Group Differences Forum

The group differences forum was an awesome experience!  The subjects covered were issues that we, as teachers, will all have to confront at some point in our careers. I enjoyed listening, and contributing to each topic brought to attention.  It was interesting hearing my classmates views on the topics and comparing them to my own.  I would have liked to learn more about ELL teachers.  This was a subject not many of us knew a lot about.  Overall, I thought the forum was a great learning experience for everyone involved and I hope that this continues in future 401 classes to come.

Barb Rentenbach Assignment

I was unable to attend both lectures by Barb Rentenbach, though instead I watched videos "Here We Are World: A Conversation Among Friends" and "Autism Teacher Please Barb Rentenbach".  In "Here We Are World: A Conversation Among Friends", individuals who all suffer from autism, who also happen to be friends, use facilitated communication (FC) to communicate with each other.  The video really opened my eyes at how autism can effect an individual.  I have always known that autism is a serious disorder, and quite naively I never knew people suffering with autism could understand the world around them so well.  I was amazed at the in-depth conversations they had with each other by simply typing out their thoughts on a computer.  It was surprising to learn that they were all attending college studying subjects I would never have the courage to take.  This is yet another stereotypical view the world labels on people with disorders.  If it was not for technology individuals suffering with this disorder could never speak to the world, and we would never know what amazing thoughts and ideas were growing inside them. 

In "Autism Teacher Please Barb Rentenbach", Rentenbach is suffering from autism and is mute.  Since her disorder does not permit her to speak, she writes and uses facilitated communication to communicate with the world.  The video features writings from her book, "I Might Be You", read by Rentenbach's friends.  In Rentenbach's writings, she explains to teachers how to successfully teach and care for a student who is suffering from autism.  She explains some rituals that autism students perform are acts of comfort, and that they just need to be understood.  An example she gives is that she carried around nuts and bolts with her because it gave her a sense of comfort, and yes it was odd, but that's what felt right to her. She stresses that we are all equal, and that we all need to be viewed and understood the same way. 

After watching both videos my views on autism have certainly changed.  These individuals are just like any other student, they just can not voice their ideas verbally like most.  When I have students in my future classroom dealing with autism I will be more patient and willing to coordinate with their needs to make them feel as comfortable as possible.  At the beginning of the "Autism Teacher Please Barb Rentenbach" video, Rentenbach describes herself as someone most people may fear.  She says "I am digused as a poor thinker".  This is unquestionably true in our society.  If anyone looks, or acts differently they are automatically judged and labeled.  Rentenbach and the FC friends in "Here We Are World: A Conversation Among Friends" throw all of these stereotypical judgements out the door. I found myself wishing that I was as intelligent as them, and also so much more appreciative of my world. 

 

PLE Post #10 (Chapter 2)

Theories in educational psychology promote the idea that language plays a critical role in cognitive development. Examine Table 2.2 (p. 51), paying particular attention to the age range that you are interested in teaching. Consider how you might incorporate or adapt the strategies presented for use with your own students.

In grade level's K-2, the student will have a hard time understanding complex sentences, and the qualities of a good listener.  To work on these two very important skills in the classroom, I would communicate with my students using age appropriate vocabulary.  If I were to use a new vocabulary word in my lesson I would be sure to fully explain the meaning of the word so they will better understand.  To work on listening skills, I would enforce sitting quietly while paying attention to my explanation of that days art procedures.
This age group enjoys telling stories, and I would use this ability in my art lessons.  A great way to incorporate vocabulary, listening skills, and art would be to read the students a story and have them finish the story with their own unique ending.  The students will be listening to vocabulary, and quietly paying attention, strengthening their listening skills.  The story will have no ending, and it will be their job to finish the story.  They will draw an illustration to go along with their ending and they will share the story with the class.
I found a YouTube video explaining the importance of early learning. The age group of the children in the video is much younger, but it's very interesting how much they retain at such a young age.

Early Learning and the Brain

Chapter 10

How might self-efficacy and self-regulation contribute to the intervention plans you use in your case study? 

In my case study the student, Lisa, disrupts her group when not getting her way.  The constructivist teaching technique I plan on using for Lisa would be the "reflection zone", where Lisa will decide herself to go to when she's feeling upset.  Giving Lisa the choice to decide when she needs to take charge of her anger will build self-efficacy.  This process also involves self-regulation helping Lisa to identify when she's acting out, and how to better control her behavior resulting in better grades and teacher praise. While researching, I found a YouTube video that nicely explains student self-regulation and the scaffolding technique. Scaffolding Self-Regulation

PLE #4 What are the essential skills and/or learning outcomes you want your students to know and be able to do that relate to cognitive learning?

I want my students to be able to use prior knowledge while learning new material.  In the art classroom, history and literature lessons will play important roles.  Students will be able to use prior knowledge from these classes while learning about art history and also when writing reviews of art work. My students should be able to discuss topics they have learned previously, and presently, while pointing out key points.  Constructing a series of review questions for my students, and relating art projects to work in other classes will help my students in the cognitive process.   

Chapter 9

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? 

Since I'm in Art Education I will be certified to teach K-12, but if I could pick I would teach Elementary.  Therefore, I chose the Elementary Education case study for my CSEL.  The Elementary case study is about a student, Lisa, who has trouble working in her group with peers.  She does not pay attention, and gets angry with students in her group if she does not get the responsibilities she wants.  
A behaviorist way of handling the situation would be that every time Lisa acts out the teacher would join the group, enforcing Lisa to behave.  This would teach Lisa that every time the teacher comes near she needs to stop misbehaving.  I think this could be a negative and positive way of handling the situation.  If the teacher comes to the group and scolds Lisa in front of classmates, Lisa could start fearing the teacher and Lisa would act out more.  But if the teacher approaches the group in a cheery, happy manner, encouraging teamwork, Lisa would not fear the teacher but know that it's time to stop misbehaving. When confronting this case study earlier on in the semester, I suggested removing Lisa from the group since she was the only student disrupting the group.  If the teacher removed Lisa from the group, and had her do an activity that involved no interaction with peers this might led to more misbehavior from Lisa.  Though, using the constructivist theory, you can give Lisa the choice to leave the group if she's getting upset.  Having a "reflection zone" sectioned off in the classroom would be where Lisa would go, though their would a limit of 5 minutes in the zone, and only if she asked the teacher. Constructivist theory allows the student more independence.  They start learning to make their own decisions, and learn from social interaction.  When Lisa has the choice to go to the "reflection zone", she is making the decision herself knowing that she is going to get upset.  Not only does this help Lisa, but it helps the other classmates.  My classroom theory is constructivist.  In the art classroom, the constructivist theory seems to be the perfect match.  Art is all about the students personal interests, giving them independence of their artwork.  Art is also a very social class, where feeding off of one another's ideas and brainstorming is a huge factor.  
I found a very helpful website that talks about all the different learning theories. Learning Technologies

Chapter 8

Consider a lesson plan you might use.  Which metacognitive skills/abilities are involved as students gain facility/knowledge in this domain?

My lesson plan is targeted towards K-2, focusing on Pacific Northwestern Native American's.  The students will learn the history, and culture of Native American Tribes that settled in the Pacific Northwest, and make masks that mimic the animals symbolized on totem poles that these tribes are known for. When introducing the information to the students make statements about the step by step process of making the Pacific Northwestern Native American Mask, such as "Do you remember what step is next?". Ask students to repeat steps, and call on students to say the steps to display their memorization skills.  Talk about thinking processes often.  While students are working on their masks, I would ask questions about the information we covered on history and culture to see how much they retained.  Attached is a YouTube video of a teacher who talks about using metacognitive skills in the classroom.  Her approach of asking the student on what level they think they know the question is a great tool for both teacher and student. 

Chapter 7 (PLE Post #6)

Music & Art during WWI

The teacher will:

• teach the history of WW1
• teach the DaDa Movement of Art that emerged during WWI
• show slides of art work of the DaDa Movement 
• play recordings of music and marches popular during WWI
• help students create a project based on the DaDa period of WWI

The students will:

• they will process what they see and hear, while answering questions from the teacher
• research WWI in the library searching for examples of DaDa, and propaganda 
• they will work in groups making a project based on the DaDa movement (this could be open to a presentation about the art and music movement, or they could make an art piece based on the movement)   

Combining history with art is a great way to incorporate group projects.  They are able to research the project using the library as a resource, divide tasks, and gain different insights from peers.  Giving the students a choice of what project they can do (writing, presentation, or art project) allows for more excitement and motivation.  I found a great video on YouTube showing students working and sharing their projects with peers.  It's a great example of how effective constructivist teaching can be!