R6

Question: Is it necessary to have a well-rounded education, and if so, what would constitute a comprehensive curriculum?

Quotation: “Theory 2 warns that students will often avoid worthwhile learning and achievement. They must be externally motivated toward the good. Adler, in recommending the same course of study for all children through high school, even says that allowing elective choices “will always lead a certain number of students to voluntarily downgrade their own education.” Wise educators, Adler says, know what children really need, and it is their job to motivate students to learn the appropriate material.” (Nodding, 2006, p. 16).

Connection: Nodding’s assessment of the distraction that a well-rounded education might present to an individual’s true talent or passion is misleading and does little justice to the importance of providing students with multiple perspectives.  The idea of the significance of diverse perspectives is evident both in our readings for this class, as well as in my own experiences in working with students with disabilities.  For example, decisions about a child’s placement and educational goals are determined through an Admissions and Release Committee (ARC) which is intended to be an interdisciplinary team that meets to discuss the student’s needs and progress across multiple settings.  This approach to providing services allows professionals from differing disciplines to view a problem from a different perspective.  The professionals could then take this different perspective and apply it their future interaction with the student.  The benefits of this approach are similar to the benefits of students engaging in a diverse and comprehensive curriculum.   

Outside Connection: This passage by Nodding drew a direct connection for me to James’ viewpoints on the importance of creating multiple associations and diverse experiences for students.  For example, James states “This principle of multiplying channels and varying associations and appeals is important, not only for teaching pupils to remember, but for teaching them to understand” (p. 68).  This statement highlights the importance of forming multiple associations so that students are capable of drawing connections between different disciplines to determine how they may relate to one another.  Additionally, James says “Thus are your pupils to be saved: first, by the stock of ideas with which you furnish them” (p. 92).  This “stock of ideas” should be diverse and contain multiple perspectives to allow students the opportunity to consider alternative viewpoints.  A diverse curriculum allows for connections to be made between different disciplines and could provide a new outlook on a student’s talent or passion.  In implementing a comprehensive curriculum, the Kentucky Department of Education assesses students in eight areas: arts and humanities, mathematics, practical living, reading, science, social studies, technology, and writing (Commonwealth of Kentucky, 2011).  Students may view an interest from a different perspective when they are provided opportunities to explore different curricular content, which, according to James, is a crucial learning opportunity.  For example, a student with a passion for social studies may be interested in learning about the music and art that was produced during a certain time period, or a student interested in technology may view design differently when viewed through the lens of an abstract painter.  

References

Commonwealth of Kentucky (2011, February). Combined curriculum document. Retrieved on February 21, 2011 from http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Instructional+Resources/Curriculum

+Documents+and+Resources/Teaching+Tools/Combined+Curriculum+Documents/default.htm

Behaviorism Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbVG8lYEsNs

The link to the video above is (I think) a great example of behavior principles applied to therapy sessions/specialized instruction for a child with autism. This video clearly demonstrates some important principles of operant conditioning including a clear, defined reward (that was provided as a choice from two options, which helps to decrease the likelihood of the child loosing interest in the reward), frequent verbal praise or reinforcement, and a clear distinction of when the reinforcer is provided (if you look to the side, you can see a counter of sorts that the child is working to fill completely up before he is given his reward).  I personally have observed the effectiveness of this method of intervention, specifically related to the use of language for students with autism.  However, as I noted in my reading response this week, it is very important to remain aware of the limitations, as well as the guiding principles of this method.

Just for fun, here's a video from The Big Bang Theory in which Sheldon (a character on the show who has Asperger's Disorder) attempts to condition his friend's girlfriend.  :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euINCrDbbD4

And I NEVER use these techniques on my husband...

R5

Question: How do you establish a system of rewards without sacrificing students’ internal motivation?

Quotation: “Primes and prompts must then be carefully “vanished” until the behavior occurs without help. At that point, the reinforcing consequences of being right are most effective in building and sustaining an enduring repertoire” (Skinner, 1984, p. 951).

Connection: Skinner’s discussion of reinforcement was relatable to my own experiences in working with students with disabilities.  I have been working on a long-term case with an individual with Asperger’s.  This individual is extremely motivated by external and somewhat excessive rewards provided by his parents.  These rewards have occurred weekly over a period of three years in which the parents did not decrease the frequency and/or intensity of the reward itself.  His parents decided this summer that the reward system had become too expensive and therefore drastically changed the frequency of receiving the reward.  The sudden shift in his reinforcement schedule greatly upset the student, and his behavior both at home and at school significantly declined to the point of harm to others and extreme outbursts.  This example highlights the information provided in the earlier quotation, indicating the importance of gradually fading away reinforcements and supports to lead to complete removal of them.  Further, this specific situation demonstrates the many negative consequences of excessive and incorrectly administered reinforcement.  Providing students with extreme reinforcements or rewards greatly diminishes their likelihood of ever appreciating the completion of a task for the sake of a feeling of accomplishment, thereby decreasing students’ internal motivation.  The question then becomes, how do we insure that reinforcement systems build students’ internal motivation, or the desire to complete tasks because we feel good having accomplished something?   

Outside Connection: I have taken several courses throughout my educational career that have discussed the basic principles of reinforcement.  Through this coursework, we have discussed appropriate and proportional reinforcements for behavior.  Reinforcements should not be excessive, should be proportional to the behavior, should have an initial high frequency and provide ample opportunity for success (i.e., contingencies should be set at a level that is initially easy to obtain) and then gradually taper off as the frequency of correct completion of the behavior increases (Shinn, Walker, & Stoner, 2002).  In addition to these general rules of reinforcement, there is a multitude of guidelines that should be understood and used when introducing any type of reinforcement schedule.  These guidelines discuss the importance of providing students opportunities to succeed, as I discussed in my last response, as well as the extreme importance of eventually fading out reinforcers.  I think that Skinner would agree that it is crucial to fade out reinforcement; however, his statement that “abundant reinforcement is enough” (p. 952) is misleading to individuals who may not have as much training in appropriate reinforcement strategies.  For example, in the case described previously, it is evident that the parents of the student did not have enough awareness of reinforcement principles to know the importance of gradually fading out the reward.  By applying the guidelines described, we can hope to increase appropriate behaviors, as well as increase internal motivation for the completion of a task as the reinforcers are eventually removed, and therefore the only reinforcement remaining is that of a sense of accomplishment.   

References

Shinn, M. A., Walker, H. M., Stoner, G. (2002). Interventions for Academic and Behavior Problems II: Preventative and Remedial Approaches. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologist

R4

Question: How do we help students to forget previous failures and make attempts to be successful where they have previously not been? 

Quotation: “So long as the inhibiting sense of impossibility remains in the child’s mind, he will continue unable to get beyond the obstacle. The aim of the teacher should then be to make him simply forget” (James, 1899, p. 89).

Connection: James discusses the idea of “balky will” (p. 88) in some pupils, which is the idea that children are inhibited to do something they have previously been unsuccessful at.  This was an important topic to discuss because it proposes that a student’s refusal to complete a certain task or assignment at school could potentially have different causes than simply opposition.  This idea sheds light on the importance of examining the function or cause of a child’s behavior, as opposed to assuming that all students that do not complete an assignment simply because they are lazy or do not want to (an often times gross overgeneralization).  Additionally, the advice provided by James concerning the importance of making the student forget their failure emphasizes the incorporation of student success in the classroom.  Allowing students opportunities for success is an important component of a classroom environment (Shinn, Walker, & Stoner, 2002).  Students should have frequent opportunities to complete tasks correctly and to experience the feelings associated with this (e.g., pride and accomplishment). 

Outside Connection: Related to my own learning, I know that I do not like to try things that I have not been successful with.  For example, I hate skiing because the first (and only) time I attempted to ski, I never felt truly comfortable doing it.  Since that first attempt I have refused to ski again.  James would advice that I need to both distract myself from the failure that was my first attempt, as well as to allow enough time to elapse so that I may forget the fact that I did not feel comfortable with it.  This advice conflicts slightly with the old adage of “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” In my experience, the majority of teachers advise students to work at something continuously until they are successful at it.  I think James would advise to yes, try again, but perhaps not immediately.  While I have no personal experience using this approach in my own processes of learning to ski, I am willing to perhaps try again (at a much later date). 

References

Shinn, M. A., Walker, H. M., Stoner, G. (2002). Interventions for Academic and Behavior Problems II: Preventative and Remedial Approaches. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologist

Implicit Association Tests

         The two implicit association tests (IAT) that I completed were the Religion and the Gender-Science tests.  The results I received for both tests were not at all what I expected, and both results seemed to demonstrate that I my expected biases did not present themselves during these tests.  However, my understanding and previous experiences with tests of this nature could have influenced me to be more aware of these natural biases and therefore caused me to respond differently than I would if I had no knowledge of these biases.  Additionally, I recently completed a course last summer in which we frequently discussed our tendencies to form biases against our knowledge or will, and we worked together as a group to dislodge any negative associations we may have formed in our mind, either through experiences or the many messages we receive from society or our cultures.  One profound passage in our readings was the idea that “The need to be seen by oneself and others as not racist hinders becoming more aware of race matters” (Trepagnier, 2006, p. 16).  This statement resounded with me in this assignment, as it speaks to exactly what the IAT is attempting to measure: our unawareness or unwillingness to admit we have natural biases or prejudices impede our ability to understand them and work towards resolving them.

            Based on our readings for this week, I think James would argue that associations can be very useful to teachers wishing to provide new information by “building up useful systems of association” (p. 42) and encourages teachers to think of students in “associative terms” (p. 45); however, the task of the educator is also “To break up bad associations or wrong ones, to build others in, to guide the associative tendencies in the most fruitful channels” (p. 42).  Therefore associations can serve as a helpful, natural process of pupil’s minds that teachers can use to their advantage, with the awareness that they must mold these associations in a positive manner and be aware of any negative associations that may have already formed.  The formation of associations can aid in learning by helping students form memories and make connections between different lessons and content.  James also suggests for teachers to “not rely on single cues, but multiply the cues as much as possible” (p. 44) to form as many associations or connections as possible, thereby utilizing a natural tendency of pupil’s minds.  An awareness and understanding of the potential usefulness of associations can therefore aid teachers in helping their students to learn the relevant content material. 

Trepagnier, B. (2006). Silent Racism: How Well-Meaning White People Perpetuate the Racial Divide. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.