Module 6 - Motivation

This week’s readings and activities emphasized the concept of persistence and self-regulation. Gladwell (2008) notes these skills in his discussion of the rice farmers in China. It is their desire to become more efficient and more profitable at what they do that drives them to continue to improve their farming techniques and make decisions on the types and quantities of rice crops that they will plant. In her discussion of growth-oriented teaching, Dweck (2006) notes how seemingly unnatural persistence is to students. This is something that also comes up in the videos that we watched this week, and was also discussed a lot in our previous section in information processing and problem solving. If, as Bandura notes, we are increasingly exposed to symbolic modeling through technology and media, how will the globalization of media will influence the way that we approach learning in the future? How is it influencing learners now?

According to Gladwell (2008), hard work is a part of success, but just as important are those chance circumstances and opportunities that influence individuals. This is also an idea supported by Bandura’s (2011) approach. Individuals are in charge of how they choose to behave in a situation once it presents itself. Their behavior will be the result of a variety of previous cultural, social, and personal experiences that will ultimately determine the action that they will choose to take. Similar is Dweck’s (2006) concept of the growth mindset, which acknowledges that all individuals have the potential to grow in a given domain, even if they are not “naturally talented” in that area. For instructors, I think that this would be a good approach to use because it implies that individual students always have potential to improve.

For teachers, the ultimate message found in this week’s readings is that you cannot ignore the individual experience or the environment when studying how one learns. This ties in with the constructivist approach offered by Vygotsky and Piaget in its emphasis on the individual connecting to the learning material in a personal way. There will always be a need for certain content to be learned, and, as Airasian and Walsh (1997) note, a firm methodology must be developed and followed in order for implementation to be successful, but this should not come at the expense of individual meaning making. After all, it is these individual connections that help students internalize the information in a way that it can be more easily retrieved later. There are a variety of factors that contribute to our beliefs in what we can and cannot do. These come from personal experience, symbolic modeling from those close to us as well as the social media, and other areas. It is important to take these into consideration because, once we do, we are able to help to influence a child’s future confidence in a positive way. The helpful hints provided by Dweck (2006) at the end of her chapter get at this point and also reiterate the powerful roles that parents, teachers, and other adults play in a child’s life. These seemingly small day-to-day experiences accumulate into a sum of experiences which the child may draw upon for some time to come. In striving to create meaningful and positive experiences, instructors can help the student to acquire good learning habits that they can continue to apply into adulthood.


References:

Airasian, P. W., & Walsh, M. E., (1997). Constructivist cautions. Phi Delta Kappan, 78, 444-449.

Bandura, A. (2011). But what about that gigantic elephant in the room? In R. Arkin (Ed.), Most unappreciated : 50 prominent social psychologists talk about hidden gems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.

Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Module 5: Learning Metaphor

Learning is like an inexperienced runner training for a marathon.

At first, you have no idea what you’re doing. You start to run, but you may not have correct form; you tire easily and may even injure yourself. You need lots of encouragement and guidance from your trainer or other advisor. Then, as your endurance and experience builds, you are able to take off on your own, going for longer and longer runs.

This metaphor ties in ideas from William James, Constructivism, and self-regulation. In learning, at first we often need more guidance, we need help obtaining those “acquired reactions” that will serve us best. Our teachers, parents, and other mentors give us verbal and non-verbal feedback as to our progress, and provide the challenges for further growth and development. They reinforce the desired behaviors and outcomes that are espoused by the culture. As we develop, we are more able to draw from our store of experiences and turn to ourselves for a read of our own progress and to evaluate what is working and what is holding us back. We know about our favorable learning conditions, and we can take it upon ourselves to create those conditions. From there, we can take off on our own, pursuing our own learning, challenging ourselves and coming to our own conclusions.

Module 5: Reflection

I thought that Nodding’s (2006) article provided some interesting insights on how learning can be approached from a problem-solving perspective. In his discussion of constructed reviews versus textbook reviews, Nodding combines a constructivist approach to learning with more structured learning objectives. Another connection with constructivism can be found in Noddings’ recommendation for teachers to present their students with problems that may not be able to be answered correctly. This seems to align with Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development in its recognition of the need for the student to contend with material that may be just out of their reach. Dan Meyer’s video on math classes also highlighted this point. I was especially intrigued by Meyer’s statement that society is conditioning us to be impatient with irresolution. I agree that, most of the time, individuals are looking for a quick solution to a problem so that they can move on to the next one (or tackle numerous problems at once, in the case of multitasking). But by doing so, are we losing out on fully developing the skill of persistence?

Generally speaking, I have found that I am a much bigger fan of “uni-tasking.” I identified with Bregman’s example of trying to send the same email three times just to get it right. However, I also agree with Silverman that multitasking is simply a fact of life for many people, especially those in higher positions. Rosen’s (2008) article on the myth of multitasking seems to get at the idea that, just because we can multitask does not mean that we should. Rosen brings up James’ point of view on attention and multitasking, which aligns multi-tasking with the native reactions of the child. While I think James would acknowledge that multi-tasking is a natural urge that humans have, I think that he would argue that undivided attention is best for optimal connection and absorption of the materials.

Another important area of problem solving is creativity. As discussed by Pretz, et al (2003), without some creativity, it becomes difficult to see problems and alternative solutions outside of those typically done in similar situations. In our automaticity of thought, it is very easy to fall into a routine of soliciting a given response for previously experienced circumstances. However, the problem solving approach would argue that individuals must be more mindful of situations if they hope to see new solutions.

Metacognition, problem solving, self-regulation and multi-tasking get at the learner’s need to be aware of their own process. Metacognition and problem solving both put the focus on being more mindful of how we process and categorize information. Allowing for perception of material in new ways and allowing oneself to deeply engage in the material are key components of both ideas. Self-regulation and multi-tasking have to do with the ways in which individuals carry out their learning goals. Multi-tasking focuses more in efficiency in processing information or task completion, while self-regulation focuses more on the skills utilized to process information or complete the task.

References:

Kegan, R. (1994). In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard College Press.

Noddings, N. (2006). Critical lessons: What our schools should teach. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Pretz, J. E., Naples, A. J., & Sternberg, R. J. (2003). Recognizing, defining, and representing problems. In J. E. Davidson & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), The psychology of problem solving (pp. 1-30). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Rosen, C. (2008). The myth of multitasking. The New Atlantis, 64, 105-110.

Module 4 - Information Processing Part II

“The connecting is the thinking.” This concept from James’ Talks to Teachers is easily related to information processing in terms of how individuals are able to store and retrieve information over the long term. This is accomplished through encoding, mnemonics, and the deep processing of information. This deep processing, or mindfulness, forces the individual to take more time with the information. Information is only as good as the way in which it is encoded. This is a point further emphasized in Marsh and Butler (in press), where they review some of the theories and techniques emphasized in memory. One important concept highlighted in this chapter is that of desirable difficulty; “introducing difficulties during learning will result in superior long-term retention because the greatest gains in storage strength occur when retrieval strength is low” (Marsh & Butler, in press, p. 5). This reminded me of Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development, whereby development occurs by having individuals participate in activities that are just beyond that which they can do by themselves. By stretching learning and recall over longer periods of time, connecting it to more and more ideas and experiences, individuals are able to learn information in a deeper way than if they were simply cramming for a test.

Kirschner, Sweller and Clark (2006) note that constructivism should not happen at the expense of content knowledge, and that teacher’s should be wary of introducing minimally guided instruction into their classrooms. “Not only is unguided instruction normally less effective, there is also evidence that it may have negative results when students acquire misconceptions or incomplete or disorganized knowledge” (Kirschner, et al., 2006, p. 84). While I can see their point, I think that regular assessment and feedback such as that suggested by Marsh and Butler (in press) can assess when students go off track with their connections and help them to make more meaningful and accurate connections with the information. If you remove too much of the constructivist approach, I think that you lose some of that flexibility needed to help the student connect to the material.

I do not have a very good memory. This week’s readings make me think about the ways in which I process information and how I could process it in a more meaningful way. The one reading that stood out the most for me this week was the New York Times article written by Joshua Foer. Foer (2011) notes the importance of practice and persistence when it comes to developing and maintaining a good memory. Last week’s readings and activities focused a lot upon attention and our abilities to focus on the important things in the task at hand. Foer’s reference to the mental athlete’s “gear” reminded me of a white noise website (www.simplynoise.com) that I use when I find myself getting distracted from whatever it is I am doing by outside noise (hopefully, I will not have to resort to blinders).  Foer’s discussion of hitting a plateau in his memory capacity made me think that, like many abilities, when things get difficult it is easier to say “oh well, I suppose this is as good as it gets,” instead of persisting in our efforts to increase our memory. I thought it was interesting that Ericsson had him use a metronome to help him push his processing speed even further. This seems to also tie in Marsh and Butler’s reference to desirable difficulty, and also the often-invoked phrase “use it or lose it.” If we are not constantly using and challenging our memory, it seems quite possible that it will be more difficult to encode information in a meaningful way than if we were engaging our memories more frequently.

References:

Foer, J. (2011, February). Secrets of a mind-gamer: How I trained my brain and became a world-class memory athlete. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/20/magazine/mind-secrets.html?hp.

Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41, 75-86.

Marsh, E. J., & Butler, A. C. (in press). Memory in educational settings. In D. Reisberg (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of cognitive psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The Free Will debate continues...

Just thought I would share this opinion piece that appeared on the New York Times website this week:

Is Neuroscience the Death of Free Will?

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/is-neuroscience-the-death-of-free-will/

The author, Eddy Nahmiahs, talks about whether or not findings in Neuroscience can prove that free will does not exist, or if they simply explain it in a new way. Enjoy!

Module 3: Activity 1 - Perception Resource

http://www.readingrockets.org/shows/launching/meaning/

PBS Video, “Reading for Meaning”

A portion of the third PowerPoint this week focused on the importance of attention and perception as factors that affect the sensory registers in the information processing theory. I was particularly interested in the brief video that was shown as part of this PowerPoint that featured a student who had trouble with reading comprehension, and decided to track down additional resources on reading comprehension and some of the tools that can be used to improve it. It seems like this is best accomplished through connecting reading experiences to ideas that are tangible and relatable for kids. This video, “Reading for Meaning,” highlights several classroom and community programs that are designed to help students improve their interest in reading as well as their reading comprehension.

For each approach, there is a reference to the way in which it helps students retain reading knowledge. The first program discussed, CORI, focuses on non-fiction reading as a means of getting students to ask their own questions and communicate about their reading with others. At one point, the teacher asked the student to interpret the actions of the town reacting to the tornado sirens. At another point, a student was asked to present the results of her independent reading on a topic related to the weather and answer questions from her fellow students. In addition to emphasizing the way in which information is perceived and internalized, this example also touches on the importance of meaningfulness. By exposing the student to the subject matter in a variety of different ways over a period of time as well as allowing the student to ask and answer their own questions within the subject matter, the student is able to make connections to the material. In the example of Theme Scheme, teachers work with their students to find the meaning of the story and connect it to a student’s real life moral dilemmas. In another example, an author and illustrator work with students to create stories that have personal meaning to them through text and art. Each of these activities helped to reinforce what was read while also helping the student connect the material with something that they could relate to.

These activities align with the constructivist interpretation of information processing theory outlined by Mayer (1996), which calls for “an active search for understanding in which incoming experience is reorganized and integrated with existing knowledge… in this view, processing is not a series of discrete algorithms executed in order, but rather a coordinated collection of processes aimed at making sense out of incoming experiences” (p. 156). Perception in terms of reading comprehension can be understood as helping to connect incoming information to the existing structure. As the student in the PowerPoint video notes, he understands what he is reading but he cannot recall it and synthesize it in any meaningful way. Asking students to actively make connections and latch on to reading selections and subjects that are most meaningful gives them an active area of interest that they can use to strengthen their connecting abilities.

References:

Mayer, R. E. (1996). Learners as information processors. Educational Psychologist, 31, 151-161.

Module 3: Activity 3 - Learning Styles

Before I read this article by Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer and Bjork (2009), I probably would have said that I am in favor of individualized instruction according to learning style.  It makes sense to me that students should receive information in whatever way it can be processed most efficiently.  But given the information presented in this article, it seems like there are still some issues in the research that need to be addressed before we wholeheartedly subscribe to the idea that there is "one best way" for students to receive information.  

 In their article “Learning styles: Concepts and evidence,” Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer, and Bjork (2009) investigate whether it is useful for schools to identify the learning styles of their students as a means of improving student performance. Pashler, et al (2009) describe the concept of learning styles as falling into two camps; learning styles as study preferences, and what they identify as the learning styles hypothesis. To investigate the importance of findings on learning styles, the authors employ a crossover interaction between learning style and method as their criteria. This type of interaction allows for each group to demonstrate which method is most effective (Pashler et al., 2009).

In reviewing the literature on aptitudes, aptitude by treatment, and personality by treatment for crossover interaction between learning styles, the authors were unable to find any studies that were well-constructed enough (given their criteria) to support the use of learning styles. This was primarily due to a lack of robust research methodology, and the authors encouraged further work involving random assignment and the examination of crossover interactions as a way to further investigate the use of learning styles in the classroom. Given the current research and findings, however, the authors do not see the benefit of the cost and time associated with the identification of student learning styles.

I am more inclined to align myself with the “study preferences” approach to learning styles. I do think that individuals may be more inclined to remember things if they are presented in a way that is their “preferred mode of taking in new information and studying” (Pashler, et al., 2009, p. 108). At the close of their article, Pashler, et al (2009) offer the following statement: “given the capacity of humans to learn, it seems especially important to keep all avenues, options, and aspirations open for our students, our children and ourselves. Toward that end, we think the primary focus should be on identifying and introducing the experiences, activities, and challenges that enhance everybody’s learning” (p. 117). Being exposed to information in a variety of different ways helps to build more connections and make the information stick. As James (1899/1962) notes, “the same thing recurring on different days, in different contexts, read, recited on, referred to again and again, related to other things and reviewed, gets well wrought into mental structures” (p. 64). In terms of information processing, I venture to guess that we all have our own methods that work best for us to “encode information;” however, sometimes receiving information in a novel way helps us to pay closer attention and gain a fresh perspective in a way that we might not have if we always received information in the same way.

References:

James, W. (1899/1962). Talks to teachers on psychology and to students on some of life's ideals. New York: Dover.

Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2009). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9, 105-119.

Module 2 Constructivism: Piaget & Vygotsky

Q1: Explain in your own words the principal contributions of Piaget's cognitive constructivist theory as a theory of learning. Make a list of questions you still have.
Perhaps the most important contribution of Piaget’s theory (as well as others discussed in this week’s readings) is the idea that education should help students to expand their understanding and categorization of the world by helping the student make connections between that which they know and that which they are in the process of learning. There are multiple ways in which individuals can come to an answer, and any one approach may not be the best approach for all students. Having students create their own paths to solution provides more information for the teacher in terms of their thought processes, levels of understanding and comprehension then simply mimicking the solution protocol outlined by the instructor.

Introducing new concepts to the child helps them to think about previously learned concepts in relation to new ideas, and creates disequilibrium and motivation to incorporate this new knowledge. New information causes disequilibrium in the student, who then has the choice of assimilating that new information into an existing construct, or revising their existing construct to accommodate that new information. This concept gets at the nature of humans to seek out resolution to their questions. If a person is in a state of disequilibrium, then they will automatically want to find their balance again. Think about when a new concept really strikes you, and it forever changes how you view a particular idea or issue. This new outlook is a result of how individuals are able to modify our previously held ideas in order to accommodate this new information.

Duckworth (1996) notes that “the right question at the right time can move children to peaks in their thinking that result in significant steps forward and real intellectual excitement…children can raise the right question for themselves if the setting is right” (p. 6). This refers to the role of the teacher in introducing material at the appropriate stage for the student. For Piaget, it did not make sense to introduce concepts from the formal operations stages to students to were in the concrete operations stage, because they would not be able to grasp them.

Piaget’s developmental stages provide a framework through which instructors can get a general idea of a child’s understanding about the world. However, as Duckworth (1996) notes, it is important to note that these are “only norms, not universals” (p.3). Instead, the instructor should strive to understand concepts on the level of the individual child.

The biggest questions that remain for me relating to Piaget’s theory have to do with its practical applications in the classroom. For me, many of the ideas that Piaget has about the ways in which children think and how we can use that to nurture their learning make a lot of sense. However, I still have trouble figuring out how this could work in today’s educational system. How do you encourage children to adopt this questioning mentality in large classrooms that have a lot of variance in terms of individual development? How do we go about creating the right setting?

References:

Duckworth, E. (1996). "The Having of Wonderful Ideas" and Other Essays on Teaching and Learning.
Q4: Explain in your own words the principal contributions of Vygotsky's cognitive constructivist theory as a theory of learning and compare and contrast the work of Piaget and Vygotksy.

In many ways, Vygotsky’s cognitive constructivist theory picks up where Piaget’s left off. Wadsworth (1996) notes that Vygotsky’s work recognizes the social and cultural factors and the role that they play in cognitive development. Both Vygotsky and Piaget recognized the importance of culture in development, but Vygotsky saw this relationship as more interactionist and mutually reinforcing, while Piaget saw the influence of culture as a means of creating the necessary disequilibrium for development.

Both Piaget and Vygotsky agreed that learning was an active process on the part of the child, and that they alone were responsible for the ways in which they constructed their knowledge. One important distinction between these two theorists was the Piaget focused mostly on individual constructions, while Vygotsky focused on constructivism situated within culture (Wadsworth, 1996).

Another important distinction between Piaget and Vygostky was that Piaget believed that development and developmental stages prescribed learning, while Vygotsky believed that learning through interactions with the culture will promote additional learning, even if it is outside of the child’s zone of actual development (Wadsworth, 1996). This concept is evident in Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development. The zone of proximal development is the developmental area where the student can perform certain tasks with assistance. For Vygotsky, this type of learning was important in ushering a student from one developmental milestone to the next. Related to this concept is scaffolding, which consists of the process of guiding children through more complex tasks while preparing them to eventually perform these tasks on their own.

The best way for me to relate to Vygotsky’s theory is through the concept of cultural discourse. This can be taken literally (the language spoken and the way in which people communicate) as well as more theoretically in terms of the values and ideas that a culture subscribes to. Vygotsky’s theory fits well within this concept, as his theories on development call for the child to actively engage in the cultural discourse, and the primary role of the instructor is to aid in the transmission of cultural discourse from one generation to the next. “Cultures are very powerful, dynamic, changing things that exert a tremendous influence on each of us” (Coleridge, 2005, p. 261). Recognizing the importance of culture in the transmission of knowledge and information gives the instructor an additional lens through which to view the students thinking and internalization processes.

But how much weight should we give to culture in the educational process? Is it, as Piaget notes, merely providing information for the child to assimilate and accommodate accordingly, or is the relationship much more interactive? Children are being exposed to culture in many different ways than just a generation ago. In fact, there has been a sort of backlash (or at least, a push for more conscious awareness) or our “consumption” of information in our culture. I wonder how Vygotsky would react to these phenomena.

References:

Coleridge, S.T. (2005). Threee cognitive theories: Bruner, Piaget, and Vygotsky. In Lefrançois, G. R, Ed. Theories of human learning: What the old woman said. (5th ed.). Thomson.

Wadsworth, B.J. (1996). Piaget’s theory of cognitive and affective development. New York: Longman Publishers USA.

Module 2 - Constructivism: James, Piaget & Cognitive Development

William James (1899/1962) believed that there were opportune times for the acquisition of habit; “in children we observe a ripening of impulses and interests in a certain determinate order. Creeping, walking, climbing imitating vocal sounds, constructing, drawing, calculating, possess the child in succession” (p. 31). These skills roughly correlate to Piaget’s sensorimotor, preoperation, and concrete operations stages of development. Like James, Piaget believed that children progress through certain actions and levels of understanding at specific times in their life. Both James and Piaget also believed that timing was key in how concepts are introduced to the student. James noted the importance of timing in the intervention of teachers upon native reactions, “Many of our impulsive tendencies ripen at a certain period; and, if the appropriate objects be then and there provided, habits of conduct toward them are acquired which last” (James, 1899/1962, p. 31). Similarly Piaget believed that children were capable of certain developmental shifts and conceptual changes at specific times in their development (e.g., conservation tasks).

In his talks, James (1899/1962) also discussed the topic of constructiveness; “the more different kinds of things a child thus gets to know by treating and handling them, the more confident grows his sense of kinship with the world in which he lives” (p. 30). Piaget’s approach also endorses this idea, encouraging individuals to incorporate new ideas and concepts into their existing schema through assimilation and accommodation.

In his chapter on the acquisition of ideas, James (1899/1962) notes how students demonstrate understanding through their explanations of concepts in their own terms. Similarly, the children in this video demonstrate the difference in level of understanding between the preoperational and concrete operational stages through the concept of conservation. Sensitivity to a student’s developmental stage and their way of reasoning with the world will help the teacher to understand their progress and adjust their teaching accordingly; “the teacher’s art consists in bringing about the substitution or complication, and success in the art presupposes a sympathetic acquaintance with the reactive tendencies natively there” (James, 1899/1962, p. 20). Teachers should present information that is appropriate to the student’s developmental level. “Our education means, in short, little more than a mass of possibilities of reaction, acquired at home, at school, or in the training of affairs. The teacher’s task is that of supervising the acquiring process” (James 1899/1962, p. 20). In this sense, both James and Piaget saw the role of a teacher as a guide in the developmental process; however, there are some differences between these two scholars in terms of how guidance should be put into practice. James would likely encourage teachers to provide correction and model acquired reactions for the student, while Piaget would encourage the teacher to try and gain a better understanding of the concept as the child sees it.

References:

James, W. (1899/1962). Talks to teachers on psychology and to students on some of life's ideals. New York: Dover.

Module 2 - Constructivism: Vygotsky & Old-Fashioned Play

Unstructured play is very similar in a lot of ways to the constructivist approach to education. When children are creating tools out of everyday objects and inserting themselves into imaginary circumstances, they are beginning to make sense of the world on their own terms.

Vygotsky (1935/1978) notes “can it be doubted that children learn speech from adults; or that, through asking questions and giving answers, children acquire a variety of information; or that, through imitating adults and through being instructed about how to act, children develop an entire repository of skills?” (p. 84). Imaginative play is a way for these children to engage in the activities that they have observed grown ups participating in, and to test out their observations in a way that they understand.

Imaginative play allows the child to access their zone of proximal development with the help of their peers; “using imitation, children are capable of doing much more in collective activity or under the guidance of adults” (Vygotsky, 1935/1978, p. 88). By playing pretend games, children get the chance to try out things such as money exchange (when children play “store” for example) as well as incorporate understanding of concepts such as sharing, fairness, competition, and argumentation through their interactions with their peers. This creates shared understanding of these concepts. The games that children make up and the rules that accompany them allow children to explore rule making and consequences of their actions in such a way that prepares them to interact with rules and regulations in the real world.

If children are only given toys and resources for specific actions, then the opportunity for problem solving and exploration is lost to a certain extent. In his chapter on memory, James (1899/1962) notes; “paths frequently and recently ploughed are those that lie most open, those which may be expected most easily to lead to results.” If children are given only one way to approach something, whether in play or a complex math problem, you could say that they are forced into a pre-ploughed path or set of actions. If children are left to explore all options on their own, then they can better select the avenues that work best for them and devise alternative routes that they can explore if their first approach does not work. This skill becomes important when they need to tackle problems that are just beyond their level of understanding.

Developmentally, the issue of free and imaginative play could have an impact on the student’s actual developmental level and their zone of proximal development. As noted in the NPR segment, children are using less private speech in their play, a skill that has implications for both self-regulation and problem-solving skills. The implication of these findings is that children will be able to solve fewer and fewer problems and obtain a lesser understanding (as defined by the constructivist theory) than they were able to just a few generations ago. This also has implications for attention and persistence. According to Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development, it is clear that the relative space between one’s actual developmental level and the level of problem solving that they can do with help is more narrow than it was when unstructured play was more prevalent in our culture.

References:

James, W. (1899/1962). Talks to teachers on psychology and to students on some of life's ideals. New York: Dover.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1935/1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Module 2 - Constructivism: Illustrations of Constructivism (group activity #1)

Group post by Carly Germann, Chris Daniel, and Amanda Butz 

The constructivist theories and concepts as presented by Piaget, Vygotsky and others are fairly easy to understand, but more challenging to put into practice. It is therefore helpful to see specific examples of how one allows students to make meaning when confronted with new information relative to a given learning outcome. For this reason, we present several videos which illustrate key constructivist concepts.

These videos show two examples of a constructivist-based classroom. In the first video, we see how one might approach teaching elementary school students double column subtraction:

Constructivist Math Instruction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cx5HDOCwqE&feature=youtu.be

It is important to note a few interesting differentiations between the classroom method presented in the above video compared to other instructional methods.

The teacher has encouraged the students to immediately indicate their answer if called on and also if they agree with the answer provided by the one student who the teacher selected to provide the answer.
Students are encouraged, even expected to discuss and/or defend this answer in an open forum format.
At no time does the teacher provide the correct answer, and remains an open conduit for any student to explain his or her explanation as to how her or she arrived at an answer.

In the second video (divided into three sections), the teacher purposefully refrains from describing to her students the instructional goal of sorting objects (by size, color and shape) so that they may construct their own meaning with regard to these concepts. Please note the following practices the teacher presented in this video:

Constructivist lessons on colors, sizes and shapes:

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR9LqmT0k-U
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxKtqDLNG6Y&feature=related
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDCOsDiemQM&feature=related

The teacher did not name the manipulables in these exercises. Rather, she merely called them objects.
The teacher created a yes/no chart by which she would list student suggestions as to the agreed upon activities with regard to the lesson.
As the students were in the process of sorting items into trays of "big" and "small" items, the teacher elicited the responses of students as to their thinking process as they categorized the objects.


Both of these videos exemplify some key constructivist concepts. Firstly, it is the teachers job to create experiences in which children should think for and spontaneously question and then correct themselves if it is necessary to do so. The process of arriving at an answer, comparing that to the answers of their peers and then re-evaluating the original answer according to constructivist views is tantamount to learning and possibly intellectual development.

Based on our discussion of constructivism and the videos we watched, we pose the following questions to the class:

With regard to the first mathematics video, the intractive process and "rules of order" for this class appeared to run seamlessly. However, we understand that they were practicing this method 6 months prior to taping. How might this really work in the classroom?

Relative to our nation's political landscape and the expectations of the citizenry with regard to learning, can constructivist methods harmonize with those based upon the practices of direct instruction and the standardized testing of which we all have become very accustomed?

With regard to the second video which depicted the students' construction of concepts related to colors, shapes and sizes, do you think actual learning is transpiring here? How might a teacher make this assessment? What if in the face of this more open model a student or group of students arrives at a construct which lies in disagreement of the intended learning outcome?

Module 2 - Constructivism: Theory to Practice (group activity #2)

Group blog post from Carly Germann, Chris Daniel, and Amanda Butz:

The instructional video that we reviewed can be found at the following link: http://timssvideo.com/45. It depicts a class of 8th graders who were learning about polygons. The instructor went over what polygons are, discussed the concepts of equilateral polygons and equiangular polygons, and showed how to find the sum of the interior angle of certain polygons.

In this video, there were several concepts that stem from the theory of behaviorism. The instructor had a deck of cards with each students' assigned number. He randomly pulled a number for each question that he asked, and that student had to come to the board and answer. This acted as a motivator or reinforcement to keep the students alert and ready to answer any question.

Another Skinnerian aspect of this instructional video was the method of asking questions, which acted as stimulus and response. The teacher posed a question (the stimulus) and the students provided an answer (the response). The teacher then gave immediate reinforcement by saying whether or not the answer was correct, and provided praise such as "Very good." This reinforced the students that they were succeeding, or provided the necessary feedback for how to achieve the correct answer.

The teacher used several Piagetian concepts in this video. First, he started off the lesson by allowing the students to draw any shape that they wanted to show their understanding of a polygon. He also asked them several times throughout the video to explain how they arrived at their answer. This ability for the students to explain how they constructed meaning is crucial for Piaget.

Another method that he used was to make the students discover their answers themselves rather than just providing the answer for them. For example, he did not just tell them that the sum of the interior angles of a four-sided figure was 360 degrees, instead he showed them how to break the figure down into shapes they knew how to manage. This allowed them to construct their own meaning about the problem.

Vygotskian concepts were also present in this video. He made sure to address the social nature of learning by asking the students to turn to their neighbor and discuss the problem at hand. Since culture is such an important factor for learning according to Vygotsky, addressing this in the classroom would further enhance development; the interaction between mentor and mentee allows for learning at a pace greater than what the mentee could accomplish alone.

Scaffolding as a Vygotskian concept underscores the frequent need for more involvement on the part of the mentor as new concepts are introduced. As learners become more familiar with new material, less involvement is necessary, thus the pedagogical scaffold is slowly removed. This allows learners to take ownership of the process of assimilating concepts in a more independent manner. An example of scaffolding in the video was when the teacher showed how to solve a problem with a four-sided figure. He then asked the students to solve the same problem with a five-sided figure. They probably would not have been able to solve the second problem on their own, but the example he provided allowed them to make the connection independently.

Personal Reflections

Overall, it was relatively easy to pick out theory within the context of the classroom situations. In our group discussion, it seemed like it was a lot easier to pinpoint instances of the behaviorist approach than it was to identify explicitly constructivist practices. Airasian and Walsh (1997) make the point that, “although instructional approaches are typically derived from such epistemologies, they are distinct from them” (p. 445). In other words, theory informs practice, but may not necessarily prescribe it. I wonder if our experience with this exercise is indicative of this difficulty in translating constructivist theories into practice? This exercise also made me consider the role of theory in teaching practice. Are these teachers consciously applying these theories in their classrooms? Does it matter if they know? Most teacher education programs would argue that it does. Theory serves as broader construct construct through which thoughts, behaviors, and actions can be interpreted. If we were to approach this teacher with our theoretical analysis of the approaches used in this lesson, would that somehow supplement or inform his teaching strategies in the future?

References: 

Airasian, P. W., & Walsh, M. E., (1997). Constructivist cautions. Phi Delta Kappan, 78, 444-449.

Module 2 - Constructivism: Bart the Genius

Many aspects of the school depicted in the Simpson’s episode “Bart the Genius” exemplify the extreme oversimplification of constructivism that Airasian and Walsh discuss in their article. These oversimplifications can include no prescribed curriculum, unstructured learning, and students doing and learning what they want when they want. The guidance counselor refers to Bart’s new school as “a school without walls or rules.” Airasian and Walsh (1997) would be critical of this depiction of constructivism. They caution teachers; “do not believe that the opposite of ‘one right answer’ reductionism is ‘anything goes’ constructivism” (p. 488). While this dichotomous depiction of traditional versus constructivist education helps to draw a distinction between the two school environments in this episode, the true relationship between constructivism and education is much more complicated. Allowing a student to make up his or her own meaning does not necessarily mean that all learning is unstructured.

While the overall depiction is oversimplified, there are some examples of constructivism’s more practical applications in this episode as well. The instructor-led discussion of free will shows the constructivist approach of each student demonstrating their own understanding of free will and the concept of paradox. The teacher identifying herself as a “learning coordinator” also defines the constructivist role of the teacher as “to guide, not tell” (Arasian & Walsh, 1997, p. 448). Throughout the episode, the teacher is not providing the immediate reinforcement that we found in Skinner’s behaviorist approach; instead, she is merely providing a venue for the students to construct their own understanding. This is illustrated in the discussion mentioned above as well as the chemistry lesson where Bart is left to create his own solutions. He quickly learns (and will probably not soon forget) what happens when you mix an acid and a base.

Earlier in the episode, Bart is asked to visualize a math problem on his aptitude test. We see a very lively illustration of this math problem in Bart’s head, which demonstrates how Bart is thinking about the problem. This provides a good example for teachers of how some students may process their math problems. It is pretty obvious within a short period of time that Bart is not making sense of all the numbers in the problem, indicating that this type of problem is clearly outside of his actual development level. This information would be helpful to the instructor in trying to gauge whether or not this type of problem is within Bart’s zone of proximal development. This also illustrates the ability to “tell when children were seeing things differently” (Duckworth, 1996, p. 4). If this example had come up in the context of a class instead of a test, Bart’s teacher may have been able to better ascertain his level of understanding through his descriptions or depictions of the math problem.

For me, this is an area where a constructivist approach is especially helpful in the classroom. Having students explain a concept in their own words not only provides a means for assessing their level of understanding, but I think that it also promotes a deeper understanding of the material itself. Understanding a reading passage is one thing; being able to explain it in a way that those who have not read the passage are able to understand and connect to it is another, and requires a different level of understanding for the student.


References:

Airasian, P. W., & Walsh, M. E., (1997). Constructivist cautions. Phi Delta Kappan, 78, 444-449.

Duckworth, E. (1996). "The Having of Wonderful Ideas" and Other Essays on Teaching and Learning.

Module 1: Behaviorism

As James (1962) notes in his chapter on native reactions and acquired reactions, “you may take a child to the schoolroom, but you cannot make him learn the new things you wish to impart, except by soliciting him in the first instance by something which natively makes him react” (p. 20). This idea is connected to behaviorism in terms of how the teacher analyzes the child’s native behavior as a means of determining how it must be modified to elicit the desired response in the form of habits and acquired reactions.

Perhaps one of the more important goals of behaviorism is the automation of many of our behaviors through the formation of habits and further refining of our unconscious reactions. Bargh and Chartrand (1999) note that this automation is necessary in order to free up our minds for other tasks that require conscious thought and decision. As we continue to learn, further automation makes processes that once required much thought and energy more effortless, which then allows us to dedicate that energy to higher level functioning. This concept of automation can be difficult to accept, especially when you consider it in terms of measures like the Implicit Associations Test, which can demonstrate the unconscious biases we have developed as a result of these automations over time. No one wants to admit they are biased, but at the same time, we cannot deny that automation is a necessary fact of life. Without it, many of the everyday tasks that we take for granted would leave us mentally exhausted.

Skinner’s work on behaviorism has continued to influence the field of education and our conceptions of learning, through his development of “teaching machines.” Skinner saw teaching machines as a way in which teachers could put more focus on their student’s learning at the individual level. As Skinner (1984) notes, “no teacher can teach a class of 30 or 40 students and allow each to progress at an optimal speed” (p. 951). Yet this is exactly the situation that most teachers find themselves in. Having just spent the past few weeks administering surveys in elementary and middle school classes, I observed firsthand that students within the same grade level and even within the same class could have drastically different levels of understanding of reading and math concepts, as well as different levels of reading comprehension. When reading the survey aloud, it was challenging at times to find a pace that was fast enough for the majority of the class, but also did not leave several students frantically scrambling to catch up. I can only imagine that this situation is even more difficult when trying to teach concepts to those same students.

Watching the video about School of One provided a current and interesting example of how Skinner’s concept of individually paced instruction and assessment could work in a public school setting. However, how easy would it be to secure the funding and resources necessary to revamp all schools to work in this way? While some school districts might be eager to latch on to this idea, generally speaking, the slow speed at which education catches up to innovation that Skinner mentions in his article is still prevalent today, and such implementations may be impractical on a large scale.

Skinner (1984) also makes the point that the efficiency of teaching machines will allow for students to learn more in less time and perhaps even reach high school and college at earlier ages. While this is entirely possible, is it in the best interest of the student? This reminded me of an article by Pinker (2002) which discussed the role of parenting in development. In his article, Pinker (2002) notes that deprivation of stimuli is harmful, but that does not necessarily mean that extra stimulation is even better in terms of furthering childhood development (p. 387). Similarly, slowing the advancement of students for the sake of other students may not be good for their development, but advancing for the sake of advancing will not necessarily provide any extra benefits, either. Children are being encouraged (and perhaps even pressured) by society to learn things at an increasingly early age, and the onslaught of educational toys and video games being advertised to children and parents make it seem like if we do not increase the amount of learning, particularly in early childhood, that these children will be behind the curve. I do think that it is important for parents to model a balance for their kids. Just because we can fit more information into the school day does not mean that we should. While I like the idea of more efficient learning, I do not think that this should lead to earlier introduction to adulthood for children, simply because they have completed their education earlier than the previous generation. Perhaps the extra time could be used to reintroduce physical education and the arts back into school curriculum.

Another area of education where behaviorism’s influence can be seen is in the area of punishments and rewards. You can see the various ways in which behavior is reinforced and punished as a means of maintaining control and student interest when you visit different teacher’s classrooms. Each teacher uses these tools of reinforcement and punishment (both positive and negative) in different ways. The articles written by Chance (1992, 1993) and Kohn (1993) provide an interesting look at the pros and cons of the use of rewards in learning. I am inclined to agree with Chance that some sort of reinforcement is necessary in order to maintain student motivation and interest. Chance sees the use of rewards and reinforcement as a way of providing continuous feedback to the student, not necessarily in the form of grades, but certainly as a means of measuring progress towards mastery. However, all rewards are not created equal. The most effective rewards are success contingent, meaning that they reflect “success or progress toward a goal” (Chance, 1993, p. 119). Conversely, Kohn (1993) argues that rewards “can never buy us anything more than short-term compliance” (p. 122). It is difficult for me to take a definitive side on this issue. While I agree with Chance that success contingent rewards are probably the more effective type of rewards in that they reward effort and progress, I could think of examples of other types of rewards being used in the classroom as well, and can understand Kohn’s wariness of relying upon rewards too much as a means of reinforcing behaviors.

Overall, the concepts of behaviorism and habit, outlined by our activities this week and in James’ Talks to Teachers provide a glimpse of just how important education is in maintaining and changing our culture. If we subscribe to the behavioral approach to education, then we are accepting the fact that the reinforcements provided by teachers during the educational process set the stage for the types of behaviors and reactions that students will have in the future. If a student continually has negative experiences with math through their interactions with the material and the subsequent instructor reactions, then this will likely shape how they approach math for the rest of their life. Similarly, the social behaviors taught and reinforced in school will also carry that student through the transition to adult life. The role of the parent or teacher in this approach to is to be the transmitter of ideas and culture, reinforcing the “correct” response through rewards and opportunities to acquire and exercise the correct reaction.

References:

Bargh, J. A., & Chartrand, T. L. (1999). The unbearable automaticity of being. American Psychologist, 4, 462-479.

Chance, P. (1992). The rewards of learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 74, 200-207.

Chance, P. (1993). Sticking up for rewards. Phi Delta Kappan, 75, 787-790.

James, W. (1962). Talks to teachers on psychology and to students on some of life's ideals. New York: Dover. (Original work published 1899)

Kohn, A. (1993). Rewards versus learning: A response to Paul Chance. Phi Delta Kappan, 75, 783-787.

Pinker, S. (2002). Children. The blank slate: The modern denial of human nature. New York: Viking.

Skinner, B. F. (1984). The shame of American education. American Psychologist, 42, 947-954.

Module 1: IAT

If you subscribe to James’ definition of education as “the organization of acquired habits of conduct and tendencies to behavior” (p. 15), then measures such as the Implicit Associations Test (IAT) and Malcolm Gladwell’s conceptions of thinking are a measure of how “educated” we are. James (1962) notes “an educated memory depends on an organized system of associations; and its goodness depends on two of their peculiarities: first on the persistency of the associations; and, second, on their number” (p. 60). Memory is the sum of our associations, the store from which we can draw upon when it comes to making quick decisions. This sum of associations is made up of our past experiences, the native reactions and acquired reactions. As humans continue to develop, the possible reactions to given situations are further narrowed down according to previous successful and unsuccessful interactions with the environment. The way in which we connect our ideas and experiences (and the results of those connections) can influence how we will react in future situations. Similarly, how we associate ideas with one another will influence future encounters with people, places and things that we connect with these previous experiences.

I do not know the exact name of the of the tests that I took (I participated in the Research section of the site, so it did not tell me the title of the study before I began), but the first test looked at associations between Anger, Sadness, and the Self, and the second test examined associations between Security, Freedom, Good and Bad. While I am familiar with the IAT and how it is used, this was my first experience taking the test. I was not surprised by my results, but at the same time I wonder if the Implicit Associations Test creates associations with the individual as a result of their participating in the study. For example, in the second task I was asked to associate Freedom and Security with good and bad, first Freedom and good were on one side and security and bad on the other, then the two items switched sides. I found that it was difficult to associate one with the other once they were reversed, and while the research would dictate that I found it difficult because I am primed to associate freedom with good and security with bad, I think that it could be just as likely that I was used to grouping those two words together as part of the task and so ungrouping them was difficult. It would be interesting to see if my results would have been different if I had begun the task with freedom and bad grouped together instead of freedom and good.

The IAT and the selections we read/listened to from Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink both emphasize the fact that our body of knowledge and experiences that we acquire through our everyday experiences as well as education are what we draw from in making snap judgments. Gladwell (2005) uses this premise to challenge the idea of free will: “[Studies on priming] suggest that what we think of as free will is largely an illusion: much of the time, we are simply operating on automatic pilot, and the way we think and act, and how well we think and act on the spur of the moment – are a lot more susceptible to outside influences than we realize” (p. 58). In considering James’ theories on education and the will, and more specifically his use of free will as a turning point in his own life, this contention by Gladwell highlights one of the larger distinctions between these two readings. To use James’ example, are we truly exercising free will when we get out of bed in the morning, or are we simply making a quick unconscious judgment to get out of bed based upon the sum of our experiences and observations about what happens when we either get out of bed or do not get out of bed when the alarm goes off?

References:

Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

James, W. (1962). Talks to teachers on psychology and to students on some of life's ideals. New York: Dover. (Original work published 1899)

Video on Behaviorism

This is a brief video on Skinner and Behaviorism that links behaviorism to our superstitious practices. The narrator begins with a review of behaviorism in terms of rewards for behaviors, using the learned behaviors of rats and pigeons as examples. The narrator explains that Skinner also studied the impact of random reward on behavior. The findings indicated that these random rewards tended to reinforce quirky behaviors in animals (e.g., superstitions) that were in no way linked to the reward itself other than the fact that they had been engaged in that behavior at the time the reward was administered. Using the example of the various rituals that people have when bowling, such as leaning in one direction or another, the narrator makes the point that such behaviors are done to influence the ball when in fact the ball is influencing us. I had not really thought about behaviorism in this way before, but I thought that this was a great example of how reinforcements can influence the way that we perceive our actions. In particular, reinforcements can lead us to perceive actions as meaningful, even if they are not particularly influential on our outcomes.   

The Will

According to James, will could be the reason we get out of bed in the morning. Will can be defined as the intent to act or not act on a given impulse. Inhibition, or not acting, can be influenced in a number of ways. With respect to education, James gives the example of a child who is unable to learn something and therefore wishes to give up on the task. “ So long as the inhibiting sense of impossibility remains in the child’s mind, he will continue unable to get beyond the obstacle. The aim of the teacher should then be to make him simply forget. Drop the subject for the time, divert the mind to something else: then, leading the pupil back by some circuitous line of association, spring it on him again before he has time to recognize it, and as likely as not, he will go over it now without any difficulty” (p. 89).

This method has the teacher explore a different avenue of understanding with the student once they have had time away from the subject. Similar to walking away from a puzzle or any difficult task for a time, we are often able to persist longer and with more success if we take a break from it once we find ourselves getting frustrated. This idea closely aligns with more recent work on willpower done by social psychologist Roy Baumeister. Baumeister’s research indicates that willpower can deplete over time. However, similar to James’ conception of the habit, Baumeister also contends that willpower can be built up in strength and endurance through regular use in a variety of domains (Pinker, 2011). This also has connections to the idea of attention and stream of consciousness. For some students, working at a given task for long hours will not yield successful results. In fact, it may turn them off to a subject altogether. James notes the importance of taking into account individual differences in focus among students. Diverting attention to another topic, or even several topics in quick succession allows the student to immerse themselves in an idea until they hit a wall, then they can switch to another topic and pursue it for a while.

In concluding this talk, James makes the case that teachers should not admonish the student for diverting their attention to other places. Instead, the teacher should use the concept of the will and create a competing interest that will cause the student to inhibit their impulse to direct their attention away from the classroom (p. 94). By encouraging positive experiences with the exercise of will, the teacher is positively reinforcing good behavior, rather than negatively reinforcing bad behavior. This brings up the subject of punishment or admonishment in the classroom. In essence, James is calling for teachers to reinforce model citizen behavior in their students, instead of calling attention to their aberrations from the desired behavior. Is this the best way for students to learn to control their will?

Pinker, S. (2011, September 2). The Sugary Secret of Self-Control. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/books/review/willpower-by-roy-f-baumeister-and-john-tierney-book-review.html.

Apperception

James defines apperception as “the act of taking a thing into the mind” (p. 77). Essentially, apperception refers to the way in which we categorize and digest information. James’ take on this idea is that students are eager to take information and categorize it using that which they already know. “We hate anything absolutely new, anything without any name, and for which a new name must be forced. So we take the nearest name, even though it be inappropriate” (p. 78). Humans are always desperate to categorize things in a way that is personally meaningful to us; that can be related in some way to that which we already know. Learning new information that cannot be categorized is much more difficult to acquire. Once again, James’ conception of cognition appears to be very similar to Piaget’s ideas of assimilation and accommodation, where new ideas are either assimilated into existing constructs, or the construct is modified in order to accommodate the conflicting information.

The concept of apperception can be linked to James’ previous talk on memory. James likened memory to plowing channels of connections between different ideas. Similarly, apperception seeks to link new ideas with these preexisting channels. James notes that these categorical ruts that we dig ourselves into (what James refers to as old-fogyism) become prevalent as early as age twenty-five (p. 79). This is due in part to the fact that we have built up enough experience with a given thought process that it becomes second nature to retrieve it in this way. This idea can be linked to the ways in which cognition changes over time. While adults typically have slower reaction times than children, they can make up for this speed in areas where they are knowledgeable, because they are so familiar with the pathways used to retrieve that knowledge. Apperception is also similar to stereotyping. While stereotyping is often thought of and discussed in the negative sense (such as gender and race stereotypes), in its broadest sense, stereotyping is simply an expedited manner of categorizing things. The brain places people and ideas into categories, and people become more apt to make snap judgments based upon previous experiences with the same situation.

James makes a rather disturbing point towards the end of his talk; “The conceptions acquired by thirty remain usually the only ones we ever gain” (p. 82). This is a depressing sentiment for adult learners hoping to continue their education and further their understanding beyond the traditional college years. Research on aging has shown that people can continue to experience cognitive growth as they age, even though some aspects (such as retrieval speed and reaction time) may decline. I would argue that we can carve out new conceptions, though it may be difficult to dig ourselves out of the ruts that we have dug ourselves into. If apperception does not in fact stop as we reach our thirties, how does it change?

The Acquisition of Ideas

In this talk, James is again promoting the authentic experience as the main way in which growing individuals obtain knowledge and ideas about the world around them. James is promoting ‘street smarts’ over ‘book smarts’ in the sense that knowledge is only as good as it is able to be applied in a real and meaningful way. This also aligns well with James’ vision of education as a practical tool.

In one section of his talk, James notes the importance of personal interest in knowledge acquisition; “feed the growing human being, feed him with the sort of experience for which from year to year, he shows a natural craving, and he will develop in adult life a sounder sort of mental tissue, even though hey may seem to be ‘wasting’ a great deal of his growing time, in the eyes of those for whom the only channels of learning are books and verbally communicated information” (p. 73). Reading this talk and this quote in particular reminded me of the concept of ‘unschooling,’ a less traditional method of education where the student directs his or her learning based upon their interests at the time. Unschooling is similar to the Montessori method in its self-directed learning; however, it is much less structured, with the learning goals established and directed entirely by the student. Like James’ notion of education, unschooling encourages the student to learn through their own experiences in various domains rather than relying upon formal lessons and work in the classroom. This approach to education makes learning personally meaningful, as it is driven by the needs and desires of the student.

James calls for teachers to have the student explain concepts in his or her own words, as well as presenting the information in many different ways so as to not have the student merely memorize the answer without understanding it. Without being able to come to understanding in terms of their own experiences, the student will not be able to explain the concept as they see it. This leaves the teacher wondering if the student truly understands the concept or if they are simply able to parrot back the answer. But could there be circumstances where full understanding of a concept is not necessary for learning, at least in the early stages?

Memory

James conceives of memory as a command to call upon the various associations and reactions that we have stored in our brain. “Paths frequently and recently ploughed are those that lie most open, those which may be expected most easily to lead to results” (p. 59). Put simply – use it or lose it. By consistently recalling on information that is needed, you reinforce those memories and knowledge. For example, learning a foreign language and retaining it requires constant practice and use of that foreign language. Without it, that information becomes harder and harder to access over time, and is overtaken by more relevant information that is called upon more frequently.

In terms of aiding students with their memory, James calls for teachers to “impress the class through as many sensible channels as he can” (p. 68). This is referring to the various types of learning styles – the visual, the auditory, and the kinesthetic. Learning in these variety of ways not only appeals to the learner, but gives them a variety of opportunities and modes through which they can experience the material and make meaning of it. While one method may make the greatest impression on them, learning about it in a different way helps to widen those “ploughed paths” through which they can access that information at a later time. Going back to the foreign language example, using vocabulary through reading, speaking with others, and watching foreign language television immerses the student in the language in different ways and gives them different experiences to draw upon as part of their knowledge base.

James contends that memory cannot be improved overall, stating that “there can be no improvement of the general or elementary faculty of memory: there can only be improvement of our memory for special systems of associated things” (p. 61). I am inclined to disagree with James on this point. In essence, James is proposing that memory in one context does not impact memory in another context; however, wouldn’t exercising one’s memory by using different methods to improve associations impact one’s ability to use these same exercises in other contexts?

Attention

In a society where people are becoming increasingly aware of attention disorders in relation to student learning, this chapter is particularly relevant to education in modern times. Educators must be aware of the different ways in which students focus their attention and attend to a given task.  James notes that attention can be passive or active, is often willed by the individual, and will at times need to be intentionally refocused. I would also add that the way attention is used is highly individualized.  For me, it is hard to focus on many things at once. I am not very good at multitasking simultaneously. Instead, chunking my time to devote 100 percent of my attention to a given task is what works best for me. On the other hand, some individuals can go almost seamlessly from one task to the next and back again. What accounts for these differences?

James talks about attention as it relates to the idea of genius, and makes connections to the idea of genius and creativity. To keep attention, James notes; “the subject must be made to show new aspects of itself; to prompt new questions; in a word, to change” (p. 52). James likens this to a genius constantly revisiting an idea from different perspectives, trying to understand the same thing in multiple ways. In this sense, attention and interest come from within and must be prompted by the individual. Teachers can make the subject matter relevant by connecting it to the student’s individual experience, but ultimately it is up to the student to focus in on that information and acquire it.

Towards the end of his talk, James notes that some individuals are able to “sink into a subject of meditation deeply” and that this is “probably a fixed characteristic of the individual” (p. 57). I am inclined to disagree with James on this matter. While certainly some individuals may come by this ability naturally, I do think that this type of attention can be learned. The best example that I can think of is mindfulness or meditation. With practice, most any individual can learn how to focus on something, whether it be a word or idea, or simply their breathing, for longer and longer periods of time. I think that attention, like other skills, is a habit that can be acquired to a certain extent. Perhaps we should focus not only on connecting material to the individual’s interest, but also helping them to develop a habit of mindfulness that allows them to better focus their attention on new and unrelated material. But in a culture where we do not often encourage mindfulness, is this even practical?

Interest

Interest is the key to further learning. For James, additional learning can only occur if the student’s interest is captured. He sees this as occurring through connecting ideas to the student’s native interest. “The teacher must know which the natively interesting ones are; for, as we shall see immediately, other objects can artificially acquire an interest only through first becoming associated with some of these natively interesting things” (p. 46). Again, James is calling for the teacher to make connections with the student’s interest, helping them to make connections between new materials and their previous knowledge and interests. “Any object not interesting in itself may become interesting through becoming associated with an object in which an interest already exists” (p. 47).

The objective is to build a series of interrelated concepts that are personally meaningful to the student. To James, this ability to help students make the connections is the mark of the good teacher. In talking about interest, James brings up the idea of ownership in terms of a student possessing his or her school materials versus merely borrowing them. This idea can also be translated to the idea of making knowledge one’s own, through personal connections with the material and incorporating the knowledge into one’s identity. If you think of one’s interests in terms of likes or hobbies, this concept of ownership becomes obvious. Those who take an interest in something will often have artifacts indicating their interest (book collections, musical instruments, etc.) and have stories and memories relating to those interest that are incorporated into their personal identity. So too does a student of any subject make personal meaning of the information that they obtain by taking part in activities that incorporate that knowledge into their experiences.

James notes that connecting ideas to that which the student already is familiar with is a good way to generate interest. I think that this could at times require much creativity on behalf of the teacher to help make those connections. Some links are obvious, but others may be harder to find. How do you help each student make a unique connection? In some ways, this problem is similar to that presented in the association of ideas. Given the individualistic nature of each student’s experience, how do you spark their interest while not losing the interest of the rest of the class?

The Association of Ideas

The association of ideas is closely related to James’ conception of streams of consciousness. Much in the same way that consciousness changes in waves, the string of ideas that we associate with one another are in a constant state of change. James defines two ways in which ideas are associated. The law of contiguity defines the association of ideas as a relation between ideas that are categorized together. The law of similarity finds connections between two seemingly unrelated objects.

James likens a more educated individual to an individual who has the most connections in their mind; “the more copious the associative systems, the completer the individual’s adaptations to the world” (p. 42). These concepts can be connected with learning in several ways. One of the first connections that immediately came to mind for me was creativity. The way in which we can associate ideas together can vary greatly, and creativity could be defined simply as connecting two ideas in new and different ways. Meaningful connections can also associate ideas through the use of mnemonics and other tools, which also draw from creativity in the way that they relate seemingly unrelated items together. James is tapping into the ways in which connections are used in the learning process.

The seemingly chaotic way in which each individual ties his or her thoughts together presents an interesting challenge to the teacher. If, as James notes, a word or statement can send an individual off in a variety of directions, how do we help students associate new ideas without having them wander off in their attention from the matter at hand? How do we anticipate these directions?

The Laws of Habit

In this talk, James reviews the composition and development of habit. By creating an environment that encourages the habit, making your intentions known and acting on opportunities to exercise your habit, James contends, individuals will feel more committed to making these changes. In terms of teaching, James applies the concept of habit to the classroom by calling upon teachers to seize the opportunity to demonstrate a good habit in action and have their students participate in it to reinforce the desired behavior. Again, James emphasizes the behavioral components of education “Education is for behavior, and habits are the stuff of which behavior consists” (p. 34).

Another important component of developing habits is feeding the habit. Using the example of Darwin’s loss of interest in poetry, James notes; “if not persistently fed with the appropriate matter, instead of growing into a powerful and necessary habit, it atrophies and dies, choke by the rival interests to which the daily food is given” (p. 37). James argues that the habits we establish early on in life have an impact on how we approach things later in life. This can be applied in a number of ways, from one’s self-discipline in studying to one’s interest in becoming better at a particular subject. However, James does not completely discount the idea of acquiring new habits later in life.

As someone who has studied music in some form for most of her life, I can relate to James’ laws and atrophy of habit in terms of my practice of music. When I was younger and studied music more seriously, I practiced often and it became a given that I would practice the piano at least once a day. As other things began to crowd in on my time, I began to play the piano less and less, until, at the present, I only play sporadically. Like Darwin, I have at times experienced pangs of regret that I did not keep up with my piano playing on a daily basis – when I go to play now after taking some time away from it, it is harder for me to build up my speed and acuity in reading music.

While I think that James is encouraging teachers to instill specific habits in children that will assist them later in life, I think that his principles of developing habits are the more important message of this talk. Learning how to form the habit is half the battle, and possessing these skills allows the individual to modify their behavior at any time. While catching bad habits early and correcting them is easier, having the capability to recognize a bad or inefficient habit at any stage of life is beneficial. As James notes, the second most important part of habit formation is the intent to see it through and the dedication to work at it daily. We hear this message all the time in terms of learning a new language, losing weight, starting an exercise regimen, or any sort of lifestyle change that we desire to obtain.

Given the diverse needs of students and individual differences in development and interests, what is the best way for a teacher to instill habit formation in the classroom? How do we help students transfer the skills needed to establish habits in one domain to another?

What the Native Reactions Are

In this talk, James defines each of the native reactions that are most relevant to teachers; fear, love, curiosity imitation, emulation, ambition, pugnacity, pride, ownership, and constructiveness. James also talks about the native genius of the teacher, “the sympathy, tact, and perception which enable him to seize the right moment and to set the right example” (p. 26). James is alluding to the fact that some people are in fact “born teachers,” those individuals who have that innate capability to reach out to and connect with their students and their native reactions and quickly adapt to a changing educational environment.

James notes that imitation and emulation are particularly important in the constructing of expected behaviors. With regard to teachers, this becomes and important way in which the teacher can convey knowledge to the student. Furthermore, James notes the connections between emulation and rivalry. James sees rivalry and competition as a good thing. James is doubtful of removing the element of competition with the self and with others from the classroom. “No runner running all alone on a race-track will find in his own will the power of stimulation which his rivalry with other runners incites, when he feels them at his heels, about to pass” (p. 27-28). But certainly there comes a point when this type of competition becomes unhealthy. What is the tipping point?

Of particular interest to me was the concept of constructiveness. Constructiveness has many similarities to interest. This is how the student learns about and makes meaning within the contest of the world around him. James encourages teachers to strike when the iron is hot with regard to student interest “crowd on the athletic opportunities, the mental arithmetic, the verse-learning, the drawing, the botany, or what not, the moment you have reason to think the hour is ripe. The hour may not last long, and while it continues you may safely let all the child’s other occupations take a second place” (p. 31). Here again, James is calling upon the teacher to use his or her best instincts in playing to the child’s interests. I agree with this to a certain extent, but I do think that there can be too much of a good thing. If a child is interested in a certain area, encourage that interest and provide them with activities to explore that interest, but do not do so to the point that they become bored, tired, or frustrated with it. This also ties into the idea of pugnacity – while I think it is important to teach students persistence and stick-to-itiveness, too much of this can turn a child off to a subject in the long-term. I think there is a balance to be had between pushing the child to persist and perhaps seeking out another interest for a while before revisiting the subject. While some teachers may possess the “native genius” that allows them to make this distinction intuitively, is this a skill that can be taught?

Native Reactions and Acquired Reactions

James defines the purpose of education as a means of obtaining numerous possible reactions that an individual can draw from (p. 20). These are further broken down into native and acquired reactions. Native actions are those that we are born with, and acquired actions are those that we come to be familiar with as we develop. “Every acquired reaction is, as a rule, either a complication grafted on a native reaction, or a substitute for a native reaction, which the same object originally tended to provoke” (p. 20).

The teacher’s role in this process is to become familiar with the student’s native reactions and help to modify them if necessary so that their behaviors are more consistent with those desired by society. While James uses the example of behavior, this concept can also be applied to knowledge and learning. As a student comes to learning, they have a preconceived set of notions or understandings about the world around them (native reactions). As new concepts are made available to the student, they are able to modify their understandings and apply them in new and different ways (acquired reactions). Whether modifying behavior or knowledge, the teacher is responsible for creating conflict in the individual such that they are presented with new and more efficient ways of obtaining the same result. This is very similar to Piaget’s concepts of assimilation and accommodation in learning. Effective teaching in this sense is to be able to engage in the students native reactions and, if need be, offer effective substitutions or modifications to make their reactions more effective. This infers that the instructor must have a firm understanding of the student’s individual interest and motives, as well as their personality and demeanor.

James’ lecture infers that acquired reactions imparted by the teacher are always superior to the native reaction and should be encouraged. However, what if the acquired reaction is in fact worse (or just as bad) as the native reaction? For example, if a student’s school was set up to reward the student for correct answers that could be achieved by simply memorizing and regurgitating the answers, without a need to demonstrate true understanding of the material. How difficult is it to “unlearn” that acquired learning behavior or further modify it?

The Necessity of Reactions

Building upon James’ previous conceptions of education as a practical tool, this next talk discusses the importance of reaction as a means of gauging student learning and understanding. According to James, reactions are the results of acting on the impressions, or pieces of information, that the student has been exposed to. More than rote memorization, James’ makes the point that action and reaction must convey mastery of the material in terms of applying it in the world. “Laboratory work and shop work engender a habit of observation, a knowledge of the difference between accuracy and vagueness, and an insight into nature’s complexity and into the inadequacy of all abstract verbal accounts of real phenomena, which, once wrought into the mind, remain there as lifelong possessions” (p. 18). This idea is very much in line with the concept of situated cognition and authentic activity described by Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989). Situated cognition refers to the practical application of knowledge in a way that demonstrates mastery of the material. In James’ view these types of experiences were best for learning because “they confer precision… if you are doing a thing, you must do it definitely right or definitely wrong” (p. 18). This type of immediate feedback helps the student to gauge their progress towards mastery.

This gets at the distinction between the student being able to tell you the correct answer and being able to tell you why that answer is correct. Memorization is a useful tool for some aspects of learning, but a deeper understanding is often necessary in order to apply what you have learned. The authentic activity is a good assessment for this. By taking the abstract knowledge and applying it in a relevant and practical situation, the student will need to demonstrate their understanding of what they have learned. These types of opportunities allow the teacher to assess the student’s level of understanding and provide additional clarification if need be. Moreover, these opportunities allow students to engage with the subject matter and behaviors associated with it, which provides them with the opportunity to make meaning on their terms. Instead of providing the student with the answer and having them understand it in an abstract sense, this type of learning by doing allows them to get further involved in the subject matter. This type of learning can be time consuming, however, and given the large amount of content that needs to be covered in a given school year, is this type of learning truly practical in today’s classroom?

References:

Brown, J., Collins, A., and Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 25, 5-11.

Education and behavior

James offers his definition of education as “the organization of acquired habits of conduct and tendencies to behavior” (p. 15). Education serves a larger cultural purpose, preparing individuals to be successful members of the society in which they are engaged. As we grow, the majors we select and the courses that we take socialize us in some way for the careers that we are preparing for and the knowledge and behaviors expected therein. This lecture builds on James’ previous two lectures, and presents education and teaching as a means harnessing our stream of consciousness and behaviors in such a way that we are able to make connections between the information we have absorbed and our everyday experiences. In this view, the educated individual is a sum of learned information and behaviors that can be applied in practical ways.

James notes the cultural differences in the purpose of education, which are informed by the different values and aspirations each society has for its inhabitants. What it means to be educated in one country and another might vary widely. Furthermore, what it means to be educated changes over time. In the early days of higher education in the United States, we were preparing theologians and gentleman scholars. In current times, higher education has taken on the responsibility of preparing individuals for careers while also serving as a place of transition from childhood to adulthood for traditionally aged college students. The behaviors expected of an educated individual have changed, and our educational system changes as well to meet the new demands and expectations. Is it education that is driving societal change, or is it society’s changing values that drive educational reform?

The child as behaving organism

“[Stream of consciousness] has two functions that are obvious: it leads to knowledge, and it leads to action” (p. 11). James sides with practicality; “No truth, however abstract, is ever perceived that will not probably at some time influenced our earthly action” (p. 13). Our thoughts and the information that we receive impact our actions. For teachers, this underscores the importance of using consciousness as a means of making connections between the material to be learned and how the student will apply it in his or her life. The teacher’s responsibility, in James’ view, is to help the student make these connections.

What is the ultimate purpose of education? Are we creating thinkers and philosophers or doers? James takes the evolutionary approach and makes the case that, even in our philosophizing, we are connecting our thoughts to the practical matters at hand. More specifically, education in James’ view is a process of enculturation, or “training the pupil to behavior” (p. 13). Education is a means by which the values, beliefs and concepts held important by the previous generation are passed on to the next. I am inclined to agree with James that this is in fact one of the important functions of education in our society. As James notes, beyond the subject matter that students are learning, they are picking up on social cues, appropriate behavior, and the customs of operating in the adult world, such as being able to sit still, wait one’s turn, and carry on conversation in ways that will make them productive members of society (as defined by the society itself). With regard to the subject matter itself, particularly as students get older, the practical side of learning is emphasized; ‘will this get me into the right college or prepare me for my career?’ seem to be the questions that underlie the purpose of learning. While I think that most educators would like to instill an intrinsically motivated lifetime love of learning for learning’s sake, most students and parents are looking for that practical application. The idealist in me would like to think that both are possible; perhaps we can give students the tools they need to be successful professionally and in society, while also instilling in them the desire to always want to learn more. But is this actually possible?

The Stream of Consciousness

In his second talk, James discusses the concept of consciousness and how it applies to teaching. James describes the stream of consciousness as consisting of two parts, the focal object and the marginal object (p. 8). Human beings change the focus of their attention, seemingly unconsciously, to the most important matter of the moment. The most important matter becomes the focal object, and all others become marginal. These objects are in a constant state of flux. “In most of our concrete states of consciousness all these different classes of ingredients are found simultaneously present to some degree, though the relative proportion they bear to one another is very shifting” (p. 8).

Stream of consciousness is that constant internal dialogue in our heads. The thoughts that we have, whether they are related to the task at hand or not, are what make up this stream of consciousness. At times, we are very much in control of our thoughts, while other times it is difficult to focus on something for more than a few minutes at a time. As we mature, we get better at automatically bringing ourselves back to the most important focal object. I think that this has become an increasingly important problem to education in the age of technology and multitasking. Students and adults alike are so used to having to devote their attention to many “stimuli” at once that our stream of consciousness is often disjointed and transitioning back and forth between several focal objects at once.

The student’s focus comes and goes in waves; making teachers aware of this fact can help them to devise ways to keep the students on task. In later chapters, James brings up the idea of connecting material as a means of helping with memory as well as increasing the meaningfulness of the learning experience. For educators, the stream of consciousness presents a unique challenge. How can teachers tap into student’s stream of consciousness and help them to maintain focus on their learning? What is the best way to address the changing waves of focus and marginal objects in the learning process?

Psychology and the Teaching Art

Art versus science. These two areas, often described in opposition to one another, are discussed in relation to education in James’ first chapter. In this first talk, James makes the point that psychology and research have a role to play in education, but not at the expense of the teacher’s “art." Psychology and psychological research can be useful to the teacher in situating his or her observations and informing their practice, but James cautions against research in the classroom coming at the expense of their passion for teaching. This gets at the delicate balance between art and science that plays out when you pair education and research. James sees the role of psychology in the classroom as providing another lens through which the student can be examined; “such complete knowledge as this of the pupil, at once intuitive and analytic, is surely the knowledge at which every teacher ought to aim” (p. 5). The intuitive knowledge is the art, and the analytical knowledge is the science. One is not necessarily better than the other, but each can be used to strengthen the perspective gained by the other.

Much of the tension that existed between the balance of research and teaching still exists today. Teachers are overloaded today, just as they were in James’ time, and likely have little time to read about recent research, much less conduct research in their classrooms. James sees the psychology researcher as providing a service to the education profession. This is a call for the teachers to focus on teaching and the researchers to focus on research that will serve the teacher. Some have made the argument that educational psychology research has lost its connections to education and the teachers and schools that it hoped to assist (Anderman, 2011; Patrick, Anderman, Bruening, and Duffin, 2011). James’ charge to educational psychologists is to make the science more applicable to the art. Researchers need to make their research accessible and relevant, while not interfering with the teacher’s process. So what is the right balance of science and the art? How do you implement the scientific/analytical component without losing the intuitiveness and creativity of the teaching process that can play a large part in effective education?

References:

Anderman, E.M. (2011). Educational psychology in the twenty-first century: Challenges for our community. Educational psychologist, 46(3), 185-196.

Patrick, H., Anderman, L.H., Bruening, P.S., and Duffin, L.C. (2011). The role of educational psychology in teacher education: Three challenges for educational psychologists. Educational Psychologist, 46(2), 71-83.