Zeller - QTC #10

Lydia Zeller

QTC #10 (Chapter 2)

April 21, 2014

Question 1:

What are developmental milestones? (understand)

 

Question 2:

How will developmental milestones affect your teaching? (evaluate)

Zeller- QTC #9

Lydia Zeller

QTC #9 (Chapter 10)

April 7, 2014

 

Question 1:

How can modeling be used to help learning? (Understanding)

 

Question 2:

Give an example of how you can use modeling in your classroom specific to your content area. (Create)

Zeller - 2nd Teaching Project Sources - Self Efficacy

Lydia Zeller

Sources for second teaching project April 7, 2014 - Self -Efficacy

¢Educational Psychology: Developing Learners. 7th Edition. Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis. Pearson Education, Inc. Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA. 2011.

¢Hammon, Mary Catherine, "Teacher Political Self-Efficacy: Construct Development and Validation. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2010. http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/695

¢Broaddus, Matthew Bryan, "Students’ writing self-efficacy, motivation, and experience: Predictors in journalism education. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2012. http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/1275

¢http://www.excelatlife.com/questionnaires/self-efficacy.htm

Zeller - Blog 8

b) 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? Conversely, how might self-efficacy and self-regulation contribute to the intervention plans you use in your case study?

Lydia Zeller

Blog #8

March 31, 2014

Case Study: Middle School – Cherie

As a teacher, I face behaviors to Cherie’s frequently. I find positive reinforcement to be a good tool in increasing or decreasing particular behaviors. I use a variety of reinforcers in my classroom. One is a piece of candy; another is verbal praise, free seat Friday, having class outside one day, etc. I use these to encourage on task behavior, getting homework done, team/group activities (like a winning team from a game); almost anything can be encouraged. Also, by treating good behaviors this way it encourages others to behave this way. I see less off task behaviors when the students are working towards something; especially when the something is having class outside.

I try not to use negative reinforcement in my class room. However, I am guilty of an example from our text. Sending a student to the office – often they want to go and so it rewards them when they are sent there. However, sometimes it is inevitable; I must keep a good learning environment. I have before kept students in my room because they wanted to leave. I have felt guilty because it seems like a cheap shot for me (I didn’t like the satisfaction I got from keeping them where they did not want to be). However, I also do not want them to have the bad behavior reinforced to get what they want. I also take the rewards from the positive reinforcement section away which I would say is considered negative reinforcement. If the students earned working with a partner instead of by themselves but are too loud or not getting work done, I switch the assignment back to individual. (I do not take away without warning). This is taking away a stimulus which is negative reinforcement.

Self Efficacy – To me it appears Cherie is doing these behaviors as an attention strategy from her peers and the adults. From a self efficacy view point, she may not believe she can behave properly. I would try positive reinforcement with her. After a conversation one-on-one, we could work out a system of reward. For example, “if you are good all week I will let you take the attendance to the office each day next week”. Hopefully, I can encourage her good behavior to show her she is capable of proper behavior. Another reinforcer I could use would be to let her come eat lunch with me. If she is truly craving attention that may be a reward she will find worth working towards.

Self Regulation – Cherie may be struggling with self regulation because one of her other needs is not being met. Like I mentioned earlier, I believe she is craving attention whether it be adult or peer related. To work with her on self regulation, giving her small tasks to work toward earning would be a good start. Once she can do the smaller tasks, I would increase the difficulty or length of each goal. This will take time but hopefully she will gain the self regulation needed to not need my help.

QTC 7 (Zeller)

Lydia Zeller

QTC #7 (Chapter 8)

March 24, 2014

Question 1:

What is the difference between overt and covert strategies? (remember)

Question 2:

What is the relationship between overt and covert strategies? (Analyze)

Zeller Group Differences Reflection

Lydia Zeller

Group Differences – Poverty

Individual Reflection

March 24, 2014

                For the group differences project, I read the article “Radical Possibilities” by Jean Anyon. The article spoke to me because I work in an urban school here in Knox County. I see students who struggle with poverty and the mindset of many students who are in these situations that this is the situation they will be in for life. Finding a way for them to change their future intrigues me and Anyon offers some good points.

                Anyon mentioned that she came from a family that was considered “radical” and heavily involved in politics. She offers interesting insight and solutions to those of us who were not raised with this mindset. Her main focus is on the teachers of these students. She mentions in several places that the teachers are the bridge between the parents and community and, therefore, can help create the solutions.

                One of my biggest concerns with the solutions she offers is time. I would love to help change the lives of these students more than just by teaching them science. However, I would like to know where she thinks the time will come from. I already work fifty to fifty-five hours or so a week while taking a class at the same time. As a first year teacher, I am not sure I see how to fit this into science curriculum. Maybe in the future years I can work more of these skills in. I do see where this could work really well in social studies curriculums. However, how can I pass it on to other teachers and hope they take the responsibility up?  That does not seem fair either.

                Overall, I think the author offers very high-quality solutions to help urban students break the cycle and give them social justice. I just wonder how time effective it could be made. I really feel it could be more tailored to a social studies curriculum or if there was a position that could be created in the school system where this was a full time job (although where does that money come from?). For example, my school has hired a person to start a parent center. I could definitely see through her programs these ideas working.

Lydia Zeller

QTC #6 (Chapter 7)

March 10, 2014

Question 1:

What is an example of an authentic activity that you can use in your class room? (Specific to your content area) - Understanding

Question 2: analyze, evaluate, create

How will your student look at the authentic activity you created and connect the information to their lives? - Evaluate

Lydia Zeller

Teaching Project

March 10, 2014

Authentic Activities

Additional Source (outside our textbook)

žBecoming a better teacher eight innovations that work. Giselle O. Martin-Kniep 1956- ebrary, Inc. Alexandria, Va. : Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development c2000

¡http://utk-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=detailsTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=utk_aleph002334052&indx=2&recIds=utk_aleph002334052&recIdxs=1&elementId=1&renderMode=poppedOut&displayMode=full&frbrVersion=&dscnt=0&fctN=facet_frbrgroupid&fctN=facet_tlevel&onCampus=false&rfnGrp=frbr&rfnGrp=show_only&query=any%2Ccontains%2Cauthentic+learning&frbg=51541695&scp.scps=&fctV=51541695&fctV=online_resources&dstmp=1393710360416&cs=frb&lastPagIndx=1&lastPag=&frbrSrt=date&group=GUEST&vl(freeText0)=authentic%20learning&vl(3199890UI0)=any&vid=UTK&institution=UTK

 

Lydia Zeller

Blog for Class March 3, 2014

(a)  What aspects of cognitive theory do I agree and disagree with?

a.       Agree – Cognitive processes influence what is learned. I personally have faced the same problem as Kanesha from our text in trying to learn anatomy. I try to make connections that make sense in my head….sometimes they are accurate and sometimes they are not.

b.      Agree – People’s cognitive processes can sometimes be inferred from their behaviors. The example from the text talks about remembering lists giving insights to how material is mentally organized. I use this kind of information to find misconceptions in students knowledge.

c.       Agree/Disagree – People are selective about what they mentally process and learn. I agree that students naturally tune out most stimuli by choice (shoes on feet, a ring on a finger, etc.). However, some stimuli cannot be ignored. I also believe students do not always choose the correct things to focus on.

d.      Agree - Meanings and understandings are not derived directly from the environment; instead, they are constructed by the learner. Students in my experience for sure remember information in interesting ways. I often wonder how they came up with certain answers. This component of cognitive theory puts that wonder into words.

e.      Agree/Disagree – Maturational changes in the brain enable increasingly sophisticated cognitive processes with age. I agree with this component in that as we age we can pay attention for longer, hold more information at one time, and increase difficulty of assignments (even from the beginning to end of one school year). I, however, feel environment at home and what parents place value on (education or other activities) affects the age at which students start to take school seriously (if ever). If a student does not place importance on education and learning, the harder it is the longer they wait.

(b)  How might cognitive theory work (or not work) with my (future) students/subject area?

a.       I have learned from experience in this first year of teaching many things. I can tie a lot of my experiences to cognitive theories. First, learning how much students can handle in one day (information wise) and how much is being partly lazy has been difficult (1e). I also try to dispel misconceptions as I teach but it is amazing what students come back to class the next day with when we review (1d). Often, I try to offer easy ways to remember certain terms and concepts (1a).

Lydia Zeller

QTC 5

March 3, 2014

CSEL Case Study and the Cognitive View

                My case study involves a middle school student who is disruptive during class mates presentations.

To encourage good behavior using cognitive views: I would like the students to fill out evaluations of each other’s presentations. This will help keep their focus on the task at hand. I will then offer extra credit on their exam based on information presented from their class mates. This will encourage them to pay attention and possibly even take notes. For those students presenting, I will ask them questions as well as having their fellow students to ask them questions. This will help with the presenters learning the information. I will then want to have a conversation with the whole class on what the most important parts were as well as which parts were most interesting. I want to incorporate meaning to keep students interested.

To discourage bad behavior: For students who need more stimulation, I want them to take notes through out. I also want the students to go home and find more information. If a disruptive behavior is occurring I will want to remind students about the information possibly being tested.

QTC 4

Lydia Zeller

Chapter 13 Response

February 24, 2014

1.       Based on our readings and class discussion, how will you create a learning environment that is conducive to learning?

The following are the three things I found from the reading that are most helpful for my classroom management.

·         Arranging the classroom – I have my desks arranged in a “U” shape. I have tried several configurations and this one seems to work best.

·         Establishing relationships – I find students work better for you and follow your requests if they have a good relationship with you. I ask them about their interests and we share stories with each other.

·         Planning activities that keep students on task – I try to come up with material that will interest students in the concepts we are learning. For example, we are currently learning about genetics. Each day I pass out an article on a different genetic disorder. So far we have covered albinism, color blindness, and the Kentucky blue people. This sparks questions and engages the students in deep conversation related to genetics.

2.       (a) Write three things that stood out to you from the three videos you watched on restorative justice approaches.

·         I like the circles idea. I would love to try this with the students at my school. I teach in an inner city school where home lives of many of the students may be violent. Often, these students, although not physical right now, do argue with each other a lot. I am sure most of it is due to miscommunication.

·         Another thing that stood out to me is that this approach works well with elementary through high school students. It can also include parents.

·         A third thing that stood out to me was how peaceful and happy people seem at the end of a session. The resolution comes from something so simple…communication.

(b) What questions do you have about the restorative way to managing difficult behaviors?

·         I would like to know how long a typical session lasts. 30 minutes? 1 hour?

·         Does it often only take one talk per issue or does the subject need to be revisited?

Lydia Zeller

Motivation – Chapter 11

February 10, 2014

                I am a seventh grade science teacher in an inner city middle school, and in this chapter there was one motivation theory in particular that really stuck out to me. I find that I battle this problem almost every day with a large number of students. The theory is “Competence and Self-Worth”.

                The very first line on page 366 under this heading talks about a student needing to believe that they can succeed. I find many of my students do not have a lot of self-worth. I am still trying to decide if this is because they are twelve going on thirteen or if there is something more due to the social economics of this cohort. Does being in a lower economic class affect self-worth? Does the fact that living in single parent households, or mixed family households, or living with other family members affect students? Does having parents who work odd hours, and so there is less supervision at home, affect the student’s confidence in their school work? Regardless, I see self-worth and believing in their own competence is a common issue for many of my students.

                The text mentions five self-handicapping forms students put upon themselves. I for sure see three out of six of these handicapping forms. First, many students reduce effort. They automatically assume they cannot do the work or that it is too difficult and so do not try before giving up. I also see plenty of procrastinating. Many students do not do their work in class, claiming they will do it for homework. The next day they come in and try to finish real quick before I pick it up. The other self-handicapping I see is cheating. They will copy from someone else’s assignment or on a quiz.  One problem is that the students do not have much confidence in themselves. (There are also many other factors but this is one affecting them for sure.)

                To combat these self-worth and competence issues, there are several strategies to work with. The text mentions three, the first of which is that teachers help students succeed, especially with difficult assignments. I often circulate around the room answering questions as students work and treating it as one-on-one tutoring during class. I also try to pair students up when group work is being done so that one partner may be able to explain a topic or assignment for a struggling partner. They may explain it in a way that a peer would understand that I have not thought of. Sometimes, but not always, peer tutoring works.

                A second way to help increase self-worth is by helping students set goals that are easy to track progress with. I like to give practice quizzes so that students can see how well they know material. By being practice (not a grade) the student does not necessarily give up as soon because that quiz is not in the grade. They still have a chance to learn the material before it affects their grade. It is also a chance for me to see which students are struggling most and with which topics they are struggling with.

                Another way to increase competence is to lower competition between other peers that would make them feel bad about themselves. I do not want them to believe that there are groups of “smart” students and groups of “dumb” students. When students place themselves in these groups, especially when a student places themselves lower, they lower their self confidence. Believing in themselves will often promote their own self-worth and competence without my help. I never want a student to underestimate themselves. However, there is also a flip side. Students who over believe in themselves can cause just as much damage to their self-worth when they do fail. There is a delicate balance between the two. As a teacher, it is my job to give a student high but attainable goals. Of course, there are always many factors affecting my students but I do not want to make anything worse but to help students succeed.

Lydia Zeller – QTC  - Post 2

Student Achievement

February 3, 2014

Ingrid’s test results reveal several things but first one needs to understand how percentiles work and what they mean. Percentiles compare how a student does compared to other students. Above average means the student is doing better on average than other students while below average means the student is not doing as well as other students. This may or may not mean the student is not on grade level. If one cohort is above average than say another cohort, a below average score would not have the same negative connotation as it would if they were in a different cohort. The same is true of a student testing above average in a cohort if they are compared to another cohort. (For example, how a student fits in a Tennessee state cohort versus a Georgia cohort may vary.)

Ingrid is doing below average in spelling and math computation. This means that typically, students her age are doing better in those areas. In contrast, she is doing well above average than other students in reading, science, and social studies.

The areas she needs to most help in are spelling, math computation, and math concepts. If you are wanting to improve her scores these would be the areas to focus. However, just because these are the areas she is doing average or below average than her peers, it does not mean she is doing poorly. It may mean she is struggling in these areas or it may mean she could use tutoring in these areas. To help her, I suggest extra practice with spelling and all areas of math. If she works in these areas more and does not let go of her work in other areas, she should do better next time.

Lydia Zeller Post 1

Lydia Zeller – QTC – Blog #1 – Chapter 14

Assessment

Informal Assessment vs. Formal Assessment

                I can use informal and formal assessment within one class period. For example, I use informal assessment as I walk around the room helping individuals who ask for help with an assignment. The questions they ask, and the responses they give to my questions back, often give me a good idea of what they are struggling with. This also gives me a chance to explain a concept another way that will hopefully make more sense to that student. I like to use this assessment because it lets me work with each student individually. At the end of a class I sometimes give an “exit ticket” as a formal assessment. I will have each student answer a question on a piece of paper and turn it in on their way out of the door. The question will be aligned with the objective and essential question for the day. For example, “What are the steps in mitosis?” This formal assessment gives me an idea of where they currently stand with knowing the steps of mitosis. This assessment is good because I have a concrete piece of evidence of their learning.

Traditional Assessment vs. Authentic Assessment

                To have a traditional assessment and authentic assessment at the same time, I can ask different kinds of questions on a quiz. For example, one question may ask what osmosis (the diffusion of water across a cell membrane) is showing traditional assessment where another question may ask why fingers are wrinkly after being in water for an extended period of time. Students should be able to apply what they understand about osmosis by explaining that the concentration of water is higher on the inside of the finger than the outside and so the water moves out of the finger by osmosis. Being able to apply this knowledge to something that happens every day shows authentic assessment. I like to use both forms of assessment on a quiz because it shows how deeply the students understand the concepts.

Paper-pencil Assessment vs. Performance Assessment

                I have used both of these types of assessments in my class room. For example, while learning about machines, specifically levers, I asked students to draw and label the three types of levers. Before asking them to write them on paper at the end of the unit, I had them practice the order in a performance assessment. I put the students in groups of three with cards that contained the name of each part of a lever. I would ask them to get in order of a specific type of lever. The students worked together to arrange themselves correctly. I like to use performance based assessments like this to help prepare and practice for the paper-pencil assessment.

Standardized Test vs. Teacher-developed Assessment

                 During the course of the school year there are several standardized tests developed by the state that we administer. One is the DEA (Discovery Ed Assessment). This test is taken at three different points in the year, measuring how much knowledge of the curriculum each student is gaining. In theory, students score better each time because we have covered more of the test material in class. Another example is the TCAPS (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program) taken by students every year through the eighth grade. One last example is that my honors students take a midterm in December created by the state. However, I use teacher-developed assessment for each unit we cover. I work with my teaching partner to develop each test. These tests ask questions that may be of a more familiar format for students as they may use examples we specifically discussed in class. In theory, using teacher-developed assessments help prepare students for standardized testing.

Criterion-referenced Assessment vs. Norm-referenced assessment

                In my classroom, the regular unit tests are examples of criterion-referenced assessments. These tests are written to test each objective and standard. Right and wrong answers show where mastery of content as occurred or not occurred. An example of norm-referenced assessment occurs with the annual TCAPS. When students receive their results they are shown a percentile. This percentile shows them how well they did compared to all others in the state taking the assessment.

                There are advantages and disadvantages to both criterion-referenced assessment and norm-referenced assessment.

Criterion-Referenced Advantage: This can show where students are showing mastery with concepts versus non-mastery of content.

Criterion-Referenced Disadvantage: This may not show how deeply a student understands a concept. Is the question just scratching the surface?

Norm-Referenced Advantage: This can show the highest achievers in a cohort.

Norm-Referenced Disadvantage: A student may appear to be in the middle fifty percent of a cohort but that does not mean they do not know the material.