PLE #6 Ch 7

In order for my students to fully master the content of my lesson, which is Vocabulary, they will need to do more than just memorize the definitions. This will not stay in their long term memory and they won't learn how to use the words in sentences. So, I will need to give the students activities that require them to dig deeper and to see the meanings of the words, how they are used, and when they are used.

I will provide my students with newspapers and magazines that contain these words. They will have to search for the words and will see how the words are used in real life and why they are important to know and recognize. They will cut out what they find, such as the words themselves, picture, synonyms, etc. and glue them on a poster board. This is an example of students individually constructing their ideas. When they are finished, each student will present their poster to the class so everyone can see how the words have been used. The students will also have to use their own words when discussing vocabulary words, and this helps them stay away from rote memorization.

Another activity my students will do is charades. This is a fun, interactive game that will allow me to see if my students really understand the meanings of the words. The students will be entertained and will not even know they are learning what the words mean. This is an example of group construction because they are coming up with their own ways to describe/act out the words and their peers have to guess what the word is.

Making learning active and based on the real world will help the students fully understand the meanings of the vocabulary words. They will come up with their own ways to describe their words, and will be able to remember the words better because of this.


You can explore this website to see more ways to use constructivism in the classroom.

PLE Ch 6

 How might your knowledge of the memory processes guide your instructional decisions?

Knowing how the mind works when it comes to memory processes is very important when it comes to my instructional decisions. If students make a connection with existing knowledge or with a variety of contexts, he/she will understand and remember. For example, when teaching a concept in math, it would be wise to relate it to a previously learned concept. When teaching multiplication, if we are learning: 3x4=12, then I would write on the board: 3+3+3+3=12 so they can see it in a way they already know.
When teaching history, having students relate current events to past events will help them make the concept more concrete. It can be hard for them to understand something that happened centuries ago, so making it more present can help. Also, personal relationships to subjects studied can help them remember and learn. An example from class was to relate Romeo and Juliet to their own life experiences, such as disagreeing with parents or wanting to do something that is not allowed.


To prevent information from decaying, it is important to post vocabulary words and math concepts on the wall in my classroom so students can see these words everyday. I will want to refer to these words/concepts as often as possible and will connect them to new ideas so the information won't weaken in their minds.

If students are emotionally involved with their learning, they are more likely to remember it. If we are learning about something sad, like the Holocaust or Pearl Harbor, they will be able to recall more. If there is a sense of excitement with a new concept, students will be involved and want to learn. If an activity is engaging and fun, students will be unlikely to forget what they learned.

This blog has some tips and ideas from a teacher on how to get your students engaged so they can remember more.

PLE Chapter 6

What are the essential skills and/or learning outcomes you want your students to know and be able to do that relate to cognitive learning? 

In my classroom, I want my students to be able to think about subject matter in ways that will help them remember. Asking them to provide examples allows each child to come up with their own example, and this will help them remember. I also want my students to be able to pick out the most important things to learn and to understand why they are important. Obviously, a student cannot remember everything he/she reads or hears, so picking out important things is important. I could give them guiding questions when they read a story so they can see what kind of questions will help them find the main ideas. Eventually, I want my students to be able to come up with their own questions.

Students need to make sense of the concepts I am teaching. Relating such concepts to their experience will help them make more sense of it. Having group discussions allows for the students to discuss and express their ideas/experiences. They will also learn a lot from each other. 

I want my students to recognize their attention span and to realize when they are zoning out. This is difficult to do, but it is important for the learner to commit as much time as possible to a concept in order to learn it. I want my students to be able to catch themselves when they get off task and be able to get back on task. 

Last, I want students to come to conclusions on their own. I don't want to teach at them; I want to teach with them. If I force ideas on them and make them spit back certain answers, they will not learn. They need to construct ideas in their head and come up with solutions on their own. They will be able to do this throughout their lives and will be able to learn a great deal more. 

This is a video of a professor from the University of Sydney talking about deep learning and how if we throw too much information at students they won't learn it. It's not the most exciting video because it's a video of one of his lectures, but if you listen to what he says you will learn a lot for your classroom! :)
Deep Learning

PLE #4: Ch 14: Assessment

In the 4th grade class I am observing in Elementary Education 351, the students are learning about using context clues in stories to figure out the meaning of an unknown word. They are also learning about comparing and contrasting.
I would begin the lesson by perhaps giving a pretest involving context clues to see if students know how to use them. I would also have them list similarities and differences of two animals, such as a cow and a horse. This way I know where to begin with my lesson.

Throughout the unit, I would use informal assessments, such as observations of who is participating and who seems distracted. I would randomly call on students so I can see if they are understanding how to use context clues and similarities/differences. This is a simple way to evaluate who needs help and who understands.

I believe working in small groups is very effective. I would assign the students to read certain passages together and to come up with definitions of certain unfamiliar words. I can go to each group for a few minutes and have discussions about the passage and see how they are doing. Afterwards, we can come back as a class and discuss the meanings of the unknown words and how we used clues to figure them out.

Creating visuals was always important to me when I was in school, so I will try to implement this in my classroom. I would have each student create a Venn diagram to compare two objects. In the 4th grade classroom I visited today, they were learning about creatures that live in tide pools. So for this example, I would have students compare and contrast two creatures that are found in tide pools.This way they can see how they are related and how they are different. I can use these visuals to assess who understands how to make Venn diagrams.

An end of the unit test is important so I can see who has mastered the lesson. I would create a test that does not require rote memorization, but rather requires my students to use the knowledge they have gained in the lesson and apply it. This end of the unit test will allow me to see who is ready to move on and who still needs to work on the material.

This is a link to a website called Teacher Vision. It contains sources and links to other websites that have tips for students on study skills and how to prepare for a test. This would be a good idea to look at and create a tip sheet for your students (kind of like what Sarah and Colbi did in class on Tuesday.)

PLE #3: Conducive Learning Environment

After reading Chapter 13 and having class, I have learned many ways to make my classroom a conducive learning environment. First of all, students need to feel safe and comfortable in the classroom. If they don't feel like they can be themselves and are afraid to speak or make mistakes, then they will not be able to achieve much.

The teacher-student relationship is very important. Teachers need to show that they care about their students, not just academically but emotionally as well. Students should trust teachers and feel like they can go to them when they are in need or need to talk.

The first day of school, teachers should discuss the rules of the classroom and implement them everyday until the students get used to them. They should be short and to the point, such as "listen when others are speaking." Tasks should not be too difficult for students nor should they be too easy either--students will lose interest and find other means of entertainment.

Including students in some of the decision-making can make them feel like they have some control over what happens in the class and they will be more willing to be involved. For instance, if you read out loud to your students, you can take a vote on which book they would like to hear. Having jobs in the classroom, such as someone to pass out papers or to feed the class pet will give them a sense of responsibility.

Another important thing a teacher should remember is that consequences of behavior should be consistent across all students. Even if a student is a high-achiever and rarely acts out, if they do something that is inappropriate, you need to correct them. If students see that you don't correct some students, they will feel like you have favorites and that may cause them to act out.

This is a great video that has 10 tips for classroom management: Top 10 Proven Classroom Management Tips

CSEL Case Study:
I have the Elementary Education Case Study in which Lisa is causing disruptions in her cooperative group. My response would look something like:
Talk with the entire class about effective group work strategies and the pros of working together. Explain that not everyone will get to do what they want and that this is how it is in the real world. Refer back to the classroom rules of listening while others speak.
I would also add individual grades to the group project and have peers evaluate each other on their performance and contribution in the group. I would remind everyone every time they are in their groups that they will be completing these evaluations so it's important to work and participate.

I would see if this has any effect on Lisa. If so, I would make sure to reinforce her with praise when I see her doing what she is supposed to be doing.

However, if this has no effect, I would take Lisa aside and talk to her privately. There could be things going on at home that is causing her to act this way. You never know why a child is behaving a certain way, so talking to her privately would give me some insight.

If she wants to fix the problem, then I would incorporate some sort of point system perhaps and at the beginning of group work, Lisa would start out with 5 points. If she interrupts someone, she subtracts a point. If she does not pay attention when her group prepares for presentation, she subtracts another point. This way she can keep track of her progress and can work hard to do what she is supposed to do.

If she doesn't care about fixing the problem, perhaps a call home to the parents would be appropriate and a parent-teacher or parent-teacher-student conference could take place to discuss the issue and ways to fix it.

PLE Post #2: Motivation Ch. 11

The theory of motivation that most interested me was the Goal Theory. Goal theory has two parts: Performance goals and Learning goals. Performance goals are when other people will observe us and we see an external judgment of competence or we will try to avoid negative judgment. The key point of a performance goal is that we feel like we NEED to do something so we won't get judged.

Learning goals, on the other hand, are internal and we WANT to learn something. This can be more rewarding because we are doing something for ourselves and not for the sake of others.

To motivate students in a classroom, they need to have both learning and performance goals. A child will not want to learn something if they don't want to--you have to include some type of intrinsic reinforcement. For instance, you could have students choose their final projects so they feel as though they have a say in the classroom. You could also figure out what topics students are interested in and want to learn about.

Performance goals are important too. Students love competition and want to look good in front of their peers. Having a game on study day was always motivating to me in the classroom because I wanted to win and look good in front of others. For behavior, you could have a poster board on a wall and if a student is doing what they are supposed to be doing, they can put a sticker next to their name. The first child to receive 10 stickers gets a price, such as a new pencil.

Here is a website that gives more information about goal theory and how it applies to education:
Goal theory

PLE Post 1

I really enjoyed my Educational Psychology 210 class and so I am excited to be taking Educational Psychology 401. Psychology is my major so learning about motivation, theories of learning, and ways to better understand children and adolescents is interesting for me.

My objectives for this class are to learn instructional strategies that I will be able to use for my classroom. I want to have a greater knowledge about why certain ways of teaching will be beneficial for certain children. I want to be educated on how children of different race and ethnicity learn and what they value. I hope I will be able to be creative with this course and with the teacher projects.

This is my first semester to take education classes, so getting hands-on with teaching material is new to me so I don't want to feel intimidated. I like how you (Anne) told us in the first class not to feel overwhelmed, so hopefully I won't be!

Scholastic has a great website that has teaching strategies for a variety of topics, including how to organize your classroom and how to talk to your students about violence.
 http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-strategies