M. Nelson - Ed Psych, EDSC 3000

Identify the learning theory (modern constructivism, information processing, social learning theory, behaviorism) that will most heavily influence your lesson (or most heavily influenced your lesson looking back). Use and  underline vocabulary  from the theory to describe how you plan to implement the theory in your lesson (or how you implemented the theory in your lesson looking back), providing specific examples for each term used.  Cite research written by key theorists  (e.g. Vygotsky, Bruner, Dewey, Bandura, Atkins & Shiffrin, Skinner, etc.)  in these areas to justify your plan. Constructivism is the learning theory that most influenced my unit lesson. I used guided discovery and a complex learning environment ( problem-based learning  and  cooperative learning)  to facilitate the learning process. Rather than lecturing, I posed the question about how the Founding Fathers could unite the north and the south with a new government. "How would the Founding Fathers solve

How does the teacher work with the students' information processing systems to promote learning? For example, how does the teacher focus students' attention, help them rehearse new information, and encourage them to encode and transfer information? Evaluate the teacher's use of wait time as part of this process. Cite specific examples and b e su re to  underline the concept's vocabulary  in your response. (Use your study guide as you go!) One way I've noticed that my cooperating teacher helps encode and transfer information to long-term memory  is through repetition, but not in the traditional boring way. She uses a variety of methods through which the repetition seems to build on basic knowledge. For example, after a brief lecture, instruction, or review of reading material, she'll have the students make a list of terminology, names, or ideas that they can think of from what they just learned. She does this in different ways (games, list making, group work, e

Which of Erikson's psychosocial crises are the children in the class facing (may be more than one)? Which of Marcia's identity states seem(s) to be most prevalent? What specific  teacher behaviors  do you observe that either help or hinder the students to successfully navigate this crisis?  What more could or should be done?   Be su re to  underline the concept's vocabulary  in your response. (Use your study guide as you go!) I have recognized some visible instances of students facing psychosocial crises in the classroom. The one that is most noticeable is industry vs. inferiority . There are a few students who seems to lack the confidence to attempt some projects and assignments that are otherwise age appropriate. One specifically asks for help repeatedly, even on fairly simple tasks, and another student is missing a lot of assignments because he just hasn't done them. I haven't spoken directly to the student, but I get the impression that he is overwhelmed with

How does the teacher use modeling/observational learning? Include factors that impact learning from models in your response (attention, retention, production, motivation/reinforcement) as well as the types (live/symbolic) and characteristics (competence, power/prestige, etc.) of models used. Cite specific examples and be sure to include  underlined vocabulary  from the theory in your response. My cooprating teacher uses modeling as an effective method for classroom management. I think one of her strengths is her classroom management skills (I actually observe a couple teachers depending on which day I'm at the school, and this particular teacher has the best control of the classroom. She's very good at reinforcing positive behaviors whenever possible, which I believe has a response facilitation effect . She has a lot of class discussions that could easily become chaotic if she wasn't able to keep the students speaking in turn. She recognizes students for following the ru

Modern Constructivism: How does the teacher use modern constructivist techniques (e.g., discovery learning, inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, etc.) to promote student learning? The teacher I've been observing teaches mostly concurrent enrollment courses, but one class per week is U.S. Government. I've also spent time in the classroom next door to observe some additional U.S. Government classes, as my cooperating teacher thought it would be helpful to see a more typical class. It has been helpful to see, as the CE classes tend to have fewer students with behavior issues, IEPs, and apathy.  It is in these U.S. Government classes that I've been able to observe more Constructivism in teaching practices. I think this is for a number of reasons. First, I think that that the nature of a CE class tends to make the emphasis slightly more fact and writing based. Second, the U.S. Government content can be very personalized and relevant to students especially in a yea

Cognitive Development One thing that I've recognized regarding the student's cognitive development is that they still need a fair amount of help in organizing new information into schemata , as Piaget explained. Often times all the information they need is there in their brains! They've learned it all, they've even retained most of it. However, they don't connect the dots until the teacher really helps them assimilate information. I've also noticed that there does seem to be a connection between readiness, or maturation , and development . There are some students that have a difficult time understanding some of the more complex issues or applications regardless of how much the teacher tries to help them. Sometimes I can tell just by listening to their thought processes that it might be a maturation issue. One other thing I've really noticed is that sometimes students in  disequilibrium  are easy to recognize, but often times they're not. There were