Behaviorism: changing someone's behavior.

Positive reinforcement: Giving students something they want when they do the wanted

behavior.

K- 6 experience: I remember the good job stickers on assignments and how most

people wanted to do better to get the stickers.

Wanted behavior: better grades on assignment. Reinforcer: sticker.

Negative reinforcement: taking away something when the wanted behavior is shown so

if the students are quiet then they only have to do half of the homework.

K-6 experience: I remember in math that if the class worked the full time then we would

only have to do half the homework.

Wanted behavior: working the full class. Unwanted item: doing all the homework.

Shaping: teaching a behavior by using steps. If a student does not like doing work

sheet. The first step to increase the behavior might be having that student write their

name until mastery. The next step might be name and one question of them choose,

then maybe 5 of their choice, then odds, then all. There should be some type of

reinforcement.

K-6 experience: When I was learning to read, I started with reading one line, then two,

then three and so on until I read the entire book.

Fading: Prompting the student how to perform the behavior but slowly remove the

prompts. If a child is learning to play baseball a coach might remind the child to stand

with their knees bent, shoulders back, hands up, stand up and flick wrist. The coach

would then slowing take way prompts until the child can shoot a ball without prompt.
K-6 experience: Teachers did fading a lot when they were teaching. They would teach

all on the content for a test first then during the days leading up to the test they would

reteach less and less.

Target behavior: remembering information.

Schedules of reinforcement: This is basically saying that you don't have to reinforce the

behavior every time it happens, you can reinforce after a fixed many times you see the

behavior or at a random amount of time the behavior is presented. This technique can

be paired with fading by make the intervals longer and longer.

K-6 experience: I think this happened a lot at the beginning of the year. If we were good,

all week then we would have scheduled reading times. But the schedule reading time

got farther and farther away after each reward.

Token Reinforcements: When a student shows the target behavior, they get a token (or

after showing it a curtain number of times). Tokens can be anywhere from stars to

tickets. The Idea is that when a student reaches a certain number of tokens, they get

something back (free time or toy). I can also be used in a full class setting.

K-6 experience: This was probably the most effective reinforcement strategy me

because I liked to get free things when I was younger. In my 2nd grade class our

teacher would give use these little read slips if we did something good and at the end of

each trimesters, we would have a shop were you would trade in the tickets for items. I

was always trying to strive for the slips.

Feedback: Praising the student or helping student correct behavior or mistakes.

K-6 experience: This happened mostly during math when we were doing independent

work.
These strategies are going to helpful in the classroom. I think that it will depend on my

students and my classroom community which strategy(ies) I would use. It is will also

probably be a lot of trial and error to see how these work for me.

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Constructivist: Learning occurs when people actively try to make sense of the world.

Everyone learns based on their personal view of the world. People can’t totally transfer

knowledge because everyone has a different interpretation of experience. There are

different factors that affect how someone interprets an event like age, race, gender,

funds of knowledge, and ethnic backgrounds. So, when a teacher tries to teach

something, parts can be lost in translation. Even though knowledge is different person

to person, people can agree on whether it is true and not. Social constructivism is a

subgroup of constructivism. Social constructivism is like regular constructivism, but it

looks more at justice and making the world a better place.

K-6: I know that I learned and thought about things differently than other students, but I

don't think it was specifically used in my classroom.

I will definitely use this in my classroom, and I would make sure my students are

interested in learning.

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John Dewey:

History: He was born in 1859 in Burlington, Vermont. Then he died in 1952. This means

he lived during the civil war, WW1, WW2, the great depression, and the start of the civil

rights movement.
Theory: Dewey’s theory was that children should be the center of the class. Which

means that learning is going to depend on the student. For example, if students wanted

to learn more about birds, than for the next few classes the teacher will use birds to

guide their teaching. Maybe one day they go to an aviary to see and observe birds in a

semi-natural environment. While they are at the aviary student might have to take notes

(writing, scientific observation) and sketch (art) 10 birds. The teacher could make a

science lesson about genes families (e.g., finch are genetically different than a conure).

Students could complete a bird watching book as homework (writing). Students could

list birds that they see in the wild, so they can later research them in class. Dewey

believed that students’ Funds of Knowledge should be addressed to keep the students

more invested in class. He also thought that students should do real world activities in

school (e.g., being a shop owner, buying groceries, or cooking).

K-6 experiences: The only thing I can think about in my K-6 experience that might have

aligned with Dewey is in 4th grade we did the Beaver buck shop. Students all made

items to sell; I made felt wallets and change purses. Students could make anything they

wanted to sell. We then had to decide how much to change for our items, if it was too

much money then not one would by it and if it was not enough then we wouldn’t have a

lot of money to spend on other people’s items. From this we had to learn how to

“manage" our money. We also had to think about how many people would want our

product, so we did spend a lot on making the product.

How would I use in my classroom: I will be using his theory of using students interests

to keep student engaged. I will use real world experience in my classroom to make

lesson more meaningful for my students.

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Erik Erikson

History: Erikson was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1902. This means he was in

Germany during WW1. He came to the US in the middle of the great depression, so he

was in the US during WW2. He died in 1994 so he lived through the civil rights

movement and a few other wars.

Theory: He development 8 stages of emotional development. This book specifically

talks about the first 3 stages: Trust v. Mistrust, Autonomy v. Shame & Doubt, and

Initiative v. Guilt. I think 4th stage is also very important (Industry v. Inferiority) because

this stage is about learning and belonging. If a person is yelled at or is not given the

help they need at this stage, then they will feel inferior and closed off. The 1st stage,

Trust v. Mistrust, happens during the infant stage. During this stage a baby develops the

ability to trust. In Mooney’s book she talks about Erikson’s importance of creating a

special bond between the baby and a significant adult (parent or teacher). This bond

happens when the baby is held and fed. Basic trust is established, if people come when

the baby cries. According to Erickson, it is more harmful to ignore the cry because the

child will think no one is there and learn mistrust. The next stage is Autonomy v.

Shame/Doubt; this stage happens around 2-3 years of age. In this stage children learn

to be more independent. One way to help children develop autonomy is by giving them

simple clear choices. In addition, giving toddlers enough time to make the choice

because toddlers need to go over every possibility. With this method, make sure you

give them choices not general questions. Instead of asking what a child would like for

lunch, ask if the child would rather have a ham or cheese sandwich. Another way to
help children gain independence is by not giving false choices; this means if there is no

choice don’t ask them. For example, don’t ask “Would you like to go out and play?”

because then they think that there is a possibility to stay inside. Kids will not understand

why the teacher is forcing them to put on a jacket. Instead, the teacher could say “We

are going outside. Would you like me to help you put on your jacket, or do you want to

put it on yourself?” Another thing that will help with this stage is setting clear, consistent,

reasonable limits. This basically means stick with your limits and don’t shy away from

them. This stage it is important to accept that the child will swing from independence to

dependence. The last stage the book talks about is Initiative v. Guilt; this stage

develops when the child is 4-5 years old. This stage helps the child develop a sense of

purpose. The child at this stage is eager the learn. To help a child develop at this stage,

encouraging the them to be as independent as possible. The next thing to focus on the

gains a child makes not the mistakes. The teacher should set expectations that are

within a child's ability, and finally focusing the curriculum on real world problems.

K-6 experiences: This doesn't really have much to do with K-6 experiences as these

sages are focused on preschool and Kindergarten. I skipped kindergarten but in 1st

grade we were given more choices and we were given a lot of freedom to be

independent. In my K-6 experiences there were a lot of unequal limits and non-question

questions.

How I would use this in my classroom: I will keep in mind the stages but after Industry v.

Inferiority (ages 5-13) the development become internal, figuring out who they are as a

person. As a high school teacher, I strive to not hinder a student’s ability to figure that

out. I will also help by being there if they need to talk through their problems. I will
incorporate Erikson’s idea of giving choices and not giving non-question questions. I will

also try to keep reasonable limits that are true for all students.

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Jean Piaget

History: Piaget was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 1896 and he died 1980. He was in

Europe during WW1 and WW2. I think he was also in Paris in Germany invaded during

WW2.

Theory: Piaget believed that you learn by interacting with the environment, and that you

construct our own knowledge. He also believed that students work to create their own

understanding of what’s going on. Rather than an adult explaining what’s going on. A

child learns only when their curiosity isn't satisfied. Piaget thinks that teachers are there

to nurture curiosity and support the child as they find their own answers. Piaget stressed

the importance of play. Using dramatic play to peak and develop students’ interests.

Piaget theorized that there are 4 stages of cognitive development Sensorimotor (birth-

18 months), Pre-operational (18m-6y), Concrete operational (6y-12y), then formal

operational (12y-death). Sensorimotor is learning through senses (seeing, hearing,

tasting, smelling, touching, and by manipulating materials. During sensorimotor children

learn object permanence which means when an object moves out of sight, they know it

is still there. Also, in this stage there is the ever so fun stranger and separation anxiety

(If you have ever watched over a young child you know this all too well) this is when the

comfort figure leaves the child starts to cry because they think their comfort figure will

be gone forever. The next stage is Preoperational, children at this stage form ideas

based on their perception this can cause egotistical tendencies where they can only
think of themselves. At this stage children can only focus on one thing at a time and

they overgeneralize due to limited experience. Children in this stage still need free time

to play to develop interests. Teachers also need to provide real world experiences to

start connecting experiences. It is also important to ask open ended question at this

stage to develop their critical thinking. The last two are concrete operation which

everyone gets to and formal operational which some people get to. Concrete operations

is when children are able to form ideas based on reason and the ability to think about

things in multiple directions. Children are also able to start thinking abstractly. Formal

operational is when a teen is able to think logically and hypothetically.

K-6 experiences: I remember going through the stages (not at the time). In preschool

there was a lot of play and learning. Then in elementary school it was hard because I

was not quite in the concrete operational, but I made it through without having the extra

play time to develop my interests.

How I would use this in my classroom: I would again keep the stage in mind when I am

working with my student so I can determine what stage they are at. I like the idea that

students only learn when their curiosity is not satisfied. Lesson should like meaningful to

the student.

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Lev Vygotsky

History: He was born in what is now Belarus in 1896 and died 1934 so he was alive

during WW1and the Russian Revolution.


Theory: He developed the theory of zone of proximal and actual development which is

what we already know helping teach what we are going to learn so like the golden
arches means food, but it looks like a M what does a M sound? What if you an O in

between to M you would get MOM? Vygotsky also believed that there should be a social

aspect in schools one why to do this is by encouraging conversations. A teacher can do

this by not yelling at kids when they ask question but encouraging them to ask and talk

to help develop their language skills

K-6 experiences: We definitely used prior knowledge to learn next skills like in reading (

C is a “c” sound A make “a” sound, T makes a “t” sound all together that is CAT). My

teacher encouraged conversations but I kind of abused that. I was a very ADHD so I

would tell a lot of stories that had nothing to do with what was going on. Teachers would

get fed up after a while and would stop calling on me and would get annoyed when I

talked. This did cause some confidence problems that have changed over the years.

How I would use this in my classroom: I will always encourage conversation in my

classroom it is important skill for life.