QED520 PBL Group AssignmentScenario 3

Done by:Charmaine Goh

Desmond YapJohn HuangJustina Tan

Nur Azzah bte Amir Gany

The Scenario

The Scenario

Enquiry Questions

Why do the students appear to be non-participative and not learning effectively?

What can be done to increase student participation and effective learning?

Problem Statements

As an effective teacher, it is important to…

1. Create a safe and positive classroom environment

2. Plan lessons with student learning processes in mind

3. Engage in objective post-lesson reflection

Problem Statement 1

As an effective teacher, it is important to create a safe and positive classroom environment.

Classical

Conditionin

g

Operant

Conditionin

g

Problem Statement 1

Why are the students so reluctant, anxious and fearful to participate in Ms Rita’s class?

How does this affect learning?

What can be done to remedy this problem?

Classical Conditioning

Unconditioned Stimulus

Unconditioned Response

Neutral Stimulus

Neutral Stimulus

Unconditioned Stimulus

Unconditioned Response

Classical Conditioning

Initially Neutral Stimulus becomes a Conditioned Stimulus

Evokes a Conditioned Response

Classical Conditioning

Neutral Stimulus Unconditioned Stimulus

Unconditioned Response

Classical Conditioning

Initially Neutral Stimulus becomes a Conditioned

Stimulus

Evokes a Conditioned Response

Student participation decreases as it is associated with embarrassment and teacher

disapproval.

Participation is an important part of effective learning.

Hypothesis 1

Removing negative associations and creating more positive associations will increase student participation and therefore, learning.

Operant Conditioning

Increases frequency of

behaviour

Positive reinforcement

Negative reinforcement

Decreases frequency of

behaviour

Punishment

Operant Conditioning

Punishment

Lack of Positive and

Negative Reinforcement

Decreased frequency of

behaviour

Hypothesis 2

Increasing positive reinforcement and decreasing punishment will increase student participation, which will increase learning.

Decreasing punishment

Increasing positive reinforcement

1. Do not humiliate or show obvious disapproval in response to student answers.

1. Use cues, prompts and praise. 2. Create a behavioural contract for

both students and teachers.

Problem Statement 2

As an effective teacher, it is important to plan lessons with students’ learning processes in mind.

Gagnes’ Learnin

g Phases

Const

r

uct

ivis

mSch

em

aTheory

Problem Statement 2

Why did Ms Rita’s lesson not work out the way she had planned?

What were the clues that the students were having difficulty learning?

What can be done to facilitate effective learning in future lessons?

Gagnes’ Phases of Learning

1. Gaining Attention

2. Expectancy

3. Retrieval to Working

Memory

4. Selective Perception

5. Encoding to Long-Term

Memory

6. Responding

7. Feedback 8. Cueing Retrieval

A serious breakdown at any one phase or a cumulative

breakdown over severalphases can bring learning to a halt.

Gagnes’ Phases of Learning

Ms Rita believed that she had planned her lesson carefully.

Use of videos

and pictures to trigger thinking

Attempt at questioning to

scaffold learning

Attempt at higher-order questioning

Gagnes’ Phases of Learning

However, there were obvious clues that there were learning breakdowns.

Tentative student answers

Uninterested body language

and facial expressions

Reluctance to participate

Lack of prior knowledge

Lack of remedial action by the teacher

Gagnes’ Phases of Learning

Phases of Learning in which Breakdowns Occurred

Evidence of Failure

Gaining attention • Inappropriate visual stimuli • Misjudgment of prior knowledge• Lack of scaffolding

Retrieval to working memory • Ms Rita did not recap relevant prior knowledge

• When students made attempts to tap on limited / imperfect prior knowledge, she shot them down rather than guide them to the right answers.

Gagnes’ Phases of Learning

Phases of Learning in which Breakdowns Occurred

Evidence of Failure

Responding • Not good at soliciting responses from students, who are afraid of her disapproval

Feedback • No positive reinforcement

• Students are ‘punished’ for responding as they are met with unconstructive and discouraging feedback

Hypothesis 3

Planning a lesson that facilitates all 8 stages of Gagnes’ learning processes will increase student participation and learning.

Hypothesis 3

1. Gaining Attention

2. Expectancy

3. Retrieval to Working

Memory

4. Selective Perception

5. Encoding to Long-Term

Memory

6. Responding

7. Feedback 8. Cueing Retrieval

Abrupt stimulus change

Recall / Recap

Interesting resources and activities

Lesson Objective / Purpose / Benefits

Meaningful organisation

Practices and reviews

Constructivism

Active student involvement and student autonomy are key factors.

The learning process is facilitated by social interaction with peers, teachers and real-world experiences.

Constructivism

Student motivation to learn has two sources:

1. Cognitive Conflict / Disequilibrium

All students have existing

schemas.

When their schemas are challenged or disconfirmed,

they experience cognitive

discomfort.

They will actively

observe and seek new

knowledge to adapt their schemas.

Learning is achieved.

Constructivism

Student motivation to learn has two sources:

2. Meaningfulness

Learning is viewed as being important

to their lives.

Students will seek new knowledge

through discovery and questioning.

Learning is achieved.

Constructivism as a Critique

Lack of schema activation through scaffolding and building on prior knowledge

Lack of emphasis on metacognitive awareness

Lack of student exploration and autonomy

Hypothesis 4

Using the constructivist approach will increase student participation and learning.

Metacognition

Student Autonomy, Interaction and

Exploration

1. More groupwork2. Effectively promoting and

managing discussion3. Making students explain

themselves4. Providing feedback5. Making connections6. Communicating purpose of lesson

7. KWL8. PQ4R9. IDEAL

Schema Theory

Prior knowledge linkages that influence the amount and proficiency of our learning

We learn and remember better when we can associate new information with prior knowledge

Schema Theory as a Critique

Providing visual stimuli and verbalizing higher-order questions did not facilitate proper mental scaffolding

Is Tsunami more prone in convergent

or divergent boundaries?

What is the difference

between a tsunami and a typhoon?

Schema Theory as a Critique

Failure to expose the intended schemata or underlying structure resulted in students filling in knowledge gaps inappropriately

A Tsunami is caused by volcanic eruptions?

A Tsunami is caused by low atmospheric

pressure? High atmospheric

pressure?A Tsunami is caused by

global warming?

Hypothesis 5

Including advance organisers and mediators will allow students to learn more effectively.

Hypothesis 5•Brief

material presented in advance of main material

•Of slightly higher abstraction than student cognition level

•Creates cognitive disequilibrium which stimulates learning

Advance Organisers

•Helps student to identify the explicit linkage between life experiences and what they are learning now

Mediators

Problem Statement 3

As an effective teacher, it is important to engage in objective post-lesson reflection.

Fundamental

Attribution Error

Problem Statement 3

Why is the teacher so insistent that the problem lies with the students?

Why is the teacher unable to pinpoint her students’ difficulties with her lesson?

Fundamental Attribution Error

This refers to a systematic bias in the perception process.

•“ A pervasive tendency to underestimate the impact of situational forces and overestimate the role of dispositional factors when making such judgements”

Forgas, 1998

•“A tendency to overestimate personality-based or dispositional explanations, and underestimate the influence of situational constraints”

Tetlock, 1985

Fundamental Attribution Error

People have a tendency to draw quick and judgemental conclusions about the attitudes, personalities and behaviour of others, even when situational causes for behaviour exists.

The FAE hinders the Teacher’s capacity to conduct an objective post lesson reflection.

Fundamental Attribution Error

“The whole class was blur and their

answers were lame.”

“They should know all this general knowledge.”

“I don’t know what was wrong with the

class.”

“I showed them pictures and video clip… Wasn’t that

more than enough?”

Fundamental Attribution Error

She is pre-disposed to overestimate their capabilities.

She underestimates the situational factors her students may face:

Constraints like inadequate prior knowledge, lack of clear instructions, fear and anxiety, etc.

Hypothesis 6

Taking heed of consensus, distinctiveness and consistency information will reduce the error’s effect, allowing Ms Rita to objectively evaluate her lesson.

Do all my classes behave this way?

Does this class behave this way with me alone, or with other subject teachers as well?

Has this class been this way for a long time (since

Sec 1)?

Oh no, maybe it is not them, maybe

it is me!

Now that I know who the real

culprit is, let me objectively review

my lesson.

Consensus Distinctiveness Consistency

Going back to the enquiry questions

Why do the students appear to be non-participative and not learning effectively?

What can be done to increase student participation and effective learning?

Summary

An effective teacher should engage in objective post-lesson reflection.

By overcoming fundamental attribution error

An effective teacher should plan lessons with student learning processes in mind.

By facilitating Gagnes’ 8 learning processes

By using constructivist approach

By using advance organisers and

mediators

An effective teacher should create a safe and positive classroom environment.

By increasing positive reinforcement By increasing positive associations

ReferencesBooks and journal articles

Andrews, P. W. (2001). The psychology of social chess and the evolution of attribution mechanisms: Explaining the fundamental attribution error. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22, 11-29.  

Carson, J. (2005). "Objectivism and Education: A Response to David Elkind's 'The Problem with Constructivism'" in Noll, James (Ed.), Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Educational Issues (15th Ed.), pp 50-56, New York: McGraw Hill.

Cole, M.R. (1990). Operant hoarding: A new paradigm for the study of self-control. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 53, 247–262.

Eggen, P., & Kauchak, D. (2010). Educational Psychology: Windows on Classrooms (8th ed). NJ: Pearson.

Elkind, D. (2004). "The Problem with Constructivism" in Noll, James (Ed.), Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Educational Issues (15th Ed.), pp 50-56, New York: McGraw Hill.

Forgas, J. P. (1998). On being happy and mistaken: Mood effects on the fundamental attribution error. Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, 75 (2), 318-331.  

Gagné, R. M. (1985).The conditions of learning and theory of instruction. 4th edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Harris, K. & Graham, S. (1996). Memo to Constructivists: Skills Count, too. Educational Leadership, 53 (5), 26-29. 

 

ReferencesKirsch, I., Lynn, S.J., Vigorito, M. & Miller, R.R. (2004). The role of cognition in classical and

operant conditioning. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60, 369-392. Pavlov, I.P. (1927/1960). Conditional Reflexes. New York: Dover Publications. Pegues, H. (2007). Of Paradigm Wars: Constructivism, Objectivism and Postmodern

Stratagems. Educational Forum, 71 (4), 316-330. Perkins, D. (1999). The Many Faces of Constructivism. Educational Leadership, 57 (3), 6-

11.   Tan, O. S., Parsons, R. D., Hinson, S. L., & Sardo-Brown, D. (2011). Educational Psychology: A

practitioner-researcher approach. An Asian Edition (2nd ed). Singapore: Thomson.

Tetlock, P. E. (1985). Accountability: A social check on the fundamental attribution error. Social Psychology Quarterly, 48 (3), 227-236. 

Tucker, M., Sigafoos, J., & Bushell, H. (1998). Use of noncontingent reinforcement in the treatment of challenging behavior. Behavior Modification, 22, 529–547.

Windschitl, M. (1999). The Challenges of Sustaining a Constructivist Classroom Culture. Phi Delta Kappan, 80 (10), 751-755.

References

Websites

Fundamental Attribution Error (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 27, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_error

The Phases of Learning (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2010, from http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/vockell/cai/Cai3/cai3gagne.htm#Attention