Group Differences Forum and End of the Semester

I have to admit when I was reading about the group differences forum and trying to understand how it was going to work, I wasn't sure if it was going to be something I would like to do.  I had concerns about how we would discuss things like religion in education and race/racism.  I think that anyone could tell you those are discussions that could sometimes turn into heated debates or even worse.  However, in thinking this I also knew that the group of people that made up our classroom have made the discussion environment very open and accepting of all opinions and comments.  Because our environment was like this, I believed that we could be able to talk about these topics and probably dive into deep discussion!

As we all know (and were present for) the group differences forum went really well.  I was impressed by the professionalism and open-mindedness that our group displayed through the two days.  The discussion was very thoughtful and brought up many different aspects that I had not considered myself. I also liked that different people played the "devil's advocate" role and challenged thoughts and ideas, this is very important to me when I am thinking about issues or decisions and how to solve them.

Some of my favorite discussions were: religion, race, gender, and poverty (okay I am a little biased there).  Within these topics there were many comments and ideas I have heard numerous times as well as those that were completely new.  I found that I was caught between "what I should say because I am a teacher" and "what I should say because I really feel that way" or things my background has taught me throughout my life.  I think that's the hardest aspect for myself in regards to teaching; knowing what is the best culture and environment for children, and doing things that are the "standard" way of doing them (like from when I was in school).  This is a daily struggle with me when I am in the classroom because I also know some of the "standard" ways of doing things are also the easy way out or do not call for much effort.  I know most teacher would never admit that, but if I am being completely honest then that is the truth.  Sometimes you just want to do things the easy and fast way, you can deny it but I really feel like EVERYONE has those days!

Overall, I really liked the group forum and the ability to have a discussion with each other about it.  I wish many of my other classes had incorporated this into their class time because I feel I learned as much from that as I did any other class.  I am very grateful for that experience!

Throughout the semester I have truly enjoyed getting to know the people in this class a little better and being able to discuss and talk openly.  This was one of the few classes that I have felt comfortable doing that in and it was very nice to get to participate.  I want to thank everyone for an awesome semester and wish everyone the best wherever their endeavors take them!

-S

Barb Rentenbach Thoughts.

As I watched these videos there were many different comments that came to mind and hopefully I will successfully articulate those to you in this post!  I truly enjoyed exploring and listening to these videos and am planning to pass them along to other teachers/friends!

How did this presentation change your view of those with Autism?

            This presentation didn’t so much change my view of those with Autism as much as it reinforced them.  I have had and further developed through my classes at UT a view of people with Autism as very intellectual and capable people. Of course there are the stereotypes that are involved, but overall I feel that I have always seen Autism not as a disability but as a unique characteristic that should be talked about within our society. 

            I especially liked the video with the panel of people with Autism using FC’s.  It was very interesting to watch them interact with one another through humor and witty banter.  I feel that it was something you could easily see exchange in a “normal” panel or a setting of people without significant disabilities talking together.

How will you consider autistic children in your classroom in light of this presentation?

            In my classroom I will make a special effort to include the child with Autism through whatever device or accommodation needed.  I feel it is also important to explain this to the other students within the classroom and involve them in the process of making the classroom a great place for ALL students.  I think giving students ownership over this and promoting an environment for acceptance is the first step to help children with Autism in my classroom. 

How does the information you’ve learned affect your future teaching practice?

            Relating back to and expanding on the comments in the above question, I think that learning about FC’s and that some children will have to use them to communicate will greatly affect my future teaching practices.  Also, realizing that children with Autism may need more time to formulate and articulate thoughts, comments, and questions I want to be sure to incorporate that into my curriculum. 

A key point that I want to realize and remember throughout any classroom that I have is that even though children with a disability or not may not articulate or show what they know in the way I am expecting them to, does NOT mean that they are of lower intelligence.  This aspect was something that really shined through both of these videos to me and I am glad that I realized and analyzed this.

Was this information new, and how do you feel about it?

            Some of the information was new to me, as I have mentioned earlier was about the FC device.  I had no idea that those were available to children with autism (I honestly didn’t know they existed).  I think this is a very useful thing not only to children with Autism, but to many children with varying disabilities!

            I am glad to have been exposed to these videos and given the opportunity to analyze and review the thoughts, comments, and ideas presented.  I think seeing Barb in person at her presentation would have been even better, but for now I am glad to have this resource to pass on and reflect on!

-S

The Role of Language in Cognitive Development.

**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.

Upon looking at the table on page 51, the grade levels that I will examine is K-2.  The suggested strategies for these ages are: 

-read age-appropriate storybooks as a way of enhancing vocabulary

-give corrective feedback when students' use of words indicates inaccurate understanding

-work on listening skills (sitting quietly, paying attention, trying to understand and remember)

-ask follow-up questions to make sure students accurately understand important messages

-ask students to construct narratives about recent events

I think there are many ways I could incorporate or adapt these strategies in my classroom, and many of them I observed from the Kindergarten classroom I have spent time in this semester. In the following few paragraphs I will highlight ideas or strategies used in this classroom.

A way that my teacher incorporates reading storybooks is with a story time incorporated into the classroom's daily routine.  During the literacy block of their day, she reads a book about what they will be writing about in their journal. For example: we read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish By Dr. Seuess and then asked the children to write about their favorite fish.

While I am present in the classroom, the strategy of giving corrective feedback is an ongoing practice throughout the day.  My teacher has made her classroom a safe environment, so when we give them corrective feedback they take it as constructive or as an improvement to their already wonderful writing.  There are even times when I have children asking me if their sentences make since or if a work is spelled right.  While you don't want them to become completely dependent of you telling them how to write or spell, I think this is a good trait for a child to have in their academic lives.

Working on listening skills is probably one of the biggest areas that my classroom focuses on.  Children at this age are still trying to figure out social cues like turn taking and pausing for an answer in conversations with their peers and teachers.  We have to teach children these strategies, and I think often times teachers forget that this is still an emerging skill for these children.  I would stress in my classroom the importance of being able to explain to me directions or comments I have previously told to you.  My teacher requires children to spend about 2-5 seconds before they answer something she asks or says to make sure they understand.  Seeing this in a classroom is very interesting to me, at first I didn't think that this would make a difference, but over a period of time it becomes habit and the children continue to do this on their own.

The last two somewhat go together in my thinking.  I believe that asking follow up questions to ensure understanding will lead the children to construct personal narratives.  Again, within our classroom my teacher will ask many children how things we learn can apply to their lives, or if there are any examples of it in their lives already.  I think that this promotes and supports their thinking and connections with the curriculum they are learning. 

I have truly enjoyed seeing all these aspects throughout my classroom, especially since I have not been "looking" for them.  In knowing all of these aspects are included in my Kindergarten classroom, I feel very confident in my teacher's ability to have the children's best interest in regards to their learning.  And that is always a reassuring feeling in our current world of education!

-S

Intervention Plans.

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

Self-efficacy and self-regulation are going to contribute greatly to the intervention plans I plan on using within my case study.  As you are probably familiar, Willard, who continually wanders around and out of the classroom and continually asks questions; is who I will be basing my thoughts off of.  

In terms of self-efficacy I think this will be a continual skill that we work on with Willard.  As I stated in one of my earlier posts, I will have a contingency contract with him stating the behaviors we both agree he should work on.  I believe that within this contract I should praise him when choosing to demonstrate these behaviors to promote and reinforce his self-efficacy.  I want Willard to have a high sense of self-efficacy and I know that I can show him this through exuding confidence in him, and explaining to him how we can both work on his strengths and weaknesses.  There were many examples from the presentation in class about self-efficacy, but I found one of pintrest (of course!) here.  Also, as I was reading that post, the overall blog is a great resource for teachers and focuses mainly on math, but there are many different mixes of subjects thrown in! I enjoyed looking at it, you can go to the main blog home here.  

Self-regulation would intertwine with this process because if I am expecting to help Willard in his sense of self-efficacy, I also want to help him with his self-regulation.  I think the process of modeling is a great way to show him this.  To help Willard's self-regulation, I feel it would benefit him to continually go over his goals (our contingency contract) on a weekly basis, and keep track of his process.  Obviously, I would want Willard to explain how he feels the progress is going, and promote the confidence he needs to start setting goals for himself.  I think this would be a somewhat long process, but it would be one to help greatly when he starts to "get the hang of it".  

Again, off to pinterest to find some interesting things, and this looked really neat to me.  Not only that, but you can download a program to make your own!
The last resource I'm going to put is another blog, however this is about a book you can use to promote self-regulation without the children knowing that's what you're doing!  It's a great blog of an Art Teacher/Mother of two who wrote this book!  You can go here.

-S

Comparing behaviorist, cognitive, and constructivist viewpoints.

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?


In order to further understand my thoughts, I am going to preface my blog with the case study that I chose to include in my CSEL:

"It has been one month since the school year began and most of your 25 kindergarten students know class procedures, such as the schedule of learning activities, where they are supposed to be for each learning activity, where they are supposed to keep their personal items, and how they are expected to move about the room and the school building in order to ensure a productive learning environment.  Then there is Willard.  He must ask 20 or more times a day, “Teacher, when can we go outside to play?”  In addition, he often does not stay where he should to work on a given learning activity.  Instead, you find him wandering around the room and getting into other children’s personal things.  Three times this past week you looked up just in time to see Willard walking out of the classroom without permission.  Some of the other children in your classroom community have started making fun of Willard.  Others are beginning to become less engaged in their learning."

I think there are many tools that I could use within this case study to help our friend Willard as well as consequently affecting his class.   A few I will touch on are: classical conditioning, use 'token reinforcement', and a contingency contract.

A form of classical conditioning with Willard, I could pair a bell or a phrase that I use with him (or the whole class) and work to form the connection to a behavior (lowering their voices, finding their seat).  I think this could work exceptionally well if I could pinpoint a reminder that is easy for Willard to remember when hearing the sound.  I realize this will take a lot of time and work, but I think if it is in connection with other strategies, it has the potential to do really well.

Token reinforcement is something I had not thought a lot of previously and I really like the idea of.  In class we learned that token reinforcement is: "system in which tokens earned for good academics or behavior can be redeemed for a reward".   I think, especially knowing that emphasizing and reinforcing the 'right' in student behavior, if done consistently and with cues to help, Willard will start to excel through our journey in the classroom.  

Last, I think a contingency contract is always a good idea, no matter what the situation or child.  Not only will if provide a framework and understanding for all involved, but it will serve as a reminder to the student when/if they breach this contract of the goals they set for behaviors.  In having this, I can allow Willard to continue to trust me because I am not being biased one way or the other.  Why? If we clearly stated these goals of behavior beforehand and Willard falls short, it has already been predetermined and agreed upon by him.  

_____________________________________________________________________________

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?

Naturally, I am going to gravitate toward a constructivist viewpoint because that it the strategy and theory that I am most confident in.  I feel that, when I came into the program at UT I had more of a behaviorist theory of learning, and to switch from that to constructivist seems like a long shot looking back. 

In terms of comparing, I can see how the contingency contract would closely align with constructivism because it involves more of the child's involvement (brainstorming, talking about, and agreeing upon behaviors together with a teacher) and self regulation (gradually becoming aware and attempting to 'control' the behavior they discussed and agreed upon with teacher earlier).

I think that is something that is a huge benefit in behaviorism, as well as putting an emphasis on the right form of the behavior.  I don't necessarily think that it has to be with physical reinforcements either. 
A huge benefit of constructivism is that it solely focuses and emphasizes helping children learn and form these behaviors from their construction of knowledge.  I think this is very important because you do not want a child thinking of just doing a behavior to get a reward, you want them to make meaningful connections of why they should or should not engage in a behavior.

That brings me to a deficit in behaviorism, I think that you run the risk of the child performing these behaviors and not understanding why they are being asked in the first place.  Also, I feel that is "covering up" the behavior, what happens when the child has been in a classroom for a year (with this kind of reinforcement) and then proceeds to the next grade and there isn't anything like that for them.  I think that would be hard for them to understand.
A deficit in constructivism is that there may not be enough time in the day for you as a teacher, managing 25 students, to take the time to talk and interact with Willard in a way that will help him become aware of his actions.  It would be great to be able to have that one-on-one contact any time we would like in a classroom to facilitate learning and help construction of knowledge, but the reality is there is never enough (at least with my experience). 

In knowing all of this, I think I will have a pretty good blend of both behaviorism and constructivism.  I would love to lean more toward the constructivism side, but I know some aspects are just not realistic in the professional world as an elementary school teacher.  I look forward to further exploring my personal learning theory!

Metacognition

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.

Throughout my classes at UT in regards to Early Childhood Education, I think I could reflect on many activities or lesson components that explicitly teaches metacognitive or problem solving skills.  For this blog post however, I will highlight one that can encompass both! 

One activity that I do almost on a daily basis, whether I am in a Kindergarten classroom (for my pre-internship) or at work in the ELC (preschool) is reading aloud.  Not only can you expose children to a great book, you can also exercise their metacognition skills. Before you read the book you can present the front cover and ask them to make a prediction or ask if they know anything about what the book is about (judging again, but the front cover).  As you go along in the book, you can ask different questions about their predictions or their thoughts and comments about what they know and evoke conversation about this.  Lastly, after the book is finished ask the children to reflect and make connections, or to share something the learned about or thought about because of reading the book.  Here is a video explaining a read aloud, it is focused a lot of fluency but it demonstrates a pretty good read aloud (please disregard the loud floral jacket - ha!).

A problem solving activity I think could be incorporated in the read aloud as well is asking the children how they would solve a problem in the book if they were the main character.  This will allow the children to brainstorm the steps they would need to solve the problem at hand for the main character, and will allow them to exercise their "problem solving" skills.  I think this is excellent because it really lets the children connect to what is being read, and allows them to make real world applications (stepping into someone else's shoes).  

I hope this activity will help you in your classes! I know that when I do this in both of mine, it makes reading a book more interesting for everyone involved.  Also, it helps you to gain some insight into how the children go about these processes and makes the learning meaningful - which we all know is very important in the long run!

Constructivist Approach

Make a list of the sequence of skills necessary for ultimate mastery of the content of your lesson through a constructivist approach. 

I believe that the following list of skills are necessary for the mastery of content regarding teaching through a constructivist approach.  I have taken many classes that focus heavily on this approach, along with implementing these steps in a preschool classroom.  I highly support/recommend using this approach to really make learning meaningful!

Engagement of prior knowledge (pre assessment) - I take this to mean, asking children what they already know or can explain.  Either verbally or through activities or classroom discussion and dialogue with peers (depending on the age).

Observation, Experience and Discovery - These components and skills are necessary, in my opinion, for a constructivism lesson plan to be successful.  You must allow children to observe, experience through activities and experiments and discovery what they are learning.  Instead of the standard wrong/right answer from a teacher, they are finding out themselves and constructing this knowledge as they define it within their cognitive processes.  This can be done through authentic examples (key in constructivism!), and relating topics to real-world problems or problems they can apply to their immediate surroundings/environment/pre-existing experiences.  The bulk of constructivism leans on the support of the activities and knowledges gained in these skills.

Organizing Knowledge - Meaning, when the children have observed, experienced, and discovered the knowledge gained throughout the activities or dialogue, they must now organize it to further make meaning and master it.  You can help children do this by modeling the thought processes to organize knowledge.  Also, you can present expert perspectives on the specific areas you are investigating.

Engagement of "post" knowledge - This is much like pre assessment but you are looking for what has been learned through the process (post assessment).  Mastery of content can be seen through reflections exercises and connecting the knowledge to other domains within their education.  Also, end product that have been made to represent the children's mastered content is a great way to see their connections in their learning.

Which of these learning activities/skills lend themselves to student’s individual or group construction? 
I believe that all of these skills attend and lend themselves to the whole group and individual construction.  Since constructivism focuses on the social aspect of the children's lives, this will obviously be a great facilitator in group construction.  Within group construction, I think that in turn helps the individual to further organize their construction of knowledge.  There are so many positives with this approach!

How might you structure learning activities that lead students to discover these skills/these principles?

I would allow time for students to be able to engage, learn, and implement these skills through artistic, writing, acting/movement, observational, verbal, and game-like activities.  I think this will be somewhat hard for me to do, to allow the freedom that children will need to use with "trial and error" learning.  However, I know that this will help make learning more meaningful and, again in my opinion, more concrete!