Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning:

Is the most traditional way of managing the classroom because “It Works”, as it is effective for managing behaviours. But it does have a down side, it fails to ensure lasting behavioural management, Students will behave while the teacher is there but not when the teacher isn’t. The students are not being proactive in their behaviour, and not managing themselves. This topic most closely reminds me of Lawrence Kohlberg’s levels and stages of Moral Development.

Lawrence Kohlberg states that there are 3 levels of moral development each stage becoming more internalized.  The first stage is Pre Conventional which includes A) Punishment: which is the fear of negative consequences. B) Hedonism: Doing something despite negative consequences because they like the product.

 The second stage is Conventional which includes A) Nice boy/girl: They want society to see them as a good person in society. B) Law and Order: not doing something just because the law says so.

And Lastly Post Conventional A) Social Contract: Society respects each other and there is an open agreement to do it because they themselves choose to. B) Universal Ethical: Purely internalized, and see the practical options.

I see the class room in terms of what was stated above as the fear of negative consequences, like Pre Conventional stage Punishment.

At times I do not get these methods at all, because I have just resently moved in with my dad who has two young daughters, and it seems that no matter what anyone does they still act they way they do. You can tell them what they are doing is wrong, or you can praise what they do, and everything in between and the outcome is always the same. Is there just no hope for them?

Positive Reinforcement:

Increasing or maintaining good behaviour by adding something to the situation. An example of this in the classroom would be that the teacher sees that everyone is working quietly doing as they were told, and teacher adds a compliment, saying thank you all for working so nicely today.

Positive Punishment:

Decreasing negative behaviour by adding something to the situation. An example of this would be that the teacher sees a student picking on another student, so to decrease this behaviour the teacher gives the student a detention.

 Negative Punishment:

Decreasing negative behaviour by taking something away.  An example  of this would be the teacher sees that a student is not using computer time effectively, so the teacher takes computer time away from the student.

Negative Reinforcement:

Increasing or maintaining good behaviour by taking something away from the situation. An example would be that the teacher want to increase productivity and studying so the teacher says if you all work till the end of class appropriately I will take away the end of day quiz.

Generalization:

When there is a similar response to a similar stimulus. They will continue to show positive behaviour everywhere, so that the behaviour becomes generalized to every part of life.

Extinction:

You extinguish all types of Reinforcement and Punishment so that there is no stimulus. This is when nothing seems to work, just do nothing and see how the situation changes or if it does.

Differentiating Instruction

Differentiating Instruction:

The teacher modifies content, process, and product through the student’s readiness, interests, and learning profiles.

By modifying instruction all students will be able to learn despite all their differences, like strengths and backgrounds.

What Teachers Modify

Content:

Is “THE WHAT” and materials of learning. WHAT are the outcomes of the curriculum, how students can learn with different materials, like textbooks, posters, music, field trips, and all the other possibilities of materials that can be used to explore and expand the students mind. In short there is a choice and range of possibilities.

Process:

Are “THE ACTIVITIES” teachers use to get students to learn. How does the teacher want the students to learn the outcomes or “THE WHAT”. Will the teacher have the students create, read, research, listen? In many ways the teacher wants to have many choices to choose from, I myself would get tired if I only did one type of project, yes I would get really good at it fast, but I wouldn’t know how to use a variety of ways to get what I have learned across. It is important to also have many activities to allow all types to learners to feel engaged, if students just read then students who find this to be a challenge, then you put them at a disadvantage.

Product:

Are “THE VEHICLES” which students demonstrate what they have learned. Traditionally this is tests, asking can the student answer all the questions correctly? But there are many different ways that students can present their knowledge like, conversations, blogs, posters, demonstrating, or presenting. There are so many different possibilities, so teachers should give the students choices to show what they have leaned.

What Students Bring

 Readiness:

This is where the student is in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Sometimes the student is in a grade level which they are not ready for, or is gifted and understands everything that is presented. There are challenges when it comes to the student’s readiness, do you sacrifice one student even though they struggle, or do you try to bring them to the same level as everyone else despite the time and effort, I would hope everyone would try to help others but sometimes that is just not the case. When it comes to gifted students they are not always engaged with what you teach, but teachers tend to spend extra time with these students to help them achieve greater expectations. This parallel is a little one sided.

Interests:

These are the students passions, curiosity, what gets the students hooked. By using many students hooks we can get students passionate about their learning, they will actively pursue what makes them happy.   Many students say “what the point of learning this?” well if you show them that by learning something they think is trivial then they can apply it to what they love then it will get them more involved. Example: A student is passionately involved in skateboarding but they hate physics, so you can use examples of skateboarding and apply it to the problems.

Student Profiles:

This is the students learning styles, how do they learn in terms of Multiple Intelligences. Are they hands on learners, verbal, logical, reflective? Teachers are able to help students achieve success by using many types of learning styles.

Inclusive Education

Inclusive Education

Learner’s who are exceptional are students who require specialized programming or support.

Special Education: Is a way of removing barriers by having Individual Program Plans or IPP’s.

Inclusive Education is a way which all students are educated together, each having their own IPP’s.

Service Delivery Models

1.       Special Education Classes: This type is most common in today’s education system. It helps students who have needs that require more help. Some of these needs are managing ones behaviour, or emotions. This is a way for students with learning disabilities learn new strategies. 

In my opinion this is a good option in some ways, for students who are a constant distraction and influence the classroom in a negative ways, students like those who are verbally abusive towards the teacher and others. These types of classroom were more prominent in high school, the high school I went to had to types of special education classroom, one for students that did not fit the regular classroom environment (behavioural problems), and the other was for students with extreme learning disabilities. In a way this is helpful to the common teacher who has no training with this, but the way these people were presented was extremely negative, there was one classroom in the basement and one on the other side of the football field.  

2.       Resource Rooms: These rooms are part of the regular classroom, but students go off to these special rooms part of the time.

 I think this is the best way to deal with people who only struggle with learning disabilities in only some subjects. In my experience I think I might have gone to one of these before, because I use to go speak to someone, and read papers to test my reading levels, this was in grade 4 but I don’t remember going to one after that grade.

3.       Inclusive Classrooms:  These classrooms involve all members equally contributing to the classroom, all students no matter what needs they need will be treated in the same class as everyone else, each student will have an IPP.

This is a good idea in theory but I just do not think that all students are capable of being taught in the same classroom. If this was to occur I could for see students sacrificing their own learning and progress. Sometimes it will be a lot of distraction; in elementary school I had two classes that were inclusive part due to the school being so small. One student was  really good, and only had minor outbursts, but in the other  one student was physically abusive to others, and always tried to pants students by pulling at the rip off Adidas pants, students had to stop wearing those to school.

To respond to the Question: “How difficult can this be?”

I think being a student with a learning disability can be very hard, it must be hard seeing, and processing information in a different way must be the most stressful thing someone can go through, the frustration, anxiety, and tension must be over whelming. But it will also be difficult to make inclusive education work, in a productive and manageable way.

Gender

Gender: A Learned Behaviour

Gender: The social-cultural dimension.

1. There are gender ideals
2. There are gender challenges
3. There are gender ranges (continuum's)
4. Some people find the ideals and continuum's oppressive.

In many ways gender ideals are completely subjective, but they are mainly a way that a society views the perfection femininity and masculinity. Some people think that a woman should be a classic beauty like Audrey Hepburn, or a curvey women with sex appeal like Marilyn Monroe, or even a women that challenges the boundries and are more athletic like Angelina Jolie. There are a wide range of ideas of femininty, but in my views the same is not true for masculinity. Masculinity throughout time has shown me that the ideas around being a man has not changed, men with masculine attrubutes are strong, fit, are scene as providers, and have courage. I may be wearing rose colored glasses because I am a female, but in many cases, the images of men are in this view like Chuck Norris.

Sex: A biological feature (aspect of gender) Male or Female Genitalia

Gender Roles: Expectations of thinking, acting and feeling. (cognition, behaviour, and affect)

Gender Development: Theories of gender typing, and how we learn to fulfill gender roles.

Biological view: Rooted in Physiology, specifically Neurobiology. Source of where gender comes from in the brain. Determining mechanisms that make someone male of female. But biology is not destiny, especially for complex attitudes.
Social Learning: Albert Bandura suggests that how we learn gender is said to be by imitating and identifying roles models. Mom and Dad are really influential when mirroring gender. Many reacting to what they see, and how others react to those role models. * Observation and Modelling.
Cognitive Developmental: Lawerence Kholberg, who is influential in Moral Development, is also influential in Gender Development. This idea is that the individual learns gender concepts, interprets the experience and processes the information. The individual will learn gender ideas over time the ideas will become permanent. Gender permanence in the individuals mind. *Even though the child looks different they can distinguish what they are, or what other people are.
Gender Schema Theory: This is a information processing approach. The child learns cultural frameworks of gender from the community. Overtime there might be a overlap. When individuals have the same views of gender as society they tend to have a greater self esteem and more success, while if your ideas do not match society even if society does not know your views these people have a lower self esteem, and form a disconnection from society.

Issues

Stereotypes: Broad categories of expected behaviours. People might have lower expectations, based on what people think of you.

Gender Bias: The separation of gender in a way which prefers one sex over the other. In education some teachers give more time for males to answer questions then females.

Sexual Orientation: Is the pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to a specific gender or both. In a educational setting some people might have issues with what is not the norm, and may discriminate based on a persons identity.

Erik Erikson

 

Erik Erikson's Eight Stages of Human Development

Trust Vs. Mistrust
This stage is developed between the ages of 0-1 year old. In this time the infant is dependant on the people who care for them, and in order to gain trust of the world around them they must feel warmth and love from the caregiver. If the infant does not gain the positive outcome they will always fall on the opposite side of the spectrum.
Autonomy Vs. Shame and Doubt
This stage is developed between the ages of 1-2 years old. The infant starts to extend themselves away from the caregiver into the world. This extension is key when trying to develop Autonomy.
Initiative Vs. Guilt
This stage is developed between the ages of 3-5 years old. The child begins to care for themselves and their belongings. Self responsibilities are a way which Initiative is developed.
Industry Vs. Inferiority
This stage is developed between the ages of 6-till puberty, during the time they are in elementary school. Children will never be more curious than in this stage. Children want to learn and do new things. It is important to provide many different types of learning activities for children to flourish.
Identity Vs. Identity Confusion
This stage is from the ages of 10-20 during Adolescence. In this time they ask important questions about themselves, where do we fit in, and who we are.
Intimacy Vs. Isolation
This stage is from the ages of 20-30 years old. At this time the individual is looking for a Intimate partner to love and share a life with. This relationship will be responsible for the family aspects that need to be met.
Generativity Vs. Self Absorption
This stage is from the ages of 40-50 years old. At this point in life they will have a primary relationship, and will begin to look outward. What will they want to leave behind for their family and the generations to come. How does their live effect the world, and what is their legacy.
Integrity Vs. Despair
This stage is from the age of 60 and beyond. And is about reflection. Can the individual look back on their life and be proud of the live they have lived. If the individual does not have integrity they will only look back on their life with despair.

The needs of the individual never goes away, if the individual never achieves the positive outcome for life, it will carry on throughout their life, but as an adult they can always go back and rectify what is missing in order to become a happier person.

What is my current, and main priority in life?

At this point I am almost 21 years of age but, my current priority for me right now seems to be conflicted, I want to find someone to be with me, someone I can share my life with, but I don't know who I am. Who I am plays a huge role in who I want to be, and be with.

Diversities and There Role In School

Diversities

1. Socioeconomic Status: (S.E.S.) Is the ranking in social and economic hierarchy. So this means that we all have a place in society in a hierarchical level. School are one way to sort society into categories, the ones that will succeed and the other who do not. We all come into schools the same, but we all come out differently. S.E.S. Is strongly correlated with academic success, people with a low status tend to have low academic success. In my opinion this is a very tragic yet necessary part of society, we can not all be doctors, lawyers, but we as society need people to be unsuccessful in order for others to have success. Not all people are equal and our society banks on and hopes for a wide range of levels of achievement.
2. Cultural Capital: Is the cultural feature associated with S.E.S., it is what each student brings culturally to school. Culture also plays a huge role when associated with success. School its self has a culture and when a student comes to school with the ideas that fit perfectly with the school ( the culture of the student themselves), it is a recipe for success, and if the student doesn't fix with the subscribed culture it only puts up barriers. But a student can always change their attitudes and culture to fit. Some features include language (swearing, dialect), fashion, and attitudes.
3. Reduce Barriers: How can we reduce barriers? One way is to watch our attitudes, examine the way we think of certain attitudes. Watch our expectations, and consider where the students are coming from. Does the student have other responsibilities, or the proper care of a guardian.
4. Multicultural Education:
   1. Empowering Students: We want to empower them to facilitate them to succeed, by embracing their individuality, and culture. We also should empower students to want to improve their overall community.
   2. Kanu's Three Recommendations:
      1. The school curriculum should be openly anti-racist and anti-discriminatory.
      2. Multicultural Education should be part of every students education.
      3. Students should be trained to be more conscious of culture, including their own.

Exploration: How in your own life and school career, have you observed education and diversity done? What if anything, would you like to do differently? Why?

Diversity has played a huge role in my education, in Primary to Junior High I lived in Terrace British Columbia, where everywhere you went they celebrated First Nation Culture. This culture was taught by making button blankets, wooden paddles, and nature walks in my earlier years, to first nation seminars and assemblies led by First Nation Drum ceremonies. Yes I do believe in celebrating culture, and that it can bring unity to society, but this also brought up alot of tension. There was empowerment to the extreme, and in a 50/50 community of Caucasians and First Nations, there were lots of disputes.

In High School I moved to North Delta British Columbia, where there was a definite hierarchy in social standing, the children who had issues with the contemporary school system had a portable across the field separate from the school, as well as students who had mental disabilities had there own room in what the students called the basement of the school. Yes there were other classrooms in the basement but they were always out of sight and out of mind.

For the first instance I would would incorporate other cultures as well as First Nation, this way I would hope that there isn't an over empowering experience. For the second instance it is hard to change that system in a high school. Schools have a certain culture because it works and works well, people can change their cultural influences but for the most part a school can only make little changes.

To IQ or Not To IQ

To IQ. or Not To IQ.

IQ Definition: “ A simple way to describe intelligence by assigning a number that represents the ratio of mental intelligence to chronological age, multiplied by 100. Average I.Q is therefore 100 and is based on comparison between an individual's performance and that of other comparable people.”

Mental Age Definition: The level of mental development compared to others.

IQ Formula: MA/CA x 100

Four Myths About IQ

1. IQ measures some mysterious property. Truth: Measures the one score on one day.
2. IQ is constant. Truth: IQ can change.
3. IQ is the only point we need to know about kids. Truth: IQ is only one of many points.
4. IQ tests are impartial. Truth: The test is full of Bias.

One Fact About IQ

1. IQ scores are correlated with academic success.

Should Kids IQ's Be Tested?

I am completely for testing kids IQ's, but only for the knowledge not for placement purposes. Knowing a child's IQ for the bases of knowing where the child stands on a academic level can be helpful. If the IQ test shows that the child has a low mathematic level, but a high vocabulary level allows the tester to suggest improvement in certain areas. IQ should in no way be used as a placement object, because it in no way inclusive education. The only children who will benefit from exclusive education are those with a irregularly high score, by allowing them to achieve greater than they would in a regular classroom, but in some ways I think this would be a disadvantage to their social skills. Children should not be dumb down by placing them in a class with children who happen to share the same IQ score, it treats the children as if the have leprosy where just because they are different from the norm they should be treated differently. IQ should be tested regularly to be taken seriously, because one test is not the defining word, a child may perform bad one day,but excellent another. This shows that we must be wise consumers of what IQ states. IQ should be used as a tool for figuring out issues in a child's education, not a way to decide the fate of a student. Because IQ is correlated with academic success, that is the only use for it, it does not show how creative the student is, or their ability to deal with situations, or even social skills, having a low IQ does not make a child dumb, it just shows one way to measure intelligence on a particular day.