Barb Retenbach Reflection

    This was a very eye opening presentation into autism. From this presentation I realized that often times the most important thing a teacher can do is to sit with a child who has autism and just be there. The teachers sheer presence and getting to know the student can give you so much insight into their world. This goes along with the learning from those that we serve as Louis mentioned. It also opened my eyes to the term autism spectrum disorder. It is incredible how much Barb has to say and how the world of typing has opened up her world.

     The biggest thing I am taking away from the talk is that the world is better off with autism. People who have learning disabilities like autism have so much to offer the world and we should not discount their talents.

These are some quick bullets of the highlights that i am taking away and will consider and use when I work with children with autism and other learning disabilities.

• Discover find out who the person is
• Allowing time to be inside their own autism where they will not be disturbed
• Keep an open mind about other forms of communication
• The autistic person should have power and responsibility of their own and they might just take it
• You don't know what your missing when you medicate things away
• Find out who they are and be that on purpose

Group Differences Forum

     I really enjoyed the group differences forum, each group brought up very interesting topics and discussion questions that caused me to think and reflect about how I would handle each situation. Although we only had one class to discuss all the various topics I thought it was ample time. We had previously discussed the topics prior to this class and it was easy to reference the past discussions. I also think it was enough time because most everyone has had other classes address theses issues before so it was not the first time for anyone to discuss these issues.

     Two of the topics that the discussion made me rethink and consider were religion in schools and children with disabilities. Religion although I have thought about it prior was talked about in a different way today.  I think it is very important to be aware and knowledgeable about the various backgrounds that are present in your classroom. I liked the idea of inviting parents into the class to share their own traditions, and I think it is important to not assume anything about a person’s religious affiliation.  We also discussed disabilities and whether it was a appropriate to try to normalize the students or to view them as just different and needing special attention. I think it is very important to treat each child individually and do what works for them and not make accommodations that are unnecessary.  

PLE Post 10

Theories in educational psychology promote the idea that language plays a critical role in cognitive development.  Examine Table 2.2 (p. 51), paying particular attention to the age range that you are interested in teaching.  Consider how you might incorporate or adapt the strategies presented for use with your own students.

Language knowledge can vary greatly when children come into kindergarten. As a teacher you might also have English language learners who might have a solid language base in their native language but not in English. This creates interesting scenarios for teachers but it is very easy for teachers to incorporate strategies to help children gain a better sense of language. One of these is through daily reading both by the teacher and the student. Having a teacher led reading for a book that might be slightly above the majority of the students current level can expose them to more complex sentence structure.

I think that the children gain the most experience by using the words through reading and writing. Having students do creative writing or construct narratives on their own helps them build sentence structure and use their knowledge base. It is also important to give constructive feedback when you notice the children using words that they did not use before as well as give corrective feedback if a child continually misuses a word. I think having a strong language base is a key for a child to be successful in school. 

PLE Post 9

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

Self-regulation is one of the most important skills that children learn in schools. This can be taught through many different strategies and adapted for each child. When children enter school they are all going to vary in their ability to self regulate, therefore it is not developmentally appropriate for each child to have the same expectations. One way self-regulation could be used in the intervention plan is to work with the child to create a goal and then have them monitor their own progress. She can monitory her progress by making tally marks every time she catches herself before acting out or misbehaving. Over a period of time she can see how she is making fewer and fewer tally marks because she is more aware of her behavior and is better able to regulate it.  This also establishes a sense of self-efficacy by seeing the progress she is making she will have a sense of pride and accomplishment. A child can gain a sense of self-efficacy by little changes such as starting off with answers they know and being called upon to share with the class, this shows them that they are smart and can share the answer with the class. A small change like this can create a more confident child who might believe they will do better and in turn they will be more likely to succeed on that task. When students gain a sense of self-efficacy they are more confident learners and in turn can help their self-regulation. Here is an article that talks about self-efficacy and how it is distinctly different from motivation in a classroom. 

PLE 8

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?

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?

I believe that there are a lot of great ideas in behaviorist theory with positive and negative rewards. I believe it is a good technique for teachers who are aware of when children can be moved to random reinforcement.  I also think that as a teacher you have to make sure that the children are not relying too much on the reinforcer because ideally you want them to instill internal motivation. 

I believe that constructivism is more of a way to think about teaching but not necessarily a classroom management tool. I believe that behaviorism is encouraging behavior that you want and discouraging behavior that you do not want. Although as continually said in class behaviorism and constructivism cannot go together I believe that they can be and that teachers often mix the two. A teacher can use behaviorism rewards such as stickers and the treasure box.  This same teacher can allow students to construct their own knowledge when they are learning about various math and science techniques.

This article looks at the behaviorist techniques that can be applied to a classroom such as reinforcements and the teacher as a researcher. I chose this article specifically because of how they view the teacher as a researcher, which is also a very constructivist view. I personally used this technique during my practicum as I took very detailed anecdotes of the children and their interests and based of that created a unit that I thought they would enjoy from my ‘research’.

PLE 7- Metacognitive Skills

Think of an activity or lesson component that explicitly teaches one or more metacognitive and one or more problem solving skills.

During any reading lesson I think a teacher can incorporate the teaching of metacognitive skills through comprehension monitoring. This can be done for an extended period of time lead by the teacher until the children are able to go through the steps on their own. For first grade children can take turns reading through a short story. The teacher can stop the children and have them monitor their process and make sure they are aware of what is going on. I would do this by stopping and then having them tell a partner what they just read and the main points, the partners would take turns telling each other throughout the story.  I would use another technique after we finished reading the story. Children would have a sheet of paper and after asking a question they would write down their answer. Then I would give possibilities and have children give a thumps up if that is what they put. Then if there were multiple children who got the answer wrong we would go back in the text and find where we can answer that question. The children would be learning how to self check and after goring through this process with the teacher they would be able to do it own their own without having to talk to a partner or write down anything.  As they grow and their awareness becomes more automatic you can begin to have them pick out relevant information by learning what information is really important what information is not necessary to the entire story.

Here is an introduction from a book that talks about reading strategies and techniques that incorporate metacognitve skills into reading comprehension. The entire book is not available on Google but the introduction provides some background information. 

Chapter 7 (post 6)

Chapter 7

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 lesson that my group chose to focus on in class was teaching time to a group of first graders. They will learn how to tell time on a digital and analog clock to the hour and half hour. 

•        The first activity we would do is create their own clocks using small paper plates and writing the numbers so the children have a better grasp of the location and the rotation of the numbers on the clock. 
•        We would then talk about the mind hand and the hour hand that are on a clock and discuss how time is read by using the term “o’clock” when referring to the hour.
•        After practicing telling time on small manipulative clocks and their hand made clock, we would practice making the time with our bodies. This would be done in groups with one person being the hour hand and another being the minute hand.
•      Children can practice telling time with a more skilled peer and then make a bridge when they believe they have shown the correct answer on their clock.
•        The final step would be to assess the children’s knowledge by doing a worksheet and the teacher walking around the classroom assessing the children’s understanding.
•        A final culminating activity would be to have the children document and create a daily schedule by drawing the time on an analog clock and representing it digitally and displaying it in the room. When transitions and activities occur children will take note and create the schedule.

When creating their own clock that will be an individual project that the children can take ownership in and will keep at their desk to refer to when they need it. A group/partner activity is creating the times with their bodies and working together to demonstrate the correct time in groups of three-four children. The children will also work together to create the daily schedule and apply the skills that they have learned over the week.

PLE 5: Memory Process

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

          Having the knowledge of how our brain retrieves memories and information is important for a teacher as we often call on our students and demand answers out of them. But a knowledgeable teacher will realize that they need to give a wait time of approximately three seconds before calling on someone to answer so that students have enough time to process the information and hen draw upon their own information.

            I think it is also important to teach about how to remember something just like it is important to reach study skills. I would do this in my classroom through modeling. It is difficult for an adult to remember some of the things that we require of children so routinely showing the children and practicing memory games and techniques. I think this can start as early as having to learn a nursery rhyme my memory in kindergarten or first grade.

This article shows how students who have teachers that demonstrate and encourage the practice of memory techniques preformed better than students whose teachers did not emphasize memory as strongly. 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1992.tb01653.x/abstract

PLE #4

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? 

One thing that is important for students to realize is that they are often in control of their own learning. This can be done my actively listening or taking notes in older grades and even doing activities such as writing down a fact you learned while a story is being read aloud in younger grades.  Students also can make connections to their prior knowledge or make sense of a difficult concept my creating their own way of thinking about it.

Although metacognition seems like a very abstract task if used correctly you can begin to make young children aware of their thought process.  It can be described through concrete examples and then as the student’s abilities grow they will not have to be as aware of their metacognition  I think the earlier that this is brought up to children the easier it will be for them to master and make sense of more difficult concepts in the future.

This is a link to an article I found particularly interesting. Many schools are now serving breakfast for their students when they arrive and I frequently see students eating on their favorite Coco puff cereal. This article makes the argument for breakfast foods that have higher protein and other sources of energy and how it can help increase their cognitive abilities during the school day.

http://ase.tufts.edu/psychology/spacelab/pubs/MahoneyEtAl.pdf

Assessment Strategies

Think of a lesson plan from your licensure area.  Knowing that assessment is an integral part of teaching, explain at least four informal and formal assessments that you will use in your lesson plan to provide you with feedback and involve the students in assessing their own learning.

The lesson that I  based the assessment on was a math lesson on using non standard forms of measurement to measure different items and the concept of estimating. This lesson was designed for the first grade.  


Informal check ins are unplanned check ins that can be easily done to give the teacher a basic idea of where the class is in understanding a given topic. It is a quick way that lets her know if I needs to explain the lesson again or if I can move on because everyone has a grasp of the concept. One way I would test informally is getting a gauge of what knowledge the children have before the lesson by having them give me a thumbs up if they have heard of it and know something about it, a sideways thumb if they have heard of it before and then a thumbs down if they have know idea what I am talking about. I would use this again during the lesson to see if by the end of the lesson they have a grasp of it. 

Another form of informal assessment that I would use would be to have a homework assignment or a in class worksheet that they would work on individually for completion. This would be 'graded' but points would not be counted off for the wrong answer it would just give me a better understanding of who has it and who needs some more work. 

When I felt that everyone had a good grasp of the information I would then give them a 'quiz' of just a couple problems for them to work out and be graded if they were correct or incorrect. This would be used as a formal assessment at the end of the math unit on measuring with nonstandard forms. 

Continuum of Responses

     Creating a learning environment that is conducive to learning begins with the teacher setting the tone for the rest of the students. This begins with the teacher and the students creating rules together that creates a positive classroom environment and does not tolerate actions such as bullying or being interruptive towards other classmates. When a teacher sets her standards high for her students and expects them to meet the standards then the students are more likely to rise to the occasion.      In the case of Lisa, after observing the group and seeing the new dynamics I would have a meeting with the group. In this meeting I would remember the essentials of preserving the students dignity, avoiding a power struggle, and checking your assumptions. I would then generate a discussion in the group about what they believe is going on in the group. I would let each child have a turn to voice their opinion and then I would also state what I saw in the group without specifically bringing attention to Lisa. I would then let them know that I would be monitoring the group more closely during the coming activities and if I saw a student or Lisa not participating I would first try to give them "the look" or approach the desk and just tap the desk or the table to let them know that I was watching.
     If the above strategies did not work I would then pull Lisa aside and have a discussion with her about her behavior and how it is not appropriate for the classroom and how everyone in the classroom must contribute to the learning environment. During the entire year I would be  incorporating self regulation into the curriculum using ideas from the responsive classroom (article below) to give students options on how to deal with their behavior. I would also work with the fellow teachers on my team to see if they have suggestions or ideas on how to address the situation.  If the behavior still does not change I would then contact Lisa's parents via telephone and ask if they have seen a change in Lisa's behavior and talk about how they might be able to address the situation with Lisa. If getting the parents involved still did not help the situation I would then go to the guidance counselor in the school and have a meeting with her about the situation. I would catch her up on what has been done and Lisa's response to the prior interventions and then see what she could do and if she has techniques that might vary than what I had originally tried. I do not think it would get to this case because I believe this situation could be taken care of in the first couple of steps with a diligent teacher that promotes a positive classroom environment. 

Article:

This is an article about the responsive classroom where it talks about how to help children care and work together in groups. It also focues on self control and the classroom community. They also have a book that is a great resource (used for another class) and a website that is great for teacher to get ideas. 

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED369531&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED369531

Motivation

Consider the theories of motivation that we discussed in class.   Which theories of motivation are most helpful and instructive for you?  How can they enhance motivation and affect your students?  

I think it is really important for teachers and educators to understand motivation. It is critical to be able to engage children and motivate them to learn and work in the classroom. I think personally it is important to know effective ways to motivate children but also the knowledge of how to encourage intrinsic motivation. Reading the story in class of a teacher who failed to realize how much children relied on homework passes shows how communication between teachers and honest feedback is very important and valuable to teachers.

I find the self-determination theory very interesting. I really like it because the teacher is really trying to build the intrinsic motivation within the student but they are still helping them by providing select extrinsic motivators.  If the teacher is not selective in what they are choosing to reward with an extrinsic motivator it could quickly turn into solely extrinsic motivation instead of trying to develop the intrinsic motivation. Young children often find things very interesting in school and if the teacher has created an environment that they will want to learn in the self-determiantion theory would be very useful. I think it is important to let the children take the lead because i have seen in my experience they will be more invested in the topic. 

Here is a blog that I found that had tips to help grow students intrinsic motivation. I found it helpful and very easy to read and it reminded me of some ways to fuel intrinsic motivation with the self-determination theory. 

http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2011/11/26/intrinsic-motivation/

Week 1

After the first class, take a moment to reflect on what was discussed. What are your personal objectives for the class? What do you want to explore deeper? What questions or concerns do you have?

I am excited t o explore the various topics in this course and hear other students point of view on different subjects. I loved getting to hear the different reasons that people wanted to be teachers. I also liked having the opportunity to reflect on why I chose this as a career. Recently I have just been trying to get through classes and sometimes lose sight of why I wanted to be a teacher. 

My personal objectives for this class are to get a better understanding of how to get children motivated, keep motivation, and create a learning environment that is conducive to all learning types and personalities. I do want to explore motivation and classroom management deeper. I do have a concern that the blogs could get overwhelming. I am a bit worried that I will not be able to keep up with them and am worried about forgetting one. My bigger concern is having to find something from an oustide source. That seems like a daunting task and very time consuming. I have had to do something similar in a prior class and I found it very difficult with certain topics to find any valuable information that did nothing but repeat the information that had already been noted.