Passage: Noddings discusses that, “Students today need help in working through the meaning of achievement. Schools, with their system of competitive ranking, encourage students to think of success in terms of beating others out. Achievement, then, is defined as attaining a higher grade point average (GPA) than those with whom one is competing” (p. 17).
Question: Why do teachers not typically outline to students in middle school/ high school the goal of the class? The goal should be to learn the material; not just to receive an A+++++.
Connection: Noddings stresses the importance of self understanding. My connection to the above quote is that I was a student in high school that was only concerned about grades. Having an older brother who was identified as gifted at a young age was very difficult to follow, especially since I had many developmental delays with communication, hearing properly, and with daily living skills. Throughout my schooling, I tried to make sure that I was a success to impress my parents. I thought that success meant good grades. Unfortunately, I carried this association with me to high school. Instead of being concerned about mastery of a concept, I was just concerned about the grade. To me it didn’t necessarily matter that I did not understand chemistry, but as long as I could bring home a grade of 101 my parents were very happy. Reading this article brings personal disappointment to myself, because I just wish that someone would have stressed to me that it is whether or not you learn the material; not the grade that you receive. I focused way too much on grades and I wish that I could go back in time and change this. For now, all I can do is ensure that I don’t do this anymore in my future.
Outside Connection: Unfortunately, this brings me to the point of the usage of extra credit in schools. Is it possible to get through a class without having an understanding of the material? Absolutely! I was a perfect example of this. So many teachers spend time giving extra credit opportunities to kids, when they could be using that time for more instruction. In the beginning of the article, Noddings discusses the importance of self-understanding and that we should help students to understand how their minds function. The time spent doing extra credit should be spent informing students on the best ways for them to learn the material and why it is important. I also think it is crucial that teachers educate students on different and effective ways to study and to learn. There are so many problems and referrals for kids that reach college and still have no study skills. Why are we teaching children if they do not know how their own minds function? Relating this to everyday life, a piece of machinery can be very effective, but if no one knows how to use it than its effectiveness is limited.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Just like the Altoid experiment that was done on the show the Office, this kid in this video wanted to trick someone too. This kid seemed to have some doubt in the beginning as to whether or not the pairing of associations would work. Little did he know, if you pair a stimulus with something enough times, then you can obtain the appropriate behavior. This video is so useful because it shows that the concepts of behaviorism are seen in so many everyday actions that we do. Just like the PowerPoint presentation discussed, there are so many activities that occur during our day that elicit certain behavior. For example, as I am sitting here typing this blog, my boyfriend just opened a paper bag. I reacted by getting hungry (since it sounded like a fast food bag). As I jumped up to see what he had brought home, it was a paper bag filled with tabs for cans that he collects at school. Bummer! James would agree it is about associations that are made.
For us school psychology students, behaviorism is a huge part of what we do. An example of this is our responsibility to completing Functional Behavior Assessments for students' particular behavior. I just completed my first observation for a student who throws tantrums. It is amazing to actually observe in the classroom and to see that there is an antecedent and consequence to his tantrums. During this observation, every time he has a tantrum, the teacher ran over to him and gave him attention.
For us school psychology students, behaviorism is a huge part of what we do. An example of this is our responsibility to completing Functional Behavior Assessments for students' particular behavior. I just completed my first observation for a student who throws tantrums. It is amazing to actually observe in the classroom and to see that there is an antecedent and consequence to his tantrums. During this observation, every time he has a tantrum, the teacher ran over to him and gave him attention.
Monday, February 14, 2011
R5
Passage: Skinner discusses a solution to the problem of education when he states that “We could solve our major problems in education if students learned more during each day in school. That does not mean a longer day or year or more homework. It simply means using time more efficiently” (p. 950).
Question: Why are so many people pushing toward more school days and longer school days, instead of pushing for more effective school days?
Connection: In the article, “The Shame of American Education,” I connected to the passage where Skinner talked about the solution to the current problem within education. He argues that it is more important to be efficient with the time you are given, as opposed to be given more time during a school day. My personal connection to this is how I work on homework. On a typical Monday afternoon, I have four hours where I do not have class or do not have to be at work. I frequently use this time to work on my reports for practicum, but I am typically multi-tasking while working on these reports. For example, I will be texting, watching television, and writing a report. Instead of increasing the amount of time that I spend working on reports, I should simply be more effective during my time that I am working on the reports. I should eliminate the distractions, so that way I only have to work on my report writing for 2 hours and can use the remaining hours being productive in other areas.
The outside connection to this reminds me of proper studying techniques. So many students that I work with at practicum do not exert any effort to studying. They think that they have to spend their entire night studying for an exam. When I ask students how they study, the most common response that I get is that the material is just read over and over, for multiple hours. Instead of studying for an extremely long time, I am trying to stress to students that they do not have to study all evening long. If they set aside an hour or two to study and are efficient during that time, then they do not have to spend all night studying like they think they need to. This is where implementing an evidenced based practice for studying can be extremely helpful. The Fold-in method allows students to be reinforced for learning new material (Shapiro, 2004). It enables students to also check for their own mastery before studying further facts. If students use an actual evidence based practice to study, it can be so much more beneficial that simply looking over class notes for 6 hours. It is not a matter of how long you study, but how you study. (Quality, not quantity of hours)
Shapiro, E.S. (2004). Academic skills problems workbook (rev. ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.
Question: Why are so many people pushing toward more school days and longer school days, instead of pushing for more effective school days?
Connection: In the article, “The Shame of American Education,” I connected to the passage where Skinner talked about the solution to the current problem within education. He argues that it is more important to be efficient with the time you are given, as opposed to be given more time during a school day. My personal connection to this is how I work on homework. On a typical Monday afternoon, I have four hours where I do not have class or do not have to be at work. I frequently use this time to work on my reports for practicum, but I am typically multi-tasking while working on these reports. For example, I will be texting, watching television, and writing a report. Instead of increasing the amount of time that I spend working on reports, I should simply be more effective during my time that I am working on the reports. I should eliminate the distractions, so that way I only have to work on my report writing for 2 hours and can use the remaining hours being productive in other areas.
The outside connection to this reminds me of proper studying techniques. So many students that I work with at practicum do not exert any effort to studying. They think that they have to spend their entire night studying for an exam. When I ask students how they study, the most common response that I get is that the material is just read over and over, for multiple hours. Instead of studying for an extremely long time, I am trying to stress to students that they do not have to study all evening long. If they set aside an hour or two to study and are efficient during that time, then they do not have to spend all night studying like they think they need to. This is where implementing an evidenced based practice for studying can be extremely helpful. The Fold-in method allows students to be reinforced for learning new material (Shapiro, 2004). It enables students to also check for their own mastery before studying further facts. If students use an actual evidence based practice to study, it can be so much more beneficial that simply looking over class notes for 6 hours. It is not a matter of how long you study, but how you study. (Quality, not quantity of hours)
Shapiro, E.S. (2004). Academic skills problems workbook (rev. ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
R4
Question: James (1899) discusses in his chapter about will that ideas come into our consciousness, yet many times we do not act on these thoughts. I know that often students think about their homework, so what are ways that we as educators can teach students to go ahead and do their homework while they are thinking about it instead of putting it off for later? (or not at all)
Passage: James (1899) states, “In either of these latter cases it is hard to hold the right idea steadily enough before the attention to let it exert its adequate effects. Whether it be stimulative or inhibitive, it is too reasonable for us; and the more instinctive passional propensity then tends to extrude it from our consideration. Why shy away from the thought of it. (p .90).
Personal experience: This quote reminds me of my personal strive to get more accomplished in my day. I think a lot of it goes back to the idea of habit forming that James discussed in previous chapters. I have formed habits of being unproductive and spending a lot of my time sitting around thinking about what I want to get accomplished, instead of actually doing it. A better term to describe my thinking about what I want to get accomplished is procrastination. I am aware that I have the ability to be more productive, but I have developed this bad habit of just sitting there and thinking about it. James (1899) discusses that, “In either of these latter cases it is hard to hold the right idea steadily enough before the attention to let it exert its adequate effects” (p. 90). From James, I have realized that when I am given the opportunity to do something productive, I often think about it for a long period of time when I could actually be doing it. Usually the activity I am spending my time doing is often much easier than whatever I should have been doing.
Connection: Later, James (1899) states that, “To think, in short, is the secret of the will” (p. 91). He later explains that this is very evident with our students when that they say things like, “I never thought” (p. 91). So how do we get our students to think? Instead of punishing them for not thinking, we should initiate ways for them to think about their thinking (introspection). Have the students think about the times in which they think about doing certain things, such as homework and not getting away from the thought of the particular idea. Wouldn’t it just be easier to get the homework completed at the time you are thinking about it, instead of having to re-think about it later? I think it helps the students if you can put yourself in their shoes, in order to help them problem solve and work towards particular goals. It is all about relating to the students and fostering them to think! After all, James (1899) states, “to think, in short is the secret of the will, just as it is the secret to the memory” (p. 90).
Passage: James (1899) states, “In either of these latter cases it is hard to hold the right idea steadily enough before the attention to let it exert its adequate effects. Whether it be stimulative or inhibitive, it is too reasonable for us; and the more instinctive passional propensity then tends to extrude it from our consideration. Why shy away from the thought of it. (p .90).
Personal experience: This quote reminds me of my personal strive to get more accomplished in my day. I think a lot of it goes back to the idea of habit forming that James discussed in previous chapters. I have formed habits of being unproductive and spending a lot of my time sitting around thinking about what I want to get accomplished, instead of actually doing it. A better term to describe my thinking about what I want to get accomplished is procrastination. I am aware that I have the ability to be more productive, but I have developed this bad habit of just sitting there and thinking about it. James (1899) discusses that, “In either of these latter cases it is hard to hold the right idea steadily enough before the attention to let it exert its adequate effects” (p. 90). From James, I have realized that when I am given the opportunity to do something productive, I often think about it for a long period of time when I could actually be doing it. Usually the activity I am spending my time doing is often much easier than whatever I should have been doing.
Connection: Later, James (1899) states that, “To think, in short, is the secret of the will” (p. 91). He later explains that this is very evident with our students when that they say things like, “I never thought” (p. 91). So how do we get our students to think? Instead of punishing them for not thinking, we should initiate ways for them to think about their thinking (introspection). Have the students think about the times in which they think about doing certain things, such as homework and not getting away from the thought of the particular idea. Wouldn’t it just be easier to get the homework completed at the time you are thinking about it, instead of having to re-think about it later? I think it helps the students if you can put yourself in their shoes, in order to help them problem solve and work towards particular goals. It is all about relating to the students and fostering them to think! After all, James (1899) states, “to think, in short is the secret of the will, just as it is the secret to the memory” (p. 90).
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Module 1
The two IAT tests that I took were the Fat¬-Thin and Gender-Science. The Fat-thin had me associate fat or thin with good/bad. For this particular test, I did not expect the results that the computer gave me. I worked at weight loss camp for two summers, and originally thought that I would have no biases toward people who are overweight. I was stunned that this test showed I preferred thin people to fat people, by a large percentage. After being in such shock, I determined that maybe I do have a subconscious preference. After all, one of the primary purposes of our camp was to have a “fat person” lose weight and become a “thin person.” This was definitely a preference that I was not aware about and I will definitely be conscious of this thought process during my everyday interactions so that I do not discriminate.
The second IAT test, the Gender-Science, had an even stronger association than did the Fat-thin test. I did expect this association, unlike the first test that I took. From my experience as an undergraduate and graduate student, most of my classes had a very small percentage of boys in attendance. Also, I am surrounded by males in my family who have sought out the science profession, and from spending time with their colleagues, I have always had this idea that their careers were dominated by men. I do realize there are females, but that a lot of science directed fields are dominated by men.
I cannot help but think back to the Fat-thin test I took. I am still disturbed by my high percentage score on this test. At first, they just showed the faces of the people without associations. Coincidentally, I continued to miss the ones that were the skinny people. They then paired the word good with the word thin, and bad with fat. Again, the few that I missed that involved an “X” flashing on the screen” were all of the skinny people. Once the software matched “bad” with thin and “good” with fat, I found myself clicking the skinnier people quicker. The thin people were the ones that I had previously answered incorrectly to the thin people the reaction was the “X”, reminding me again that I was wrong. This reminded me of James, “No reception without reaction, no impression without correlative expression” (p. 17). The reaction on my part was the sense of rejection I felt when the screen displayed the red “X”. I therefore seemed to respond quicker to the thin people as a result. With my personal education, I find myself often remembering facts that I incorrectly answer in class due to the rejection I feel when I answer a question incorrectly with a teacher.
In the beginning of the book, James states that "Education, in short, cannot be better described than by calling it the organization of acquired habits of conduct and tendencies to behavior" (p.15). When learning the new associations in the IAT test, I was a prime example of the idea of thoughts becoming habits. I have a habit to assume that the liberal arts profession is dominated by females, as science is more male dominated. Throughout my life, I have noticed an association between careers and gender. Overtime, these thoughts have become a specific habit of mine. In fact, I seem to only look for the scenarios that confirm my ideas that only certain people are in a career, whereas I developed a need to start look for scenarios that dis-confirm my ideas.
The second IAT test, the Gender-Science, had an even stronger association than did the Fat-thin test. I did expect this association, unlike the first test that I took. From my experience as an undergraduate and graduate student, most of my classes had a very small percentage of boys in attendance. Also, I am surrounded by males in my family who have sought out the science profession, and from spending time with their colleagues, I have always had this idea that their careers were dominated by men. I do realize there are females, but that a lot of science directed fields are dominated by men.
I cannot help but think back to the Fat-thin test I took. I am still disturbed by my high percentage score on this test. At first, they just showed the faces of the people without associations. Coincidentally, I continued to miss the ones that were the skinny people. They then paired the word good with the word thin, and bad with fat. Again, the few that I missed that involved an “X” flashing on the screen” were all of the skinny people. Once the software matched “bad” with thin and “good” with fat, I found myself clicking the skinnier people quicker. The thin people were the ones that I had previously answered incorrectly to the thin people the reaction was the “X”, reminding me again that I was wrong. This reminded me of James, “No reception without reaction, no impression without correlative expression” (p. 17). The reaction on my part was the sense of rejection I felt when the screen displayed the red “X”. I therefore seemed to respond quicker to the thin people as a result. With my personal education, I find myself often remembering facts that I incorrectly answer in class due to the rejection I feel when I answer a question incorrectly with a teacher.
In the beginning of the book, James states that "Education, in short, cannot be better described than by calling it the organization of acquired habits of conduct and tendencies to behavior" (p.15). When learning the new associations in the IAT test, I was a prime example of the idea of thoughts becoming habits. I have a habit to assume that the liberal arts profession is dominated by females, as science is more male dominated. Throughout my life, I have noticed an association between careers and gender. Overtime, these thoughts have become a specific habit of mine. In fact, I seem to only look for the scenarios that confirm my ideas that only certain people are in a career, whereas I developed a need to start look for scenarios that dis-confirm my ideas.
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