Multiple intelligence

Chapter 5 (p. 137-149)

(3) You have now read several views about intelligence. What do you think about intelligence?

Is it one trait or many? more heavily influenced by nature or nurture? a fixed capacity or a

modifiable ability? Articulate your views in a paragraph of 6-8 sentences.

I find the multiple intelligence theory very interesting. I think that each person has something they are specifically skilled in. While a person may have more than one multiple intelligence, one can not be good at everything. I think this theory is a little of both nurture and nature. I do believe that some people are inherently more capable in certain areas. Some brains are geared fore artistically  musically, or logically for example. But it does take nurturing to use those strengths to their ability.  I think this is a great thing to keep in mind as a teacher. It is important to remember to play up each students strengths. I will make sure to provide opportunities for students will all types of intelligence to thrive. 

Race in the Classroom

Reflections on "From Racial Sterotyping to Deficit Discourse" by Daniel R. Soloranzo and Tara J. Yosso.

          Soloranzo and Yosso wrote this article, as it appears to me, aiming at the white race. They address 

the white supremacy idea and how it effects outcomes of education. They are " examining educational theory 

and practice [and how they] are used to subordinate certain racial and ethnic groups" ( p.2). The critical race

 theory give 5 points: The Centrality and Intersectionality of Race and Racism,The Challenge to Dominant 

Ideology, The Commitment to Social Justice, The Centrality of Experiential Knowledge, and The 

Interdisciplinary Perspective.

           The authors also mention the idea of unconscious racism. They say that white people make comments

 that are not meant to be racism and do not appear to be racism, but in fact show racial bias. It gives 

examples in the article of the exaggerated bias that are give to other races like slow, lazy, violent. It touches 

on three biases that are present: intelligence and educational stereotypes  personality or characteristic 

stereotypes  and physical appearance stereotypes. All of these are presented in a perspective of how whites

 view other races. They say that in education settings teachers show these biases by setting low expectations, 

separating students of color, or " dumbing down" the curriculum. 

             In conclusion, the article challenges people to fight against racial stereotypes. In regards to education 

we should not lower expectation or treat them any differently.. I was surprised that they made assumptions 

about how whites feel about other cultures.I feel like that was stereotyping in itself.  Soloranzo and Yosso 

seem to take the " be color blind" approach to racial issues. While this is effective in many ways, I also

believe it is important to let students be who they are. Each student will bring a different culture to the 

classroom. I do not believe in suppressing that, but integrating that. I personally think it is a really big learning 

experience for students if they can interact, accept, and learn from each others different cultures. 

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Consider your CSEL lesson sequence.  Which metacognitive skills/abilities are involved as students gain facility/knowledge in this domain?

   As students gain knowledge of this domain, they will learn things like convert and overt strategies. It is important for students to learn how they learn. This is give them the skills to help themselves more effectivley throughout school.

Create an activity or lesson component that explicitly teaches one or more metacognitive and one or more problem solving skills.

    It is important that we give students the skills they need to understand their personal learning more clearly. This could be done in think- aloud strategies or actually surveyed test. This link talks more about different possibilities of what teachers could do.http://fcit.usf.edu/mathvids/strategies/tms.html

     As I prepare to be a special education teacher, I am always considering vast amounts of accommodations that could be made for each lesson I plan. Chapter 8 explicitly mentions accommodating students with special needs in regards to metacognition skills. The text says that we, as teachers, may have to teach students with disabilities specific metacognitive skills. Students may not know how they learn or have the skills to do this on their own. When this case arises, I could make accommodations such as scaffolding, guided assistance, partially filled in outlines etc. 

     

Moral Development

I did a teaching project this week that focused on cultural bias. Often our students, or even we, have bias and we don't realize it. In regards to biases, there can be so many: gender, social, cultural, racial, etc. As educators, it is important to be aware of these biases that our students may bring into the classroom. We should be active in working aganist that. Provide ways for your students to get to know each other. When they can build relationships and gain a better understanding of why people are the way they are students will be able to gain a broader view of their piers. If our students had a perspective that was understanding and equal for all their peer, how much better would our classrooms be?

This article is an extension of moral development in the classroom.

http://hepg.org/hel/article/522

chapter 7

Chapter 2

One of the most cited theories of human development is that of Swiss biologist Jean Piaget.  After reading about Piaget’s basic assumptions (p. 27-32) look with particular attention at the stage of child development you would like to teach.  How might you accommodate those students who have not yet developed to this stage?

Piagets' preoperational stage is said to emerge at about age 2. Language rapidly expands, pretend play occurs, and intutitve thought is present. Piaget also suggest that knowledge is constructed not absorbed. If a child has not reached this stage, one could practice vocabulary words with the child. intentionally point objects out a say the word. This will help the child construct their own understanding.

The other most cited theory of human development belongs to Russian developmentalist Lev Vygotsky.  Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development leads us to expect greater diversity among our same-aged students than Piaget.  Create a compare and contrast chart or a mind map that examines these two influential theorists’ ideas on cognitive development.

Theories in educational psychology promote the idea that language plays a critical role in cognitive development.  Examine Table 2.2 (p. 51), paying particular attention to the age range that you are interested in teaching.  Consider how you might incorporate or adapt the strategies presented for use with your own students.

I want to teach special education in a high school setting. It is possible that my students have not developed some or any of these stages.I will examine each need on a case by case basis. To improve these stages I could read storybooks, parts of speech, introduce new vocabulary, or distinguish abstract words. These are just a few of the suggestions the book gives for each stage.

Summing up the learning theories

Now that we have covered the 4 learning theories in class, here is a great image to sum them all up. It takes each theory and compares the same beliefs across all 4 theories.

http://suifaijohnmak.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/1st-facilitators-session-learning-theories.jpg

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Which of the learning activities/skills can you think of that lend themselves to learning through modeling?

For modeling to be effective there are specific conditions. Attention, retention, motor reproductive, and motivation must be present. 

How might self-efficacy and self-regulation contribute to the intervention plans you use in your case study?
 In my case study, Lisa was disruptive and became angry when she didn't get her way. To understand the problem further we would need to know what the reason for the behavior is. If it is because Lisa wants to avoid something, it may be because she feels like she is unable to do the task. Self- efficacy for Lisa would help her feel like she was able to work cooperatively with her peers. Self- regulation wold help Lisa reach her behavior goals that she can set with the teacher and her parents.