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. 

Thoughts. At random.

I really should be reading through articles for a research paper that's due in a few weeks. Actually, I should be getting ready for bed soon because I must wake up early to drive half an hour away to do observations. But instead I'm blogging away. And the dynamics of student life don't always allow for balance-a healthy eight hours of sleep, healthy eating, etc.

I'm not sure what I want to say. I feel like I've matured in the past several months (by the grace of God). I am unsure of where I'll be or what I'll be doing next year, and I'm becoming more and more okay with that. I miss writing, and I want to go back to it. I long for beauty to remain in the world. I don't agree with Korean culture. But I like their food and music. :) I want my dog to have a sibling. I wish for God to continue leading me down His path, not mine. I wish for the monster of selfishness to lessen in my heart, whatever way it has to go. I wish peace and love and happiness for you. I wish for you to have an intimate relationship with God. To let Him heal all the brokenness inside you and for you to be showered deeply in His love. That is all. 

So I'm blogging again?

Here I am, again. In the virtual community. For the past few months, I had been feeling very anti-bloggish, but for the time being I have decided to try it again. I remember attending a creative writing event during undergrad and the speaker was really old school and totally anti-blogger. She posed the question, "how many of you blog?" At the time, I was a blogger but I didn't raise my hand. No one else did either, out of embarrassment or shame I don't know.

I personally prefer the feel of the pen in my hand, ink transferring to paper. I don't know why, but I have always known that physically writing things instead of typing them have always aided my memory and processing skills.

The circumstances of my life have shifted a bit since my arrival back to the States in June. I subbed for a whole semester and am now back in school to get my teaching license and master's in education. At first, all I wanted to do was work, earn money, pay debts off. I was very resistant to the idea of returning to school. But sometimes God has a funny way of working things out. I had spent weeks trying to find a steady teaching assistant job in the county, anywhere, and systematically I was turned down for each position. The irony is that now I'm in school again a t.a. position has opened up at the place where I wanted to work. Oh well, such is life. Isn't it?

I've been reflecting and assessing. I've realized some things along the way. One major thing I've come to learn is that six months ago I wasn't ready to talk about Thailand, whether I knew it or not. Currently, I believe I am much more open to talking about my missionary experience. I share a lot of Thailand stories, and in my head I have to refrain myself from talking about it so much! I don't know why I couldn't talk about stuff then. I've always had a delayed reaction; maybe that was part of the problem.

I've also realized that even though I made many efforts to leave with a healthy perspective, I am still jaded in some areas, mostly with racial discrimination (which is getting better) and issues with church as a whole. I took a lot of things personally in Thailand, and I am praying a lot to not take things so personally anymore. In terms of church, I think I never really forgave the people who were responsible for a lot of "wrongs" (my word choice)--church leaders, administrators. Maybe I didn't want to forgive them. But it's eating away at my current church life. Most times, I sit through church service gritting my teeth. I think, unconsciously, when I see the elders stand up during the beginning of the service I see the faces of complacency, of corruption, and it makes me tighten up inside. I wonder if I need therapy…nah. I just need to let a lot of things go. So, into a hazy unknown I cast my net, hoping for a clearer, brighter tomorrow.

Landing Apollo: Making a Smooth Transition from the Mission Field to Home

I almost missed my flight. Almost. My ticket said I had to be at Gate G, and I was barely making it through gates A and B with only ten to fifteen minutes left before my flight boarded. After minutes of frantic running and wheezing, I safely got onto the plane. The layover from Suvarnabhumi Airport to the pristine Incheon to Tyson-McGhee was easy and seamless. And, at the conclusion of my destination I felt happy to be back, but things didn't feel the same. One of my initial thoughts on 
the drive back was how green everything was compared to the concrete jungle that is Bangkok. A flood of thoughts came streaming through my mind and I lost it. How was it that the place I called home for 20+ years felt so foreign to me in that moment?

It's been almost two months since I've arrived home. I feel like the transition's been fairly successful, but then I also feel like there are still some re-adjustments that haven't come full circle yet. I'm not an expert on this subject, but I do know what the re-entry experience is like. So, I've come up with some tips that will hopefully help make your transition a lot smoother.

1. Talk About It

I still struggle with this one, which I find to be dangerous. I say this because, let's say one day you go to Walmart and for the life of you cannot understand why the bagels you want have to be in the refrigerated section. Not only that, but you don't like how there are also two different types of Soymilk in two different areas, the self-check out never works, you hate the way people park their cars...the list goes on. In short, if you don't talk to a few trusted people about what you're going through, there's a chance you'll overreact to things that don't bother other people around you because the small dissimilarities have built up and you haven't had a chance to vent and process.

2. It Takes Time

The re-entry process is a process and it doesn't happen overnight. I was in an urban area with many foreigners so I didn't think that my re-entry experience would be that bad, and it hasn't been for the most part, but because I invested in my environment and adapted there are new traits that are unique to Thailand and to my mission assignment that they will remain parts of me forever. It also takes time to heal wounds and let go of problems that you faced. I encountered a whole slew of them (but I also promised myself to leave on a good note) and I would say that I'm still in the healing process. Don't beat yourself up over this one.

3. Eliminate Expectations

Before you left to serve abroad, you were probably told not to have expectations. The same is true  when you come back. It's not just the newness of a place that messes us up, but also how we expect things to bend to our wants and standards.

4. Set Goals, Make A Plan

One of my biggest fears before leaving Thailand was that I would backslide in my growth. I had gone through so many changes, and I knew that at home things would feel familiar again and there would be fewer situations to challenge me. Thankfully (or maybe not) I am a person who likes to have a plan. I like certainty, I don't like to leave room for doubt. To avoid being completely sucked into lazy summer mode, I mapped out some goals and objectives. I started tutoring a refugee mother. I took up a samba dance program with my sister. I even learned a few Chinese words. My heart is set on returning overseas for good, but I know I'll have to be a certified teacher before I do that. So, I set a long-term goal to return to school next fall.

5. Don't Despair

The information I've posted here are mere guidelines. Your experience might be radically different from mine, and you might not agree with everything I've written. But, when you find that life isn't turning out the way you planned, don't give up. I know it's hard. I've been there. As someone once told me, "You're not the first, and you won't be the last," and there is always a way out.