Personal Reflection

Ellen Schlueter Personal Reflection Educational Psychology PSY 301N December 3, 2013

Personal Reflection Personal Reflection Beginning this semester I had many strong opinions about teaching, my own particular classroom, and the application of psychology to education. Now at the end of Educational Psychology I have changed my views on some ideas of how I want my classroom to operate, opened myself up to trying to apply psychological studies to my classroom, and most importantly I have opened my mind that there are many different ways to teach well, and for students to learn well. By interviewing a teacher I was able to see how the principles of

psychology we studied in class manifested themselves in a real classroom. I was able to see one way that a teacher reaches her students. I choose my mother to interview, because she is a woman and teacher that I respect very much. Though I was her student for two seven-week classes, and have grown up with her, I did not know who she was as a teacher behind the scenes. By interviewing her I was able to see how she operates her classroom so that it is the best learning environment for her students. One of the most important things I learned from this interview process is that it took time for my mother to be comfortable organizing her classroom. In the beginning, she said she had a whole list of rules for her classroom, but now she only has one. I am sure that she had whole lists of how she was going to do what, but over time she has been able to simplify them and has figured out what works in certain situations. In asking questions about continued learning, I found that Mrs. Schlueter does not do any formal research in her classroom, but tries new ideas often in her classroom. She heard that the people who are talking the most in a classroom are learning the most. So at the beginning of one of her classes she implemented turn and talk. This is where the students turn to one another and talk about what they just learned. This is a great example of taking time out of the regular

Personal Reflection schedule to try something new. I often like to do things the same and do things that are guaranteed to be successful. This question and answer shows me the importance of changing things up so that you can continuously be improving classroom instruction. If an experiment works keep it, if it does not learn from it. Mrs. Schlueter has continued her education formally, but also within her school. She is in a group of teachers that shares ideas and challenges one another. Continued learning for teachers was shown to be very important to improving

Americas educational system. As a teacher I am going to use my colleagues to ask for ideas and advice about how to continuously improve my classroom, and learn about new studies like the one that showed those who are talking in a classroom are the ones learning the most. Lev Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development was very important to how Mrs. Schlueter interacts with her students. She links the ZPD to her the students readiness to learn the material to be taught that day. She can clearly recognize those students that are not quite ready, the majority that are, and those that are past the current material. From Mrs. Schlueters response, I realized that though the main content of a lesson may be taught to the majority of students who are in the same ZPD, a teacher needs to use supports and challenges for the students that are outside of the ZPD. In viewing myself as a future teacher I my past beliefs were that I have to be fair, that all my students must be treated the same or else they would complain. I now know that differences in teaching are a part of most classrooms, and that all of my students are different and so it would be unfair to treat them all the same. Some examples that Mrs. Schlueter gives that I plan to use in my future classroom are that she provides supports, such as extra attention, encouragement, and starters for students not yet ready, and gives challenge projects to students that are beyond the current material.

Personal Reflection

Mrs. Schlueter has two goals for the development of students in her classroom. They are that the students learn respect for one another, and that they become successful independent thinkers. These are both great goals that address the stage of development that her students are in, which is 11-14 years old. If students are able to respect all of their peers and themselves, they will be able to find their identity, which is what Erikson said students would struggle with at this age. Also, students that follow societys guidelines for respect are in the Postconventional level of Kohlbergs moral reasoning. By teaching students to be successful independent thinkers, teachers teach students to be resilient, to be problem solvers. As critical problem solvers students are in Piagets last stage of development, formal operational. Project-based learning is widely successful in classrooms and I know from learning about it in class and from the interview that I will use project-based learning in my classroom. From interviewing Mrs. Schlueter whose classroom by the very nature of her content is almost completely project-based, I heard about the successes of project-based learning. Because the students work on projects on their computers they are constantly practicing skills they have been taught, are able to use creativity, have to use problem solving, and enjoy what they are doing. In mathematics a typical lecture style is used in most classes. I have been in classes that have tried to use project based learning, but it was not organized well, and as a student I felt my time was being wasted instead of being excited for the learning opportunity. After learning about how well project-based learning can help students remember content, and take responsibility for their learning, I want to make good projects that the students will be interested in and make them more excited about mathematics. Project-based learning is also a great way to utilize cooperative learning. Students in different ZPD can work together to challenge and help one another.

Personal Reflection One of the most surprising topics discussed with Mrs. Schlueter was the school wide reward system her school has implemented. It follows along the lines of the theories of BF Skinner, who said animals will repeat a certain behavior if positive stimulus occurs. At West Branch High School the reward system provides the positive reinforcement of slushies, but the students also receive the positive stimulus of the teachers attention, the principals attention,

their parents, and most importantly their peers attention. By rewarding good behavior the other students will see the good behavior and model it, as Albert Bandura explained. The other students will want the reward also, and students who did not know how to behave and respect their peers will be able to see what is expected of them. What I love most about the positive reward system is that it changes the attitudes of the students, the teachers, the principal, and the parents. No longer is the teacher just keeping her eye out for trouble makers, but instead is looking for those students who do follow her rules and are extra helpful. Students attitudes change because no longer do they just do what is expected of them but they are challenged to do exceptionally good behavior, looking out for the needs of those around them. One example Mrs. Schlueter gave me is of a student who killed a spider that fellow students were afraid of. This particular student stood up, killed the spider, threw it away, and sat back down without a noise. Mrs. Schlueter was so thankful that the whole class was not disrupted by what could have turn into an obnoxious show of screams and taunting. Needless to say this boy received a slushy. Also, the reward gives students a good attitude toward school and makes school a more exciting environment, which Pavlov shows to be important to students physiological reactions. Another student Mrs. Schlueter told a story about was a boy who earned a slushy, and then his name was drawn to play music the next day. His reaction was disbelief saying this was the best day he has ever had, because he was recognized for doing something good and he always does good things,

Personal Reflection he had a slushy, and now he was going to be able to play his favorite music the next day. These are the kinds of students teachers want to teach, the kind that are excited about school, and have their best days at school. This example so clearly showed me the importance of psychology for schools, because something as silly as rewarding students with slushies can change a whole school. I have learned many important psychological theories and educational strategies to implement in my future classroom. One of the most important qualities I need to have as a teacher is intentionality. Intentionality is key to a successful classroom, because though I have learned many new teaching strategies, if I do not implement them into my classroom intentionally, they will not be successful. I have experienced many of these strategies as a student and have often been disappointed or felt as if I was wasting my time. As an intentional teacher I still want to fulfill my goals I had before taking Educational Psychology class, which

are challenging all of my students, making them excited to learn math, and teaching them how to be successful independent learners. After this class I have a new goal for my classroom. I want my students to feel a sense of community and responsibility for their own learning, but also for their fellow students. I want my classroom to be a team where everyone is striving for the same goal, not just me as the teacher. I know the many things I have learned in this class will help me achieve these goals.