Reflective Journal #5

DESCRIBE:

        In chapter eight of the textbook, the author discusses the "Constructivist View" of learning. This is the type of learning where students have an active role in what they are learning. "The essence of constructivist theory is the idea that learners must individually discover and transform complex information if they are going to make it their own.” (Slavin, page 218). This means that the students are going to need to be active learners in the education process.

        The constructivist approach to education is not something new to education; it has in fact been studied and used throughout the history of education.  Piaget and Vygostky both researched and theorized constructivism.  The both emphasized, “cognitive change takes place only when previous conceptions go through a process of disequilibrium in light of new information”. (Slavin 2012, page 219) Another aspect of Piaget and Vygostky’s work is that they, “stressed the social nature of learning, and both suggested the use of mixed-ability learning groups to promote conceptual change”. ( Slavin 2012, page 219). This is interesting that the practices we are using today have been discussed and theorized for several decades.  The author of the text also stresses the importance of ability groupings in student based learning. 

         The author also describes several learning strategies that go along with the constructivist approach. First, “top down processing” which is a process where students start out with larger more in depth concepts and work to learn the “basic skills” needed to solve them.  “Cooperative learning” is where students work together in groups or pairs to figure out a concept.  “Discovery learning” is where “students are encouraged to learn largely on their own through active involvement with concepts and principles, and teachers encourage students to have experiences and conduct experiments that permit them to discover principles for themselves”. (Slavin 2012, page 222).  “Self-regulated learning” is just what it says. It is where students learn to self-regulate their tasks in order to complete a larger task, project, etc. “Scaffolding” is where students are guided into a project by help from the teacher in the beginning, and slowly letting go and allowing the students to take over. 

ANALYZE:

       One challenge that teachers face in incorporating student centered learning approaches is that students themselves are so different. Teachers must come up with ways for students to learn that all students can benefit from. Whether they are linguistic, visual, kinesthetic, etc. It is important that all students’ needs are met to ensure learning takes place.

        Another problem that teacher's face is that students must be "self-regulated learners". This means that students have "knowledge of effective learning strategies and how and when to use them". (Slavin, page 222). If students cannot self-regulate it is hard to complete the learning tasks ahead of them. These strategies can be knowing when to research, knowing when to read, knowing when to skim, etc. Managing time effectively and managing tasks efficiently are very important in student centered learning.

         One way to solve the problem of self-regulation is to use "scaffolding" in the classroom. This means that students will build up to their independent working time with the teacher's help. For example, "scaffolding might include giving students more structure at the beginning of a set of lessons and gradually turning responsibility over to them to operate on their own". (Slavin, page 223)

Reflect: 

         This chapter’s readings have reinforced to me the importance of hands on learning and group learning.  These two strategies are strategies that I always start out using in my class, and by the middle of the year I begin to feel rushed with the pressures of the CRCT looming over my head.  After reading this, I plan to use the strategies throughout the entire year, even when feeling rushed.  The truth is, students learn in a deeper understanding this way.  It is better for them to learn deeper about the concepts I am trying to teach, rather than me lecturing or giving notes to speed up the process. This does nothing for them in the long run. 

        The positives of this concept are many; increased student participation, enhanced and deeper learning of the material, learning of new skills and independent learning, and the list goes on and on.  The negatives to this concept are few.  First, the time and effort it takes in planning for these types of activities is pretty detailed.  Teachers should plan the lesson, strategically pick the groups, and teach the students the content before starting a project.  Also, the teachers have to be active in each group and each learner’s learning experience to achieve the highest learning results. 

         I feel that this concept is something that will benefit my students and me as a teacher. There is nothing more rewarding for a teacher than knowing that you have taught your students something that they actually retained and really learned.  This is the type of learning that makes all of the planning worth-while.  I feel that using these strategies will enhance student learning in my classroom and also in the end, increase the classroom test scores as well. 

This concept and these strategies learned in this chapter re-confirmed my belief that students need to be engaged in order to fully learn.  I went into teaching because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others, especially those who are less fortunate.  This concept shows me that with ability grouping and hands on learning, all kids can learn in the classroom and also all students can experience success.  

Slavin, R. (2012). Student-centered and constructivist approaches to instruction. Educational psychology: Theory and practice (10th Ed.)(pp.216-247). Boston, MA: Pearson

Reflective Journal #4

Describe:

                Whole Class Discussions:

                No matter what type of lesson plan you are preparing, you must be fully prepared and make sure the ample time has been spent in preparation.  For whole class discussion, “the teacher plays a less dominant role”.  (Slavin, page 209).  Although the role of the teacher in this type of discussion is considered less dominant, they are probably the most active participant. The teacher must know the content and make sure the students are well prepared in the knowledge of the content.  The teacher must ask the questions to get the conversation started, monitor the conversation so that it does not veer away from the topic, and make sure all students are participating.  Like the example the book offers, the teacher does not look for specific answers but tries to get the students to use what they learned and apply it to something else or talk about it in general. 

                The author states, “Before beginning a discussion, you must ensure that students have an adequate knowledge base”. (Slavin, page 210). This is the most important part of the preparation part for teachers in whole class discussions.  The teacher must make sure the students know the information well enough to engage in conversation with each other.  Otherwise the conversation will be dry and will end very quickly.  The author does however point out, that “Teachers can sometimes use a discussion before instruction as a means of generating interest to a topic”. (Slavin, page 210).  This is another way of using whole class discussion. 

                Small-Group Discussions:

                In my experience, small group discussions take an ample amount of planning as well.  This type of conversation is where students work in groups from four to six people. Within these groups, the students are to have meaningful conversation over a topic determined by the teacher.  The teacher’s join in this type of discussion is to make sure the students are well prepared in the content before the conversation/discussion begins.  After preparing their content, the teacher should assign their groups according to their needs.  The teacher also must walk around from group to group putting in their input and listening to make sure the students are on task.  Another aspect the teacher must do is gauge how much the students know by listening to their conversations.  The teacher can do this by monitoring constantly and noting what they do know and what still needs work. 

                When preparing groups the teacher also should consider strategically grouping the students.  Each group needs to have a group leader.  This group leader should be a student that shows ability to lead others in conversation and knows the content.  Slavin states that, “Leaders should be responsible, well-organized students but not necessarily the highest-achieving students.” (Slavin, page 210). This leader’s responsibility is “to make sure that the group stays on the topic and questions assigned to it and ensure that all group members participate”. (Slavin, page 211).  This can be a job that requires a lot of responsibility that is why strategically picking these students is necessary. 

                Each group also is not limited to discussing the same topic.  With multiple groups, multiple topics can be discussed.  For example; one group can discuss “Women in the Civil War” and another group can discuss “Slaves in the Civil War”.  Then, both groups can come together to discuss these two topics.  These are considered “subtopics” that go with what the whole class is discussing.

                Although these types of discussions require a lot of preparation, they can be very rewarding to the classroom learning experience.  The research shows that students can learn from small group discussions because “small-group discussions have greater effects on student achievement if students are encouraged to engage in controversy”.  (Slavin, page 211). 

Analyze:

                In whole class discussions I agree with the author that the teacher and students must be well prepared in content.  This is very true because we have all been in the classroom where we think that the students “know” what we are about to discuss, but once the discussion begins, we quickly realize the students need more time to learn the content.  Although the author says the teacher plays a “less dominant” role in this type of conversation, I have to slightly disagree.  This is because the teacher plays a large role through the whole process.  First, the teacher teaches the content to the students, next the teacher opens up discussion.  Throughout the discussion the teacher is listening, quite possibly the only one listening to everything.  The teacher is noting who is participating, who is not, who knows the content, and who does not.  The teacher is at the same time asking questions, giving praise when needed, and guiding the overall discussion.  This takes a lot of preparation and a lot of work during the actual discussion. 

                I agree with the author of the textbook that the small group discussion takes a great amount of preparation and work as well.  Some teachers think, by assigning group work that their job is made easier for the day.  This is actually the opposite.  Teachers play a huge role in small group discussion.  First, the teacher’s group assignments are vital.  The author does a good job pointing out what makes a good group leader.  I agree with their description of a good group leader as being “responsible” and “well-organized”.  Many times students want to pick their own groups, and while this may give them extra responsibility and freedom, strategic grouping picked by the teacher works better for these circumstances.  I also agree with the author that the teacher has to walk around and monitor the students to monitor discussions.  If the teacher does not do this, this sets up the students to get off topic and off task. 

Reflect:

                In my experience, I have found that I am better at administering whole-class discussion than small-group discussions.  I know that the small-group discussions are very important and that students benefit from them.  As a new teacher, I am still learning my classroom management style.  I really enjoy when my students work in groups and hearing their conversations. However, I am a lot more stressed when I administer these types of discussions.  I think by better picking the groups as the author suggests this might ease some of the stress and make things run more smoothly. This reading has changed my belief about small group discussions that they can in fact be very beneficial when used properly. 

                The chapter has helped me become a better teacher because I am now willing to use both whole class discussion and small group discussion more often.  I usually use it as an opening or closing activity.  However, after reading the chapter I can see how it can benefit as more of a large part of the class.  I really like the idea of small group discussions with “sub-topics”.  This would mean I could give my students several different topics, and then we could discuss them all as a class.  This would actually be using both types of discussion in the same lesson. 

Reflective Journal #3

Reflective Journal Entry #3 Chapter 6 “Information Processing and Cognitive Theories of Learning”

Describe:

This chapter in the textbook was all about how students learn.  The brain is something that can be difficult to understand. But, the author points out, that research has been done to understand how the brain works and how brain processes information. The author organized the information by asking several questions.   

The first question is “What is an information processing model?”  The author describes that this is a model that has three components on how the brain stores information.  First is the “sensory register phase”.  This is where the brain brings in large amounts of information, but only holds it for a short time. In order for it to become long term or permanent information, a person must pay attention to it.  Next, is the “short term or working memory?” This phase is where information is brought into the brain and stored in the working memory. This means the person is thinking about it and rationalizing it. As soon as the person stops thinking about it, it is lost.  The final phase is the “long-term memory” phase.  This is where the brain keeps things for long periods of time. The information has gone through the first two stages, and stays.  The memory can either be episodic, semantic, or procedural. 

The second question asked is, “What is learned from research on the brain?”  Neurologists now have what is called an “fMRI” which stands for “functional magnetic resonance imaging”.  This is where neurologists can actually watch human’s brains react to certain things that they are experiencing.  Different parts of the brain react to different things.  One part of the brain processes language; another part processes emotions, etc.  Researchers have also learned that not all learning is easy and that everyone learns different.  Other research has shown that when you are born you are not born with a certain amount of brain capacity, it matters what you are exposed to and what you experience. 

The third question in the text is “What causes people to remember or forget?” There are several things that cause someone to forget things or help them to remember.  For instance, “interference” is where a thought or piece of knowledge you already have gets mixed up with something else. Maybe you learn a date to the Battle of Shiloh but you get it mixed up with the date of the Battle of Gettysburg.  Another example the text uses is when children already know the letter “b” and try to learn the letter “d”.  “Proactive inhibition” is where you are learning how to do something in a different way. This can help someone remember something longer or better.  There are also individual differences that help people remember/forget. If a child has ADHD, they may have a harder time remembering or focusing on certain facts. 

The next question discussed in the chapter is, “How can memory strategies be taught?”  There are several ways to help students remember concepts that they are being taught.  There are several types of verbal learning that help.  Paired-associate learning, serial learning, and free-recall learning are all techniques that can help students to remember thoughts/concepts. 

“What makes information meaningful?” This is the next question in the chapter.  Although rote-learning is sometimes looked down upon.  The author does a great job explaining that sometimes this type of learning is necessary. For example, when learning a new language or about the scientific names of body parts, rote learning is necessary and helpful.  Meaningful learning is another thing that helps make information meaningful.  This is where the teacher relates information to something the student already knows.  Schematic learning also fits into an existing “schema” to make learning easier. 

The next question pertains to “metacognitive skills”.  Metacognition is a person understands of how they learn.  Metacognitive skills are “thinking skills” or “study skills” that students have to help them learn. 

“What strategies help students learn?” Is an important question toward the end of the chapter. This is where what we have learned about the brain and memory, deals with how our students are served in our classrooms. The author lists several strategies; practice tests, note-taking, underlining, summarizing, writing to learn, and outline and concept mapping.  The author also lists “PQ4r” as “the best known study technique”.  This stands for “preview, question, read, reflect, recite, and review”.  This strategy helps students organize information over time to where they can best understand it. 

The final question in the chapter is, “How do cognitive teaching strategies help students learn?”  The best way to help students learn something new is to relate it to something that they already know.  There are several ways that this can be done.  A few that the author describes are; advanced organizers, analogies, and elaboration. All of these relate the new information being learned to something the students already know. 

Analyze:

                This chapter had a lot of information in it that was very useful to educators.  First, it is very important to know how the brain works and how information is stored.  Many times as educators with “standards” to teach and follow, we get much bogged down in “covering” all of the standards.  The research and reading from this chapter show us that if we put the effort in at the beginning and really thoroughly teach the material, the students are likely to retain the information longer.  Making learning memorable means relating it to the student’s real life.  This is often why we are asked by students, How will I ever use this”, or “what does this have to do with my life”?  By beginning lessons with how the learning is relevant to your students, this will already get the students more interested in what you are about to say. 

                This is another reason why using different learning strategies is so important.  Everyone’s brain works differently, but they are also similar.  This is why teachers have to work their hardest to create lesson plans that not only relate to the student’s life, but also relate to a number of different learning styles.  This is one reason the author promotes the “PQ4R” strategy.  It relates to a variety of different learning styles and also goes through a process that helps the brain retain the concept longer. 

Reflect:

                This chapter was very informative for me in reminding me how my students learn best and the ways that they process information.  The concept of cognitive development and how students learn is very important when considering that we are teaching the future businessmen, doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.  We have to find ways to teach students that they can understand and retain.  Only lecturing a class is not going to help them long-term, but using a variety of methods to teach them will help. 

                I think that I can use this information to be a better teacher by applying the techniques suggested by the author in the text.  First, I can be sure not to just touch the tip of the iceberg with my students, but to make sure to teach the content fully by using a variety of methods in each lesson.  I can make a goal to use at least three to five different learning strategies a day in a lesson.  I have learned that the more input I put into a lesson the more my students will get out of it.  Another way I can be a better teacher is by spending more time actually learning how my students learn best, rather than doing what is “easiest” or “most convenient” for me.  This will give my students that long-term memory and learning experience they need to do well in class and in life. 

                One way I might look at things differently is by actually using a learning interest inventory in my classroom at the beginning of each school year.  This will help me to find out which ways my students learn so that I am not using techniques that they do not respond to.  The information in this chapter gave me a lot of good ideas, in which I will be using next year in my classroom. 

Chapter 5 Reflective Journal Meredith Cornelius

Describe:

In this week’s readings I had the opportunity to learn about different principles of behavioral learning.  Two theorists were studied in this chapter. The first was Ivan Pavlov a Russian scientist who studied the digestive process of a dog.  Pavlov studied different ways the dogs were stimulated by putting meat near a hungry dog’s mouth.  He studied how to get the dog to react certain ways. For example, before training the dogs reacted by salivating over the meat, this was an unconditioned stimulus and an unconditioned response.  He also discovered that if you ring a bell every time you present the meat this would be a conditioned stimulus because the dog associates the bell with food.  This process was referred to as classical conditioning.  These findings are true in our own lives when children relate a freezer to popsicles, or the sound of a garage door opening as daddy coming home.  These are both conditioned stimuli. 

Skinner was another theorist who noted that human behaviors were also “prompted by specific stimuli”.  (Slavin, page 117). Slavin coined the term operant behaviors. This meant that “because they operate on the environment in the apparent absence of any unconditioned stimuli such as food” they are operant.  (page 117).   For example, if a human being does something and is immediately given a happy for good response, they are more likely to do it again. This reminds me of my son who is almost two and is learning how to talk and interact with others.  He sometimes says things that for adults are socially inappropriate, but come across as funny coming from a toddler.  When he says these things, he makes people laugh.  This to me is what Skinner is referring in operant behaviors. 

This author also talks about reinforcers in the classroom and how they can strengthen behavior if used properly.  There are different types of reinforcers that are described; they are “primary” and “secondary”  and also “positive” and “negative”.  All of these go into how a child learns from their surroundings and the consequences of their actions. 

Analyze:

                While reading this chapter and reading the emphasis on “reinforcers” in the classroom. It made me think about my own classroom management.  If I had to pick one thing that my educational skills needed the most work on, it would be how to more effectively manage the classroom.  I am a fairly new teacher, so much of this chapter really sunk in for me.  For example with reinforcers, I as a teacher should reinforce good behavior and do my best to ignore the behavior I do not want in my classroom.  The author gave a great example of a girl who continuously blurted out in class.  It is better to set the expectation from the beginning, that this will not be tolerated, and then ignore the girl and not call on her.  But instead, call on children who are waiting quietly.  The girl may ask more frequently at first, but eventually will see she is not being rewarded for her negative behavior.  This may seem so simple, but it is something I myself have not handled correctly.  This is something I will practice in my classroom. 

                Another topic from this week’s reading was about sending a student out in the hall or to the principal’s office for punishment.  This can be a positive reinforce if the student learns from this experience and does not repeat the action.  But, if a student enjoys the punishment and the extra attention he receives from the students, teacher, and administrators then it becomes a negative reinforce because it is reinforcing the student to behave that way to escape the classroom. I think the author makes a valid point in this from what I have seen in my own experience in the classroom. The topic is well defined and laid out so that it is easy to understand and follow. 

Reflect:

I had a student like this in this past school year.  Many teachers would send him out immediately or hope that he would be in ISS that day instead of their classroom.  I noticed early on that this consequence was not working, and that the student was not learning anything academically.  I made it my goal to keep this student working with me one on one or with a peer tutor that he respected.  Most of the time, he worked with me and enjoyed the positive attention and praise that I was able to give him when he completed work.  It was very hard to do and I had to constantly redirect his attention, but I think he gained something out of the experience.  He may not have gained academically but he at least gained a positive student/teacher relationship where he was not being rejected over and over again. 

                In my opinion, the trip to the office or principal’s office depends on the student and the depth and frequency of the issue at hand.  Some students will respond to the reinforcement in a positive way, and correct their behavior.  Others, are only receiving what they want which is extra attention and an escape from the classroom. 

                 I also learned a lot on how to handle or better handle the students in my classroom who blurt out during class discussion. This is a something so small, but I’ve realized that I am reinforcing those behaviors when I call on the student anyway or let them blurt out.  I will definitely make a better effort in the next school year to clearly state my expectations early on, and carry them out. 

                Also, when dealing with students like described above, I need to make it my mission to call out their good qualities and not give attention as much to the things they do wrong.  I know that I cannot always ignore all negative behaviors, but hopefully if a student sees that I will praise them for the positive behavior , they will become more frequent.