Reflective Journal Entry #2

Description

The focus of reading and discussion in EDAT 6115 this week was behavioral learning therapies.  It discussed principles of behavioral learning such as different reinforcers.  Students learn through our modeling as teachers.  They should set their own performances and hold them to high expectations.  Intentional teachers design instruction that shows observable actions for students to aim for.

Analysis

            Children learn many behaviors through their experiences.  Learned behaviors can be positive as well as negative.  In order for children to pick up the positive behaviors we need to provide pleasurable consequences. “Pleasurable consequences increase the frequency with which an individual engages in a behavior, whereas unpleasant consequences reduce the frequency of a behavior” (Slavin, 2012, p.119).  The more joy a child finds out of a situation the more likely they are to repeat or continue the situation. A good way to ensure that a child wants to continue is by providing a pleasurable consequence called a reinforcer.  A reinforcer is something that appeals to the child as an individual.  Not all children have the same wants.  Slavin (2012) states, “We cannot assume that a particular consequence is a reinforcer until we have evidence that it strengthens behavior for a particular individual” (p.120).  Finding what is important to the child is important in being successful.

            While there are consequences that strengthen behaviors, there are also consequences that weaken behaviors.  These consequences are called punishments. Slavin (2012) reports, “As with reinforcers, the effectiveness of a punisher cannot be assumed but must be demonstrated” (p.124).  One way to demonstrate the mistake as a teacher is to scold the child.  By scolding them you are getting onto the about something that they did that was not appropriate.  They know they are in trouble and should not repeat this behavior based on the verbal words they hear you saying. Another way to demonstrate the mistake is to remove a pleasant consequence.  Teachers may take away a student’s recess, give them silent lunch, or give them detention.

            In order for consequences to be effective, they must come within a close range of the behavior.  Slavin (2012) reports that in a classroom, “praise for a job well done that is given immediately can be a stronger reinforcer than a good grade given much later” (p.126). When you give immediate feedback students are able to connect the pleasurable consequence to the behavior.  When thinking about when students are showing a negative behavior, “you can apply the principle of immediacy of consequence by responding immediately and positively when students are not misbehaving” (Slavin, 2012, p.126).

            As teachers, there are different intervals in which we can reinforce students.  A schedule of reinforcements refers, “to the frequency with which reinforcers are given, the amount of time that elapses between opportunities for reinforcement, and the predictability of reinforcement” (Slavin, 2012, p.128).  Schedule reinforcements can be done by: fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval.  As a teacher giving a fixed ratio you might tell a child after reading quietly for 15 minutes they may go check out new books at the library. The “reinforcer is given after a fixed number of behaviors” (Slavin, 2012, p.128).  Using a variable ratio a teacher might use this reinforcer when students raise their hand.  Not every child will be called upon each time, rather “the number of behaviors required for reinforcement is unpredictable” (Slavin, 2012, p.128).  A fixed interval approach is only available at certain periods of time. An example of this might be students taking tests after a long unit. They will be reinforced by putting into the work of studying, even if it is last minute.  The last approach that teachers might use to reinforce students is variable interval.  “In a variable-interval (VI) schedule, reinforcement is available at some times but not at others, and we have no idea when a behavior will be reinforced” (Slavin, 2012, p.129).  Teachers might use this reinforcer when checking homework at random.

Reflection

            I thoroughly enjoyed reading this chapter.  Since beginning my teaching career I have been placed in many difficult situations regarding behavior.  In my four years of teaching, three of the four have been spent teaching an inclusion classroom.  I have a wide range of student abilities, as well as behaviors.  Reading this chapter meant a lot to me because it reinforced many of the ways that I already handle behavior, as well as taught me new views to think about and reasons why certain approaches work.  As a teacher if we are going to have our students be successful we need to make sure that they are involved in their learning and are motivated by intrinsic and extrinsic forces.

            A positive aspect of behavior learning is that we are teaching students how to handle consequences of their behavior, in school, just like they will have to deal with them in the real world.  Teaching them how to appropriately handle a situation and deal with the effects of it will help prepare them to be successful.  Just as importantly teaching them how working towards a reinforcer is something that can be done to work towards a self-set goal.  However, some negative aspects from a realistic stand point are how challenging it can be to transfer what makes sense on paper to what is happening in your classroom.  At times when situations like behavior escalate in the classroom many feelings as well escalate.  Educators have to make spur of the moment decisions without further escalating the behavior.  If we show students that shouting and yelling is appropriate when a situation is not going our way, they will see that modeling and believe they can do the same.  We do need to remember what psychologist theories say is best and try our best to maintain composure to enact those steps. 

            One thing that really stood out to me to remember in order to become a better teacher is to keep in mind that learned behaviors can become extinct.  At the beginning of the year I spend so much time getting my classroom procedures and rules set up with the children.  We review them often and I reward them constantly for following them as expected.  As the year goes on and we come back from break, the students begin to feel comfortable with one another and as teachers we begin to feel burnt out.  The procedures begin to weaken and the expectations are not held to such high standards.  This is the time of year when I begin to ask myself, “Why are my students acting so crazy today”?  In order to become a better teacher, I need to realize that the behaviors we spent weeks at the beginning of the year perfecting will become extinct if the reinforcers are withdrawn.  An intentional teacher should not think their students should know better, but rather continue to reinforce the wanted behavior in hopes that the rest of the students will want that same reinforcer.

            This chapter definitely confirmed my beliefs about children.  Children need to be praised. They need to know they are doing the right thing in order to know that choice should be repeated.  Pushing them out of your classroom and pawning them onto another adult did not teach them why the behavior that they exhibited is not wanted.  Students need reinforcers to give them something to work toward. If teachers always mentioned the behavior that they do not want to see that will be the behavior that is on the student’s mind. If we praise the positive behavior that we are noticing, other students will want that same praise and chose to turn their behaviors around.  Reminding students of token rewards, they can earn rather than telling them they will go to timeout puts their mind on the thing they want instead of the situation they do not want.

References

Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education

Reflective Journal Entry #1

Description
       The focus of reading and discussion in EDAT 6115 this week was on how children develop cognitively.  It discussed the way Piaget and Vygotsky viewed cognitive development.  Teacher's can better learn how to plan lessons for their students if they think about the factors that influence them in their cognitive development.  Intentional teachers use what they know about development to improve their own teaching and learning.

Analysis

            Slavin (2012) stated, “One of the first requirements of effective teaching is that you need to understand how students think and how they view the world” (p.30).  Effective teachers think about the individualized needs of their students in order to determine how to help them succeed.  Every child thinks differently and has their own schema of background knowledge from their individualized lives.  As an educator we need to keep Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories on cognitive development stages in mind.

            Piaget believed “that a child’s intellect, or cognitive ability, progresses through four distinct stages (Slavin, 2012, p.31).  Each of these stages are characterized by ages ranges, however these are generalizations and children may move through these stages at different rates.  Each range provides major accomplishments that students must meet in order to be successful in the next stage.  In the sensorimotor stage, which ranges from birth to age two, “babies and young children explore the world using their senses and motor skills” (Slavin, 2012, p.33).  In the preoperational stage, which ranges from ages two to seven, “children have greater ability to think about things and can use symbols to mentally represent objects (Massey, 2008). In the concrete operational stage, which ranges from seven to eleven, children “can form concepts, see relationships, and solve problems, but only as long as they involve objects and situations that are familiar (Slavin, 2012, p.36). Lastly in the formal operational stage, age eleven to adulthood, students can have “the ability to deal with potential or hypothetical situations; the form is now separate from the content” (Slavin, 2012, p.37).

            Vygotsky believed in two main ideas. In his first idea, “he proposed that intellectual development can be understood only in terms of the historical and cultural context children experience” (Slavin, 2012, p.41).  His second idea “he believed that development depends on the sign systems that individuals grow up with” (Slavin, 2012, p.41).  Vygotsky thought that development could be linked from other’s input.  Vygotsky believe development occurs through private speech, zone of proximal development, scaffolding, and cooperative learning.

            As long as teacher’s are aware of the cognitive development that students go through, they will be more conscious of how to plan their lessons to help their students learn best.  Understanding the factors that influence cognitive development help us be more intentional teachers. 

Reflection
       After reading this chapter, it really motivated me to better myself as an educator.  I want to make sure I am paying attention to the stages of development my students might be in and consider what they need to be successful.  My goal as a teacher is to help my students learn and grow.  In order to complete this task it is imperative that I am focusing on the way my students will interpret the information best.  I need to be intentional in my teaching and focus on what students know and what they must be able to know by the end of my lesson. I need to have clear learning target goals for my students so they also  know what they should be able to do by the end of the lesson.
       This chapter did confirm for me though that students have individual needs. I teach a workshop modeled classroom.  I meet with students individually for conferences based on their needs. I work in small groups designed from preassessment data and informal observation.  I give my students individualized attention to help them be successful. Also having students goal set to encourage their own motivation about learning is important to me in the classroom for achievement.
       Learning about how children develop cognitively has really opened my mind up to whether or not I am meeting the needs of my students in a fair manner.   Often times trying to prepare students for state mandated testing and expectations forces us to push our students beyond their cognitive abilities. Also, with all of the other expectations finding time to differentiate the needs of every child some times does not fall at the top of the list. After reading this chapter I now realize the importance of truly finding that time. We can not expect students to learn if we do not meet them at a level in which the learning makes sense to them. This looks different at different levels and with different students.
       The biggest question that continued to run through my mind while reading this chapter was how are we expecting students to perform the same on ONE test when students may be at so many different levels of development?  I understand how we must teach them in various ways to ensure individual learning, but what about state mandated assessments?  It just does not seem fair to the students and/or teachers to hold such high expectations for differentiated lessons when all students will in turn be tested the same way at the end of the quarter.  If these psychologist have proven that students develop in different ways, then why are we not testing or grouping them based on their cognitive needs.

References

Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Massey, C. (2008), Development: PreK-2. In T. L. Good (Ed.), 21^st century learning (Vol. 1, pp.73-81). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.