Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Brain Awareness Project Review
I decided to do my brain awareness project on phobias. I was interested why people are scared of certian things when they haven't had contact or participated in the fear previously. It was interesting to me that the Text would say that it is a classical conditioned fear if there was no classical stimuli to promote the fear. i decided to see how many people at the fair were actually scared of something without having a prior experience with the object creating the fear. There were some that filled out my survey that did have an experience that created classical conditioned phobia. So it can be classical conditioning if there was a stimulus to cause that to happen. More than half of the surveys were scared of things that they had no reason of why. I understand also that fear can just be an emotional stimulus caused by just having anxiety about a certain phobia. I don't know if I agree with it being genetic, but it does seem in some cases that phobias can be passed from one generation to the other. Kind of weird and does not go along with any of the things we learned in class this semester.
Social Cognitivism Case Study
1. The strategies that Mr. Corbet uses to teach his students appropriate school behavior are most consistent with which two theories/theorists that we have learned about so far this semester? Justify your response.
I think he used may strategies learned during the semester. I saw tints of constructivism in how he arranged the students in the classroom. It seems like he wanted the students to participate in discovery learning. The ones associatated with the behavior was definitely behaviorism when he applied a positive reinforcer and also a negative reinforcer. This happened when told the table how they acted and that they were ready to go, so he allowed them to go. The ones that did not go were those that received the negative reinforcement. Also when he ignored the bad behavior and showed how positive reinforcement can be negative reinforcement for others. I like how he uses reinforcement rather than punishments. He also demonstrated reciprocal causation with the reinforcements he gave. Students learned from watching the other students in the class.
2. Describe one incident in the case study that represents vicarious reinforcement. Explain your reasoning.
I think it was when the teacher went to the swings and the girl in the yellow dress had pushed someone. The girl who had watched the whole thing was going to point to the girl she had seen to it but she remembered when Mr. Corbet had shown another student not to point. She in turn closed her finger and nodded because she knew that it was not nice to point.
3. Describe one incident in the case study that represents vicarious punishment. Explain your reasoning.
I would say when he blows the whistle when a student is not doing something correct. It becomes vicarious punishment when all the rest of the students hear the whistle and think they have done something wrong. Perhaps they were doing something incorrect or maybe not, but they still feel punished by having the whistle blow only because they know someone gets punished when the whistle blows.
4. Do you think Mindy has low or high self-efficacy with regard to appropriate kindergarten behavior? Justify your response with examples from the case.
I think she has a low self-efficacy with many things pertaining to kindergarten. She demonstrates this when it tells us how she squirms in her seat when waiting for her color to be called. She is nervous how Mr. Corbet might react to the way she joins the line with the other students. She also isn't sure what recess is, but by the way the other students are acting she thinks it must be good. Only by seeing how the other students reactions did she understand it for herself. She has no idea what it means to raise a hand to ask a question. She questions what a boy is trying to touch in the air when he is raising his hand. Mindy really knows very little and without seeing the rest of the class she would have a hard time understanding what to do.
I think he used may strategies learned during the semester. I saw tints of constructivism in how he arranged the students in the classroom. It seems like he wanted the students to participate in discovery learning. The ones associatated with the behavior was definitely behaviorism when he applied a positive reinforcer and also a negative reinforcer. This happened when told the table how they acted and that they were ready to go, so he allowed them to go. The ones that did not go were those that received the negative reinforcement. Also when he ignored the bad behavior and showed how positive reinforcement can be negative reinforcement for others. I like how he uses reinforcement rather than punishments. He also demonstrated reciprocal causation with the reinforcements he gave. Students learned from watching the other students in the class.
2. Describe one incident in the case study that represents vicarious reinforcement. Explain your reasoning.
I think it was when the teacher went to the swings and the girl in the yellow dress had pushed someone. The girl who had watched the whole thing was going to point to the girl she had seen to it but she remembered when Mr. Corbet had shown another student not to point. She in turn closed her finger and nodded because she knew that it was not nice to point.
3. Describe one incident in the case study that represents vicarious punishment. Explain your reasoning.
I would say when he blows the whistle when a student is not doing something correct. It becomes vicarious punishment when all the rest of the students hear the whistle and think they have done something wrong. Perhaps they were doing something incorrect or maybe not, but they still feel punished by having the whistle blow only because they know someone gets punished when the whistle blows.
4. Do you think Mindy has low or high self-efficacy with regard to appropriate kindergarten behavior? Justify your response with examples from the case.
I think she has a low self-efficacy with many things pertaining to kindergarten. She demonstrates this when it tells us how she squirms in her seat when waiting for her color to be called. She is nervous how Mr. Corbet might react to the way she joins the line with the other students. She also isn't sure what recess is, but by the way the other students are acting she thinks it must be good. Only by seeing how the other students reactions did she understand it for herself. She has no idea what it means to raise a hand to ask a question. She questions what a boy is trying to touch in the air when he is raising his hand. Mindy really knows very little and without seeing the rest of the class she would have a hard time understanding what to do.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Behaviorism Case Study
1. Is Haley's fear of men most likely due to classical or operant conditioning? Justify your response (yes, it will all be hypothetical as we do not have enough information in this case) using terminology, definitions, and examples.
I would say classic conditioning because of issues that have happened in her life in the past. Say she has had a father pass away and she saw the incident in which he died. Because of this incident she views all men as scary because of the way she saw her father die. It was scary to her and that is what she does not want to see anything like this again. She is generalizing men to her father and his pain and how it made her feel. She may not fear men for being men, but because her father was a man and she sees every man like she last saw her father.
2. How might you explain Meredith's aggressive behaviors from the perspective of operant conditioning?
She may see her mother as being a push over and too nice. At home a man or some other person may have taken advantage of Meredith's mother while Meredith was watching the whole thing. In response to this the mother said " Meridith there is no reason anyone should treat you like this, never let anyone take advantage of you!" The discrimination we are seeing here is that Meredith is everyone taking advantage of her in any instance so in return she does not let her guard down to any one. She chooses to be mean and aggressive to show she can and will not be taken advantage of.
3. What strategies from Behavioral theory might a teacher use in working with Haley? Be specific and describe how each strategy could be used.
I think that Haley needs some kind of cueing to help her see that what she is doing is not acceptable. She may not receive anything that represents shaping at home and she thinks that everything is acceptable and that consequences are few. By cueing her into the rules and using reinforcement to do so she will see eventually that it is not an acceptable behavior in the classroom. At that pint there can be a contingency contract to help her stay focused on the acceptable behaviors in school.
4. What strategies from Behavioral theory might a teacher use in working with Meredith? Be specific and describe how each strategy could be used.
Fading may be an option with Meredith, she is not wanting to be taken advantage of and shows she is the tough guy so that she won't have the opportunity to be taken advantage of. She does not want to feel vulnerable to anyone. This will be hard in her situation, but by using the Premack Principle she can start to see that reinforcers are not being applied when she does these things. It is even deeper with her though, she needs to feel that she is trusted and that she is not vulnerable. We might try applied behavior analyse to help her modify the behavior she is demonstrating to different behavior that may deal with never being taken advantage of. When she sees that there are better ways of dealing with her vulnerability, she will be able to see that the actions she has been doing are incorrect. We would need to help her see that by just having a good self esteem she will not be taken advantage of. This is a difficult case and is very delicate in finding the way to head off her emotions that may be causing the behavior.
I would say classic conditioning because of issues that have happened in her life in the past. Say she has had a father pass away and she saw the incident in which he died. Because of this incident she views all men as scary because of the way she saw her father die. It was scary to her and that is what she does not want to see anything like this again. She is generalizing men to her father and his pain and how it made her feel. She may not fear men for being men, but because her father was a man and she sees every man like she last saw her father.
2. How might you explain Meredith's aggressive behaviors from the perspective of operant conditioning?
She may see her mother as being a push over and too nice. At home a man or some other person may have taken advantage of Meredith's mother while Meredith was watching the whole thing. In response to this the mother said " Meridith there is no reason anyone should treat you like this, never let anyone take advantage of you!" The discrimination we are seeing here is that Meredith is everyone taking advantage of her in any instance so in return she does not let her guard down to any one. She chooses to be mean and aggressive to show she can and will not be taken advantage of.
3. What strategies from Behavioral theory might a teacher use in working with Haley? Be specific and describe how each strategy could be used.
I think that Haley needs some kind of cueing to help her see that what she is doing is not acceptable. She may not receive anything that represents shaping at home and she thinks that everything is acceptable and that consequences are few. By cueing her into the rules and using reinforcement to do so she will see eventually that it is not an acceptable behavior in the classroom. At that pint there can be a contingency contract to help her stay focused on the acceptable behaviors in school.
4. What strategies from Behavioral theory might a teacher use in working with Meredith? Be specific and describe how each strategy could be used.
Fading may be an option with Meredith, she is not wanting to be taken advantage of and shows she is the tough guy so that she won't have the opportunity to be taken advantage of. She does not want to feel vulnerable to anyone. This will be hard in her situation, but by using the Premack Principle she can start to see that reinforcers are not being applied when she does these things. It is even deeper with her though, she needs to feel that she is trusted and that she is not vulnerable. We might try applied behavior analyse to help her modify the behavior she is demonstrating to different behavior that may deal with never being taken advantage of. When she sees that there are better ways of dealing with her vulnerability, she will be able to see that the actions she has been doing are incorrect. We would need to help her see that by just having a good self esteem she will not be taken advantage of. This is a difficult case and is very delicate in finding the way to head off her emotions that may be causing the behavior.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Course Contract Review #3
What are you doing well?
I believe I am trying hard to get the assignments done and in on time. I think I am learning to enjoy the class time, even with the long class times. I am trying to use higher order thinking to connect what is being taught with real life, or my future teaching abilities. I feel I do the work the best that I can and that I put a lot of thought into all that I do.
What are you not doing well?
I feel I am not doing as well in the class because of the tests. I seem to do better on the home tests, but the tests at the testing center was difficult to me. I think I need to continue on being motivated for each test. I need to really learn the material and not do so much cramming for each test.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals?
Yes, I think I am studying hard to make the goal I have set. I want to just learn the material and not study for each exam to get by; I want to use what I am learning in my career as a teacher sometime in the future. I feel I am doing what I told myself I needed to do to achieve and learn.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals.
I still feel I need to organize my school better. Although I have a good understanding of what I need to be doing, I am using my memory more than the notes I should be taking. I am also having difficulty in applying what I am learning and making it real for my life. I think that will come with experience, as I obtain a job teaching and see how students are affected in their lives.
How is your motivation? Are you focusing on mastery or performance goals? Does anything need to change?
I think I already answered this question. I think it is good for the mastery goals. It is easier for me to be motivated because school is my life now and that mastery goal is to learn how to be a great teacher. I think I am learning a lot so far. I just need to work longer on test preparation and better retention.
I believe I am trying hard to get the assignments done and in on time. I think I am learning to enjoy the class time, even with the long class times. I am trying to use higher order thinking to connect what is being taught with real life, or my future teaching abilities. I feel I do the work the best that I can and that I put a lot of thought into all that I do.
What are you not doing well?
I feel I am not doing as well in the class because of the tests. I seem to do better on the home tests, but the tests at the testing center was difficult to me. I think I need to continue on being motivated for each test. I need to really learn the material and not do so much cramming for each test.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals?
Yes, I think I am studying hard to make the goal I have set. I want to just learn the material and not study for each exam to get by; I want to use what I am learning in my career as a teacher sometime in the future. I feel I am doing what I told myself I needed to do to achieve and learn.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals.
I still feel I need to organize my school better. Although I have a good understanding of what I need to be doing, I am using my memory more than the notes I should be taking. I am also having difficulty in applying what I am learning and making it real for my life. I think that will come with experience, as I obtain a job teaching and see how students are affected in their lives.
How is your motivation? Are you focusing on mastery or performance goals? Does anything need to change?
I think I already answered this question. I think it is good for the mastery goals. It is easier for me to be motivated because school is my life now and that mastery goal is to learn how to be a great teacher. I think I am learning a lot so far. I just need to work longer on test preparation and better retention.
Constructivism Case Study Analysis
1. Describe two similarities between the traditional lesson and the constructivist one as described above. What are two differences?
There were similarities with the measurements. Both groups used a single component such as a yard stick or a foot or hand and used repetition to obtain a desired length. Another similar aspect of finding the measurements was that the students were excited to figure it out. Differences ranged from the amount of time it took to come up with the results to a decision making process that was eventually made by the students. They were able to study it and use discovery learning along with problem solving skills. The traditional method had no problem solving skills, it only used counting to come up with the answer.
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.
Benefits are better learning and more understanding along with higher order thinking. Students made their own decisions, the first approach gave the students the method of achieving the goal, which the teacher provided. The constructivist approach showed a great deal of organization between students ideas. During this time the students actually grasped an understanding of measurement and why we need the same tool for all measurement. It was a real life experience to them in learning. The constructivist approach was way too long for a simple exercise of measurement. It took three days for the students to come up with the answer, opposed to one hour. Teacher should have also intervened with some suggestions to keep the students ideas on track. The teacher mentioned she thought they were headed in the direction she wanted them to go, but they decided to go a different route, she should have guided them a little better in those thought processes. I believe that hands on learning is a great method of teaching, it is even better when the students are involved in the decision making processes. I think they will retain more information in this technique because the pathways are being created and distributed in the same learning process.
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 involves the students and places them in a real life situation. The students learned that each hand and foot was different so they would need to come up with a different method to show the king. They understood and demonstrated critical thinking when they thought of how someone else would take the information and how they might process it. In doing this they realized they needed to modify their methods. I would say critical thinking is; thinking with regards to someone Else's views rather than yourself as the single problem solver.
4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Why or why not?
I would agree that it is a authentic activity because the students made it real. It was a situation at first, but because of the higher order thinking involved they made it their own and it became authentic to them as a group. It could have played out differently if the task didn't go as planned and I don't think the teacher planned it to be that way at first.
There were similarities with the measurements. Both groups used a single component such as a yard stick or a foot or hand and used repetition to obtain a desired length. Another similar aspect of finding the measurements was that the students were excited to figure it out. Differences ranged from the amount of time it took to come up with the results to a decision making process that was eventually made by the students. They were able to study it and use discovery learning along with problem solving skills. The traditional method had no problem solving skills, it only used counting to come up with the answer.
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.
Benefits are better learning and more understanding along with higher order thinking. Students made their own decisions, the first approach gave the students the method of achieving the goal, which the teacher provided. The constructivist approach showed a great deal of organization between students ideas. During this time the students actually grasped an understanding of measurement and why we need the same tool for all measurement. It was a real life experience to them in learning. The constructivist approach was way too long for a simple exercise of measurement. It took three days for the students to come up with the answer, opposed to one hour. Teacher should have also intervened with some suggestions to keep the students ideas on track. The teacher mentioned she thought they were headed in the direction she wanted them to go, but they decided to go a different route, she should have guided them a little better in those thought processes. I believe that hands on learning is a great method of teaching, it is even better when the students are involved in the decision making processes. I think they will retain more information in this technique because the pathways are being created and distributed in the same learning process.
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 involves the students and places them in a real life situation. The students learned that each hand and foot was different so they would need to come up with a different method to show the king. They understood and demonstrated critical thinking when they thought of how someone else would take the information and how they might process it. In doing this they realized they needed to modify their methods. I would say critical thinking is; thinking with regards to someone Else's views rather than yourself as the single problem solver.
4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Why or why not?
I would agree that it is a authentic activity because the students made it real. It was a situation at first, but because of the higher order thinking involved they made it their own and it became authentic to them as a group. It could have played out differently if the task didn't go as planned and I don't think the teacher planned it to be that way at first.
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