ED4124- Assesment Task 1-5

ED4124: Piaget: Assessment Task One

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a Swiss biologist who rose to prominence with his theories on Social Constructivism. Piaget was interested in how the individual child constructed their learning. Piaget proposed that children’s cognitive performance was directly linked to their cognitive development. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003; Silverton, 1999) He suggested that there were three factors in the internal cognitive process of a child; Assimilation- existing schemes are adjusted to fit a new set of circumstances; (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 54) Accommodation- new scheme’s are created to make sense of new information: Equilibration- seeking to restore balance in what is known and new information that the child receives: (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 55) Disequilibartion- new information received by the child seems to contradict what the child knows and expects. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 55) He believed that even as the internal processes continue children pass through four separate stages of cognitive development. These cognitive stages, called the Sensorimotor (birth to 2 years); Preoperational thought (2 to 6/7 years); Concrete operational (6/7 to 11/12 years) and Formal operational (11/12 to adult)( Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003; Silverton, 1999) needed to be mastered sequentially, similar to climbing stairs. Reflecting on all of this, the stage theory would be guide to educators as to what a student’s developmental stage is, and plan accordingly. Putting in place strategies such peer collaboration would help the more developmentally challenged students to understand a concept better. An educator should remember to listen to the children and observe them as they learn. Implementing ICT programmes in the classroom would allow a child to progress at their own pace and level. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 59) Simulations could take the role of peers to help make concepts easily mastered. Today’s technology savvy children would already have schemes in place for computers and ipods etc. they would be learning in an environment they know and expect. Complete equilibration! Despite the criticism of Piaget’s theories, his ideas are still valid in some classroom situations and have proven to be useful in the instruction of developmentally challenged students.

References

Bochner, S., Duchesne, S., And Krause, K. (2003) Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching. Sydney: Macquarie.

Silverton, P. (1999) Jean Piagets Theory of Development.

http://chd.gmu.edu/immersion/knowledgebase/theorists/constructivism/Piaget.htm. retrieved 10/03/07.

www.piaget.org/

http://www.thomsonlearning.com.au/higher/education/krause/2e/Krause2eWeblinks_ch02.pdf

ED 4124 VYGOTSKY: ASSESSMENT TASK TWO

Lev Vygotsky (1896- 1934) was another Social Constructivist who was born in Russia during the Russian revolution. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 60; Riddle, 1999) Unlike Piaget Vygotsky was more interested on the social, cultural and historical influences on the cognitive process. He suggested that people use tools, mental and physical, to navigate their environment. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 62) Vygotsky believed that language is the most important mental tool. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003; Riddle , 1999)) Language initially appears to be a social tool, a way of interacting with others but later it becomes a problem solving tool called private speech. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 62) He concluded that language and thought were not mutually exclusive indeed one could not exist without the other. Vygotsky also believed that the use of tools fundamentally altered and shaped the way we think. Adult -Infant interaction 2.17. Vygotsky also gives us the term “Zone of Proximal Development” simply put it is the gap between what children can do for themselves and what they can do with assistance from others, crucially it this “gap” where learning takes place. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 55; Riddle, 1999) The impact of Vygotsky's theory of tools and ZPD on a modern classroom could be enormous. Computers and other technologies are making it easier for students to access information and acquire new skills quickly and easily. Interactive computer programs stimulate the private speech in the problem solving tasks that must be undertaken and can be used as scaffolds in math and science programs. Technology is also a tool that goes a long way to assist in the other intelligences that exist in a classroom. It can be noisy, colourful and stimulating giving different mediums where students can make sense of the concepts. Applications in Classroom 2.19 As Vygotsky argues children learn with social interaction, therefore a successful teacher would use peers to help a less experienced child through the ZPD, and would scaffold tasks that would be easily managed by the student, eventually building up to the completion of the larger task. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 65,) Tools, language and social interaction all aid the child in their thinking and learning.

References

Bochner, S., Duchesne, S., And Krause,K. (2003) Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching. Sydney: Macquarie.

http://chd.gmu.edu/immersion/knowledgebase/theorists/constructivism/vygotsky.htm

http://www.thomsonlearning.com.au/higher/education/krause/2e/Krause2eWeblinks_ch02.pdf

ED4124: Bruner- Assessment Task Three

Jerome S, Bruner (1915- ) an American Psychologist who first put forward the notion of “Discovery Learning.” ((Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003; Smith, 2002) this is an active process where the learner constructs new ideas based on their current and past knowledge. Peeks a Boo study 2.18 (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. ) The Learner then selects and transforms this knowledge and constructs ideas and makes meaning using then cognitive process. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003.) Generally he found that people remember what they believe is useful and significant but do not remembers facts for their own sake. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003.) Bruner proposes that are three components in the cognitive process; Enactive skills; Iconic skills: and Symbolic skills. Like Piagets stages theory Bruner concluded that each person needed to master each of these concepts. Bruner believed that students should build on their knowledge and not simply be taught facts. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003.) Teachers should provide meaningful dialogue and be ready to guide where necessary. Bruner developed the concept of a “Spiral Curriculum” where the structure is easily grasped by the students, for instance simple to complex; general to detailed concepts are presented.(Smith,1999)Upon reflection it would seem that this theory would be useful across all of the age groups and in all disciplines. Although not a means in itself, the idea of discovery learning would compliment most classroom situations. A successful teacher in discovery learning would use Socratic learning with the students to draw out their ideas and concepts; provide students with the right tools study materials and activities that would correspond and then enhance their cognitive abilities. For instance history-drawing, viewing and researching an historical period would make that information more meaningful to the student therefore more inclined to be retained. In maths a similar process can be used by thinking up a similar problem; look at how others might solve it; research the theory behind the problem, putting the random numbers into perspective. A spiral curriculum would be handy in these instances.

References

Bochner, S., Duchesne, S., And Krause,K. (2003) Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching. Sydney: Macquarie.

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm

http://hsc.csu.edu.au/pro_dev/teaching_online/how_we_learn/constructivism.html

ED 4124: William Glasser: Assessment Task Four

William Glasser (1925 -) and American Psychologist who developed the Control/Choice Theory. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 387) Glasser Deemed it was perhaps more appropriate to prevent bad behavior in the classroom than correct bad behavior. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 387) He came to this conclusion when developing a program for delinquent girls in a school in California. Glasser figured that students misbehaved because the schools do not fulfill their basic needs. His choice theory is based on the Maslow's hierarchy of needs . The four fundamentals of his theory are Belonging; Power; Freedom; Fun. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 388) these fundamentals underpin the style of classroom management referred to as Non Interventionist, where the student and the teacher share the responsibility with regards to classroom management and discipline. In this case a greater weight is placed on the role of the student with regards to their learning than previously expected. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 388) the student is required to see the consequences of their behavior and suggest remedial action. Glasser classroom management As a teacher you could find Glasser’s theory helpful. Get to know your students and set out some ground rules. Help the students identify good and bad behavior in the classroom; get them to agree to appropriate discipline measures such as time out. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003. Pg 390) ;Help the students to be reflective about their behavior. When the students feel that the rules are their own they are more likely to keep them and encourage others to do the same. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003 pg 388)) Class meetings can be time consuming so they need to be regulated and boundaries set. Glasser viewed the teachers as “Lead Managers” and not “Boss Managers”. (Bochner, Duchesne and Krause, 2003). Eliminating most of the discipline issues in the classroom leaves more time to learn. The teacher should get the students active in their learning. Let them take the lead in discussions. Let them choose their essay topics (present a list of topics relevant to the curriculum). These are simple approaches to make learning meaningful and validated. Just keep in mind that there still needs to rules and structure to all activities. The emphasis should be on quality of schoolwork rather than facts learned.

References

Bochner, S., Duchesne, S., and Krause, K. (2003) Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching. Sydney: Macquarie.

ED4124: John Hattie: Assessment Task Five

John Hattie is currently a Professor of Education at Auckland University. Whilst not psychologist like the others that we have investigated recently, he princpley examines the data from the many reports and studies on education and tries to make sense of them with regard to School and classroom management. He looks at the factors that go into the making of a good teacher and those that would help make a difference to learning. In a lecture to the Australian Council of Educational Research 2003 Hattie, after he and a colleague had examined research about teacher differences , stated that there were five dimension to an excellent teacher these are

• Can identify essential representation of their subject
• Guide learning through interaction
• Monitor learning and provide feedback
• Attend to effective attributes
• Influence studies outcomes

It was the strengths and weaknesses that the teachers displayed in each of these areas that provided for the difference (Hattie 2003).

Hattie is also concerned in ways with which evidence is interpreted and used within education. At the ACER Conference 2005, He determines that learning outcomes must have achievement progression; he states the necessity of an accountability system where the “locus on the student learning and the focus is on teachers teaching” (Hattie, 2005) based on evidence from the classroom where clear targets have been set. Interpretation must be based on evidence that is relevant and current to the classroom. Evidence is not based on numbers, assessment literacy and national ability tests (Hattie, 2005).
There is much here to supplement a teachers existing pedagogy. A teacher can reflect on the five factors of an excellent teacher and see areas where there is necessary change or enhancement. Educators and administrators need to collect relevant and current data to underpin effectiveness; otherwise the outcomes will not be representative of the group. Educators need to be vigilant and to maintain their levels of expertise, and to determine intentions and success criteria for their students, so that they know what they are measuring. If a teacher includes these things into their existing pedagogy they will be on their way to being an excellent teacher who uses evidence to support and enhance their teaching.

References

Hattie, J. (2005) What is the Nature of Evidence that Makes a difference to Learning? For the ACER Conference 2005. http://www.acer.edu.au/workshops/documents/HattieSlides.pdf retrieved 30/03/07.

Hattie, J. (2003) Teachers make a difference. What is the research evidence? https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/proflearn/docs/pdf/qt_hattie.pdf