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.