Movement can be fun! (Cluster 3-4 Fieldwork Assignment)

I recently visited a second grade classroom in the Newburgh school district. I particularly interested in how Attention Deficit Hypertension Disorder was defined in cluster 4 because of the classroom I was observing in. This classroom had twenty-five students and only one teacher. Out of those twenty-five students, fourteen of them were male and eleven were female. When I spoke with the teacher at the end of the day, she shared with me that within her class, she had eight receiving services, such as reading or speech and five students were diagnosed with ADHD. Although this teacher is experienced and has been working with elementary students for the past fifteen years, she said she had to change the way she taught in order to accommodate her students needs.

ADHD defined by American Psychological Association as "a pervasive pattern of inattention, impulsivity, and/or hyperactivity that is more frequent and severe than is typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development" (Woolfolk, 2014, p. 156). In this particular classroom it was evident that the five students were more inattentive and impulsive then their fellow classmates. Mrs. Apple (name has been changed to protect her identity) changed the way she structured her lessons. Normally she would teach her math lesson in the afternoon, but this year she needed ti switch her schedule. She found that she had her students attention more in the morning than the afternoon. I was able to witness their attention lapsing after lunch time. The children seemed restless, as if they had ants in their pants and could not sit still. These students would make random trips to get a tissue or sharpen their pencil during the afternoon lessons and would take the long way back to their seat.

In cluster four they give examples of different accommodations teachers can make for students with ADHD. The chart was developed by students who have the ADHD character trait. It includes "Don't just lecture, it's boring!, let me walk around the classroom, and be patient" (Woolfolk, 2014, p. 159). This teacher took the heart what her students needs were. She broke up her afternoon lessons and guided the students in calisthenics workouts, such as jumping jacks, stretches. She also allowed a five minute break to color, draw, and read. This broke up the instruction but gave the students the needed break during the day. I asked if she found this effective and Mrs. Apple said "I saw a great improvement in my students overall attention during the afternoon. Yes they still get impulsive at times. The strategic breaks I have implemented have seemed to help". The observation and reading have given me a good ideas of ways I can accommodate my future students. I have always felt that students need mini breaks throughout the day and seeing it put into action and seeing the effect it has on the students makes me feel confident that it will help my future classroom.

High school vs. Self-esteem

So far I really enjoyed cluster 3 on the self, the social, and moral. It focused on the theorist Urie Bronfenbenner and how self-concept and self-esteem are very different concepts even though they can be confused for one another. I was interested in the self-esteem portion of this cluster and how I could relate it to Bronfenbenner's theory of development. Self-esteem is the overall judgement we as individuals feel about ourselves. The book defines self-esteem as "an overall, general feeling of self-worth that incorporates your self-concepts in all areas of your life" (Woolfolk, 2014, p 109).

I was interested in self-esteem as a whole because adolescence is a time where self-esteem becomes a factor in academics. I can remember the feeling of judging myself too harshly because I did not look a certain way or felt different from my peers. Self-esteem is the way you feel about yourself, and if you have poor self-esteem it can effect your academics. Girls are especially effected by self-esteem issues. Adolescence, in general, can be a tough time. Emotions are high and peers have a big influence on a high school students social identity. The point/counterpoint section of cluster 3 focused on what schools can do to help improve student's self-esteem. They spoke of including programs designed to increase a students self-esteem, such as, a curriculum that focuses on self-esteem issues, developing activities on sensitivity training, and structural changes on in the school to promote positive personal identitiy (Woolfolk, 2014, p. 110). I feel that these programs would have a positive effect on adolescents because if it is being taught and practiced by the school there will likely be less student shaming or bullying between students.

Urie Bronfenbrenner spoke about the bioecological model in development. This theory recognizes that the physical and social contexts in a persons life has an effect on the persons development, both social and academic.He developed the thoeoy surrounding ecosystems, because each piece of the of our life interacts and influences each other. I enjoyed learning about his theory through the cluster as well as through Becky's powerpoint presentation. I was able to test my knowledge on the topic and I was able to make a connection between his theory and self-esteem. The microsystem which is the personas immediate family members or activities can effect a persons self-esteem. If a mother is putting her child down constantly, that child will not have a good feeling about themselves. On the other hand if the child is constantly praised and loved, they would have a better feeling about their self-esteem. The mesosystem also has influence on the individual. This stage involves the social interactions the individual has in their life. This is the portion of the theory that peers have a big influence on the student's development and self-esteem. Because the student is in school a third of their day, they are greatly influenced by their peers and their peers opinions. This is where the school can make a difference. If the school is able to promote positive self-esteem programs, they may be able to guide the students in positive development both socially and academically.

Anxiety Problems with Assessment

While reading this cluster on assessment, I learned a lot of material I had previous knowledge of based on my psychology background. Although my psychology background identified the statistical portion of this chapter it did not approach the standardized testing and accountability which I found to be quite interesting.

I grew up in the public school system so I am well aware of the pressures of standardized testing on students. I remember being in elementary school coming home anxious over the ELA test four months away. My mother would always tell me to calm down but I always still had horrible anxiety. All through high school I had anxiety when it came to conventional testing. Even if I complete understanding of the topic I would feel unsteady.

The educational world makes decisions based on these standardized tests and conventional testing. So many students feel the pressure to succeed in order to get into that perfect college or the receive the honor of valedictorian. The pressure to pass these tests is not only on the students but it is also on the teachers because it effects their lively hood possibly or the schools funding. So the anxiety during those few months of testing is particularly high.

Development is Unique!

Hi again! 

I found this cluster to be very thought provoking. All the information I have learned before due to my psychology background for my undergraduate degree but there was still new information. I would define development as the overall changes that occur in living things during their lifespan. Development occurs in different ways. It can be psychological, physical, cognitive and social. Development occurs at different rates. An example is there are two babies who were raised in the same home but one can start walking before the other. Development can also be effected by environmental factors, such as if a child catches an infectious disease and it effects their brain development. Maturation refers to changes that occur naturally and genetically programmed. Physical development falls under maturation because it is already programmed how tall you will grow. All in all this cluster made me think of things differently. All the previous knowledge I had made it easier to understand the material but I was also able to learn new facts too. 
          
I am hoping to be able to work with children in the middle childhood range. I am currently working in a preschool so I am dealing with children in the early childhood range on a daily basis. From the relate portion of Cluster 2, I chose to focus on Piaget's Cognitive development in children from these ranges because I am currently working with preschoolers but need to know about the cognitive development of the students I will hopefully be working with in the future. 

Early childhood, according to Piaget, is in the pre-operational stage of development. The children in this stage are from two years to about seven years old. During this stage there is a lot developing, physically, socially and cognitively. Children in this stage are using language with more accuracy. "It is very difficult for the child to think backwards or imagine how to reverse the steps in a task" (Woolfolk, 2014, p. 52). The child also egocentric so they think everyone in their life feels and thinks the same as them. They are unable to realize that everyone has different perceptions and feelings. 

Middle childhood, according to Piaget, is the concrete operational stage of development. This stage is the "hands on thinking stage" (Woolfolk, 2014, p. 52). The children are able to identify, compensate, classify and reverse during this stage. Learning become more of an interactive experience for the students because they have a deeper understanding of the topics and are able to manipulate the materials in front of them. 

Both stages are important in the cognitive development of children. If the child does not master the pre-operational stage they will be unable to understand the operational stage tasks. This is why it is important to develop teacher-student relationships so you are aware of all your students strengths and weaknesses. 

Learning, Teaching and Virtual Classes

Hello everyone!

This blog will be all about my experience in reading Cluster 1 and my experience in our first virtual classroom. Our text Educational Psychology by Anita Woolfolk includes all the information we will need to become aware of the psychological development our students will be experiencing. The virtual classroom was a new adventure for me. I have never taken a course virtually before and am interested to see how it pans out.

For the CER for cluster one I read Audrey Amrein-Beardsley's article on highly qualified
teaching and it made me feel a bit angry. These policymakers are testing students with standardized
testing and are basing a teachers effectiveness on the student's score. "Test scores cannot capture
things like whether a teacher is caring, motivating, engaging, demanding, or has high expectations"
(Amrein-Beardsley, p. 2). I agree that our teachers need to be effective in order to give our student's
the best education, but the measurements the policy makers are using are ineffective in showing the
passion and emotion the teachers put into helping their students every day. Assessing the
qualifications of a teacher means acknowledging if the degree they received will work for the
classroom environment; meaning will the teacher be knowledgeable in the subject areas as well as
classroom management & etc.

I feel a teacher can be highly qualified and still have poor teacher-student relationships which
our text states as being a part of behavioral problems continuing into the middle school years. 
School performance and teacher-student relationships have a strong association with one 
another."The researchers concluded that the quality of teacher-student relationships in kindergarten 
(defined in terms of level of conflict with the child, the child’s dependency on the teacher, and the 
teachers affection for the child) predicted a number of academic and behavioral outcomes through 
the 8th grade, particularly for students with high levels of behavior problems” (Woolfolk, 2014, p. 
7). I think there are a lot of different personality traits, intellectual traits and classroom management 
skills that go into a teacher being highly effective and if our policy makers took into account these 
aspects as well as the student's scores we would have a very different education system.
     
Thanks!
       Lauren Ott

The craziness begins...

Here is the link for interactive learning for elementary students