Final Word

     I would just like to take this time to thank Dr. Nellis for his time and effort this semester in Educational Psychology 200. The effort that he put into his lectures and lessons greatly benefited me and I learned more then I could possibly imagine learning in this class. Educational Psychology 200 has helped me to understand how to deal with many situations with children and event adults that I would have never been able to handle before. This class has given be confidence to keep on perusing my educational goal it has also taught me that having a relationship with your students is one of the key factors to success. I believe teaching is a profession that guides children to success, to help them develop and learn to grow. This class and proven to me that teaching is the profession for me.

Thank you very much!

Learner Centered Planning and Instruction

Video: Sugata Mitra (TED)
- shows how children teach themselves

1)  Remoteness - effects quality of education: schools and institutions in remote areas outside of mainstream life are found to have a lower standard of education.
* 6-13 year olds will self instruct if they have the resources
* primary education can happen on its own

2) Children can self organize - learning is a self organizing system

"Any teacher that can be replaced by a machine, should be ..."
* I think this is a fair statement because if a teacher is not able to give his or her students the in depth learning experience that a computer or some type of technology could, there is no point for them being there other than to supervise. If the technology is there for students to use, it should be utilized in everyday learning.


Learner-Centered planning and instruction

Three Strategies:
1. Problem based
2. essential questions (essay question)
3. discovery learning (research assignment)
    - links the project to their curiosity
    - allows students to discover connections for themselves

Integrating the Curriculum
- more real - more authentic

SQ4R

SQ4R

S- survey
Q- question
R- read
R- recite
R- relate
R- review

3 phases (why SQ4R works)
- pre reading
- reading
- post reading



Robert Siegler's 3 Main Characteristics

1. Thinking- informtion processing

2. Change Mechanisms- as time goes on your information evolves and riches over time

a.) encoding- input of new information

b.) automaticity- something becomes automatic

c.) strategy construction- taking something into our conscious mind

d.) transfer- take what we know and transfer it to knew context

3. Self modification- modify or change information ourselves



Assessing Student Learning

Effective classroom assessment:

• addresses specific outcomes in the program of studies
• shares intended outcomes and assessment criteria with students prior to the assessment activity
• assesses before, during and after instruction
• employs a variety of assessment strategies to provide evidence of student learning
• provides frequent and descriptive feedback to students
• ensures students can describe their progress and achievement and articulate what comes next in their learning
• informs teachers and provides insight that can be used to modify instruction.

Types and features of Assessment



4 Types

1. Before Instruction Assessment: takes place before instruction occurs - to provide us with a baseline

2. During Instruction Assessment: (formative assessment - assessment for learning) Diagnostic - to help ourselves and students to know how their doing, if they need help, or if they need to do something differently

3. After Instruction Assessment: (assessment of learning)

4.Assessment as Learning: dimension of metta cognition (thinking about our thinking) - becoming aware of our own learning

3 Features
1. Reliability - assessment instrument yield, constant/predictable results - results are reproducible, stable and dependable

2. Validity - measures what it claims to measure

3. Fairness - no barriers - all learners have the same opportunity to learn and demonstrate their skills

Managing the Classroom

Minor Interventions
- keeping your students moving in a positive direction
Small Interventions/Non Verbal: progressive discipline
Direct Interventions: directly and assertively tell them to stop
- always consider where the child is coming from; developmental needs

Moderate Interventions
- semi formal interventions
Ex. Detention, Withholding privileges, Time Outs (student realization of what they were doing and why they need a time out to cool down and rethink the situation)

Serious Interventions
Formal
Ex. Involve school admin, Suspensions (in school or at home), Expulsion
- last resort

*If you do not have a well planned schedule/organization system/curriculum, this leaves room for misconduct and bad behavior.  

Exceptional Learners

Exceptional Learners

I.E.P (individualized education plan)- these IEP's allow each student to be taught to their specific needs
- this gives teachers a way to attend to each students needs, making their learning experience the best possible

Inclusive Education: the teaching of all students together
- I believe that inclusive education may be a good thing for the future of schooling but it does come with consequences: Students that need extra care and help in the classroom may not work well with children who are developing at a normal rate. They sometimes need specific attention and when they are placed in a class with everyone else it is hard for the teacher to provide the child with what they need specifically.
- Students with individual learning needs require some form of support or specialized program, this can be hard to do in classrooms with a large number of students
- Our class room systems should be fair. Fairness means that everyone gets what he or she needs, this does not mean that everyone gets the same things.

Video: How difficult can this be? (FAT city workshop)
F.A.T - Frustration, Anxiety, Tension

Oral Expression: Dysnomia (word finding problem)
- cognitive = one thing at a time
- associative = two or more things at a time
For a child with Dysnomia speaking is a cognitive activity

Auditory and Visual Capabilities
- some kids understand once something is read to them
As a teacher you have to be aware of the ways students learn best and form your teaching strategies around them.