Self-efficacy & self regulation

I think kids need to want to behave or change for there to be actual change. I know I won't do something unless I want it for myself. Students need to know what is expected and know how to regulate themselves. Self evaluation is very important in schools and this gives students a chance to monitor themselves. Students should have high self-efficacy. They will be more successful. Lisa needs to think she can be successful at all jobs. Once she does that she will be more open and willing to help. Once Lisa learns to self regulate, she can ask her self "am i doing what I am supposed to be doing?" "Am I engaged with the group?". She can help fix her own behaviors.

Barbara

I have experience with kids who have autism but that was my first time being around someone who is older with autism. It was interesting because she didn’t let being mute stop her. She was very intelligent and funny. I like her honesty and it gave me hope for the kids I work with everyday. I often think about where they will be in 10, 20 years and I would like to think of them being successful like she is. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the presentation but I am glad I went. She isn’t afraid to express how lonely she was and how hard it was for her not to communicate. I was surprised how well she listened to what people were saying. I could barely hear the questions that she was asked but she answered them with no problem. The presentation made me want to work harder to give all students the chance to express themselves. Technology now can help all types of people with disabilities. I am learning ways to help students who are having problems and using her as inspiration I can try to help students who have autism and students in general. I am assuming the lady that was helping Barbara was a therapist of some sorts. I never understood who she was but she could be a resource for teachers as could Barbara for helping kids with autism reach their full potential. The information I learned from the presentation helped me with thinking of ways to help students. Barbara was mute and was a slow typer but she was very smart and just needed a way to communicate. When we were listening to this lesson I was thinking about differentiating instruction and multiple teaching styles. I need to have a variety when I teach and think of ways I can help all learners. She likes books but can’t read or listen to them in ways that are normal to most. If I’m the teacher I need to consider that and make that change in the classroom. When she was in school she probably just had expository teaching but now teaching has changed so much I think she could get better help now. Most teachers are aware of disabilities and have the drive to help any way possible. This information was new to me because I didn’t know there was an app to say what you type. I was curious about her back and how touching it helped her. I would have liked to learn more about her and I wanted to buy her book but I didn’t have cash. I liked how her thoughts came out. They were random but honest. She was creative but communicated exactly what she wanted. I appreciated how she was honest with everyone around her whether it is her nurses or readers. That is a rare quality. Each person is different but the qualities that come with autism make them that much more special.

Ch. 9

I feel if I let her change groups or make sure she gets the ob she wants after she acts out that will encourage her behavior. I would like to avoid that. I would want to use positive reinforcement when she is behaving how she is supposed to. I want to catch her when she is getting along with the group or doing the job she doesn't want. She would receive compliments or a sticker or something of that nature. This might change her behavior for the better. Once she starts being productive in the group she can earn rewards that get her to the job she wants to be. I think behaviorism and constructivism could work side by side. I feel like I would use behaviorism more for classroom management more than education purposes but maybe that is because it is what I am familiar with. I like the idea of constructivism in the classroom because we give students 15 minutes of instruction but let them explore for 45 minutes or so on. Students need time to expand what they know and collaborate with partners. This could work with behaviorism because a student could be punished or reinforced from how they were learning or their group members. They use experiences to mold learning. I think constructivism is difficult for some lessons that need to be more lecture instead of hands on activities. Here is a link I used to help me wrap my mind around the two is posted below. I found this picture helpful hopefully it shows up large enough! It's a great web of 3 theories

Lesson involving metacognitive skills

Math lessons will be a great way to work on metacognitive skills and problem solving. Word problems when the solver doesn't know the method can improve these skills. Part of cognitive learning is realizing some things are harder to learn that others. Self regulation is a skill students need to work on and this becomes helpful on tests that are timed. Students need to be aware how much time they can spend on a problem before they move on or they need to be able to plan for a project. A lesson that comes to mind is a list of word problems like the ones that we were given in class. Some were easy to solve, some we didn't have all the information for and some took multiple steps. Students must know how to activate problem solving and apply many different types of math to find the answer. The can apply what they know and ways to solve it whether its drawing out pictures, using imagery or counting on your fingers. Each learner learns differently and they need to be aware of how they learn best. I am a visual learner so I would need to have manipulatives or possibly pictures to work on word problems. I have attached a link that I used to check my understanding of metacognitive skills. It has a 7 step check list of how to help students with work problems. I thought this would be a helpful resource in the future.

Constructivist ism in our group lessons

I am not 100% sure if I understand the question but hopefully this is in the ball park. Our group project was vocabulary words and we chose science and weather words. We wanted to start by activating prior knowledge and asking what the students know about weather. Then we give them a list of words and let them go look at the local weather or newspaper to see if they can construct meaning for those words. Skills they need are activating prior knowledge and looking at context clues. They need to use problem solving and critical thinking. They need to take and apply what they know to a new situation. They might think they know a word but they can test that idea out with the group. It is our job as a teacher to help the students learn how to learn and work cooperatively and collaboratively.

Once a teacher becomes the guide to the class instead of center stage the class has more freedom to learn creatively. I think the teacher can do activities that let then students have freedom for example our group added as an activity for the students to then make a weather broadcast using their words. The students are in charge of everything. This allows for creativity, independence, and group work.

I used a website from a data base to help me understand constructivism a little better. Here is the URL.
http://otec.uoregon.edu/learning_theory.htm#Constructivism

Cognitive Learning & Memory

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? 

I want my futures students to know how to take information and apply it to decision making and problem solving. In class, students won't know all the information given but if they have the skills to break it down and process pieces of a time it will help them in all subjects. I want my students to take new information and make connections to their life. Once students can do that it will help them retain the information. Memorization is key to cognitive learning. I would like to do activites to show the difference between long and short term memory. If they can recall memories, I will know more about their cognitive learning. Another major part to cognitive learning is concerntration. I would love to teach the students how to focus their attention on a task. The most important skill for me would be application of their cognitive learning. I want them to process, memorize, recall and concentrate but if they can't apply their learning, it is for nothing.

I knew about cognitive learning from other classes but I refered to a website for help. I got to dig in to what I think are essential skills that relate to cognitive learning.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/151537-cognitive-learning-in-children/

I learned several tips from the memory teaching projects. I have heard that studying before bed will help you remember the material for the test but you learn for a short time.I have done this plenty of times but I didn't realize there was research behind it. I also thought it was interesting to learn ways to improve memorization.I will definitely have my future students make connections with what they are learning and use imagery like Jordan did with his grocery list. That was creative but helpful. I also liked the idea for acronyms.

Assessment

Math and reading are most emphasized in classroom so I am going to think about a math lesson plan. Fractions seemed to be the most stressful from the time spent in observing and from my own experience.

I have watched the teacher at Spring Hill Elementary teach two fraction lesson plans now. She assesses them the whole time so most of my assessments are inspired by her classroom. Most of the assessing she does is informal. The teacher should pose questions at the beginning of the lesson to see if the student has any prior knowledge or to recap from what was taught yesterday. This gets their brains thinking and sees what they can remember. After some review is done, the teacher can teach the lesson such as adding or subtracting fractions. After the lesson or instruction is completed, a student could come to the board for practice and to "teach" the class. I have found that students can learn from each other easier than the teacher on some occasions. The student writing on the board and explaining their steps shows the teacher what they have learned. Another assessment can be a worksheet. The 4th grade teacher lets the students start on the worksheet individually then get with a partner or work as a group. As groups they can help each other and the teacher can walk around and see if there are any problems and she needs to reteach anything. A last assessment can be a formal one in the shape of a test. A test or a quiz can give feedback to the teacher one what the kids understood in the lesson.

There are many ways to assess students and math is an easy subject to assess. I have watched the teacher figure out what the students know without them feeling pressured to be perfect. She gives them hints so they don't get down on themselves. I have learned tons just from observing her classroom. I also found a website with 7 pages of assessment tools that I will use at a later date. The website says it is for a math classroom but they could be altered for multiple subjects. A to Z assessment list