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.