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.