At the beginning of the 1900s, researchers were working to observe animal behavior in certain environments. Thorndike explained cats performed behaviors that worked to obtain food were quicker with practice. Ivan Pavlov found dogs began to salivate in anticipation of food. John Watson’s work continued to try to explain how to vary a stimulus and observe a response (Kassin, 2001). B.F. Skinner then emerged and was a force in the field of psychology (Kassin, 2001, Shaw, 2001). Though Skinner never performed research directly on classroom discipline, behavior contracts have been used as an attempt to change or shape student behavior using reinforcement (Charles, 2002).

Contracts are a written agreement between teachers, students, and often parents that reward students for successfully completing certain behaviors. The contracts I have seen indicate specific behaviors (sitting on the carpet for calendar for five minutes, walking to get supplies) and reward the students when these behaviors are completed according to classroom standards. Rewards are given for each successful completion at the beginning of the contract, but later on the frequency increases for what is considered successful completion. For example, instead of being rewarded each time a student walks to get supplies, the student would be rewarded after three times of walking to get supplies. This can be explained as a behaviorist approach since the underlying principle of a contract is to use rewards to shape the student’s conduct to adhere to classroom standards. Charles (2002) explains behavior modification is being used to shape student actions intentionally with reinforcement.

There are theorists who do not consider themselves behaviorists that use contracts in their approach to discipline. Lee and Marlene Canter advocate listing rules and consequences (including a severe clause which allows for immediate removal from the classroom for action which are violent or potentially harmful to others) which students help develop (Charles, 2002). This is a contract that all students must adhere to in order to be considered “well behaved”. The Canter’s Assertive Discipline approach has been criticized for focusing on suppressing unwanted behavior and not focusing on teaching students to control their own behavior (Charles, 2002). The Canters continue to emphasize that students must be taught how to behave in a trusting, respectful environment. This is behavioristic since they promote teachers controlling the environment and using observable behaviors to provide reinforcements (negative) and shape student behavior.

William Glasser wrote Schools without Failure that emphasized that students were responsible for their own behavior and were responsible for making good choices. He advocated class meetings in order to set rules and consequences for when the rules were not followed by students and to allow teachers and students to interact on a more personal level (Charles, 2002), These meetings were basically a way to create class contracts to control the environment of the classroom and provide reinforcements (positive or negative depending on what the students decided) and shape student behavior.

I have implemented some contracts over the years, but most recently was two years ago with a kindergarten student. This student was physically pinching students and teachers and running away from the classroom and playground daily. After a student study team meeting with all three teachers, school principal, school psychologist, social worker, and parents; it was explained to the student by mom that he had 10 opportunities a day to get a “sticker”. The contract went home at the end of the day and the student would be rewarded with various amounts of computer time depending on how many stickers he received. He got stickers for coming to the activity and staying for 5 minutes. He did become more successful at participating as the year progressed and the pinching frequency did decline. I suppose this could be considered a successful contract as we did shape the student behavior with the reinforcements. However, there is no way to know what other factors in the environment contributed to the student decreasing the frequency of misbehaviors. Maybe, the student just got used to the new school and felt more comfortable as the year progressed (Williams, 2001).

References sited and used:

Charles, C.M. (2002). Building Classroom Discipline. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Kassin, Saul (2001). Pychology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Williams, Robert L. (2001) The Behavioral Perspective in Contemporary Education. Retrieved from the Knox College Library, on-line, August 30, 2001 using First Search. The Teacher Educator v.35 no2 (Autumn 1999) p.44-60

Shaw, Larry J. Five Educational Philosophies. Retrieved August 30, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org/WebZ/FSPage…1-32955-cr10r0ol-m9le79:entitypagenum=21:0

Chapter 2

Lesson 1, Question 2

Programmed Instruction

Educators, including teachers and trainers in the workplace, are working to integrate effective instructional techniques with computers. Programmed instruction is a way to design instruction for students to work independently and at their own pace in order to gain understanding or to gain skills. Programmed
instruction is considered a behaviorist approach since BF Skinner and his team used this approach in teaching and defined teaching as changing behavior (Eshleman, 2001). Skinner used this approach to control the delivery of instruction to his students (Hypermedia in Education, 2001)

Programmed instruction involves students answering a series of questions presented on the computer screen and receiving immediate feedback on the correctness of the answer. If a student answers correctly, he or she can proceed onto the next question. If an incorrect answer is given, he or she is given review material to read or a review question to answer. Students only proceed to the next set of questions when he/she answers the questions correctly. This process is linear, the student only works through the pre-designed loop of questions and responses without consideration of the learner’s style (Lelouche, 2001).

This past summer, I took two courses on-line from the College of Lake County through www.ed2go.com. I learned of this site through my partner at work who discovered it during an internet search. We were going to take courses through our local community college but the time out of the office for class was not convenient for us and would not allow for one of us to be available for taking calls from computer users on campus. For this work scheduling reason, the flexibility of being in control of the time for completing lessons would allow us to gain the experience we needed within the structure of a course. We both wanted to gain experience with two software applications that were being used throughout campus. We enrolled in a course for the web design software Dreamweaver and a course in Microsoft Access. The instructional approach to both courses was programmed instruction and each lesson was written by a different instructor.

For both courses, we worked through twelve lessons. Lessons were made available from a course website and were released every Wednesday and Friday for 6 weeks. This control on the release dates was to ensure that students would progress in order starting at Lesson 1 and have time to complete the lesson before the release of the next lesson in the sequence. (It is important to note that during registration, the necessary software and computer resources needed were stated in writing very clearly-we were not purchasing software through this course, just training). Each lesson was a step by step guide on what to do and how to do it successfully. In the Dreamweaver lessons, the instructor was very “chatty” and wrote the instructions in full sentences throughout the lesson. In the Access lessons, the instructor provided more recipe-type directions, just one line giving instructions. At the end of each lesson, there was a multiple choice quiz of 5-10 questions. After submitting the answers to all the questions, the results were given within 30 seconds to one minute. The answers were listed and there was a bold “Correct!” if the answer was right or a bold “incorrect” if the answer was not correct. On incorrect answers, I had to go back to the quiz and try again, however, only the first score counted in the final grade (which was satisfactory/unsatisfactory).

I did enjoy getting training in this way. I made hard copies of each lesson and next time would also make hard copies of the quizzes before taking each one so that all I was inputting was answers. This type of instruction did allow for us to get some experience with the software and integrate the study time into our workday whenever we could. On the other hand, we had some technical problems with Dreamweaver on the PC. For some reason, we both had machine crashes while working with the program. Also, there was a bad .jar file provided by the instructor and even though I used the discussion/help area for the course, I was not able to obtain the file to complete one part of the lesson. I was lucky to have a Mac to work on which did not have the same problems as the PC. Also, by lesson 10 for both courses, I was just reading the material and taking the quizzes. I found that I just wanted to finish. Since my partner was on vacation, I did not have anyone to discuss the lesson with or compare what my experience was with both the lesson and the quiz. I seem to have experienced some unhappiness with this approach as others have (Eshleman, 2001). I would take other courses this way now that I realize how it all works, it is an affordable way to gain some experience without having to be out of the office for extended periods of time.

For elementary students, I feel programmed instruction is appropriate for making some “drill and kill” exercises a little more interesting and gaining some keyboarding skills. In math, Number Munchers is a way to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and divisions problems with a PacMan like monster. There is also a Word Muncher available for phonics and vocabulary practice (Center for the Application of Information Technology, Western Illinois University, Engaged Learning Training Manual used with the Toulon, Illinois teacher training, Fall, 2000). These are programmed instruction, as students need to complete a level successfully before moving on to problems that are more difficult. Another language arts program is Read, Write, and Type. Young students (K-3) type letters and hear the sound for the letter. They also must type the letter correctly a certain number of times before moving onto the next letter. As programming and teacher skills increase, there will be more work with simulation programs like Tom Snyder Choices, Choices or Decisions, Decisions. (Center for the Application of Information Technology, Western Illinois University, Engaged Learning Training Manual used with the Toulon, Illinois teacher training, Fall, 2000). Also, with programs such as Hyperstudio, KidPix, and mPower, students can create presentations that integrate their knowledge from several curricular areas. For example, even kindergarten students can make a three-slide autobiography presentation that describes who they are and what they like or dislike.

Programmed instruction still has a place in education and in training today. I feel that it is useful for gaining skills, but it is an independent way to obtain those skills. It does have a place and can be an affordable way to teach some programs or skills that are measured either correct or incorrect. The approach can help students at all levels practice some skills in a way that also helps develop technology skills such as keyboarding. I feel that as long as it is just a part of an instructional approach, it can help students learn.

References sited and used:

Eshelman, John W. (2001). Pluses and Minuses or Programmmed Insturction, November 28, 1999. Retreived from the World Wide Web, September 6, 2001: http://members.aol.com/johneshleman/comment05.html.

Hypermedia in Education (2001). A Brief History of Computers and Hypermedia In Education. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, September 6, 2001: http://top.pefro.hr/mr/ch3_1_2.htm

LaLouch, Ruddy (2001) The successive contributions of computers to education:A survey. Retrieved from First Search, September 6, 2001. European Journal of Engineering Education v23n3 (Sept. 1998).

Chapter 3

Lesson 1 Question 3

Fear or Phobia

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, researchers worked to discover how emotions and physical responses were related. James and Lange proposed that physiological and behavioral reactions to perceived dangers cause individuals to become afraid (Kassin, 2001). Later Canon and Bard proposed that the body and the brain act independently in regards to emotion. So, if you see a bus coming straight at you, you will run, be afraid, and have an increased heart rate all at the same time (Kassin, 2001). Some recent research has focused on the role different parts of the brain play in fear. The amygdala is an almond shape part of the brain that receives signals of potential danger and sets off reactions that help individuals protect themselves (Fear and the Amygdala, 1998). It was discovered while studying a woman who had excessive calcium deposits in her amygdala while other parts of the brain were not affected she could recognize emotions portrayed on people in pictures but she could not recognize fear (Kassin, 2001). Also, research on rodents showed ”brain pathways, centering on the amygdala that were preprogrammed to respond to danger” (Fear and the Amygdala, 1998). This physiological research can be put together with the traits of behaviorism to explain my fear of driving in construction zones.

I have a fear of driving in construction zones. I think I have been conditioned to have this fear in these types of driving situation. These are places on the highway or even in town that are one lane and the one lane is separated from the other lane with orange cones. There does not have to be heavy equipment or workers in the other lane, just the cones. When I am in these types of situations, my amygdala releases a flood of adrenaline that increases heart my rate and blood pressure (Kassin, 2001) and I can feel my heart beating in my chest and I become short of breath. If I had to pinpoint an unconditioned stimulus, it would be during my first year of college. I was driving home from rural Pennsylvania to Cleveland, Ohio. This is a two-hour trip that is an hour on country roads and then an hour through the suburbs and the city of Cleveland. During the city portion of the trip, I fell asleep at the wheel. When I awoke, I was thumping cones as it was the beginning of a construction zone and two lanes were merging into one lane. Luckily, I did not hit anything or anyone. I did pull off at the next stop since my heart was beating in my chest and I was short of breath, this of course is the unconditioned response of fear and panic.

I now deal with the conditioned stimulus, the cones and the one lane of traffic and the conditioned response of increased heart rate and shortness of breath with my fear (this happens whether I am at the wheel or just a passenger). I do perform some behavioral therapy on myself. I try to associate something pleasant with the conditioned stimulus (Kassin, 2001). When I see the cones, I tell myself that this is part of the journey to a fun place. I will have a nice, pleasant time when I get where I am going and by driving on it will all be fine. Now, I do admit that I say these things out loud only when I am by myself. If I am with my family, I just say it inside my head.

In Fear and the Amygdala (1998), the author points out that in extreme situations, medication may be required in order to diminish constant activity of the amygdala that produces constant fear. I do deal with this fear and it is not a phobia since I can actually drive through the construction zones. It is not so intense that I avoid the situation, but I do keep on giving myself those internal and external pep talks to try to associate the orange cones with a positive and happy feeling.

References sited and used:

Fear and the Amydala (1998). Brain Briefings. Retrieved from the World Wide Web August 31, 2001: http://www.sfn.org/briefings/fear.html

Kassin, Saul (2001). Psychology. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Chapter 4

Lesson 2, Question 1

Curwin and Mendler

It is important to highlight the underlying concepts of Lee and Marlene Canter’s Assertive Discipline to understand the criticisms Curwin and Mendler have with the program. Assertive Discipline is based upon the rights of both students and teachers in the classroom. Students have the right to support from teachers and to have teachers help them develop appropriate classroom behaviors (Charles, 2002, Humbolt State, 2001). Teachers have the right to expect suitable behavior from students and have support from administrators and parents. It is the responsibility of the teacher to create rules and consequences for students (Charles, 2002, Humbolt State, 2001). Teachers must develop “Clear expectations, rules, and a penalty system with increasingly serious sanctions…”(Cotton, 2001). By having a disciplinary system in place, teachers are able to deal positively with students and common classroom disruptions and build a respectful classroom envronment.

Richared Curwin and Allen Mendler stress that all students can have a better opportunity for success in school when teachers build student dignity and build a sense of hopefulness (Charles, 2002). Their approach is called Discipline with Dignity. Curwin and Mendler stress that dealing with student misbehaviors is an important part of the teaching profession. Also, teachers must plan lessons which are interesting and somehow convey personal relevance to students (Charles, 2002), Curwin and Allen also include students who are “at-risk” behaviorally. They link “the term (at-risk) solely to behavior...’It is what students do under the conditions they are in, not who they are, that puts them at risk.” (Charles, 2002)

These are some of the underlying principals of both the Canters’ Assertive Discipline and Curwin and Allen’s Discipline with Dignity.

Curwin and Allen and others have issued criticisms of Assertive Discipline. Milner (2001) describes that more recent approaches to discipline, such as Curwin and Allen, are emphasizing more long-term goals for changing behaviors. “Success is linked to a lower incidence of discipline problems, not necessarily more skilled reaction to problems that do occur” (Milner, 2001). Curwin and Allen also criticize Assertive Discipline for not addressing the idea of improving classroom teaching techniques (Milner, 2001). Based on the principles of Curwin and Allen, I feel they would add that Assertive Discipline does not offer students hope or provide enough opportunity to become responsible for their own actions.

The Canters have addressed the criticisms of their program and have added to their program to address students becoming more self-disciplined. They emphasize telling children that they have made the choice to behave in certain ways which are not acceptable and in doing so chose the consequence (Charles, 2002),

I was trained in Assertive Discipline while I was student teaching in 1990 in rural Pennsylvania. I did not employ the techniques until 1996 in a first grade class in Northern California. It was tough to monitor all the behavior and stay consistent with all the rules and consequences. I have to admit that the class was really well behaved and I just faded the rules out. I did, however, have parent help in the classroom so was able to have an active room with opportunities to move through centers which always had adult supervision. When one of my “low” academic students moved on to second grade, I was asked to be a part of a student study team to discuss his progress. The second grade teacher was upset because he did not do his “seat work” (which was textbook based worksheets to fill in the blanks for comprehension for reading stories) To her, he was not following the rules to work quietly and complete assignments as given (Bullis Purissma School Student Study Team, October, 1997). I stated that yes, I can see that these fill in worksheets were at a higher level than he could perform. The second grade teacher was shocked at my comment as I was agreeing with her but to me this was not considered misbehavior. She was not willing to create alternate assignments for him as I had, so we compromised that he could have shorter assignments. (Bullis Purissma School Student Study Team, October, 1997).

I think this interaction illustrates that misbehavior for one teacher is not considered misbehavior for another teacher. I do feel it is important to go beyond the “rules”. It is not the decent students who behave well with simple reminders who drive us to the edge, A piece of both Assertive Discipline and Discipline with Dignity which I agree with wholeheartedly is that it is important to meet student needs for attention and motivation (Charles, 2002),

References sited and used:

Charles, C.M. (2002). Building Classroom Discipline. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Cotton, Kathleen (2001) Schoolwide and Classroom Discipline. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, August 31, 2001: http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/5/cu9,html

Milner, Scott (2001). Discipline in the Schools. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, September 2, 2001: http://nstu.ns.ca/issues/issues/AV100sm.html

Van Tassel, Gene (2001). Classroom Management. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, September 2, 2001: http://www.brains.org/classroom_management.html

Chapter 5

Lesson 3 Question 1

Punish Control

Educators must have ways to control the actions of students. This can looked at in simple ways such as getting a group of students to certain places on time, having students remain on task during academic activities, or having students follow classroom procedures such as turning in homework to specified locations on time or sharpening pencils at designated times. Control for educators, I feel, should not be viewed as a way to manipulate student behavior and feel ”in charge”, but provide and develop a classroom environment that centers on learning and the curriculum with minimal disruptions to deal with discipline.

Skinner has explained there are behaviors that cannot be controlled or brought on by stimuli (Lefrancois, 2000). These are defined as operants. Most human behaviors are not brought on by a stimulus so most human behaviors are operant. Operant conditioning is a process in which we humans learn to behave as we interact with the environment (Woolfolk, 1998). Operant conditioning is also a process in which individuals learn to behave in ways that produce reinforcement (Kassin, 2001). Reinforcement is “the use of consequences to strengthen behavior” (Woolfolk, 1998). There are positive reinforcements, negative reinforcements, and punishment. The reinforcement or punishment works to either increase or decrease the likelihood of an individual repeating a behavior. The following chart is based on Woolfolk (1998) and Lefrancois (2000) and the notes from our Lesson Three reading posted in Blackboard.

Teachers can apply the following to the undesirable actions/behaviors of students

Pleasant stimulus	Increases the likelihood of the action repeating in a similar situation	Positive reinforcement-Reward
Aversive stimulus	Decreases the likelihood of the action repeating in a similar situation	Punishment
Take away aversive stimulus	Increases the likelihood of the action repeating in a similar situation	Negative reinforcement
Take away a Pleasant stimulus	Decreases the likelihood of the action repeating in a similar situation	Punishment-penalty

Before changing my work from elementary teaching to higher education, I used pretty standard consequences/punishments with my students. Students who did not complete work, continued to talk after being asked to stop, or shoved and pushed other students were punished with a penalty. Students would lose part of recess, line up last for recess or lunch, or be called last to the next activity. This type of system seemed to work well for me with most students. The younger students really loved lining up first to go places and it meant something to them if they had to be last. There were students over the years who could have been last all day long for activities but for these students you have to make exceptions and limit the number of penalties.

I did use two other systems in tandem with these penalties. Along with the two other teachers at my grade level, each student had a series of colored cards. Green was “Having a good day”, Yellow was “Caution” and Red was for “Having trouble”. At the end of the day, students colored in a traffic light and at the end of the week took the record for the week home. I never adapted to this system very well but kept it in place to limit confrontation with my colleagues. It was hard to get the kids to understand “caution” and it was a lot faster to ask someone to just stop. As I look at the operant conditioning chart, this system does not fit into any category to decrease the likelihood of the behavior in similar situation. There were students who were scared of “getting a yellow or red card” but this must have been due to a penalty of aversive stimulus from home.

I also had another system I used in tandem with these others. It was a pleasant stimulus of awarding points to groups of students for being ready to work or staying on task or being kind to each other. If a student had a pencil ready when asked, he/she was given a point for the team. If a student was reading quietly during silent reading, he/she was given a point for the team. The team with the most points during a transition was allowed to go first. I was hoping to increase the likelihood of following directions with this system incorporating positive reinforcement. I cannot be sure if the positive reinforcement did increase the likelihood of the behavior or if just hearing what to do again helped the students also.

There were times when I did send students to the office but this had to be an extreme case. Punching or cutting through clothing or hair were the times that this type of punishment was used. If the principal was not in, and this was often the case, this was not a punishment as the students were just sent back to class. I do feel I was able to create a productive classroom environment through both discipline and through lessons which were exciting and met the individual needs of students.

References sited and used:

Kassin, Saul (2001) Psychology. New Jersey, Prentice Hall.

Lefrancois, Guy R. (1998) Educational Psychology, Boston, Allyn and Bacon.

Woolfolks, Anita E. (2000) Psychology of Teaching, Thomas Learning, Wadsworth, Australia.

Chapter 6

Lesson 3 Question 2

Corporal Punishment

Corporal punishment, physical force with the intention of causing a child pain but not injury in order to control behavior, does have a place in the history of the United States (Imbrogno, 2000). In Colonial Times, corporal punishment was considered necessary for eliminating sin and immorality in children and in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many immigrants brought a tradition of corporal punishment with them to the United States (Imbrogno, 2000). There was also a decision by the Supreme Court involving corporal punishment. In 1977 in Ingraham v. Wright the Court ruled “that the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause does not apply to corporal punishment imposed as discipline in public schools…due process did not require notice and a hearing prior to the imposition of corporal punishment.” (Imbrogno, 2000) From the information presented in this Imbrogno article from the Journal of Law & Education, the Supreme Court is stating very clearly that this issue should be dealt with at the state and local level. “The Court acknowledged that the elimination of corporal punishment would be welcomed by many Americans, it stressed, however, that the decision to eliminate corporal punishment was not its to make…when such a policy choice may result from the Court’s determination of an asserted right to due process, rather than from the normal process of community debate and legislative action, the societal costs cannot be dismissed as insubstantial” (Imbrogno, 2000).

A state court case involving corporal punishment was North Valley Baptist Church v. McMahon that challenged the constitutionality of California’s law that bans corporal punishment in Child Care facilities. Although the California court upheld the statute that bans corporal punishment, it was stated “that where a group’s religious beliefs mandate corporal punishment, a state-imposed burden on the practice could run afoul of the First Amendments Free Exercise Clause. The problem for the plaintiffs in MacMahon was that they failed to show that corporal punishment was mandated by their religious beliefs.” (Imbrogno, 2000).

In another case, Baker v. Owen, parents had NOT given school officials permission to inflict corporal punishment on their child but the child was hit twice with a drawer divider. “While the court accepted the parents’ argument that the Fourteenth Amendment embraces the right of the parent to determine and choose between means of discipline of children, that right was overborne by the countervailing and greater state interest in maintaining school discipline” (Imbrogno, 2000).

I must admit I am extremely naïve. I had no idea of the extent of corporal punishment still condoned in schools today and was not aware of the laws which give schools the ability to inflict physical pain on our children. In 1997, 457,754 children were struck and in 1998 365,058 children were hit in school (National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools, 2001). There are still 23 states which do not have a ban on corporal punishment in schools; Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000). Also, according to the NCACPS (National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools) “Every industrialized country in the world now prohibits school corporal punishment, except the U.S., Canada, and one state in Australia” (NCACPS, 2001).

There is a worldwide movement to end all corporal punishment inflicted on children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has several conditions to eliminate corporal punishment for children and has been ratified by 191 nations (Imbrogno, 2000). Many nations such as Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, New Zealand, Mexico, Namibia, South Africa, Korea and the United Kingdom are making progress to follow Sweden’s 1979 ban on all corporal punishment on children that includes funds for educational campaigns and support services for families (Paintal, 1999). There is at least one study that has examined the trends in Sweden since the ban on all corporal punishment. Durrant (2000) looked at trends from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s in violence, alcohol abuse, depression, and well-being of youth by collecting data from the Statistics Sweden, National Crime Prevention Council, Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs, the National Institute of Public Health and the National Board of Health and Welfare. She concluded that “The finding reported here indicate that Swedish youth have not become more unruly undersocialized, or self destructive following the passage of the 1979 corporal punishment ban. In fact, most measures demonstrated a substantial improvement in youth well-being”(Durant, 2000).

It is easy to understand why other nations and international groups are working to end corporal punishment. The following is a list taken from Paintal (1999) that describes some of the effects of corporal punishment on children;

*”Children whose parents use corporal punishment to control behavior show more antisocial behaviors themselves over a long period of time, regardless of race and socioeconomic state and regardless of whether the mother provides cognitive stimulation and emotional support”

*”Adults who were hit as children are more likely to be depressed of violent themselves”

*”The more a child is hit, the more likely it is that the child, when an adult, will hit his or her children, spouse or friends”

*”Corporal punishment sends a message to the child that violence is a viable option for solving problems”

*”Children who get spanked regularly are more likely over time to cheat or lie, be disobedient at school, bully others, and show less remorse for wrongdoing”

*”Corporal punishment erodes trust between a parent and a child, and increases the risk of child abuse; as a discipline measure, it simply does not decrease children’s aggressive or delinquent behaviors”

Let me bring the issue of discipline closer to home. I have never worked in a school in which corporal punishment has been used (of course, I taught in states where corporal punishment is banned). Since I am not in the elementary classroom now, I will describe the Discipline Code from my daughter’s school. She attends a small, private catholic school in Galesburg, Illinois. There are four pages in the Parent-Student Handbook that outline the philosophy and procedures for discipline. The Philosophy and Respect part deal with being like Jesus and guiding students to cooperate In His Name (Costa Catholic School Parent-Student Handbook, 2001-2002). But, there are Disciplinary procedures which do help deal with the day-to-day misconduct or misbehavior.

Category 1 Misconduct

Category 2 Misconduct

Category 3 Misconduct

Excessive talking, poor work habits, classroom school disturbances, throwing objects, tardiness, use of bad words, gum chewing, aspects which are in violation of the philosophy of the School, dress code violations

Repetition of Category 1 Acts of Misconduct,

Bus misconduct, Disruptive/inappropriate behavior, forgery or use of forged notes for excuses, horseplay* (*this is by far my favorite and I would love for my daughter to be brought up on this one) stealing of low value items, truancy possession use of tobacco on school property or premises/first offense, cheating, lying, disrespect for a teacher/staff, fighting, dress code violation refusal to follow directions

Repetition of Category 2 Acts of Misconduct, Aggression toward students or staff, extortion, theft of high value, possession of tobacco-2^nd offense, Vandalism, possession of explosive device, excessive detentions, verbal/sexual harassment, pornographic or sexually demeaning material, false fire alarm, bomb threat, Possession, use, distribution purchase, sale or if found to be under the influence of controlled substances or look alikes, and/or alcoholic beverages, Possession use of firearms, ammunition, explosives, knives, or any device designed to inflict body harm

Disciplinary Actions for Category 1

Conference with Parents; phone or in person, conference with student, consequence as stipulated in approved classroom management plan, verbal reprimand, behavioral contract, withdrawal of privileges, detention, conduct warning

Disciplinary Actions for Category 2

Referred to principal for conference with parent or student, detention, suspension from school with or without extracurriculars, Conduct warning

Disciplinary Actions for Category 3

Principal initiates action with an investigation and a Conduct Warning can be given out. This can led to Removal from classroom, Financial Restitution, in school suspension, out of school suspension, expulsion

This table was created with information from the Costa Catholic School Parent-Students Handbook, 2001-2002. This code of conduct seems pretty standard and is aligned with the Conduct for the public schools in the area (except,of course, for the Jesus part). It is important to note that many families who send their children to Costa are not catholic. Children must attend mass and still subscribe to the discipline code. We do sign off each year stating that we have read the handbook and have discussed the contents with our children.

I am absolutely against corporal punishment. By definition alone, corporal punishment is meant to bring pain to children to control behavior. I cannot imagine anything a child could do that would warrant this type of punishment. Have I ever been upset with students or with my own child? Yes. Have I used a tone or raised my voice? Yes. Have I screamed? No. Have I wanted to scream in exasperation? Yes. There are so many other strategies to use with children. Here are just a few from the NCACSP (2001)

“…emphasizing positive behaviors of students, realistic rules consistently enforced, instruction that reaches all students, conferences with students about student behavior, use of staff such as school psychologists and counselors, detention, in-school suspension and Saturday school.”

I truly believe in meeting student needs as opposed to hitting them and putting them at risk for later violence to themselves and to others. I have worked with lots of different kids-racially diverse and economically diverse. Modifying lessons is difficult and extremely time consuming but worth it. I have had children leave my class and have a hard time at the next grade level academically and behaviorally since many teachers expect each student to complete the same assignments. I know this is extremely hard to do in the middle and high school since many teachers see a hundred or more children per day for short periods of time. I think trying to meet their needs is more productive than hitting them and breeding mistrust. I agree with Imbrogno (2000) that “…if a new norm of rejecting corporal punishment is to emerge, it must be forged not through international law…but through the changing of individual attitudes at the local, grassroots level.” I have worked to change assessments and ways of instructing reading, math, and science in school districts and I would not hesitate to investigate corporal punishment policies, to speak against the issue with colleagues, or to vote for legislators who also wish to ban corporal punishment in the remaining 23 states.

References sited and used:

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2000). Corporal Punishment in Schools. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, September13, 2001: http://www.aap.org/advocacy/corpchrt.htm.

Cost Catholic School. Galesburg, Illinois (2001). Parent-Student Handbook 2001-2002.

Durrant, Joan E. (2000). Trend in Youth Crime and Well Being Since the Abolition of Corporal Punishment in Sweden. Youth & Society 437-455 31, no. 4 Retrieved September 28, 2001 using FirstSearch.

Imbrogno, Andre R (2000). Corporal Punishment in America’s Public Schools and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child: A Case of Nonratification. Journal of Law & Education v29 no2 pp.125-47. Retrieved September 28, 2001 using FirstSearch.

National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools (2001). Facts About Corporal Punishment. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, September 13, 2001: http://www.stophitting.com/NCACPS/NCACPS_facts_about_corporal_punishment_htm

Paintal, Sureshrani (1999). Banning Corporal Punishment of Children. Childhood Education 76, no. 1: p.36-39. Retrieved September 28, 2001 using FirstSearch.

Chapter 7

Lesson 4 Question 1

Frederic Jones, Limit Setting

Frederic Jones began his work in the late 1960s by working with teachers to develop time consuming behavior modification plans for students (Jones, 2001). He learned after observing in a lot of classrooms that 95% of misbehaviors were talking to friends, being out of a seat, and making noise (Charles, 2002). Jones also discovered that some teachers seem to naturally control their students and deal with misbehaviors quickly and efficiently while others lose lots of instructional time by yelling or nagging or being sarcastic to try to get students to behave. Jones developed systems based on the skills of the “naturals” to reduce the likelihood of confrontations with students and to deal with the high frequency misbehaviors quickly and effectively (Allen, 1996). Classroom structure, using Say, Do, See teaching, responsibility training through incentive programs, providing efficient help to individual students, and limit setting are pieces of Jones’ Positive Classroom Discipline approach (Charles, 2002). Limit setting is one portion of Jones’ plan that includes a multi-step approach to dealing quickly and efficiently with students who are off task,

Limit setting is a “set of physical moves performed by the teacher that signal to the student to stop…Limit setting is using your body to say what your mouth was about to say. Limit setting is the opposite of what most teachers do to stop

behaviors: raise their voice,,, or they ignore with the thought if one doesn’t attend (reward) the behavior, it will go away” (Moore, 1996). There are eight steps to limit setting, but most incidents do not require teachers to go past step 6. The following is a list of the eight steps in limit setting and is based on information in all of the following; Anderson, 2001, Charles, 2002, Jones, 1996, Jones, 2001, Allen, 1996, Moore, 1996.

1. Use the eyes in the back of your head to monitor and sense what is going on and what might happen. Say, Do, See teaching allows students to be active participants in their learning after receiving input from the teacher. Students are busy and the teacher can circulate to interact and help (Charles, 2002). When my students were “amazed” that I could ask someone to stop doing something when it appeared I was not “paying attention”, I told them the extra set of eyes came with my teaching certificate.

2. Stop whatever you are doing, not matter what you are doing.

3. Turn toward the student in a very calm manner without grinning or grimacing and say the student’s name.

4. Walk to the student’s desk and stand at the edge. Do not say anything to the student, just stand there. Jones advocates that room arrangement is critical in limit setting. Teachers must be able to move quickly and easily in order to deal with misbehaviors at this step. Also, teachers need to be able to move easily to monitor students while working (Charles, 2002).

5. Lean toward the student and place one palm on the desk.

6. Lean on the desk and place both palms on either side of the students work.

7. Stay and maintain eye contact with the student, but do not say anything.

8. After the student stops, maintain eye contact and with the student even from behind the student so he/she knows you are still “watching”.

One of the main points of limit setting is to deal quickly and capably with students and the high frequency misbehaviors such as talking to friends and not working on the assigned task. The teacher must remain calm since “getting into a verbal back-and-forth with a student is like mud wrestling with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig loves it” (Jones, 1996). Now, Jones is not saying that students are pigs, the students just enjoy the fight and getting the teacher to lose control. Jones insists “Body language is the expression of thoughts, feelings, and intentions-the language that delivers the powerful message of who we really are” (Jones, 1996). By remaining calm, a teacher is showing strength, not weakness (Jones, 1996).

Jones does advocate that limit setting can be practiced. On his website, there is an example of a teacher from Atlanta, Georgia who practiced a “Queen Victoria” stare to use during limit setting. She practiced in front of a mirror looking and relaxing and not grinning or laughing or grimacing (Jones, 2001). The teacher did employ the stare with a student who brought an icicle into class. After a few seconds of staring, the student took the icicle back outside without the teacher even saying a word. This example emphasizes the positive side of limit setting, teachers remain calm and in control and misbehaviors are dealt with quickly.

There are some limitations with limit setting. Often, there is not a lot of flexibility with room arrangement. In my last experience teaching a K-2 group of students, I had to share a room with another teacher. The room was just one big square. I was able to have a large carpet area and three tables in which to have students work. The biggest off task problem was students paying attention to the other teacher and not me (and she had the problem of her students often looking at me and not her). I had to go right to saying the student’s name which usually was enough to focus them back on their work. It did take a few weeks for students to adjust.

Another limitation was dealing with the severe problems. During that same year, I had a student who had to be restrained as the student was a danger to self and others (basically hitting, pinching, kicking, and tackling). The restraining really upset a lot of the other students as the child did scream and kick me quite often. Trying to do the steps in limit setting with other students was just not possible while I was restraining the student.

Another aspect of Jones’ model I want to point out is the use of PAT or Preferred Activity Time since I think this with limit setting can be powerful. I do agree with Jones that the time should be on something academic or worthwhile (Charles, 2002). I usually had teacher created math games and language games as the PAT activities since instructional time did not always allow for time for the games. The students could review topics in a game format and relearn skills such as one digit/two digit addition or phonics review. It seemed well accepted by students since they often chose the same games during rainy day recess. For the students who required a bit more than the “Queen Victoria” stare (or as my daughter calls mine the “get back to what you are supposed to be doing” stare), they could earn PAT time for the class. I would quietly tell them that by stopping they could earn time for everyone. These systems did help me since I always felt I had something to use with students.

References sited and used-Midterm:

Anderson, Tom (2001). Course Documents, Lesson 4, Fredric Jones’s Model-teacher as micromanager Kounin’s Model-teacher as orchestra conductor. Retrieved from Blackboard course web portal on Wednesday, August 22, 2001.

Allen, Thomas H. (1996). Developing a Discipline Plan for You. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, October 1, 2001: http://www.humboldt.edu/~tha1/discip-options.html

Charles, C.M. (2002) Building Classroom Discipline. Allyn and Bacon, Boston.

Jones, Frederic H. (2001). Positive Classroom Discipline and Instruction. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, September 17, 2001: http://www.fredjones.com

Jones, Frederic H (1996) Did Not! Did, Too! Periodic Learning, v. 24 n. 6 May-June 1996, pp. 24-26.

Moore, Ken (1996) Stopping Unwanted Behaviors. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, October 5, 2001: http://www.foothill.net/~moorek/limitsetting.html

Chapter 8

Lesson 4 Question 2

Kounin-Teacher as Orchestra Conductor

An orchestra conductor is a leader. Benjamin Zander, conductor of the

Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, is a conductor, teacher, and leadership trainer (LaBarre, 1998). What message can a conductor provide to both educators and business leaders? It is the message that the power of leadership rests in the ability to make other people powerful (LaBarre, 1998). Teachers are leaders in the sense that they possess the power to teach children to be confident learners in all academic areas. Jacob Kounin’s model of discipline casts the teacher in the conductor role since he feels that “teaching influences discipline to a much greater degree than previously believed and that the best way to maintain good discipline is to keep students actively engaged in class activities, while showing them individual attention” (Charles, 2002).

Kounin identifies several qualities a teacher should possess in order to orchestrate an effective classroom environment that will prevent behavior problems. The “ripple effect” is when students are positively affected when the teacher corrects just one student (Wuest, 1999). This effect lets students know what behaviors are and are not expected and why the behaviors will not be tolerated by the teacher. This is empowering to students in order to know and to be reminded of what is expected in the classroom. “Withitness” is the ability to of the teacher to know what is going on in all parts of the classroom at all times. Teachers must be able to communicate to the students who are responsible for misbehaving. Overlapping is part of being “withit” as teachers must be able to do more than one thing at a time, for example, give further directions to one student while praising another for work that has already been completed (Charles, 2002). Students are comforted and strengthened by “withit” teachers. It is reassuring to know the teacher knows what is going on and who is actually responsible for misbehaviors (Charles, 2002, Wuest, 1999). My daughter helped provide me with an example of frustration she felt with a teacher who was not “withit”. Last year, the student she sat next to in class was daily finishing homework inside the desk just before turning it in (I did verify this situation one to two times a week when I dropped her off just to make sure it was happening). This upset my daughter since homework was supposed to be turned in before sitting down and beginning seatwork for the morning routine. I asked if the teacher ever said anything to the student and was told that no, the teacher did not seem to even know the student was doing the homework each morning. I did tell her that there really was not much she could do so just let it go and make sure she finished and turned assignments in on time. I think her frustration resulted from the constant misbehavior and the teacher never saying anything to the student.

“Momentum” and “smoothness” are the ability for a teacher to keep lessons moving, make transitions between lessons smoothly, and bring lessons to a close for students in a steady sequence. Another part of keeping the right “momentum” and “smoothness” is to deal competently with satiation, knowing when students have had enough of a topic and are getting bored (Charles 2002). This is helpful to students since clear directions and well established routines will help reduce misbehaviors since students know what to do (Wuest, 1999). Group alerting is a system the teacher implements to gain the students attention and to make sure students understand what is being said by the teacher (Charles, 2002). Teachers can stop and ask questions to check for understanding and to cue other students into what is being said in instructions or directions (Wuest, 1999). “Effective grouping maximizes active participation and keeps students engaged in learning” (Wuest, 1999). Accountability such as record keeping, quizzes, projects, skill testing, or positive public recognition by teachers can also help students be focused (Wuest, 1999).

Much of what Kounin advocates is the teacher as an effective leader. He advocates the ability of the teacher to orchestrate and create a classroom atmosphere with routines that prevent misbehavior. I think one of the limitations with this model is that there is no system in place to deal with misbehaviors. Students will misbehave to varying degrees, not every misbehavior can be prevented. The strength of Kounin’s contributions is in identifying the importance of teaching in discipline but “he couldn’t identify teacher tactics that, when used in response to misbehavior, did anything to improve the behavior” (Charles, 2002).

I like the metaphor of teacher as conductor as I do feel teachers are leaders and can bring out the best in students. For me, I would not use the conductor metaphor. I sat through many parent-teacher conferences where parents asked me to ask a student to do something since they usually listened to me better than a parent. This has been true for my own child too who has really enjoyed several of her teachers and I often hear what Miss So-and-so would say or how Miss So-and-so would handle something. I always told parents that I was more like a fun aunt. I really enjoy the company of the kids and we have fun with items like math manipulatives that they may not have at home. I never had to tell them to clean up too much and I didn’t have to feed them or make sure they took a bath. Basically we could have the fun with limited nagging involved since we could divide the clean up and other work among all of us.

References used and cited:

Charles, C.M. (2002). Building Classroom Discipline. Allyn and Bacon: Boston.

LaBarre, Polly (1999) Fast Company-Leadership-Ben Zander. PC Issue 20, page 110. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on October 3, 2001: http://pf.fastcompany.com/online/20/zander.html

Wuest, Deb (1999). Learning Environment Article. Are You With It? Retrieved from the World Wide Web on September 13, 2001: http://www.pecentral.org/climate/april99article.html.

Chapter 9

Lesson 5 Question 1

Short term and long term memory

Remembering something is really based on the “storage and retrieval of information” (Huitt, 2000). Memory is composed of sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Our sensory memory is a memory of what has been sensed and the memory traces are short-lived (Anderson, Powerpoint Presentation, Introduction to Cognitive Psychology, Information Processing and –Memory (1999), Retrieved from the World Wide Web, October 9, 2001). Sensory memory records information from the senses for up to 3 seconds (Kassin, 2001). Meaning is assigned to the stimulus by sensory memory based on the nature of the stimulus, prior knowledge, and the context that we come across the stimulus (Bruning, 1999).

Short-term memory, or working memory, holds up to about 7 items for up to 20 seconds before the information is “transferred to long-term memory or forgotten” (Kassin, 2001). The items do not need to be a single thing, items can be grouped or “chunked” (Lefrancois, 2000). There was evidence to researchers that forgetting could result from items decaying after time (Bruning, 1999). However, there is very strong evidence that supports the idea that forgetting is due to interference and information or capacity overload (Bruning, 1999). I often tell my daughter to wait until I put my glasses on to tell me something because it seems I can hear more accurately with my glasses on. I now think that I don’t actually hear better, but can pay more attention to what she is saying to me at the time. When I am not wearing my glasses, everything is a fuzzy blob of muted color. I can make out some shapes at a very, very short distance but I have to squint quite a lot and bring the item right in front of my face. When I am doing this, my sense of sight is taken over with just trying to make out what objects are and I am not able to attend to what she is saying. With all the fuzzy blobs that I am sensing and trying to make out, my short-term memory is overloaded with this information and not able to attend to and process what my daughter is saying.

Another example of information overload is my office. I share a ten by twelve foot office with two other people. This doubles the amount of phone ringing, music, and conversation. There are also 5 computers of both platforms on at one time and high traffic from students and faculty using the lab located directly next door. Sometimes, I do get up and leave in order to just get away for a while. It is hard to attend to the conversations, phone calls, and emails. I think information overload does affect me at work. I need to attend to what is important to me, such as setting up teaching schedules, in order to rehearse or learn to encode knowledge in my long-term memory. I have incorporated an electronic calendar into my scheduling. I must also teach others how to use this calendar. I think this is a strategic use of my resources since it helps me practice and learn over time (Bruning, 1999). In addition, I can put down information in written form and the act of writing can help “reduce the burden” on my hearing to encode the information to my long-term memory (Bruning, 1999).

Long-term memory is where information is stored for long periods. Information is encoded and can later be retrieved from long-term memory (Kassin, 2001). Some ways that information can be encoded into long-term memory are by rehearsal, by “overlearning” (continuing rehearsal even after information is learned), and by learning over a long period of time (spacing effect) (Kassin, 2001). We can encode information with mnemonics (devising a clever phrase with the first letter of each word, such as ROY G. BIV for the colors of the rainbow), rhymes, and visual aids such as Loci (mentally placing items inside a room) (Lefrancois, 2000).

The knowledge that we store in long-term memory is organized using structures; declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and imagery. Declarative knowledge “refers to information we can talk about” (Huitt, 2000). Schemata are networks that “contain elements of related information and provide plans for gathering additional information” (Bruning, 1999). Schemata are clusters of items that define concepts (Lefrancois, 2000). For example, the schemata for “home” would include the physical structure of some homes and the ideas that people live there for shelter and also the decorative aspects the individual likes or have seen in some homes. Procedural knowledge is how to do things such as drive a car or ride a bike or make coffee (Bruning, 1999, Huitt, 2000). Imagery is pictures that are stored in our memory (Huitt, 2000).

I do find myself having difficulty retrieving information from my long-term memory. The most recent example (and it happens quite often) is remembering names of students I had two years ago. I no longer work at the same school as the students, but still see many of them around town since they are close in age to my own daughter. I recognize them as one of my former students, but just can’t get their names out. I remember things and can ask, “Oh, do you still like drawing with markers?” “How is your little brother?” “Do you still like writing long stories?” I can also recall where they sat during various activities and if they rode the bus or were a “walker”. Usually, by the end of the conversation, I am able to use their name to say goodbye. In looking at this example, I am finally able to retrieve the information of the student’s name by using the schema I have stored about that student (Bruning, 1999).

There are several things I can do with students to help them encode and retrieve the knowledge they will get from me about technology. I can make sure I have student attention during workshops (this can be improved by my switching off their monitors during instruction and turning them on during hands-on practice), relate the new skills to similar skills in email and in word processing software applications where appropriate, and provide for time for repetition of skills during the training and in follow up sessions (Huitt, 2000).

References used and cited:

Anderson, Tom (1999). Introduction to Cognitive Psychology, Information Processsing and Memory. Powerpoint Presentation. Retrieved from Blackboard course web portal on October 24, 2001.

Bruning, Roger H., Schraw, Gregory J., and Ronning, Royce R. (1999). Cognitive Psychology and Instruction, Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersery, Prentice Hall.

Huitt, W. (2000). The Information Processing Approach. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on October 24, 2001: http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/infoproc.html.

Kassin, Saul (2001) Psychology. New Jersey, Prentice Hall.

Lefrancois, Guy R. (1998) Educational Psychology, Boston, Allyn and Bacon.

Chapter 10

Lesson 7 Question 2

Mnemonics

Mnemonics are a way to encode and retrieve information. Mnemonics is a memory strategy pairing information that needs to-be-learned with new information that is more memorable (Bruning, 1999). There are several types of mnemonics; the First Letter Method, the Peg Method, the Method of Loci, the Link method, Stories, and the Keyword Method.

The First Letter Method has helped me in several ways. I use Roy G. Biv to remember the order of the colors of the rainbow, Kindly Purchase Cookies Only From Girl Scouts to remember the classification system Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, FACE to remember the notes in the spaces of music and Every Good Boy Does Fine for the notes on the lines. My daughter taught me My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas to remember the order of the planets. Lefrancois (1999) sites Men Very Easily Make Jugs Serve Useful Nocturnal Purposes for remembering the order of the planets. However, using Pizzas makes the sentence more meaningful to students. An example of First Letter Method to remember a process is FLIPIT! FLIPIT! is a “generic research strategy…developed with a seventh grade class scheduled for weekly ‘library’ class” (Yucht, 1999). Students developed the mnemonic to Focus on a topic, Locate the resources, Investigate and Implement the Information, and Produce the results. IT is for intelligent thinking (Yucht, 1999). Another type of First Letter mnemonic is two rhymes to aid in remember the electron configurations of isolated atoms (Iza, 1995). After reading this article, I remember a chant from my high school chemistry class—1 2 2 3 3 4 3 4 5 4 5 6 4 5 6 7 5 6 and s s p s p s d p s d p s f d p s f d. These are then put together to remember electron configurations 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p, 7s, 5f, 6d (Iza (1995) also includes a 7p but I did not learn this in my rhyme, of course I was 10 years out of high school by 1995). I would of course have to relearn how these are put together and for what purpose. The mnemonic is just for remembering the a piece of the basic or factual information.

Another type of mnemonic is the Peg Method in which “students memorize a series of ‘pegs’ on which to-be-learned information can be ‘hung’ one item at a time. The pegs can be any well-learned set of items…” (Bruning, 1999). In Bruning (1999) and Kassin (2001) a popular rhyme is sited:

One is a bun, Two is a shoe, Three is a tree, Four is a door, Five is a hive, Six is sticks, Seven is heaven, Eight is a gate, Nine is a pine, (in Kassin, Nine is Wine), Ten is a hen. Students can then associate one item from a list of they need to memorize with each one in the familiar rhyme. Another way to use the familiar rhyme is in memorizing written or oral directions (Bruning, 1999). Bruning (1999) sites studies which indicated this method was effective for students memorizing how to assemble office equipment. I tried to employ this method yesterday at the grocery store as I only need 5 items. I usually take a written list with me to the store but thought I would try this method. I remembered 4 of the items; one/bun/veggie burgers, two/shoe/blue sweetner, three/tree/apples, four/door/coffee –I pictured coffee knocking on the door wanting to come in. I forgot five/hive/lawn bags. I did not remember the image of putting the hive in the bag for recycling. Perhaps if I was more familiar with the rhyme I could have remembered all five items, but I thought four was pretty good. I will still use my list a as a back up as it does take effort construct the images to go along with the rhyme.

The Method of Loci employs the use of location to retrieve information. Items are placed along a familiar route such as a morning route from the bedroom, to the bathroom, then to the kitchen (Kassin, 2001). Items that need to be remembered are placed along the route. Eisenwine (2000) suggests incorporating the Method of Loci with young readers in a guided reading situation to improve comprehension. When a group of young readers were about to read about the steps in bailing hay, the teacher used the track at the school and instructed children to imagine each step in the hay bailing process along the track. Later, the students in this group were able to recall the steps in the hay bailing process and also experienced improved word recognition when they read through the text on their own (Eisenwine, 2000). “Young readers simply may have an easier time using context cues if they are taught an organized schema before they begin to read a text” (Eisenwine, 2000). To me, this is an interesting area of research since I used guided reading with first graders. I look forward to reading more about this when I return to the classroom.

The Link System incorporates strong visual associations between items in a list. For example, if you need bread, salt, and ketchup from the store, picture the bread on top of a big salt shaker, and ketchup dripping down the salt shaker (Lefrancois, 1999). If a student need to remember homework, lab goggles, and a textbook for class, he/she can create the image of the book with the homework sticking out the side with the lab goggles wrapped around both items (Bruning, 1999).

Stories are another mnemonic technique. The story can be constructed with from words that need to be remembered. For instance, the student that must remember to take homework, lab goggles, and a textbook to class can make up a story using these words. My best friend finished her homework at midnight then placed in the textbook. She was so tired, she went to sleep with her goggles on and used the textbook as a pillow. She woke up late and just grabbed her textbook with the homework and raced out the door still wearing her goggles which was a good thing as they protected her eyes from the driving snow (Bruning, 1999).

The Keyword Method is very flexible and powerful and incorporates an acoustic link and an image link to the items that must be learned (Bruning, 1999). Students must often learn the capitals of all the states. The Keyword Method can be used to help students recall this information. For example, Florida looks like and starts with the same initial blend as the word flower. Picture a flower on a television and that is the keyword for Tallahassee. “Having linked the two words (Florida, Tallahassee) to concrete, familiar words that sound similar (flower, television), all that remains is the link the two familiar words together… picture (the keywords) in some meaningful interaction” (Mastropieri, 1998).

Mnemonics are handy strategies to remember facts and procedures. Using first letters to remember the order of the planets is useful for students and using keywords to remember the capital of each state is helpful also. Students can remember the steps to use in research and can imagine items in a familiar place in order to recall the steps in a process and gain experience in reading for meaning. In having strategies for learning and retrieving factual information, students have more information to apply to comprehension tests (Mastropieri, 1998).

References used and cited:

Bruning, Roger H., Schraw, Gregory J., and Ronning, Royce R. (1999). Cognitive

Psychology and Instruction, Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersery,

Prentice Hall.

Eisewine, Marilyn J. (2000). Visual Memory and Context Cues in Reading Instruction. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision v. 15 n. 2 pp.170-174.

Iza, Nerea, Gil, Manuel (1995). A Mnemonic Method for Assigning the Electronic Configurations of Atoms. Journal of Chemical Education: v. 72 n. 11 pp. 0125-1026.

Kassin, Saul (2001) Psychology. New Jersey, Prentice Hall.

Lefrancois, Guy R. (1998) Educational Psychology, Boston, Allyn and Bacon.

Mastropieri, Margo A., Scruggs, Thomas E. (1998). Enhancing School Success with Mnemonic Strategies. Intervention in School and Clinic v. 33 n. 4 pp. 201-208.

Yucht, Alice H. (1999). Flip It! For Information Skills. Teacher Librarian v. 26 n. 3 pp. 37-38.

Chapter 11

Lesson 8 Questions 1

Reading Webpages

As a first grade and second grade teacher, reading was the most important area of instruction. I had children who came to me reading fluently, children who knew all their letter names and sounds, and children at various levels with understandings about the concepts of print. During the 1994-1998 school years, I taught at two different schools in two different districts with two separate approaches to reading instruction.

One district subscribed to the whole language approach. This is a top down process of reading in which the reader’s prior knowledge and the symbols of print are used to build meaning (Bruning, 1999). Instruction involved using literature to teach students to make predictions, interpret characters, notice language patterns, notice unfamiliar words (figure out meaning and how to pronounce it), and connect text to other readings and own life experiences (Fountas, 1999). For example, after reading Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, students worked on a packet of activities. Students made a trifolded sheet with one part describing the beginning, the middle, and the end of the story, they drew a map of the town of Chewandswallow, they wrote a paragraph using certain vocabulary words, they created a weather graph, and they composed a story innovation with different foods to describe the weather in the story (Vicky Romano, Palo Verde Elementary School, Palo Alto Unified School District, 1994-1996). For homework, students read to their parents from their assignments and reread the text. In addition, students were provided with 4-5 books per week to read aloud at home at their reading level. Spelling lists were personalized from words misspelled during assignments and individual tests were given every other week (Vicky Romano, Palo Verde Elementary School, Palo Alto Unified School District, 1994-1996).

The next district I went to had a more interactive approach to reading instruction. An interactive approach to reading involves both top down and bottom up processing. Bottom up processing considers reading to be data driven, identifying letters, words, and building these into the meaning of text (Bruning, 1999). Along with literature activities, an explicit, systematic approach to phonics instruction was part of the reading program. Two to three times per week (and only one to two times per week after midyear), students were drilled in a district created phonics program. The program was titled MSA for Multi-Sensory Approach and was based on the work of Beth Slingerland (Los Altos School District, Los Altos, California). Students sat in their seats with their writing arm extended and wrote letters in the air which corresponded to a card I showed them or with a sound I made. Students then said the name of the letter, the keyword, and the sound (a apple a or ai rain a). There were cards on the wall as visual cues for the children. Students then proceeded to write letters, words, or sentences as dictated (see suggested year plan at the end of this paper).

Reading text on a computer screen from a webpage can be processed top down, bottom up, or in an interactive manner. One website I visited was www.cnn.com. I had not been to the site before and found that I processed the material on the screen in a more bottom up approach. My eyes wandered to the changing advertisement banner at the top of the screen but I had to read each word in order to discover that it was an advertisement for the Travel Show. I then found I was fixated on a photo of two Northern Alliance soldiers from Afghanistan. This photo did help activate some prior knowledge for me, but I had to click Full Story twice in order to view the full story that accompanied the photo. After some time I did discover that at the right side of the page and then at the bottom of the page there were links to current and past news articles listed by topic. These links did activate my schema of an index such as the one in my cookbook. I often know what I want to make, just like I often know what I want to read about. I Iook up the item in the index then proceed to the page or pages with the recipe. Now, I can use the links on the webpage to link to the articles that I am interested in reading. As I revisit the site, I know I will incorporate a more top down approach since I will be familiar to where stories and links are located and will connect with the meaning of the text, not just the identification of the text (Bruning, 1999).

The second website I visited was my own at www.knox.edu/vromano. The first page is just a list which links to various sites I have created for courses, trainings, and personal pages. I processed this in a top down way as I am familiar with material since I created it all. I have to admit, I have not done a lot to help my readers navigate my site successfully (or want to navigate my site). I need to add larger text and graphics to preview for readers what is located at each link so they can connect that knowledge from one page to the others (Bruning, 1999). I also need to get readers to connect to existing schema. As Kim Baker states, “readers need clues to activate their prior knowledge; pictures, familiar words, something to help the reader activate their reading schemas (Baker, 2001).

The final website I visited was www.ira.org. This is the site for the International Reading Association. I processed this page in a top down way since I have belonged to this organization for about 5 years and was familiar with their mission and journal publication. There were navigation bars at the top and left hand side of the page. At the top right of the page was a preview and graphic link to a professional journal and to a new title in the online bookstore. The Top Stories Links and the More News links take the reader to current and archived news stories, teacher resources, and archived journals. All these items helped construct meaning for me-the text is for resources and materials connecting me to research and news about reading in the international community (Bruning, 1999).

The whole language versus phonics debate does apply in the reading of webpages and websites. There are concepts about webpages just like there are concepts about print. Some of the concepts about print are knowing where to start reading, sweeping from left to right, and and starting on the left side then reading the right side of an open page (Concepts About Print Checklist, from the Palo Verde Literacy Team Assessment information, taken from Marie Clay’s publications). In reading webpages, one must realize they include images, links, and various layouts. These skills can be taught to children since they will come to school at various levels of interacting with webpages.

As a primary teacher in California, I taught in districts under both the whole language approach and with an explicit, systemic phonics program as part of reading instruction. The biggest problem with phonics instruction is some teachers spend more time on it than with incorporating literature for the children to improve reading and comprehension skills. My colleagues would spend 2 hours per day with drilling letter names, letter sounds, and dictation writing for most of the school year. I felt this was just too much and even in our training, the district suggested just 3 times per week for this type of direct phonics instructions. In addition, they had 14-18 worksheets per letter that varied from cutting and pasting images with the initial or final consonant sounds and coloring images which matched the sound shown on the page. They always made me a class set of each one and I would just smile and thank them. I usually assigned one or two worksheets per week, and made at-home review packets out of the rest. Many students would complete these packets and many would not-I just needed to put them to some use and this at-home review system worked for me and for my students.

However, it was in the mid 1990s tha