Module 5

-Motivation in Learning and Teaching, Teaching Every Student, & Classroom Assessment, Grading, and Standardized Testing-

          Chapter 12 looks into motivation in learning and teaching.  In this chapter, we learn how to arouse curiosity in the work a student does, how to establish value in the learning of material, what we need to know about students in order to motivate them and well as what we need to know about motivation itself to solve these problems. Woolfolk defines motivation as being either intrinsic or extrinsic.  Intrinsic motivation is associated with being influenced by internal rewards for motivation, whereas extrinsic motivation is motivation by external factors, such as rewards or punishments. (p. 431.)  Motivation is a key factor for all students, and as teachers we need to find out what motivated each of our students in order to help them become engaged in a subject and succeed.  Woolfolk goes on to describe five approaches to motivation: Humanistic, behavioral, cognitive, social cognitive and social cultural conceptions.  She also goes on to explain Maslow's theory, goal orientations, beliefs and perceptions, motivation to learn and school, as well as interests, curiosity, emotions and anxiety. For me personally, anxiety plays a huge part in my learning, as I have a large amount of anxiety in my life, in regards to not only education but also socially. Learning more about Maslow's theories has given me new perspective on my disorder. Woolfolk goes on to identify several dimensions of Epistemological beliefs: structure of knowledge, stability/certainty of knowledge, ability to learn, speed of learning and nature of learning. "Student's beliefs about their knowledge and learning affect the goals they set and the learning strategies they apply" (p 442.)  I found this particularly interesting, and thought that these will be useful to incorporate into the classroom to aid students.

Teaching every student is the theme of chapter 14.  In it, Woolfolk begins by describing the characteristics of effective teachers. She details what makes an expert teacher as well as what it is that expert teachers know.  Woolfolk next goes into the specifics of teaching; starting with planning, teaching approaches, differentiated instruction and teacher expectations. The section on planning was very interesting, as I think of myself as an efficient planner.  That being said, I found the information presented extremely helpful.  Apparently I have a lot still to learn about planning! Woolfolk's explanation of explicit versus active teaching had me further solidifying my preference that active teaching is best. (p. 519) Rosenshine's six teaching functions were also really helpful, and I can see using them as a checklist for teaching basic skills in my future classrooms. (p. 520) Differentiated instruction is a flexible approach to teaching that matches content, process, and product based on student differences in readiness, interests and learning needs. (pg. 531) In this passage I found the passage detailing making adaptions quite captivating. Finally, teacher expectations.  In this section, Woolfolk explains how a teacher's expectations can effect students. Some of the sources of these expectations, such as intelligence test scores, gender, notes from previous teachers, previous achievement and ethnic background among others, can sometimes have a negative effect. These sources may influence a teacher's views of the student and either cause them to motivate the student to do better, or consequently to further continue to have low expectations for a student causing them to continue to be less motivated to perform. 

Chapter 15 is on classroom assessment, grading, and standardized testing. To me, this was not the most engaging chapter, other than providing important information that I will be able to use in a future classroom while assessing the progress of my students. In the basics of assessment, Woolfolk emphasized the difference between measurement and assessment., as well as formative and summative assessments.  Measurement is an evaluation expressed in quantitative terms, compared to assessment, which is the procedures used to obtain information about student performance. Additionally, a formative assessment is ungraded testing used before or during instruction to aid in planning and diagnosis, whereas summative assessment is testing that follows instruction and assesses achievement.  Further in this chapter, I found the sections on grading and standardized testing helpful, as I do not have much experience with implementing them from a teaching perspective.   I further enjoyed when Woolfolk described the effects that grading can have on students.  I agree with her, that oral or written feedback with specific comments that "balances this criticism with suggestions about how to improve, along with comments on the positive aspects of the work, increases learning.  (pg. 584) By giving a more thorough explanation of incorrect answers, I believe it allows students the chance to really learn from their mistakes and learn the material correctly.