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.

Studying

Study Study Study!


There are many different techniques when in comes to studying.

The quesrtions we were left with in class was: How do you study? What is your process? Does it differ depending on the subject? How do you feel about the results?

I usually study in my room, where it is quiet. My process in studying includes me going through my notes and the textbook and writing down the key points on a piece of paper. Once I am done going through all my notes and textbook i study my one piece of paper over and over again until I can actually visualize the paper in my head. Then when the test comes I can actually imagine my study sheet in my head and remember the answers to the test. I do study like this for most of my subjects but of course their are a couple courses i study different for. Math I just do practice questions over again and in English I usually just read a book, there are many other good strategies to studying.

A few other I have thought of are flashcards, mapping, association and connections (associating and connecting the key terms with situations on ones own life). I have the best results when I have my study sheets memorized because it is much easier for me to recall information when I am in the test. I use to have horrible study techniques, such as cramming before the test; now I know how to study properly and my marks have been greatlly positively effected.

Memory

Memory

A. Encoding

1. rehearsal: conscience repetition over time
2. deep processing: towards deeper meaning
3. elaboration: taking an idea and extending it
4. constructing images: visual elaboration
5. organization: make meaningful connections (concept maps)

B. Storage

1. sensory: seconds or less
2. short term: 30 seconds
3.long term: A. declarative (explicit) - a) Episodic Memory b) Semantic Memory
  B . Procedural (implicit)

C. Retrieval

1. Cue Dependent Forgetting- the cue we established for one isn't working.

2. Interference Theory- at one time you knew how to retrieve information, but you have learned so much new information that it is interfering with your old knowledge.

3. Decay Theory- when neuro pathways start to fade. Knowledge you no longer use (though lack of use).

Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning is conditioning in which an operant response is brought under stimulus control by virtue of presenting reinforcement contingent upon the occurrence of the operant response.

There are 4 different types of operant conditioning effects:

1. Positive Reinforcement- the direction of the behaviour change is up.
                                - an example would be more time reading in class.

2. Negative Reinforcement-the direction of the behavior change is down.
                               - an example would be less talking on the bus.

3. Positive Punishment- adding something to the punishment.
                                  - an example would be telling them that they are getting a phone call home ( adding the phone call).

4. Negative Punishment- an example would be giving more time to study for their finals.

Generalization- you can change the situation slightly, but you will still get the same results.

Extinction- over time reinforcement and punishent stop working; if you over use it.

Irlen/ Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome

Irlen/ Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome



     Irlen Syndrome is a learning disability that has intrigued me very much. My younger cousin, Jeffrey who is 9 years old had problems reading when he was younger. He was tested for many learning disorders such as dyslexia, but when all tests came back negative they pointed towards a disorder called Irlen or Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome.

      Irlen Syndrome is a is a perceptual disorder caused by a sensitivity to light; many children with this disorder have problems reading and writing. Many people who have Irlen Syndrome have a color, my cousins color is a mixture between yellow and brown. He has problems writing and cannot be exposed to bright light for long periods of time or her gets  headache or feels nausea's. Jeffrey wears glasses that have a yellow/ brown tinge to the lens, these glasses allow him to write better and be able to be exposed to bright light.
    
     Another younger girl I know with Irlen's has a color of blue. The glasses and lens' that are needed are very expensive and many are not able to afford them, such as this little girl. She instead uses a blue overlay; she just puts the transparent blue overlay over her black and white paper and she can see the words clearly. The problem for her was that her words would actually move along the page when she was reading.

      I personally cannot imagine trying to read and having the words moving all along the page.

     These are the paper overlays that many children with Irlen's Syndrome put over there paper to allow them to read properly. The glasses have lens' that are the color that the child is diagnosed with as being their color.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N5qbMFtKQ4

The link above is a video on Irlen Syndrome.



Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

-Mathematical- ability to work with numbers (math logic).

- Verbal- language, speaking, writing.

- Musical- good at detecting harmony, play music.

- Spatial- imagine things 3D à hidden space.

- Bodily Kinesthetic- movement, athletics, dance, physical activity.

- Interpersonal- interacting with others (empathy).

-Intrapersonal- emotional intelligence, self understanding.

- Naturalist- authentic, scientific intelligence.

- Spiritual- connecting with something larger then ones self.

- Existential- intelligence of a philosopher questions (questions of life).



IQ Testing

IQ TESTING

     The IQ test is a simple way to describe intelligence by assigning it a number that represents the ratio of mental to chronological age, multiplied by 100. Average IQ is therefore 100 and is based on a comparison between an individuals performance and that of other comparable people.

IQ= (mental age/chronological age) x 100

In class we discussed if we agreed or disagreed with children being IQ tested. I believe that an IQ test is a good guideline to see where students are in their educational knowledge. The one disadvantage I see in the IQ testing is that every individual is being compared to one another; which in turn causes distress and lack of motivation. Many students believe if they do bad on the IQ test they are "stupid" or "dumb"; which is not the case at all. In the graph above 1 standard deviation is equal to 15 IQ points.

Myths about the IQ test

1.MYTH-  IQ measures a mysterious property: intelligence.

   REALITY- realistically, it only tests how someone did on this specific test on a given day: performance.

2. MYTH- IQ measures only important things.

    REALITY- doesn't measure social skills, etc.

3. MYTH- IQ scores cant change

    REALITY- IQ scores can change

IQ score DOES predict academic success!



Heinz Dilemma

Heinz Dilemma

     In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $ 1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug-for his wife. Should the husband have done that?

Many would believe that Heinz should not have stolen the drug from the druggist because stealing is against the law and stealing it would have many bad consequences. I personally think that Heinz did the right thing by stealing the drug for his dying wife because life is worth so much more the money, Although he ignored the punishment stage in Kohlberg's moral development and stole the drug, saving his wife's life was a life long benefit.

My mom has had cancer so I can say that if I was put in the situation that Heinz was in for my mom I would have stolen the drug as well. Yes, going to jail would be a life long consequence but knowing that you saved someones life would be worth it to me.

Kolberg's Moral Development



Erik Erikson's Stages of Human Development

Erik Erikson's Stages of Human Development

Stages	Basic Conflict	Important Events	Outcome
Infancy (birth to 1 year)	Trust vs. Mistrust	Feeding	Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliabilty, care, and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust.
Early Childhood (1 to 2 years)	Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt	Toilet Training	Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy, failure results in feelings of shame and doubt.
Preschool (3 to 5 years)	Initiative vs. Guilt	Exploration	Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt.
School Age (6 to puberty)	Industry vs. Inferiority	School	Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority.
Adolescence (10 to 20 years)	Identity vs. Role Confusion	Social Relationships	Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self.
Young Adulthood (20 to 30 years)	Intimacy vs. Isolation	Relationships	Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation.
Middle Adulthood (40 to 50 years	Generativity vs. Stagnation	Work and Parenthood	Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world.
Maturity(60 to death)	Ego Integrity vs. Despair	Reflection on Life	Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment. Success at this stage leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair.

 I see myself at stage 5 the "Adolescence (10-20 years)" because I am asking myself the questions:

Who am I?
Who do I want to be?

I am a student who is still confused about what I actually see myself doing with my life. I am at the stage in my life where I am starting to develop a sense of who I am and what I want to do with my future. I am not quite at the next stage yet because I am not looking for someone to settle down with yet, nor am I thinking about children. I am content with the stage that I am at because I know that soon enough I will find who I am and I will be able to progress onto the next stage in my life.

Digital Technology

Digital Technology

   Technology in today's society plays a major role in schools today. Many children learn through using technology, many companies actually have programs for students to use on computers or smart phones. My life personally would be much more complex if I didn't use technology every single day. I create all my school assignments on a computer, I even write most of my quizzes on a computer. Communication has also advanced since digital technology has became the norm of social relations. It is much more efficient to text or send an email to someone then it is to even call anymore. The future generations are going to be so technologically advanced that they will work completely from some kind of digital technology. The military even has a building that is filled with army video games where children shoot people and play as if they are at war. It is to interest kids and teach them more about the army, but is it actually acceptable considering the dangerous implications that follow war? Teachers and parents need to teach children that video games, such as the army ones, are not real and that war is much more serious and intense then the games make it out to be. Another critical  aspect that we must look at when discussing digital technology is multitasking. Multitasking is the performance of multiple tasks at one time. The younger generations consume their lives with multitasking, they are always doing more then one thing at a time whether it be on the computer and cellphone at the same time to listening to music while writing and essay AND on facebook ALLLLLLLL at the same time! Crazy! But are we as good at multitasking as we really think? Researchers found that students arn't actually gaining all the information that they are reading because they are not completely focused on what there reading because they are so trying to focus on 4 different things at one time. I will admit I multitask on a regular basis especially when it comes to using more then one digital technology. I find myself texting while doing my homework and I will have the TV on in the background. Distracting much? Yes, but we all do it!

Brofenbrenner's Ecological Theory

Brofenbrenner's Ecological Theory

Jori's individual system:

The individual

- Jori Severtson

- Female

- 19 years old

- Innisfail, Alberta

Microsystem

- Mom (Shelly)

- Dad (Warren)

-Brother (Jayde)

- Red Deer College

- Tessa/ Kim/ Ashton <3

- Volleyball

Mesosystem is which connects all the systems together, therefore each individual system affects everyother system. 

Exosystem

- Tammy & Travis (family friends)

- Facebook/ Twitter

Macrosystem

- government

1st Post :)

     This is my first time blogging and my first post so here we go. I am very excited to be in Educational Psychology, throughout this course I hope to learn many different things. A couple things I am looking forward to in this course is leaning how deal with children with disorders such as ADD and ADHD, I also hope to learn more in speech because I am eventually hoping to go into to speech pathology.

     In class today we watched a video on Allison Cameron. We were left with the question:

1. As a wise consumer of information about educational psychology, please discuss and evaluate this video. How might you use this information wisely?

     I think that Allison's idea of having 20 minutes of vigorous activity before class is a great idea. I am a big supporter of physical activity and I believe that you are a much happier person if you exercise. In the video she proves that by doing 20 minutes of vigorous activity before class students have more potential to pay attention for a longer period of time. She proves her theory by taking her students grades, reading level, comprehension, etc. at the beginning of the year, before she started her experiment and then re testing at the end of the year. Her students grade levels had increased by almost a whole grade and there reading and comprehension levels had enormously increased. I think many other teachers should try this method with students with disorders such as ADD and ADHD because exercising makes it much easier for students to pay attention for a much longer period of time.It then makes it much easier to connect with the student and help them succeed in their education. Physical activity benefits many things other than education, it also reduces stress, and therefore Allison's experiment benefits a student as a whole.