Chapter 2

(2.1) One of the most cited theories of human development is that of Swiss biologist Jean

Piaget. After reading about Piaget’s basic assumptions (p. 27-32) look with particular attention

at the stage of child development you would like to teach. The other most cited theory of

human development belongs to Russian developmentalist Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky’s theory of

cognitive development leads us to expect greater diversity among our same-aged students than Piaget. Given these two influential theorists’ ideas on cognitive development, how might you

accommodate students who are not yet working at the level of their peers?

(2) 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 find the concrete operational stage to be of great interest.  This is the period where children are starting to function with adultlike logic.  At this state they can also tell the difference between their own perspectives and that of others.  They are still limited though to concrete reality and their cognitive development has not completely developed at this time.

With viewing both Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s theories I would plan to provide peer tutoring in my classroom.  Since each student is going to be at different levels in different areas they can work together and rotate the role of tutor and tutee.  Also I would be sure to provide various methods in order to teach the same material ideas in order to allow students that may be visual, tactile and verbal learns all equal access to the course materials.  Scaffolding can be a great way to bridge the gaps that a student may have in order to provide them with everything they need in order to grasp the material at hand.

Since I will be teaching science at a high school to middle school level I would be sure to include time in my classes to cover the academic terminology.  Students may have never been exposed to this new terminology before entering my classroom, so attention will be paid to helping them understand the meaning of the new terms and pointing out how to distinguish between that term and similar abstract words such as the difference between velocity versus acceleration.  

Chapter 10

Which of the learning activities/skills can you think of that lend themselves to learning through modeling?

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

There are many learning activities and skills that one can learn through modeling. Two of the most important skills in my opinion would be how a student can learn self-efficacy and self-regulation through modeling. When a student can witness a good role model practicing self-regulation that student can open their mind to the idea. If they look up to this individual and can view how self-regulation has improved the over all skills of their role model then the student should be able to take this one skill and build upon it to form their self-efficacy.

Let's say I have a student that is having a hard time focusing in class, for example they are having a hard time staying focused on their assignments. I would point out to the student that their attention span is wandering and set up a focus plan with the student. I would set up a focus plan for the student aiming that for every 5 problems completed the student can then take a 10 to 15 minute break as a reward. This will help the student learn how to self-regulate while working on homework problems. I would also be sure to use classroom activities that the student can participate in and feel good about in order to help build her self-efficacy. Using activities and topics the student enjoys will also help by making the task more interesting which in turn will give a better chance for increasing their self-efficacy.

    

Chapter 9

How would you define successful mastery of your lesson objectives from a behavioral view of learning?

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?

Even if I do not plan to focus my classroom material on a behavioral approach there will still be a behavioral agenda underlying all aspects of my classroom environment. When I use authentic activities in my classroom I am still conditioning the students on methods that they can use later on in life. I also hope that by all of my classroom interactions from lab experiments, reports, tests or science bowls can be used to help mold the students into individual's with a strong desire to learn. If my methods work then since learning is a behavior change from providing a long-term mental change from access to experience the students should be able to retain some of the course material. (Ormrod 286)

One behavioral view toward a classroom activity could be from a science bowl. Since I plan to quiz students in a science bowl setting instead of the usual quiz format I think the students should be able to develop their skills to a higher level. This will be a small team effort and each team would not only receive points for all correct answers given but if their team wins they would get to pick an item from the Schrödinger box. They may never know what the reward would be from the box but it could range from 5 minutes of down time, a pass which would allow them to skip one question on the upcoming test without loosing points or a snack price. This activity teaches them how to work together as a team and they will learn that even if work can be hard it can also be rewarding.

I really think that rewarding productive behaviors such as allowing a chance to pick from Schrödinger's box would help reinforce all their good work. Discouraging behaviors may be a little bit more difficult as I would like to have a very positive classroom. Let's say I have a student being destructive during a lab experiment. This student is slamming the cars used for the friction ramps down the ramps excessively hard and recklessly. I would first point out to the student that method is too rough on the lab equipment and they need to handle it with less force. If this does not correct the behavior then the student will be asked to sit out of this lab experiment and just observe unless they would like to alter their current method. If the student decides to sit out and observe then I would contact the students parents to explain what occurred and why the lab grade is reflected a lack of participation in this lab grade. (Side note the student would still be responsible to collect the data from the other students method, do the calculations and report their findings.) If this occurs again I would then plan a meeting with the students parents to discuss the behavior farther.

Chapter 8 Consider a lesson plan you might use.  Which metacognitive skills/abilities are involved as students gain facility/knowledge in this domain? Think of an activity or lesson component that explicitly teaches one or more metacognitive and one or more problem solving skills. Well if I was teaching a basic science class in an elementary school one experiment I could use is more chemistry based on how chemical bonds behave. During this experiment the students would pour their milk in the the container and add their choice of food coloring dye and before we start the first method I would have the kids think about what they think will occur when adding a simple soap covered Q-tip into the center. I am sure that the kids will come up with some very good ideas for the reactions. Then as the student does the first experimental trial we will see and compare how the results related to their ideas. Now this can be ran in multiple trials with different variables and each time the student can make a new hypothesis as to how the solution will react. Just because they witnessed one trial does not mean that every trial with different types of chemical makeups will follow the same behavior pattern. So some students may have the illusion of knowing. Any basic physic lesson can be presented in a format that allows the students to view the equation and address the question in hand. Students will be able to use declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge and conditional knowledge. So first they will be able to decide what portions of the question is what they are looking for in order to pick the correct equation. After they can access the problem and pick which equation they think would work in order to produce what they are needing to find then they can work through as they remember how the process had been shown in classes before. By a student being able to think about the current situation and recall previous knowledge they will be able to work through the problem in a step by step process. So the students can think about how they should think about solving the equation while accessing previous knowledge in a second thought process.

Chapter 8

Consider a lesson plan you might use.

Which metacognitive skills/abilities are involved as students gain facility/knowledge in this domain?

Think of an activity or lesson component that explicitly teaches one or more metacognitive and one or more problem solving skills.

Well if I was teaching a basic science class in an elementary school one experiment I could use is more chemistry based on how chemical bonds behave. During this experiment the students would pour their milk in the the container and add their choice of food coloring dye and before we start the first method I would have the kids think about what they think will occur when adding a simple soap covered Q-tip into the center. I am sure that the kids will come up with some very good ideas for the reactions. Then as the student does the first experimental trial we will see and compare how the results related to their ideas. Now this can be ran in multiple trials with different variables and each time the student can make a new hypothesis as to how the solution will react. Just because they witnessed one trial does not mean that every trial with different types of chemical makeups will follow the same behavior pattern. So some students may have the illusion of knowing. Any basic physic lesson can be presented in a format that allows the students to view the equation and address the question in hand. Students will be able to use declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge and conditional knowledge. So first they will be able to decide what portions of the question is what they are looking for in order to pick the correct equation. After they can access the problem and pick which equation they think would work in order to produce what they are needing to find then they can work through as they remember how the process had been shown in classes before. By a student being able to think about the current situation and recall previous knowledge they will be able to work through the problem in a step by step process. So the students can think about how they should think about solving the equation while accessing previous knowledge in a second thought process.