Blog Post #2: Reflection on Module 5

I believe that this week’s readings gave me a better impression on problem solving, metacognition, self-regulation, and multitasking. These four items play an integral role in the learning process. Each of these concepts are directly related to students and how they learn. These concepts are used in the classroom every single day by the learner. Students use these four concepts as they listen to lectures, work together in groups or individually, and as they complete various tasks during the day.    

Multitasking is important to the success of the learner because students should be able to switch from one topic to another. But working on various projects at the same time can cause mental conflict in the mind of the learner. Rosen (2008) stated that “This steady and undissipated attention to one object, is a suremark of a superior genius; as hurry, bustle, and agitation, are the never-failing symptoms of a weak and frivolous mind” (p. 105)

Self-regulation is important because we need to help students learn more about how they learn so that they can get a clearer understanding on how they take in information. Noddings (2006) stated that “If we want them to learn to use their minds well, it is reasonable to help them understand how their minds function, how and why they learn” (p. 10). Teachers need to be able to motivate their students so that they can get excited about learning. Even though motivation comes from the inside, it should be reinforced by the teacher in the classroom as well. 

Metacognition is important to the success of the learner because it helps students to understand the ways that they learn. Kegan (2005) stated that “If adult education would seek not so much to train for self-directed learning but to educate for the order of mental complexity that enables it, this might well constitute the most effective  way to address the very “practical” aspirations of adult learners” (p. 275). If we can teach students and incorporate their life experiences , we will have a good chance of helping them to increase their cognition in their college classes. 

Problem solving can contribute to the success of the learner because it will help them to find ways to complete a problem using the concepts that they have learned. “Problem solving does not usually begin with a clear statement of the problem; rather, most problems must be identified in the environment; then then must be defined and represented mentally” (p. 5). Our environment has a lot to do with the way that we handle the problems in our lives.

Connections to other theories:

James (1899) said to “Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratuitous exercise every day --do every day or two something for no other reason than its difficulty" (p. 62).

Vygotsky (1935) said that “A well-known and empirically established fact is that learning should be matched in some way with the child’s development level” (p. 85).

Skinner (1984) stated that “Most current problems could be solved if students learned twice as much in the same time and with the same effort” (p. 947).

Rosen (2008) stated that “Unlike many other researchers who study multitasking, Meyer is optimistic that, with training, the brain can learn to task-switch more effectively, and there is some evidence that certain simple tasks  are amenable to such practice” (p. 107).

James, W. (1899). Talks to Teachers.  New York: Henry Holt and Company.     

Rosen, C. (2008). The myth of multitasking. The New Atlantis, 64, 105-110

Noddings, N. (2006). Critical lessons: what our schools should teach. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Kegan, R. (1994). In over our heads: the mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard College Press.

Pretz, J. E., Naples, A.J., & Sternberg, R. J. (2003). Recognizing, defining, and representing problems. In J.E. Davidson & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), The psychology of problem solving (pp.1-30). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Skinner, B. F. (1984). The shame of American education. American Psychologist, 42, 947-954.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1935/1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Blog Post #1: Metaphor for Learning

Metaphor: Learning can be the medium between cognition and problem solving.

In order to learn, cognition is the first step. A person needs to process the information that comes into their minds. Then, they must decide on what category they want to place the new concept into. After cognition, learning can begin. Over time, learning can give birth to the use of problem solving techniques in the classroom. Learning tends to involve associating new items with old items.  James (1899) stated that “An educated memory depends on an organized system of associations; and its goodness depends on two of their peculiarities: first, on the persistency of the associations; and, second, on their number" (p. 89).

In contrast, Vygotsky (1935) states that “Learning is considered a purely external process that is not actively involved in development. It merely utilizes the achievements of development rather than providing an impetus for modifying its course” (p. 79). I believe that learning begins internally while Vygotsky believes that learning occurs externally first. 

Learning in the classroom involves interacting with the teacher and other students within the classroom environment. Overall, learning can occur individually because some students prefer to learn on their own while other students prefer to learn within a social setting.  Airisian & Walsh (1997) found that “Within the sociocultural perspective, knowledge is seen as constructed by an individual’s interaction with a social milieu in which he or she is situated, resulting in a change in both the individual and the milieu” (p. 445). As noted, learning can occur individually as well as with the help of those in the classroom environment. 

       

Airasian, P. W., & Walsh, M. E., (1997). Constructivist cautions. Phi Delta Kappan, 78(1), 444-449.

James, W. (1899). Talks to Teachers.  New York: Henry Holt and Company.    

Vygotsky, L. S. (1935/1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Module 4: Information Processing blog

King-Friedrichs (2001) stated that "new learning must be connected to what the students already know" (pg.1). We must make our classroom instruction relevant to their personal lives. Students must be able to relate to the content that they are being taught. We have to show students that what they are learning has a meaning and a purpose in their lives. We must elaborate on key concepts by showing students that they can apply what they are learning to their everyday lives. We can use food or strings to illustrate the concepts in our classrooms. We must use physical and mental cues so that students can use their memory in order to retrieve information when they are asked for it. Teachers can use portfolios and report cards in order to chart a student's progress in the class. The use of portfolios will show the parents that their child is learning various concepts in the classroom. Also, portfolios would show the parents that their children is able to use constructions in order to display their overall learning.

All of us can memorize things but we must note that it is more important for you to recall what you have learned over time. Recalling things can help you as you go towards placing things in your long term memory. The memory is exercised when we are able to process information in our minds at a slow pace. If we read materials quickly, it will be hard for us to bring it into our long-term memory. Overall, being a gamer is a serious thing. You have to create mental palaces that will help you to remember the information that you see. But it all begins with practice. If you do not practice memorization, you will not be able to master placing information into your long-term memory.

Guidance during instruction helps students as they begin to learn the concepts in a classroom. We must continue to guide our students until they feel that they are at a level where they can guide themselves through the use of their own prior knowledge. Kirschner (2006) found that "advocates of this approach imply that instructional guidance that provides or embeds learning strategies in instruction interferes with the natural processes by which learners draw on their unique prior experience and learning styles to construct new situated knowledge that will achieve their goals" (pg. 76). Minimal guidance could result in low student achievement and students could be guiding themselves in the wrong direction. Unguided instruction interrupts the human cognitive architecture/long term memory because the support from the teacher is minimal. Marsh & Butler (in press) found that "Performance during learning is a poor predictor of future performance because it reflects the momentary accessibility of knowledge (i.e. retrieval strength) rather than how well it has been stored in memory (i.e. storage strength)" (pg. 4).

As a student, I believe that I learn better when lots of instruction  is given in my classes. The instruction that is given helps me to internalize the material so that I can apply my learning to the homework that I will complete later in the evening. The seals at Sea World are trained to do tricks for many hours each day. Because of their extensive training, they are able to perform with their trainers when people come to see them. Without the training/practice on a daily basis, the seal would not be able to perform (almost) flawlessly at each performance.

References:

King-Friedrichs, J. (2001). Brain-friendly techniques for improving memory. Educational Leadership, 59(3), 76-69.

Marsh, E. J., & Butler, A. C. (in press). Memory in educational settings. In D. Reisberg (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of cognitive psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Foer, J. (2011, February). Secrets of a mind-gamer: How I trained my brain and became a world-class memory athlete. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/20/magazine/mind-secrets.html?hp.

Kirschner, P., Sweller, J., Clark, R. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: an analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Leadership, 41(2), 75-86.

Activity 3: Blog Post: Learning "Styles"

As I read this article, I found it interesting that there are so many learning styles (auditory, visual, etc.). In any event, I believe that it is important to know the learning styles of the students that you will teach. Knowing their learning styles can help you to structure your curriculum so that your student's "learning styles" are being reinforced. However, it is possible for a child to have more than one learning style. But I think that it would be beneficial for students to have a working knowledge of all of the possible learning styles. They should be able to try out each learning style so that they can find a style/styles that work best for them. As I continued my reading, I realized that it is important for the teacher to know his/her learning style. Too often, teachers do not know their learning style and it can be difficult to explain a learning style when you are not familiar with your own learning style.
It was interesting to read that high ability students tend to learn better in low structure classrooms. This could occur because students with high ability tend to need less teacher instruction. But students with low ability need to be in setting where there is more teacher instruction. I found this scenario interesting because gifted students tend to work in groups or as individuals and the teacher allows them to explore their learning with little instruction. Whereas students who are in traditional schools (and they are not gifted) may need more teacher instruction so that they can be guided through the lesson. Overall, I enjoyed this article because it gave me a lot of current and background information on learning styles and how I can apply the concepts to my future classroom.

Activity 1: Blog Post: Resource on Perception

http://www.learninginfo.org/sensory-register.htm

I chose this website because it discusses sensory registers and how we memorize things for a short period of time or a long period of time. Basically, this website speaks about how we memorize auditory and visual objects. Short term memory are those things that we have stored in our minds for a small amount of time. Long term memory are the short term memory things that we have repeated over a period of time and now, they are a part of our long term memory. The more we repeat them, the more the concepts will stay with us.

In terms of learning, this website is important because it shows us how we memorize things over time. But I think that this website is very important as teachers relate with students who have learning disabilities. Understanding how students learn is a key component in effective teaching.

James states that “In all primary school work the principle of multiple impressions is well recognized." This concept was taken from the PowerPoint presentation. In any event, multiple impressions will help the brain as it attempts to hold on to information for a long period of time. If you do not learn concepts repeatedly over a period of time, the information will reside in your short term memory and eventually it can float out of your memory bank unless you make associations with previously learned information.

Activity 7: Timms Video

Alison McFarland
Tyler Gayheart
Antoinette Davis

Paragraph 1:

Our group reviewed the video, US1 GRAPHING LINEAR EQUATIONS on Timssvideo.com. In the video, the instructor used a behavioral technique to reinforce the student’s work and overall performance. The instructor used positive reinforcement by complimenting their work and overall progression towards learning linear equations. For example, he complimented the students on labeling the x and y intercepts as well applauding their collaborative efforts. The instructor circulates the room from group to group, working with each student individually. He leaves it up to the students to work in groups and acts as a facilitator, sharing the knowledge between the stronger students and the weaker ones. The class is engaged and participating, but for the most part are working in independent sets of three and four. The instructor is employing the help of the other students to help each other, but simultaneously reinforcing their behavior with his knowledge on the subject. When addressing the class to capture their undivided attention, the instructor counts down from 5 to 1 and the students are suddenly attentive. This is a method of conditioned behaviorism that the teacher utilizes to quiet the class. Also, near the end of the lesson, the teacher asks the students to write down what they learned today for self-reflection. 

Paragraph 2:

1)  Mr. Ormsby had the students work in groups of three or four to graph the packet of linear equations.  He told them that they could graph it any way they knew how as long as the end result was correct.  He went around from group to group helping them when they asked or when he discovered there was a problem with the answer.

2)  One of the students made her table different than the majority of the students.  Mr. Ormsby asked why she did her table that way and she said it was easier for her.  He said ok and moved on.

3)  One group finished graphing all their lines and they had him check their answers.  As Mr. Ormsby was checking their work he asked them to tell him which equation went with which line.  They told him and he asked them if they were sure.  The students doubled checked and realized they labeled them incorrectly.

These are examples because Mr. Ormsby is guiding the students towards discovery rather than telling them the answer.  He is also letting them construct their own knowledge structures rather than impose those structures on them.

Paragraph 3:

1. The teacher leads the instruction in the classroom and the students imitate her while they are sitting in their seats.

2. The child is given a chance to teach the teacher and the classmates about square roots as they solve problems on the board.

3. The students in the classroom are helping each other as they solve the problem while sitting down in their seats.

Each segment of the video relates to the key tenets of the theory because social interaction is utilized all throughout the video. Children are working together in groups so that they can use their brains in order to find the solution to the problem. The teacher is walking around the room after the lecture to make sure that students understand the information. After that, the teacher ask the students to work on their homework and then she chooses students who will post this work and solutions on the board. Overall, social constructivism is seen in this classroom because social interaction is occurring all throughout the class.

Paragraph 4 (Group Reflection):

I think that this exercise helped me to see that the techniques of Skinner, Piaget, and Vygotsky can be found in any class. It is easy to see theories in practice because these theories can be applied in various ways in the classroom.

Connection: Vygotsky says "The educational process must be based on the student's individual activity, and the art of education should involve nothing more than guiding and monitoring this activity." In the classroom, a teacher should be guiding the activities that will occur in the classroom. With proper guidance, the student will be able to complete the activities with the help of a group. As the child gets used to the material, they will eventually want to do the problems on their own.

After this exercise I realized that my favorite teachers were the ones that used several different techniques from each of the different learning theories.  Those teachers used rewards, punishments, reinforces, didn’t just give the students the answer, let the student teach one another, and guided the students in the right direction.  I believe that is why they were my favorite teachers and I learned the most from them.  When it comes to seeing theory in practice I wouldn’t say I could pick them out with no trouble but I would definitely say it is much easier now than before.  Theories, without doubt are useful lenses to examine what is goes on in the classroom.  Every student is completely different and they learn in completely different ways.  So, it seems like to me that it would make sense to examine classrooms through as many different lenses as we possibly can.

My first reaction to the overall organizational structure of the classroom and how my math experience was nothing like this. Sadly, I did not have a teacher as highly involved in the process of learning linear equations. And in my opinion, math skills are for typical students a conditioned skill that is acquired through practice.  I appreciated the sound academic habits and expectations he created in the classroom by reinforcing their performance with positive comments. However, these behaviorism ideas seem more natural in their application as part of the teachers “style” as oppose to a rigid application of a learning theory. Group work, peer-to-peer involvement and conditioned responses to grab their attention played a critical role in the student engagement, but also with the teacher maintaining order in the classroom. However, by “order” I do not mean in the context of a lecturer or by direct instruction, but by simply capturing the attention of the students through behavioral techniques such as counting down from five. The instructor employs the idea of shaping, during which responses are reinforced for getting closer to the desired end behavior.

Activity 6: Work in groups to clarify/expand on/illustrate a concept central to constructivism

Tyler Gayheart

Alison McFarland

Antoinette Davis

Dear Readers,

My group and I came up with the following websites as it related to constructivism:

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/scrapconstrucsh.html

This article is based on constructivism and how it can be applied in the classroom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR9LqmT0k-U

Constructivism as it applied to children as they work in group activities.

http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/w2-resources.html

This website describes books and articles that are great resources for understanding constructivism.

Activity 5: Connections between the Segment and Vygotsky

Since the 1950s, children's development has been decreased as a result of the use of toys in homes. During that time, students were able to use their actual developmental skills so that they could design make-believe games with their friends. They made their own rules and they were able to play the game until they reached a certain solution. After mastering the game (through various forms of play), they will have reached the potential developmental stage. Over time, they will create a new game. The mastery of the old game will then become the actual developmental stage. They will remain in this stage until they master the game according to their own rules (thus reaching the potential developmental stage). Children use their language to determine if the game is played correctly. They are able to use their language so that they can work with other children in order to finish the game.

In the 1950s, the zone of proximal development was utilized more because children are able to use their creativity to create games. These days, toys have taken the place of make-believe and it has stifled the imagination and cognitive processes of our children. More should be done to help students to use make-believe games so that they can increase their level of cognition. Less time should be spent on assessment, more time should be spent on helping children to construct their own knowledge without the use of toys.

Activity 4: Principal Contributions of Vygotsky's cognitive constructivist theory

As a theory of learning, I believe that Vygotsky's cognitive constructivist theory is one which encompasses the Zone of Proximal Development. Children begin learning at the actual level in the classroom. With peer and adult guidance over time, students will be able to move to the potential level of development. After the potential level is reached, it will become the actual level, and a new problem will be presented as the potential level of development. This theory focuses on teaching that occurs between the teacher and the student and the teaching that goes on from student to teacher. Basically, the teacher is not the only teaching agent in the class. Both the teacher and the student are capable of teaching. Language is a critical part of learning because cognition is language. Students need to be able to articulate their learning to the teacher and to their peers. Historical, social, and cultural factors are all apart of the child's learning. We have to be mindful of these factors as we teach in our classrooms. The constructivist theory is strengthened here because it involves individual learning as well as group learning. Children need the social environment as it can help to form their knowledge in the classroom.

Compare: Both Piaget and Vygotsky believe in constructivism as it relates to student learning. Knowledge can be constructed in various ways as the child learns within the classroom environment. Both theorists believe that human development occurs as a result of construction in the child's mind as a result of what they experience and they will find meaning as they interact with others in the class. Both theorists believe that social interaction is important in the classroom so that students and teachers can learn from each other.

Contrast: In terms of cognitive development, the theorists differ in their point of view. Vygotsky believes that students can learn from teachers and vice versa. Piaget believes that individuals should construct their own knowledge. In social interaction, students are very dependent on the instructor for assistance while students only need a little guidance from the instructor in individual construction. Vygotsky and Piaget differ as it relates to learning and development. Vygotsky believes that learning results in development. The more we learn, the more we develop over time. But Piaget believes that learning and development are independent. I don't agree with this because learning is what is needed in order to develop. How can a person develop without learning? Vygotsky and Piaget also disagree as it relates to language and speech. Vygotsky believes that language is critical. I believe that cognition is important but students need to use their language in order to articulate their learning. Without language, can we know if a child's cognition has grown over the learning process?

Activity 3: Bart the Genius: Constructivism applied?

What would authors Airasian and Walsh have to say about the learning environment in which Bart is placed?
Airasian & Walsh (1997) stated that constructivism plays off the metaphor of "lighting the flame" of student motivation against that of "fitting the bucket" of students' heads with facts. These authors would say that Bart was placed in an environment where students were able to construct their knowledge. They would also say that the teacher guides the learning/discussion while students are able to use their knowledge to construct their meaning of the concept that is being discussed. In Bart's classroom, students are able to use their creativity so that they can contribute their knowledge to the current discussion that is taking place in the class. I notice that the students are sitting at their own learning stations.

Yes, this is a form of constructivism because students are able to construct their own knowledge with a little guidance from the teacher. In the clip, I noticed that the teacher was not looking for a right/wrong answer. She was looking for students to construct their knowledge based on the question that was asked. And there were no rote forms of instruction in this clip. Students used their own constructions to answer the teacher's questions.

I think that constructivism is a good way to allow students to construct their own knowledge. As a teacher, I do not want to spoon feed my students on everything that they need to learn in my class. I want to begin my class with a discussion and then I can give students the time that they need so that they can construct a project that can show their understanding of the topic that is being discussed.

Comparing Piaget and James (Activity 2)

Piaget: In the video, the students who were in the exercise of finding out which glass had more juice in it were in the pre-operational stage. The first girl is in the early stages of using her mental activities. She has not mastered the concept just yet but she needs more time to develop so that she can understand why both glasses have the same amount of juice. The second girl looks like she is 6 or 7 years old. In her mind, the skinny glass and the wide glass have the same amount of juice because she believes that both glasses were equal before and they are still equal now. Her mind understands that the skinny glass still has the same amount of juice as the wide glass.

In the second task, the little girl is thought because she believes that distance causes one row to be bigger than the other row. In the graham cracker task, the girl knows that the teacher has more graham crackers than she does. But two half crackers is not the same as 2 whole crackers. She needs more time to develop so she can see that she has less graham crackers than her teacher does.

James (1899) states that, "in teaching, you must simply work your pupil into such a state of interest in what you are going to teach him that every other object of attention is banished from his mind; then reveal to him so impressively that he will remember the occasion to his dying day (pg. 4). James believes that we have to show students what they need to learn. We have to awaken their minds so that they will want to know what we are teaching them.

I believe in Piaget's point of view because students need to have time to develop as they go from sensorimotor, to pre-operational, to concrete operations, and then to formal operations.

Activity 1: Piaget's Cognitive Constructivism

1. Emphasis on qualitatively different ways of thinking.
    In this stage of learning, we must take our time as we introduce children to certain forms of learning. If we examine a child who is 2 years old, we will be able to see that the child can identify some objects. However, at 2 years old, the child should not be be forced to learn their ABC's because they are not developmentally prepared for that concept. The rate of development is important in the learning process.
2. Order, Sequence, and logic of instruction crucial for successful assimilation/accomodation.
    The way that instruction is presented is important. Order must be maintained so that students can follow the sequence of going from one concept to another. For Example: Pre-Algebra is a precursor to Algebra. If Algebra were presented before Pre-Algebra, order would not be maintained and assimilation would be harder to achieve.
3. Power of Affect, Exploration, Discovery, Choice, Curiosity, and Interest to Improve Learning
    I understand this concept as one that allows students to explore their creativity so that they can explore the possibilities of learning in the classroom. Too many teachers teach the curriculum and the students shadow them. But children need to discover their curiosity so that they can draw their own conclusions on the subject that they are learning.
4. Emphasis on finding meaning through knowledge construction.
   A person's knowledge is created as a result of different experiences that a person has in their environment. In a person's mind, knowledge is created all the time because you are working with new objects and you are using your previous knowledge so that you can understand new concepts.
5. Disequilibrium as the source of motivation.
    Disequilibrium is a concept that causes conflict in a student's mind. They are forced to think outside of the box so that they can figure out the inner workings of an object or a concept through creativity. But this conflict will give students the motivation that they need so that they can continue to figure out the solution. After they figure it out, they will return to the equilibrium stage.