Group Differences Forum

My group chose to read the article "Kill Santa: Religious Diversity and the Winter Holiday Problem" by Özlem Sensoy for this assignment. The article discusses oppression and privilege in our society and how we deal with those issues. The first thing that it mentions is the "Christmas problem." Sensoy gives various examples of how Chritmas or Christmas-like celebrations are prevalent in Vancouver schools. Rarely, are there representations of other cultural winter holiday celebrations which is interesting because Vancouver has a high immigrant and minority population. The article also points out that even though these structures are in place in schools, they are adamant about not using the word "Christmas."

Sensoy also brings up the issue if discrimination in this article. Discrimination is "the preferential treatment of one/some over another/others."  The author also points out that our society is set up in a way that only accommodates "normal" individuals. Because of this, certain groups are automatically given privilege that others do not have. These groups include, but are not limited to: the able-bodied, men, and people who are right-handed.  The logic behind this is that the majority should be accommodated. However, if you take a look at the actual facts, there are more women in the world and more poor and working people who society does not always cater to. According to the article, the individuAls who have the most privilege in our society are White, male, and Christian. Theses individuals also have the most power.

The article also talks about the different levels of oppression. Individual/personal oppression can be discriminatory acts or belief such as considering non-Christian faiths to be inferior. The cultural/social level of oppression includes practices that have been normalized by the dominant group such as banning same-sex marriage. The institutional/structural level of oppression is seen through governmental, educational, and other policies. 

As far as a solution to the problems mentioned in the article, the author suggests that we "make things visible" as an act of resistance against our social structures. Those who are in privileged groups should take action. We must accept that religious oppression (as well as other types of oppression) is everywhere. We need to become comfortable enough to discuss these issues and develop the skills to cope with or change them.

Some questions that I have after reading this article are:

• Why do schools place such a high focus on Christmas during the winter holidays but neglect to equally portray other cultural celebrations?
• What can be done to change the present state of social power so that all people are accommodated for by the society in which we live?
• In what specific ways can individuals combat the winter holiday problem and other similar societal issues?

Barb Rentenbach

The presentation today was really informative and gave me a new perspective of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Barb Rentenbach and her book definitely changed my view of those with autism. She is very intelligent and had a lot of really great things to share with the audience. Barb believes that there are benefits to autism and that it adds to the diversity in our world. She also writes in her book that there is a flip side to every neurological coin and that autism is just a type of neurology.  I think that this is a very positive way to look at autism. Barb does not let her disability stop her from making a difference in our society. She believes that people should "find out who they are, and be that on purpose." I think that this is a great quote for everyone to live by.

After attending this presentation, I will take Barb's suggestion and focus on my students strengths. It is crucial for teachers to meet students where they are so that they can offer them an adequate education that will meet their needs. It is also important to keep in mind that there is no standard brain and that each student is unique in their own way. I will definitely work to get to know my students and how they learn.

Something else that I learned from Barb's SS, Lois,  was that she learns from the people that she serves. In order to help them, she finds out where there are comfortable and uses that information to reach out to them. I believe that this is another strategy that teachers need to take into consideration, not only when working with students who have autism, but for all of their students.

I acquired a lot of new information during the presentation and I believe that it was very relevant to the teaching profession. I am glad that I got to learn about Barb and her experiences and plan to learn more about autism and other disorders so that I can better serve my future students.

Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulation

How might self-efficacy and self-regulation contribute to the intervention plans you use in your case study?

I think that self-efficacy and self-regulation will contribute greatly to the intervention plans I use in my case study. 

Self-efficacy is important because it factors into a student's behavior. Lisa may have low self-efficacy, which could explain some of her behaviors. If a student doesn't feel that they are intelligent or have anything to contribute to classroom discussion, they won't try to do well, especially in group situations.  Addressing Lisa's potentially low self-efficacy may make all the difference in this case study. If Lisa begins to realize that her contributions to her cooperative learning group are meaningful and valued, a lot of her behavioral issues and lack of group involvement will probably decrease. 

Self-regulation can be effective in that it is an opportunity for the students to solve their own problems. In my previous PLE post, I mentioned that Lisa should set her own goals and that the cooperative group members can as well. In this way, the students take ownership of their learning and will be able to use self-regulation strategies to complete their assignments and meet their goals.

Behaviorism Applied

Consider your CSEL intervention case study.  Are there tools from a behaviorist view for either encouraging productive behaviors or discouraging undesirable behaviors that you could apply to the case?  What are they?

In my CSEL intervention case study, there are tools from a behaviorist view that can be applied to the case. In order to encourage productive behaviors, the educator could model good behavior for Lisa or have the other students serve as models for Lisa to imitate. This way, Lisa is introduced to alternative behaviors that can help her group stay on task and complete their assignments. The teacher could also reinforce Lisa’s behavior with praise, but also give praise to the whole group. Another way to encourage productive behavior would be to sit down with Lisa and help her come up with her own goals for the cooperative group activities. Setting her own goals may help Lisa because she then becomes personally invested in her behavior. Hopefully, this can motivate her to stop being a catalyst for the problems that arise in her cooperative learning group.

Now, compare the interventions that you have identified above with what you think might work from a cognitive or constructivist viewpoint (you may need to Google for ideas but it's okay to just speculate based on your prior knowledge).  How do they compare to behaviorist tools?  What are the benefits of each theory, and what are the deficits? Which theory might play a larger role in how you determine classroom management?

From a cognitive viewpoint, I think that it may be beneficial to make the cooperative learning activities more meaningful to Lisa and to the class as a whole. If Lisa can relate more to the activities and understands that her group is dependent on her to succeed, her behavior might improve. Also, with more meaningfulness, the group will be more likely to hold each other accountable in order to accomplish their assignments and tasks.

From a constructivist viewpoint, it may be beneficial to allow the students in the cooperative learning group to come up with their own solution to solve the issues they are having working together with Lisa. The students could explore various options, such as assigning specific tasks to group members or checking each other’s work. This intervention would be more student-centered with less teacher involvement.

In comparison to the behaviorist tools, I think that all of these interventions involve some type of action from the student. There is no way that a teacher can fix this issue, the students all have to be willing to cooperate in order to achieve their goals. I think that the benefits of behaviorism, cognitive learning, and constructivism are that the strategies are all motivating for the student in some form or fashion. The deficits are that one theory may work best for some students but not so well for others so the teacher might have difficulty finding a common ground or trying to pick the best technique for the situation.

Personally, I think that behaviorism will play a larger role in how I determine classroom management. I have seen behaviorism in action and the results were always positive. I also can see myself using more behaviorist techniques than any other learning theory.

Metacognition

This picture is a great way for elementary students to learn about metacognition. It's thinking about their thinking!

Consider a lesson plan you might use.  Which metacognitive skills/abilities are involved as students gain facility/knowledge in this domain?

A lesson plan that I might use would be a reading lesson that focused on comprehension and critical thinking. Students would read a story in a textbook and then summarize the main events and answer questions about the story to check for understanding. 

The metacognitive skills/abilities that are involved are  summarizing, comprehension monitoring, self-evaluation, and self-questioning. Students will have to be aware of if they can pinpoint the main ideas of the story. A student can assess this by making sure that their summary includes something from all of the major points in the story (beginning, middle, and end). Students will also develop awareness of if they comprehend the story when they answer the questions about the story correctly or incorrectly. Students can spend time answering the questions on their own, and then answers can be shared with the whole group. This way students can compare and contrast their responses and the instructor can emphasize the correct answers. Lastly, students will use problem-solving and their critical thinking skills to dig deeper and assess the responses they came up with and what prior knowledge they had that influenced those answers.

Constructivist Lesson Approach

Make a list of the sequence of skills necessary for ultimate mastery of the content of your lesson through a constructivist approach. Which of these learning activities/skills lend themselves to student’s individual or group construction? How might you structure learning activities that lead students to discover these skills/these principles?

The constructive lesson that my group came up with in class last week is about shapes. The teacher would introduce the different shapes to the students and explain their similarities and differences. The objective for the students would be to correctly identify shapes and to use the shapes to create different objects and structures. 

1^st – Students will need understand what a shape is and how objects that we use every day are made up of different shapes.

2^nd – Students will learn to identify specific shapes. (square, circle, rectangle, triangle, diamond, heart, etc.)

3^rd – Students will cut out shapes and match them up to objects in the classroom,

4^th – Students will use shape cut outs to create different objects and structures. (for example, two triangles can make a square when put together).

5^th – Students will use a chart with different shape categories to place objects in the correct category.

The activities in this lesson that lend themselves to a student’s individual construction are the hands on exploration of shapes in the classroom and the use of cut out shapes to create different objects.
I would structure other learning activities that lead students to discover this skill and shape principles in a similar way as the lesson that my group came up with. Students will be given opportunities to apply the concept that they have learned and I would check for understanding by monitoring them while doing an activity or with a post assessment.

Here is a sample constructivist lesson that also deals with objects and shapes:

 

Memory

How might your knowledge of the memory processes guide your instructional decisions?

My knowledge of the memory process will most likely guide the techniques and methods that I use to teach my future students. In class, one of the things we talked about concerning long term memory was that when you have an emotional connection to a subject, you tend to remember more about it. I think that teachers can definitely use this to their advantage. It all boils down to knowing your students and maintaining their interest. If you can find creative ways to relate topics and concepts in your curriculum to the students’ lives, they will have an easier time retaining the information they have learned. Another way to use my knowledge of memory to guide my instructional decisions would be to focus on distinctiveness. I would try to make the lessons unique and present material in an interesting way so that students will have something that stands out to them to refer to when trying to remember what they have learned.

I found this video kind of cool because it was done by a student for an Educational Psychology course!

 

Cognitive Learning

What are the essential skills and/or learning outcomes you want your students to know and be able to do that relate to cognitive learning? 

In relation to cognitive learning, I want my students to be able to use metacognition. I think that this is a very important skill to have because if a learner is aware of their cognitive processes and can control them, they can get the most out of their learning experience. I think that metacognition also goes hand in hand with self-regulation and just being able to make sure that a student stays on task and is engaged. At the end of the day, the student knows best what type of learning they prefer and what will get them to pay attention. If a teacher can find a way to get the student to apply this information, the learning gains will be that much greater for the student. I think that it is essential for my students to understand that they are all capable, even though they may learn in different ways. I also want them to be able to achieve and push themselves to do well.

Here is a really great article about metacognition! It discusses the subject of reading specifically, and how students can develop metacognition.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/20198244.pdf?acceptTC=true

Assessment

The lesson plan that I would like to use for assessment is a 2nd grade reading lesson. This lesson would focus on the use of vocabulary words and comprehension from a story in our textbook.

In order to informally assess this lesson plan, I would give the students a homework assignment that would require them to look for evidence in the text to answer questions that I came up with. The next day in class, we could go over the questions and the students could grade their own papers to see how well they did. I would then ask students to raise their hands if they got all of the questions right, or missed one-two questions. Another way that I would informally assess the students would be to give the students their vocabulary words and the definitions on paper cards and have them play "memory." I would put them in pairs and observe the students to see who could match them up quickly and accurately.

In order to formally asses this lesson plan, I would give the students the story assessment that is provided by the writer(s) of the text book. I would also give them a standard vocabulary quiz.

I also found this video on You Tube that demonstrates how a teacher can assess a student individually. Although this would take more time, It is also extremely important. A running record is one example that is discussed in the video.

Learning Environment/CSEL Contiuum

In order to create a learning environment that is conducive to learning, I would make sure that my classroom was very inviting and warm. I believe that in order to learn, students have to feel comfortable in their learning environment. I would want my students to feel that they could share with their peers and work together effectively. I would also make sure that I, as a teacher, did everything I could to promote academic success for my students. I want my students to enjoy learning and I would encourage them to reach their full potential constantly. I think that a conducive learning environment also has to be neat, colorful, and visually stimulating. I would  cover the walls in my classroom with helpful charts and posters that the students could reference when needed, and have tons of books for them to read.



The case study that I am working with for my CSEL is the one about Lisa, a third grade student who is having trouble working in a cooperative learning group. In order to deal with the misbehavior in this case, I would first try to identify the source of Lisa's behavior. I would look back and see if Lisa misbehaved before this particular small group activity. I would also take into consideration what I know about Lisa's home environment and community. A student's life at home could play a big role in how they behave at school and how they interact with other students. It can also be a distraction and hinder their ability to learn.

In order to begin the process of restoring the classroom environment and ensuring that the other students in Lisa's cooperative learning group can complete the project they are assigned, I would pull Lisa aside and address her behavior. I would remind her of the purpose of the cooperative learning group and let her know that I am disappointed in her behavior. I would also let Lisa know that her behavior has a negative impact on the other students. I would ask Lisa why she has been misbehaving. I would let her know that this discussion should be considered as a warning and that I expect her behavior to improve.

If Lisa's behavior does not improve, I might remove her from the cooperative learning group so that the other students can at least complete the assignment. I would give Lisa a task to do on her own in the meantime. Depending on how Lisa adapts to this new arrangement, I may send a note home to her parents and set up a conference to discuss Lisa's behavior and/or enforce some disciplinary action.

My goal in this situation would be not only to understand why Lisa is misbehaving, but to use that information to work with Lisa and get her to a place where she can enjoy learning and working with others.

I found this article, "Parental Perceptions of Cooperative Learning," very interesting. I think that parental influence can impact a student's behavior greatly so it was nice to see that so many parents supported cooperative learning in this study.

PLE Post: Chapter 11 - Motivation

After our discussion in class today, I believe that the theories that are most helpful and instructive for me are the expectancy vs. value theory and goal theory.

The expectancy vs. value theory is very important to understand because it can explain what motivates an individual. When people expect that they will do well, they are more likely to succeed in reaching their goals. Also, when people place value on something because they know that it will benefit them, they are more likely to want to learn about it and/or work hard towards it. As a future educator, I could encourage my students by letting them know that they can do well and become proficient in whatever topic they are being taught. I can also show them how valuable the information they are learning is by presenting real life examples that they can relate to.

The goal theory is important to understand because when you specifically set a goal, you are innately motivated to accomplish it. I think that the difference between performance goals and learning goals is very helpful to know, especially when working with students. Performance goals are externally determined, for example doing well on a test to assess one's competence. In contrast, learning goals are internally determined, for example seeking to understand a topic in order to increase competence. If you know what a student's goals are and what drives them, you can use that information to target how to motivate them and to figure out what techniques you can use with them.

Overall, I think that motivating students to learn is a crucial aspect of a teacher's role. Knowledge of all of the theories that we discussed in this class will definitely help me in the future when I am working with students.

The following video presentation supports what we learned in class about goal theory and expectancy vs. value theory. It also shows some disadvantage of performance goals and strategies that teachers can use to motivate their students.