Chapters 8 and 9 - How People Learn

1. In chapter 8, we learn that teachers should try to make their learning environment as enriched as possible and to constantly reevaluate their lessons. It is very important that teachers constantly stay in tune to what is new, and to not only learn new ideas from other teachers, but also to learn from their students. Find out what students want to know and what students are interested in; this will make learning more appealing to everyone. This chapter leads to Chapter 9, which discusses technology. Technology is ever-changing, and it is most important for teachers to stay on top of those changes and to incorporate technology instruments into their learning environments, not only to use, but also to have students use so they can be prepared to be lifelong learners as well. Chapter 9 had many different technology ideas and software programs which could be incorporated into a curriculum that would enable cognitive thinking skills. Technology involves many of the cognitive skills we learned in previous chapters, where there is hands-on, real-life learning experiences and top-down/bottom-up processing skills. Reading and writing are both utilized, while working memory and long-term memory are improved.

2. Something I really am not familiar with in Chapter 9 are some of the new programs that were discussed. It makes me want to find out more about Face Book, Twitter, and some of the other interesting software programs and websites available.

3. Something I would like to do to utilize this information with my classroom is to take them to the computer lab and have them do research on any new technology and web learning devices that they could teach me and the rest of the class so that we can all be up-to-date on new information and resources. This would create a collaborative working environment where we can all learn from each other.

Chapter 6 and 7 - How People Learn

1. In chapter 6 we learn that there are four learning environments: learner centered, knowledge centered, assessment centered and community centered. Learner centered is where students' metacognition comes into play. We learned earlier that metacognition is thinking about your thought processes. The knowledge centered environment is where teachers would guide and help students develop an understanding of what they are learning. It would be important for teachers to keep in mind that students learn best when presented with information in a positive manner (the Pollyanna Principle). Assessment Centered environments would allow teachers to know if their students understand what they've learned. It would also let the individuals know if they understand or don't understand something (metacomprehension). Finally, community centered environments would be where students work together to continually improve and learn from each other. The more students are allowed to collaborate with one another and discuss different ideas and viewpoints, the better their memory will be through buidling their schemas.

2. I understand the difference between the four different learning environments, but I'm not sure what the reading wanted us to do with it. Should we be using all learning environments, which is the best, and how should we be using them? Maybe that is for us to figure out.

3. I would apply this to my own teaching by trying to apply all the different learning environments at different times. (Some might be able to be used at the the same time, but otherwise, I think it would be a good idea to apply different ways of teaching at different points in time).

Week 13 - Chapter 10 and part of 13

1. Chapter 10, Language Production and Chapter 13, Cognitive Development Throughout the Lifespan fits into what I have learned already in this course. In the previous Chapter 9, we learned that listening and reading are important for language comprehension. In this weeks chapters, we learned that speaking, writing, and bilingualism are also important for language production. In order to perform any of these skills, one must use their cognitive processes, such as their working memory, long-term memory, metacognition, phonology, etc.

2. What am I still not clear on in this week's readings? The Age of Acquisition was confusing to me because at one point it stated that "individiuals who have already reached a specified age --perhaps early puberty--will no longer be able to acquire a new language with native-like fluency." However, another part of the book mentioned that "several studies demonstrate that adults and older adolescents can indeed learn to speak a new language very fluently." I guess that is up to the reader to decide what they think is true (controversies are so confusing--I like straight answers).

3. I like the information on p. 330 about the narrative discourse. I would definitely use this in my language arts class because so many students have such a difficult time speaking and telling stories in an organized fashion. I think I'll use the comic strip idea we did in this class to help my students convey a message through the six parts of the narrative: 1) a brief overview of the story. 2) a summary of the characters and setting 3) an action that made the situation complicated 4)the point of the story 5) the resolution of the story and 6) the final signal that the narrative is complete. I think this will help students learn to prewrite before they begin writing as well. I know that this activity helped me in this area. I tend to think I am a good writer, but writing a comic strip was a bit of a challenge for me--much different than writing a paper and a bit more fun too.

Chapter 9 - Language Comprehension

1. How does this topic fit into what I have learned already in this course? Language comprehension goes hand in hand with cognitive processes. Chapter 2 discussed visual recognition with top down and bottom up processing and auditory recognition where we must hear the phonemes to sound out words. Chapter 3 discussed divided attention where you can hear two verbal messages simultaneously and selected attention where you are able to concentrate on one message while ignoring the other. Chapter 4 discussed working memory which helps a person store the visual or auditory information long enough to process and interpret it. Chapter 5 discussed long term memory where we are able to retrieve information processed from long ago. chapter 6 discussed tip of the tongue phenomenon where some information is unable to be accessed, and metacomprehension which allows you to understand a what you've learned. Chapter 7 discussed the mental images we create as we read or learn about something. Chapter 8 discussed semantic memory and how we organize information and words in order to keep them straight, just like schemas and scripts are used to help with background knowledge in order to process the language. Chapter 11 was about problem solving and this is important for language because we must be able to create an accurate mental representation of the problem in order to solve it. Chapter 12 discussed deductive reasoning and decision making which are important for putting the information we learn together in order to make better decisions.

2. What am I still not clear on in this week's reading? This was the chapter I completed my worksheet and brochure on so I was pretty clear on everything.

3. Under what conditions would I apply this material to my own teaching/work? I apply this material to my own teaching everyday. Since I am a language arts teacher, I use every concept given. I think it is exceptionally important to teach students to figure out the meaning of a word from context. I also thought it was interesting how Matlin discussed the idea of negative word phrasing, ambiguity, using words in the passive voice, and sentences that contain nested structures make it more difficult for people to comprehend the language.

Chapter 12 - I couldn't "decide" what to say!

1. Yes, this chapter was a challenge for me! I procrastinated in getting this posted because I couldn't decide what to say. Needless to say, making decisions is a challenge for me. This chapter talked about deductive reasoning (which does make sense to me) and decision making. If something is common sense, I can handle making a decision. However, with all of the different types of heuristics (general strategies that typically produce a correct solution) of decision making, I was led into confusion. There is the representativeness heuristic where we make decisions based on whether a sample looks similar in important characteristics to the population from which it is selected, (p. 413). There is the availability heuristic where you estimate frequency or probability in terms of how easy it is to think of relevant examples of something. Then there is the anchoring and adjustment heuristic where you begin with a first approximation (an anchor) and then make adjustments on the basis of additional information. When it comes to big decisions, I learned that I am a maximizer since I agonize over my decisions more so than a satisficer who makes decisions quickly.

2. Although I have learned a lot during the course of this class, this chapter still hasn't helped me in being a better decision maker. In fact, I think it confused me even more, especially after reading about all the different types of heuristics. I think if the book gave more examples on each type of heuristic, I might understand it better.

3. I was very clear on the framing effect, though, and I think I'll use this to help in teaching students about decision making through their wording. This would go along with language arts teaching very well. I would also have students read a debatable article in a magazine or newspaper and have them do some thinking, deductive reasoning, decision making, and debating, in addition to having them frame their own questions for discussion.

Week 10 - Chapter 11 - What's your problem?

1. I enjoyed this Chapter about problem solving. The topic fits in with all the previous chapters I've learned so far. Problem solving is more difficult for some than it is for others. It also depends on the type of problem. Problems cannot be solved, however, unless one pays close attention to the relevant information. In the very beginning chapter, we were introduced to top-down and bottom-up processing. These are both very important factors when problem solving. This chapter was interesting also, due to the discussion of creativity. I never really realized how important it is to let kids feel that they can have the satisfaction of just accomplishing something for the pure satisfaction (intrinsic motivation). I always felt an award was needed (whether it be a grade or some other materialistic item).

2. The only thing I really didn't understand so well was the hill-climbing heuristic of problem-solving. I don't understand how you can climb a hill (or make the right choice) without looking back at where you've been. It is almost like solving a problem without using any brain power -- you're just going to the next level and choosing the different route based on what you think might be the best (know prior knowledge is used). Is that such a good way of problem solving. I would like to see an example that could be used with this strategy.

3. I would apply these strategies to my own teaching by actually discussing the different problem-solving strategies. My students are old enough to understand how to problem solve. I think they would appreciate the fact that I am giving them some different ways they could solve their own problems. It would be interesting to give students some different demonstrations (like the ones in the book) and have them try to figure out the problems to see what strategies they use. I would have them try on their own at first, then work in groups. Then at the end, I would like to hear from each of the students or groups to find out what they learned and how they figured out their problem.

Chapter 8 - General Knowledge

1. The material from chapter 8 discusses four different approaches to semantic memory (encyclopedic knowledge): a. The feature comparison model (list of features), b. the prototype approach (organized based on a prototype), c. The exemplar approach (classifying a new stimulus with a previously learned example of a concept), and d. network models (a netlike organization of concepts with connections). It also discusses schemas and scripts, which is knowledge that includes information about familiar situations, behaviors, situations, events or persons.

2. Chapter five discussesd visual imagery and how it is relevant to the material on face recognition in long-term memory; chapter 6 discussed visual imagery as a helpful class of mnemonic devices for retrospective memory; chapter 7 discussed pictorial material by visualizing a picture in one's mind, which requires top-down processing. We must be able to have these images in order to be able to organize and categorize information, which is what we lead to in chapter 8 where our cognitive processes are guided by bottom-up and top-down processing.

3. Everything was pretty clear to me in this chapter. However, because they were so similar, it was just a little confusing understanding the differences between the first three approaches to semantic memory. The last one, network models, is very clear to me.

4. I would apply this to my own teaching by having students fill out graphic organizers in order to categorize and make connections about the text.

5. I believe what the author says about this because it makes sense to me. I tried demonstration 8.7 and I thought the sentences were all old, but they ended being all new.

6. This is important because students need to know different ways or teaching techniques they can use to help them organize information where they will remember it.

7. I can use this information all the time with all students (Graphic Organizers are a big help).