Activity 5.3a

The video, Your Brain is You: Learning and Memory, discusses how the memory is used in the learning process.  Dr. Eagleman explains that when something is learned it causes a change in the brain. The brain works as a system of networks that functions by making associations.  Dr. Eagleman stresses the importance of connecting instruction to prior knowledge so that student can learn and maintain the information on top of their preexisting experiences. He also mentions that humans use the senses to perceive information and to make connections. For example, if we smell coffee we immediately connect that smell to what we already know about coffee and this help us to expect that someone is drinking coffee.

Dr. Eagleman’s explanation of making associations is connected to James statement, “We always try to name a new experience in some way which will assimilate it to what we already know.” (p. 78) Another connection to Dr. Eagleman’s discussion about coffee is how in information processing the brain receives an input and pushes that to the sensory registers. Humans use their senses and to retrieve prior knowledge from the long term memory and explain that they are smelling the coffee.   

Activity 5.2

During this week’s readings about memory, I was able to make connections from James perspective to the constructivist information processing perspective and to the article, The Critical Role of the Retrieval Process in Long Term Retention. James and the constructivist’s information processing perspective both support the idea that the mind needs a “cue” to retrieve information. Specifically, James states, “the cue determines its vast set of potentialities toward a particular point. And if you now look to see how this happens you immediately perceive that the cue is something contiguously associated with the thing recalled.” (p. 59)

I really enjoyed James description of the brain, “each of the associates is a hood to which it hangs, a means to fish it up when sunk below the surface. Together they form a network of attachments by which it is woven into the entire tissue of our thought.” (p. 61) James’s last statement is aligned with the constructivist’s information processing point of view, which also identifies memory as a network which makes associations with information.

Finally, I noticed a connection between James and the article, The Critical Role of the Retrieval Process in Long Term Retention. James describes the retrieval process and associations, “but if we remember because of our associations, and if these are due to our organized brain paths, we easily see how the law of recency and repetition should prevail. Paths frequently and recently ploughed are those that lie most open, those which may be expected most easily to lead to results.” (p. 59) Similarly, the article describes the retrieval process, “the idea is that retrieval of information from memory leads to elaboration of the memory trace and/or the creation of additional retrieval routes, which makes it most likely that the information will be successfully retrieved again in the future.” (p. 24) These statements both explain that as information is constantly retrieved the paths become “plowed” and memory retrieval becomes smoother.

As a student, I can personally relate to making associations and retrieving information in order to understand the content that I’m currently studying. For example, I’m currently taking a sociolinguistics course and I’m required to retrieve the morphology, syntax, semantic and phonetic content that I learned in linguistics. In addition, I’m required to make new associations to sociology and connect ideas with my prior knowledge about society and language. The more I learn and retrieve my prior experiences, the more the paths are “plowed” and information becomes readily available. Given the right “cues”, I make connections, associations, retrieve and build deeper networks of memory.

Activity 5.1

I believe that learning does depend on memory. If we haven’t memorized the activity, information, process or experience then we haven’t really learned. I think that we if “know” something and do not act upon it then we haven’t really learned it. A concrete example is when children are taught the color blue. The child might be able to point to the circle and say blue after you’ve shown them.  But the next day, when you ask the child to find a blue object and they cannot, it’s because they haven’t really learned the color.

Sometimes people need to be reminded of things, and although he or she has “misplaced” that knowledge, the information is stored in their memory and he or she still understands the concepts. Again, I’ll use the example with the color blue. If the child can’t show you a blue object but you remind them that they see something blue every day. The child might remember that the sky is blue. Then, the child can connect their understanding of the color blue to locate a blue object.  

I think we remember things that we wish to forget because these things are seared into our minds and connected to bad experiences or deep feelings. Since feelings are senses it’s easy to recall the bad memories every time we are reminded by a song, a scent or a picture.  

Activity 4.5

Type a brief reflection in response to these short-term memory exercises. What did you learn?

I learned that my short term memory is weak. I often forget information due to time constraints and complexity.  It was easier to chunk the information when it was all presented at the same time rather than flashed quickly on the screen.  I also learned that recalling interesting facts, such as country names came rather easy, whereas remembering random letters proved to be difficult. I find it interesting  that old information can be lost due to new information and vice versa. After analyzing pictures, I completely forgot the sequence of the numbers which was previously an easy task to complete.

Activity 4.4

Kirschner and van Merrienboer’s article analyses and dismisses three urban legends in teaching and education.  I personally concur with the authors on points made about students as “digital natives”, the ineffective diagnosis of learning styles, and the internet savvy self-educator. The author’s goal is to prove that “although widespread, widely believed, and even widely implemented as well-meaning educational techniques or innovations, they are not supported by scientific evidence.  (p. 178)

The term butterfly defect is new to me but I instantly connected with students fluttering across information on technology devices and quickly moving to the next piece of information. My students have displayed the butterfly defect while using the computer or iPad for reading or math support. I’ve observed my students clicking away, unaware of the valuable information presented, only to fail their assessments.

In addition, I agree with the authors that students don’t learn only one way, instead, a student can learn in multiple fashions. The article used the term “pigeon hole” to explain how students were being put into distinct groups instead of fitting into several different groups. In my experience, using one particular learning style to teach a student, would limit the student, the teacher and cause frustration as learning and teaching becomes tedious.

Thirdly, the authors explain that the influx of information on the internet has led to the “Googlification of education, a watered-down version of resource-based learning.” (p.176)  While it’s important for students to be self-motivated and inquisitive learners, students shouldn’t be permitted to teach themselves how to research, explore and find valuable information on the internet. I agree that many students “trust the first thing they see” on the internet and they are trusting in unreliable information. (p. 176) Student’s need supervision to browse the internet, yet alone, need guidance and education about how to properly use and sort through information on the web.   

Activity 4.3

I selected the University of Minnesota video, “What babies teach us about perception”, because it provides an insight into the human mind as to how information is received and distorted. Although babies can’t communicate, the babies’ reaction to the object tells researchers that the human mind compensates and plays tricks when it perceives an image. This is connected to learning because humans also perceive distorted information and unknowingly compensate in order to understand. The statement, “when there’s not enough information the brain makes assumptions”, is congruent with the power point on sensory registers. In this power point it’s argued that “the human brain can be fooled into perceiving reality into a manner that’s not congruent with reality.” This video taught me that humans are unaware when they distort information and teachers need to be careful so that students accurately perceive information.  

Activity 4.2

Chapter 11 Summarization

In chapter 11, James explains that in order to keep the learners attention the teacher must present information in an interesting manner. James says, “Let your pupil wander from one aspect to another of your subject, if you do not wish him to wander from it all together to something else, variety in unity being the secret of all interesting talk and thought.” (p. 56)

As a educator, I use several methods of delivery, concrete examples, visual stimulations and sensory objects to present information and keep the students attention. The book, Inspiring Active Learners provides strategies that help students stay engaged in the lesson, maximize their attention span and learning. Some of the strategies include, think alouds, learning centers, giving students jobs or responsibilities, partner work, keep lessons flowing, guided discovery, group work, and individual assignments.

Harmin, M., & Toth, M. (2006) Inspiring Active Learners. Available from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103113/chapters/List-of-Strategies.aspx

Chapter 14 Summarization

In chapter 14, James describes apperception as “the act of taking a thing into the mind.” (p. 77) James explains that humans use their prior knowledge to assimilate the information but when the learner isn’t familiar with the content he or she will rearrange the “previous system of beliefs”. (p. 78) However, the process of rearranging often is challenging and unwelcomed as “we instinctively seek to disturb as little as possible our pre-existing stock of ideas.” (p. 78)

During whole group instruction, teachers often use schema to draw in students’ background knowledge and engage their attention in the lesson. I’ve observed young children struggle to rearrange their beliefs about the content taught, especially with abstract concepts such as main idea and author’s purpose. According to The Theory of Teaching and Elementary Psychology, using appreciation in instruction is both negative and positive. It’s negative because it limits the student to the prior knowledge that they’ve attained. On the other hand, it’s positive because it provides a foundation of information that students have learned and can presently use. (A. Sailsbury, p. 273)

Salisbury, A., (1905) The Theory of Teaching and Elementary Psychology. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=cP1EAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA273&lpg=PA273&dq=using+apprception+in+teaching+elementary&source=bl&ots=SyC-ZiDmyC&sig=bNjOEzY9JS4UG78eTZ6KwceeD2E&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mfQiVJKzA46TyAT9xYHYBA&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=using%20apperception%20in%20teaching%20elementary&f=false

 

Activity 4.1

According to Cognitive information processing perspective, meaningful learning occurs when the learner has met the following conditions; learner must have selected relevant information, organize that information into a coherent whole by making connections and integrate the information into the appropriate existing knowledge.

The critical characteristics of processing information are outlined in the Dual Memory Model. According to this model, learners receive an input from the external environment, process this input through their sensory registers, then move input to the short term memory, into the long term memory and finally retrieve the input from the long term memory and push it to the control executive process and short term memory. The control executive process is the least understood component of the memory. However, input passes back through this area in the brain in order to be retrieved for specific purposes.

The sensory registers influence how input is perceived and processed because it is the modality through which all input is received. If one part of the sensory registers aren’t working accurately then the input is distorted. The sensory registers include attention, perception, sensory, duration/intensity, and imagery, the role of the context, physical environment, physiological environment, and meaningfulness. 

Activity 3.5

Discussant Role:

The strengths of B.F. Skinner’s perspective are that the students’ interactive behavior demonstrates that they understand the content. However, observing behavior alone can be deceiving as the group work allows struggling or shy students to get lost or left behind during the group activities. The strengths of Lev Vygotsky’s perspective are that the lesson permits scaffolding and assisted learning. However, the adult-student interactions are limited and although misconceptions are discussed at a group level, they are not addressed on an individual level with struggling learners. The strengths of William James perspective are that the students have received an impression and are reacting and expressing that they’ve learned the material.  However, this same strength is a weakness as not all students have the opportunity to be individually formally assessed. This leaves the instructor without a clear understanding of the students that have mastered the mathematical concepts and the students that are struggling. The strengths of Piaget’s perspective are that the students enter disequilibrium in order to solve the equation and that students assimilate and accommodate information in order to achieve equilibrium. The weakness of Piaget’s perspective are that the lesson requires students to have schema about the content. In addition, the teacher assumes that all students are equally familiar with terms, content and strategies necessary to solve the equation.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lbUgQZDDj0sDsljBXRICr8A_RPEHx9cgyCAK50Z201k/edit?usp=sharing

Activity 3.4

O’Donnell would recognize that the new school environment that Bart is placed into has examples of endogenous, social, and dialectical constructivism. The first example of endogenous constructivism is when Bart is instructed for math. The teacher expects Bart to have some kind of “schema” about the math computation that she’s reviewing. Bart’s math lesson can be compared to O’Donnell’s statement, “the environment requires the use of existing structures and prompt the creation of new ones.” (p. 62-63) In addition, Bart is permitted freedom to explore during lab experiments which O’Donnell explains as “instruction is to promote the development of logical thinking through the child’s exploration of the environment.” (p. 63)

Examples of social constructivism are the social interactions that takes place during class debate and discussions. Similarly, O’Donnell explains, “learners participate in a community of learners and construct meaning from the discourse practices in that community.” (p. 63)

Lastly, dialectical constructivism is shown when Bart’s able to choose his class assignments and “learns to direct his activities.” (p. 63)

Activity 3.3

Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory states that learning cannot be independent of social forces and the importance of assisted learning. Through assisted learning and social interaction, the student can be instructed at their ability level and their zone of proximal development will be the students’ actual development level the next day. So what a child needs assistance with today he or she will be able to complete independently tomorrow. (Mind in Society, p. 87) A real life example is when a teacher guides a student how to add two digit numbers without regrouping and the next day observe as the student independently solves similar problems.

Vygotsky believes that the social interactions between the instructor and the student plays an essential role in the student’s cognitive development.  James supports this idea in Talks with Teachers, “the child will always attend more to what the teacher does than to what the teacher says.” (p. 46) According to Vygotsky, not only will the child attend more to the teacher but the child will also learn more due to this social interaction and assisted learning.  James also states that the educator's principle task is to "break up bad associations or wrong ones, to build others in, and to guide the associative tendencies into the most fruitful channels." (p. 42) Again, James supports the teacher’s role as the guide in the learning process which connects with Vygotsky’s beliefs that assisted learning is essential to cognitive development.

Activity 3.2

 

Piaget’s stages of development follows four sequential stages which begins at birth and stretches across a person’s lifetime.  At each stage the learner is achieving cognitive development and building upon their past experiences in order to understand the present cognitive challenges. 

Similarly, James states, “That something can consist in nothing but a previous lot of ideas already interesting in themselves, and of such a nature that the incoming novel objects which you present can dovetail into them and form with them some kind of logically associated or systematic whole.” (p. 49) In essence, James is expressing that humans make associations with information and build upon their prior knowledge just as Piaget’s stages of development follows a cognitive progression.  James statement also supports cognitive constructivism because it follows the idea that students are “active” learners that assimilate or accommodate information as they learn.

Activity 3.1

Piaget’s constructive learning theory describes learning as an active construction process in which people learn through their own activities. The purpose of the instructor is to help student construct meaning. Constructivists believe that the individual is “active” and that individuals seek cognitive equilibrium or “self-regulation” in order to understand and categorize information.

The learning process can be broken down into an organized construction process.  The learner begins with disequilibrium which is the major source of motivation.  Next, the learner adapts to his or her environment and organizes knowledge through the equilibrium process of either assimilation or accommodation. A learner assimilates when they fit new information in to their existing knowledge structures.  However, when a learner can’t assimilate the learner will accommodate by modifying their existing knowledge structures to fit reality.


 

 

Activity 2.5

The ITA test that I took was on age.  It’s interesting to me that the computer placed “old” with the word “bad” and “young” with “good”. I felt tricked when the computer switched the words around and put “old” with “good”. It took a moment to readjust my thinking and I was worried that my results would be effected. Overall, I feel that my results on the ITA test were accurate. In addition to the test, I watched the video with Alan Alda, in which he learns about the biases that he has pertaining to gender.  It’s fascinating that as humans we have subconscious biases which are effecting our judgments and behaviors without us knowing.

In the chapter about habits, James begins by explaining that habits can be good and bad.  In fact, our whole life is full of habits that include practical, emotional and intellectual. (p 32) A habit is a behavior that has become second nature or automatic to a person. James stresses that teachers goal is to ingrain useful habits into the students. As the activities are practiced continually they become habit and are kept alive within the learner. Therefore, the student has less energy to devote to doing the task because the task has become memorized.  James even states to “keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gracious excitement every day.” (p 38)

A connection can be made to James’ definition of education as he states that “the acquired habits of conduct and tendencies to behavior.” (p 15) I interpret this as habits are a group of behaviors which directly affect learning. A student with strong habits effortlessly relies on their abilities and more easily makes associations and connections during the learning process.

Activity 2.4

In the article, “Criticizing (Common Criticism of) Praise,” Kohn argues that praise is a verbal reward given in an effort to change a person’s behavior and exercise power over them. He believes that praise actually reduces the recipient’s interest in a task or commitment to the action. In addition, he argues that praise is a judgment that signifies we approve and when praise isn’t given for the same action that the activity is diminished. To clarify his position on praise, Kohn provides four points about what he isn’t saying in the argument against praise. Kohn isn’t saying to praise less frequently, to offer more meaningful praise, to praise a person’s effort rather than ability, or that praise is objectionable.



In the article, “Five Reasons to Stop Saying “Good Job,” Kohn discusses working with kids by explaining the importance of the situation to the child and guiding him or her to become a responsible individual. Practically speaking, Kohn suggest that instead of praising children, adults should say nothing, say what you see or ask the child a question about their activity.



Kohn’s articles remind me of a time when I was being observed teaching a lesson. Apparently, I said “good job” too often in my lesson. The observer was concerned because she believed that I over used the phrase and that I didn’t provide an explanation for the praise. Kohn would have told me not only to not say “good job”, but would have suggested to say what I saw, or ask the student how they felt about their work. I can see now that saying “good job” was ineffective because it left the student wondering what they did “good” and the other students wondered why they didn’t get praised.



In Pryor’s article, “Don’t Shoot the Dog,” she encourages the notion of using positive reinforcement. In fact, she suggests using positive reinforcement on others and on oneself. Her belief is that positive reinforcement will increase the probability that the act will occur again. Pryor defines reinforce as anything that increases the behavior. Therefore, applying a negative stimuli when the behavior occurs causes the person to increase and then adjust their behavior in order for the negative stimuli to be removed. Positive reinforcement only works when it’s an item that the subject wants. Pryor suggests that positive reinforcements are good for human behavior and describes giving presents as an example. When people are given a present they are reinforced and the giver is also reinforced when they have given a desirable gift.



Pryor emphasizes that the reinforcement should be given in a timely manner so that the reinforced understands why he or she is getting praised. In addition, she goes into length about reinforcement size, jackpot reinforcements, reinforcement schedules and conditioning reinforcements.



Considering the same teaching situation in which I was saying “good job” during my lesson, I believe that Pryor would reinforce my positive reinforcement. She would probably suggest using immediate praise in order to increase the likelihood that the act would occur again.



Although Pryor and Kohn differ in their opinion about giving praise they both agree that it’s a tactic to exercise power. Pryor recognizes that giving both positive and negative reinforcement manipulates a person’s behavior and aims to increase or decrease the behavior. Kohn also recognizes that saying “good job” is an effort to change a person’s behavior and exhibit power. Kohn calls this “pat” on the back “patronizing” but Pryor describes praise as “the secret of good training”.

Activity 2.3

Skinner’s 1984 article, “The Shame of American Education,” focuses on the lag of progress in American education, outlines the main issues of education, and ways to solve the problems. He strongly believes that teaching machines and programmed instruction could aid in teaching current material in half the time. Skinner believes that the main problem is that teaching time is wasted and that the solution is for instruction to be clear, foundational skills taught first, allowing students to progress at their own pace, and program the subject matter to the individual student.

I agree with Skinner statement, “a good program of instruction guarantees a great deal of successful action,” (pg 952). However, I believe that Skinner would be ashamed of American education today. First, school systems are regularly following a “rage of education,” and blaming teachers when programs don’t work out. Next, schools don’t follow a defined program of instruction, classrooms are overcrowded, and universities continue to teach pedagogical techniques and psychological studies instead of content.

I believe that Skinner would be proud of the School of One approach because its program of instruction follows Skinners ideology about education. For example, students are taught basic skills and build upon them, instruction meets the individual learning goals, students’ progress at their own pace and students have a good understanding of their success.

Skinner’s response to activity 2.1 wouldn’t include free will at all. In the video “Operant Conditioning,” Skinner states that he attributes nothing to free will. Therefore, his pie graph would only include habit. Finally, the office video helped to deepen my understanding of the operant conditioning theory. As a pregnant woman, I can relate to this condition because anytime I hear the discussion of food I immediately feel hungry even if I’ve already eaten.

Activity 2.2

Behaviorism is a theory of learning which explains that the environment shapes a person’s behavior and that humans are born as a “blank slate”. Another component of behaviorism is that behavior can be determined, analyzed and conditioned to elicit a response. Also, a person’s behavior provides an introspective observation into their mental state and consciousness.  Lastly, behavior can be modified and shaped through continuous or intermittent reinforcement. 

Activity 2.1

I made a pie chart that represents the amount of time I spend doing habitual versus free will activities.  Some days I tend to do more habitual activities and other days (like Saturday) I tend to do more free will activities.  But on an "average" work day my habits (what I must do) are about 70% and my free will activities are at about 30% or even less if I have a very busy work day.

Activity 1.5

Summary of Chapter’s 1-4 of William James

In chapter one, James discusses the importance of teachers analyzing their students’ minds or “mental machines” in order know them more intimately as learners. Also, he discussed that psychology is a tool that teachers can use in their profession but that it doesn’t make them a better teacher. An example of this is when teachers observe that a student is acting out during math. The teacher that has learned their student would know that something was amiss and use this information to support their student during math time.

In chapter two, James defines consciousness and explains to teachers that students’ will have a steady flow of sensations, thoughts and feelings that affect their ability to learn. An example of this is a child that is unable to focus in class because they’ve had a death in the family. The negative feelings that the student is experiencing is interfering with their learning. As a teacher, I’m enlighten to read about the consciousness how it can impede upon learning.

In chapter three, James describes the function of the conscious as being for practical and rational purposes. He goes into depth about the fundamentals of the brain functions and connects students’ behaviors to factors such as their environment. For example, students’ behaviors are directly impacted by their environment. When a student uses bad language that’s a result of the environment they’ve been exposed to. The student has “adapted” to his home environment.

In chapter four, James provides a definition for education and explains that we demonstrate our education through our behavior. Also, he states that the education that students receive evokes a behavior. An example of this in the text is the German students that trained so well that they are able to complete research independently. A connection to this is when children are taught to eat using utensils and eventually they have developed those skills so well that they can hold chop sticks.

Activity 1.4

What does it mean to be educated? To be educated is to be open minded, to be teachable and to be willing to change. There isn’t a minimum amount of knowledge that a person must attain in order to be educated. Rather, education is individually unique for each person. In addition, education isn’t only acquiring information in text books but it’s a gathering of experiences, the ability to control one's self, and to use the knowledge they possess and not just obtain knowledge for useless purposes.

Activity 1.3

Learning is a multifaceted process that occurs inevitably, cautiously and through interaction; it changes the learner unknowingly and occurs in large or small portions, over an entire lifetime and yet can be prevented if resisted.

Principle 1: Learning is Change.

 The learner changes as they acquire knowledge and information. The learner is unaware that they have changed but only that they have learned new information. This change can be large or small and occurs both immediately and gradually.  As the learner changes, their outlook, ideas and feelings can also change.  A couple years ago, I had a student that began first grade and couldn’t read CVC words. Daily, the student practiced reading and seemed to not make any progress.  Inwardly, he was grasping concepts and making connections. Several weeks later, he began reading CVC words and to put together sentences. This student was changed from the knowledge he had acquired and by practicing the concepts. The change took time and effort but it built a strong foundation that he’ll use in the future.

Principle 2: Learning is Inevitable, Essential and Ubiquitous.

                Learning occurs automatically for both humans and nonhumans. It is essential for learning to occur so that we can survive in our world.  Lastly, learning occurs despite the situation or environment. An example is when animals are kept out of the wild and then put back into the wild. If they haven’t learned the basic survival skills then they won’t thrive in wild. In the same regard, animals that have lived with humans inevitably learn commands and expectations of their master.

Principle 3: Learning can be Resisted

                People often resist learning due to personal reasons. The student doesn’t want to learn because they view the reward as too small and the effort to large. Another reason is that the person feels they will be unaccepted by their social group. Therefore, people resist or prevent learning from occurring. An example of students resisting learning is demonstrated in the autobiography, “My Posse Don’t Do Homework” by LouAnne Johnson. She demonstrates how students in her California classroom resisted learning due to fact that it was looked down upon.

Principle 4: Learning May be Disadvantageous

                Learning isn’t always positive or profitable. In fact, there are times when we have no control over what we’ve learned and we wish that the information was never acquired. Also, learning can be viewed advantageous to one social group and disadvantageous and undesirable to another social group. An example of learning as disadvantageous is learning proper English. In one social setting speaking proper English is considered positive and educational but step into a different social setting and you could be considered snobbish for speaking properly.

Principle 9: Learning is Interactional

Learning is an interactive process that occurs both within the learner and surrounding the learner. There is an ongoing interaction between the learner and the environment in which they are learning. This interaction is a constant push and pull between the learner and the environment.  An example of learning as interactional is during our last class discussion. The students’ interacted with one another as part of the learning process. This interaction was a push and pull of ideas and influences which shaped our ideas.

Activity 1.2

Learning is like a relationship. Relationships that are committed improve with time and blossom into a lifelong friendship of trust and strength.  Similarly, students that are committed to the practice of studying and challenge themselves will become strengthened academically.

Learning and relationships both require a “good fit”, also known as chemistry. For example, two people can be good friends because they have a natural connection and an ability to understand one another. But swap out one friend for a “new friend”, and that combination can be explosive.  In the same way, one learning style may work for one student because it supports the student’s natural abilities and interest. However, that same learning style may only cause frustration and confusion for another student.   

                Sometimes relationships fail and sometimes learners fail.  Both relationships and learning fail for similar reasons which include misunderstanding, miscommunication, frustration, disinterest, stress, exhaustion, over stimulation, pressure, and distractions to name a few. It’s ok for students to fail at learning. Often the best lessons are learned when we fail whether in a relationship or academically.  But in both situations we have a choice to overcome, to move on, and to not be defined by our failures.  

Activity 1.1

The first class session was intriguing and sparked my interest about the theories of learning. As a previous classroom teacher, I began assessing Johnny’s behavior and I recognized that he was displaying signs of distress.  My group members also recognized that Johnny’s acting out could be due to moving schools often, struggling academically, and his desire to fit in.  We discussed how to potentially address the situation from the teacher and the parent’s perspective. The majority of the group felt that Johnny needed to be assessed for a learning disability, and that a conference with current or previous teachers would shed more light on the situation.

At first the Monty activity seemed silly to me.  My group struggled to begin answering the question and discussing the next steps with to take with Monty. We tried to provide professional answers regarding Monty’s situation but it was challenging. After Dr. Usher explained that it’s important to “think like strangers”, I felt relieved.  I was familiar with Johnny’s situation and completely uncomfortable with Monty’s situation.  However, this activity opened my eyes to the fact that I was generalizing Johnny’s behavior. Instead, I should aim to step outside of my prescribed thinking and attempt to view the situation in a different light.

The Mullah story seemed like just a simple story but during the class discussion I was challenged to think outside of myself and search for the meaning of the metaphor. I agree that in education we stay within the boundary of the familiar and dare not go beyond. I don’t want to be like the Mullah and stay in the place of familiarity. I’m eager to be challenged and to step into the unknown in order to stretch myself. Thus, I look forward to learning more about the theories of learning.

David Foster Wallace’s commencement challenged the students to go against their default thinking and to train themselves mentally. He dared the students to open up their mind to the other possibilities of thinking and strive to develop a new perspective. In the same way, the Johnny and Monty activity also challenged us to “think like strangers”, to go against our natural tendencies and to decide what does and doesn’t have meaning.  Both activities present the notion that the control of our thoughts and decisions brings forth freedom and freedom of thought is truly an educated mind.