I don't even know where to begin when thinking about everything that I learned in this class. I truly believe that the most I could say is thank you. This course helped to open my eyes to so many possibilities and obstacles in understanding learning theories that I probably wouldn't of been able to overcome on my own. I must admit that this course really was a lot of work though. It reminded me of the same anxiety that I felt while taking Social Studies Methods, but I knew with just the time and determination, I would be able to successfully complete everything. I'm still nervous about taking Science Methods two semesters from now, but I know that I can do it just like how I conquered Social Studies Methods and Psychology of Learning. Out of this experience, I commented on one of my colleagues' blog three times because I did not have access to the others.
A bit of advice for learners who are going to take this course, do not wait to do everything until the end. I can not stress this enough. This is not any ordinary online course. There is a lot of work and it is very time consuming, so I suggest that you use your time wisely and keep your head in the game. To bring this class to a closing, take care and thank you Dr. Smirnova for this wonderful experience and making my first online class a memorable one.
Thanks to this course, I am now a Montessori fanatic. I love the concept behind the Montessori learning theory and I can't imagine myself discussing anything else for a learning theory. Montessori is interesting and I really am glad that I picked Maria Montessori to talk about. I am actually considering on training to become a certified Montessori teacher because I am just that interested in this learning program. I think that student's learning at their own pace and working on themselves as learners is a remarkable approach that most teachers should take into consideration or at least read about.
My Screencast Presentation
The video above is the screen cast that I recorded of myself sharing my presentation on Maria Montessori and the Montessori learning theory. I liked creating this presentation because it was not only something I was familiar with, but something that I was excited to talk about and share my feelings with others about. I actually showed this presentation to my co workers at the day care that I worked at and we are considering on using some of the materials for our students. I actually made a sensory board for our toddlers and they love it!
I have absolutely without a doubt have found a new found passion at the Hillcroft Day Camp. It's way more than just any camp than you could ever expect. The people there are a family and they take care of each other. What else is really interesting about this camp is that most of their staff members are certified teachers from around the world. They have faculty members that are from other states, Germany, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. The work that they do with the students is truly remarkable and if I knew that camp was like this as a child, I would of wanted to actually go. I used to be afraid of going to a camp, but now I wish that I would have. I am considering to go and apply for a job here next summer.
While at the camp, I observed a teacher who was in charge of Folk Art here at the camp who gave me a tour and taught 3rd and 4th graders for the time frame that I was there. She is from an older school house out in Massachusetts that was built in 1923 and according to her, I quote, "We are lucky if we have light in our classroom, let alone internet access." I thought that this was interesting, but she did mention that they were hopefully trying to get a new building created. Below are my tasks that I engaged in while observing:
Task #1:Interview a teacher on: What effective teaching principles s/he follows to reach every child in his/her classroom. What latest research s/he is referring to in his/her teaching design. In what ways the research on effective teaching empowers teachers' continued learning process? Record the answers and interpret the results from the point of view of the reading materials about effective teaching and the research methods.
The effective teaching principles that the teacher that I interviewed follows to reach every child in her classroom are incorporating a lot of visual aids, differentiating instruction all around the classroom, and taking breaks between lessons such as lecturing for only ten minutes before introducing a structured activity revolving the lecture to give the children a break. She believes that these are the three top effective principles of teaching that she uses in her classroom. These principles that the teacher mentioned relate directly to the course text in chapter 14 with regards to the characteristics of an effective teaching. According to Anitia Woolfolk, the characteristics of an effective teacher revolve around clarity, organization, and warmth and enthusiasm. Just by spending those few moments observing the teacher, I was able to conclude that she retained all of these characteristics.
She mentioned that the latest research that she refers to in her teaching design and style are the aspects of technology and how it can be integrated into the classroom. She noticed how technology is constantly growing and it is not going to go anywhere, so she is hoping to get one to one ipads for her classroom or for her school district. She also brought up the good fact that technology is expensive and with the socioeconomic diversity intensity at her school, it is difficult for the students to use and have access to the wonderful concepts of technology.
She stated that "Research helps to a degree, but I don't think that some are the best or useful." She expressed the dislike for research because the school follows the research in order to make themselves look good, but she emphasized that the importance should be based on the children's learning.
Task #2:Interview 3 to 5 (or more) people asking them to name three characteristics of intelligent people. Summarize their responses and present the findings digitally. Summarize and publish the results in your blogs.
To the right are the three responses from three different view points from three different people. I found it interesting that the teacher's responses were more in depth with understanding the intelligence level that a teacher should have. The parent's responses relied on how they would see an intelligent person to be when they think of an inspiring person and someone who is ready to engage. The child's response relied on what they see in the environment around them such as getting good grades in school or like the president being an intelligent leader.
Task #3: Observe a classroom and discuss with the teacher how s/he is using the child development characteristics in her/his lesson planning and teaching.
From what I was observing in the classroom, the teacher relied on the children's fine motor skills and their ability to comprehend and follow directions. The teacher also emphasized the importance of always having more than just one media to show to the students. For example, during the art project, the teacher modeled every step, showed pictures, and used language in which the students were able to simply comprehend because they were familiar with it. The teacher also emphasized the importance of being organized when engaging into child development aspects because the teacher should know exactly what is being done at what time or if they need to accommodate their lesson to suit the other students' needs.
Task #4:Observe the teacher paying attention to the individual need of students and blog about your observations.
During my observation, I noticed how the teacher focused on all of the students evenly. She walked around the tables and constantly asked the students how they were doing or complimenting on their work. The teacher also made herself available whenever the students requested her attention or assistance. She was up and ready to help. The teacher also made sure that all of the students had access to all of the materials needed for this lesson at any given time.
Task #5: Observe and record your findings about the children's cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. Does the teacher develop lessons based on their cognitive, etc. needs and characteristics?
By observing the 3rd and 4th graders, I could observe their cognitive, social, and physical development. The students were all at their given age level. They were able to understand the directions, socially interact with their peers and caregivers, and their fine motor skills were age appropriate. The teacher develops lessons plans, but not to what they can and can't do. The teacher does lesson plans according to their ages. The youngest group she teaches at the day camp is 3rd graders.
Task #6: Observe the classroom and record/note: Each time an incident of learning occurs (when and how). Provide specific examples/evidence. May be you will prefer keeping a journal for 24 hours and note every time an incident of your own learning happens. Be ready to blog about and share in your blog. If in class, ask how the teacher uses reinforcement (positive/negative) and if s/he uses punishment. Record, blog, and share.
Every time that an incident of learning occurs the teacher congratulated the student on their accomplishment. An example of an incident of learning was when the student was able to visually show that learning had occurred was when the student shouted "Look! The mod podge makes the paper look smooth as long as I move my finger smoothly." This was when the teacher reassured the student and said "Yes! Good Observation! That's what the mod podge is meant to do."
When asking the teacher about positive and negative reinforcement, the teacher explained that for positive reinforcement, she directs the praise to the class as a whole. She doesn't usually praise individuals for their success, but she would rather present to the class about something that they did together successfully. When it comes to negative reinforcement, the teacher mentioned how she follows a 3 strike policy based on class rules that is decided at the beginning of the year through class voting methods.
Task #7:Interview your teacher and students:
Ask both your teacher and students, what helps them remember the concepts, new material.
In what subject students quickly remember the material and why.
What they would advise you as a beginning teacher to learn to do to help them remember the information better.
Compare the answers of the students to those of the teacher. Provide your insights in the blog and be ready to share in your blog.
When interviewing the teacher, the teacher stated that the way that she believes that students remember new concepts or new materials are by music or song, formative assessments, do now/exit tickets, and using multimedia approaches when teaching new material. The teacher mentioned that she believes that science is the subject that the students quickly remember because they build real world experience through application and experiments. A piece of advice that the teacher told me to learn to do as a new beginning teacher is to incorporate multimedia purposes and examples of applications for all subjects. She also mentioned to use a variety of assessment and instruction reinforcement.
When interviewing one of the students, the student said is taking notes and seeing visuals. The student said that the subject that they quickly remember the material and concepts is Social Studies because they make connections to their real life experience and because they are learning about the countries' past experiences. The student exclaimed that I should not give too much information at the same time as a new teacher so that other students can actually remember the information.
Task #8:Observe your FW classroom (or give examples from the previous visits) and determine what elements/principles of constructivist practice you observed. Jot down your observations and reflect on the findings in your blogs providing supporting evidence from the textbook.
The main element that I noticed for constructivism was that throughout the experience, the teacher enforced the use of hands on activities. The students were always actively creating something. The students were able to focus on their individual projects and how they were able to construct the final product.
When I used to think of self-testing, I used to think of my teacher telling us to take a test, then letting peers grade it before handing it in to the teacher for the teacher to finish doing the initial grading. This is something that I was not exposed to in this course. The self-tests that we took were just like check for understanding check points which is something that I completely agree with and would prefer to even use in my own classroom.
I really did enjoy taking all of these self tests specifically because it was a simple approach to testing my knowledge without feeling the need of test anxiety as if it were going to affect my grade. I always get nervous before taking tests. With these types of tests, I felt absolutely comfortable and in my own comfort zone. I didn’t feel an ounce of test anxiety and I was very thrilled about that.
I didn’t find any tests to be specifically challenging, but I did find that a specific test type of question was a bit more difficult for me to comprehend. The types of questions that were difficult or educationally challenging for me were the questions that had specific case scenarios. Personally, I always think that those types of questions are easy for me, but then I notice that I get stuck between two choices and I usually pick the wrong choice which stimulates my second guessing myself. The questions that were enlightening for me were the questions that were accompanied with unique definitions because most of the time, I agreed with those definitions. I really think that these types of check for understanding checkpoints or mini self tests are perfect for a course designed like this.
Here is the link to my e-folio, click on the Self-Tests tab and it will take you to mini reflections on something that I liked about each test.
No Child gets Left Behind in the World of Teaching
Chapter 14 Reflection
Throughout all of my education courses, the debate of what makes an effective teacher has been tossed around in class discussions. Anitia Woolfolk mentioned that the characteristics of an effective teacher revolves around clarity, organization, warmth, and enthusiasm. I agree with all of these characteristics and traits of what is expected from an effective teacher. I also think that the amount of knowledge for teaching that the teacher has is also another major impact on effective teaching. I enjoyed reading about the different teaching approaches specifically because I engaged into some of these teaching approaches throughout my field work experiences in past semesters. An example would be in my Social Studies Methods course, we had to create and teach three lessons: direct, inquiry, and collaborative. The technology differentiation section of this chapter was also very intriguing considering that it touched on one of my favorite subjects, assistive technology.
Should the promotion of self-esteem be a part of the curriculum?
Self-Esteem should always be a part of the curriculum one way or another. Self-esteem is a major concept in every person's life, no matter how old they are. Self-esteem is also a major concern in society today so it should be promoted at some point in the curriculum. Self-esteem could be integrated into the curriculum through books and activities at some point throughout the year, it is up to the teacher to decide.
Many agree that strong self-esteem is essential, but what role should teachers play in promoting self-esteem?
In promoting self-esteem, the teachers should be the motivators to support the students with their self-esteem and how they are as a person. The teachers should encourage the students to be themselves and to be proud of who they are.
In terms of learning, what should self-esteem be based on?
Self-esteem should be based on how the student perceives themselves as a person, a learner, a student, etc. Self-esteem relates directly to the student and their opinion of themselves.
In what ways should teachers use praise to promote self-esteem?
Teachers should use praise to promote self-esteem by encouraging the students with positive feedback and motivational praises that gives the students a reassuring feeling or a motivational boost with their self-esteem.
There are so many more questions, but above are just a few honorable mentions that I believe are significant to teaching and promoting self-esteem.
Editing a Lesson Plan
Order Out! Lesson found using Awesome Library. This lesson states a clear statement of the topic and provides a brief objective as the purpose of the lesson. It also lists the materials that are needed for this lesson with a six step procedure for carrying out the lesson. This lesson has no method listed for evaluation of success throughout the lesson. This lesson also does not list many accommodations, only variations of the lesson with very minor adjustments. To accommodate the individual differences of gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status in this lesson, everyone is given an equal opportunity with all of the materials and support from the teacher. This type of lesson is not affected by the individual differences that are listed above. When it comes to language, everything can be posted in a variety of languages according to the individual differences that are present in the classroom. To professionally and reassuringly include all students, I would be sure to make sure that every child has the materials needed and know the instructions of this lesson whether the directions need to be modeled or explained more in depth for clarity.
My Experience with Create, Evaluate, and Relate in Chapter 14
How would you categorize the objective? Is this a cognitive, affective, behavioral, or psychomotor objective? How do you know?
I would categorize the objectives for all three lesson plans as expanding the knowledge of budgeting and money while incorporating discounts through coupons for real world situations. These objectives are cognitive objectives specifically because they involve with the thinking process and being able to interpret the circumstances for this task. I know this because of how the rest of the lesson plan flows with the aspects of achieving the objective. Each lesson plan is unique, but they ultimately want to experience a similar outcome.
Building an Effective Learning Classroom Environment
Chapter 13 Reflection
This chapter was very informative about creating a positive learning environment for any age group. I really must emphasize the importance of procedures and routines as well as rules in the classroom. These three concepts are major when establish a firm classroom management system. It's important to create and maintain a classroom management system that the students can comprehend and construct familiarity with. While reading over the bullying and cyberbullying section, I actually stopped and reread what I was reading because it is something that interested me very much. In past classes, I actually created a workshop/course that revolved around making a cyberbullying safety box for your age group in your classroom. It was a class final project, but it is something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Constructivism Rap!
What can I possibly say about this rap? I can honestly say that I love it! I used this rap in a presentation about constructivism that I used last semester in one of my Information Technology courses and it was a big hit among my peers. This rap helped me to develop a confident understanding of what constructivism is. This tune is catchy and in the classroom, I believe that everyone would join in and start singing the song after a few seconds in.
My Experience with Create, Evaluate, and Relate in Chapter 13
Create: What's Your Classroom Like?
Class Setup
The desks are set up vertically in a way that the students can see the Smartboard since the Smartboard is the primary source of visual representation and tool for teaching. The Learning Center tables are where there will be different activities according to what is being taught within the length of time. I set up my classroom like the floor plan above because I believe that students should be seen in every aspect of the classroom. I also believe that there is no need for a teacher to have a desk in Elementary School. As the teacher, I will constantly be engaging with the students and there will never be a moment where I am sitting down doing nothing.
Rules for the Classroom
My classroom would have a set of rules like the images above. I would assume that 3-6 graders would understand the basics of the classroom rules like raise your hands, but I would reinforce the basic classroom rules with any grade lower.
Procedures and Routines
For this classroom, all of the procedures and routines would be reinforced and strictly applied during the first full month of school. It's difficult to teach a routine, but with practice makes perfect. There would be a set class time schedule that will correspond with procedures and the daily routine of the classroom. The transitions would occur during the change of subjects or when leaving to lunch or a special like art and music. The transitions would not be time consuming once the students get the hang of the routine.
Here is a link to classroom procedures that I would follow in this classroom.
The author of this article is Alyson Malinger. The source of this article was gathered from an Educational Database on Proquest that is linked to the Mount Saint Mary College Database. This article is about the Armstrong Teacher Education Program that revolves around awarding teachers for positive effective classroom management. This article lists what other teachers and educators say with regards to classroom management such as "you create a community in your classroom..." and "don't be afraid to try new things..."
The author of this blog is anonymous, but their user name is Love Teach. The source of this blog is posted on a website called We Are Teachers. The teacher in this blog listed the top five mistakes that they made in their first year of teaching and most of them relate to classroom management one way or another. One of the ways that their mistake related to classroom management would be being afraid to be firm with students. The teacher also did not ask for help which can benefit and strengthen classroom management by reaching out to other teachers. Comparing to the other article, this author did not know how to handle classroom management as much as the educators of the Armstrong Teacher Education Program. The teacher is learning to use classroom management and has learned from their mistakes.
This chapter is without a doubt my new favorite chapter that I have read so far. Motivation is super big in my eyes. I passionately believe that all educators should be highly motivating to all of their students no matter what. Scolding should not be the number one "fixer upper" for situations. Instead of complaining or always asserting what the students do wrong, the students should be praised for what they did accomplish. I greatly enjoyed reading about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It is remarkable to see each developmental step on the pyramid of exactly what types of needs there are what should be mastered before others.
It's Smarter to Travel in Groups!
It's always smarter to travel in a group for several reasons. It's always safer when traveling in a group anywhere. It provides a comfort zone where as something more serious can happen when you are alone. I would use these series of video clips in my classroom when talking about team work. Team work is a major priority in my eyes especially when collaborating to achieve something. It's important for students to understand the concept of team work and what it means to be a team member.
I like the concept of the padagogy wheel, but I do feel that it is too complex for teachers to just look at and refer to. It is very detailed and I don't think that it is something that I would directly refer to, but I do think I would try to find something simpler to look at instead. I do like the action words and the adverbs that are linked to the padagogy wheel because those are typical words that you would use throughout the write up of a lesson plan. I do like the technology twist that accompanies the terms by listing apps that would be appropriate for each term on the wheel. It is nice to know that there are apps that are directly tied into the padagogy wheel.
The Flipped Classroom
Although I can see why many people like the ideas of a flipped classroom, I beg to differ. I'm not a major fan of a flipped classroom specifically because I am the type of person that likes to directly have hands on interaction with my instructor face to face on assignments. I also see myself as a visual learner, but I need to have the person in front of the classroom. I tend to see myself as that type of learner. That is why I was nervous about taking this course because I knew that in an online class, the majority of the class sessions would be like a flipped classroom and I didn't think that I would be successful, but I think I am doing well.
My Experience with Create, Evaluate, and Relate in Chapter 12
Who is the character, and what is his or her primary goal?
The main character in this movie is named Paulie. He is the green parrot that is on the front cover. His primary goal is to be reunited with his owner as a child.
Analyze the character's motivation from two different perspectives. (Humanistic and Sociocultural)
On the humanistic spectrum of motivation, Paulie is very similar to a human because he speaks and knows exactly what he wants. He is very smart and is inspired to return to Marie as he over comes the obstacles that stand in his way. On the sociocultural perspective, Paulie is inspired by his desire to be around Marie once more so his environment also has an impact on his motivation.
What kind of attributions would this character make if he or she were not able to achieve his or her goals?
The type of attribution that this character would make if he did not achieve his goal would be to lose hope. Paulie always kept in his heart the devotion to his owner and promised that he would fly back to her one day when she was a child. Paulie kept his hope up and never gave up when it came to finding Marie.
Relate: Beliefs about Knowing
What makes an effective teacher? Do teachers just give up when the going gets tough? No! An effective teacher is a teacher who never gives up on what they believe in or their students. Teaching is not something that just comes easily or something that can be mastered with in a few years of college. Just because someone has a degree that states that a person has met all of the requirements to become a teacher, does not mean that they are an experienced, amazing teacher.
Teaching tactics are always changing and a terrific teacher must always be up to date with the latest material and technology. Teaching is not just about presenting facts to children, teaching is preparing children for the future and help children to be successful in their future careers. A teacher must be understanding and willing to do what is necessary to teach all of their children in their classroom. No child should ever be left behind no matter what the circumstances may be.
The main key to being a magnificent teacher is to accommodate to any of the child's specific needs. Every child learns in a different way, so it is up to the teacher to help and understand what is necessary to teach the child and assure that the child will be successful. I believe entirely that it is the teacher's job to teach the child no matter what. A teacher should never walk out on a child or turn their back on a child just because the child does not understand the lesson, is slow at learning the lesson, or because they have some sort of disability that prevents them from learning in a certain way. Every child deserves a chance and in my classroom, every child will be given a chance and will never be told other wise. I will strive to teach every student in my classroom. As long as I am a teacher and my students are in my care of my classroom, they will be shown that they can do it. I will never give up.
This chapter was very informational and enlightening. The whole concept of socially learning brings a smile to my face because I think that socially learning is one of the best ways to learn, especially with younger students. A lot of students learn from experience and most of the time they are engaged into an activity with a child or an adult. While reading this chapter, I was very intrigued while reading about reinforcement. I am a big person when it comes to believing in positive reinforcement. All children should be encouraged and praised when they have accomplished something or presented themselves as a good model. I'm not talking about just giving a sticker to the child and saying "Good Job!" I'm talking about giving a sticker and enthusiastically explaining why the student received the sticker. It can change a child's entire day or mood depending on what type of reinforcement they have received. It up to the teacher to decide what they would do and what type of atmosphere they would like to bring to their classroom home.
Whenever I think about traditional teaching and constructivism, I can't help but to think that both teaching methods can benefit from each other and should be combined in any classroom setting. In my own future classroom, I will definitely combine the two teaching styles. I believe that every classroom needs to have that direct instruction in which the teacher is the teacher and teaching the students new information, but then the teacher should also transition to lessons that constructively engage the students into new lessons that revolve around a common objective area.
I actually liked the Jigsaw Method. I can picture myself using this in the future. It's an entertaining way to get the students to collaborate together and teach each other. I like the whole concept of breaking into expert groups and base groups. It's interesting to see how these types of group projects will turn out in the long run and I'm excited to manipulate the Jigsaw Method in the classroom. I know that I can use this method with Social Studies, but I'm interested in learning how to use this method with other subjects.
When I think about digital teaching and digital learning, I am simple ecstatic. As an ITE major, my passion is using technology in a classroom setting to teach children. Unfortunately, the picture located to the left is slowly becoming true in today's society. Children and school systems are gradually converting to using technology and software for school work rather than using mass amounts of paper and books. All types of information can be found on technology through the internet and applications. Schools are transitioning and it may be hard for all teachers to convert as well, but it's something that needs to be done to ensure that all students are able to learn.
My Experience with Create, Evaluate, and Relate in Chapter 11
Create: Resources for Setting Academic Goals
Pinterest:The link on this website opens up possibilities that teachers could use to emphasize the importance of goal setting in the classroom to students. It has links to lessons and activities that the teachers can use in their own classrooms. I would suggest that Pinterest is a nice website to use when looking for a variety of ideas on how to do things in the classroom and really anywhere in general. This site could be designed for several different age groups, but the link tagged above is directed to teachers who are looking to engage students into goal setting experiences. This site can be adapted with any type of circumstance. Users can alter their own posts and save posts to their liking.
Cengage, Education Week: Teacher, and MyCollegeSuccessStory: All three of these links are tagged to websites that mention tips for students as to what they can do themselves when referring to goal setting. Two of these websites are targeted for college students, but a teacher can always make a few tweaks to the tips for any age group. These websites are typically designed for the teacher's eyes rather than the students, but they are educationally enhanced. These sites can be adapted for teaching when the teacher may decide to find educational articles or tips from other teachers that can possibly make an impact in their teaching styles or methods.
Education Corner and Edweek: These two links are effective goal settings and studying styles for highly effective students. These two websites can be used by others, but like the three mentioned above, they are typically viewed by educators. These sites can be adapted by an educator who is making their own posts or again looking for information that can benefit their teaching methods and strategies.
Evaluate: Modeling Behaviors
All of the videos below use the constructivist approach of modeling to display step by step tutorials on how to do something that others may use in everyday life. How to Master 5 Basic Cooking Skills This video shows steps on how to do specific basic cooking skills like finely chopping up a food such as an onion. In the constructivist approach, a man is modeling how to go through each of the basic cooking steps, in a procedural manner. This provides visuals for the students. How to Wash your Car Properly This video shows steps on how to wash your car "the right way". The man in the video uses the constructivist approach to show others how to wash a car. How to Fold a Button-Down Shirt In this video, a female shows a step by step tutorial on how to fold a button-down shirt while keeping it neat. The constructivist approach throughout this video is the sequence of steps that are done to necessarily fold this type of shirt. How to Tie a Tie In this video, a male focuses the camera on his torso to demonstrate in slow motion how to tie a tie on a collar shirt. The constructivist aspect of this video is the defined sequence of how to tie a tie that is emphasized through slow motion actions. How to Ride a Bike without Training Wheels This video shows a little girl teaching others how to ride a bicycle. The constructivist approach that this little girl is tackling nicely would be the modeling of how she learned how to ride a bike.
Relate: Emotional Self-Regulation and Social Media
The immediacy of using technology such as social media is quite high in everyday life today. Years ago, texting was just the new thing, but now there are all kinds of applications and social media websites that people use, it's becoming almost impossible to avoid. Some people are even becoming addicted to these social media sites and that is where the problem may lie. Personally, I use social media from time to time, but I would not consider myself to be addicted to it because I don't need it. Sometimes, people jump onto their phones first thing in the morning to see what the latest gossip is on Twitter or Facebook. I like the concept of meeting new people and finding family, but I do believe that social media has taken over many people's lives. I don't believe that school-aged children below the age of fifteen should have any contact with social media. I don't believe it would have positive mental implications at all for the younger students, but it would have negative mental implications like cyber bullying availability. The guidelines that I would remind students before updating their status would be:
Remember this is brief status, not your diary.
Taste your words before you spit them out.
Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
These are a couple of quotes that I would use, but perhaps not in the exact writing.
I definitely enjoyed reading through this chapter because I seem myself as a constructivist who is constantly working on things that revolve around creativity and hands on experience. A lot of my previous class projects had to do with the constructivist theory and how everything works within that theory. I also learned a lot about collaboration and cooperation in a few of my other classes, so reading this in the text was a nice recap and refresher for me. The most interesting part that I found to be captivating was the section about technology and learning. I was excited when I started reading this section because I'm an Information Technology with Education. I feel like a nerd when I start reading this kind of material and information. There are several different learning environments that refer to technology as a resource that I enjoyed reading about. I like the ideas behind virtual learning environment except that with virtual learning, some students may just like the concept of a game and only play and experience the learning as a game. On the other hand, I think that more children will learn today this way because technology is such a major role in life today and it is only going to increase as life goes on.
My Experience with Create, Evaluate, and Relate in Chapter 10
A type of cognitive apprenticeship experience that I would create in my classroom would revolve around budgeting, coupon cuttings, or having an in class store where the students would be able to experience this type of activity that would normally happen in these type of situations. I could also take the students to a farmers market to first evenhandedly experience a brief market experience face to face as to how everything is run. I think that incorporating cognitive apprenticeship into the classroom is an effective approach and should be highly applaud when teaching material that the students can strongly make a connection to in a real-world situation. Engaging into a cognitive apprenticeship can beneficially open doors in the students' minds by creating experience with something that they are familiar with and perhaps will see or encounter as they grow older in future circumstances. Some challenges may revolve around the budget of the school or the approval to do cognitive apprenticeship. Not every school is fortunate enough to have such reliable resources in which they can afford to add big extra activities to the menu of their curriculum.
This chapter was filled with information about a variety of learning strategies that are used at different times and for several subjects. I was surprised when I read about the CAPS reading strategy because I recently taught this strategy to a group of fifth graders who had difficulty with comprehension and problem solving skills. I enjoyed my experience while teaching this strategy and while reading about it, giving me the opportunity to reflect on my past field work experience. It was nice to see all of the different heuristics that tag along throughout this chapter. Most of the strategies, I think I would see myself using in my future classroom like the working-backward strategy.
My Experience with Create, Evaluate, and Relate in Chapter 9
Create: Concept Transfer
The mathematical activity that I would plan to do in pairs would be egg carton multiplication. The numbers are listed from 1 - 12 in each egg carton and two pom poms are placed into the egg carton. Each player will shake the egg carton while it is closed. When they open the egg carton, they will multiply the two numbers where the pom poms landed. This is a math activity that helps the students with their multiplication skills without relying on flash cards or other “plain” tools. This activity will capture the students attention and engage them into a different learning experience that will entertain them while they learn.
What are the strengths of these websites? What are the weaknesses?
The strengths of these websites is that all of these websites provide lesson plans and several resources that can be used for teaching different material. All of these websites list lessons that range in ages, grades, and subjects. A weakness of these websites is that for access to some of the materials or utensils, the lesson plans are not free. I think that it's not fair for other teachers to charge others for lesson plan templates when in reality, a teacher is charging for the material, style, and design that is printed out on the paper. The prices range up to five dollars or more sometimes and I find that to be outrageous.
Who created these lesson plans? Is there any way to submit feedback to find out about the success of the lesson plans?
The creators of these lesson plans are retired teachers, educators, or teachers that are still in the work field now. Each of these websites have a rating system of 5 stars and a space to provide comments of the lessons to the authors of each lesson which is open to other customers who are interested in downloading, performing, or purchasing the lesson plans.
Enrichment through the Information Processing Approach
Chapter 8 Reflection
While reading this chapter, I was surprised to read about all of the general and specific concepts that relate to how a person is learning cognitively. It's always interesting to read about how the brain works, especially when it comes to the memory systems within the brain. There are so many small components that make up the entire systems: working memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. I also liked exploring the ways that people retain information such as rote memorization or by using the keyword method. Personally, I find myself using the keyword method often because remembering a whole definition word for word is sometimes difficult, but if I can remember one specific word that relates to the topic, I am usually able to remember the rest.
My Experience with Create, Evaluate, and Relate in Chapter 8
Create: Understanding the way you learn
Here is the link to my concept map created using bubbl.us!
Evaluate: Procedural Knowledge in Simple Tasks
Here is the link to my presentation using Google Slides! Make sure that you click the present tab so you can see the animations and transitions of the presentation.
While reading this chapter, I started to think about what my teachers used to do to regulate classroom management through the behavioral perspective when I was in Elementary School. Although I enjoyed reading the statistical aspects of Behaviorism, I really enjoyed reading about the in depth concepts of reinforcement, punishment, and ways to promote positive behavior in the classroom. I remember that my teachers used to rely primarily on time outs as a type of punishment and even though it is discussed in the course reading, I still don't believe that putting a child in time out constantly will teach them anything about discipline if they do not seem to care. I liked reading briefly about the token reinforcement system because I have seen how well students respond to that type of system in a classroom setting. It's something that the children would participate in knowing that they would be rewarded afterwards.
My Experience with Create, Evaluate, and Relate in Chapter 7
Teeth Whiting - In this advertisement, the product that the company is selling are 3-D Crest Teeth Whiting Strips.
Genie Waist Training - In this advertisement, the product that the company is selling is a Waist Training Belt.
Whom are they marketing to?
Teeth Whiting - This company is marketing towards anyone who desires to have the "perfectly white-colored" smile.
Genie Waist Training - This company is targeting women who desire to have an "hourglass" body shape.
How are they using behaviorist principles in their persuasion practices?
Teeth Whiting & Genie Waist Training - Both of these advertisements use the approach of imperfections in people's appearance to suit the society's standards today. People complain about their appearance and are always looking for quick easy fixes to changing their appearance. Teeth Whiting & Waist Training are two ways that society is using to alter our appearance to our liking.
Relate
What kind of social information do these people allow their friends to see (pictures, group membership)?
Two out of the three individual profiles that I looked at allowed their friends to view other people on their friends list. All three of the individuals allowed others to see their pictures, their likes, their videos, and basic information about them.
What would you learn about acceptable behavior after looking at this person's profile page?
After looking at each of these people's pages, I can see that they are all on different levels of acceptable behaviors. It is clear that each of these individuals have their own opinions as to what is considered acceptable behavior when sharing information online. Some people would cherish their privacy while others are like an open book.
How might the distinction between learning and performance apply to the people who are posting on these sites? What might lead them to post more than they know they "should"?
The distinction between learning and performance may apply to the people who are posting on these sites because some people may learn that certain information needs to be kept in privacy compared to other information. They could have learned this through an incident that they experienced personally or have read about. So, this would impact their performance on what the people would end up doing online such as precautions of what they are posting, sharing, or allowing others to see. When it comes to posting more than what it necessary, some people may be in search of attention or conversation in which they would know that if they posted something specific, that someone is bound to respond whether it is positive or negative.
