Learner Centred Planning and Instruction

The Sugata Mitra video watched in class is a great example of how those given resources with very limited knowledge can and will teach themselves. Here is another great video I found that help me understand what this topic is all about.

Memory

There are many types of encoding that will enhance how an individual will retain information. Here are a few:

1. Rehearsal- conscious repetition over time.
2. Deep Precessing- The deeper the better. Dig into the concept and towards its deeper meaning. Very effective form of memorization.
3. Elaboration- Taking the idea and extending it. Effective form of encoding. Ties in with active engaging. 
4. Constructing Images- This is a visual elaboration. We construct images to help encode something.
5. Organization- Making meaningful connections. Concept mapping. 

Rehearsal is a type of encoding that works well for many people but also can be very frustrating.  For me personally, the continual rehearsing of information does not stick in my brain, it simply gets lost in the translation of confusion. 

Deep Processing for me is the most effective type of encoding. To dive right into a topic and find the true meaning of what it is saying is an amazing way to make information stick. If one can find personal interest in a topic by digging into it, it will stick in their memory much longer.

Elaboration goes hand in hand with Deep Processing. It is really a form of deep processing in that it just expands on a topic with the purpose of finding out more information.

Constructive Images is a type of encoding that truly helps those who are visual learners. This is a visual way of expanding the information that is taken in. This type of encoding can be very effective.

Organization is a type of encoding that works well with both the visual learners and the analytical learners. It is essentially a way of creating visual mind maps in order to remember information taken in.

Encoding can be challenging, but in effect is needed in so many areas of life. 

Dealing With Challenging Behaviour

The Following Video Shows great ways in which to help teachers know and understand how to deal with difficult behaviour in their classrooms. Please watch this short video and leave feedback on how you feel the approaches would work in a classroom.

One of the best approaches I believe in dealing with challenging behaviours, is to simply set out expectations for students so they know what they can and can't do. This is the one thing that really popped out at me in this video.

Stereotyping in the Classroom

Stereotyping can be such a dangerous thing to do in the classroom, well anywhere for that matter. A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. There are many reasons stereotyping is dangerous but a few are as follows.

1. If a teacher stereotypes his/her students he/she will show bias towards a specific group of people. This goes against a teachers principles of how they should be running a classroom. No one student or group of students should be treated with advantage over others.

2. If a teacher stereotypes his/her students he /she could possibly be discriminating against a student or group of students. This goes against classroom policies.

3. Singling out students can be destructive to their learning environment and the environment of those around them.

4. Teachers who allow stereotyping exist in their teaching will cause a destructive environment in which students will not feel comfortable and will in turn use stereotyping in their own lives.

Stereotyping is almost always a destructive action that rarely if ever shows any positive outcomes.

Gender: How is it determined?

Kanu's 3 Recommendations for Multicultural Education

Kanu's 3 Recommendations for Multicultural Education:
1. The School curriculum should be openly antiracist and anti-discriminatory.
2. Multicultural Education should be a part of every student s education.
3. Students should be trained to be more conscious of other cultures and their own.

These 3 recommendations although are appropriate and mean well, I think have flaws that need to be dealt with.

I have no problem at all with Kanu's first or third recommendations, my problem lies in the second.
Multicultural Education should be part of every students education. I have an issue with this statement. The problem isn't with a multicultural experience, but rather with the fact that in a lot of cases multiculturalism is pushed on students to the point that they learn to despise it. This was the case in my experience. For example, in Alberta Native culture is especially expressed in the classroom, and even more if there is a Native American in the class. I agree it is good to be aware of their culture and to learn about it, but it gets to the point where were so conscious of it that we only learn about that culture. What about my culture? There are for more students with other cultural diversities that are never even brought up and why? It makes no sense to me. It feels as if for some reason we walk on egg shells when it comes to the ''native american'' culture. It gets overwhelming and frankly annoying and discriminatory.
 I feel all cultures should be equally excepted and taught in the classroom.

Diversities in the classroom and How to deal with these issues

This video is very informative and important in teaching teachers how to be aware of cultural diversities in the their classrooms.

Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

Multiple Intelligences:


It is very important to realize that students learn in so many different ways. I believe many students feel Isolated in the classroom because they do not learn well in the way in which the teacher primarily teaches. I know for me personally I felt this way. I learned best through Bodily/Kinaesthetic means which were rarely if ever used in the our classroom.

The main point I wanted to make in this entry by showing this picture is that as a teacher we need to be able to identify and use the the types of learning styles our students best learn through. We always talk about wanting our students to succeed so why wouldn't we give them the best opportunity possible to do so. Lets Help our students.

Erickson's Stages of Human Development Evaluation

I appreciate Erickson's Understanding of the stages of human life more than any other theorist. Erickson's stages are especially applicable because they deal with a persons entire life and don't only speak to the moral and psychological development of an individual for the first few years of their lives. Erickson deals with ones entire life, and the stages they will go through. In this entry I will talk about Erickson's stajges and how I feel they apply to others as well as myself.
His stages are as follows:  
     
 Firstly, Trust vs. Mistrust takes place from birth to one year old. This is an important stage. An infant needs to receive love and warmth so that they learn who to trust and who not to trust. This stage is a precursor to all of the rest. Erickson was spot on in identifying this as the first stage.

    

 Secondly, Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt happens from the age of 1 to the age of 2. An individual in this stage is pushing forth into the world around them and away form the immediate attachment to their mother and father. They need to make mistakes to learn from them, and deal with the consequences of their actions. For example, If a child reaches out and touches a hot pan and gets burnt, they need to feel that pain to know not to do it again. 

   

  Thirdly,Initiative vs. Guilt takes place from the ages of 3-5. A child needs to learn to take care of themselves in this stage. They need to decide whether they will take the initiative to brush their own teeth or whether to rely on those around them still. 

     

Industry vs. Inferiority, is the fifth stage and takes place from the around the age of 6 until the individual hits puberty. In this stage individuals are probably the most curious, industrial, and explorative as they will ever be in their entire life. Teachers have a great opportunity at this stage in individuals to allow them to be curious and use self-direcrted learning. 

   

  Identity vs. Identity confusion is the sixth stage of Erickson's model. This stage takes place normally from ages 10-20. In this stage an individual is doing their best to discover who they are and what they want from the world around them. This stage can be especially difficult for girls. Quite often girls struggle with self image which directly corresponds to figuring out "who" they feel they are. I believe although I am 22 years old that I still fall into this stage. I still do not fully know who I am and how I will fit into this world. 

    

 Next we have Intimacy vs. Isolation. This stage normally takes place from 20-30 years of age. During this stage individuals have to make the decision whether they want to spend their lives alone or with a partner. If they choose a partner, they are responsible to search out and find a suitable match for themselves. If the individual decides to travel through their life alone they will not look for a partner at this time. 

    

 Erickson's eighth stage is Generativity vs. Self-Absorption. This stage normally takes place between 40-50 years of age. An individual has a core intimate relationship but begin to look outward... is it all about that partner? What contribution will I have on those I come in contact with? Will I create a legacy? Will I make a difference in this world? Will I help those in need? These are all questions an individual will face in this stage.What will we choose?

   

  Lastly we have Integrity vs. Despair. This stage accounts for the years after 60. During this stage an individual reflects on their life. Did they make a difference? Did they leave a legacy? If they are happy with what they find, they will move into integrity, but if they aren't the will mov into despair.

   

  Theses are Erickson's stages and how they affect all those who come in contact with them.

I leave you with what I feel is the most important question, When you look back on your life, what will you see?....

Scaffolding and The Zone of Proximal Development

The Zone of Proximal Development is when a teacher or instructor sets a task just beyond the reach of the students capabilities to complete on their own. This creates an environment where a student needs the assistance of an instructor to achieve the task that has been set. The way scaffolding works into this idea is that it turns a one time event (Zone of Proximal Development) into a continual process. It means there is a continual setting of tasks beyond a students capabilities, and therefore a continual need of a teachers assistance.

I believe this method of teaching has so many practical uses. Many people critique Scaffolding and wonder why an instructor would constantly make a student feel incapable of completing something on their own. I can't argue that in a way they are right. It wouldn't be good to use scaffolding all the time. It is however, a very useful tool to get students to interact with their teachers, and to create a meaningful connection with their instructors. Scaffolding is used with the purpose of teaching students to communicate and to receive instruction and to be able to actively listen, which is a very important skill to posses.

Scaffolding can be translated into all areas of life and not only in the classroom. It would be an excellent way to create communication between  employee and employer or even between co-workers. This idea is used more often than even realized by those who are already using it. I think we need to be aware of the potential benefits of using scaffolding and begin to implement it as often as possible. 

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory

Bronfenbrenner view on how we perceive our world is linked into 5 different but integrated systems. They are as follows:

1. Microsystem: this is the system in which a person is most directly involved in. There is reciprocity in a microsystem (a back and forth relationship. Ex Brandon walking into the classroom, others... family, school, a play area, church group etc... 
2. Meso-system: Meso means in between or in the middle. The meso -system is the system the connects all the other systems. 
3. Exo-system: this is external to an individuals direct influence. 
4. Macro-System: Ideologies of the culture (biases etc...)  Ex. the world may have an idea about adolescent males and the teacher may view an individual through that view when it may not be accurate at all.
5. Chronosystem: Means “Time”. Has to do with an individuals place in history and time. Etc... someone in the 80’s didn’t have the privileges that we have now like if they wanted to watch a movie they had to wait for it to come into theater but for us now we could just download it. So it is the socio-historic conditions of ones life course.

I really like the way Brofenbrennar lays out every area of an individuals life into these systems. I personally believe it is an almost perfect way to view life and be able to identify where we find ourselves at in it.  If we actually use this model to view our lives I believe it will make us so much more aware of where we can be a productive asset in the society in which we exist. It is interesting to think about how we all actually create these systems for each other. As I am existing in a system right now I am also creating a system for someone else at the same time. This percieved view of life proves more than ever how interconnected we all are to one another. We need each other to have a meaningful life and life experience. 
When I spent time studying this model this is the truth that spoke to me: We all need each other In ways we probably don't even know. We affect each others lives in ways we don't know and won't ever know. We are all an electrical impulse on the giant switchboard we call life. 
I guess all there is left to say is thank you, all of you who have helped to make me who I am.
That is all.

My view of Jean Piaget's Stages

Jean Piaget (cognitive theorist)

Piaget’s Stages

1. Sensorimotor:

• Occurs from birth until age 2

1. Pre-operational: 

• occurs from ages 2-7
• beginning of symbolic thinking, language use and interaction with the world in an intuitive way. 
• egocentrism- child doesn’t appreciate different perspectives. 

1. Concrete Operational: 

• occurs from ages 7-11
• can perform operations; mental operations that are reversible.
• reasoning through problems from distinct; reasoning must be tied to concrete or physical things.
• are able to classify objects
• seriation 
• transituity can start to tell the difference between similar objects. Beginnings of conductive reasoning.

1. Formal Operational: 

• Ages 11-15 and continues into adulthood
• beginnings of hypothetical deductive reasoning 
• see a new form of egocentrism (adolescent egocentrism) child thinks everyone is as interested in them (the child) and their lives as the child is.

I see issues with Piaget's stages. The biggest problem I have Is that he doesn't take into account the many external factors that can effect children throughout these stages. For example the way they are raised can completely change the way they will move from one stage to the next. Another influence would be the culture in which they grow up in. Another problem is that some children will enter stages at different times and ages. Some might go into the stages in different orders as well. I like the flow that Piaget has throughout the stages and for the most part agree with him I just feel there are some problems that should have been addressed. As a consumer of information we will always find ways to critique input information. However, I feel the biggest problem with this theoretical model is the formal operational stage. It leaves so much room for people to fit into it. It says that it will continue on into adulthood, which is hypothetically ideal but not all will ever reach this stage. An so much of it can be determined upon how one views and understands this stage. What is true cognitive reasoning? What does it mean to be able to make deductive reasoning decisions? With the amount of issues that exist in our society to day I believe there are a lot of individuals who have not yet reached the full potential of this stage and may never do so.
Overall I think Piaget had a good theoretical model.

As a wise consumer how do I feel About the Alison Cameron Video Watched in Class

First off, I feel it is extremely important as an active member in today's society to think about the things we see and hear in the world around us. We shouldn't simply give in to the strategic advertising and 'skewed' information that is so readily available in the media. We need to be constructive, active interpreters so that we can make rational decisions based on information received.


In class we watched a documentary video by Alison Cameron. I will use this piece of material  how to try to be wise consumer of information.


This video spoke on how physical exercise in our schools can improve students grades significantly. 
The very first hesitation I had to this movie was that the topic of physical fitness and living a 'healthy' lifestyle is very popular in media today. The first thoughts that came to my mind is "well is this just another government funded project that is meant to sway me into wanting to live a more healthy lifestyle"? In know way is promoting health a bad thing, but being aware of what could potentially be the underlying motive behind research can prove important. The reason I say this is that if a consumer of knowledge we allow such institutions as the government to sway our thinking without being critical of it, we may fall into the trap of repeating it over and over again. That is a scary place to be because then in essence one is allowing someone else to run our lives.


The next hesitation I have is that the video only showed one study. We need to be very careful not to overgeneralize. The fear would be that I would make a conclusion based on this one study and it would skew every other study I watched or read after this point, because in my head this would be the 'written word'. Very closely aligned with this is the fear that this one study is the defining word and simply shutting down and never having an open mind in the future when it comes to this specific topic.


My last hesitation as a consumer of information is the authenticity of the source in which information comes from. Who is the author? What is their experience? Where are they from? Where have they been? These are all questions a wise consumer should be asking. 


As for this specific video, I have seen a lot of supporting evidence so I feel strongly that the information is valid and concrete. This is a decision I was able to make through the above steps.