Module 1: Understanding if Teachers Make A Difference, Educational Psychology, ZPD, and Moral vs Conventional Domains
Module 1: Understanding if Teachers Make A Difference, Educational Psychology, ZPD, and Moral vs Conventional Domains
Do Teachers Make a Difference?
There are many children in the United States that are growing up in poverty-stricken areas. There have been statistics that many researchers believed for a while that money and social status, not teachers were the major factors determining what students learned in the classroom (Woolfolk, pg 7). There were a lot of teachers who refused to accept these claims that teachers were powerless in the face of poverty and societal problems. In 2001 (Hamre and Pianta) there was a study done that monitored all children from kindergarten and continued all the way through eighth grade. Researchers had concluded that the teacher-student relationship was a big factor in a number of academic and behavioral outcomes, primarily students with behavioral problems. They took into consideration gender, ethnicity, cognitive ability, and behavior the relationship with their teachers still predicted aspects of school success. (Woolfolk, pg 8) I think no matter what the social status of a student is, a teacher can have the biggest impact on them and change their life forever. The study that I mentioned above had a lot to do with the relationship between the teacher and the student. There is history between the two and they have formed a relationship over the many years of working together. I am an instructional assistant and coach at a high school and one of the first things I try to do with my students and/or athletes is to understand them. After I get to understand my students/athletes I will start to develop a relationship with them and let them know that I can be trusted, that I am looking out for their best interest and I want them to do well in school!
Educational Psychology
When should teachers provide help for lower-achieving students as they do classwork?
Now the reason why I chose to bring up this topic is that like I said earlier I am an Instructional Assistant in Special Education and this was one of the first things I learned very quickly about. I wish I would've known earlier before I made the mistake of providing help to a student before they asked for it. In 1996 Sandra Graham made a study and it showed when teachers provide help before a student asks for it, the students watching are more likely to think that the student asking for help is unable to be successful. (Woolfolk, pg 14 & 15) Graham's study is right on point and it is very demoralizing for the student afterward. The students' confidence is shaken, I have encountered students being embarrassed because of them receiving help. Most recently, I have worked with a student that refuses to sit in rows where other students could look through the door glass into the classroom and see the student.
The Zone of Proximal Development
The Zone of Proximal Development or (ZPD) is said to be the area between the child's current level of performance in the classroom where they can work problems independently without no support and the level of performance that the child can achieve with adult assistance or by working with a student that is "more academically developed." (Woolfolk, pg 61) Also, it is a space where student and teacher interact and understandings are developed. Even though ZPD is a completely different development on its own I think this fits closely with what was talked about above in the educational psychology part. In the ZPD there is what's called the "magic middle" and that is described as somewhere between what the student already knows and what the student isn't ready to understand or learn yet. Also, it talks about how if the student doesn't know something they can have assistance from an adult. I feel this will help a student develop confidence on their own by trying to solve problems without any help but if they are having problems the assistance is there, most likely in a support staff form.
Moral vs Conventional Domains
In the Conventional Domain, children begin by believing that rules simply exist. For example, if you have spent time with young children, you know that there is a period when you can say "eating in front of the TV is not allowed!" and get away with it. This is what theorist Piaget called the state of moral realism where all rules are absolute and there is no bending the rules. Children believe that if a rule is broken that the punishment should be determined by how much damage is done and not by the intention of the rule-breaker. For example, if you accidentally broke three cups that would be worse than intentionally breaking one cup and the punishment would be greater for breaking the three cups even if it was an accident. (Woolfolk, pg 110) As children get older and start to interact with other children they will see that different people have different rules than the ones they have known. This is called the morality of cooperation and it's when children start to understand that people make rules and people can change them. Older children will start to understand rules even though they are arbitrary and are made to maintain order but can be changed. Furthermore, as children move into the adolescent stage in life they will go from understanding those rules put in place to a more conventional approach of seeing it's a way to operate a social system and hold them to society's standards. As those adolescents turn into adults they will see that conventions are useful in coordinating social life but can be changed as well. When compared to young children, older adolescents and adults are generally more accepting of others who think differently about conventions.
Do Teachers Make a Difference?
There are many children in the United States that are growing up in poverty-stricken areas. There have been statistics that many researchers believed for a while that money and social status, not teachers were the major factors determining what students learned in the classroom (Woolfolk, pg 7). There were a lot of teachers who refused to accept these claims that teachers were powerless in the face of poverty and societal problems. In 2001 (Hamre and Pianta) there was a study done that monitored all children from kindergarten and continued all the way through eighth grade. Researchers had concluded that the teacher-student relationship was a big factor in a number of academic and behavioral outcomes, primarily students with behavioral problems. They took into consideration gender, ethnicity, cognitive ability, and behavior the relationship with their teachers still predicted aspects of school success. (Woolfolk, pg 8) I think no matter what the social status of a student is, a teacher can have the biggest impact on them and change their life forever. The study that I mentioned above had a lot to do with the relationship between the teacher and the student. There is history between the two and they have formed a relationship over the many years of working together. I am an instructional assistant and coach at a high school and one of the first things I try to do with my students and/or athletes is to understand them. After I get to understand my students/athletes I will start to develop a relationship with them and let them know that I can be trusted, that I am looking out for their best interest and I want them to do well in school!
Educational Psychology
When should teachers provide help for lower-achieving students as they do classwork?
Now the reason why I chose to bring up this topic is that like I said earlier I am an Instructional Assistant in Special Education and this was one of the first things I learned very quickly about. I wish I would've known earlier before I made the mistake of providing help to a student before they asked for it. In 1996 Sandra Graham made a study and it showed when teachers provide help before a student asks for it, the students watching are more likely to think that the student asking for help is unable to be successful. (Woolfolk, pg 14 & 15) Graham's study is right on point and it is very demoralizing for the student afterward. The students' confidence is shaken, I have encountered students being embarrassed because of them receiving help. Most recently, I have worked with a student that refuses to sit in rows where other students could look through the door glass into the classroom and see the student.
The Zone of Proximal Development
The Zone of Proximal Development or (ZPD) is said to be the area between the child's current level of performance in the classroom where they can work problems independently without no support and the level of performance that the child can achieve with adult assistance or by working with a student that is "more academically developed." (Woolfolk, pg 61) Also, it is a space where student and teacher interact and understandings are developed. Even though ZPD is a completely different development on its own I think this fits closely with what was talked about above in the educational psychology part. In the ZPD there is what's called the "magic middle" and that is described as somewhere between what the student already knows and what the student isn't ready to understand or learn yet. Also, it talks about how if the student doesn't know something they can have assistance from an adult. I feel this will help a student develop confidence on their own by trying to solve problems without any help but if they are having problems the assistance is there, most likely in a support staff form.
Moral vs Conventional Domains
In the Conventional Domain, children begin by believing that rules simply exist. For example, if you have spent time with young children, you know that there is a period when you can say "eating in front of the TV is not allowed!" and get away with it. This is what theorist Piaget called the state of moral realism where all rules are absolute and there is no bending the rules. Children believe that if a rule is broken that the punishment should be determined by how much damage is done and not by the intention of the rule-breaker. For example, if you accidentally broke three cups that would be worse than intentionally breaking one cup and the punishment would be greater for breaking the three cups even if it was an accident. (Woolfolk, pg 110) As children get older and start to interact with other children they will see that different people have different rules than the ones they have known. This is called the morality of cooperation and it's when children start to understand that people make rules and people can change them. Older children will start to understand rules even though they are arbitrary and are made to maintain order but can be changed. Furthermore, as children move into the adolescent stage in life they will go from understanding those rules put in place to a more conventional approach of seeing it's a way to operate a social system and hold them to society's standards. As those adolescents turn into adults they will see that conventions are useful in coordinating social life but can be changed as well. When compared to young children, older adolescents and adults are generally more accepting of others who think differently about conventions.
I like your approach to try to understand your students and get to know them. Developing a relationship with students is key to their learning. If the relationship isn't there or is sour in some way, students tend to not care, and of course their learning suffers. When student believe that someone really cares for them and wants them to succeed, they tend to want to please that person and will work really hard, which naturally results in better learning. So the best teaching strategy is to develop a positive relationship with your students.
ReplyDeleteYou talked about the ZPD - what have you seen about teachers actually making use of this concept? How do you know where this is and when to back off or when to offer assistance?
Steve,
ReplyDeleteDo teachers make a difference? YES we do! Growing up I looked up to my teachers like they were one of my parents. Leaving the teaching aside we never know how we are going to play that parent, mentor, counselor, or a friend a student will need throughout their education. Working security at a large high school, we are always told we are the front line workers and I take that to heart. I can not count how many times students whom you have built a rapport with seek you out to tell you "I got an A on my test" or "hey, thanks for taking the time to listen". We are more than educators but rather a family!
When you spoke about ZPD, have you seen this in action? I remember my 5th grade teacher would set up her room in such a way where students could have independent study time and then she would have a table set up where she or another "guest" (usually one of our AP's) would come in and we could receive more of that one on one instruction.
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ReplyDelete" I wish I would've known earlier before I made the mistake of providing help to a student before they asked for it. " - You mentioned that you are already working in a high school, and I actually kind of disagreed with this section in the book - especially during this time we're living in - that students may need teachers to assume they need help (even if they don't directly approach them) and have a safety net in place already. I find it interesting that you have seen this actually work in a negative way, and it has really caused me to rethink this approach in my own practice as well. I would never want to act in a way that embarrasses or shakes my students confidence. Is there a balance that we as educators can find?
ReplyDeleteI like how you summed up morality of cooperation "as children get older and start to interact with other children they will see that different people have different rules than the ones they have known." - I think that this is a every important understanding to have of ourselves and of children, the recognition that just because something is right/wrong in my eyes, doesn't mean another person or culture is going to believe. What one history book might call a villain, another may call a hero...great reflections Stephen!