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.