Constructivist Learnign Theory, Problem-Solving and Transfer (week 10)

*Chapter Review*

In this chapter, we learned about Constructivist Learning Theory. This theory was proposed by Jerome Bruner in the 1960's. It consisted of the idea that "meaningful learning occurs when people use existing knowledge schemes and the viewpoints of others to interpret the world around them." The major points behind this theory are as follows:

• Meaningful learning occurs when people actively construct personal knowledge structures.
• A teacher's understanding of a subject can only partially be transferred to a student through direct instruction.
• Most knowledge structures are similar, but are changed from interaction with peers.

Three conditions that support constructivism are as follows:

1. Cognitive apprenticeship between teacher and student
2. The use of realistic learning tasks
3. Exposure to multiple perspectives

In this chapter, we also talked about Problem-Solving and Transfer. A problem exists when a learner has a goal, but does not have a plan to reach that goal. The kinds of problems vary by age and by the individuals, but can usually be solved with using these five steps:

1. Realize problem exist
2. Understand the nature of the problem
3. Compile relevant information
4. Formulate and carry out a solution
5. Evaluate the solution

Transfer of learning occurs when students use previously learned knowledge and apply it to another situation. There are many forms of transfer. See below:

• Positive transfer- A new learning task is similar to a previously learned one, and the student is able to respond similarly.
• Negative transfer- A new learning task is similar to a previously learned one, but calls for a completely different response.
• Zero transfer- The previously learned information is so different from the current situation, that it is no help.

We also learned about specific transfer, and more specifically low-road transfer. This is when you allow the students to use previously learned information in a new task. In general transfer, we talked about high-road transfer. This is when teachers educate the student on forms a plan to solve the problem that can be reconstructed later to solve other problems.

*How Will I Benefit?*

I can benefit from this blog entry specifically when I am facing challenges within my classroom. I can use this as a reference tool and will be able to recognize different approaches as needed. I think that I have already used low-road transfer numerous times in my life, and my partner adn I have used it in our activity for this class.

*This Week in the Discussion Boards*

I was both suprised and happy to see my classmates opinions on different approaches to problem-solving. I think my favorite article was Ashley's. She included that the author wrote that telling your children what to do is not the best idea, rather, tells them how to figure it out. I think that is the whole basis for problem-solving and transfer.

*Question of the Week*

The question for this week is: Find another school district's website outside of your hometown.

Madison, Connecticut -> http://www.madison.k12.ct.us/

Would you want to teach in this particular school district?

Yes.

What makes this school district stand out from others that you found on the Internet?

They have small classrooms and perform well above average on the CT Mastery test.

Are there specific features that this school district has to offer that you hadn't thought of before?

They have numerous resources available to aid teachers. I think this a a great benefit for the teachers there.

Would you ever consider applying for a job at this school district? Why or why not?

Yes, if I lived there. I think CT schools are some of the best in the country.

Based on what we've learned so far in this class, how does this school district measure up?

Very well. It appears as though they are definitely doing something right to have the success of the assessments and the AYP that they do.

Social Cognitive Theory (week 9)

*Chapter Summary*

In this chapter we learned about Social Cognitive Theory. It was developed by Albert Bandura to help explain things about an individual like their personal characteristics and behavioral patterns. We learned that by using self-control and self-regulation skills people have control of their actions. The self regulatory process consists of forethought, performance, and self-reflection.

Forethought involves goal setting and planning ways to achieve these goals. The students must learn to be self-efficient. Self-efficient means they are capable of meeting demands of certain tasks, like educational goals. Performance involves learning techniques and focusing on the task at hand. Often students will record (mentally) new behavior or study patterns for later review. Self reflection involves evaluating that recorded behavior and determining ways to improve the results of the learning process.

According to the text, self-regulation skills can be learned best by following this four-step model:

1. observe a model that exhibits a skill and verbalizes performance standards and motivational beliefs.
2. Reproduce the general form of the model's behavior
3. Exhibit the modeled behavior under similar conditions without the model present
4. Adapt the modeled behavior to different tasks, settings and conditions

Self-regulation and self-efficacy are both directly related to one another and performance and achievement of the individual.

We also learned that the use of memory- directed learning or studying techniques such as mnemonic devices and rehearsal vary in their effectiveness. Rehearsal is not as effective since it typically is used as direct memorization of the facts. The facts are generally not listed word-for-word in the test, nor in "real-life." Mnemonic devices are more helpful in that they require built-in retrieval ques. Rhymes, acronyms and keywords are often used as mnemonic devices.

Comprehension tactics that were discussed in the chapter consist of self-questioning, peer-questioning, note taking and concept mapping. Self and peer questioning can often be used simultaneously in class. These are all tactics I plan to include regularly in my classroom.


*How Will I Benefit*

I will use this blog to refer back to the lessons learned in this course. I think that by providing quick and shortened summaries of the chapter, I will be better able to remember the points discussed. I do plan to keep this blog after this course and refer back to it to see my progression in understanding how to be an effective teacher.


*Following the Blog*

This week, Kiri has written about her lesson plans. She started off by saying what she typically plans to do, and then has to re-vamp the whole week to allow for what her school and state requirements entail. The whole thing is very frustrating. She writes that it is a lot harder than it looks, and for other aspiring teachers to not be fooled.

I learned that in Kiri's class, they learn a letter each week. At the beginning of each morning, Kiri sings the "Good Morning" song, and then replaces the first letter of the students name with the letter of the week. She writes that the students giggle and seem to really enjoy it. I love this idea. It is something so simple- just one more reason I can not wait to have my own class!


*This Week in the Discussion Boards*

In the DBs this week, our groups are posting their activities and papers. I think that it is very interesting to review the other projects and see how they plan to incorporate the things we are learning into their lesson plans. There is another group that chose kindergarten as their group. They are teaching the students about weather. Their project seems very involved, and while I don't think I would do it the way they are planning, I can not wait to see their final activity. Its amazing to me to see the variation in interpretations of the information we learn.


*Question of the Week*

The question for this week is: Find a school district's website outside of your hometown and/or Springfield (or the city you reside in). Copy and paste (or type) the link into your blog. Answer the following questions about the school district in your blog:

http://www.rogers.k12.ar.us/

Would you want to teach in this particular school district? Yes.

What makes this school district stand out from others that you found on the Internet? I hope to move here and teach one day is why I chose this district, but it is in the top 5% of schools in the county.

Are there specific features that this school district has to offer that you hadn't thought of before?
Yes. A teacher to student ratio of 1:16. I think that is appropriate, and much more desirable than other school districts. They also have 14 elementary schools.

Would you ever consider applying for a job at this school district? Why or why not? Yes. I hope to move there one day. I think that of all the districts in the area, this is the most inviting. You can tell they has a strong sense of pride and rightfully so. On their web page, they have a whole page dedicated to their "pride points."

Based on what we've learned so far in this class, how does this school district measure up?
I think this school measures up very well. Their test scores are above average and they have a lot of "bragging rights."

Information Processing (week 8)

*Chapter Summary*

In this chapter we have learned about the information- processing theory. This is how an individual learn, store and recall information. We discussed memory stores and control processes. Memory stores are the sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory. Control processes are recognition, attention, maintenance rehearsal, elaborative rehearsal, and retrieval. According to our book, some information can be held in the STM indefinitely through the use of maintenance rehearsal. We also learned that information is transferred to the LTM from the STM by learning new information and linking it to previously learned information.

We also learned about metacognition. This term is referring to the knowledge someone has about how individuals think and how those processes can be used to learn. It is something that improves with time, and is most prominent in older students.

In my experience, STM and LTM are valuable at any age. I use both in school and at work. Before now, I had not known a lot about metacognition, but after learning the definition and examples of it, I see that it is something that I use frequently.


*How Will I Benefit?*

By keeping this blog, I am able to have a quick reference to the things learned in this course. I think that by referring back to this I will be able to read about different processes involved in learning and use this as a base to build my teaching styles from. While a this point I do not have any new ideas for specific assignments, I have been able to broaden my repertoire in effective teaching tactics.


*Following the Blog*

This week Kiri has only written a few times. There are two "most memorable" posts that I read from her. One was about how she let her sons catch two spiders and she caught a beetle and took them to her classroom for her students. They kept them in an aquarium and watched them daily. After only about two days one spider was "toes up" according to the students and the other had made a web and trapped the beetle in it. Her students got to experience this first hand and in person rather than learning about it in a text book. I think this memory will stick with them much longer.

The second post was about her assistant teacher Nan leaving her classroom. Nan wrote a very inspiring email to Kiri and she shared it in her blog. Nan wanted Kiri to know that just because this year has been rough, with removing two students from her classroom in hopes that they can succeed better in a special education class, that Nan had been with Kiri four years. She reminded her of some great successes she has had and encouragement to get through the rest of the year, starting each day as new- wiping the slate clean. Nan said Kiri is a great teacher and I think Kiri knows she is. Sometimes you just need a little reminder! =)


*This Week in the Discussion Boards*

I think that the most interesting thing I have learned in the DBs this week is some different techniques that some of my other classmates plan to use in their classroom when working with students to improve their students' STM and LTM.


*Question of the Week*

What are some specific techniques that you would like to incorporate into your teaching based on information processing? Why do you think these techniques will work?

I would like to incorporate the use of maintenance rehearsal into my classroom. This will work to improve a students STM by using repetition. I will also use elaborative rehearsal to help link the students STM with LTM. I think that this will be beneficial to the students and easy to incorporate because we will continue building on previously learned concepts. Elaborative rehearsal involves organizing information with shared concepts into groups. I think this will be beneficial in my classroom to help the students to understand the similarities in ideas or concepts we are learning. This a tool that I use a lot in studying for tests, and something I find to be very beneficial.

I think that I would have used these tools and techniques prior to this chapter, but I am glad to knwo the correct terms for them and now, I will have this blog and that chapter to use as a reference tool in my teaching.

Operant Conditioning (week 7)

*Chapter Summary*

In this chapter, we learned about Operant Conditioning and basic principles that have come into effect as a result of B. F. Skinner's work. We have studied positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, type I punishment, time out, type II punishment, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization and discrimination.

We learned that both positive and negative reinforcement strengthen behaviors, while the others weaken target behavior. We have also learned that once the desired behavior is established, it can be maintained by using a schedule. The four types of schedules are fixed interval, where the teacher reinforces the behaviors at set period of time, variable interval, where the teachers reinforce behaviors at random periods of time, fixed ratio, where the teacher provided reinforcement after a certain number of problems completed or pages read, or variable ratio, where there is not set pattern of reinforcement after a set number.

We also learned other techniques that will aide in behavior modification, including shaping, contingency contracts and using token economies. Shaping involves reinforcing attempts that progressively get closer to the desired outcome. Contingency contracts involve having the student sign contracts agreeing to complete their homework in order to receive their reward. Token economies are classrooms in which after exemplifying the desired behavior the student is given a coin or piece of paper that has no real value at that point, but can later cash them in to receive a reward of their choice. This is the most flexible of the behavior modification techniques.

*How Do I Benefit?*

I believe that I will benefit from this chapter and the concepts learned from it by being able to better condition my class on desired behaviors. I think that I will definitely use a token economy within my classroom, and plan to use various other methods discussed in this chapter to help me as well.


*Following the Blog*

This week, Kiri talks more about her student David and how he will be moving to classroom where he can better succeed. She talks about the difficulties with him and the fact that he has experienced so many "failures" in her classroom. He needs a fresh new place to start over. She also talks about the other challenges within her classroom and how the children react. After reading her blog, I fell like I am there with her. This week she has had several adults in her classroom. One is the school psychologist that is working with Max, another troubled young boy. Nan, her assistant that works with David and finally her college intern that works with the children that speak only Spanish. She has seen many struggles this week, and to top it off, she has just announced that Nan, her assistant, is getting a new job. She was having a bad week when she went to go pick her kids up from school. She saw a former student there that raved on and on about how great of a teacher she was. She said that it seems to make all the daily struggles worth while.


*This week in the Discussion Boards*

I was actually excited to hear about some of the conditioning techniques that others in the class have experienced in their lives so far. I loved to hear how one of the students tells her son that her hears to do hear "cranky words." She said she tells him that and then ignores anything he says in a whiny or cranky voice. She said it really works for him.

I also enjoyed reading about the conditioning experiences that other students had while in school earlier in life. I think that a lot of them are great. It is hard to imagine that all classrooms that used these techniques were all following the same basic principles of B.F. Skinner.


*Question of the Week*

Looking at both positive (PR) and negative reinforcement (NR), think about how you remember these being used when you were going to school. Write those examples down. How will you use positive and negative reinforcement in your "classroom" when you become a teacher? Give examples of PR and NR as related to your "classroom" in the future - relate these examples to concepts that you can remember.

I can remember PR being used in my school in several instances. One that sticks out the most is in fourth grade. Our teacher, Mrs. Morris was a new teacher. We were her first class. I can remember that everyday after recess, if we had all been "good" earlier in the day, she would read to us. During that time, she would turn the lights off and and we could rest our heads on our desks. We all saw this as a treat, and so we complied with her instructions the rest of the day. By the end of the year, several other teachers were implementing this into their classrooms as well.

A NR that I can remember was in sixth grade. Our teacher had problems with several students in the class falling asleep or talking during the lessons, so she began to ask that at the end of each new science chapter, we would write a two page paper summarizing the text. We only had to do this twice before the other kids stopped acting up in class. She removed the negative reinforcer (the paper) after everyone behaved as expected.

I think that I will use these techniques and others that we have learned about in this chapter. As I mentioned earlier, I think that the token economy is a great idea. Because I plan to teach kindergarten, I think this will be a great way to reinforce the students behaviors positively. I can also take token away from them should they start acting in an undesirable manner.

I also think that I will use a reading time with my students. I think that as a result of a positive and desired behavior, I will allow them to pick out a story book and we will read that at the end of the day. This will be more directed to the class as a whole.

Needless to say, I plan on using several of the techniques taught in this chapter within my own classroom. I think that each technique could impact each behavior from each student in a different way.