Constructvist Approach Theory

For this activity, I used my lesson plan that I did for my Urban Multicultural lesson plan over shapes. The lesson was for first grade students who are asked to identify different types of shapes and understand the difference between them.

As a teacher, I will bring in various shapes and explain what these shapes are and how some can slide, roll, stack, and their corners or rounded edges. I will ask them to observe them and see what characteristics of the shapes are similar and what are different.

To make this activity a constuctivist approach, I will ask the children to take their prior knowledge of what they know about the shapes to mold more of an understanding of them. Where have they seen these shapes before? How were these shapes used? The students will use hands-on activities to master the knowledge of the shapes. If they have seen the shape of a circle on a car (tires) I can ask them why do they think circles are the most effective shape to use for this particular object.  The hands-on activities will also make it a constructivist approach and will be helpful for the students. 

According to Concept to Classroom, there are other ways to help students learn using the constructivist approach. They include:

• prompt students to formulate their own questions (inquiry)
• allow multiple interpretations and expressions of learning (multiple intelligences)
• encourage group work and the use of peers as resources (collaborative learning) 

All of these examples are useful for students to learn about more materials. 

 

PLE #6

Today in class, there was a presentation about knowledge and memory that was presented last week. When they first began presenting, they touched on topics that we learned in the past. At first I was unaware of the reasoning behind re-talking about issues and topics that we already talked about but as they continued I realized they were basing the material that we learned previous to what we would learn in the lesson they would present. 

I have seen this related in my lesson plan that I had to make last week. In the direct teaching lesson plan, we were asked to put information in there that the students would have learned prior to the lesson we were going to teach. We did this as a recap and making connections between what we learned and what we will learn. Both times this was played out and I really appreciated seeing the connection between the concepts. I also liked the illustration about the Pack Man  and how as students and educators, we are continuously being fed and feeding knowledge into the student's heads.

In coninutation, I thought it was funny that they brought up the use of mnemonic devices. I always wondered if those were useful and relevant to the studetns who are learning them, but in a particular website that I found, I thought it was helpful for they described them as a

 "technique to help your brain better encode and recall important information. It’s a simple shortcut that helps us associate the information we want to remember with an image, a sentence, or a word".

According to the website, they have been used for centuries for people to make mental shortcuts between different types of information and I think it is extremely helpful and relevant for children to use. 

PLE #5

PLE #5

In the website ThinkQuest, they are adequately breaking down what it means to learn cognitively by saying that:

"The individual learns by listening, watching, touching, reading, or experiencing and then processing and remembering the information"

 Students take what they are given in class and form more of an understanding about it by using these methods listed above. The purpose behind this is to better understand that each student has his or her own way of understand and comprehending information. As an educator, you should be able to look at the student's style of learning and mold your teaching practices around that student. By doing so, the student and yourself are both able to build a basis of what are the best ways for the students to learn. 

As a teacher, I would like to not only understand my students more but also be able to see what particular learning styles each student needs in order for him or her to excel. At the same time, I need my students to understand their own skills and learning outcomes so that they can be successful in what they do. 

To best solidify this, I think Howard Gardner does an amazing job with his Multiple Intelligence theory to show that different students learn differently and are capable of different types of learning. There are many different forms that students may be intelligent in and if a teacher only addresses one form of learning or intelligence then the child may not be able to excel at a greater capacity than if the teacher addressed these learning styles. 

 
http://library.thinkquest.org/26618/en-5.5.3=cognitive%20learning.htm http://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/learning/cognitive.htm
 

Assessments

Assessments are an integral part of education. Even though it is necessary to have assessments, teachers and students still cringe when they think of the term. According to the Carnegie Mellon website, assessment can have three main purposes:

• Reflects the goals and values of particular disciplines
• Helps instructors refine their teaching practices and grow as educators
• Helps departments and programs refine their curriculum to prepare students for an evolving workplace

These purposes are all three very broad statements, and because of this, educators should help make assessment not as specific as they think.

In this blog post, I will be addressing ways to not only have formal assessments, but also how to have informal assessment and how to do both stress-free.

For informal assessment strategies:

1. Walk around the classroom and meet with students one-on-one. As them to show you what they are working on. For instance, if it is a math problem, have them show you what they are doing. Notice the steps that they are taking. Is it correct? Are they only getting the answer wrong because of a silly mistake or is it because they do not understand the full concept? This is a way to see what they know without formally evaluating them.

2. Split them into small groups. Do the same thing. Have them sit in a group and walk around to the groups to see who is involved and engaging in the conversation. Make sure they are not intimidated by others before you assume they are not learning. Write down things that you notice and address them to that student later on.

3. Have them make a reflective journal. This can show the teacher what they are learning and also what they can be working on while also having them practice writing.

Formal:

1. I do believe that tests are necessary to monitor where the students are. The tests should  not be the only form of assessment, but they should be implemented in the classroom. Do not make the students feel frightened that there is a test. Make sure that are confident and relaxed going into the exercise by talking to them before and help take the pressure off.

2. When taking a formal test, help the students by going through stress-relief exercises. This can be having them dance in their seat for a second or doing breathing exercises.

There are many ways to assess students and teachers should never feel obligated to stick to one particular method.

PLE #3

When wondering if teaching was what I really wanted to do, I looked a lot at how I could fully invest in my students and have them see and feel that they are smart and can give back a lot to society. How as a teacher could I do that productively? One way that I know will help is building an environment that fosters encouragement from not only myself but the students that interact with each other. Modeling, I believe, is one of the most powerful models of teaching. I always looked to my teachers as role models. I also looked at them for praise. When I felt encouraged, I felt accomplished and smart.
As a pre-intern getting my feet wet in various ways such as being active in various elementary school through my cohort and also by working in an after school program, I see the impact of praise. Praise builds confidence and I believe that when students feel confident in their work it helps them from breaking down others confidence. When I do not feel confident in my work, I like to compare people and when someone is doing better than myself I like to tear them down. Whether it is in my head or outloud, the act of tearing someone down has an odd way of making your problems seem more irrelevant and not as bad as someone else.Erikson shows the importance of confidence in students' ability to learn in his stage theories. With elementary students, they are going through Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. PBS display this theory well by saying
"Erikson said that children who are deprived of the opportunity to establish independence and autonomy may become oppressed with feelings of shame and self-doubt, which later result in losing self-esteem and being defiant"(PBS).
As an educator,  I wish to have the students obtain this sense of independence and knowing that they are able to be successful in school.
I digress by saying that with all of that being said, I hope to foster an environment that displays uplifting praises and congratulations when someone is on task or able to do an activity and a kind "You can do it! Try again!" when I feel like they are not confident in their progress. So, as a teacher, I will model this in my best ability by showing the kids what it looks like to be uplifting in their groups that they are placed in or in the classroom as a whole.

Develop a full continuum of responses for dealing with the misbehavior of your case.    

In my scenario, a student named Lisa is placed in a group with others who, as a teacher, I notice not working well together or seem to be understanding the material. For the most part, I notice that Lisa is the problem and gets angry if she doesn't get what she wants and also refuses to do her part. She also continuously interrupts others in her group and does not pay attention when her group prepares for class.

 As a teacher, I would begin by fully explaining the exercise that they are about to do. I will make sure that I explain it in detail so that they may not begin the exercise already confused as to what to do.

Along with that, I might see if swapping up the groups every two weeks would help with the bickering. If the kids are not with the same people for four weeks then that might help alleviate the problems.  With that, I will make sure I see which students work best with others and try to place students who focus more in a group with others that do not focus as much to make the other students desire to learn, too. This will also help with her talking too much because the other team members may not respond as likely as people in the other group. 

If there is still bickering and fighting, I will pull Lisa aside and see what the problem is. I will not do it in front of people but make sure that she knows that I want to really know that I am there to help her and help foster a productive learning environment.    

||PBS||

Motivation

I have been extremely fortunate for the past few months to be able to work at an after school program. I have nineteen first and second graders (eleven boys and eight girls) and luckily I also have a co-teacher. Even though I do not assign homework to these particular students, I do expect them to behave properly and respect their peers. Since it is a fun after school program, one issue that I continuously run into is their desire or motivation to listen during bible lessons or behave during organized events throughout the day like snack, bible, chapel, or free play. How do you keep a child motivated and on task when there are not any tasks for them to really do besides listen to the teachers, pay attention at bible, and respect your peers? I know this is a question that I continuously ask myself and my co-teacher.
This past week, my co-teacher and I implemented an extrinsic reward system for the children. It is similar to the model that was used at the camp I worked at the previous summer. This summer, I worked at a church camp that worked with inner city children at the Boys and Girls Club of East Texas. We were trained on how to disciple, teach, and love correctly and we talked a lot about extrinsic motivation. At camp, we used methods like the 5 to 1 ratio which is where if you were disciplining or telling them what they could improve on, you would say five positive statements like "I really appreciate you standing in line correctly", "That you so much for not talking in the halls!", etc. and then saying at the end state what the child needs to work on for that particular day.
Another way that I have used this method in my class at the after school program is by praising all the kids who are sitting correctly in the class instead of calling out one child who is not sitting correctly. As the slides state:
 

self-development: seeing accomplishments (praise from teacher), specific praise helped you want to go deeper

 This definition of self-development helps the students as a whole begin to grasp what sitting correctly in the hallways, keeping their hands to themselves, being attentive in bible or chapel, or even sitting correctly in their chairs during snack actually look like. By using this form of extrinsic motivation, the children are able to say "okay, so Ms. Watson appreciates it when we are quiet in the hallways and usually says something if we are sitting down and patiently doing what we are told". Through this, the children are learning great skills while also being praised. 

This type of motivation does not only need to be used to an after school or camp setting. It can also be effective in other settings such as the classrooms when you are trying to get the children to pay attention to you while you are teaching and instead of calling a student out of getting others in trouble, you instead show kids what it should look like in the classroom by praising the students who are sitting quietly and listening. 

After seeing extrinsic motivation play out in my after school and camp settings and also seeing the positive effects of it through educational psychology, I now know that it is something I am going implement in my classroom.  

 

First Class Reflection

The first Educational Psychology class went really well for me. I was expecting the class to be modeled like my Educational Psychology class that I took my Junior year, but I was very relieved and surprised about the class. I am extremely excited to be in class with people in various majors other than elementary education such as interpreting. This will add to discussion and help me understand more about the interpreting field.
As far as the actual classes are concerned, I am very excited about the material that will be covered. When we had to sign the sheet saying what classes in particular we are interested in, I was really excited about some of the topics. In particular, I love Erikson's Stage Theories. I had a class that used that theory very well in describing how it should be related to elementary school and other grade levels. I will be interested to see what Educational Psychology has to say about it, too.
Personally, I will like to leave this class with a better grasp on how my psychology background can help in the education realm. I have already seen some ways that it helps to have psychology background but I am very excited to further my scope of how it could help.