Module 5, Blog 5

 

 This is a catchy little phrase but apparently, when Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson did a study over 40 years ago, they produced data to give credit to this very quote.

They randomly picked students from several different schools and told the teachers that these students would make significant intellectual gains during the year.  The study caused quit a ruckus because the students succeeded in larger achievements than normal, that year. 

In chapter 14, Woolfolk explains this as a self-fulfilling prophecy where “a teacher’s beliefs about the students’ abilities have no basis in fact, but student behavior comes to match the initially inaccurate expectation.” (p. 538).  There is also a sustaining expectation where teachers respond on the basis of their existing expectations for students.  If a teacher has low expectations, these students are not given the opportunity to try more challenging work.  High expectation students are asked harder questions, given more chances to answer along with more time to respond.  Studies show that teachers also give these students cues and prompts which communicates their belief in the student’s capabilities.  They smile more at these students and show more warmth.  In contrast, teachers with low-expectations give easier questions with less time to answer.  The students receive less praise than high expectation students when answering questions correctly. Incorrectly answered questions were either ignored, or criticized. 

I think teacher expectations play a huge role on a student’s performance academically and psychologically.  I can recall taking a below level algebra class a couple years ago that I swore, would be my last.  I was done; I was not going to go through another class feeling like such a failure.  But since I had stayed up all night studying, I figured I might as well go take it.  I remember on my drive over to the college that it didn't matter if I failed or not.  I was quitting.   As I walked out the door after placing that test on the desk half done, my teacher called me back in.  “Oh boy”, I thought, here we go.  But, I turned around, walked back in, and looked my teacher straight in the eye.  She put her arms around me, squeezed me tight, and said “Beth, don’t you ever quit!”  Now how did she know that, I wondered, as I walked toward my car, how extraordinary.  And I began to cry, I knew it was God putting me back in place. And here I am, writing on a blog, still going to college, and going after my dream!

Teachers do have influence, and I know that when I become a teacher, I will create a classroom that shows assurance to all of my students in my confidence of their ability to succeed.  And I will tell them this over, and over, and over again.

Module 4 – Blog 4 

Promoting Autonomy and Choice

After watching the video “Constructivist Social Studies Lesson Grades 4/5, I could not agree more on the research that shows how student engagement helps a student learn and retain that information.

The reactions that came from these young people when asked how they like this approach of learning was insightful and phenomenal.  They talked about their comfort level increasing because the pressure was not on them alone.  They talked about making new friends because they had to interact with students they would not have otherwise done so.  They had to learn how to speak to each other in a respectful manor.  When presenting, they were not only judged by their peers, but had to turn around and evaluate their peers.  What thrilled me most were to see happy, eager students who were socially comfortable and learning knowledge at a level that would stay inside them. 

Woolfolk explains in chapter ten on page 359, that there is no one Constructivist Theory of learning, but most constructivist theories agree on two central ideas.  As was seen in this video, these two ideas showed that students were participants in building knowledge of their own, and social interactions were a part of that process.

I have seen this kind of learning take place in the middle school where I work in a multi-needs room.  A teacher in the 7^th. Grade regular education, had her students participate in a creative writing story book project.  They were assigned to groups of three or four people and had to create a story with illustrations that were 3-D so that the students in my class room could feel and see what was going on in the story.  When the projects were completed, the students had to present their story to the students that were in my multi-needs room.  The students handle their presentations like professional leaders and quite literally blew me and my co-works away. 

Student engagement as seen in the video, and seeing it myself is a learning style that I wish had been a part of my learning process going to school so many years ago.  I can’t help but wonder if learning in that way, perhaps my self-esteem and thought process, not to mention attitude would have been different.

Module 3 -  Blog 3 Ed. Psych. – “The Angry Teacher”

       

                                                            
                           

                 Creation                                                                            Fall


                                        

                                                 

  Redemption                                                                             New Creation                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

After looking at the video and then listening to Rick talk about a classroom management plan and the Trinity model of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and New Creation, I was intrigued to investigate this model further.  

Though I have never studied this model before, from what I was able to uncover, I think the “Angry Teacher” could easily fit into this model, if I am understanding it correctly. 

The video doesn't really show what set the teacher off, or when the process of escalation began with him and his students.  I believe God is directly involved in everything we do, including teaching.  Because teaching is a calling, He is our guiding force and therefore we are His Creation.  Perhaps the teacher in this video started out with a purpose and a direction to teaching and learning which somehow got lost on this day. The Fall occurred in this clip when the teacher rejected God’s Creation by becoming irate and degrading his students.  The Fall continued as he was unable to get a grip.   Clearly, he was out of control and seemed unable to calm himself, yet at one point, he did give recognition to the person who was videotaping him. 

I’m thinking that at that point,  he could have gone into the Redemption mode with the entire class.  He could have said, 'OK class, things are out of control with all of us, so why don’t we look at what was videotaped here, and then see how we got to this point."   After looking at the video, and hopefully seeing where he was wrong, he would then apologize to the classroom for his part in it, and suggest that together they rewrite the rules as a "Bill of Rights" so that the students could see what their part in it was as well.  By including the students input on what the rules and consequences should be, everyone would have a clear understanding on how to conduct themselves in the classroom.  This would be the beginning of their  New Creation.

I really liked the idea suggested in our text book on page 479 to create a “Bill of Rights” instead of having rules.  It states that "when a teacher works with his students to establish a student’s “Bill of Rights”, instead of defining rules, the “rights” cover most situations that might require a “rule” and help the students move toward the goal of becoming self-managing."   I’m wondering if this teacher even had a classroom management plan, because if he did, which is also stated in our text on page 480, the ideal way to manage problems is to prevent them from happening in the first place

As I continue to work toward becoming a teacher, I can’t ever forget that God is in charge, not I.  It is His will that I wish to carry out, so that I can teach, nurture, and guide my students with a caring heart.   

Module 2 - Blog 2
Ed.Psych.  AEDU203

1. Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255

   National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

I was feeling apprehensive one particular evening as I was getting everything together for my return to work from a six week leave of absence.  My second child had been born and would be going with me the next day where I worked as the director at a day care center.  The evening took a drastic turn of events when I heard my oldest child vomiting in the toilet.  She was 16 at the time, and I suspected she had the flu.  As I tucked her back into bed, I spotted a pill on the floor, and then another a few inches away.  Immediately I questioned my daughter and asked how many she had taken.  She told me about 80…..

Our textbook, in chapter four, states that 10% of adolescents have attempted suicide at some point, but even more have considered it.  It goes on to explain that suicide often comes as a response to life problems-problems that parents and teachers sometimes dismiss.

As a parent, I missed all the signs of my daughter’s attempted suicide, and as an upcoming teacher, I never considered this area as one that I would have as part of my repertoire in getting to know my students……until now.  

It makes sense though, to be aware of the many warning signs which include eating or sleeping habits, weight, grades, disposition, activity level, or lack of interest in friends or activities that were once fun.  Giving away important items and verbalizing things like, “you won’t have to worry about me much longer”, missing school, and not doing required homework are also telltale signs. 

My daughter had taken to her room and become resistant in getting up to go to school.  I knew moving away from her home town, friends, and school would be hard, but I never considered it to be so traumatizing.  After a couple months stay in a facility and a year of intense therapy, my daughter was able to lead a happy and normal life, but she was one of the lucky ones. 

From The Parent Resource Program, I read some startling statistics that each day in our nation there are an average of over 5,400 attempts of suicide by young people, grades 7-12.  WOW!  As a teacher, you better believe, I want to be better at knowing what all of the warning signs are.  Our textbook also discusses that a feeling many kids shared who attempted suicide,  was that no one cared enough to ask them anything even when the teacher, parent, or adult suspected a problem.  As teachers, it is imperative that we take our students seriously.  The Myths and Facts table about Suicide on page 147 also states that suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15-24.  Sometimes children under 10 die by suicide.  My antennae is now fully loaded as a teacher assistant, and for the future when I become a teacher.

Module 1 - Blog 1 Ed. Psych. AEDU303

Student/Teacher Relationships Mean Something
After reading through chapter one and looking at all the resources, I am again amazed of all that is involved concerning education.  This chapter on Learning, Teaching and Educational Psychology focuses on exemplary teachers who practice efficacy, reflection and differentiation. It then summarizes all the different kinds of research, how it is obtained, and then utilized to solve common problems in school. 

The section on teacher-student relationships, on page 7, really jumped out at me.  The fact that a study was done on the impact teachers can have on students impressed me.  Researchers, Bridgett Hame and Robert Piant, in 2001, found that the relationship teachers had with their students predicted school success.  In 2010, Pianta and his colleagues through another study on 3rd through 5^th graders, found that the two factors of high-level instruction, and positive relationships with teachers helped close the achievement gap.

When I was in third grade, my teacher punished me for not understanding how to do a math problem in what was then called, “New Math”.  My teacher told me in front of my peers, that while she was taking the rest of the class out for recess, I was to sit there and figure it out.  She then turned out the light, walked out of the room and closed the door.  I was eight years old, alone, humiliated, and terrified all at the same time.   I remember, with heart pounding, looking out the window to make sure my teacher was out on the playground.  I then quickly ran to her desk, looked up the answer in her book, saw how it was worked out and ran back to my desk.  I proceeded to put it all on paper and finished the problem.  I had, in my mind, “figured it out”!

As I reflect back to that time, I also recall how proud my teacher was that I had, indeed, figured it out.  Perhaps she thought she was doing me a favor by handling the situation such as she did.  It did not change the way I felt about her.  I hated her, and could not wait for third grade to be over so I could move on to a new teacher. 

As I have watched my own children go through school, I am amazed at the relationships they have formed with all of their teachers.  Most of them have been a positive force in their lives, especially k through 8.  I can only infer that because the studies done have shown evidence to success thus far, this is why teachers are being taught differently today.  Instead of an authoritative approach, I think teachers are being taught that being sensitive to a student’s needs is just as important as how and what they teach in their lessons. 
I never realized the importance of research in educational psychology, but am glad it is available to make me a better teacher and a positive force in my student’s lives. 

Week 5 
Tech. in Ed. AEDU209

Blast Off!

I was brought up on Web 1.0 discussed in Education 3.0:  Altering Round Peg in Round Hole Education, and have taken many college courses taught in the same way, but without the web.  The one that stands out most, is an American History course up to 1877 that I took two years ago.  The class met twice a week and started out with a quiz that was multiple choice, based on the notes we took in the previous class. We then proceeded to take notes from a power point so that we could memorize dates, people and events for the next quiz.  I received 100 percent on 13 quizzes, (sheer memorization), and scored high on the midterm and final. Both of these tests contained multiple choice and 300 word essays that we had to originate containing three people, three dates and three events.  I received an A for the class and cannot remember a single thing.  Not even the 2 essays that I wrote and memorized in order to write them down for the midterm and final. I learned absolutely nothing.  So when I read Web 2.0 Tools and K-12 Challenges by Ruth Reynard, I was intrigued.

To go from a stand up, teacher to student, oriented lesson where students take notes, and then get tested is a form of education I have always disliked.  The 2.0 education that was discussed involved so much more concerning technology, but the 3.0 education, where content is self-directed and  interest-based, with problem solving, is similar to a type of education I researched  for Early Childhood Education.

The Reggio Emilia approach was a philosophy developed in Italy, soon after WW1, by Loris Malaguzzi’ who believed that children acquired knowledge best by becoming actively involved in their curriculum development. He believed that children acquired knowledge best by construction rather than instruction and should have numerous opportunities for hands-on multisensory experiences and active exploration.  (Edwards, Carolyn, Forman, George, Gandini, Lella (1998).  The Hundred Languages of Children.  Norwood:  Ablex Pub.Corp.) I had always hoped that this educational approach would expand to all ages around the world, but never did I think, when I did this research so many years ago, that it would happen.

3.0 is very similar to the Reggio Emilia Approach, and with the social media discussed in the video Explaining WEB 2.0, this type of pedagogy is going to blast off like a rocket, to expand all over the world for all age groups, and I find that to be so incredible.

Technology, the very thing I hated, feared and was against from the “get go”, is actually making what I thought education should be a reality.  Go figure that.  I am so excited!

  

Week 4 Tech. in Ed. AEDU209

Flip to the Bridge

After reading “What Does a Good Flipped Class Look Like?” by Brian Bennett, Jason Kern, April Gudenrath and Philip McIntosh, I recollected when I first heard about this type of educational instruction.  It was the last of four math classes I had to take as a prerequisite while attending College of DuPage (COD).  I was enrolled in an evening class, and the teacher was there to instruct us on the basics of Geometry.  When he introduced himself to us, he mentioned that he was also a math teacher in a middle school and part of a new process called the flip classroom.  He said the instruction to all the lessons was done on line at home by the students, and the homework was done during school and therefore flipped.   He was not really sure at that point how it was working, but was very excited about it. 

I am a visual learner, and have found that during any math lesson, I always missed the actual process of what was being delivered because I was too busy copying everything down.  I love the idea and think that if I were in a flipped classroom, I could replay, and replay and replay any, and every lesson delivered, and figure out what was going on.

I feel like teachers are leaning toward the flipped classroom without even realizing it.  The four authors in “What Does a Good Flipped Class Look Like?” mention that during classroom time there is more student-led tutoring and collaborative learning, and less prompting from the teacher.  This brought to mind another math class I took in Algebra.  After the teacher gave the lesson, he would put up the numbers of the problems he wanted us to work on from the book and have us form a group.  I remember the first time, seeing about 50 problems to do, and was aghast.  My group of five spent 30 minutes on the first problem, and worried that there wasn't going to be enough time to finish all 50, I brought my concern to the teacher.  He said to me, “but I see how you are working together and figuring it out and that is all I care about, so if you only get three problems done, you will still get the full amount of points for the assignment, as long as you continue to work”.  After I shared this information with my group, it allowed all of us to stop feeling so panicked and we were able to face the challenge with more enthusiasm in every class after that.

In “The Flipped Class is Here to Stay”, mention is made about good and bad pedagogy.  Regardless of the tried and true traditional way of teaching or the flipped classroom, pedagogy does have to come first, and I believe it all comes down to the teacher building that bridge and I would like to see that bridge lead to the flipped classroom.

Week 3 Tech. in Ed. AEDU209

Making Connections or turning a deaf ear and a blind’s eye to it all?

I clearly remember going to an open house eight years ago for my then first grader, and watching a screen presentation on how the students were using the internet.  The teacher put up an e-mail address for us to get in contact with her and I froze…. instantly, I turned a deaf ear and a blinds eye to it all.  I could not grasp the necessity of it, knew absolutely nothing about e-mail or internet, did not even have a computer and felt outraged at having it shoved down my throat….until I became very ill a few months later. 

The internet became my best friend when I was recovering from surgery, chemo and radiation due to cancer in my throat, and lymph nodes.  In fear of not being able to speak, or communicate via the phone, I relented to not only allowing a computer being brought into the house, but also to a whole bundled package that included internet, and cable.  That, in itself, was huge for me, and after the Comcast service man sat down and showed me how to navigate through the internet and e-mail; I had indeed, or so I thought, “made it” into the world of technology!

After reading “How Does the Internet Work”, by Jonathan Strickland, I somewhat froze again.  Starters, routers, servers and packets?  How does one make a connection to all this?  The diagram shown looked like New York City, vast and powerful and like New York City, if you don’t know your way around, you are lost.  But then I kept reading and came across “hypertext transfer protocol”.  I thought it might be something I already knew about?  And it was; as the article stated, “it is what we use to view Web sites through a browser - that’s what the http at the front of any Web address stands for.”

As I continued to read over “How PCs Work”, by Jeff Tyson and Stephanie Crawford, and “How Computer Memory Works”, by Jeff Tyson, I had difficulty picturing it all, and piecing it together.   I decided to Google "packet switching",  for a more simplistic explanation and found a wonderful site called ExplainThatStuff!   It was explained, and I will quote here, “Packet switching is like breaking your house into lots of bits and mailing them in separate packets.  Because the pieces travel separately, in parallel, they usually go more quickly and make better overall use of the network.”  I liked this explanation and found a lot of valued information in the site. It also had diagrams to go along with the explanations.

I have a lot to learn on  how technology works, but because of the internet, I can find out anything I want, and that makes me feel very encouraged!

Week 2 Tech. in Ed. AEDU209 

To Tech or Not to Tech

Mr. Wolfe’s blog, posted August 2, 2010, on:  Why Use Technology in The Classroom, described me as one of many who view technology as a nuisance, rather than trying to find a way to utilize its positive force.

    
It brought back to mind, a few years back, when I was tutoring a middle school aged student, how technology solved some learning issues that I was experiencing. My student was just as intellectually impaired as he was in his fine motor and verbal skills, and resistive to my traditional classroom, old school techniques. When his mother decided it would be best for me to work with him on his iPad, I then became the resistive teacher.  I had never worked on one before, and did not even know how to turn one on.  My student’s mother told me quite simply, that he would show me, and he did. As we sat together for the next two hours, we transformed from my teacher directed method, where I made all the decisions, to that of the constructiveness method described in Melissa Taylor’s January, 2011 post on, What is a Constructivist Classroom? My student, who had poor fine motor skills, could not talk, and had sever intellectual impairment was manipulating this technological device, communicating likes and dislikes before my very eyes.  As I learned to use this device in further lessons, resistance on both are parts faded away completely.  Although my student was not diagnosed as Autistic, he took to the iPad just as easily and was completely drawn in by this tool. Studies shown in Apps for Autism – a 60 Minutes Story, where iPads increase the attention span, proved to be the case with my student as well.  Just like the little girl that crinkled up the page with numbers, unable to concentrate, who suddenly was able to focus on the numbers presented in the iPad, so was my student when he worked on the letters of the alphabet.  

I am beginning to understand what Mr. Wolfe’s paper suggests, that today’s student sees technology as a necessity, and that I need to as well.  Also mentioned in his blog, is the word “part” in that technology needs to be part of every teachers curriculum. Part is not all, which makes it less threatening to the novice educator like myself.   

Welcome to my blog. This is new for me, but I am just as excited as I am scared. So come read along with me and tell me what you think.

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