Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Summary

Improving Your Teaching and Reflection Skills

Effective teacher knows how to coordinate a diverse array of instructional elements and adapt them to differences in student needs, materials, and purposes.

Students are in a better position to evaluate teachers than anyone. So a more comprehensive and systematic approach is to distribute a questionnaire or evaluation form and ask students to record their reactions anonymously.

For teachers who adopt a constructivist approach and value student’s perceptions of how well constructivist learning principles are implemented in the classroom. (Example: Constructivist Learning Environment Survey CLES)

Students can not always tell you about technical flaws in your instructional techniques. So you may have a colleague complete an analysis of your teaching approach.

One of the easiest to create and use is a checklist Figure 16.2 page 553 example

Other ways is to videotape or audiotape your lessons.

Another idea is to use Reflective Lesson Plans
Divide a sheet of paper in half. Label the left-hand side “Lesson Plan”. Label the right-hand side “Reflective Notes”
On the lesson plan side, note relevant information, the objectives of the lesson, the tasks that are to be carried out in chronological order, the materials and equipment that are to be used, and how much time has been allotted for this lesson
On the reflective notes side, as soon as possible after the lesson, write your thoughts about the worth of the objective that underlies the lesson, the adequacy of the materials, and how well you performed the basic mechanics of teaching
Make changes to the lesson plans based on your analysis of the reflective notes.

Guided Reflection Protocol- a technique that is somewhat less structured than the reflective lesson plan. After choosing one or more teaching episodes answer the following questions honestly as possible:
What happened? Describe the incident as fully as possible
Why did it happen? The events that produced the incident
What might it mean? There may be several possible interpretations of the meaning
What are the implications for my practice? What might you do differently in a similar situation

Teachers may want to develop a reflection journal to: serve as a repository of instructional ideas and techniques that you have either created from your own experiences or gleaned from other sources; and to give yourself a format for recording your observations and reflections on teaching.
Search your memory for techniques that your past teachers used; describe
Ask others if they can remember any successful ways that their teachers made understanding easier
Examine the examples given in the text section
Add ideas that you pick up in methods classes or during your student-teaching experiences

Use a portfolio with your journal:
Title page
Table of contents
Statement of your educational philosophy
Resume
Statement of your teaching goals
Examples of lesson plans
Examples of learning activities
Samples of student work
Photographs and videotapes
Letters of recommendations
Teaching evaluations
Samples of college work
An autobiography
Reflections about how teaching has contributed to your growth as a person and a teacher
Official documents

Conford believes that for reflection to be effective, teachers need to possess two qualities: broad and in-depth knowledge of the classroom as a teaching-learning environment and strong critical thinking skills.

Using Technology for Reflection

Discussion Forums and Chatrooms:
The connect page of ALPS, Harvard’s Teacher Lab (http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/bigideas/q5.cfm )
The New Teachers Online page of Teachers Network (www.teachersnetwork.org/ntol )
The Interactive Forums page of the International Education and Resource Network (www.iearn.org/index.html )
The Teachers2Teachers page of Teachnet.com (www.teachnet.com/t2t)
The Teachers Helping Teachers Guestbook page of Teachers Helping Teachers (www.pacificnet.net/~mandel/guestbook.html)
The teachers.net “chat center” can direct you to “chatboards” arranged by grade levels, subjects, region, and so forth (http://teachers.net)
Multimedia Case-Based Instruction: using multimedia and hypermedia programs that feature case-based learning formats that encourage new models of teaching, learning, and assessment among both preservice and practicing teachers
· Houghton Mifflin Video Cases


What I Have Learned

I have learned so much from this class. I have never had a class that I came out with so much new knowledge before. We have completed worthwhile projects, learned new technology tools to use, and been given so many great resources that we can use in our classrooms. We have also discussed our ideas and thoughts with others and learned how to reflect on what we are learning using technology. There is so much that I could say but I will tie it all up into one statement, “What a Great Class This Has Been”.


Question of the Week:

I really don’t have a question, I just have a thought “thanks for everything Ms. Graff, you are great”.

Oh, where do you find all your great ideas and resources?

Understanding and Using Standardized Tests

Chapter 15: Summary

Standardized Tests:
Standardized tests- items presentes and scored in standard fashion; results reported with reference to standards

Basic purpose of standardized tests is to obtain accurate representative sample of some aspect of a person.

Standardized test scores are used to identify strengthes and weaknesses, plan instruction, select students for programs.

Reliability- similiarity between two rankings of test scores obtained from the same individual

1. Split-half reliability: a single test is administered to a group of students, they create two scores by dividing the test in half, and measure the extent to which the rankings change from one half to the other. It gauges the internal consistency of a test.
2. Test-retest reliability: they administer the same test to the same people on two occasions and measure the extent to which the rankings change over time.
3. Alternate-form reliability: they administer two equivalent forms of a test to the same group of students at the same time and compare the results.

Validity- how accurately a test measures what users want it to measure.

1. Content Validity: how well test items cover a body of knowledge and skill
2. Predictive Validity: how well a test score predicts later performance
3. Construct Validity: how accurately a test measures a theoretical attribute

Norm group- a sample of individuals carefully chosen so as to reflect the larger population of students for whom the test is intended.

Meaningfulness of standardized test scores depends on representativeness of norm group.

Formal testing of young children is inappropriate because of rapid developmental changes.

Types of Standardized Tests:

1. Achievement tests: (1) single-subject achievement test (2) diagnostic test (3) achievement batteries (4) competency test (5) special-purpose achievement test
2. Aptitude tests: they measure predisposition to develop additional capabilities in specific areas
3. Norm-referenced tests: compare one student with others
4. Criterion-referenced tests: indicate degree of mastery of objectives

Achievement tests measure how much of a subject or skill has been learned.

Diagnostic achievement tests designed to identify specific strengths and weaknesses.

Competency tests determine whether potential graduates possess basic skills.

Standardized Test Scores:

1. Grade Equivalent Scores: interprets test performance in terms of grade levels
2. Percentile ranks: percentage of scores at or below a given point
3. Standard Scores: are expressed in terms of Standard deviations (degree of deviation from the mean of a distribution); normal curve (a mathematical concept that depicts a hypothetical bellshaped distribution of scores); z score (tells how far a given raw score if from the mean in standard deviation units); T score (raw score translated to a scale of 1-100 with a mean of 50)
4. Stanine: student performance indicated with reference to a 9-point scale based on normal curve

Misconceptions:

1. A test measures what its name implies
2. All tests with the same title are the same
3. A test score accurately reflects what people know and can do
4. Two tests that claim to measure the same thing can be made interchangeable
5. Test are scored by adding up the number of items people answer correctly
6. Scores of 70% correct, 80% correct, and 90% correct are equivalent to grades of C, B, and A respectively
7. Multiple-choice questions are useful only for measuring how well students can recognize and recall factual knowledge
8. One can tell if an item is good just by looking at it

Using Standardized Tests for Accountability Purposes: High-Stakes Testing

High-stakes testing: using test results to hold students and educators accountable for achievement

NCLB requires standards, annual testing in math and reading, annual progress for all students, public reports, and accountability systems.

High-stakes tests expected to improve clarity of goals, quality control, teaching methods, and student motivation.

High-stakes tests criticized because of structural limitations, misinterpretations/misuse of results, narrow view of motivation, adverse side effects.

Research on effects of high-stakes testing limited and inconsistent

Standardized Testing and Technology

Websites of state departments of education, private companies provide services that help prepare students for state assessments.

Smarthinking (www.smarthinking.com) povides tutoring through online instructors and digital whiteboards

TestGEAR (www.testu.com) students take a diagnostic pretest and are then provided with individualized courses in various aspects of math and language arts.

Computer adaptive testing: computers determine sequence and difficulty level of test items.

Suggestions for Teaching in Your Classroom

1. Before you give a standardized test, emphasize that students should do their best
2. Before your students take a standardized test, give them specific suggestions for taking such tests
3. Examine the test booklet and answer sheet in advance so that you are familiar with the test
4. Be cautious when interpreting scores, and always give the student the benefit of the doubt
5. Do your best to control the impact of negative expectations
6. Be prepared to offer parents clear and accurate information about their children's test scores

Life Experiences:

I feel my life experiences are best explained from my post in the discussion board this week.

Wow, I can really get on my soap box with this one discussion. There is a time and a place for standardized testing; and in some instances they are good and useful. BUT not the way that they are used right now. I work with students with disabilities and it just infuriates me when I see what these tests do to these kids. We have determined through important standardized testing that they are students with disabilities and in most cases are not able to complete work from their grade level but we except them to sit down for how many days and do the exact same test as all other students. How bright does that sound???? I understand that standardized testing is used for many purposes and many of them are important but our testing setup right now just does not cut it. Even students who do well in school get very stressed out when you mention those big tests at the end of the year. I have even seen kids that were so upset that they were literally sick. They have came up with alternative assessments for the significantly cognitively impaired but what about those kids with learning disabilities that just try their best but can not do it. We need to come up with some for of alternate assessment for them. Because the way things are right now, there is no way that they are getting accurate results for a lot of the students in school today. I know that teachers need a way to assess what their students have learned and the government needs a way to assess teachers because of No Child Left Behind, but there has to be something better. Right now they are putting so much emphasis on end of the year testing and trying to make it where if a child does not perform like they should then they can not go on to the next grade, that is crazy. I have seen some kids that have made tremendous progress in a year but if you went by that rule they would not get to go on to the next grade level and who knows they probably won't the next year either even with the best teacher. Good teachers conduct informal assessments on their children throughout the year and those informal assessments give a much better idea of where a child is at and how much progress they have made over that year than any standardized test ever could or probably ever will. How these changes need to be made I'm not sure or who will help to make these changes who knows?

How this class has changed me:

I have learned so much from this class. I intend on saving my book because it is full of important information for anyone who is working with students in a school setting. Even though I will not persay be "Teaching" students, I will be an individual that will help them toward achieving an appropriate education. I try to carry over information that I am learning in this class to other education classes that I am currently taking. I hope to also use it when I begin my speech language classes this summer.

Blogs:

I was nice to see that almost everyone in the class has the same kinds of concerns with NCLB and standardized testing as I do. We all came about it through different ways but it all boils down to there needs to be changes made in the current system because their idea of all children being proficient by 2014 is a long way off right now.

Question of the Week:

http://tcmtechnologyblog.blogspot.com/
Answer the following questions about the blog. I understand this is not a P-12 blog, but the ideas within it are great for this series of "questions of the week".
Would a blog like this one help you with your teaching?
Would you be able to get ideas for teaching from this blog? How? Why? Explain.
Did you learn something new from the blogger? What and why did it strike you as memorable?
Would you want to create a site like this for others? Why or why not?

Yes, there is alot of neat things at this website. I found a song for elementary students about polygons and an interesting video about why subtraction algorithms are hard to learn. I also found another website from it called "Interactive" it was full of neat math games. The more you keep going through it the more you will find. Even if you do not use the whole idea that is given maybe you can "tweak" it a little to fit your age group. I love math, it was always one of my favorite subjects when I was in school. I still try to help tutor other kids in math now if time allows. There are so many interesting blogs out there right now and I figure that new ones are being created all the time. I would love to be able one day to create a blog with as much important information about speech language or other things that interest me as this individual did, but time is always the problem factor.

Assessment of Classroom Learning

Chapter 14: Summary

The Role of Assessment in Teaching

Assessment-collecting information about how much knowledge and skill students have learned (measurement) and making judgments about the adequacy of acceptability of each student's level of learning (evaluation) (Ex. exams, respond to oral questions, do homework exercises, write papers, solve problems, create products, and make oral presentations)

Measurement- assigning numbers or ratings according to rules to create a ranking

Evaluation- making judgments about the value of a measure

Why should we assess student's learning?

1. summative evaluation: (to provide summaries of learning) measure achievement, assign grades; to provide to all interested parties a clear, meaningful, and useful summary or accounting of how well a student has met the teacher's objectives; when testing is done for the purpose of assigning a letter or numerical grade; a one time event after instruction
2. formative evaluation: (to monitor learning progress) monitor progress and plan remedial instuction; are the students keeping up with the pace of instruction and are understanding all of the material that has been covered so far (Ex. periodic quizzes, homework assignments, in-class worksheets, oral reading, responses to teacher questions, and behavioral observations); a dynamic, ongoing and interactive relationship with teaching
3. diagnosis: constructing an assessment that will provide specific diagnostic information
4. effects on learning: potentially positive effects on various aspects of learning and instruction; it guides students' judgment of what is important to learn, affects their motivation and self-perceptions of competence, structures their approaches to and timing of personal study, consolidates learning, and affects the development of enduring learning strategies and skills

Moderate testing produces more learning than no testing or infrequent testing

Ways to Measure Student Learning

Objectives can be classified in terms of: knowing about something; and knowing how to do something

Written tests- measures that attempt to assess the range and accuracy of someone's knowledge

Performance tests- measures that attempt to assess how well somebody can do something

Written Tests:

1. Selected-Response Tests: (multiple-choice, true-false, and matching) sometimes called "objective" tests because they have a simple and set scoring system; used to assess foundational knowledge (the basic factual information and cognitive skills that students need in order to do such high-level tasks as solve problems and create products); they are objectively scored and efficient but usually measure lower levels of learning and do not reveal what students can do
2. Short-Answer Tests: (a brief written response from the student) they are used for measuring foundational knowledge; scored quickly, accurately, and consistently; easily written; but measure lower levels of learning (no information on how the student can use what they learned)
3. Essay Tests: (students must organize a set of ideas and write a somewhat lengthy response to a broad question); reveal how well students can recall, organize and clearly communicate previously learned information; they can call on higher-level abilities such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation; hard to grade; consistency in grading; time-consuming to grade and only a few questions can be given

Constructing a Useful Test:

1. significance- test measures worthwhile skills
2. teachability- effective instruction can help students acquire the skills and knowledge measured by the test
3. describability- the skills and knowledge measured by the test can be described with sufficient clarity that they make instructional planning easier
4. reportability- test produces results that allow a teacher to identify areas of instruction that were probably inadequate
5. nonintrusiveness- the test does not take an excessive amount of time away from instruction

Performance Test- measure ability to use knowledge and skills to solve realistic problems, create products

Authentic assessment- realistic conditions when using performanc testing

TYPES OF PERFORMANCE TESTING:

1. Direct Writing Assessment- ask students to write about a specific topic under a standard set of conditions; each essay is then scored by 2 or more people according to a set of defined criteria
2. Portfolios- contains one or more pieces of a student's work, some which demonstrate different stages of completion
3. Exhibitions- involves a showing of such products as paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, videotapes, and models
4. Demonstrations- students are required to show how well they can use previously learned knowledge or skills to solve a somewhat unique problem or to perform a task

Characteristics of Performance tests:

1. emphasis on active responding- focus on processes and products
2. degree of realism- are more like everyday tasks when appropriate (time, cost, availability of equipment, and the nature of the skill being mastered are all factors that affect realism)
3. emphasis on complex problems- questions asked should be open ended and ill structured
4. close relationship between teaching and testing- must be established by the teacher it is not automatic
5. use of scoring rubrics- they increase objectivity and consistency of scoring, align instruction with assessment, communicate teachers' expectations, and help students monitor progress
6. emphasize formative evaluation- can be used as a source of feedback to help students improve the quality of their learning efforts (Ex. dress rehearsals, reviews of writing drafts, and peer response groups)
7. probably more responsive to cultural diversity

Concerns with Performance Testing:

1. the amount of time required by these tests to construct, administer, and score
2. it is harder to explain to parents the relationship between how such tests are often scored and the letter grades on students' report cards
3. adopting new responsibilities; the teachers becomes more of a collaborator and facilitator than a gatekeeper
4. different purposes of traditional standardized tests and performance test

Ways to Evaluate Student Learning

Norm-referenced grading- assumes that classroom achievement will naturally vary among a group of heterogeneous students because of differences in such characteristics as prior knowledge, learning skills, motivation, and aptitude

Norm-referenced grading: compare one student with others

1. determine percentage of students who will receive each grade
2. arrange the scores from highest to lowest
3. calculate which scores fall in which category and assign the grades accordingly

Strengths and Weaknesses of norm-referenced grading:

1. evaluating advanced levels of learning
2. selection for limited-enrollement programs
3. few situations in public schools were it is appropriate to use

Criterion-Referenced Grading- permits students to benefit from mistakes and improve their level of understanding and performance; it establishes an individual reward structure, which fosters motivation to learn to a greater extent

Criterion-referenced grading: compare individual performance with stated criteria; provides information about strengths and weaknesses

Strengths and Weaknesses of criterion-referenced grading:

1. provide more specific and useful information about student strengths and weaknesses
2. promote motivation to learn
3. the performance standards that one specifies are arbitrary and may be difficult to justify to parents and colleagues
4. a teacher's standards may appear to be stable from one test to another, but they may actually fluctuate as a result of unnoticed variation in the difficulty of each test and the quality of instruction

A Mastery Approach: give students multiple opportunities to master goals at their own pace (Suggestions for this approach on page 496-497)

Improving Your Grading Methods: Assessment Practices To Avoid

1. worshipping averages- it ignores measurement error or extenuating circumstances
2. using zeros indiscriminately- for late or incomplete assignments
3. providing insufficient instruction before testing
4. teaching for one thing but testing for another
5. using pop quizzes- surprise tests produce undesirable level of anxiety or other students may just give up
6. keeping the nature and content of a test a secret- what will be on a test needs to be told to your students
7. keeping the criteria for assignments a secret- students need to know what is expected of them
8. shifting criteria- trying to shock students into more appropriate learning behaviors (changing the amount each part is worth after informing the students)
9. combining apples and oranges

Technology for Classroom Assessment

1. Electronic gradebooks and grading programs
2. Technology-based Performance Assessment: (Ex. GLOBE- a web-based simulation that leads itself to the assessment of scientific inquiry www.globe.gov/globe_flash.html ; multimedia tools with audio, text, video, and graphics)
3. Digital-Portfolios: collection of work that is stored and illustrated electronically; exhibits individual efforts, progress, and achievements in one or more areas (Ex. digitized pictures and scanned images, documents, audio recordings, video clips, and multimedia presentations)

Advantages: the ability of students to explain in text and narration why they gave their portfolio it particular content and form; they can demonstrate what they know, how they came to know it, how their knowledge increased and evolved, and what they have accomplished with that knowledge

Disadvantages: access needs to be restricted, passwords can be forgotten, portfolios that are stored on a school server can be altered or destroyed by hackers; work on saved while working can be lost if computer crashes

Special rubrics available to assess digital portfolios and presentations. www.4teaches.org contains Rubistar (provides templates for creating rubrics for several kinds of digital products)and other things related to technology

Suggestions for Teaching in Your Classroom: Effective Assessment Techniques

1. As early as possible in a report period, decide when and how often to give tests and other assignments that will count toward a grade, and announce tests and assignments well in advance
2. Prepare a content outline or a table or specifications of the objectives to be covered on each exam, or otherwise take care to obtain a systematic sample of knowledge and skill acquired by your students
3. Consider the purpose of each test or measurement exercise in the light of the developmental characteristics of the students in your classes and the nature of the curriculum for your grade level
4. Decide whether a written test or a performance test is more appropriate
5. Make up and use a detailed answer key or rubric: (a) evaluate each answer by comparing it with the key or rubric (b) be willing and prepared to defend the evaluations you make
6. During and after the grading process, analyze questions and answers in order to improve future exams

Life Experiences:

We have all had to deal with testing or assessment. Now days our poor students have to deal with even more than we ever had to. I am not a big supporter of all of this standardized testing and how much pressure they put on students and teachers about it. There is way too many flaws in our state-wide assessment procedures right now. We can not have one test that "ALL" students must take except those that fall as significantly cognitively impaired. What about all those kids with learning disabilities, they are not significantly, cognitively impaired but they can not take those tests and do well like they want them to because they are not on grade level and they may never be. (Sorry didn't mean to get on my soap box, but this topic really gets me going)

Educational Psychology class:

I have learned so much from this class. It has been a great semester full of really good information. Sometimes you take a class and really wonder what did you learn, but not with this class. Ms. Graff, you are a great teacher. Keep up the good work.

BLOG of the Week:

I looked at each of these but I did not really care for http://www.speedofcreativity.org/ because it mainly deals with just technology and many ideas are way ahead of what can be done in a class. I also did not appreciate the OLPC foundation very much. How many students to computers do our school have right now, but we are to be so concerned with every child in another country having a laptop. I think we need to take care of our own children's needs in school and then we can take care of others. (Just strictly my opinion though) I just hate that our schools are so tight on money right now that we can not afford to add more technology resources for our teachers.

I choose the blog http://www.k12opened.com/blog/ because it contained some new information that I was not familiar with, open education. I have never heard of it and this website has some really great information. The idea of open-education textbooks that are out there and are free was a new thing to me. Also the idea of open-licensed content was new too. The blog about open vs. free unveiled some really important ideas about students blogging on certain sites and just because something is free does not mean it is open. This blog helps teachers to realize the importance of what they use out their and what their students may also be using.

Classroom Management

Chapter 13: Summary

Authoritarian, Permissive, and Authoritative Approaches to Classroom Management
3 styles approaches to classroom management

1. Authoritarian- parents establish rules for their children's behavior and expect them to be blindly obeyed; explanations are not always given; rewards and punishments are given; "Do what I say because I said so"
2. Permissive- parents represent the other extreme; they impose few controls; allow their children to make many basic decisions and provide advice or assistance only when asked; "Do what I say because you are like me and respect my judgment"
3. Authoritative- parents provide rules but discuss the reasons for them, teach their children how to meet them and reward children for exhibiting self-control; cede more responsibility for self-governance to their children as the children demonstrate increased self-regulation skills; this style leads to children's internalizing the parent's norms and maintaining intrinsic motivation for following them in the future; "Do what I say because doing so will help you learn more"

The students of authoritative teachers better understand the need for classroom rules and tend to operate within them most of the time.

Preventing Problems: Techniques of Classroom Management

Kounin's Observations on Group Management

1. Show your students that you are "with it"- withitness (teachers that prove to their students that they know what is going on in a classroom usually have fewer behavior problems than teachers who appear to be unaware of incipient disruptions)
2. Learn to cope with overlapping situations- being able to handle overlapping activities helps maintain classroom control
3. Strive to maintain smoothness and momentum in class activities- some teachers caused problems for themselves by constantly interrupting activities without thinking about what they were doing
4. Try to keep the whole class involved, even when you are dealing with individual students- call on students in an unpredictable order
5. Introduce variety and be enthusiastic, particularly with younger students
6. Be aware of the ripple effect- when criticizing student behavior, be clear and firm, focus on behavior rather than on personalities, and try to avoid angry outbursts

University of Texas Studies on Group Management (well-managed classroom)

1. Students know what they are expected to do and generally experience the feeling that they are successful doing it
2. Students are kept busy engaging in teacher-led instructional activities
3. There is little wasted time, confusion, or disruption
4. A no-nonsense, work-oriented tone prevails, but at the same time there is a relazed and pleasant atmosphere

The first point can be interpreted as supporting the use of instructional objectives. The next three points stress productivity under teacher guidance.

Effective teachers plan how to handle classroom routines.

During first weeks, have students complete clear assignments under the teachers direction.

Middle, Junior High and High school classroom management:

1. classroom management has to be approached differently because of the segmented nature of the education for these grades

Emmer suggestions for classroom environments:

1. the arrangement of the seating, materials, and equipment is consistent with the kinds of instructional activities the teacher favors
2. high traffic areas, such as the teachers desk and the pencil sharpener are kept free of congestion
3. the teacher can easily see all students
4. frequently used teaching material and student supplies are readily available
5. students can easily see instructional presentations and displays

Manage behavior of adolescents by making and communicating clear rules and procedures.

Technology Tools for Classroom Management

1. Integrated Learning Systems- curriculum courseware and management systems that provide a type of individualized instruction; adjust for difficulty levels and content lessons to each person's progress rate; provide continuous assessment reports
2. New classroom roles for teachers

Techniques for Dealing with Behavior Problems

Influence Techniques

1. Planned Ignoring
2. Signals
3. Proximity and Touch Control
4. Interest Boosting
5. Humor
6. Helping ouver Hurdles
7. Program Restructing
8. Antiseptic Bouncing
9. Physical Restraint
10. Direct Appeals
11. Criticism and Encouragement
12. Defining Limits
13. Postsituational Follow-up
14. Marginal Use of Interpretation

I-Messages- tell how you feel about an unacceptable situation

Problem-Ownership- determine who owns a problem before deciding on a course of action

Violence in American Schools

Incidents of crime and serious violence occur relatively infrequently in public schools and have been decreasing in recent years.

Male aggressiveness due to biological and cultural factors.

Middle school and junior high boys with low grades may feel trapped

Misbavior of high school students may reveal lack of positive identity.

Classroom disruptions can be significantly reduced by various approaches:

1. classroom rules
2. teacher movement
3. reinforcement
4. token economy
5. response cost
6. group contigency

Judicious Discipline- this program teaches students that they have both rights and responsibilities with respect to their behavior (teachers and students discuss problems that have occurred and how they can be addressed)

Unified Discipline- teachers, administrators, and other school personnel create a uniform approach to managing disruptive behavior.

Life Experiences:

Every teacher that I have had has had a different idea or style regarding classroom management. Some have worked and some did not. This is a topic in education that is just not discussed enough in college. I never feel that I have a good grasp of different techniques that might work. This chapter has given me many ideas and the understanding of why they might work. But I feel that it is a topic that you just have to gain from experience too.

EDU Perspective

I have gained so much insight into education and working with children from this class this semester than any other elementary education class that I have taken. I was supposed to take it at West Plains but I am so glad that I did not. I have seen their book and it did not have half the information that this book did. I have also really enjoyed Ms. Graff, she is always there giving such great advice and so many different ideas that really make you think. She is a great teacher and I have truly learned alot from this class.

BLOG: http://mspappas.preknow.org/

Wow, what a great site. It is really enjoyable to read. I found a lot of great articles that I have saved so that I can go back and read them better and more intently when I have more time. I have said this blog in my favorites because it is full of some really important information for becoming teachers and certified teachers. I loved the article about "Eric Carle". His books are some of my favorites for young children. I use them with my students quite often. I can't wait until I can really go through this site and see exactly what all it has to over because I have already seen some ideas that I can't wait to try.

Chapter 12: Motivation

Chapter 12: Summary



The Behavioral View of Motivation



Behavioral view of motivation: reinforce desired behaviors.

Students are motivated to complete a task by being promised a reward of some kind. (praise, grade, token, or a priviledge)



Disadvantages:

• overuse or misuse of these techniques


• extrinsic motivation- the learner decides to engage in an activity to earn a reward that is not inherently related to the activity


• undermining effect (intrinsic motivation falls when students must compete for a limited supply of rewards; it may rise when the reward consists of positive verbal feedback and is available to all who meet the standard)

Intrinsic motivation- the student will study or acquire a skill because it produces such inherently positive consequences as becoming more knowledgeable, competent, and independent.

Extrinsic motivation can be dangerous because:

• changes in behavior may be temporary


• students may develop a materialistic attitude toward learning


• giving students extrinsic rewards for completing a task may lesson whatever intrinsic motivation they may have for that activity

Give rewards sparingly, especially on tasks of natural interest.

The Social Cognitive View of Motivation

2 factors influence motivation to learn

1. the models to which people are exposed


2. people's sense of self-efficacy (how capable they believe they are to handle a particular task)

So the social cognitive view of motivation is to observe and imitate admired models and raise self-efficacy.

vicarious reinforcement- we expect to receive the same reinforcer that we see someone else get for exhibiting a particular behavior

Choice of learning goals:

1. task mastery goal: doing what is necessary to learn meaningfully the information and skills that have been assigned


2. performance-approach goals: demonstrating to teachers and peers one's superior intellectual ability by outperforming most others in class


3. performance-avoidance goals: reducing the possibility of failure so as not to appear less capable than other students

Self-handicapping behaviors: allow students to blame poor performance on the circumstances rather than on one's ability (such as putting off homework, studying superficially for an exam, getting involved in many in-school and out-of-school nonacademic activities)

Self-efficacy affects choice of goals, expectations of success, attributions for success and failure.

Other Cognitive Views of Motivation

Cognitive development view of motivation: strive for equilibration and master the environment

Need for achievement revealed by desire to attain goals that require skilled performance. Individuals with a high need for achievement have a stronger expectation of success than they do a fear of failure formost tasks and therefore anticipate a feeling of pride in accomplishment.

High-need achievers prefer moderately challenging tasks.

Low-need achievers prefer very easy or very hard tasks.

The four most commonly given reasons for why they did or did not do well: (Attribution theory)

1. ability


2. effort


3. task difficulty


4. luck

Unsuccessful students attribute success to luck and easy tasks; failure to lack of ability.

Successful students attribute success to effort and ability; failure to lack of effort.

There are two points where noticeable changes in children's ability conceptions occur: between 7-8 and 10-12

Students can be placed into one of three categories based on their beliefs about the nature of cognitive ability:

1. Entity theorists- they talk about intelligence as if it were a thing, or an entity, that has fixed characteristics


2. Incremental theorists- intelligence can be improved gradually by degrees or increments as they refine their thinking skills and acquire new ones


3. Mixed theorists- subscribe to both entity and incremental theories

Students with incremental beliefs tend to have mastery goals and are motivated to meaningfully learn, improve skills.

Students with entity beliefs tend to have performance goals and are motivated to get high grades, avoid failure.

A person's interest in a topic can come from personal or situational sources.

Personal interest marked by intrinsic desire to learn that persists over time; situational interest is context dependent and short term.

Personal interest may be influenced by one or more of the following factors:

• ideas and activities that are valued by one's culture or ethnic group


• the emotions that are aroused by the subject or activity


• the degree of competence one attains in a subject or activity


• the degree to which a subject or activity is perceived to be relevant to achieving a goal


• level of prior knowledge


• a perceived hole in a topic that the person already knows a good deal about

Factors that influence situational interest:

• a state of cognitive conflict or disequilibrium


• well-written reading material


• the opportunity to work on a task with others


• the opportunity to engage in hands-on activities


• the opportunity to observe influential models


• the teacher's use of novel stimuli


• the teacher's use of games and puzzles

Flow is the mental state of high engagement in an activity. It is characterized by intense concentration, sustained interest, and enjoyment of the activity's challenge.

It is often difficult to arouse cognitive disequilibrium (such as when they have to go through dull and unrewarding information to answer)

Need for achievement difficult to assess on basis of short-term observations.

Faulty attributions difficult to change

The Humanistic View of Motivation

Maslow's theory of Growth Motivation: need gratification

5-level hierachy of needs: physiological, safety, belongingness and love, esteem, and self-actualization (the lower a need is in the hierachy, the greater its strength; because when a lower-level need is activated people will stop trying to satisfy the higher-level needs)

Deficiency needs: physiological, safety, belongingness and love, and esteem (they motivate people to act only when they are unmet to some degree)

Growth need: self-actualization (people constantly strive to satisfy it)

Maslow also describes cognitive needs (the needs to know and understand) and aesthetic needs (the needs for order, symmetry, or harmony) besides the above 5

When deficiency needs are not satisfied, a person is likely to make bad choices.

Encourage growth choices by enhancing attractions, and minimizing dangers.

Teachers may be able to satisfy some deficiency needs but not others.

The Role of Self-Perceptions in Motivation

Maslow, Rogers, and Combs stressed that how students see and judge themselves and others plays an important part in determining how motivated they are and how much they learn.

Self-esteem is global judgment we make of self; self-concept is judgment we make of self in specific domains; self-efficacy is belief in our ability to carry out a specific action.

Self-concept and achievement have reciprocal effects. Not only does prior achievement affect children's academic self-concept, but also the current strength of a child's academic self-concept influences subsequent achievement.

Teachers should design instructional programs that are aimed directly at improving both academic self-concept and achievement

Motivating Students with Technology

Extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation

• the best combine both approaches (Jasper Woodbury series


• membership in multimedia clubs, special computer events and fairs for parents or the community, and certficates of recognition

Using technology to increase motivation to learn

• Technology increases intrinsic motivation by making learning more interesting and meaningful


• Students were more inclined to complete their projects and to do high-quality work when they knew it would be seen by a wider audience


• Email is often used to heighten student interest and motivation through pen-pal projects that links students in different countries or locales or to coordinate interest groups

Suggestions For Teaching in Your Classroom: Motivating Students to Learn

p.421- 428

1. Use behavioral techiniques to help students exert themselves and work toward remote goals: (a) give praise as positive reinforcement, but do so effectively; (b) use other forms of positive reinforcement Ex. on page 421 (happy faces, check marks, personal comments, reward menu based on the Grandma's rule)
2. Make sure that students know what they are to do, how to proceed, and how to determine when they have achieved goals (personal contracts with students)
3. Encourage low-acheiving students to attribute success to a combination of ability and effort and failure in insufficient effort (make sure they have the ability to succeed)
4. Encourage students to think of ability as a set of cognitive skills that can be added to and refined, rather than as a fixed entity that is resistant to change, by praising the processes they use to succeed.
5. Encourage students to adopt appropriate learning goals: (a) help students to develop mastery learning goals; (b) use cooperative learning methods (STAD: Student Teams-Achievement Divisions- includes a 4 step cycle Teach, Team Study, Test, Recognition)
6. Maximize factors that appeal to both personal and situational interest: (a) find out what your students' interests are and design as many in-class and out-of-class assignments as possible around those interests; (b) try to associate subjects and assignments with pleasureable rather than painful experiences by using techniques such as cooperative learning and constructivist approaches to teaching, as well as providing students with the information-processing tools they need to master your objectives; (c) link new topics to information students are already likely to have or provide relevant background knowledge in creative yet understandable ways; (d) select reading materials that are logically organized and written in an engaging style.
7. Try to make learning interesting by emphasizing activity, investigation, adventure, social interaction, and usefulness. (www.jasonproject.org, www.learner.org/jnorth, www.thinkquest.org, http://quest.classroom.com )

Activities:

• give a few students a set of problems to do on the board rapidly as well as those at their desk; then have them switch out
• find ways for students to go out of the classroom for learning

Investigations:

• Elementary: learning centers with themes such as library, games, social sciences (lots of maps, charts and documents), cultural appreciation, and computer use (educational software, database programs, student created publications, computer with Internet access with a list of appropriate and interesting online sites)
• Middle School: centers that pertain to different aspects of a single subject Ex. Science (appreciation center stressing aesthetic aspects of science, display center showing new developments in science, library center with attractive and provocative books)

Adventures:

• redecorate the room to match what they are studying the next day
• twenty questions about things in a newspaper; students compete to see who can answer the most questions accurately in the shortest amount of time

Social Interactions:

• students pair up to ask each other questions before an exam or for difficult material
• organize an end-of-unit extravaganza where students present or display projects then maybe celebrate with refreshments

Usefulness:

• continually point out what is being learned can be used outside the class and have students keep a record of how they will use them
• develop exercises that make students aware that what they learn has transfer value; job applications in writing class, balance a checkbook in math class, fill out a tax form or make a budget in math class, biology students will use their knowledge to figure out how they will use it to not get sick

Suggestions for Teaching in Your Classroom: Satisfying Deficiency Needs and Strengthening Self-Perceptions

1. Make learning inviting to students
2. Direct learning experiences toward feelings of success in an effort to encourage an orientation toward achievement, high self-esteem, and a strong sense of self-efficacy and academic self-concept: (a) make use of objectives that are challenging but attainable and, when appropriate, that involve student input, (b) help students master your objectives

Life Experiences:

If students are not motivated, they are not going to learn. I know that when I had teachers that just pushed facts and information and not the reason why I needed to know it, or made it worth learning I just did not do as well as if they had tried to motivate me. I think that motivation is one of the most important parts of teaching. It takes a special person to go the extra effort to make their students want to learn and give them a reason to enjoy it. In my classroom, if my students do not want to help themselves then how can I ever truly help them. We must give them the reasons why they need it, and not just because "I said so".

Blog:

I am still using this blog to help me organize all the great information that I get from this class. But, I am trying to begin to use the idea of blogs in many different areas. My daughters are very smart children and they need extra things to help them receive continued enrichment in other things. I am beginning to teach them how to create their own blogs, like a daily journal. They can write their thoughts, wants, wishes, problems, and anything else that is on their mind. They are learning how to express themselves while also learning about technology.

Question of the Week:

Find another school district's website (this will be your fourth) outside of your hometown and/or Springfield (or the city you reside). Make sure that this school district is in a different state. Copy and paste (or type) the link into your blog. Answer the following questions about the school district in your blog:
Why would you want to teach in this particular school district?
What makes this school district stand out from others that you found on the Internet?
Are there specific features that this school district has to offer that you hadn't thought of before? What are they? If not, what would you like?
Would you ever consider applying for a job at this school district? Why or why not?
Based on what we've learned so far in this class, how does this school district measure up?

Campbell County School District in Gillete, WY http://www.ccsd.k12.wy.us/

This school district is a very large district that is divided up into many different smaller schools, approximately 20. I have lived here before and it is a nice area. I did not like the winters but we did like the landscape of this area and of the area around Sheridan. I like being close to my whole family so I would not want to have to move their unless my husband's job called for it. There are many schools in this area to choose from which helps, because many of them have drug problems. Their website was very informative. Most websites do not even focus on the Special Education part of the school, they just tell you about each of the different grade levels. Their website had alot of information about their special education department which I really liked. They use technology in many different areas and they have more specialist for these disabled students than most schools around here in our rural area.

Chapter 11: Approaches to Instruction

Chapter 11: Summary



Devising and Using Objectives

• goals are broad, general statements of desired educational outcomes


• instructional objectives specify observable, measurable student behaviors


• Taxonomy- a classification scheme with categories arranged in hierarchical order

3 taxonomy areas:

1. cognitive domain- stresses knowledge and intellectual skills


2. affective domain- concentrates on attitudes and values


3. psychomotor domain- focuses on physical abilities and skills

Cognitive Domain- knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation

Affective Domain- receiving(attending), responding, valuing, organization, characterization by a value or value complex

Psychomotor Domain- perception, set, guided response, mechanism, complex or overt response, adaptation, origination

Most test questions stress knowledge, ignore higher levels of cognitive taxonomy. Using taxonomies will help to avoid ignoring entire classes of outcomes and overemphasizing the lowest level of the cognitive domain

Ways to State and Use Objectives

Mager's recommendations for the use of specific objectives

1. describe what you want learners to be doing when demonstrating achievement, and indicate how you will know they are doing it


2. in your description, identify and name the behavioral act that indicates achievement, define the conditions under which the behavior is to occur, and state the criterion of acceptable performance


3. write a separate objective for each learning performance

Gronlund's recommendations for the use of general objectives

1. examine what is to be learned with reference to lists of objectives such as those included in the 3 taxonomies


2. under each general instructional objective, list up to five specific learning outcomes that provide a representative sample of what students should be able to do when they have achieved the general objective (use action verbs: explain or describe)

Objectives work best when the students are aware of them, are clearly written, and the learning task is neither too easy or too difficult.

Students with average ability profit more from objectives than higher or lower ability.

Objectives lead to an improvement in intentional learning but a decline in incidental learning.

The Behavioral Approach to Teaching: Direct Instruction

• behavioral approach to teaching involves arranging and implementing those conditions that make it highly likely that a desired response will occur in the presence of a particular stimulus


• Direct Instruction- focus on learning basic skills, teacher makes all decisions, keep students on-task, and emphasize postive reinforcement

Components of Direct Instruction: orientation, presentation, structured practice, guided practice, and independent practice

1. Orientation- teacher gives an overview of the lesson, explains why students need to learn the material, relates the new subject to past learning or life experiences, and tells students what they will need to do to learn the material and what level of performance is expected


2. Presentation- explaining, illustrating, and demonstrating new material; also evaluate's student's understanding (question and answer session)


3. Structured practice- teacher leads the entire class through each step in a problem or lesson


4. Guided practice- students work at their own desks on problems of the type explained and demonstrated by the teacher; teacher circulates around the room


5. Independent practice-when students can solve at least 85% of the problems given during guided practice, they are then given problems to work independently in class or at home

Using technology to support behavioral approaches to instruction

• computer-based approach


• drill-and-practice computer-assisted instruction tools and integrated learning systems


• multimedia technology

The Cognitive Approach to Teaching: Facilitating Meaningful and Self-Directed Learning

Information-Processing Approach: design lesson around principles of meaningful learning, teach students how to learn more effectively

• Tell students what you want them to learn and why, and how they will be tested
• Use attention-getting devices (orally emphasize certain words or phrases by raising or lowering your voice, use dramatic gestures, underline key words and phrases that you write on a chalkboard or whiteboard, when discussing the work of important people dress up to look like the person and speak as you think the person might have spoken)
• Present organized and meaningful lessons (concept mapping- this technique involves specifying the ideas that make up a topic and indicating with lines how they relate to one another p.376)
• Present new information in small chunks and do not introduce new topics until you have evidence that the students have learned the presented material
• Build into lessons opportunities for students to write about, discuss, and use the ideas they are learning
• Arrange for short practice sessions spread over several weeks rather than one or two long practice sessions
• Present information through different medias such as pictures, videotape, audiotape, live models, and manipulation of physical objects; use alot of examples and analogies; prompt students to elaborate by asking them to put ideas in their own words, relate new ideas to personal experience, and create their own analogies
• Practice what you preach

Constructivist Approach: creating their own understanding of reality using characteristics such as existing knowledge, attitudes, values, and experiences

• Provide scaffolded instruction within the zone of proximal development (instruction should demand more than what a student is capable of doing independently and because of these demands instruction should be scaffolded {teachers should provided just enough support through such devices as explanations, modeling, prompting, offering clarifications, and verifying the accuracy of responses, that the learner can successfully complete the task})
• Provide opportunities for learning by discovery
• Meaningful learning aided by exposure to multiple points of view
• Emphasize relevant problems and tasks (need to challenging and realistic)
• Encourage students to become self-directed learners (how do teachers interact with the students)

Challenges to being a Constructivist teacher

• they need to understand how different students think, how complete each student's knowledge is about a subject, how accurate that knowledge is, and how aware students are about the state of their own knowledge
• they must know how to use a variety of methods to support understanding problem-based activities (modeling; providing prompts, probes, and suggestions; providing problem-solving rules of thumb; and using technology to organize and represent information)
• they must guide students to choose meaningful projects or issues to investigate
• they have to teach students how to work productively in collaborative activities
• they need to have a deep enough understanding of a subject to be able to guide students who become puzzled by an observation to an explanantion
• they need to know how to used a wide range of alternative assessment devices (interviews, observations, student journals, peer reviews, research reports, art projects, building physical models, and participating in plays, debates, and dances)

Technology and Cognitive Approaches

• helps students to code, store, and retrieve information (electronic encyclopedias {Grolier's Multimedia Encyclopedia}, hypermedia databases that contain conceptual resources such as timelines, information maps, and overviews, and concept mapping software such as Inspiration)
• Exploratory Environments: students might explore exciting information resources on the Web, enter simulations or microworlds like LEGO-LOGO, browse and rotate objects in a hypermedia or web database, and use imaging technologies to explore inaccessible places such as underwater canyons or planet surfaces)
• Geometric Supposer: a tool that students can use to construct, manipulate, and measure different geometric figures
• GenScope: help students better understand the principles of genetics
• Guided Learning: teachers help students set goals, ask questions, encourage discussions, and provide models of problem-solving processes (Higher Order Thinking Skills program {HOTS}- grades 4 through 8 www.hots.org)
• Problem and Project-Based Learning: requires learners to develop solutions to real-life problems
• Situated Learning: knowledge is closely linked to environment in which it is acquired (CSILE, WISE, and the GLOBE Program, and the WEB Project, Author-on-Line Project {students read a book, wrote a book reports, posted them on a school website, the author posted her/his reactions, these were then shared in the class)

The Humanistic Approach to Teaching: Student-Centered Instruction

Humanistic Approach: pays attention to the role of noncognitive variables in learning, specifically, students' needs, emotions, values, and self-perceptions

Abraham Maslow: help students develop their potential by satisfying their needs (Self-actualizers: have an inherent need for experiences that will help them fulfill their potential)

Carl Rogers: Learner-centered education (teaches should try to establish the same conditions as do person-centered therapists); establish conditions that allow self-directed learning

Arthur Combs: The teacher is the facilitator, encourager, helper, assister, colleague, and friend of his/her students

Teachers seek to create a classroom atmosphere in which students believe that the teacher's primary goal is the understand the student's needs, values, motives, and self-perceptions and to help the student learn (student-directed or nondirective)

The Humanistic Model

1. defining the helping situation
2. exploring the problem
3. develop insight
4. planning and decision making
5. integration
   

Japanese classrooms marked by humanistic orientation, high scores on international math and science test. They also place high value on children's social and ethical development by (1.) giving children various classroom responsibilities so they feel a valued part of the school, (2) emphasizing such qualities as friendliness, responsibility, and persistence, (3) communicating to students that teachers value their presence in the classroom and the contributions that they make.

Humanistic Approach and technology

• learner-centered technology tools can link concepts to everyday experiences, guide students in the problem-solving process, encourage learners to think more deeply, facilitate unique knowledge construction, and provide opportunities for social interaction and dialogue (Graphing calculators, hand-held computers, microcomputer laboratory equipment, prompts embedded in a word processing program, computer conferencing on the Web)

The Social Approach to Teaching: Teaching Students How To Learn From Each Other

Classroom tasks can be structured so that students are forced to compete with one another, to work individually, or to cooperate with one another to obtain the rewards that teachers make available for successfully completing these tasks.

Types of Classroom Reward Structures

1. Competitive: those in which one's grade is determined by how well everyone else in the group performs (grading on a curve); these may decrease motivation to learn
2. Individualistic Structures: students working alone and earning rewards solely on the quality of their own efforts; other students reward or failure do not matter;
3. Cooperative Structures: students working together to accomplish shared goals; positive interdependence; leads students to focus on effort and cooperation as the primary basis of motivation; motivated by obligation

Cooperative Learning

1. Group heterogeneity- small groups (4 to 5) and as heterogeneous (males and females, different ability levels, and different ethnic backgrounds and social classes if possible) as allowed
2. Group goals/positive interdependence- specific goals for the group to attain
3. Promotive interaction- students are shown how to help one another overcome problems and complete whatever task has been assigned (peer tutoring, temporary assistance, exchanges of information and material, challenging of one another's reasoning, feedback, and encouragement to keep one another highly motivated)
4. Individual Accountability- each member has to make a significant contribution to achieving the group's goal
5. Interpersonal skills- they must be taught basic skills such as leadership, decision making, trust building, clear communication, conflict management
6. Equal opportunities for success- ensure that all students have an opportunity to contribute to their team
7. Team competition- must be used appropriately between well-matched team, in the absence of a norm-referenced grading system, and not used too frequently

Does Cooperative Learning Work: YES (It affects motivation, achievement, and social interaction)

Why? Likely due to stimulation of motivation, cognitive development, and meaningful learning

Because of the proacademic attitudes of groupmates, appropriate attributions for success and failure, and greater on-task behavior.

Why do teachers follow the spirit but not the letter of the cooperative learning model?

1. perhaps teachers find the models too complicated and difficult to put into practice
2. teachers don't really believe the researchers' claims that certain elements of cooperative learning are essential for improved learning, perhaps because their classroom experience has led them to believe otherwise
3. teachers interpret the research as providing suggestions or guidelines rather than prescriptions that must be followed, leaving them free to construct personal adaptations
4. reseachers rarely explicitly state that the demostrated benefits of cooperative learning will occur only when certain conditions are met

Students with low and average ability in mixed-ability groups outperform peers in homogeneous groups on problem-solving tests; students with high ability in homogeneous groups score slightly higher than peers in mixed-ability groups.

Social Approaches and Technology

• successful technology applications are embedded in an active social environment
• collaborative learning- allows the students themselves to decide on their roles and use their individual areas of expertise to help investigate problems (GLOBE Program www.GLOBE.gov, WEB Project www.webproject.org, 4Directions Project www.4directions.org)

Life Experiences:

Every teacher throughout by educational career even up to now uses different approaches to instruction. They all would fall into the categories that are discussed in this chapter, but each teacher uses these approaches in a different manner. I really never had one that focused primarily on the humanistic approach though. This is an approach that I intend on using some because how a student speaks affects their basic needs. Most of my teachers used direct instruction, information processing and a constructivist approach. With the development of technology, we as teachers are able to use so many more different instruction techniques to help individualize our instruction.

Blog:

I have shared my blog ideas with the lady that I work with. She really likes all the ideas that I am adding to my blog from what I have learned. Besides being responsible for the Special Education Students and being the Speech Therapist, she is also in charge of writing our high school ACSIP plan. We have used some of the research that is discussed in this book within this plan. By having my information saved in a special place, I have been able to access it easily for her. We have also shared many of the technology ideas with so many of the other teachers that I work with. Without this blog I would never be able to find these ideas as quickly as I do.

Question of the Week: Find another school district's website (this will be your third) outside of your hometown and/or Springfield (or the city you live in). Make sure that this school district is in a different state. Copy and paste (or type) the link into your blog. Answer the following questions about the school district in your blog:
Would you want to teach in this particular school district?
What makes this school district stand out from others that you found on the Internet?
Are there specific features that this school district has to offer that you hadn't thought of before? What are they? If not, what would you like?
Would you ever consider applying for a job at this school district? Why or why not?
Based on what we've learned so far in this class, how does this school district measure up?

Thayer, MO website at http://thayer.k12.mo.us/

I do not think that I would want to teach in this particular school district mainly because it just does not have the qualities that I am looking for in a school district. It is pretty close to me so distance would not be bad but my license that I am receiving is not for Missouri, it will be for Arkansas. It is a good school district, but a little larger than I am looking for. I do know some of the teachers and adminstration there. They do use technology more than the school that I am currently at which is a major plus. The kids class scheduling is also different than what I am used to, but could be a plus I think. They do have more resources in some areas than where I am currently at, but unfortunately even with these additional resources and more technology their academic scores do not seem to be as high as I would have thought. They have a high majority of their students that are just in the basic range, I would have thought their scores would be a little higher.

Social Cognitive Theory

Chapter 9: Summary
Social Cognitive Theory (social learning theory)- learning was based on the premise that neither spontaneous behavior nor reinforcement was necessary for learning to occur; new behaviors could also be learned by observing and imitating a model; this theory incorporate elements of both operant conditioning and information processing, and emphasized how behavioral and personal factors interact with the social setting in which the behavior occurs

Albert Bandura is generally considered the driving force behind social cognitive theory. He explains how learning results from interactions among 3 factors:

1. personal characteristics such as the various cognitive processes from information processing, self-perceptions, and emotional states
2. behavioral patterns
3. the social environment such as interactions with others

Triadic reciprocal causation- the process of interaction among these 3 elements; one's internal processes, behavior, ans social environment can affect one another to produce learning.

Bandura was interested in using social cognitive theory to describe how people become self-controlled and self-regulated learners.

The Triadic Reciprocal Causation Model: 3 elements

1. Personal characteristics- goals, anxiety, understanding of one's own cognitive processes such as planning and monitoring in learning, and self-efficacy
2. Behavioral patterns- self-observation, self-evaluation, creating productive study environments, and making changes in behavior to overcome or reduce perceptions of low self-efficacy, anxiety, and ineffective learning strategies
3. Environmental factors- individual's social and physical environment

Self-Control, Self-Regulation, and Self-Efficacy

1. Self-control- the ability to control one's actions in the absence of external reinforcement or punishment
2. Self-regulation- the consistent and appropriate application of self-control skills to new situations; self-regulating individuals set their own performance standards, evaluate the quality of their performance, and reinforce themselves when their performance meets or exceeds their internal standards
3. Self-regulation is both a cyclical and a dynamic process. Cyclical because the results of prior performance are used to guide and refine current efforts. Dynamic because personal, behavioral, and environmental factors are constantly changing.
4. Self-regulation is important because students are expected to become increasingly independent learners as they progress through school
5. Self-efficacy- how capable or prepared we believe we are to handle particular kinds of tasks; it helps influence whether people think optimistically or pessimistically
6. Students who believe they are capable of successfully performing a task are more likely than students with low levels of self-efficacy to use such self-regulating skills as concentrating on the task, creating strategies, using appropriate tactics, managing time effectively, monitoring their own performance, and making whatever adjustments are necessary to improve their future learning efforts.
7. Factors that affect self-efficacy: performance accomplishments, verbal persuasion, emotional arousal, adn vicarious experiences.
8. Types of behaviors affected by self-efficacy: selection processes (the way the person goes about selecting goals and activities), cognitive processes (using higher level thought processes), motivational processes (perseverance), and affective processes (emotions)

3 categories of self-regulatory processes: forethought processes, performance processes, and self-reflection

Forethought Phase: goal setting, strategic planning to achieve those goals, and motivational beliefs

Developmental Limitations in the forethought phase (younger children are more likely to be limited on these things than older children)

• attend to a model, such as a teacher, for long periods of time
• distinguish relevant model behaviors and verbalizations from less relevant ones
• encode a model's behavior as generalized verbal guidelines
• formulate and maintain well-defined long-term goals

Performance Phase: focus on task, process information meaningfully, and self-monitor

Developmental limitations in the performance phase (primary grade children will be more limited in these areas):

• ignore both external and internal distractions (such as self-doubts and thoughts of prior difficulties)
• perform the steps of a task more slowly and deliberately in order to avoid making mistakes
• provide themselves with verbal reminders of the steps needed to carry out a task
• select appropriate tactics for a particular task

Self-reflection phase: evaluate their performance, make appropriate attributions for success and failure, and reinforce themselves (self-satisfaction and adaptive inferences)

4 ways to self-evaluate:

1. students can adopt what is called a mastery criterion
2. students can compare their current performance against their own previous performance
3. students can use a normative standard
4. students can use a collaborative standard

Developmental limitations for the self-reflection phase (primary grade children may be more limited in these areas):

• compare themselves to peers as a basis for judging their own capabilities
• make appropriate attributions for their successes and failures
• accurately assess the leve of their own capabilities

Helping students become self-regulated learners

Self-regulating learning: thoughts, feelings, and actions purposely generated and controlled to maximize a learning outcome (may also be called self-directed, autonomous, or strategic learners)

Examples:

• prepares for an upcoming exam by studying for 2 hours each night for several nights instead of trying to cram all the studying into one or two nights
• uses memory-directed tactics, such as mnemonic devices, to accurately store and recall information for test items that will demand verbatim recall
• uses comprehension-directed tactics, such as concept maps and self-questioning, to deal with test items that will require comprehension, analysis, and synthesis of information
• creates self-tests to monitor the effectivement of study efforts and takes some time off from studying if the results of a self-test are satisfactory

Learning strategy- a general plan that a learner formulates for achieving a somewhat distant academic goal (such as getting an A on the next exam)

Learning tactic- a specific technique (such as a memory aid or a form of note taking) that a learner uses to accomplish an immediate objective

Types of tactics: (memory-directed tactics: contain techniques that help produce accurate storage and retrieval of information; comprehension-directed tactics: contain techniques that aid in understanding the meaning of ideas and their interrelationships)

• rehearsal: not a very effective memory tactic (rote rehearsal); cumulative rehearsal (involves rehearsing a small set of items for several repetitions, dropping the item at the top of the list and adding a new one, giving the set several repetitions, dropping the item at the head of the set and adding a new one, rehearsing the set, and so on) is a little more advanced
• Mnemonic Devices (memory directed tactic that helps a learner transform or organize information to enhance its retrievability
• self- and peer-questioning: self-questioning improves comprehension and knowledge integration
• note taking: taking notes and reviewing notes aid retention and comprehension
• concept mapping: helps sutdents identify, visually organize, and represent the relationships among a set of ideas

Conclusions to learning tactics

1. students need to be systematically taught how to use learning tactics to make connections among ideas contained in text and lecture, as well as between new and previously learned information
2. learning tactics should not be taught as isolated techniques, particularly to high school students, but should be taught how to use tactics as part of a broader learning strategy

Components of a learning strategy:

1. metacognition
2. analysis
3. planning
4. implementation of the plan
5. monitoring of progress
6. modification

Mnemonic devices include:

• acronym: word made from first letters of items to be learned
• acrostic: sentence made up of words derived from first letters of items to be learned
• Loci method: visualize items to be learned stored in specific locations
• keyword method: visually link pronunciation of foreign word to English translation

Mnemonic devices work so well because they meaningfully organize information, and provide retrieval cues. (Excellent example on page 289)

Observational learning (modeling)- observing and imitating the behavior of a skilled model

• observation- learners pick up the major features of a skill or strategy, as well as performance standards, motivational beliefs, and values, by watching and listening as a model exhibits the skill and explains the reasons for his behavior
• emulation-learners reproduce the general form of the model's behavior (inhibition- when we learn not to do something; disinhibition- when we learn to exhibit a behavior that is usually disapproved of by most people; facilitation- whenever we are prompted to do something that we do not ordinarily do; true observational learning- when we learn a new behavioral pattern by watching and imitating the performance of someone else)
• self-control: marked by the learner's being able to exhibit the modeled behavior in the absence of the model
• self-regulation: attained when learners can adapt the modeled behavior to changes in internal and external conditions

Why would they observe and try to emulate:

• if they are unfamiliar with the task at hand or if they feel incapable of carrying out the task
• if they admire, respect, and perceive them as having knowledge, skills, and attributes that they themselves would like to have
• if they judge their behavior to be acceptable and appropriate
• if they see that the model is reinforced for exhibiting the behavior and anticipate that they will be similarly reinforced (vicarious reinforcement)

Research on Social Cognitive Theory

1. self-efficacy, self-regulation related to each other and to achievement
2. Modeling is seen as an effective means of enhancing self-efficacy

Observing a peer model improves student's self-efficacy for math problem solving and math problem-solving ability.

Observing a peer model improves the quality of students' writing more than simply practicing writing.

Reciprocal teaching by Palincsar and Brown (RT): students learn comprehension skills by demonstrating them to peers (summarizing, self-questioning, clarifying, and predicting).

RT produced 2 general beneficial effects:

• the quality of students' summaries, questions, clarifications, and predictions improved
• the RT-trained students scored higher on tests of comprehension than before

TWA: how to think before reading, while reading, and after reading

Reciprocal questioning:

1. the teacher and students silently read a passage
2. the teacher closes his or her book
3. the students ask the teacher questions which the teacher answers
4. the students close their books
5. the teacher asks the students questions which they answer

TWA and RQ are both taught using modeling, direct instruction, and guided practice

Using Technology to Promote Self-Regulated Learning

Modeling: computers can help if teachers do not have time by providing a computer-based video model (Ex: Alien Rescue)

Providing Cognitive and Metacognitive Feedback: Summary Street can help teachers offer feedback precisely when it is needed by improving student's ability to summarize text by giving them many opportunities to summarize different types of text, by providing feedback, and by having them revise their summaries as often as necessary until they meet the standards built into the program

Providing Scaffolded Instruction: Decision Point! was used on 11th graders; it included 4 types of scaffolding such as interactive essays, a set of recommended documents, a student guide that provided categories to help them organize and synthesize information, and a journal in which students could note the effectiveness of their daily information-gathering strategies, the problems they encountered, and the progress they had made toward completing the task (it helped them to monitor their efforts). Of this 4 interactive essays was used the most and hyperlinks much less frequently

Computer programs that let students control access to information work best with those who have some self-regulatory skills

Summary of computer technology and self-regulated learning:

Computer-based instructional programs can play a productive role in the development and support of students' SRL skills, they can provide them with concrete examples of self-regulations skills and strengthen the skill of self-monitoring by reminding students at critical points to think about the nature of the problem being solved, similar problems encountered in the past, and appropriate problem-solving tactics, and provide a variety of scaffolds. So in short they can do many of the things that teachers can do, and then give teachers more time to work individually with the students who need additional help.

Suggestions for Teaching in Your Classroom

1. Include the development of self-regulated learning skills in your objectives and lesson plans: (1) emphasize the importance of SRL skills to learning and when they should be used (2) model SRL skills, including the standards you use to evaluate your performance and reinforce yourself (3) provide practice and corrective feedback for the SRL skills you want students to learn
2. Teach students how to use both memory and comprehension tactics and to take notes: (1) teach students how to use various forms of rehearsal and mnemonic devices (2) teach students how to formulate comprehension questions (3) teach students how to take notes
3. Establish the foundation for self-regulated learning in kindergarten and the primary grades
4. When teaching SRL skills, bear in mind the developmental limitations of younger students
5. Embed instruction in SRL in interesting and challenging classroom tasks
6. Help students develop a sense of self-efficacy for SRL
7. Use such effective strategy training programs as reciprocal teaching, but be prepared to make adaptations to fit your particular circumstances (1)strategy use problems (2) dialogue problems (3) scaffolding problems

Life experiences: (this also comes from my discussion board I felt it fit both areas)

Self-regulating is such an important part of speech therapy. The student must be taught how to recognize the appropriate way to articulate sounds. This is not something that they learn in a short period of time. It takes quite awhile for some students to ever be able to thoroughly grasp the idea of monitoring their own progress. Really young children can not do this; they are still in the teaching stage. Whereas, 2nd graders and up are more likely to have grasped the basic concept if taught correctly. With young children, I use a “speech phone”. This is a plastic piece of pipe that is shaped like a telephone. It is hollow so when the student places one end at their mouth and the other at their ear they can hear what they are saying much better than just regular speaking and listening. I use this technique to begin to teach the younger children how to listen to themselves. But as the kids get older, I switch to a different format. The students will read a selection to me from a book and I tape them as they read. This tape is then played back to the student so that they can hear the sounds that they made. I will then ask them to tell me the sounds that they did not articulate correctly. After they begin to grasp this technique, then I have them to continue this process by on their own at home when they read each night. By them continuing this process they are able to determine how they are progressing much better and they are also much better at correctly themselves when they are speaking to others because they have learned to actually listen to themselves talk. This process teaches them that self-regulation can help them to be better speakers.

I do not remember much about being taught SRL skills when I was in school. They probably did in some form but it was different. I was always a very good student and I taught many of my other classmates because the teacher just couldn't help everyone. I knew how to study just by teaching myself I guess. I do not now and did not then study way ahead of time so I guess in some ways I am not a self-regulated learner. My studying style is different than what the book suggests. But I do try to now help my children by showing them how to self-regulate their learning.

Journal:

Some chapters have more information that I want to remember for future reference than others. So I am able to just post the information that I want and the small details can be not included. It also allows me a way of studying. I type my blog as I read the chapter, by doing this I am able to remember the information much better. I used to write it down or highlight it but each of those caused problems sometimes. When I wrote it down, I either had to type it too or try to read my handwriting later. If I highlight the information, I have to go through every page to find the important ideas when I go back to study. So this blog as helped me in other ways than just saving information.

Weekly question: Find a school district's website outside of your hometown and/or Springfield (or the city you reside in). Copy and paste (or type) the link into your blog. Answer the following questions about the school district in your blog:
1.) Would you want to teach in this particular school district?
2.) What makes this school district stand out from others that you found on the Internet?
3.) Are there specific features that this school district has to offer that you hadn't thought of before? What are they? If not, what would you like?
4.) Would you ever consider applying for a job at this school district? Why or why not?
5.) Based on what we've learned so far in this class, how does this school district measure up?

Salem, AR at http://salem.k12.ar.us/

No I would not want to teach in this school. There are so many on the internet, but I choose this school not by how it stood out on the internet but by how close it is to me. I love where I live and do not intend on ever moving again. So determining where I would work depends on how close the school is to me, besides other qualities. This school does have a better technology program than we do in some areas but they are a much bigger school than where I currently work. I would not ever apply for a job there unless absolutely necessary because I like working where I am today because I grew up there and I know most of the kids and parents associated with the school. I also went to school with many of the other teachers or had them as teachers myself. It is a smaller school but I has a more closely knit atmosphere in so many areas. Salem school is a good school too, but just does not have the things that I am looking for.

Information-Processing Theory

Chapter 8: Summary





Information-Processing Theory: seeks to understand how people acquire new information, how they store information and recall it from memory, and how what they already know guides and determines what and how they will learn.





The Information-Processing View of Learning


Theory rests of 3 assumptions:

1. Information is processed in steps or stages.



2. There are limits on how much information can be processed at each stage.



3. The human information-processing system is interactive.

Learning results from an interaction between an environmental stimulus and a learner.

A Model of Information Processing

1. 3 memory stores: sensory register, a short-term store and a long-term store



2. Control processes help determine the quantity and quality of information that the learner stores in and retrieves from memory, and it is the learner who decides whether, when, and how to employ them.



3. The Sensory Register: the first memory store, the information it stores is thought to be encoded in the same form in which it is originally perceived; PURPOSE: to hold information just long enough (1-3 seconds) for us to decide whether we want to attend to it further



4. Recognition: involves noting key features of a stimulus and relating them to already stored information. Due to elementary school students' limited store of knowledge, they need more structured learning tasks than middle school or high school students. They must be provided with clear, complete, explicit directions and learning materials.



5. Attention: the selective focusing on a portion of the information currently stored in the sensory register. Information in long-term memory influences what we attend to.



6. Short-term Memory: (Working Memory) the second memory store, which holds information that has been attended to. It can usually hold about 7 unrelated bits of information for approximately 20 seconds. It is called working memory because it holds information we are currently aware of at any given moment and is the place where various encoding, organizational, and retrieval processes occur.



7. Rehearsal: Maintenance and elaborative



8. Maintenance Rehearsal: (rote rehearsal or repetition) only purpose is to use mental and verbal repetition to hold information in short-term memory for some immediate purpose but it has no effect on long-term memory storage.



9. Elaborative Rehearsal: (elaborative encoding) we use information stored in long-term memory to add details to new information, clarify the meaning of a new idea, make inferences, construct visual images, and create analogies. Elaborative rehearsal is based on organization and meaningfulness.



10. Organization: reduces the number of chunks and provides recall cues



11. Meaningful Learning: occurs when organized material is associated with stored knowledge



12. Visual Imagery Encoding: like pictures. images can be said to be worth a thousand words because they contain a wealth of infomation in a compact, organized, and meaningful format; The more concrete a passage is the more easily understood it is.



13. Dual coding theory: concrete material and concrete words are remembered better than abstract words because the former can be encoded in two ways, as images and as verbal labels, whereas abstract words are encoded only verbally



14. Long-Term Memory: permanent storehouse of unlimited capacity



15. Information in long-term memory is organized as schemata (an abstract structure of information)



16. Students remember much of what they learn in school, especially if mastery and active learning are emphasized. Less forgetting occurred among students who learned the material to a higher level before moving on such as making a high grade on an exam before progressing forward or by having to teach other less knowledgeable students. It also occurred in classes in which students were more actively involved in learning such as went on a field trip where the students had to observe, sketch, record and answer questions.

Metacognition

1. Metacognition: our own knowledge of how we think; cognition- describes the way in which information is processed (attended to, recognized, encoded, stored in memory for various lengths of time, retrieved from storage, and used for one purpose or another)


2. 3 part classification scheme: 1.) Knowledge of person variables (knowing that you are good at learning verbal material but poor at learning mathematical material, or knowing that information not rehearsed or encoded is quickly forgotten); 2.) Knowledge of task variables (knowing that passages with long sentences and unfamiliar words are usually harder to understand than passages that are more simply written); and 3.) Knowledge of strategy variables (knowing that one should skim through a text passage before reading it to determine its length and difficulty level)


3. Vygotsky strongly suggests that providing children with opportunities to regulate their own and others' behavior, as in peer tutoring, is an excellent way to help them increase their metacognitive knowledge and skills and to improve the quality of their learning.


4. Insight into one's learning processes improves with age

Ways in which you can encourage your students to develop their metacognitive skills

1. By thinking about the various conditions that affect how they learn and remember


2. Young children should be told periodically that such cognitive behaviors as describing, recalling, guessing, and understanding mean different things, produce different results, and vary in how well they fit a task's demand.


3. For older elementary and middle school children, explain the learning processes, and focus on the circumstances in which different learning tactics are likely to be used.


4. Have students keep a diary or log in which they note when they use learning tactics, which ones, and with what success.


5. Encourage greater use of tactics among students whose performance and reported use of them are below average.

Technology as an Information-Processing Tool

1. This idea explains how technological tools help students process and represent information, so that they can acquire important knowledge and skills from different subject areas, and provide multiple representations of knowledge to regulate their own thinking.

Writing

1. When computers are networked, teachers can use Electronic Read Around (sitting at separate computers, each student writes on a topic the teacher gives; then each student clicks on an icon representing another student's computer, reads what that student wrote, and provides feedback in a different font at the end of the document; this process is repeated until each student has read and commented on every student's text; they then use the comments to revise and edit their own pieces)


2. Online synchronous chats (a student can share ideas in real time with one or more classmates on the topic they are writing about; basically like instant messaging)


3. The World Wide Web: weblogs (blogs); Weblogs in Education site (http://www.schoolblogs.com/)


4. Kidforum (www.kidlink.org/KIDFORUM/collaborative_writing.htm)


5. Through Our Eyes (www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ)

Reading

1. Reading a story from a CD-ROM where they can click on words for pronunciations and definitions, caused reading comprehension scores to improve.

Science and Math

1. Marcia Linn and other researchers argued that students should spend less time manually calculating and plotting data and more time using technology to summarize and interpret data, look for trends, and predict relationships.


2. They created the Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE) Project (http://www.wise.berkeley.edu/). It contains a variety of science projects that teachers can adapt to local curricula and to state and national standards. This project can help students make connections among science ideas rather than learn by rote isolated facts whose relevance is not understood and that are soon forgotten. SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA


3. Calculator-Based Laboratory (CBL): provides a data-collection system that uses probes, such as temperature, light, and voltage probes, to gather data into a graphing calculator. Students taking a math class might use this tool to represent and manipulate quadratic equations in algebra, visualize statistics and other information in geometry classes, and better understand derivatives and inequalities in calculus.


4. National Center for Health Statistics www.cdc.gov/nchs , National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration http://www.noaa.gov/ , and the National Geophysical Data Center http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/ can be used to find data to make relationships more concrete and have more meaning and then use graphing calculators and spreadsheets to create graphic representations of the data.

Art and Music

1. Draw and paint modules of Appleworks and Microsoft Works can be used to alter images.


2. Digital oscilloscopes help students to understand relationships between pitch and wavelength.


3. Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) and Formal Instrumental Music Tuition (FIMT) allows students to compose at the keyboard, play a musical instrument and record it on a computer, and play one part of a multi-instrument piece while the program plays the other.

Multimedia Tools

1. Multimedia encyclopedias, databases, and libraries provide students with a wide variety of information sources. They offer multiple views on difficult concepts. They also provide more than one way to retrieve or visit the information.

Hypermedia Tools

1. This exists when multimedia information can be nonsequentially accessed, examined, and constructed by users, thereby enabling them to move from one information resource to another while controlling which options to take.


2. Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores in the Age of the Dinosaurs (1st - 5th grades): students can explore multiple locations in different parts of the world and in 3 prehistoric time periods. It also offers a dozen games and activities that involve dinosaurs.


3. Habitat Management and Monitoring: interactive science modules developed for high school students by the EPA and Purdue University

Multimedia and Hypermedia Technology Information

1. These programs that make appropriate use of animation and interactivity improve learning.


2. When students select topics and associated terms for a Web search and then evaluate the results, they are engaged in metacognition: making decisions about what information to read, thinking about knowledge interrelationships, and engaging in extensive self-questioning and note taking.


3. When they create databases of related ideas or link information in multiple formats, they are making decisions and elaboratively encoding information. These are all important metacognitive skills.

Suggestions for Teaching in Your Classroom: Helping them to become efficient information processors

1. Develop and use a variety of techniques to attract and hold attention, and give your students opportunities to practice and refine their skills in maintaining attention. (print keywords or ideas in extra-large letters, use colored chalk, present ideas with intensity and emphasis, teach basic skills as part of class projects that relate to student's natural interests, and institute games that depend on maintaining attention)


2. Point out and encourage students to recognize that certain bits of information are important and can be related to what they already know. (give students the opportunity for them to express ideas in their own words)


3. Use appropriate rehearsal techniques, including an emphasis on meaning and chunking.


4. Distributed practice: short study periods at frequent intervals


5. Serial position effect: tendency to remember items at beginning and end of a long list


6. Massed practice: learn by way of a few rather long study periods, spaced infrequently


7. Organize what you ask your students to learn, and urge older students to organize material on their own


8. Make what students learn more meaningful by presenting information in concrete, visual terms

Life Experiences:

The idea of short and long term memory is something that we all "think" about. When trying to study for tests we have to place that information in our long term memory. We also have to place all of the strategies and techniques that we are taught in our long term memory so that we can use them when we become teachers. Our short and long term memory is both so important. I have to teach my students how to say certain sounds correctly. They must place that information into their short term memory while we are working on it but as time passes we have to teach them how to continue using that information by placing it into their long term memory.

Journal:

I have really enjoyed keeping this journal, especially for this chapter. There was so many different websites and good information in this chapter. If I did not keep this journal I would never be able to find the great things that I have learned so far. Unfortunately I am not a very organized person many times, my life is so crazy I just have to do things as I can. This journal has given me a way of keeping information a little more organized so that when I finish college I will be able to use it in the future.

Educational Blog:

She has begun posting quotes of the week, they are really great. Last week it was “Change your Thoughts and You Change Your World”-Norman Vincent Peale; and this week it is "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much" - Helen Keller. They are both really great quotes. I really like reading about how she is able to use technology to serve her clients better. She has used telepractice for quite sometime but with the addition of some new software she is able to play games with her clients online without having to make copies and play by watching each other. She can now link with her client and they can play the same game online together. By playing games while helping the individual they both are able to get so much more out of it. No one likes to just sit there are say words back and forth to each other but if they can play a game while talking you are giving them a better chance of carrying that information over into conversation. So many times when I work with kids I can get them to say it correctly if they are just saying one word at a time but if they are carrying on a conversation with me it just doesn't carry over. In today's society we are being pressured with so much financial concerns that people just do not travel as much as they did. By using telepractice, she is able to serve so many more individuals without them having to travel. She posted a really great YouTube video about how she uses the online games with her clients. It was very informational. She posted a website linking you to the ASHA website explaining what they require for using telepractice services. It was very informational especially for anyone who might use this as a form of speech therapy. Technology is evolving so much more everyday in our lives that we must begin to think of things like this because there are times we just can't meet with every client we may need to. I hope to be able to incorporate this into my services at some point in time. I want to work in the school atmosphere but I also want to be able to work with other individuals outside of the school setting. This may be away that I can be at home with my family at times and still be able to work.

Question of the Week: What are some specific techniques that you would like to incorporate into your teaching based on information processing? Why do you think these techniques will work?

I love the different sections about using technology as an information-processing tool. There was so many different and great ideas included in each of those sections. I love the technique of Electronic Read Around and online synchronous chats. Both of those techniques could help so many students when writing especially students with disabilities. I can't wait to check out the Kidforum and Through our Eyes projects, they both sound really great. The idea of using CD-ROM's with reading is a strategy that I used for my kids as they were learning to read. They played interactive book games on the computer and also used their LeapFrog which allowed them to interact while reading. After using blogs for this college class, I feel that so many students could benefit just like I have from it. Our school currently uses the Texas Instrument graphing calculators in the different math classes in high school, so why not incorporate the CBL's too and using those different sites of various statistics and information when using their calculators. I intend on telling our high school math teacher and science teacher about the WISE Project. Their students could benefit in so many different ways by using this project. Since I am going into Speech Language Pathology, many of these things cannot be as easily incorporated into my area like they can be in the regular classroom. I do want to inform my high school students and the other teachers about them so that they can use some of the information that I have learned through this chapter.

Kids learn so much more when they are interested in what they doing and they have some input into what they are studying. So by using these various strategies we allow the students to have some control over their education. No child likes to be told everything that they have to do, they like to be able to make some choices for themselves.