanding.

Researchers have found that memory is the process of reconstructing the past and it can distort perception and change each time you access it. Memory is interpretive. Situated learning is when people learn things and it can be accessed through imagery, smells, words, locations, scenes, and events.

Next we talked about how our students display, process, and remember knowledge in their communities. Tree said that she noticed how her student’s process information in the classroom vs. in real life (managing their body). Amy’s students have a vast knowledge of shoes because it’s important to them, but they struggle with other academic skills. As a class we agreed that family and the community have a huge impact on learning.

After the break, Ariela and Kevin did a great presentation on humanistic psychology featuring the works of Abraham Maslow, and his theory of the hierarchy of needs.  The hierarchy of needs shows the various levels of human needs. Basic needs are on the bottom of the pyramid (food, water, sleep) and at the very top of are morality, creativity, and acceptance of facts. Ariela made a great point that students who do not have their base needs met (food and water) have a hard time concentrating in school, which can impede learning. Next, we all engaged in an activity that compared our needs to our student’s needs. For example, ‘how does the idea of safety compare for ourselves vs. our students.’ 

After the presentation we continued the lecture, but this time it focused on language. We talked about the importance of teaching children the dominant way of speaking and acting in today’s world. And we also discussed the advantages of maintaining their home cultural/linguistic competencies. Allison pointed out that she is required to teach to a test and potential future job skills so she tries to teach students how to speak and act in the world. Jenna said that she believes her students are learning cultural/ linguistic competencies at home so she tries to expand their worldview in the classroom.

To end the class, Pete reminded us that we can teach through culture and it’s possible to incorporate a student’s culture in our lessons when appropriate.

ED 631: June 11, 2012

Cassi Breaux
Amy Fleming

This class was an interesting and engaging session focused on a multitude of topics.  Some of the main topics were types of intelligences, intelligent quotients (IQs), and neuropathology.  These topics were presented with information with connections for both teachers and other service professionals.  

The different types of intelligences expressed were as follows:

Linguistic and verbal intelligence: Strength in words and word connections

Logical intelligence: Strength in math and logic

Spatial intelligence: Strength with pictures

Body/movement intelligence: Strength with physical activities

Musical intelligence: Strength in rhythm and sound

Interpersonal intelligence: Strength in communication

Intrapersonal intelligence: Strength in analyzing and awareness

Naturalist intelligence: Good with understanding and manipulating nature

We also viewed a bell curve of known intelligence tests and discussed neuropathology of learning.

Knowing the different types of intelligences and how they correspond to your students is an important tool for teachers. For example, if you have a student who has spatial and interpersonal intelligences, you would not want to have this student working on independent writing at all times. While it’s important to know our students’ strengths and how to appeal to them to optimize learning it is also important to push students beyond their comfort zones to try new experiences and learn new skills as well.

Lastly, the bell curve can serve as a useful tool for assessing our own teaching and if we’re within the right target for reaching our students. 

June 6, 2012

Sheetal Sehgal
Sheila Sullivan

During class on June 6, we opened with a “frontloading” activity to precede our
reading of the book Educating Esmé. This activity required us to react to a number of
statements about teaching (specifically with regard to closing the achievement gap), and
we engaged in a lively discussion about a number of the statements.

We then spoke about (and viewed a PowerPoint slideshow about) a Terry Gross
podcast on NPR about technology’s impact on developing brains. One key point taken
from this portion of class was that our brains need a certain amount of “downtime”,
and when we do not allow ourselves to cease multitasking and simply reacting to our
immediate surroundings, we could face lasting negative neurological implications. We
have become a society of multitaskers, but it is important to remember that we can
typically only focus fully on one task at a time. At this time, we also discussed the
brain’s frontal lobe – the portion of the brain that develops last and dictates our capacity
for decision-making.

Next, we viewed a TED video about brain mapping which involved a visual of an
actual brain. We then learned more about the brain through a PowerPoint presentation.
When we learn new skills or concepts, new synapses form in our brains. Thus, learning
changes the structure of the brain.

The rest of our consisted of the following two presentations:

Presentation 1: “Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences”
Multiple intelligences highlight the notion that there is more than one way to
solve a problem or be creative. A brief synopsis of the multiple intelligences:
• Verbal/Linguistic
- think in words
- benefit from a print rich environment
• Bodily/Kinestic
- use bodies effectively
- can be exceptional in fine/gross motor
• Visual/Spatial
- think in pictures
• Interpersonal
- enjoys group work
• Intrapersonal
- shy and introvert
- strong opinions and wisdom
- need time and privacy to do work
• Musical
- show sensitivity to music and sound
- study better with music in the background
• Naturalist
- more in tune with nature
- sensitive to changes in environment
- enjoys sorting and categorizing
• Logical/Mathematical
- explores patterns and experiments
• Existential Learner
- predisposition to ponder death, life, etc
- preliminary – can’t pinpoint a corresponding biological part of
brain

If a teacher keeps these different learning styles in mind, it would lead to more accessible
and meaningful lesson plans/assessments and validate learning’s multiple forms. GIVE A
LEARNING STYLES SURVEY TO YOUR STUDENTS!

Presentation 2: “Kohlberg’s Moral Stages”
1. Avoid Punishment
2. Self-Interest
a. “I’ll do your work if I can play video games”
3. Good Boy Attitude
4. Law & Order Morality
a. Subway train entry/exit etiquette
5. Social Contract
a. Occupy Wall Street
6. Principle
a. Gandhi, Martin Luther King
b. Duty to justice, disobedience

Awareness of where are students fall in these stages has direct implications for how we
approach behavior management in our classrooms.

We've found an interesting video about young people and multitasking that serves as a nice follow-up to our discussion about technology and the brain.

June 4, 2012

Tonight in class we did a role playing activity in which we will learn about various theorists which we will be studying this semester.  Students were handed a mini bio and had to role play the various people.  People who were discussed included: Gilligan, Kohlberg, Piaget, Skinner and Vygotsky.  It just so happens that Chomsky was on a dinner date.  All people had various levels of learning and processing and differing thoughts about each.

Next we looked at the idea about how exercise can jog the memory.  The idea is to see if this is a good research paper.  We looked at some slides which discussed what to look for in a proper research paper. 

After break, we all enjoyed the jaywalking experiment (i.e. the Hawthorne Effect). 

Next we looked at the idea of language.  It seems as if there was quite some controversy about the research behind language acquisition. 

And then what a cute little girl singing to us demonstrating language as Piaget described it.  The video showed the various ways children acquire language from birth on. 

We then looked at a slide show describing Piaget’s 4 stages of development.  He was the first person to use describe the idea of schemes/schemata. 

From tonight’s class, we should take away the general ideas which were presented by the different theorists.  In particular, we spent more time on Piaget.  He believed in the four stages of learning.

1.      Sensorimotor

2.      Preoperational

3.      Concrete Operational

4.      Post-operational

He was a genetic epistemologist.  Piaget believed in the process of assimilation and accommodation.  He was a developmental psychologist.  The criticism are that he was too clinical and it would be difficult to apply this cross-cultures.  An implication for teaching would be that it is difficult for a kid to understand sarcasm.  It also might be an idea that if something is too abstract, to take it a step back and make it more concrete.  Another idea is that maybe you can work towards bringing up the level of thinking while working with students.  It is also important for the idea behind using manipulative.  Another implication would be the idea of rearranging the classroom to meet the developmental stages.

This is  video about Piaget's stages of development.

And this is for Kevin (aka Skinner) and all of you other ABA people out there.
TABLE TIME!!!!!

Ist Course Meeting - May 30th

Peter McDermott - contributing blogger

In this course meeting we reviewed the required course assignments which include four written essays (essays about one’s personal experiences with learning, analyses of two books and the self-selected movie), one collaborative presentation, five weekly postings to the course’s Wallwisher sites, and three quizzes. In my opinion The Wallwisher and blog postings will be easy to do and should not take too much of your time. I think the most interesting course assignment is the one pertaining to the movie about education – remember to analyze the movie according to the theories of teaching and learning that are represented in it. 

The first discussion topic for this evening pertained to how children learn. After brainstorming in small groups we discussed general theories about how children learn, and we spent some time spent on the tension between environmental and innate factors influencing children’s cognitive development. I think most of us agree that children’s learning is influenced by both the environment and their own natural talents and dispositions, and it would be difficult to say one has greater influence than the other. The issue, of course, is a complex one. One topic that emerged in this discussion was the role of creativity in children’s learning and to the extent to which the environmental issues influence it.

The second discussion topic was that of the “PygmalionEffect” (Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968). Robert Rosenthal’s work is quite famous and although published 45 years ago, his findings still inform contemporary educational policies and practices. The No Child Left Behind and the Common Core State Standards propose that all children must be expected to learn the same curriculum regardless of their life and family backgrounds. Such legislation illustrates the importance of teacher expectations on children’s learning and is clearly informed by Rosenthal’s research.

We began our third topic, educational research, but did not have enough time to complete it. Psychological research has been dominated by experimental methods of studying thinking and  learning, and a characteristic of experimentation is the quantification of human behaviors (Ormrod, 2010). Two other methods used in psychological research are correlational and descriptive studies. Correlational studies examine the extent to which two or more items are associated with one another. A classic correlation is that of wealthy schools and children's performance - the wealthier the district, the more likely students score well on standardized tests. Of course, correlations do not mean causation. Correlations only represent associations. The third common research method used in psychology is descriptive research. An example of descriptive research would be that which presents statistical comparisons of children's performance from different school districts on statewide examinations; such studies might include a variety of data about school size, income, number of teachers, length of school day, etc. In our next class meeting we will examine what teachers should know when reading educational research.

References

Ormrod, J. (2010). Educational Psychology: Developing Learners (7^th Ed). NY:

Pearson.

Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom. New York: Holt,

Rinehart & Winston.