Personal Learning Theory

Piaget's Cognitive Development Model

• I like how Piaget's model assesses children's thinking over time. Each stage states a specific objective that a child must reach and overcome in order to become successful in the next stage. Our schemas that we develop will influence new information greatly by deciding if it fits with our old/current schema, or if we have to redefine our schemas based on this new knowledge.
  
• Piaget's stages a specific to age groups. I do not find this to be realistic in that an individual can be in multiple stages at different points in their life.

Vygotsky's Cognitive Development Model

• I like how Vygotsky's model emphasizes the importance of social interaction and its contribution to developing schemas and a sense of understanding. Vygotsky's model has taught me a lot about the importance of assisting individuals in need through mediation and scaffolding.
• I don't like how this theory does not allow for much room for students to learn on their own before interacting with peers or adults who have already mastered the concepts.
  

Erickson's Psychosocial Development

• I like how Erickson's model is to the point and specific to certain age groups. It made it easy to understand and easy to relate to.
  
• I think that the problem with this model is that, depending on an individuals situation, that a person can be in stages that are not specific to their current age.

Kohlberg's Moral Development

• I like how he emphasises that individuals develop a sense of morality at different stages. As we improve cognitively, our sense of morals changes.
  
• Kohlberg explains that some of his stages will never be reached. I did not like this portion because it makes me feel that those stages are irrelevant and makes the rest of his theory seem more weak.

Goleman's Emotional Intelligence

• I like how Goleman emphasizes the impact that emotions have on oneself as well as peers.
• I don't like that this theory can be overwhelming and difficult to identify one trait or characteristic.

Information Processing

• Once I understood this model, I really enjoyed learning about it. It is fascinating to think about how the brain processes and encodes information into different types of memory. I also like the analogy of how the brain is like a computer.
  
• I did not like that this model is so confusing to understand at first. It was a bit overwhelming and it took some extra time for me to fully understand it.
  

Knowledge Construction and Higher-order thinking

• I like how this emphasises that our students think differently and in order to assess their understanding we can implement higher-order thinking strategies. This causes our students to create more meaning through their learning and questionings.
  
• This would be difficult to implement to all levels of learning in that not all of our learners will be able to use tools such as HOTS questions. Students with learning disabilities would not be able to use these tools in a way where it would be beneficial to them.
  

Behaviorism

• I like how this theory focuses on the external and states that learning is a relatively permanent change in our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. To me this means that once a person has changes a way of thinking or some form of a habit for the better, it is then that they have achieved a form of learning.
• I do not like that this theory only focuses on the behaviors and not on the changes going on in the mind. They believe that it is impossible to know the changes occurring in the mind, which is why it is important that we have a deep understanding of the brain and its functions.
  

Social Cognitivism

• I like how this type of learning focuses on problem solving and the processing of information. It is important that we understand the mind because even though we can't see it, it is where all learning takes place.
• I don't like that this type of learning only focuses on the mind. We need to understand that both the mind and behaviors can be used to assess student learning.
  

Group and Individual Differences

• I like how this explains the different ways that students learn and that all need to be accommodated for in order to have success in the classroom.
• I find that this can be difficult and though I wish I could accommodate for ALL of my learners, I know that realistically I will not be able to do that all of the time.
  

Motivation

• I like how this states that we need to understand our student's prior knowledge, ability,and cultural and linguistic backgrounds in order to know what motivates them. If we have this knowledge, we will be able to relate to our students more which will help them to become motivated in our classrooms.
• To me, motivation almost seems like common sense. When the book starts listing all the types of motivation, I begin to feel more discouraged than motivated! There are just too many to know and I will do my best to motivate my students.
  

How People Learn

I cannot say that people learn one specific way, because the fact is that all people learn in different forms and ways! Students have many different types of learning styles from visual, auditory, linguistic, kinesthetic and so on... Though there are many different types of learning, students are not bound to just one kind. I myself feel that I use all types of learning and that the combination of these strategies have contributed greatly to my education. In my classroom, it is my goal to incorporate all styles of learning so that I can ensure that all of my students can be accommodated for. Some teachers teach the way that they learn best. I find that by incorporating all methods, students will have a higher retention rate because they will always be learning in different ways.

What?

After taking the quiz quiz, I found that I am mostly aligned with Constructivism, though Higher-ordered thinking came in close second by only one point! Constructivism is the idea that students actively construct their knowledge form their personal experiences with others and the environment. I relate a lot to the constructivism view of teaching in that I believe that students can learn a lot through hands-on experience and through interactions with others. Classes that have implemented this type of teaching have had the biggest impact on my education and they are the classes that I remember the most out of all of my educational experiences. Higher-ordered thinking is also critical in that it gives us teachers a sense of the levels of understanding our students have with the curriculum. Higher-ordered thinking requires the learner to take a much more active role in the meaning-making process. It is very important to implement and it stimulates their learning so much more than giving them the answers. Behaviorism focuses on learning through a change in behavior, thoughts, or feelings. Learning is observable to the teacher.

So What?

My scores to the test indicate that I am a more constructivist type of individual. I think that students can learn a great deal through group interaction and guided discovery learning. Hands-on experience enables the students to really apply themselves in a way that they become involved with their learning. This will then cause the student to develop a greater understanding of the material. Students can also learn a great deal of information from their peers. By engaging in group discussion, students are able to hear different points of views on a topic that they themselves might not have thought of. This is a very valuable form of learning and I plan on implementing it in my own classroom.

Now What?

1. My theory will transfer over into my future classroom in that my students will be presented with many opportunities to work and learn from their peers. Group projects will be assigned throughout the semester that will require individuals to collaborate, brain-storm, and create. I also plan on having many activities that will cause the students to become involved and will aid in their understanding of that specific objective for the day. Students will also be given the chance to explore concepts and will then be sharing those learning with their peers.

2. I would like to learn more about behaviorism, cognitive learning, and constructivism and be able to experiment with these tools when it comes to creating lessons for my classroom. I want to get a greater sense of what these tools will look like when being implemented. I have a good understanding of what they are, but I would like to learn more about how I can use them as a teacher. I need to develop a better understanding of the brain. In doing this learning theory, I have come to realize the importance of understanding the brain in order to be able to identify the learning levels and needs of my students. I struggle with the areas of the brain and I often get locations and functions confused with one another. I think that through further study of the brain and with this new revelation of mine, I can get a greater understanding of how it works and how I can use that knowledge as a teacher.

Course Contract #2

What are you doing Well?
I am doing well at keeping up on my homework and assignments (somehow I missed this one though). It has been one of my goals to keep up on the work load for this class in order to not fall behind and so I can develop an understanding of topics to follow.

What are you not doing well?
After completing the second exam in the testing center, I was surprised that I did not do as well as I initially thought that I had. I had a difficult time distinguishing theorists from each other. Though I feel that I understood the topics, I should have spent some extra time on who developed which theories and then I would have been able to differentiate them much better.

Are you making sufficient progress on your goals?
I have room for improvement with my goals. I feel that I have not taken as much time as I should in order to fully understand the concepts being taught in this class. My goals are to develop a greater understanding of educational psychology in order to implement its teachings in my classroom. After taking the second exam, I feel that I need to study and apply these theories more in order to develop a sense of why they are important and how I can implement them into my teaching.

List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals.

• I need to spend more time studying when doing my study guides, not just fill them out
• Reflect on how these theories will help me in my future classroom
• Differentiate theorists and theories from one another
• Focus on mastery, not performance goals.
  

How is your motivation? Are you focusing on mastery or performance goals? Does anything need to change?
I am focusing on mastery goals but I feel that I need to do a better job of actually carrying out those goals. In order to reach my mastery goals I need to focus on the list above in order to accomplish my goals more effectively. I want to use the information I am learning in this class when I have my own class to teach. My motivation is pretty high and I will continue to work hard and the time to fully understand the concepts being taught in class.

Extra Credit Article

Quality of Questions on Common Tests at Issue

What? Debates about assessments have been an ongoing process and this article focus on incorporating open-ended questions on assessment. The purpose of these open ended questions is to assess student's higher order thinking skills to see if they really understand a subject. Though this would be a great implementation in the assessments, the problems of cost and scoring arise. This would cause it so teachers could not just have computers score their tests, but rather humans would have to hand score each individual test. This would then take much more time, resulting in more hours that those individuals need to be paid for.

So What? I believe that this article is focusing on all areas of assessment which are practicality, reliability, validity, fairness. It focuses on practicality in that it is not very practical to think that they will have the hands or the resources right away to do this type of testing. Reliability is a major factor too in that we don't know how reliable the scoring will be due to the fact that different people will be scoring these tests and they may have different opinions about a topic. Validity is something that is addressed because this type of testing is very valuable in that it shows student understanding of a subject, not that they only know about it. Last is fairness which goes along with reliability. Students may receive a good or bad score depending on the person grading their test.

Now What? As a teacher, I can use this type of assessment in my own class even if the groups that write assessments do not use this type of open ended testing. I can take the time to make sure that my students are understanding a concept through this type of assessment and I believe that they will benefit greatly from it. Open ended questions may not be realistic when it comes to state or nationwide testing, but I definitely think it is do-able in the confinement of a teacher's personal classroom.

Extra Credit Article

The Teen Brain. Primed to Learn. Primed to Take Risks.

What? Adolescents are seen as freethinking, rebellious individuals. It is often hard to understand why teenagers behave the way that they do. From the outside, we can see the physical changes occurring during the teen years, but on the inside, there is in fact much change going on in the brain. The changes in the adolescent brain cause the teens to become more free thinking and more emotional. As teachers, we need to understand these changes in order to know why it is that teenagers make decisions that cause them to endure hardships and trials.

So What? During this time, the adolescent brain is forming new connections and a greater number of synapses which causes the adolescent to be more free thinking, yet becoming more emotional as well. It is important for teachers to understand the teen brain and why teens may react differently in hot and cold cognition situations. Not only does the brain have a factor in these situations, where teens need to make good or bad decisions, but also peer pressures. Peer pressure plays a major role in teen decision making. During adolescents, teens are also facing issues such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, etc.. As teachers, we need to be aware of these changes going on in the brain so that we can do our part to effectively influence these students for the better.

Now What? I now understand that just because a teen might get moody, does not mean that they are bipolar or depressed. Changes in the brain result in different types of moods, decision making skills, and maturity levels. As a teacher, I need to understand that in order to not take things personally and in order to effectively teach my students. We also need to keep demographics, laws, and peer pressures in mind when it comes to adolescent decision making. Society has plays a big role in a teenagers life and teens most often times do what they want. As a health educator, I want to emphasize the importance of living a healthy life and I want to share that message with them in a way that they will understand its relevance and importance.

Extra Credit Article

Students More Stressed Now Than During Depression?

What? This article talks about the stresses that teens are facing today that were not a factor during the days of the depression. These days, emphasis is placed on a person's success; meaning how much money they make. Education is not so much seen as a learning experience, but rather as a degree to earn you more money. Teens are stressing more about education and financial situations than ever before. This then results in more disorders such as depression and anxiety. We would like to think that financial situations do not have an impact on the lives of our teens, but it in fact does.

So What? This type of stress and anxiety is resulting in students becoming more high strung and less happy. In the article, a mother states that things were so much simplere when she was young. Girls did not have to worry about being thin or perfectionists. These drives are causing young teens to become hard on themselves which then is followed by feeling of inadaquacy and worthlessness. Disorders such as stress, anxiety, and depression will have a major impact in one's life that will not be beneficial. This type of behavior will lead to development of futre disorders which will cause individuals to be less efficient and more dependant on psycological treatment.

Now What? As a health teacher, I realize that these pressures that teens are facing are a big problem. Stadards set by other students are difficult for peers to reach which causes individuals to become stressed, anxious, or depressed. In my classroom, I will emphasize the importance of self-acceptance and doing your best. We don't need to spend all of our efforts on being perfectionists, if we do, we will stress ourselves out which will cause us to think more negatively about our abilities. It is important that we identify who we are as individuals and when we compare ourselves to others, we then start to identify our flaws. Students need to know that their teachers care about them and that we don't feelt that they should be pushing themselves to the edge in order to meet these unrealistic standards.

Exam #3

On the exam, I missed #17
Kiley is having trouble learning the steps involved in using a microscope correctly. If we consider Vygotsky’s description of how children help themselves through difficult tasks, we should suggest that Kiley do which of the following?

What? I now know that the correct answer is to have Kiley talk herself through the steps. I thought that the correct answer might be to have her learn why each step is important. The reason why I chose that answer is because that is how I learn best.

So What? The answer is for Kiley to talk herself through the steps because Vygotsky said that children use language not only for communication but also to plan, guide, and monitor their own behavior. Children use inner speech, or the act of talking out loud to one's self. Vygotsky observed that at about age three, children start using inner speech as they regulate their problem solving.

Now What? I will know know that Vygotsky considers language as part of the cognitive development. By talking to ourselves, we help our brains work through the problem.



The next question I missed was # 19
Which one of the following statements is most likely to promote higher moral reasoning in a student in the law and order stage?

What? I remember having a difficult time with this question. I thought that the answer would include the person having to face the consequence. Instead the answer was that Martha had to stay after school to redo her paper as a result of the person destroying it.

So What? The reasoning for this to be the correct answer is because the law and order stage consitsts of students who follow the rules because rules are made to be followed. Martha had to turn in a paper because that was part of the rules and the person who destroyed her paper did not loose concern for her, but was punished as a consequence for their actions.

Now What? I will remember this by just thinking of the word law and order which means rules to be followed in an orderly way. I will remember law because it is what causes students to follow the rules for their own sakes. I will also remember the order portion of it because individuals believe that order must exist to guide behavior and rules provide order and uniformity.

Behaviorism and Social Cognitivism Case Study

Behaviorism (Ch. 5) Questions:

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

Mr. Kessinger's class does not represent a community of learners. A community of learners is defined as a method in which students not only co-construct knowledge but also work together in the design of their learning environment and curriculum. In Mr. Kessinger's class, students are trained to work alone through the use of class lecture and readings in the text book. When Robin uses her peers responses in her notes, Mr. Kessinger responds by calling her a cheater. This is not a community of learners.

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

Mr. Kessing does a poor job of utilizing removal punishment with Robin. In Mr. Kessinger's eyes, Robin is cheating by using notes in his class lecture. He uses removal punishment by telling Robin that he will not kick her out of his class if she does not "cheat" in his class ever again. I do not see Mr. Kessinger's reaction as appropriate and this situation is a bad representation of removal punishment.

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?

Robin's reaction is a form of classical conditioning in that Mr. Kessinger made her feel that using notes in class was not appropriate. She felt fear when Ms. Yamashita approached her when she had her notes out. Due to her previous experience, she thought that Ms. Yamashita would have the same angry reaction. The stimuli that causes Robin to respond by fear and crying is being asked questions by her teachers where she then looks to her notes for the answers.

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 can work on encouraging Robin to create more concept maps in the future by using reinforcers. By using reinforcers, Robin will feel more cared about in the classroom. She will feel that her work is more appreciated and that there is a purpose to doing it. Ms. Yamashita can also use tools such as token economies or contingency contracts to encourage not only Robin, but the rest of the class as well. This will then help Robin become more involved in the class and aid in creating a community of learners in Ms. Yamshita's 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.

Mr. Kessinger demonstrates vicarious reinforcement by labeling Robin's behavior of using notes as a bad behavior. This then leads to Mr. Kessinger getting angry and leads to Robin becoming upset and scared to talk in her class. In the future, this will cause Robin to see note taking in class as a bad behavior that she will be punished for.

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

Mr. Kessinger is not considering reciprocal causation in his class because he does not take student's environment, beliefs, and behavior of how they learn best into consideration. Environmentally, Robin learns best by listening to other student's responses. Behaviorally, Robin does not like being put on the spot so she has notes to help her respond appropriately to Mr. Kessinger's questions. Personally, Robin has created a concept map that she believes will help her succeed in Mr. Kessinger's class. Instead of understanding Robin's use of the concept map in his class, Mr. Kessinger instead labels her as a cheater and forbids her to use notes in his class or she will be removed.

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

Robin is in the forethought phase where she uses task analysis. She does this by planning for Mr. Kessinger's class ahead of time by creating a concept map where she can draw connections in her learning. She uses this map in Mr. Kessinger's class lecture by making notes of other student's responses in order for her to gain the greatest knowledge of the subject.

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.

Before her experience with Mr. Kessinger, Robin had a high self-efficacy in that she believed that she could overcome challenging tasks (behavioral component) by creating a concept map to aid her in her understanding of the subject. After Mr. Kessinger ridiculed Robin for using her notes, she then felt that she had done something wrong and that it was not appropriate for her to use notes, therefor damaging her personal components. Therefore, her outcome expectancy was changed by making her believe that using notes in class will result in punishment which is why she ran out of Ms. Yamshita's class crying.

Constructivism Case Study

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

The traditional lesson and the constructivist lesson were similar in that they were both using measurements in their lessons and they both were looking for the measurements of a certain object. The purpose of either lesson was to understand how measurements work and visually see how long measurements of the objects were. There were many differences in these two lessons despite the fact that they were both dealing with measurements. In the traditional lesson, the teacher provided the measuring tools and the measurements of the whale. The purpose of this was to allow the students to experiment with the yard sticks and to see how long a whale actually is. When performing the constructivist lesson, the teacher only provided the students with the ship template and the orders from the king. The students were not given any hint as how to measure the ship and were not given any help from the teacher as they tried to solve this puzzle. In all, the differences between the two lessons were instruction and no instruction.

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.

The constructivist approach is beneficial in that it gives students the opportunity to experiment. By experimenting the students are engaged and they are more prone to finding a solution. Another benefit is that they can learn by trial and error. When measuring the ship with their hands, they realized that all hands are different sized, therefore, forcing them to rethink their method. Though it seems that allowing for students to use discovery learning, it has many drawbacks as well. This approach took up a lot of valuable time and if it had been taught differently, the concept could have been taught and learned within one class sitting. Another drawback to this approach is that students were not catching on very fast and were creating many misconceptions that were not being cleared up or addressed by the teacher. This can lead to confusion down the road for the students. It would be difficult to be learning how to do something one way, only later to find out that it was incorrect. I believe that this approach is only worth the costs when the teacher is using guided exploration. This way, the students are still able to experiment and explore concepts for themselves, but the teacher is there to offer any aid that is necessary to ensure quality student learning.

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.

It promotes critical thinking by forcing the students to create methods of measurements without having much knowledge of why we measure things. This then leads to greater understanding of why it is important that we are consistent when we measure and the students will retain that information for a very long time. The first instance I noticed of critical thinking is when the students used the boy to measure out the ship. They realized that they now had some measurement to work with and took the opportunity to explore this new idea. To the students this made perfect sense, but when the teacher presented them with the idea that the king had never met the boy and would not know how tall he was, it cause the students to think critically again to solve for a new way to measure the ship.

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

I believe that with prior knowledge of measurements, this could have been an authentic activity. Originally, I do not think that this activity is authentic because it did not teach the children the proper rules of measurement. If the teacher would have used the same scenario and offered a ruler or a meter stick, I then think that the children would have learned a lot more and would have been able to understand how to use measuring tools. The teacher needs to focus more on how the activity is going to benefit them in their lives. I'm afraid that she spent too much time worrying about students engagement. She could have engaged the students just as effectively if she used the same activity where the children were provided with measuring tools.

Course Contract #3

1. What are you doing well? I feel that I am doing well with terms and memorizing the definitions. The study guides help to keep me on track with what we are discussing in class, otherwise I would be lost during class discussions where we are reviewing the chapters and subjects. I have kept up on my homework and I find the assignments to be getting simpler and I now am seeing how they are relevant to the classroom.
2. What are you not doing well? I am having a hard time relating difficult terms to real life situations. When I read the chapter, I often find myself lost and confused. It is much better for me to review the chapter after having class where we talk about the chapter and the terms. I also am having a difficult time remembering what we discussed the week prior. It is hard to stay on task with this class when it is only once a week. I feel that I understand the concepts, but it is easy for me to forget them by the time the next class roles around.
   
3. Are you making sufficient progress on your goals?I am doing well with my goals. I feel that I am learning very valuable information that will aid me in my future classroom. I want to keep learning the concepts and work on applying them to my content more than I have been.
   
4. List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals. In order to meet my goals I need to continue to complete assignments correctly and efficiently so that I may see how to apply them in the classroom. I need to consistently be thinking of situations I might see in the classroom and how I can use this new knowledge to help me become a good teacher.
   
5. How is your motivation? Are you focusing on mastery or performance goals? Does anything need to change? It is difficult for me to focus on my mastery goals when finals are coming up and I feel like I am trying to cram as much information into my brain that is possible. I need to remember that there is no point in memorizing subjects only for a test. I need to take this information and use it in my life. If I do this, I will find the information more relevant to the real world and will apply these things more often.
   

Cognitive Psychology/Information Processing Case Study Analysis

CASE 1

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 think that students will not necessarily remember how to perform each task that they did, but rather they would remember the hard work that they had to do. These memories will relate differently than the students who just read about the event in the text book in that these students will have somewhat experienced the setting and the tasks of the war. The students who had the experience will be able to empathize with the soldiers because they had time to let themselves feel the emotions and draining tasks that the soldiers had to experience.

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

The re-enactment engaged the student's emotions in that it required them to live the way that the soldiers lived. I think that emotion can either help or hinder learning. If a person is emotionally overwhelmed then I think that it will hinder their learning ability. In his case, where students were re-enacting a historical event, I think that the emotions will create a greater understanding of the war and result in a greater interest of the war and what happened.

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?

For and effective follow up activity it would be great if the students could read journal entries from individuals during the civil war time to learn about their ideas about the war and how it affected them. The students would then combine stories and create either a skit, video, or story to illustrate the struggles that people had to go through during the Civil war. This activity will use the dual-coding theory by reading journals and then re-enacting those experiences.

CASE 2

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

Mr. Richards method of instruction is far superior to Mr. Dunken's methods because Mr. Richards classroom objectives and activities accommodate for all learning styles where Mr. Dunken's only accommodates for the auditory, and possibly the linguistic learner. Students need a variety of instruction to ensure involvement, understanding, and retention. Students only remember a small percentage of the material they learn if it is presented in lecture form. I also believe that Mr. Dunken's assessments are poor in that not all students do well with short answer style of tests. Students learn best when they can perform and experience a subject for themselves. Mr. Richards has a well rounded classroom that incorporates lecture and activities and his assessments are well balanced that it will accommodate for all learners.

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

Students who had Mr. Dunken will have a difficult time recalling information despite the fact that he informed them what would be on their quizzes. Even though Mr. Dunken's students are doing problems from their text book, they will not understand why the information is relevant to real life situations. The students in Mr. Richards class will understand the subject much better through the use of hands on activities and active learning. Active learning allows students to experience the subject for themselves rather than just hearing about it from the teacher or from the text book. These students will remember the information for much longer than the other students and will find the information much more valuable and relevant when it comes to their daily lives.