In reflection

I just wanted to make a post discussing how I appreciated the idea of a learning blog. I have never had a blog assignment in another class. I think it is a refreshing idea for a project compared to the typical term paper or another exam. I think it really emphasized the main points for me in a way that I appreciate learning--individualizing my own learning. I can create the blog as I want and emphasize the points that meant the most to me-- plus it makes studying easier and more interesting. I appreciated the appropriate use of technology being used in this assignment and I found it made it accessible to create blog posts. I can create it the best way that works for me! Just like we learned about in class. Good idea.

Functional approach

Functional Approach

Positive Behavior support

strategies (5)

1. teach desirable behaviors

2. consistently reinforce the new behavior in a way they understand

3. in our classroom try to have predictable routines-reduces anxiety, make people feel comfortable

4. provide frequent opportunities for choice-affirms students individuality and that they are
responsible for their own behavior

5. provide adaptations to support academic success ex: child's reading strengths not great.. how can we provide an alternate way of getting that information to them

Activity:
A student in your class, Cody, refuses to do his desk work. What is a possible purpose or function for this behavior? Please suggest an alternative behavior he can learn or adopt to meet this purpose or function. Please be prepared to share your findings.


Ideas I came up with:

-possible other things on mind, doesn’t understand and doesn’t want to admit he doesn’t understand, perhaps doesn’t enjoy desk work--works in a more kinetically manner

-have him do an physical activity, ask him why to figure out what is really going on here to solve his problem to meet his needs in a different way


In class we also watched the video:

William Ury: The Walk from “No” to “Yes”
from Harvard University
worlds leading authority on negotiation- create agreement in even the most difficult situations
-more community oriented
-being the third side

photo from
http://www.williamury.com/about/photos

Operant Conditioning B.F. Skinner continued..

image from www.google.ca/images
Yesterday in class we did an operant conditioning writing activity. We wrote an example of classroom use for each of the four types of conditioning. This activity helped solidify the key points for me and hear some different types of classroom use that my student peers had thought of. We also had to indicate the desired behavior change and what will be done to stimulate the change.

My examples include:

Positive reinforcement- giving students fake money to buy things in the classroom store for behaving respectfully.
desired behavior change: have students behave responsibility
stimulate change: encourage students with fake money for class store

Negative reinforcement- taking away one assignment so students focus more on a different one
desired behavior: students will work on other assignment
stimulate change: taking away an assignment

Positive punishment- adding an extra assignment because class disbehaving
desired behavior change: class will be behave
stimulate change: add extra work

Negative punishment- take away recess because student disbehaving
desired behavior: students will behave
stimulate change: take away recess

An example (I recognize it was just an example) I thought was questionable in class was if a student finished their test early they got to skip other tests. I thought this was questionable as, we just learned and been discussing in our posts students who have learning disabilities. Perhaps some students need a bit more time to process the questions than others-- just a point I thought of when heard this example.

Operant Conditioning B.F. Skinner

image is from www.google.ca/images

I had learned about operant conditioning previously in an intro psych course. In operant conditioning you have:

positive reinforcement- add something to encourage behavior, most effective
praise students when they are doing something right

negative reinforcement- take away something to reinforce behavior
ex: take away the final exam if students get higher than 85% on term exams to reinforce studying

positive punishment- add something to decrease behavior
ex: add detention to get the student to behave better

negative punishment- take away something to decrease behavior
ex: taking away recess to get the student to behave better

a way to remember this is to think

positive: something is being added

negative: something is being taken away

reinforcement: increase a behavior

punishment: decrease a behavior

The point was brought up in class about how this can just be used to have students behaving the way the teacher has them behave or they won't get "a marble". It doesn't teach them to manage their own behavior. I remember in grade 6 we got play money if we did something good and then could buy stuff from the class store. I thought it was awesome back then but did not realize that it was just a way to get us to behave in class- I just thought about the prize I was going to get when I got enough fake money.


Also in class we discussed different approaches
1. Technical instrumental approach- this would be operant conditioning-- so controlling behavior

2. humanistic approach- helping students be all that they can be, look at the whole human, have them learn to manage behavior

3. critical perspective- what are unstated political dimensions going on?
gender, class, race, sexual orientation, dominant group in society and how are these continually reproduced in the school system?

Ideally, I would like to follow the humanistic approach--but in all honesty who's saying if I had a wild grade 8 boys physical education class one day that I wouldn't try and use operant conditioning?

Frustration Anxiety Tension (The Fat City Workshop) Continued

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In class on Nov. 2 we continued watching this video.


Points that I pulled from the video that I thought were interesting and valuable were:

-Teachers using "I can't help the LDD child because it's not fair to the other children" when it has nothing to do with the other students. This is what THIS child needs. I liked how you gave the example with cpr and how if someone needed cpr then you wouldn't give it to them because it's not fair to everyone if this is your reasoning.

"Fairness is not everyone getting the same thing but everyone getting what they deserve."

-Just because you have to learn in a different way-- does NOT make you stupid-

-teachers if they are enlightened can have positive effects on self esteem

-the real challenge is educating those without a learning disability

FOCUS: changing our practice and the environment is through differentiating instruction-- it is NOT about "fixing" them

Differentiating instruction is where the teacher modifies:
content,
process,
and product

through student:
readiness,
interests,
and learning profiles.

As a teacher we need to ensure we have a little bit of every type of learning types to create learning opportunities for the different type of learners in the class--verbal, cognitive, kinestic.

Examples could be watching a movie about the book, writing a paper about the book, having a debate about a topic, acting out a part of the book

Frustration Anxiety Tension (The Fat City Workshop)

I have been finding this video that we have been watching in class really interesting. The examples of activities he gives are excellent! They really make a point- each and every one.

He emphasized that teachers need to fix these actions and sayings such as:

1."look harder"
2. bribe them to answer it right
3.take things away- recess
4. blame the victim "she's not trying hard enough"

"Motivation only lets us do the best of our ability and capabilities. Learning disabilities have little to do with motivation and has to do with perception.

Points that I took from the video:
-Reading comprehension- kids need direct instruction
-children with a learning disability, most times when they get in trouble they won't know what they did wrong
-Dysnoma: hard time finding that word on "the tip of the tongue"
-children with learning disabilities: quick to turn others in when kids make mistakes
-the importance of the gift of time- go erase the blackboard and give them time to think

I think that he gives really good activities that allow you to understand what it is like to be a child who has a learning disability which I find gets the point across rather than be lectured to.
I think it is important to put the child first though when talking about children who have learning disabilities. They are a person first and not a "learning disability child".

All images are from www.google.ca/images

Gender continued

On Wednesday's class we continued our discussion on gender and discussed

Issues:

1. stereotypes: broad categories of expected behavior

2. gender bias

3. Sexual orientation

As a teacher, it is important to make sure that we are being good role models. That we are staying away from stereotypes, and avoiding gender bias.

I went to highschool in a small town and I believe that homophobia was very present in the school. I did not know anyone who openly said they were homosexual- but some people teased others saying they were. In my own experience, I have seen males be more homophobic than females in bullying. I think this may have to due with that as a unrealistic threat to masculinity or "the way men should be". I am not sure why this is the case- makes you think! Even when you ask these people-- they do not have a justified reason most times!

Teachers should have a no tolerance with homophobia and bullying. I think we can be good role models for the student and accept everyone for who they are. Step out of your way to talk to this student and make sure they know that there are people there and accept them--not change them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcVyvg2Qlo.

All images are from www.google.ca/images