Group Differences Forum Reflection

Our group differences forum in our class was very interesting.  I really enjoyed hearing everyone's opinions and thoughts.  It brought up many different topics that we have to consider as we prepare to be teachers.  Religion, multiculturalism, poverty, gender, immigration, and disabilities are all very important topics to discuss.  I loved that every one did not necessarily agree with the articles that they read for each subject. I think the subject that was most eye opening for me was gender.  It was not something I ever really thought about apart from the discussion.  I feel like our program has prepared us really well to be aware of these topics, but I do agree that we should have a class to prepare us for how to help our ELL students. 

From what we were told about the articles, I do not think any of the articles should be thrown out.  They were all helpful and brought up good points.  I really liked our Kill Santa article; I was sad we ended up not having that much time to discuss it.  I think all of the topics are really important to discuss because they are all aspects of the classroom that we will more than likely have to deal with.

Barb Rentenbach Reflection

 

I wish I could have seen Barb Rentenbach in person, but I enjoyed watching these videos.  It was very relevant to me because I work with two kids that have autism.  They can communicate, but mostly with one- or two-word utterances.  I could relate some of the things Barb mentioned in her book that the people were reading to my experiences with these kids at work.  For example, one of them likes to carry stuff around with him.  Usually it is a book, or toy, but her statement about sometimes liking to carry objects (like a bowl of nuts and bolts) made me think about that.  I really liked how she talked about it is harmless.  If they are never using it to cause harm, then why would we take away a piece of their comfort?  I am sure that happens sometimes.  One way I can better teach children that have autism in my classroom is by not stressing over the little stuff like that.  I thought facilitated communication was very interesting.  I love hearing about ways that we allow people who may not speak to communicate with us (another example is with iPads).  I wondered why one or two of the people in the Here We Are World video used it though when they were the ones speaking what they wrote.   It is so exciting to see that though, because before they had that to communicate, I’m sure it was extremely frustrating.  I loved that Barb Rentenbach said not to shelter kids that use facilitated communication.  I think this is important to remember with all of my students; sometimes I underestimate what they are capable of.  Students that do not have autism and students with autism need to be challenged and I need to have high expectations for them, while still being sensitive to their needs.  I also took to heart what she said about interacting with them.  She said nobody likes to be talked at and sometimes they just want people to be there but not talk.  I am definitely someone who likes to talk to fill the silence, more particularly with people I do not know very well.  I find myself doing that with the kids at work that have autism.  I will remember that maybe they just want me to sit with them, but not constantly be trying to talk to them.  This is something I will take with me into teaching as well.  These videos did affect my view of people with autism in positive ways.  They made me more aware of ways to better communicate with them and interact with them.  I think it is important for all people to be educated about autism.  This month is actually autism awareness month and we just had autism awareness week at work.  This is good because the students better understand why a couple of them are different, but still capable of the same things as them.  All teachers should be educated on autism so that they can better teach students with autism and adjust the environment to help them be comfortable. 

 

Chapter 2--Post #10

Theories in educational psychology promote the idea that language plays a critical role in cognitive development. Examine Table 2.2 (p. 51), paying particular attention to the age range that you are interested in teaching. Consider how you might incorporate or adapt the strategies presented for use with your own students. 

I chose the K-2 grade level and looked at the suggested strategies for linguistic development.  At this age, they need to be reading age-appropriate storybooks to enhance their vocabulary.  It is important that they read something a little bit challenging but on their reading level because it will boost their confidence when they can read the whole book.  I will have books in my classroom that they can choose from, but more importantly I will make sure they go to the library and check out books labeled with their reading level.  I also think read-alouds are so important.  I plan to read-aloud to my students everyday in my classroom.  This will help them work on their listening skills.  This is also a great way for them to hear stories that they might not have been able to read on their own.  I will also have my students write about their weekends or special events that I know they have gone to.  By doing this, they can tell their stories without being disruptive (every Monday my Kindergarteners at work are ALL trying to tell me about their weekend at once) and they will be practicing writing in a way that they hopefully enjoy.  

As we progress throughout the year, I will always give corrective feedback when I can tell a student doesn't understand a word or is misusing.  This is important because they will keep using the word incorrectly if I don't correct them, and the longer they use the word incorrectly the harder it will be to change.  I will also ask questions to check for comprehension.  I have observed teachers that give instructions and then ask for the students to repeat it back when they are done; I like this idea not only with instruction.  It helps the teacher know whether the students are understanding.

Since I talked about read-alouds, I wanted to include this website.  It is readaloudamerica.org and it has lists of books that are suggested for reading aloud.  There is a list for each year.  It is a very helpful website because the lists are also divided into sections by age/grade level.

Social Cognitive Theory

How might self-efficacy and self-regulation contribute to the intervention plans you use in your case study?

Self-efficacy and self-regulation are two concepts that I would definitely want to consider with my intervention plans for the case study (see below in last post) because I really like Social Cognitive Theory (SCT).  I believe that self-efficacy is a big factor in learning and behavior.  If a student believes they can do something, they are more likely to do it.  If they don't think they can do something then they are less likely to do it.  I would take into account whether or not Lisa thinks she can accomplish the task or not.  It might be the academic task that she may or may not think she can do, or it might be just working with partners.  I would try to talk with Lisa and help her see that she can work with groups effectively.  If I can get her to believe this, then she might be more willing to work nicely with the others.

Self-regulation goes along with my journaling  idea.  If Lisa is reflecting on her learning, then she can realize what she is doing wrong and work on fixing it.  If she reflects in her journal about how she didn't really work well with the group, she might be motivated to try again.  The same goes for when Lisa does something good.  If she writes in her journal that she worked well with others, she might be motivated to do it again because of the results.  Lisa can also self-regulate by talking to me.  I can ask her questions about her behavior and learning and through her answers she can reflect.  This is probably what I would do before she starts journaling so she will be familiar with reflecting.

This video below explains self-efficacy very well and is very informative.

Behaviorism--Post #8

Consider your CSEL intervention case study.  Are there tools from a behaviorist view for either encouraging productive behaviors or discouraging undesirable behaviors that you could apply to the case?  What are they?

Now, compare the interventions that you have identified above with what you think might work from a cognitive or constructivist viewpoint (you may need to Google for ideas but it's okay to just speculate based on your prior knowledge).  How do they compare to behaviorist tools?  What are the benefits of each theory, and what are the deficits? Which theory might play a larger role in how you determine classroom management? 

Here is my case study:

You engage your third grade students in cooperative learning activities at least twice a day, changing heterogeneous group members once every four weeks. You have agreed upon routine procedures that your classroom community uses within their small groups, including the roles and responsibilities of group members. Lately you have noticed that one small group always seems to have difficulty grasping material and completing their project in an acceptable manner.  You observe this group carefully and find that Lisa seems to be the catalyst for their problems.  She gets angry with others if she does not get the job she wants and refuses to do her part in contributing to the group’s learning.  She constantly interrupts others in her group.  She does not pay attention when her group prepares for class presentations.

The first step that I would take to help Lisa would be to first model successful group behavior.  This can be modeled for the whole class so that she doesn't feel singled out and because it would be beneficial for the whole class anyways.  I would pick some students that I know work well in a group and model great group behaviors in front of the class.  The second step I would take to help Lisa is to use positive behavioral support.  Using PBS would teach Lisa different behaviors to replace the inappropriate behaviors.  This encourages the right type of behavior in group work as well as encourages her to stop the bad behavior at the same time in order for their group to work together better. 

From a constructivist approach, I would have Lisa reflect on her behavior maybe by writing in a journal.  Then once she has had some time removed from the group, we can discuss her reflection.  By doing this, she can construct right and wrong behaviors by reflecting.  This is similar to behaviorism because we are still trying to address the behavior and change it, just in a different manner.  

I think there are benefits and deficits to both approaches.  They both identify what the inappropriate behavior is, but I feel like Lisa is more aware of what it is in the constructivist approach because she reflects on it.  With PBS, her awareness might not be as direct.  With both of them, the behavior will be hard to change.  PBS is a great way to work towards discouraging and replacing the inappropriate behavior.  I think behaviorism will play a larger role in my classroom management because I know more about it (I am a psychology major) and its focus is on behavior.  It provides many ways on top of PBS (applied behavior analysis, operant conditioning, etc.) to help with behavior.

Click here for helpful behavior modifications.  It goes through the steps of PBS and is very helpful.

Post #7

Choose one of the following: Consider a lesson plan you might use. Which metacognitive skills/abilities are involved as students gain facility/knowledge in this domain? OR Think of an activity or lesson component that explicitly teaches one or more metacognitive and one or more problem solving skills.

 We used an activity for our teaching project last week that teaches metacognitive and problem solving skills.  It would have to be used with upper elementary because it involves division.  We had a recipe for peach cobbler that served 100 people; however, we were only going to serve 25 people.  We divided our classmates into groups and they had to figure out how much of each item we needed to serve just 25 people.  This was an example of transfer; they were using math and prior learning that helped in a new situation.  This also was great problem solving because they had to work through the problem and decide how much of each ingredient they need and the math helped them do that.  I think this is a great activity that could be used with upper elementary students who have just learned division.

I really like this video below.  It talks about teaching kids to think about their thinking with a simple example and explanation.

Constructivism

Make a list of the sequence of skills necessary for ultimate mastery of the content of your lesson through a constructivist approach. Which of these learning activities/skills lend themselves to student’s individual or group construction? How might you structure learning activities that lead students to discover these skills/these principles?

 In class my group decided to do a vocabulary lesson for Kindergarten on color words.  I turned my sheet in so I don't remember exactly what we came up with.  My plans for vocabulary once I have my own classroom is to have a vocabulary activity each day.  Monday, I will introduce the vocabulary words and give them definitions.  It would be hard to give definitions for color words so I would maybe just go over each word and show them what the color looks like.  Tuesday, I would provide an activity that helps them practice writing the words, like a crossword activity.  They could work with a partner to complete it.  Wednesday, I would give them a worksheet like this one to work on knowing what the color is by looking at the vocabulary words.  Thursday, I would have them participate in a group activity.  I would have the groups walk around the school (inside or outside on the playground) and do a color scavenger hunt.  I would either give them cameras if I could or have them write down what they found (when they are able to do that, I'm not sure when Kindergarteners can write well enough to do that).  Then on Friday I will give them a quiz to test their knowledge of spelling the color words and recognizing what color goes with each color word.  Hopefully through all the activities I provide throughout the week they will gain an understanding of the color words so that they know them by Friday.  These activities incorporate individual work and group work to help them gain a better understanding. 

Below is a video of some 4th and 5th grade students participating in a social studies activity.  You can see and hear from the students how much more effective the activities they are participating in are than just answering questions in a textbook.