1. Why are the students having trouble making sense of their textbook?

Primarily, it is essential to note that the students are in high school and are enrolled in an advanced high
school geography subject. Thus, they are most likely utilizing a college textbook. This setup would entail
various problems. For one, this makes grasping the contents difficult as the book is likely using words
that are not part of students’ existing vocabularies like tertiary, quaternary, commodities, and so on.
Hence, the students are having trouble understanding for they have no idea of these terms in the field
of economics. Also, they have reading problems because they lack the previous knowledge and making
sense of the content as many students have never been taught or developed the skills and techniques
necessary to read this sort of complicated text. More so, as Mr. Sand points out, the book’s content is
also quite abstract, and it is almost completely detached from the concrete, ordinary world his students
regularly encounter. Without additional information, it is difficult to know whether Mr. Sand’s choice of
a textbook is developmentally appropriate for the students in his class.

2. What characteristics of the text seem to be interfering with their understanding?

Given that students were enrolled in an advanced geography course, difficulty was expected, and as
such, the text was bombarded with words not fit for a high school student's comprehension and
vocabulary. Among these terms were "quaternary" and "commodities," to name a few. This difficulty
implies that they have trouble understanding the fundamentals which will subsequently hinder their
understanding of more complex ideas later on. More so, it can be inferred that the students found the
text to be confusing. Even Mr. Sand himself admitted the text to be hard for the students, with him
describing it as "pretty abstract." He acknowledged that students saw these thoughts as something that
are not connected to actual or physical reality. Consequently, they would have a hard time connecting
these concepts to tangible materials which will make comprehension difficult for them since they lack
the immediate sensory equivalents that tangible ideas provide.

3. What strategies does Mr. Sand use to help the students understand the passage about economic
activities?

Though Mr. Sand did attempt to let his students understand the topic more thoroughly, regrettably, he
did so late in the class after his students had already expressed their struggles with the text. However,
this did not negate his efforts, and he bounced back to present effective methods that were appropriate
for his students' developmental stages. First, he outlined what his students should do while reading and
thinking about the chapter content. Particularly, he told them to seek meaningful themes in the
information they were reading rather than just memorizing. Second, he demonstrated how to learn by
jotting down necessary principles and listing examples. This is vital because human beings tend to relate
the meanings they know to things and events around them. This would also strengthen understanding
as humans remember ideas best when they associate abstract thoughts with physical materials.
Students may also apply this technique when reading challenging textbook passages on their own in the
future. By understanding themes and comparing ideas in the text with tangible objects, Mr. Sand was
able to let his students understand, bit by bit, the contents of the material.
Test 2: As a future presenter/lecturer, discuss the implication of behaviorism focusing on Skinner's
Operant Conditioning (with special attention to reinforcement and punishment). Criteria: Content-10;
Org.-3; Mechanics-2

Skinner's Operant Conditioning theory is a method of delivering a stimulus to elicit an intended

response, which entails modifying behavior through reinforcement to reward or punish individuals for
their actions. Because both have predictable behavioral effects, as a future instructor who will use this
theory in the classroom, I may subject my students to incentives or penalties regularly. On one hand,
according to this idea, praise has the power to change student behavior since it promotes my
acceptance towards good behaviors, and it educates as well about how the praised academic
achievement or conduct fits my expectations. Offering a reward in the form of praise or encouragement
for good behavior is one way to apply this strategy. When a student exhibits positive conduct, I may give
additional marks. This will teach students what actions will earn them a reward, and because of the
positive feedback, those who are rewarded will be more likely to repeat or imitate the behavior to get
rewards in the future. More significantly, when I commend a student for good behavior, other
classmates will feel compelled to follow suit to get the same appreciation. On the other hand, I may
impose sanctions or punishments for negative conduct, as well as deny praise for misconduct or
underperformance. As such, if the punishment was done for a certain behavior, students are less likely
to repeat the act. Overall, the application of this theory relies on extrinsic incentives to instill learning,
and I may combine enrich this strategy by consolidating it with other theories to develop effective
classroom management strategies.