How might self-efficacy and self-regulation contribute to the intervention plans you use in your case study?
I think that this case study deals more with self-regulation than self-efficacy, but both are very important.
One reason why Lisa may be off task in her group is because she doesn't feel confident about her abilities or her particular job in her group, which may lead her to being off task and not motivated to try. As Lisa's teacher, I would need to boost her self-efficacy by giving her positive feedback when she does do something on task and productive. I would also assure her that she has the tools and does know how to work in an on task manner and successfully complete her role in her small group.
As I previously stated, self-regulation would really come into play in this case study. As I've seen in classrooms before, I could give Lisa a sticky note where she could keep tally marks of times that she is on task. I could also speak with her at the end of the day and ask her to evaluate how well she worked in her group that day. I would say something like "I was watching you today to see how you did in group time and I'd like you to tell me how you think you worked". This way Lisa will know that I too was observing her and she can't get away with saying "I did great!" even if she didn't have a good day. We could talk about things that she did right and wrong and why they were right and wrong. After this we could think of a plan for her to stay doing positive things in group work. This gives Lisa a sense of ownership, which I think is very important in younger students.
I have included a link to an article on self-regulation with some great tips for the classroom! http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/staff-workshop-teacher-handout-self-regulation-early-childhood-classroom
Monday, March 18, 2013
Case Study Continued
Consider your CSEL intervention case study. Are there tools from a behaviorist view for either encouraging productive behaviors or discouraging undesirable behaviors that you could apply to the case? What are they?
Now, compare the interventions that you have identified above with what you think might work from a cognitive or constructivist viewpoint (you may need to Google for ideas but it's okay to just speculate based on your prior knowledge). How do they compare to behaviorist tools? What are the benefits of each theory, and what are the deficits? Which theory might play a larger role in how you determine classroom management?
Elementary Education Case Study
You engage your third grade students in cooperative learning activities at least twice a day, changing heterogeneous group members once every four weeks. You have agreed upon routine procedures that your classroom community uses within their small groups, including the roles and responsibilities of group members. Lately you have noticed that one small group always seems to have difficulty grasping material and completing their project in an acceptable manner. You observe this group carefully and find that Lisa seems to be the catalyst for their problems. She gets angry with others if she does not get the job she wants and refuses to do her part in contributing to the group’s learning. She constantly interrupts others in her group. She does not pay attention when her group prepares for class presentations.
There are many behaviorist theories that I would consider in this case study and I think that many are used regularly in elementary classrooms. One system that is clearly behaviorist would be implementing a behavior chart with consequences and rewards. You can use reinforcements for good behavior, such as students receive extra recess time for good behavior (positive reinforcement) and taking away recess for bad behavior (negative consequence). In the case study that I worked with previously, I stated that if a problem persists over time I would remove her from the group and have her work on her own. This would be an example of negative consequence, because I am removing her from something desirable (being a group) in hopes that the action (being distracting/not working well with others) decreases.
When using a constructivist approach, I would not use reinforcement or punishment like I would in a behaviorist setting. In a constructivist approach, I would explain to Lisa what she is doing wrong and discuss with her what we could do to help fix the problem and why it is a problem in the first place that she is being disruptive and unhelpful. Lisa and I could maybe come up with a consequence when she is being off task and a cue that I give her when she is being off task. In my previous post, I said that I could tap on Lisa's desk to get her attention and make sure she is on task, this could be a cue that we come up with together to make sure she is working well in the group.
I think that as a first year teacher, it is easier to implement a behaviorist system for classroom management in your classroom because it is very straight forward with reinforcements and punishments put into place and set in stone. I think that as I progress as a teacher I would like to move more toward a constructivist classroom, where students can notice their behaviors, explain why they are not acceptable and fix them themselves. Like I said, this constructivist classroom would come more with time, practice and knowledge of how a classroom really runs.
Now, compare the interventions that you have identified above with what you think might work from a cognitive or constructivist viewpoint (you may need to Google for ideas but it's okay to just speculate based on your prior knowledge). How do they compare to behaviorist tools? What are the benefits of each theory, and what are the deficits? Which theory might play a larger role in how you determine classroom management?
Elementary Education Case Study
You engage your third grade students in cooperative learning activities at least twice a day, changing heterogeneous group members once every four weeks. You have agreed upon routine procedures that your classroom community uses within their small groups, including the roles and responsibilities of group members. Lately you have noticed that one small group always seems to have difficulty grasping material and completing their project in an acceptable manner. You observe this group carefully and find that Lisa seems to be the catalyst for their problems. She gets angry with others if she does not get the job she wants and refuses to do her part in contributing to the group’s learning. She constantly interrupts others in her group. She does not pay attention when her group prepares for class presentations.
There are many behaviorist theories that I would consider in this case study and I think that many are used regularly in elementary classrooms. One system that is clearly behaviorist would be implementing a behavior chart with consequences and rewards. You can use reinforcements for good behavior, such as students receive extra recess time for good behavior (positive reinforcement) and taking away recess for bad behavior (negative consequence). In the case study that I worked with previously, I stated that if a problem persists over time I would remove her from the group and have her work on her own. This would be an example of negative consequence, because I am removing her from something desirable (being a group) in hopes that the action (being distracting/not working well with others) decreases.
When using a constructivist approach, I would not use reinforcement or punishment like I would in a behaviorist setting. In a constructivist approach, I would explain to Lisa what she is doing wrong and discuss with her what we could do to help fix the problem and why it is a problem in the first place that she is being disruptive and unhelpful. Lisa and I could maybe come up with a consequence when she is being off task and a cue that I give her when she is being off task. In my previous post, I said that I could tap on Lisa's desk to get her attention and make sure she is on task, this could be a cue that we come up with together to make sure she is working well in the group.
I think that as a first year teacher, it is easier to implement a behaviorist system for classroom management in your classroom because it is very straight forward with reinforcements and punishments put into place and set in stone. I think that as I progress as a teacher I would like to move more toward a constructivist classroom, where students can notice their behaviors, explain why they are not acceptable and fix them themselves. Like I said, this constructivist classroom would come more with time, practice and knowledge of how a classroom really runs.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Metacognition
Consider a lesson plan you might use. Which metacognitive skills/abilities are involved as students gain facility/knowledge in this domain?
OR
Think of an activity or lesson component that explicitly teaches one or more metacognitive and one or more problem solving skills.
Metacognitive skills are so very important for our young learners-- because it helps them learn how to learn. When I was first introduced to the word metacognition I was a little confused, but then quickly realized that this is a skill that I've used for a very long time and has served me well! For this PLE I will be answering the second question that we were given.
Before starting a new literature lesson I would like to introduce my students into this idea of metacognition. I don't think that I will use the word metacognition, because it's a little big and scary (even to my college aged self I was a little bit intimidated by it!). I want to advise my students that they will start "thinking about what they're thinking about". I will give them their literature and tell them that they should write down on a separate sheet of paper anything that they find themselves thinking about when they're reading along with the page number they were on. In a perfect world students would be able to write in their books, but due to funding and resources this probably won't happen. I'd like to see them write down things such as connections they're making, questions they have about vocabulary words, etc.
Along the same lines, once we're done with our literature piece, I'd like to present them hypothetical questions like "what if you were character X, what would you have done in their situation, and why?" to help develop their problem solving skills. I would like to make this a big group discussion, because I think that students feed well off of each others comments and discussion.
Here is a cute youtube video I found of students singing a song about metacognition. A little long to have students memorize and sing, but maybe making a recording of this or printing it out and placing it around the room would be a good idea! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNeQKk_1Bg8
OR
Think of an activity or lesson component that explicitly teaches one or more metacognitive and one or more problem solving skills.
Metacognitive skills are so very important for our young learners-- because it helps them learn how to learn. When I was first introduced to the word metacognition I was a little confused, but then quickly realized that this is a skill that I've used for a very long time and has served me well! For this PLE I will be answering the second question that we were given.
Before starting a new literature lesson I would like to introduce my students into this idea of metacognition. I don't think that I will use the word metacognition, because it's a little big and scary (even to my college aged self I was a little bit intimidated by it!). I want to advise my students that they will start "thinking about what they're thinking about". I will give them their literature and tell them that they should write down on a separate sheet of paper anything that they find themselves thinking about when they're reading along with the page number they were on. In a perfect world students would be able to write in their books, but due to funding and resources this probably won't happen. I'd like to see them write down things such as connections they're making, questions they have about vocabulary words, etc.
Along the same lines, once we're done with our literature piece, I'd like to present them hypothetical questions like "what if you were character X, what would you have done in their situation, and why?" to help develop their problem solving skills. I would like to make this a big group discussion, because I think that students feed well off of each others comments and discussion.
Here is a cute youtube video I found of students singing a song about metacognition. A little long to have students memorize and sing, but maybe making a recording of this or printing it out and placing it around the room would be a good idea! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNeQKk_1Bg8
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