Closure

Throughout EDPY 200, I have learned a lot of things that not only will benefit me as a future teacher, but will also benefit my students. I really enjoyed this class and found that all the information gained has been interesting and helpful. I will be sure to use some of the information gained from this class in my future classrooms in order to make teaching a  positive experience . Every time I take a education class, I become much more excited to become a teacher and am positive that this is what I want to do in my future. Thank you for such a positive and interesting experience in your classroom.

Intrinsic vs. extrinsic

After watching Dan Pinks TED talk, “The surprising science of Motivation”, it got me thinking about motivation and how important motivation is in the classroom. I believe that having an intrinsic motivated classroom would be much more ideal then an extrinsic motivated classroom. With an intrinsic classroom, the students would be motivated because they want to do something not because they are receiving a reward. Having said this it is important to try and accomplish an intrinsic classroom by getting to know the interests and hobbies of the children so that I can relate the classroom work to something more interesting to them. It is also important to make the information that is being taught interesting and using different learning strategies in order to make the students want to learn and come to class everyday. Having an inartistic classroom would also benefit the students because they would be able to learn better because they actually want to learn the material. For instance it is just like when you are studying. If you are studying to cram and get a good grade you will probably not learn anything and right after the test all of the information would be lost. On the other hand, if you are studying because you want to learn the stuff and think that it is interesting you are much more likely to retain the information. Overall I believe that intrinsic motivation is very important within the classroom. 

SQ4R

The SQ4R is the most recent version of a strategy for reading. This strategy stands for

Survey

Question

Read

Recite

Relate

Review

The first time I have ever learned about this strategy was in class, and as a college student I wish I would have learned about this earlier because it seems like a very affective strategy for improving comprehension and grades. Using this strategy would not only be helpful when writing reading and comprehension tests but would also be very helpful when studying. 
Sometimes when I study I just read the text to finish it but at the end I don't even remember what I read. This strategy could help with that problem and enable me to actually understand and remember what I am reading. I will incorporate this reading strategy when I am studying but also be sure to incorporate this within my future classrooms. I think it is very important to help the children understand what they are reading and help them fully comprehend the material at a young age. 

Cooperative Learning

As discussed earlier, it is important to incorporate different learning and teaching strategies into classrooms in order to benefit every different kind of learner. A way to benefit the interpersonal learner is to do cooperative or group learning. Cooperative learning can include group projects, partner projects small groups and group presentations. I believe that cooperative learning has both benefits and negative aspects to it. Cooperative learning helps the interpersonal learner interact and learn in a comfortable environment but also allows students to learn from different students and gain a different perspective on learning a topic. In other words the children can learn from each other. I also think that group projects are important because it allows the children to interact in a situation that they will be dealing with in real life. The students have to deal with different members of the group either slacking off or taking over the project, just like situations that will happen in the real world. Having said this I also believe that there are negatives to cooperative learning as well. I know that some people including me are intrapersonal learners and therefore like to learn on their own and have there own space. Doing group work with these intrapersonal students can cause anxiety and stress within the student, so it is important to know the students in order to meet their needs. When doing group work, there is also always the problem on how to mark the children, or how to deal with students who may not participate in the project. All of these factors must be considered when trying to incorporate cooperative learning into the classroom.  

If cooperative learning is to take place in a classroom, I think a very important thing that must be done is self-evaluation and critical reflection. I think it is important for the children to look back and reflect on the finished project and the group work in order for them to learn from their mistakes and also to acknowledge the positive aspects that were done. If students sit back and reflect on the project at the end, it gives important feedback for the children and teachers and helps them learn to be able to achieve better next time.

Going into Elementary education, I believe that involving group work into classrooms is very important especially at this young age. At the elementary age many children are developing social skills and communication skills, which makes it very important for children to be able to work together and communicate in a school setting. I also believe that allowing the students to interact with each other creates bonds which allows the students to have a feeling of belonging which can decrease anxiety and confidence issues

Negotiation

 Today in class we watched a TED talk show by William Ury, who talked about difficult negotiation and how sometimes we need to step back and access the situation before reacting to it. He also said that the secret to peace is the 3rd side, and the 3rd side is us.

As a future teacher I think it is very important to learn about negotiation and how to get through situations as calm as possible to create and maintain peace within the classroom. Having said this I think that in order to maintain positive attitudes throughout the classroom it is important to deal with disagreements as calmly as possible. As soon as tempers start to flare that is when a disagreement becomes a conflict and a problem. I also think it is important to maintain good relationships not only with students but with coworkers parents and even the community. If strong and positive relationships are held with the people that you must deal with, a conflict is less likely to start and if it does it most likely can be solved in a reasonable manner. 

Overall I thought that Ury's message was very powerful and valuable. I don't think very many people can argue that a positive and calm environment isn't the ideal situation. In my future classroom I will diffidently think about how Ury stated that you must take walks when a conflict occurs, but don't walk face to face, walk side to side and really try to focus on how to resolve the situation in a positive manner. Personally I do not like getting in arguments with people or getting into conflicts with them. I like to be calm and carefree and make sure that everyone is happy and not being conflicted with the actions that I do. Knowing this I think that in the future it will be very important to me to maintain a peaceful classroom where relationships are good with everyone in the learning environment and community. I truly think that having a calm classroom and positive energy flowing throughout is the best setting for children to learn in. As learned by watching Shawn Achor on the positive psychology, he stated how it is important to be positive and happy because being happy can increase success rates. I will remember this video on negotiation and use it to help me to maintain a healthy classroom. 

Study Strategies

After watching the video on Andi Bell and The Super Memory Strategy, It made me think about memory and study strategy's and made me think about my own study strategies. Andi Bell used the location strategy, he placed objects or things that he has to remember in different places and that way when it came time to retrieve these memories he would think about the place and the information would come to him. I thought this was a very neat strategy and could work for some people but I do not think that I would ever be able to attempt this. 


Encoding its the way that you get information into your memory. When I study I tend to use the encoding strategy of rehearsal. I often re-wright my notes and then make flash cards and constantly rehears the information until it is in my memory and I can write it out without looking at my notes. I also often use deep processing and elaboration. While writing out my notes I often think of different cues or acronyms that will help me remember the information. I also tend to relate the information to my everyday life so that instead of just memorizing the info I actually make meaning of it and learn what it actually means. I think that my studying strategy works well but takes a lot of time and patience. I am a bodily kinaesthetic learner so I think It would be neat to try different studying strategies that will enable me to move around and use my body and see if there results are better. 


I often have a problem with retrieving the information, which is getting the information out after its been encoded. I think that I have a problem with it because I have problems with interference. It is very difficult for me to learn new information and still be able to keep the old information without constant rehearsal. This type of forgetting is very frustrating and hopefully I will be able to find a strategy that will help me over come this and do better on tests. 

Knowing about memory and different study strategies will be very helpful to me as a future teacher. Understanding the way the brain memorizes things and different strategies that I can give my students will help them score better on tests and remember the information that will be taught. It is also important as a teacher to understand how hard memory can be for different people. Knowing this it is important to have patience with children and help them find a strategy that enables them to use their specific learning skills  to benefit them. With me having a retrieval problem I think  that it will help me to understand how difficult it is for children to memorize things and allow me to empathize with them. 

Gardners multiple intelligence

"Different people have different minds, and we can be smart in many different ways."

"Everyone is A genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree,

 it will live it's whole life believing it's stupid". -Albert Einstein

Gardners multiple intelligence include: 
Mathematics- Good with numbers and equations, likes to IQ tests.
Verbal- Good with writing, language, and speaking. 
Musical-  People that are good at picking up harmonies, rhythm  and good at interpreting a tune. 
Spatial- Can see the world in 3D. (Architect) 
Bodily kinesthetics- Has to move to be able to learn, good at sports and knowing where the body is. 
Interpersonal- Good at talking to people and relating to other people.
Intrapersonal- Knows ones self well and can understand ones emotions.
Naturalistic- Has a natural love for science and nature. Can visualize patterns in nature. 
Spiritual- Ability to believe in and have someone that is of greater power.  Way that one interacts with something bigger then ones self.
Existential- Seeing the bigger picture of human kind and nature. Asking a larger question. Philosopher