Danielle Rogers EDUC 250 Educational Psychology Mrs.

Bender May 8, 2013 School Experience Reflection Journal Chapter 2- Learning, Cognition, and Memory Mrs. A- Special Education Grades- 4, 5, and 6 Response: I think that long-term memory is very important in teaching. It is important that children remember not only what they learn to do good in the class, but also because other subjects and grades build upon previous knowledge. For example, students going into to 5th grade math should be expected to know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in order to solve more complex problems. Students have to store these skills in their long-term memory so they can retrieve them while working on these complex problems. Reflection: During my tutoring and observation, I tried to get students to use their long-term memory. I did this by telling the students different tricks to remember things. For example, a 4th grader in the special education class was having trouble remembering what numbers were even and what numbers were odd, so I told her something I used to remember even and odd numbers. Its a song and it goes like, two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? 10! It sounds really silly but it is useful in remembering what numbers are even. Another trick I told a 5th grader working on math was the times by nine trick. I learned this in 3rd grade and have remembered it ever since. When multiply by 9, remember that the answer always equals nine up until you times by 11. So for example, 9 times 2 is 18, 1 plus 8 is 9. Chapter 3- Learning in Context Mrs. A- Special Education Grades- 4, 5, and 6 Response: Punishment in the classroom is also important. It keeps the class in line and keeps them under control. Whether it is positive or negative reinforcement it is usually good for the student. However, sometimes this can be bad. When you yell at a student for blurting out answers, they may stop blurting out the answer but they may also stop trying all together. You really have to be careful and chose your battles wisely with students. Reflection: While I was observing I saw two types of reinforcement. The first type of reinforcement I saw was positive reinforcement. While tutoring a student I praised him for doing such a good job on his math, he then did well on his next assignment. I was very pleased with myself. I also saw negative

reinforcement. One student lied about his inappropriate behavior when the teacher threatened a trip to the principals office. According to the teacher this is not the first time he has lied when he is in an uncomfortable situation. Chapter 4- Higher-Level Thinking Mr. Rogers- General Education Grade- 6th Response: I think having students be self-regulated is important. I think it helps to make them more responsible. Responsibility is a value students will need throughout their life-time. As teachers it is crucial that we teach self-regulation. It is easy just to give the student an answer, but then they are not learning. The student needs to figure things out on their own. Reflection: While tutoring I had students look up answers instead of just telling them. Even though I easily could have just told them the answer, I wanted them to find it on their own. For students who had the wrong answer, I would ask them why they thought their answer was correct. This lead to a discussion, and I helped them locate key words in their book to help them better find answers in the future. Chapter 5- Cognitive Abilities Mr. Rogers- General Education Grade- 6th Response: I believe all teachers should help students become logical thinkers. They should teach them how to solve problems and do things on their own. They should ask them questions that involve thinking, like why do you think this happened? Reflection: During the lecture over the chapter they were covering, the teacher asked students questions that involved them to think, like what do you think a queen does? Instead of simply asking for a definition, he got students to really think about the answer. So when I helped them study for their tests, I did the same. I asked the students why they thought different events happened and really made them think. Chapter 6- Motivation and Affect Mrs. A- Special Education Grades- 4th, 5th and 6th Response: Motivating students can be a difficult task. It is best if students are intrinsically motivated, but that is very hard for young students to understand. Becoming intrinsically motivated usually does not occur until middle school or high school. Then, students become motivated by getting good grades to get into a good college or get a good scholarship. In elementary school, most students are extrinsically motivated, mostly by their teachers. Parents do play a role in motivating students, but not all students have parents that are able to do that, so they rely solely on their teacher.

Reflection: In the classroom that I tutored in, the teacher gave students a sticker on their test if they got a 75% or higher. This was a special education classroom so that goal was realistic for students to accomplish. I think it is important to set goals that students can actually achieve, instead of making the goals too hard. The teacher also had a chart with each students name on it for their AR reading, each time a student read their AR book and got a good grade on their quiz they were allowed to put a sticker on their chart. Once the students reach a certain goal, the teaching is rewarding them with some kind of prize for the whole class. The students told me before they were given root beer floats in class. Chapter 7- Personal and Social Development Mr. Rogers- General Education Grade- 6th Response: I tutored 6th graders, so they are just beginning to develop their sense of self. Many students, especially girls have a decline in self-esteem. Students also experience personal fables, or the belief that things are only happening to them, this can increase risk-taking behaviors. Students at this age also have a heightened concern about others perceptions and judgments of oneself. Reflection: While tutoring I noticed mostly with girls that they were highly concerned with other peoples perceptions of them. I also noticed a lot of girls that were very quiet and kept to themselves; this could be because they do not want to be judged by their peers. I had one girl explain to me how she tripped in fell while running in her gym class one time, and how embarrassed she was. She said everyone was staring at her, when in reality they probably were not because no one remembered this horrific event but her. I also noticed different ways students expressed themselves. Some liked to draw, some liked to read, and others were more focused on sports, like softball. Chapter 8- Instructional Strategies Mrs. A- Special Education Grades-4th, 5th, and 6th Response: As a teacher, I think it is important to use many different instructional strategies in your teaching. It helps students stay interested in learning. Although it may be a challenge to come up with different ways to teach a subject, in the end it will be worth it when the students better understand the material. Reflection: While tutoring I used peer tutoring and direct instruction. I let students work together on their math homework (with the okay from the teacher). They seemed to really enjoy this, however while working with other students it was easier for them to get side-tracked. I also used direct instruction. I sat down with the students one on one and helped them complete their assignments. Chapter 9- Strategies for Creating an Effective Classroom Environment Mr. Rogers- General Education Grade-6th

Response: It is crucial to have a positive and effective classroom environment. It is important for all students to feel like they have a sense of belongingness. Students need to see themselves as important and valued members of the classroom. They also need to have a sense of community, or a sense that they share common goals and are mutually respected. Reflection: In this classroom, the teacher let the students make the PowerPoint presentations over the chapters to be reviewed in class. This task was given to students who had their work completed and maintained a good grade in the class. I helped one student make a PowerPoint. This gave the student a sense of belongingness. It also made them feel like they were a valued member of the classroom. The teacher also let students write the assignments on the board. Students also knew to have respect for others and the teacher, and when they did not have respect for others they were disciplined. Chapter 10- Assessment Strategies Mrs. A- Special Education Grades- 4th, 5th, and 6th Response: I think it is important to have many different types of assessments for students. Some students are just not good test takers or have really bad test anxiety, so they may do poorly on tests. This should not mean they fail the test, I think they should be given other ways to show their mastery on a subject. Reflection: The only types of assessments I saw in the classroom were tests and worksheets. The students were tested over math, and had to do worksheets when they finished reading their AR book. I think it is good that they were assessed in a couple of different ways but I felt they could have been assessed in other ways too. Final Reflection: I think seeing the major concepts we talked about in class really helped me understand them. I think it really helped me prepare for when I become a teacher. This school experience did have an impact on my professional aspirations. I saw first-hand how hard teaching really is. I also had the chance to talk to other teachers and I realized that teaching is really hard. It made me reconsider if teaching is really right for me. I learned it is very stressful. However, I am glad I got this experience.