Personal Learning Theory

I took the emerging theory test and my results were: B:35 C:33 H:42, they were all very close but I see myself aas a behavioral learner and educator.

Piaget's Cognitive Development

Like: Piaget's ideas of assimilation and accommodation are the strongest two ideas that emerged from his theory that I liked. I really like the concept that kids will build on their old ideas and base new knowledge on the foundation of previously learned knowledge. To be able to assimilate new concepts and build new schemes, is key to the development and retainment of knowledge.

Dislike: I really do not like the idea that kids learn on and individual basis, this is not something that has been proven to be the most beneficial to the development of kids. Kids do not only learn from their own experiences, this is one of the Primary things that Piaget believed, I think others' experiences also impact the development of kids.

Vygotsky's Cognitive Development

Like: There were a couple of concepts that I liked about his theory they were social learning and the idea of Zones of Proximal Development. These are both good examples of students and how they learn with outside resources, social learning is good because it gives students' the opportunity to learn through others' examples. The idea of apprenticeship and building within the ZPD are good because it goes hand in hand with working with a teacher to build on knowledge and completing tasks.

Dislike: I am not a huge fan of his interpersonal communication concept, I don't like the idea of internalization as much as I do the apprencticeship theory. Internalization is the basic concept of being able to do something, I see how it is relevant but it is not a huge concept that is primary in development, these ideas such as riding a bike or being able to pour a glass of milk are basic ideas, they are not complex.

Erikson's Psychosocial Development

Like: I really liked his entire theory, his stages when applied to the development of children go in the right order of how they develop. He had an accurate idea of which the stages of development and how they happen.

Dislike: His concept of how they are all occurring individually and are not happening simultaneously, I do not agree with. Development can be intertwined with stages and they could be occurring at the same time.

Kohlberg's Moral Development

Like: Kohlberg's division of the stages into three broad categories are very fitting for the idea of moral development. Preconventional, Conventional, and Postconventional Reasoning, they are easily divided for distinguishing where an individual might be.

Dislike: The different elements make his theory more difficult to grasp, individuals motives and whether they are forthright or misleading make the elements in his theory harder to learn and distinguish on a smaller application level.

Information Processing

Like: This is another theory that when it comes to application when teaching, the entire theory becomes relevant and important to the different learning styles that individuals might possess. Students will be more likely to relate to the different ways that information may be presented and better be able to relate to it on different levels and retain it better.

Dislike: I don't like the idea that memories are lost after they have not been used for a long time. I do think this is a relevant theory and that it does happen on a regular basis, but I don't think memories are necessarily lost just disregarded for awhile. This theory simply states that they are lost, I don't think the human mind will lose memories just due to lack of use.

Knowledge Construction and Higher-Order Thinking

Like: I really like the idea that students will generate ideas from their own experiences, this generation of ideas creates a higher-order thinking and develops stronger skills. Educators should build upon this theory and help students to be able to see the positives of these types of behaviors.

Dislike: As far as it applies to instructional teaching, the fact that meta-cognition is complex and hard to understand, students are more likely to learn how rather than how to actually apply that learning, it causes too much congestion in the clear process of presentation.

Behaviorism

Like: I really like the idea of presentation and removal, using this inside of the classroom the teacher will better be able to help gain appropriate behaviors in the classroom. The visual display that plays in part with this theory is beneficial to learn as an educator because it presents more stability in the classroom for children that have to have different types of reinforcement for different behaviors.

Dislike: Although I do not like the ideas of conditioning they do happen in the classroom without the teacher necessarily realizing it. But the idea of teaching with conditioning bothers me more due to the fact that students are not animals to be trained. Their routines need to be changed and evolving along with their learning.

Social Cognitivism

Like: I had already previously back from Vygotsky's theory that I really like the concept of social learning in the classroom. I do agree that most people will learn and relate ideas and concepts to those observed from others' experiences and things happening in their surrounding environments. Being shown by example will teach students how to properly deal with experiences.

Dislike: I don't like the concept of cognitive behavior modification, it is too out of line for educators I believe. We are not trained to deal with psychotherapeutic ideas and how to best modify individual's behaviors for issues.

In the end I really think that individuals learn and relate best to their own experiences and the experiences of others. If students have the opportunity to participate in different activities and acquaint those activities with different learning aspects then they are more likely to be able to recall and relate better to that particular knowledge. There are many different learning aspects that students will be exposed to as they have the opportunity to go through school and learn new concepts, they will be able to apply these to themselves and how they learn. Students will also be likely to learn from observing their peers and most likely to apply those observations to their own learning. By being able to observe others both inside and outside of the classroom, they will not have to be involved in any detrimental effects that are deterring from their own learning in the classroom.

My own emerging theory was the Higher-Order, however I really think that I am more of a behaviorist when it comes to learning and application in my own classroom. I am already teaching and my own classroom already has a lot of hands on activities and group work so that students are learning from themselves and others as well. I already use several methods to reinforce concepts that students are learning and need to retain. Sometimes with my own students I am already using conditioning whether it be operant or classical, I tend to use both of these conditioning methods depending on the situation. My teaching styles are still developing and I would like to apply the different applications of this theory in my classroom to help my students be able to retain the material better and for my own teaching to evolve with my students. I would like to make my classroom one of routine, but an evolving routine that enhances positive learning and application processes in the lessons and materials that are being presented.

When it comes to educational psychology, I struggle more with cognitive learners and the application of different schemes. This seems to be a bit more of a gray area to me and confuses me with the processes of different ways to apply it. I need to research these theories better and how I can personally teach and apply them with my own students. By doing this, I will be able to better understand where my students are personally coming from and how these theories will apply to them in the classroom and the methods of which they learn best.

Willy Wood Podcast

I listened to Willy Wood's podcast on attention, it was interesting to hear about different concept and things that I can do for my students. It gave some very helpful tips as far as keeping their attention and obtaining their attention for lessons and around the classroom. One of the things that I found interesting was that students don't always have ADHD, they show symptoms of it but in a school the environment is sometimes very distracting and interferes with their abilities to focus. Schools and classrooms are very distracting to some students that already struggle with the concept of focusing. Kids are constantly walking down the halls, the classroom echoes particular noises, windows, music, etc. it makes it extremely difficult for a teacher to control 30-40 students at one time and help keep them on task.

Another concept that I liked that Willy presented were the two main things that are supposed to take place before we attempt our basic needs; sleeping, feeding ourselves, and natural bodily functions such as breathing, sleeping, etc. He also hit upon the desire of sexual attraction, adolescents will focus on their attraction to other students rather than paying attention in the classroom, they will focus on someone that they are attracted to and these strong desires present a conflict with focusing and their attention is directed in another faucet other than learning.

Attention grabbers are changing throughout the entire school year, students are always evolving and changing their styles or how they pay attention in school. Certain attributes in the classroom may become immune in a way where the students learn to ignore it or react in different ways, these can be detrimental to the development in the classroom. Students in the secondary system are developing in physical ways, emotional, and physiologically, teachers need to be constantly adapting to keep their students attention and evolving with the new concepts as students are. Willy mentioned several key points that were right in line with the book as well, students need ways of interpreting information and encoding it in their mental selves. This way the students will be able to relate to the concepts that are being taught and more easily recall that particular information at a later time. Adolescents that are being introduced to concepts that are essential to the classroom development should not be doing multiple things at once, if you as an educator expect them to be able to retain any of that information you should focus their attention on one concept at a time.

The podcast was very interesting to listen to, Willy was very informative about different methods that you can use to help your students be able to focus better and learn concepts better. Attention in an 80 minute period with teenagers is already hard enough, these tips are very helpful and I look forward to applying them in my own classroom to help my own students learn better.

Test Two Corrections

I missed the following questions on the second test...

Correct Answer My Answer

1. A D

6. D B

8. C A

9. D C

13. B A

16. D C

19. D C

Q1- I missed question 1 due to the fact that I debated between A and D because both are registered forms of memory, I ended up picking D because it was her present memory. I figured present memory and working memory were similar things and since the student was day dreaming that it had nothing to do with her sensory memory but rather her working memory, due to the fact that other thoughts were occupying her mind at the time. I now realize that sensory memory is a present stimulus that retains information at the present time. This answer makes more sense now that I reviewed the definition.

Q6- I essentially debated between B and D, ended up picking B because the outline method as far as I was informed was a chunking method. Now that I read the answers again the method of picking a large set of numbers and breaking it up makes more sense because that is more obvious form of chunking, I over thought the question essentially making myself over analyze the answer.

Q8- I missed this question totally, I was off base and could not remember what higher order thinking was to save my life. I looked up the definition of higher-order thinking and it applies directly to Bloom's Taxonomy, it involves multiple levels of cognitive thinking and application including analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The answer that is correct applies this directly with the teacher's question and makes more sense as far as the application process of higher order thinking with the assimilation of asking that type of question.

Q9- I actually sat and debated between the two answers that were correct and the one I missed. I did not think that it would be the obvious answer containing the slang language and that it would have to an education application type of answer. I was wrong, it was too much thought and reading into the question and answers and thinking things could not be that apparent to be the answer.

Q13- I missed this one because I didn't know the idea of misconception very well. I thought that by contradicting the knowledge that was already present that would complicate the student's existing thoughts on the topic. However, the contradiction process makes more sense now because that is destroying any existing ideas about a topic and forcing students' to be able to build new ideas. I still don't quite understand this topic and will have to review it according to the chapter.

Q16- I missed this due to the fact that I have always seemed to struggle with determining where students are at between the Concrete Operations and Formal Operations stages. I debated this question between those two answers, I decided on C because the example that was given I figured was a high school but now reading the question again I realize no specific information is given about James' age or where the conversation is taking place. The Formal Operations answer makes more sense because the topic of conversation and the extent of his argument offer stable answers that have been solidified.

Q19- Moral reasoning was the area that was a little vague to me as I was studying it, I debated heavily between these two answers and the one I picked seemed to force the student to make a choice about his behavior. Force is not the answer to forcing the decision of moral behavior, whether providing the negative behavior and showing how it applies to others based on someone's decisions affecting others.

I seemed to struggle with this test more than the first one, I studied more but due to the fact that I missed one of the lectures. I also struggle with the application of theories and ideas when it comes to answers that are somewhat related, I have always struggled with tests and Psychology. I have made an effort post-test to re-read the chapters and to apply more in depth thoughts when it comes to my study guides. I seem to also procrastinate the fact that I need to study for a test and not do it the night before. I am preparing myself more for this final than the previous tests and making sure that I know the concepts better and be able to apply the personal application. I think this next test will be better for the fact that I will have listened to the podcasts from last year's lectures and re-read the chapters and thought more heavily about the topics that are applied.

Constructivism Case Study Analysis

Constructivism Case Study Analysis

In the article titled "A Constructivist Perspective on Teaching and Learning Mathematics", the author, Deborah Schifter, contrasts two mathematics lessons which she feels offers an understanding of the difference between a lesson based on constructivism and one based on the traditional didactic approach to learning.

In the traditional approach, the teacher has noticed that the students are very excited to find out that blue whales can grow as long as 100 feet so she decides to have the students measure this length in the hallway. Here's how she went about it:

I told the children exactly how we would go about measuring the whale's length. We would take the yardstick, which we hadn't explored, and we would put it down and keep track of where it ended and then place it there and keep counting till we reached where it ended and then place it there and keep counting till we reached 100 feet. (Schweitzer, 1996)

Although the children were quite impressed by the length of the whale, the teacher recounts that the lesson seemed unsatisfying, and wondered what the students had actually learned about measurement.

In the constructivist approach, the teacher had a measurement activity concerning Thanksgiving. She laid out a model of the Mayflower on the floor in the center of the room using masking tape. Then she prepared a scroll or edict for the students to read, telling them that the ship could not sail until they told the king how large the boat was. After the edict was read, she waited for the students to figure out how they could measure the ship and be on their way. Here's how she described what happened after the reading of the scroll:

"Well, what should we do? Who has an idea?" I asked. Thus our discussion of measurement began... or I thought it would begin. But there was a period of silence-a long period of silence.

What do young children know about measurement? Is there anything already present in their life experiences to which they could relate this problem? I watched as they looked from one to another, and I could see that they had no idea where to begin. Surely, I thought, there must be something they could use as a point of reference to expand on. Someone always has an idea. But the silence was long as the children looked again from one to another, to Zeb, and to me. (Hendry, 1996)

After some confusion about the word edict on the scroll (some students thought the boat was three feet long because the E in edict looked like a three) the following interaction occurred:

I felt we were back to square one again with more silence, until Tom raised his hand and said, "Mrs. Hendry, I know it can't be three feet because the nurse just measured me last week and said that I was four feet, and this boat is much bigger than me!"

From Tom's initial observation, our discussion on measurement was basically off the ground. Hands immediately went up. The children now realized that they knew a little about measurement, especially in relationship to their own size and how tall they were.

"Let's see how many times Tom can fit in the boat," someone suggested. Tom got down and up several times along the length of the boat: the children decided that the boat was four

"Toms" long.

"How can we tell that to the King, since he does not know Tom?" I asked. "Send Tom to the King," was their easy solution, while others protested that they wanted Tom to stay on the boat for the trip. I was really hoping that they would relate to the information Tom had already given us about his size. I thought someone might add four feet, four times, presenting us with a quick solution to the problem. But this was not the route they decided to take.

Mark raised his hand and suggested that we could measure the boat with our hands like they do with horses. His neighbor had a horse that was 15 hands. "Then we could tell the King how many 'hands' long the boat was." The children agreed that this might be a better idea.

"All right," I said. "Since it was Mark's idea, he can measure the length of the boat with his hands." Mark was also the biggest child in the class.

At first, Mark randomly placed his hands on the tape from one end to the other, but when he double-checked, he came out with a different answer. The children were puzzled for a while as to why this happened. It took several more tries and much discussion before they came to an important conclusion. The children decided that it was necessary for Mark to make sure that he began exactly at the beginning of the boat and did not leave any gaps in between his palms and his fingers as he placed them on the tape. Measuring this way, he discovered the boat was 36 hands long.

Great! We decided to tell the King this, but just to be sure, I suggested we have Sue, the smallest child in the class, measure the other side. She did and related to the class that her side was 44 hands long. Now there was confusion.

"Why are they different?" I asked. "Can we use hands to measure?" "No," the children decided, this would not work either, since everyone's hands were not the same size.

Al suggested using feet. We tried this, but once again, when someone else double-checked with their feet, we found two different measurements. The children at this time began to digress a little to compare each other's hands and feet to discover whose were the biggest and smallest.

Finally, our original discussion continued, while the children explored various concepts and ideas. Joan sat holding a ruler, but, for some reason, did not suggest using it. Perhaps, I thought, it might be that her experience with a ruler was limited, and she may not have been quite sure how to use it.

Our dilemma continued into the next day when the children assembled again to discuss the problem with some new insights. One child suggested that since Zeb knew the King, and everyone knew Zeb, that we should use his foot. 'Measure it out on a piece of paper and measure everything in 'Zeb's foot."' Using this form of measurement, the children related to the King that the boat was 24 "Zeb's foot" long and 9 "Zeb's foot" wide.

Curiosity began to get the best of them and the children continued to explore this form of measurement by deciding to measure each other, our classroom, their desks, and the rug using "Zeb's foot." I let them investigate this idea for the remainder of the math period.

On the third day of our exploration, I asked the children why they thought it was important to develop a standard form of measurement (or in words understandable to a first grader, a measurement that would always be the same size) such as using only "Zeb's foot" to measure everything. Through the discussions over the past several days, the children were able to internalize and verbalize the need or importance for everyone to measure using the same instrument. They saw the confusion of using different hands, bodies, or feet because of the inconsistency of size. (Hendry, 1996)

Questions:

1. Describe two similarities between the traditional lesson and the constructivist one as described above. What are two differences?

Both got the children involved where they were not sitting in a desk, also both encouraged the children to measure something and apply that knowledge to the model that was being modeled. Major differences would be that the traditionalist lesson was very short lived, it did not encourage curiosity, but rather limiting the amount of effort that the students could put forward. The constructivist lesson opened up with questions that probed the students thinking and encouraged them to apply what they already know to what they are trying to figure out. This lesson also went through several experiment processes that took place over a couple of days until the students were able to logically understand and apply the principals that were being taught.

2. What are two benefits and two drawbacks of the constructivist approach as described above? Why? In your opinion, are the benefits worth the costs? Explain your response.

Benefits would be that it opens up a lot of doors to the different types of learners that are existent, it also engages the students actively in the process. Drawbacks would be that there might be students who would not engage in the process, it could also have the possibility to get out of hand. I would put the benefits as being worth it, students especially students that are in the secondary level thrive in the actively engaged community. By giving them the opportunity to get out of their desk and participate and learn on their own assumptions but by doing so in a positive manner, the students will retain the knowledge better. I really enjoy getting my students out of their desk, they take a better approach and by doing an activity associate the knowledge better by remembering the activity.

3. How does the constructivist lesson described above promote critical thinking? Give specific examples of critical thinking from the case study and include a definition of critical thinking to support your response.

The example of the students to be able to apply the concept of measuring with their hands, feet, and seeing that there is a difference between size and that there was indeed a necessity to come up with a universal system of measurement gave the kids the opportunity to think logically and visually through the measurement process. The method of critical thinking would be that they had to visually have to figure out how long the boat was and what was the correct way to go about measuring it.

4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Why or why not?

It is very unique for the fact that the teacher pretty much left the educating principals up to the students and let them learn through experimenting different ways of measuring. She kept her class actively engaged by giving them different options about ways to measure the boat, she did not close down any theories but rather encouraged them to the point where they were able to expand and build on the previous things that they had experimented on. Most teachers when trying to get math across only rely on their own methods to teach the students, they don't really give the students the opportunity to build on concepts and make assumptions based through experimentation. This teacher solely let the students figure stuff out and apply that knowledge, she asked open ended questions and built on their ideas through a positive reinforcement.

Behaviorism and Social Cognitivism Case Study

Behaviorism and Social Cognitivism Case Study

Seventeen-year-old Robin is determined to be ready if her teacher, Mr. Kessinger, calls on her during her third-period world history class. Last night she prepared a concept map--a diagram that depicts important interrelationships among the concepts in a chapter or unit--to help her remember the events that eventually led the United States to join the Allied Forces during World War II. Now she has both her concept map and her notebook lying in front of her on ther desk. As Mr. Kessinger fires questions at his class, Robin writes her classmates' responses in her notebook.

"So, Jacob, why didn't the United States jump in and help the Europeans when World War II began?"

"Well, at the beginning of the war, we thought the people in Europe should handle their own battles. When we first heard about how Hitler was having lots of Jewish people killed, we didn't believe that anybody could do such a thing. We thought all the stories were just lies that the media made up."

"Micki, when did we finally realize there were many concentration camps in Europe?"

"Uh...I'm not sure exactly," Micki answers hesitantly.

"Well, you should be!" Mr. Kessinger angrily admonishes her.

Micki squirms in her seat, then attempts to answer her teacher's question. "Well...when people...um...when European news reporters started sending us pictures of how horrible the war was, then we started getting involved. We...um..."

"I think that starting tonight, Micki, you'd better read your history book a little more carefully. Robin, what event brought the United States into World War II?"

Taking a look at her concept map, Robin begins, "It was..." But then she sees Mr. Kessinger towering over her desk.

"What??!! You're using notes??!!" he screams as he tears her concept map into shreds.

As she watches the pieces of paper fall to the floor, she thinks to herself, "I worked for more than an hour on that concept map. Kessinger had no right to tear it up." Her teacher is saying something to her, but she doesn't hear him.

"Well, Robin? I'm waiting for an answer! What gives you the right to cheat in my class?!!" The rest of the class is quiet; everyone is too stunned to speak.

"I...I didn't think I was cheating," Robin stammers. "It's not as if this was a test. I thought I was supposed to be in here to learn. My concept maps help me connect different ideas together."

"You are expected to know this stuff before you come to class. If you ever pull such a stunt again, I will insist that you drop my class. Do I make myself clear?!"

Robin doesn't answer. And she doesn't look up from her desk until the bell rings. Her notebook remains open in front of her, but she writes nothing else in it for the rest of the class period.

Later in the day, as Robin is walking down the hall to Ms. Yamashita's psychology class, Jane and Cami run to catch up with her.

"Hey, are you OK, Robin?" Jane asks her. "I can't believe what Old Man Kessinger did to you today."

"I just hate him. I really do," Cami adds. "I mean, who cares if we take notes?"

As the three friends continue complaining about their world history teacher, they hear the bell ring. They hurry to their psychology class, arriving after class has already begun. Robin slips into her seat in the front row, pulls her psychology notebook out of her backpack, and opens it to the notes she wrote from her assigned readings the night before.

"Nice of you girls to join us," Ms. Yamashita says, smiling. "We're talking about Freud. Robin, what did Freud mean when he talked about the id?"

"The id is...uh..." As Robin pauses, she looks down at her notebook and realizes that the concept map she drew of Freud's theory is in full view of her teacher. Before she has a chance to hide it, Ms. Yamashita is at Robin's desk and lookking at her work. Robin cringes, expecting the worst.

Ms. Yamashita picks up the concept map. "Why, Robin! This is lovely! Do you mind if I copy it for everyone else? Class, you should see this beautiful concept map that Robin has created."

Oblivious to what her teacher is saying, Robin jumps quickly out of her seat the minute Ms. Yamashita picks up the concept map. She runs down the hall to the restroom, crying and shaking uncontrollably.

Note: Robin never again took notes of any kind in Mr. Kessinger's class.

Behaviorism (Ch. 5) Questions:

1. Does Mr. Kessinger's class represent a community of learners as defined in Constructivist theory? Why or why not?

No, because the teacher does not allow the students to build on the others' ideas and make connections in a positive way that represents knowledge being built on what others' know. A community of learners presents opportunities for students to learn and grow based off of the knowledge of their fellow learners. The teacher here is closed off to the ideas of students taking and connecting ideas by using such ideas as concept maps, etc. The idea that a student would take notes on her own studying and the studying of others' shows that she is formulating ideas and opinions based off of what her other classmates know. The teacher does not ask questions that build on each other or that were open ended to the effect that they could relate the ideas to one another.

2. Does Mr. Kessinger utilize presentation punishment or removal punishment with Robin? Justify your response using definitions and evidence from the case.

I feel like the teacher utilized both here, he not only made a public spectacle of the fact that Robin had taken the time to make her own notes and implied that it was cheating but he took away one of her resources of learning by ripping up the concept map. He used negative stimuli to make an example out of the fact that Robin was using outside resources to accomplish more understanding in class. The teacher used more of a discrimination approach to get his point across and made Robin feel somewhat worthless in the class and most likely killed any motivation that she had going in order to succeed in the class and actually apply herself.

3. Explain Robin's reaction in Ms. Yamashita's class from the perspective of classical conditioning. Which stimuli are paired and how does that condition her response?

This teacher chose to associate the positive reinforcement along with classical conditioning in the fact that she rewarded Robin for doing extra work and going the extra mile. This praise will in effect give Robin the idea that Ms. Yamashita is appreciative of the extra work and will provide a positive influence with her going the extra mile. Robin will in turn associate this praise and positive reinforcement with her academic achievement's. This association will begin to make Robin realize that certain people appreciate her extra effort with her willingness to learn and put forth the extra effort.

4. How might Ms. Yamashita encourage Robin to create concept maps in the future? Include behavioral concepts such as shaping, reinforcement, etc., in your response.

Ms. Yamashita's positive remarks with Robin's concept maps and the fact that she used her as an example to portray that Robin was doing a supposedly remarkable thing by making the concept map will make Robin seek more praise. Robin will do this by creating more maps with topics that are taught in class and making them visible for her teacher to see and praise her more. The teacher is shaping Robin to try and put forth an effort to the extent that Robin will soon see improvement in her own academics. Robin has associate positive praise with her work and will continue to associate this praise with future efforts related to the class.

Social Cognitivism (Ch. 8) Questions:

1. Which teacher in the scenario demonstrates vicarious reinforcement? Justify your response with definitions and an example from the case study.

Ms. Yamashita provided more vicarious reinforcement through acting like she was living through the idea that Robin had made a concept map, her positive praise puts her emotionally invested in the concept. By using her own reinforcement for Robin's benefit and by making it justified to use for the class she is using somewhat of a token economy with using Robin's positive academic effort for the rest of the class.

2. Is Mr. Kessinger considering reciprocal causation in his class? Explain your response, including all aspects of reciprocal causation in your reasoning.

It may not cross his mind, however, by first yelling at her for having the concept map and then proceeding to rip up the map in front of the class. Both of these are going to be considered negative stimuli that would be influencing of each other. By first making a public spectacle of Robin and accusing her of cheating when she was simply taking notes and using notes to better secure her knowledge in the class, he is beating down her sense of character and discriminating against her for going the extra mile. Secondly, by ripping up the concept map and not giving her the opportunity to explain this is further beating down her sense of character and motivation for academic achievement, both of these together will ultimately destroy her sense and drive for his class. She will no longer exhibit an effort to succeed and will most likely become very passive and gain the attitude of lack of caring for him and his class.

3. Which self-regulated learning process is Robin engaging in when she creates her concept maps? Explain your reasoning.

Robin will most likely be demonstrating the effort of generalization and visual stimuli, she creates the concept map most likely because she is either a visual or kinesthetic learner and learns best by visually demonstrating her knowledge. She is also demonstrating off of a community of learners due to the fact that she is building off of her classmates' knowledge and applying it to her own. Robin is one who succeeds by going the extra mile and making her efforts for her own academic success.

4. How do you think Robin's self-efficacy has been affected by this experience. Be specific about which self-efficacies have been affected and justify your response with examples from the case study.

Her sense of motivation and the fact that she did put forth an effort to go the extra mile in his class, by him ripping that up she will no longer have a sense to succeed or give a care pertaining to his class. His lack of respect for her efforts and her ideas has pushed her down to a level where she will no longer exhibit ways to succeed in his class. Her sense of learning and ways that she does learn by building off of other's knowledge will be destroyed by his yelling at her and ripping up her efforts. She was made a public spectacle and she know longer demonstrate an effort adequate enough to succeed or apply herself further.

Cognitive Psychology/Information Processing Case Study Analysis

Cognitive Psychology/Information Processing Case Study Analysis

Post your responses to the following questions on your blog.

Case 1: Mr. West wants his students to truly understand Civil War battles. He engages the help of a local Historical Re-enactment Society and assigns each of his students to the Union or Confederate side. His students join the re-enactors from 7:00am-7:00pm for a full day of activities which include a long march (complete with rudimentary battle gear), setting up camp, cooking over campfires, scouting territory, and engaging in a historically representative battle.

1. After participating in this activity, what do you think the students will remember? How might those memories differ from those students would have if they only read about the Civil War in their textbook?

I would think that most of the students would be able to remember most of the activities that were done with the hands on approach. They are able to picture and be guided through interactive activities that provide them a visual representation of what might have happened in history. Students that only have the opportunity to read about and talk about things but not visually do and interact with them will not become actively engaged in the lesson and what they are being taught.

2. How does Mr. West’s use of a Civil War re-enactment engage students’ emotions? What is the relationship between emotions and learning?

It will be exciting for students to participate in this hands' on activity and get them actively engaged in what is being taught in the classroom. Their emotions will become positively charged presenting a positive transfer of information and making sure that they do fully engage in what is being taught. If a student is resistant and closed off emotionally it becomes extremely difficult for an educator to teach and get the students actively engaged. Learning is done in many ways through emotion providing either a positive or negative connotation to the information that is being presented.

3. Based on the principles of dual-coding theory, what activities would be effective for Mr. West to use as a follow-up to the re-enactment?

Mr. West has provided students with the chance to visually act out the history event that was being taught in class. This information would best be accompanied by a verbal accompaniment that does not compete with the visual presentation but rather the verbal information would build on the visual information. The verbal/reading component would have cement the topics that were presented in class and gives the students the opportunity to form the connections necessary for bridging those connections between the topics that are presented.

Case 2: Mr. Dunkin and Mr. Richards, teachers at the same school, are debating in the teacher’s lounge about who provides the best type of organization for the students’ learning. Mr. Dunkin lectures and assigns reading and chapter problems Mondays through Thursdays. On Fridays he gives a short answer exam. In Mr. Richards’ class the students never know what will take place on any given day until they arrive in class and look at a detailed outline of the hour’s activities on the chalkboard. His class engages in mix of role-plays, lecture, videos, group projects and demonstrations. Mr. Richards occasionally gives surprise quizzes and his unit tests can include true/false, multiple choice, short answer, or essay.

4. Who do you think provides better instruction for his students? Support your answer from an information processing perspective.

I would think that Mr. Richard's classes would be thriving more in the subject than the students in Mr. Dunkin's class. Although the students don't have a set schedule in the latter classes, the students in Mr. Richard's classes have the opportunity to do different activities that build upon different types of learning styles and do indeed get students actively engaged in the material. Mr. Richards' students are engaging in metacognition and the different learning transfer processes that do take place. They are learning through conscious attempts to build on new knowledge and taking that knowledge and building through activities and visual representations that help with increasing that knowledge rather than making them do strict book work.

5. How would you expect the students’ learning outcomes to differ depending on which teacher they had?

From my own personal experiences of teaching and working with kids that do have teachers that are very similar to these two presented, they do thrive in different learning situations based on their own learning styles and the different ways that they process information. It is also largely based upon on what level of learning they are at, what age group they are a part of. Students that only participate in bookwork, lectures, and reading do not retain information as well as students that become actively engaged in the classroom and do hands on activities that are not limiting the presentation of information to one outlet. Educators should be open to teaching new ways and working to adapt students to new ways of learning and new ways of presenting information.

SOCIAL AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT ANALYSIS CASE STUDY

Social and Moral Development (Ch. 4) Analysis Questions:

1. From a social development standpoint, how might we explain Laura's preoccupation with her appearance? In particular, consider this statement by Laura: "I don't want people to think I'm a geek!" Include information from Erikson's theory and social development in general in your response.

Laura is in between both the Industry vs. Inferiority and Identity vs. Role Confusion stages of Erikson's theory. She is still developing and dealing with the new demands that are being put on her in the junior high level of academics. She is having to learn new skills and applying those in the classroom. She also seems to be in the stage of still developing her personal character and applying that in the interaction of her peers. She has not found her identity within herself and worries more about what she tends to look like to other people other than how she feels herself. She is more worried about pleasing other people then worrying about her own needs and how she can come to meet those needs. Adolescents in the junior high level don't have the greatest logic when it comes to dealing with adaptation and new changes in this age group. Junior high students often struggle with trying to fit in with their peers and dealing with the criticism of others. Girls are more often found to be struggling with their other friends that are female due to the fact that adolescents of this particular age group often blow things out of proportion and make a bigger deal out of something small.

2. In suggesting that Laura join the debating class, Ms. Watkins is hoping to pique an interest in classroom subject matter by capitalizing on Laura's desire to be the center of attention. What two other strategies might the school faculty use to motivate students who seem to be more interested in social matters than in academic pursuits?

By simply suggesting that Laura try something new that is something she would not normally try gives her an opinion from outside her own little world. The counselor might also suggest an athletic activity that would be conducive to Laura's social needs, giving her the opportunity to try something new that motivates her both physically and academically. Most adolescents that are involved in this level of sports they are trying to find themselves at this age group and what motivates them. Local junior highs around this area offer basketball, track, swimming, wrestling, softball, baseball, soccer, and volleyball. Laura would have the opportunity to be the center of attention by excelling in something that would give her an emotional and physical high of appreciation for herself. The counselor might also suggest getting involved with school service organizations such as yearbook, student council, pals, school clubs, etc. where Laura would have the opportunity to develop more reasoning and a sense of self where she can grow into her own person.

3. From the perspective of Kohlberg's theory, in which stage of moral development is Laura? Justify your response. How might Mr. Marcalescu help Laura to advance her moral reasoning?

Laura is in the stage or moral internalization, she lacks the external perspectives to make her own moral reasoning grow. She is internalizing herself so much that she only values others' opinions and what they might think rather than developing her own opinion and having correct justification of her decisions. The teacher will make Laura think outside of the box and force her to form opinions on different matters that don't only relate to her but relate to others as well. Laura does not have her logical reasoning portion of her brain fully developed, she really only thinks in terms of how others view her, not how she affects others. She will gain a sense of self and grow to develop her own opinions about different topics. She will also be able to figure out who she is as an individual and grow on the assumption.

4. In what ways might a debating class contribute to students' cognitive, linguistic, social, and moral development?

This type of class gets the students actively engaged in the lesson and causes them to develop different reasoning to the point where they can form an educated opinion. The cognitive and linguistic reasons for being in this type of class provide students with out of the box thinking and makes the student learn new vocabulary that will cause the linguistic portion of their brain to grow and mature. Socially this type of class will provide new peers to interact with that would not normally interact with each other outside of the classroom, adolescents tend to stick to their own groups of friends in junior high and not expand outside of the box. Morally the reason would have to be that the student could develop a sense of right and wrong or seeing both sides to an argument and forming an educated opinion after hearing both sides of the argument.