Free Response Number Seven: Intelligence and Group Differences

I enjoyed learning about the different intelligence theories. I think that, although IQ tests are still used as a main measure for performance, our society has become better at looker at other components. I really enjoyed watching the Battle of the Brains video. I thought it was quite intriguing to see how several different masterminds are pitted together. I have never been formally tested for an IQ test, and I am unsure if I would still want to undergo that type of testing. I am somewhat curious to know where I fall on the distribution curve, but my life would still be just fine not knowing it. For some reason, I am really interested in Gardner's Eight Intelligences theory. I had learned about him in a developmental psychology class I took my freshman year of college, and it has stuck with me since then. I think the biggest trait that attracts me to it is the fact that a person can have one or two predominant types of intelligences. They do not simply have to be tested on standard IQ, again something that we as a society focus too much on. While this type of perspective offers a different piece of the puzzle, it does show that everyone is different and has unique skills and traits to offer. To me, going off on a pure IQ test is discounting so many other variables that a person comes with.

I really enjoyed the group differences discussion. I have enjoyed every group differences discussion presented in class. I think that these topics are relevant, hot button issues that challenge us with real, authentic problems that pervade education. The issue of race linked to intelligence prompted me to think deeper about the subject. I believe it to be both unfair and unethical to discount a person's intelligence based on race. I also think that certain races are subject to more prejudice than others. For instance, white people are generally not discriminated against when it comes to intelligence. Asians usually have a more positive association concerning intelligence, although I still believe people stereotype them on the fact that they are Asians. Like JD mentioned during the last class period, I feel like black people are discriminated against the most. I understand his neighbor's rationale for wanting to send his child to a good school; it sounds like a lot of injustice had taken place on his end.

In relation to race, I believe that it is an issue that will continue to shape culture and society for years to come. Even though we as educators try to be objective, we will always form some type of bias. Some may be better at hiding different types of biases from their students. Some teachers may truly believe in racial equality and can circumvent those issues better in their classroom environment. However, this does not mean that they falter in other areas. Reflecting back on the discussion wrap-up, I believe that much of how we handle these conflicts are through self-reflection and evaluation. As long as we continue to engage in these practices, it will help us keep a more objective view on things.

In terms of the workshop, I found it helpful to have a checklist in from of me to see the areas I need to improve on. There are certain components that are lacking, and it helps to have a clear, concrete visual to guide you along. I was surprised at the page length of my CSEL. When I started I thought I would have trouble generating nine to ten pages, but I was able to go beyond that; so the fact that I was able to produce more substance reassured me. Overall, my paper needs to be tighter; I need to tie more theory into it and really establish some ground rules. Once I have that in place, I will be fine. 

Free Response Number Six: Constructivism

Because my paper will mostly focus on tying in my teaching beliefs and practices into constructivist theory, I found myself looking forward to this past class session, eager to glean relevant information. While a large part of me is strongly constructivist, I could see how certain aspects appeared very broad. I believe that learners construct their own meanings throughout their lives, but I feel like this approach needs more structure. I know we talked about how children, despite their naive theories, may need more guidance towards the right direction.

Personally, I believe in teaching the structure/rule well before students start to interpret their own meanings towards a task. I know this does not quite align with constructivist views, but I am just saying that I am beginning to see how my "favorite" theory may have its own flaws. For instance, I struggled with writing my intervention strategies for my case study o the CSEL paper. At first, when I read the situation my first response was to implement lots of reinforcement. Classic behaviorist views, very much different from constructivism. I can still see the merit in how a constructivist would approach my situation, through guiding the learner and helping them find and understand their place in the world. I love this belief. I think there is a lot of autonomy in it, but like I said before I feel like I would need something more concrete than just predominantly relying on, what I find to be, a bit more of an abstract theory. In contrast, I enjoy creating an environment of learning and intellectual curiosity. I find it intriguing to watch students construct their own knowledge on a task or skill. I guess I still maintain characteristics of a more hands-off approach. Building upon the belief that learners construct their own meaning of the world around them, I also agree with curbing, or channeling students' thought processes into the proper direction. That is one of my goals as a teacher.

As we go deeper into our material, I am seeing how, although all four theories exhibit great characteristics and strong practices, by themselves they cannot stand alone. I am starting to see how theory works best when all four work together to create a more holistic framework of the student. I think that once this course ends, that will be my biggest take away.

I enjoyed the teaching presentations last night. I felt that we went through them in rapid succession, but sometimes that is what you must deal with during summer term. Even though the first and last teaching projects were expository in style, it did not feel that way. Yes, they included powerpoint presentations and presented a lot of information, but it felt much more interactive, hands-on. I really enjoyed that aspect of last night's class. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed the group differences discussion. I have enjoyed all three discussions presented thus far. As far as Fred's discussion went, I too feel that issues of rural education are often overlooked.

Like I mentioned in class, I attended a school that most would consider rural, but had been becoming more suburban each year. There were times when I felt that some people around me acted "country," but I think that was more of a background clash. Before high school, I had not really encountered that type of environment. In terms of academics, I had a lot of good teachers, just as good as any teacher in the urban parts of Knoxville. I also had bad teachers, but I think they exist anywhere you go. In my opinion, I believe that a big part of good teacher attrition is choosing people who want to be there and then providing support for them. The teachers that I had in high school loved their work environment; they wanted to be there, and they were also supportive of each other. I found it sad to hear Jared talk about young, bright teachers who do not stay in rural schools because they feel isolated. I think that the government needs to place more priority in bringing different teachers to the rural areas and help them sustain a desire to work there. 

Free Response Number Five: Continuation of Social Cognitivism and Cognitivism

I am finding that the more we learn about the four learning theories the more interested I become. I feel like I am learning so much from these renowned theorists and concepts, much more than I thought I would. I guess I did not think I would enjoy learning about these different theories because I felt they would prove too abstract for me to comprehend. Some aspects may appear more challenging than others, but overall I able to synthesize this information and recognize its application in an academic setting. That is another part of it too; I can see how these concepts could be readily applied inside a normal classroom. I guess I am admitting this now more than I would have liked to before, but I am starting to recognize more of the merit behind educational psychology. I am starting to see why all of this matters because I can come up with concrete examples and have seen how these ideas have played out in real life.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I enjoy learning about social cognitivism and think it can be useful in my own classroom. Unfortunately, I will probably only focus on constructivism, even though I would like to incorporate strands of social cognitivism. But this realization brings up a good point, that all four theories can work together to complement one another rather than educators picking one and solely relying on that particular school of thought. I believe that effective instruction includes a range of styles and ideas, not just  a single one. I think that although one idea or thought process may be good, there will also be flaws present or something lacking from it; you need a little bit of all of them in order to obtain the most holistic picture possible.

I really, really enjoyed Aaron and Fred's long-term retrieval activity. I thought it was innovative and applicable to what we were learning. It made me think back to when I had to retrieve my own long-term thought processes in order to well in my classes. I do agree that meaningful learning is better than rote learning. I never had to do too much rote learning, particularly with memorizing and rehearsal, but I could recall that difficulty in some of my science classes. Even when I had large amounts of information to remember, I would still try to connect some meaning behind the words, otherwise I would not be able to provide an accurate definition or explain the significance behind that particular word. Thinking back to high school, I remember how my French teacher shared stories of how she would remember things. She told my class that when she took biology she made up a song to remember all the parts in the body, much like the example given in the book. Another trick she learned was to perform. She told us how she had to learn "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe in order to recite it in front of her class. What she did was turn the poem into a song, which was easy to do given it was poetry, and turned the recitation into a narrative performance. From what I remember, that technique worked and the event became so memorable that everyone remembered it years later. This ties back to what James had shared in our presentation with how music can help us remember things. If you think about, we learned many, many things through song: the alphabet, body parts, grammar (if you watched Schoolhouse Rock). It is actually quite fascinating how this method works. It makes sense though. Learning becomes more enjoyable and the information sticks.

Even though most of us would agree that meaningful learning is, overall, better than rote, many people still rely on that and can do it well. If you think about people in medical school they have to rely on rote learning most of the times. Also, I am reminded of most, if not all, Asian countries who are very big on rote learning. That is how my mom learned when she went to school in the Philippines, and it is how my friends learned grammar in grade school. Even today, that is still the predominant way to learn. I hope that, with time, they can encourage more creative and meaningful ways to learn so that students can enjoy the learning process more often than not.

Free Response Number Four: Behaviorism and Social Cognitivism

During my undergraduate career I took an ed psych class as a prerequisite to my degree. I learned a lot about behaviorism and classical conditioning. Building upon last night's class session, I feel that I know have a good grasp on this particular theory. In the real world, I have seen many examples of behaviorism (more specifically, classical conditioning) and see how it can be useful/relevant for teachers in the classroom. I have even seen it with my dog, which I find quite amusing. However, at the end of the day I do not fully accept the claims staked out by behaviorists. I am not sure why, given that I recognize its significance. Perhaps I am merely in the camp of "it's too primitive"; perhaps I believe that behaviors and responses are more complicated than what reinforcement and punishment lead us to believe. In any case, I will not completely discard this theory. I may just take it with a large grain of salt.

In terms of social cognitivism, I enjoyed learning about this theory much more than its counterpart. I can also see its application in concrete, real-world scenarios and also believe it to be useful in a classroom environment. Although I accept this theory more and display a higher level of interest in it, I do not think I am the biggest proponent of this school of belief. I have friends who, based on their beliefs that you can learn a lesson through other people's actions, they would benefit more from social cognitive theory than I would. I had thought about including social cognitivism as a second theory to weave into my CSEL paper. There are threads of it that I would think resemble my teaching philosophy  ; but, based on recent feedback towards the dual theory approach, I may just not include social cognitive theory at all. The two main nuggets of my teaching style are that I know my students and that I can help them become independent thinkers. I believe that social cognitivism comes into play when dealing with the social community. I believe that my students learning from their friends and peers can be as equally powerful as achieving mastery or learning a task.

Thus, even though I would like to include social cognitivism in my paper and will integrate relevant components of it into my teaching, I still think that constructivism lies closest to my teaching beliefs. I do not know too much about constructivism, and we have yet to cover it, but from what I have read about this ideology it seems to tick off a lot of my boxes. I enjoy being able to facilitate learning, perhaps more on the "guide on the side" type than a "sage on the stage." I want my students to create meaning for themselves and evaluate the effectiveness of tasks as we go along. Ideally, I want them to reach a level of autonomy that may be guided along the way but in which case the learning comes mostly from themselves. Really though, when comparing the two types, I do not think that one always dominates; I think that most times you would need a little bit of both.

Returning to classical conditioning, last night's class made me think of a regular occurrence in which positive reinforcement takes place. Every morning I walk my dog. When he was a puppy, he learned that me saying the word walk in a high-pitched tone meant that he would indeed be able to go for a walk. I would consider this the conditioned stimulus, because I wanted my words to have that effect on him. Throughout the years, I am sure there have been countless neutral stimuli that have become controlled stimuli, such as me stretching, putting on my socks, or grabbing his leash. I would say this is a very effective examples of classical conditioning. The positive reinforcement seems to work  because every time he hears the word "walk" he expects to go outside. There have been a few instances where I did not carry through my promise, but it has not had a detrimental effect. If I were to continue using the word "walk" but stayed inside his response would probably become extinct. 

Free Response Number Three: Motivation

In general, the concept of motivation and its related components seem fairly comprehensible in theory. However, I have noticed that motivation, attributions, etc. contain many more subtle nuances than I would have thought; you really have to understand these concepts and think about how to best apply them in an educational setting. Our discussion on rules, classroom management, and motivation had a lot of common sense behind them, but they are not always that simple to implement. For instance, you may know that good classroom management entails proper seating arrangements and fostering a positive classroom climate, but putting into place these safeguards are much trickier than I would have expected. I remember trying to apply these rules in my own classes when I taught English in Thailand. I thought my expectations and guidelines would pass through without a hiccup, but when you are working with children anything can happen. I had to adjust my ideas and notions as best suited my students and learn to know them. In education, you really cannot rely solely on theory or principle to ensure success. I think they provide a good structure and are good theories to follow, but they become quite subjective once you apply them in the real world.

One thing that really struck me last night was the belief that a behavior is bad, not a person. I have encountered multiple interactions and/or mentalities such as these during my lifetime. I think that many teachers have easily fallen into this trap, not with the intention of meaning to, and have probably done more damage than good. Once you label a child a certain way based on their behaviors you set yourself on a slippery slope and even if the child is unaware of your actions it still affects them subconsciously. I believe that I must be extra careful now to avoid that mistake. I think I would not encounter that problem working with English Language Learners, but maybe with students in mainstream classrooms. Upon further reflection, it actually is quite unfair to say that once a child starts acting a certain way they cannot change. Following that reasoning, nobody would stand a chance to change! And then even after a child is affected by your comments you can still remedy the situation. Drawing upon Jonah's experiences working with "troubled" kids, they probably were some of the most difficult children to work with, but there was still a chance for them to change. When it comes to growth, we should not short-change or lower our expectations of our students. 

Free Response Number Two: Assessment

There was so much information covered on assessment and testing. It is a pretty important, hot-topic issue this days, and for good reasons. I suppose that we have always needed a way to measure people's progress, and "tests" (in reference to standardized testing) have been an efficient way to go about it. Overall, I do not have major qualms with assessment; I think it can be useful and can be implemented in effective ways to present us with important information about our students. However, when it comes to standardized testing, I am not a big fan of it. Apart from taking the ACT and high-school gateway tests,  I had to take a series of Standford Achievement Tests through fourth to eighth grade due to the fact that I was home schooled during that period. I always scored in the 90% and above percentile in English, Spelling, and Reading Comprehension. I cannot remember if I was tested on history, but I believe I was tested on science, in which I had an average ranking, and math. I always did the worst in math, and this was true for the ACT as well. For me, lower scores in weak areas tainted my testing experience.

Part of this thought process is leading up to prevention and good teachers. I had one single, effective teacher who challenged me and catered better to my learning style. I had one terrible teacher who barely taught; the other, while a genius, had trouble relating her concepts into palatable terms. Today, students can choose from a wealth of resources to improve scholastically, and teachers are taught to approach subject matter using a variety of techniques to address each, unique individual. I guess I wish I had more of that tailored learning. My logic follows as such: if I had improved my math skills I would have done better on that portion of the test, boosting my overall performance (and potentially qualifying for more scholarship money). But I am just speculating.

One observation that continues to resonate with me is Aaron's remarks on extrinsic motivation.
As long as we are in a system that promotes a structured learning system, extrinsic motivation will guide our agendas fairly frequently. I still believe there are students, although not the majority, who are naturally intrinsically motivated; they have a strong internal drive and do not require outside motivation to accomplish things. However, does the ten percent extrinsic motivation, like Aaron stated, ruin the foundation of intrinsic motivation? I would like to think that it does not. In an ideal world, we would all be moved by intrinsic forces. However, we do not live in an ideal world, and as long as we live in an imperfect world we will continue to be guided by external forces that may or may not be beyond our control.

Free Response Number One: Reflections after the first class

I have learned a lot from the first class meeting and am glad to be taking it this summer. Turns out, I actually have encountered a lot of this material before, but had received it in different ways; it's nice to see somewhat familiar concepts being framed from the viewpoint of applied educational psychology. I like the ideology of having a cohesive class existing as a community of learners. I believe that many classrooms are changing, becoming more interactive and thoughtful in their instructions versus the old-fashioned way of doing things. I still believe that the old ways of teaching still have value in them, but I do not believe they hold as much relevance today.

I was glad to hear about different ways to avoid going into the "bad" teacher zone. I think that professionalism and reflective practice are good ways to combat that. With professionalism, I think it just helps you remain objective and keep a good head on your shoulders. Not only are you expected to behave professionally as an educator (although quite a few teachers have broken that rule) it's also unfair to behave unprofessionally towards your students. They don't need to receive the brunt of your stress. As for reflective practice, I hope that I don't ever lose sight of that. This is probably one of my biggest fears as a prospective teacher. People have commented that I am open-minded. I don't want to encounter the day when I stop being open-minded. I am aware that reflective practice requires much intentionality, so I hope to continue exercising that muscle for the overall benefit of everyone involved in my teaching career.

A little tidbit on research: I love it, I think it's great. I don't always have enough time to catch up on the recent trends or findings in research, but I will need to in order to identify the best teaching practices. I am all for action research and would love to execute that in my own future teaching environment.

Touching on what we discussed about instructional strategies in class, I still resonate with Discovery and Inquiry the most, but I also recognize the necessity of all three working together. Personally, I am a thinker; I am good at and enjoy pondering things deeply and perhaps that ties into this approach well. Realistically though, I feel that I should include more interaction and collaboration in my teaching. I am good at facilitating class discussions, but also feel that I am a bit more weak when it comes to collaboration.