CCR #4

I feel pretty good about the outcome of this semester. I didn't enter into the B range in any of my classes. I stayed above the B line, which was way exciting. So, whatever I did worked in that regard, but I could have made things easier on myself by studying with more than two or three people. I really enjoyed studying with 6-8 girls at the psychology study review. It helped me a ton. I have learned how to change my rote memorization comfort of studying into a deeper study that allows me to apply the information so that it actually makes sense in an application scenario. I have never been able to do that before. I was way happy when I only missed one on the multiple choice of the final exam. I need to keep studying that way, really trying to get the depth of the material, so that I can have greater enduring understanding.
I need to work out more. I was extremely tired on most occasions just because of  lack of exercise. I know if I can do that, I'll feel much better and be able to function at a high-order thinking level instead of the zombie mode I sometimes slip into. Eating healthier is also a huge part of feeling well mentally, emotionally, and physically, so that is something tangible I can improve on for next semester.
Another thing I can work on for the next semester of the teaching program will be to maintain regular study habits, rather than massive cram/study sessions that wipe me out.
Overall, I am burnt out, but I feel great about the semester. I made really good friends from psychology study groups that will probably remain some of my closest friends for a long time. I was able to have good experiences this semester that I believe have conditioned my belief even further that the teaching program is the program for me, the elementary education is the profession for me, and UVU is the University where I can achieve the positive future I see ahead of me.

Personal Learning Theory

• Piaget's Cognitive Development: Environment. schemas, assimilation(use old info to understand new), accommodation(change old to understand new), equilibrium, and disequilibrium. Object Permanence. Sensorimotor: child eats and feels and touches and smells everything. 0-2 years. Depend solely on sensory and motor for thinking skills. Preoperational: 2-7 years. Rely solely on perception more than logic. Tall glass appears appears to have more liquid than when it is poured into a short glass. Concrete operational: 7-11 years. Concrete Operational: 7-11 years. Classification. Animism and egocentrism. Use mental operations to solve concrete problems. Formal operational: 11+ years. Ability to judge inconsistency. All fish live in a tree. A molish lives in the ocean. Therefore a molish is not a fish. Individual constructivist view of learning. Exploration of their environment and others constructs their knowledge of the world. Questioning of the validity of the way he conducted his experiments and what tools he used and how many to test the children. Underestimated young children and overestimated older students'--challenged the validity of the stages. Interaction with peers. Derived from observation. 
• Vygotsky's Cognitive Development: (social constructivism)Culture and experience have a role in cognitive development because it creates their individual schemas. The role of social interaction-- social interactions do not just influence cognitive development, but rather they create individual schemas and thinking processes. Internalizations. Role of Language. Zone of Proximal Development(doing it WITH someone else). Scaffolding. Guided Participation. Apprenticeship. Mediation. Inner Speech and Self Talk.  Big into language and verbal interactions. Interaction with adults. Derived from observation
• Erikson's Psychosocial Development: 1. Trust vs. Mistrust. Birth - 1 year 2. Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt. 1-3  years 3. Initiative vs. Guilt. 3-6 years 4. Industry vs. Inferiority. 6-12 years. 5. Identity vs. Role Confusion. Adolescence. 6. Intimacy vs Isolation. Early adulthood. 7. Generativity vs. Stagnation. Middle adulthood.  8. Integrity vs. Despair. Late Adulthood. Failed to consider the role of culture in shaping individuals personal development. 
• Kohlberg's Moral Development: Move from one stage to the next only after having experienced disequilibrium. Moral internalization. Preconventional Reasoning Stage(7-10)- show no internalization of moral values. Stage 1/Obedience and punishment - rules are followed because of the threat of punishment. Stage 2/ Individualism and Exchange- Best interest of the individual. Conventional Reasoning Stage(10-16)- Stage 3/Interpersonal Conformity- Rules are followed because individuals try to do what is expected of them. Stage 4/ Law and Order- Rules are followed because they are necessary to keep society's order. Postconventional Reasoning Stage- Stage 5/ Social contract- Rules are followed because individuals are bound by a social contract. Stage 6/ Universal Principles- Rules are followed when they are consistent with individuals' own ethical principles.  
• Goleman's Emotional Intelligence- 5 aspects. Marshmallow boy. Delay of gratification is correlated with success and happiness in life. 1. Recognizing one's own emotions. 2. Regulating one's own emotions 3. recognizing others emotions. 4. handling interpersonal relationships 5. motivating one's self. 
• Information Processing- It focuses on the capabilities and composition of human memory. Model: Input goes into sensory register and is either lost or if it is given attention, it goes to the working short-term memory. Then it is either lost or with storing and encoding goes into long-term memory. Then it is either lost or it is retrieved back into working memory again. Semantic/Declaritive=facts, Episodic= personal experience, Procedural= how to or steps. Metacognition- knowing about knowing. Chunking, dual processing(doing visual and auditory), mnemonics, advanced organizers. 
• Knowledge Construction and Higher-order thinking- Bloom's Taxonomy- Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation. Critical thinking skills, being able to take the info and concepts and apply it. 
• Behaviorism- Theory of animal and human learning that only focuses on objectively observable behaviors and discounts mental activities. Consists only of acquiring new behaviors. Classic Conditioning- occurs when a natural reflex responds to a stimulus. Dog salivating for food and bell. Operant Conditioning- Response to a stimulus is reinforced. // 1. learning only occurs if there is a change in observable behavior resulting from a person's experience. 2. Behavioral principles are very effective for promoting classroom management, behavior, skills, or self-regulation or for reducing inappropriate behaviors. 3. Students' behaviors can be shaped through the use of various types of reinforcement and maintained through reinforcement and cueing. 4. Certain behaviorist techniques, such as Applied Behavior Analysis, are particularly effective for children with autism and other disorders that impact behavior. 
• Social Cognitivism- Focuses on learning that is the result of observing others or observing the consequences of the behaviors of others. Reciprocal Causation Model: (Bandura) the interrelationship between students' environment, their personal beliefs, and their behavior. 
• Group and Individual Differences- Culture- knowledge, attitudes, values, and behaviors that characterize a group of people. Schema or blueprint that guides the thinking and behavior of a group. Cultural mismatch, IRE cycle(initiate, respond, evaluate), Wait time, Worldview, cultural lens, socioeconomic status, resilience-to not only survive but thrive- Students at risk, gender, and gender differences. 
• Motivation- The psychological process that directs and sustains students behavior towards learning. Extrinsic and Intrinsic. Interest theory: the key to motivating students is doing activities aligned with their personal interests. Dispositional interest: stable. Situational interest: spontaneous and activated by the environment. 
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What? The results of the quiz were the following: B=47, C=48, H=45. I favored the C theory. I found this to be right on because when I was studying Vygotsky this time around, I realized that I supported the constructivist theory most and that it was the social constructivism that I most closely felt like I aligned well with. My review of each of the theories was done above. 


So What? I believe strongly that people learn from experience. They use prior experience to learn ,and when making positive transfers, prior experience is the foundation of a successful learning process. I also believe culture has a great deal to do with the outcomes of learning and the styles in which enduring understanding is achieved. I believe that the physical environment adds to their experience, and as they gain a positive experience through their environment of learning, they are able to make correct learning patterns that send information to the long term memory, ready for recall. 


Now What? 
(1) My theory can transfer into the following teaching strategies: Call each student by their name in order to add to the positive and personal experience in the classroom. Have an organized and welcoming classroom set up to create a positive atmosphere. Understand how different cultures, genders, and types of students learn best. Use discovery learning and RAD teaching to draw new conclusions from new experiences that can be run by the students' prior knowledge and schemas. (2) The next steps I need to take in learning how to better run my personal learning theory in the classroom is to make a list and sort of cheat sheet for myself to glance at while running the classroom so that I can remember the things I haven't had as much practice with. I will need to study many more strategies to allow students the opportunity of learning through apprenticeship and guidance. I need to remember how to scaffold and allow them opportunities to develop a working capability in their ZPD with other students. As there is a social, emotional, and physical unity in the classroom, there will be synergy and high efficacy of many tasks in the classroom. As the students exercise many different methods of learning, they will have a greater chance of finding high self-efficacy and be able to share their competency with their peers. Through positive experience and an all-welcoming cultural classroom, the students should be able to really progress throughout the year. 

Study: Students more stressed now than in depression

Psychology Extra Credit

What?

Based off of a survey done in 2007 to 77576 high school and college students, the comparison was made to the depression, anxiety, and stress in today's young adults to the depression, anxiety, and stress with young adults during the depression. Studies showed that the psychological symptoms the survey prompted answers for proved that in most cases, those psychological disorders that contain high stress were five times worse than those cases in the late 1930's. There were some disorders, including hypomania, depressioin, and psychopathic deviation that were six times worse than in 1938. 

Hypomania is a disorder related to high anxiety and unrealistic optimism. The average for young adults to have this disorder in 1938 was 5% and now it is 31%. 

Experts have concluded from this 2007 survey that psychological stresses, anxieties, depressions, and tensions may be based off of several factors. Some reasons that were mentioned in the article included the following: living in a very fast paced world, the focus of popular culture on impossible external features, heightened awareness of mental services, growing interest in being rich, overprotective parents not letting their children problem solve, increased materialism, and rising divorce rates.

So What?

So, what do we do with the information of all these rising factors in the world that are adding to the percentage of those who suffer from depression, anxiety, or high stress? One other reason given in the article for the increase in these psychological states was that children in this generation have grown up with the mindset, "You can do anything!", and it has created false expectations. The way must be there for the child to accomplish what they wish to succeed at. Unless the opportunity is provided for the child to find his/her passions, then they will not be able to do the 'anything' that was meant by this statement. The other half of the statement I often heard growing up was that you could do anything.... that you put your mind to. I always wanted to be a tight rope walker. From the time I was 3 until I was 10 and realized that I was neither skinny enough or in a situation where I could become a part of a circus. I could not do 'anything.' I could not break the laws of gravity and fly. I could not turn my bike into Rumplestiltzkin's spinning wheel of gold. There were plenty of 'anythings' I found out early on that I could not do. Luckily for me, I did not become depressed or discouraged, but I just moved on. Other cases, 6 times the cases than in the time of the great depression, are not so lucky. Some of it may just be for attention or because the ability to diagnose psychological disorders has improved. What ever the case may be, teachers can play a role in improving this sad statistic in their own classroom by being aware and learning ways to demote this kind of unreal optimism that promotes false expectations. 

Now What?

Teachers play a large role in introducing the kind of motivation that children stick with as they grow throughout their lives. If their motivation to be well behaved is internal, than they will have better chances of controlling their success and personal mental wellness. If, on the other hand, the student learns motivation only through avoiding punishment or seeking rewards, the motivation will be external and not lasting. Besides just the motivation that is introduced to the students in the classroom, there are a plethora of other ideals taught/facilitated in the classroom that allow a person to live without these psychological downers. Some of these principles are the following: realistic career opportunities with realistic ways to achieve the education needed, planning goals and accomplishing them, taking pride and joy in personal success and individuality, social and moral reasoning skills, facilitation of activities that promote problem solving skills and in turn promote confidence, help with passing through Kohlberg's stages, and creatively designed lesson plans that encourage students to discover talents and develop passions. A successful teacher will be able to provide a safety in her class that may or may not exist in the home. It is true that a teacher cannot change what goes on at home, but it is true that the teacher can create multiple opportunities for the success of the individual so that they are better emotionally, physically, and mentally equipped to handle the stresses at home or in the world in general.

Social Cognitivism Case Study - Elementary

Questions:

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.
Mr. Corbet most closely associated with Bandura's theory by using reinforcement techniques to facilitate observational learning. Mr. Corbet recognized students to the entire class for walking instead of running.  He also used the whistle as a punishment that other students tend to want to avoid, though it is unclear of the reason for the blowing of the whistle to Mindy now, it will become most likely more clear with future observance. By coming right over to Jonathan when he raised his hand, and not immediately heeding to Mindy's way of getting his attention by going up to him, he reinforced the behavior of raising your hand when you would like the teacher to respond. All of these behaviors can be observed by the students, like Mindy, so they can adapt to the environment and the expectations therein.

2. Describe one incident in the case study that represents vicarious reinforcement.
 Mindy remembered to walk while lining up for recess because one of the students and the entire yellow table was positively recognized for their obedient walking skills.
Mindy's obedience to walking occurred because she imitated the behavior of someone who had been reinforced for that behavior.

3. Describe one incident in the case study that represents vicarious punishment.
When Mr. Corbet held Jonathan's hand and told him not to point because it wasn't nice, he was punished for that particular behavior, not so much the tattling part. Mindy picked up on not pointing because she experienced the tendency not to repeat behaviors that she observed others being punished for. Before she tattled on the girl in the yellow dress, she remembered not to point her finger at her.

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 Mindy has high self-efficacy of being able to adapt to a new situation by following the lead of others and the reinforcers being recognized or punished around her. I think Mindy showed high self-efficacy in adapting to a new environment by using the childrens excited emotions about recess to understand that it was a good thing, and she used the body language of the other students poor emotions to conclude the whistle was not a good thing.

Behaviorism.

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.

Haley's fear of men could most likely be due to classical conditioning. According to the text, "When stimuli produce negative emotional responses, they are called aversive stimuli." The neutral stimuli in Haley's case could have been all males. Assuming she had a very negative experience with one male, like her father, her fearful, traumatizing, negatively emotional experience with that one male created an aversive stimuli that was then generalized to all males. This generalization could explain why she refused to go to violin lessons with the male teacher. She paired those negative automatic responses to new similar stimuli.

2. How might you explain Meredith's aggressive behaviors from the perspective of operant conditioning?

According to the text, "behavior is controlled by its consequences; therefore operant conditioning is learning in which behavior changes in frequency or duration as the result of a consequence." Because Meredith had no undesirable consequence for her behavior, she continued it. The consequence she received was that she always got what she wanted after hitting or hurting the other person involved in each situation. "When consequences are rewarding, the likelihood that the organism will repeat the behavior in the future increases." Meredith will continue to repeat the behavior as she has because the rewards fulfill what she was originally setting out to do. She originally set out to wear rock star clothes to school, and when her mother opposed, she still wanted to wear them, so she hit her and was instantly rewarded with her desire being met. Also, Haley is helping in this conditioning process because every time Meredith wants something from Haley, she just pokes her or hurts her, and Meredith's reward is always satisfying what she originally desired.

3. What strategies from Behavioral theory might a teacher use in working with Haley? Be specific and describe how each strategy could be used.

Some behavioral strategies the teacher might use with Haley could be the following:

A Contingency Contract that is solely between the teacher and Haley. This will give her responsibility for her own actions and no one elses. This might help her be more aware of herself and have better self-esteem and maybe even self-efficacy in behaving well in the classroom or not being swayed by others desires.

Use intermittent reinforcement to allow Haley to come up with things that she likes to do. Previous to this type of reinforcement, there would need to be noticed by the teacher an activity or subject that Haley has high self-efficacy in and really enjoys doing. Then, after behaving well, according to the contingency contract, she would be allotted the thing that she personally enjoys doing the most. This may help her develop a more accurate sense of self.

A self-evaluating journal may be a great daily tool to help Haley recognize her behavior and improve.

She would need further help from maybe the school psychologist or counselors for the fear she has of men.

4. What strategies from Behavioral theory might a teacher use in working with Meredith? Be specific and describe how each strategy could be used.

Removal Punishment may be a good tool to use with Meredith if the teacher can find something Meredith really enjoys doing. If Meredith enjoys the token economy, her privileges of participating may be removed until she resumes a desirable behavior that would be clearly understood to Meredith from the teacher by a contract.

Logical Consequences may be the best way to help Meredith's behavior at school. When she wears inappropriate clothing to school that does not abide by the dress code, then she must change into clothes provided by the school that do agree with the dress code standards. If she is pushing or shoving children at recess, than she is no longer able to play with children at recess. If she is pushing Haley around and being bossy, than she can have her desk moved away from Haley and not be assigned to any of the same groups as Haley. I think these logical consequences will most likely be effective in the classroom because there will be a negative consequence to match the negative behavior. There will be a clear cause and effect relationship she will better be able to see.

Constructivism Case Study Analysis

Questions:

1. Describe two similarities between the traditional lesson and the constructivist one as described above.

a) They both used familiar visual lengths to understand the length of their objects. The traditional approach used a measured length of the hallway to visualize how long the whale was. The constructivist used the familiar lengths found in different parts of the human body and the whole human body.

b) Both teachers transitioned to their measuring activities with the students interest and attention.

What are two differences?

a) The traditional approach started with a stated fact about whales (whales are 100 ft. long). The constructivist approach started with a problem (given by an edict on a scroll).
b) The traditional approach jumped to the obvious conclusion of how to measure the length of a whale by giving the students directions to use a yard stick. The constructivist approach allowed the students to come up with whatever ways they thought would work to measure the ship to solve the problem set forth by the King. They experimented with each idea and discovered the pros and cons to each and their effectiveness in solving the dilemma with the King's condition.
2. What are two benefits of the constructivist approach as described above?

a) The students activated their minds to come up with ways to solve a problem. They were critically thinking.

b) The students were able to use a few different approaches and compare and contrast the successes of each and the differences between them all. They also learned the relationships between cause and effect, which is another critical thinking skill.

What are two drawbacks of the constructivist approach as described above?

a) It took a lot longer to learn the math skill of measuring and even went through the entire next day.

b) Some students may have been bored, knowing the answer all along, like the girl with the ruler in her hand could have been.

In your opinion, are the benefits worth the costs? Yes, the benefits are worth the costs because they are discovering the answer, which will stick with them. This method will allow them to use the skill they learned in any problem solving situation they face later on that allows it to be a solution option. One cost is the teacher having to spend more time allowing them to come up with the answers and the wait time to the questions that promote their critical thinking skills. Another cost would be that the students are apt to misconceptions if the ideas aren't proven in a way that the students understand why that couldn't work and why something else works better. There would have to be many examples provided, but it would be worth it to the students who successfully experimented with measuring by coming up with the best solution.

3. How does the constructivist lesson described above promote critical thinking?

Critical Thinking: The process of systematically examining available information and coming up with conclusions that are based on evidence.

Examples of Critical Thinking:

They came up with multiple options to measure the ship, which promoted critical thinking because they were curious how each of their ideas would work out. Tom, Mark, and Sue are guaranteed not to forget the material they discovered and explored with this activity.

The simple fact that the class was silent for a long wait time after the question proves that the problem and question probed at their critical thinking abilities.

4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Yes, the constructivist activity would be considered an authentic activity because it involves problem solving and critical thinking. The children are learning through approaching a problem hands on, coming up with ideas and testing them out with trial and error, and understanding their ideas full capacity in the situation with cause and effect. Real life is filled with constant problems that must be solved in either a moments notice, a couple hours, weeks, or in a daily routine. Helping to develop the skills to face real life problems is an authentic way to learn, rather than multiple choice questions that are never provided in the real world.

Course Contract Review

1. What are you doing well? I am putting a lot of time into studying for the exams. I am completing all my assignments on time. I am participating in class. I am on time to class and I have no absences. I am making and keeping good relationships with family, friends, and new friends. I am doing well, emotionally and spiritually. I am moving forward with big decisions in my life rather than being at the stagnant stage I was before.
2. What are you not doing well? I am struggling with doing all the assigned reading before the class where we discuss that material. I am not eating that well or working out that often. I am not getting all the sleep I need during the week. I haven't been as prompt with work lately because of all the study groups and homework projects.
3. Are you making sufficient progress on your goals? I have A's or A-'s in all my classes, which is great. I am tired, but I'm not slacking. I am continually adding to individual class folders and notebooks the important ideas and thoughts I can use in the future.
4. List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals. I need to read, read, read in order to do better on the exams, understand the material in class and outside of class, and be able to answer application problems/apply what I'm learning. I need to exercise a reasonable amount every week (three times). I need to make good use of my time and eat healthy. I have been trying to finish term assignments before field so that I don't have to be so stressed while I am in the role of a teacher at my field work school. It is stressful now, but it will be great to focus on the kids and my teaching responsibility during field.
5. How is your motivation? My motivation isn't focused on my ultimate goal, but the A's are my target in sight. It is only because it is drawing closer to field and classes and work have been very time consuming and draining that I have to rely on the performance goals. But I think that's why I set the performance goals... for times when I was too tired or too caught up to remember the deep intrinsic reason/motivation behind it all. Reaching those performance goals will keep me on track to obtaining my mastery goals, even if it is dragging me along for a little while.
6. Are you focusing on mastery or performance goals? I am focusing more on the performance goals at this moment because I am tired. But my overall mindset when I get down to the reasons why I am set on completing my assignments on time and attending all my classes is really a mastery goal of becoming an excellently prepared teacher.
7. Does anything need to change? Yes, there are always things I should change if I really want to be progressing. I could be getting better sleep, getting ready in the mornings instead of rolling out of bed and going to school looking like a zombie, and I need to change the negativity that has crept up on me lately with my social life and school work. If I can change my attitude to be more positive, things will run a lot more smooth.