10/30: Chapter 8 LGQ

Applying--What is the best way to apply heuristic techniques to a difficult problem or topic? Should we go into it with a predetermined plan or allow full student autonomy?

Heuristics are general problem-solving strategies that may be applied to a variety of problems, but they do not guarantee a successful outcome (Ormrod). As such, heuristics may be more applicable to ill-defined problems, i.e., unclear problems with missing information or more than one answer. Ormrod gives the example of deforestation, but I will use the issue of damming to illustrate how to use a heuristic strategy to tackle an ill-defined problem.

In Loudon, County, Tellico Dam has generated a firestorm of opinions over the last three decades. For opponents of the dam, the problem to be solved was how to halt dam construction and stop flooding of the area. Opponents took a number of approaches. Some made a moral argument against the uprooting of families and destruction of Native American settlements and burial grounds. Others made economic arguments to counter the dam advocates. Opponents claimed the dam would not generate enough energy to justify its existence. They also pointed to how capital could be brought in through developing a tourist industry centered on trout fishing, mountain scenery, and local, Native American culture. Finally, environmentalists pointed to the irreparable damage the dam would cause both to the land and quality of the water. This last approach stalled the dam the longest as an endangered species was found in the waters; though, it was ultimately, successfully transplanted to another habitat. With respect to this issue, a variety of approaches were applied to the problem of closing the dam.

Students should learn how to apply heuristics to complex, authentic problems such as the one listed above. We cannot, especially for young students, allow for full autonomy in the heuristic process. By this, I do not mean we do all of the work for the student. Rather, we must directly instruct students on how to apply heuristics and scaffold them to their desired end. With enough practice, and if they demonstrate a firm grasp on developing processes to solve complex problems, we may allow for increasing student autonomy. However, we must always be there to offer advice for students and get them back on track if they ever become distracted.

           

Create--Construct a project that allows students security that to take risks and at the same time can be evaluated.

Before constructing my problem, I acknowledge that working memory puts a limit on how much students can process at one time. I also realize that complex problems require significant metacognition (Ormrod). To help students with the project, I will explicitly state the goal(s) and procedures, break down the problem into subcategories for the students, and encourage self-monitoring. All of the above are effective strategies used by efficient problem solvers, according to Ormrod. I will also make sure students are mastering the material before they begin the project, and I will give students enough time to ensure they can be creative and think critically.

My project will require students to pick a historical figure and write a biography. Students will have to research and reference materials outside of the textbook to relate their characters’ experiences with what we are covering in class. For instance, students might relate how Frederick Douglass’ experiences with slavery and reform work might inform his attitude toward reconstruction. For this project, I will give students enough time to do their initial writing. I will allow them to make mistakes, receive my feedback, and correct their work. I will set aside time for small group discussion of the activity, and I will only grade after the third or so submission. 

10/29: Field Trip Reflection, Barb Retenbach

The first thing about Barb’s presentation that stood out to me was the introduction. I was initially unsure of what was happening, and my confusion threw me off a little at first. When I began to realize that Barb was writing on her facilitated communication device, I was amazed by how the technology allowed Barb to express herself. I also wondered how long it would take to write using such a device and marveled at Barb’s patience and persistence—the second thing that stood out to me. But what stuck with me the most was the proficiency of Barb’s writing, despite her condition. By proficiency, I do not simply mean vocabulary, but how her ideas were extremely lucid and profound. This stunned me, especially with what I have learned about people and students who have autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

            ASD affect boys five times more often than girls, and they are accompanied by an intellectual disability nearly half of the time (Friend and Bursuck 2012). Students with ASD may have restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests as well as significant difficulty with relationships. From watching the video of Barb, Autism Teacher Please, and viewing the presentation, I have gathered Barb does not have a problem with relationships per se. Rather she has problems expressing herself to her friends and peers without the use of facilitated communication. Friend and Bursuck encourage teaches to provide opportunities for students with ASD to work and be alone to alleviate stress. This may be especially helpful since students with ASD tend to have problems with noisy environments (Friend and Bursuck 2012). Teachers must be careful, though, for as Barb warns, we should not assume students and people with autism prefer isolation. Something as simple as quiet company can be very effective for helping students with ASD. Like Barb, students with ASD might also require facilitated communication devices to help express themselves. Inclusion of these accommodations in the classroom is fair, I believe, because they allow all students to have the same opportunity to succeed and participate. And, as Barb mentions, we all receive help and still work “independently” even as adults. Friend and Bursuck offer a list of augmented and alternative communication devices. These may range from simpler items like pictures to more complex tools like voice synthesizers, scanning devices, and communication boards (Friend and Bursuck 2012). Educators must be careful, though, to teach communication, and not simply how to use the assistive technology.

10/16: An Authentic Hypothetical

Authentic activities may help students develop a more thorough knowledge of content presented in the classroom (Ormrod 231). Moreover, having students write letters to real people may improve their overall writing skills more than traditional writing exercises (Ormrod 231). And though authentic activities may be more difficult to incorporate into a history lesson than other subjects, I would do well by my students to include authentic tasks in my lesson plans.

One authentic task I plan on including in my future classroom is having students write a letter to a historical figure. To be more specific, in a lesson on the Cold War, I would have students write a letter to president Johnson either supporting or protesting the Vietnam War. This letter would require students to understand the background and context of the war, including causes of the war and goals of the United States. The letter would also be authentic on two levels. First writing a letter, or maybe email, would be something students do in the real world. Second, war is a part of contemporary American life. By completing my authentic activity students would have a framework or reference to approach such a divisive issue like war and express themselves constructively and lucidly while referencing data.

Hopefully, students would react well to this activity; however, it would be naïve to assume some students simply will not be interested. For these students, I would have to elucidate the applicability and importance of the activity. Other students may be interested and excited, but may not be familiar with the structure and conventions of writing a letter. I may have to briefly discuss how to write a letter or simply change the letter into an email format. If I can get through these barriers, the issue of hindsight presents another problem, that is, students’ familiarity with the outcome of the war may influence how they write their letters. Unfortunately, teleology is a common problem in historical writing even past the secondary level, and sometimes the only remedy is to make students aware of how their present values and knowledge can affect their writing on past events. I may also have to stress the issue of contingency, that is, how events were not set it stone and could have easily occurred differently. In the same vein, students bringing in their own values on national security and patriotism may lead to heated discussions. I will have to make sure things remain civil and teach the importance of collaboration and respectful discussion and listening to the students. 

10/8: Recognizing mastery of objectives as a Behaviorist and Social Cognitivist

Behaviorists believe the environment conditions one’s behavior (Ormrod 286). Learning, then, occurs when one changes a behavior due to environmental stimuli. To measure my students’ learning as a behaviorist, I would have to create an activity that would allow be to observe their behavior. For example, I could do a class-wide contingency check over material I had previously covered. I may ask students true or false or short answer questions over the material and then give them time to write down their responses. I would look at certain behaviors to gauge if they had learned the material. If students look at others’ responses, talk to their peers about the question, or hesitate to reveal their answer, I may infer that learning had not occurred and that they had not mastered the material. For those who did well, I could offer rewards to reinforce their behavior and motivate other students to try to master the material.

Social cognitivists believe people learn by observing others but that learning may not always directly or immediately lead to a behavior change (Ormrod 324). Moreover, instead of a one-way interaction between the environment and behavior, social cognitivists recognize reciprocal causation, that is, a mutual exchange between the environment, behavior, and the learner (Ormrod 352). I could gauge learning one way by observing a learner’s behavior after an assessment. A poor performance could lead to a decrease in self-efficacy, which would alter the student’s behavior. Being cognizant of my own role in shaping the environment would be important as well. Spending more time with a student or differentiating instruction would be recognition on my part that learning had not occurred. Because modeling plays an integral role in social cognitive theory, I could see if students could model desirable behavior or aspects of the lesson to determine if learning had occurred. But a change in behavior when learning might not always occur according to this theory. I might measure learning another way by charting students’ progress. If they continuously show improvement, I would know they were mastering the material. This approach may be more appropriate if, as Ormrod suggests, it is more important to focus on improvement rather than mastery (337).