Module 3

-Behavioral Views of Learning and Creating Learning Environments-

In Chapter 7, we begin by looking at how to explain and understand learning, before going on to my favorite section from the chapter: Contiguity and Classical Conditioning.  Woolfolk explains that one of the earliest explanations of learning came from Aristotle, that "we remember things together (1) when they are similar, (2) when they contrast, and (3) when they are contiguous" (Woolfolk, 248.)  During a high school life studies class is when I first learned about Pavlov's dogs and the experiments that Ivan Pavlov did to discover what stimuli prompted certain reactions in dogs.  Then as in now the practice of conditioning seems very interesting to me, however the manipulation of it does make me uneasy.  Pavlov's experiment is still referenced today, from on the Big Bang Theory television show to on The Office.  From there, I found the section on consequences, and especially reinforcement to be rather provocative.  When I began this part of the chapter I, like Woolfolk mentions (pg 250,) thought reinforcement= reward.  However, I them came to understand that the reinforcement in this setting refers to a consequence that "strengthens the behavior it follows" (Woolfolk, 251.) The reinforcement schedule outlined in table 7.1 was particularly helpful, as it outlined the five possible schedules for reinforcement.  I think this will really be useful to me in the future to remind me of the different reinforcements and what their reactions would be, for possible discipline as well as motivation.    Next in the chapter, Woolfolk talks about negative reinforcement.  As a nanny to a toddler, I use this method to teacher her to clean up.  For example, I will say "Eloise, when all your toys are back in your toy box, then we can go outside and play."  This has helped to teach her not only to clean up, but has helped her gain some independence to make her own decisions and gives her the confidence boost from being helpful.  Now, (thanks also to Barney the Dinosaur,) Eloise frequently will take the initiative to put away her toys and does it while singing the "clean up" song.  

Some of the topics from chapter 13 that stuck out to me as particularly compelling were creating a positive learning environment, planning spaces for learning and dealing with discipline problems.  As a first time teacher, having a set of rules and procedures will help with classroom management a great deal. The idea of making the rules a set of rights instead is really appealing to me. One of my favorite teachers from elementary school used this tool and it also aided in helping our social studies class when we were examining the United States Bill of Rights.  Depending on the age group, this could be quite helpful for both establishing guidelines for the class as well as a teaching tool. On page 479 of Woolfolk, the photograph of classroom rules is similar to one that I can imagine myself implementing in my early education classroom, as well as to add another paper listing consequences for not following these rules.  Next, the section highlighting the planning spaces and arrangements for learning was really helpful to me, especially since Woolfolk used examples for managing elementary classrooms, which is the age range I am planning on working with.  I really liked the explicit differences between effective teachers' classrooms and poorly managed classrooms, as well as ways to improve upon the poorly managed classrooms. Along with the IRIS modules we read this week, the section of chapter 13 regarding to dealing with discipline problems was quite helpful to me.  Other than the occasional outburst from a child in Sunday School classes I have taught and toddlers being grumpy toddlers, I have not had much experience dealing with persistent and frequent misbehavior on a large scale.  Learning how to stop problems as quickly as possible, as well as understanding the acting-out cycle will be imperative while working in a classroom setting with many students.  Additionally, the section on bullying and teasing will be conducive in the future to preventative methods I can implement in my classrooms.  Like most schools, my middle school growing up had its share of bullying.  There was one group of boys in particular that were the instigators and they had their set " targets" that they picked on.  Because of the small population of our school, we were a rather tight-knit group, and even if the victim of their taunts was not a close friend, chances were good that we had been in classes with this person since kindergarten and many would be more sympathetic to target of the bullying than join in on the taunts.  The guidelines listed on page 494 will help me in the future, should I encounter such a situation in a school that I am in.