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.

Effective Instruction

How might your knowledge of the memory processes guide your instructional decisions?

I somewhat addressed how I would adjust my instruction based on what I have learned about memory processes in my last post.  One thing that I would make a priority in my instruction is to present the connection between the material and the real world.  I would also try to relate the new material to topics we have covered in the past or that they might have learned in previous grades.  I will also present the same material in different ways so that they learn it over time, rather than learning it one day and being tested on it a few days later.  I will definitely utilize mnemonics in my instruction and teach useful mnemonics to my students.  Hopefully by teaching them some mnemonics, they will be able to come up with their own to help them remember important information.

Cognitive Learning Skills

What are the essential skills and/or learning outcomes you want your students to know and be able to do that relate to cognitive learning?

I have been through many years of school and there is a lot of information that I have learned and been tested on that I could not recall and tell you about now.  Is it not sad how much we learn but don't remember?  There are several skills that I would like for my students to know in order to have the best learning outcomes that they can have.  I want them to be able to remember as much of what I teach them as possible.

Many of my classes in college have seemed irrelevant to me.  I often find myself asking, "when am I ever going to use this in real life?"  Much of the information that I do not remember is information that I learned in those classes.  If I do not see how the information is relevant to me or I cannot relate it to the real world, then I will not remember it.  I feel that this is true for most students.  One of the most important skills I can make sure my students know is how to relate what they are learning to real life.  Part of that is the teacher's role when they begin the lesson.  It is important for them to make the real-life connections so they will retain the information.

Another concept that builds off of that is constructivism.  Students that use construction are more likely to remember information.  This means that they are connecting what they are learning to previous knowledge and building off of it.  This is also known as meaningful learning.  This will be a very useful skill for them.

My main goal as a teacher will be to help my students store information in their long-term memory.   I will need to teach them strategies for doing this.  A lot of what I do not remember from college classes is what I memorized the night before a test.  In order to store information in our long-term memories, we have to hear/see it numerous times and in multiple ways to effectively store it.  When I am teaching, I will revisit the same information more than once before moving on to make sure that they are remembering it.

A very helpful method of storing information in our long-term memories is using mnemonics.  Mnemonics are special memory tricks.  One way to use mnemonics is by teaching a song to students.  A great example of this is the ABC song that we all learn when we are little.  Another example of mnemonics is My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizza Pies.  Although this does not really work anymore because Pluto is not a planet, I learned this in elementary school to remember the planets and I still remember it to this day.

These are some skills that I want my students to know.  Hopefully with their knowledge of these skills, most of what I teach them will stick with them for the rest of their lives.  Here are a couple articles that have helpful mnemonics:

http://www.letkidslead.com/MemoryTricks.aspx
http://www.learninginfo.org/spelling-mnemonics.htm

Assessment

Think of a lesson plan from your licensure area.  Knowing that assessment is an integral part of teaching, explain at least four informal and formal assessments that you will use in your lesson plan to provide you with feedback and involve the students in assessing their own learning.

From what I have learned about assessment, I am going to use informal assessment as much as possible.  I know that I have to use a lot of formal assessment because it is required, and I think it is good to use, but I think informal assessment is a lot more helpful because you can use it on a daily basis.

In the classroom I am observing, our teacher taught cause and effect relationships in small groups.  I believe she had just introduced the topic the day before, so what we observed was her really trying to get them to grasp the concept.  They read a picture book and she helped them identify a few cause and effect relationships.  Then they had to write 3 cause and effect relationships on a sheet of paper that she took up.  This was a great example of informal assessment to see if they understood the concept.  

If I were the teacher and continued teaching cause and effect relationships, I think I would do another informal assessment by having them do an exit pass and giving me an example of a cause and effect relationship that they thought of themselves.  The day after that, I might have them draw me a picture of a cause and effect relationship.  This gives them a little creativity but still demonstrates whether or not they can come up with another cause and effect relationship on their own and represent it.

At the end of the week, I would have a formal assessment.  I would have them read a picture book on their own and have them identify 5 cause and effect relationships.  If they have truly grasped the concept, identifying 5 should not be a problem at all.  This will show me whether they understand or if they are still having trouble.

Here is a helpful video I found about formal and informal assessment.