Week 4 T2P

My old Week 3 T2P:
If.. then... because...

     If teachers are assessing students based solely on comprehension and not evaluation then students will have trouble motivating themselves to pursue higher learning achievement because the teacher themselves is having trouble with their own motivation in continuing education and learning from their students. 
     Learning is not just about how students learn and their preferences for styles, but how learning is assessed in the taxonomy of learning. Gaging student's learning on knowledge and comprehension does not tap into their deeper yearning and drive to further their education. They are able to regurgitate information and pass a unit test. As educators, we strive for more synthesis and evaluation from our students. Bloom's levels of taxonomy for learning domains states that there are levels of understanding that as teachers we can use in assessing our students. Assessing students in high learning domains allows students to critically think about the learning they are achieving in the classroom. B.F Skinner's behavioral theory shows that the focus of learning is on observable behaviors, which is why teachers might have trouble assessing on higher levels of understanding when they themselves are having trouble with higher motivation. As educators, we ourselves must motivate ourselves to foster motivation in our students. We are learners of our students, as they are learners of us. 


KEY:


"If" 
"Then"
"Because"
"Pedagogical Terms"
"Context"
"Evidence"
"Moral"
"Events"




Week 4 T2P: Edutopia
     If students are given the opportunity to have optimal learning on their own then the teacher is able to be learners as well as teachers because intrinsic motivation in the students will allow them to not only teach themselves but their teacher and peers. Students are always striving for personal achievements and given the opportunity to shine, most students will step up to the plate and respond. Teachers who practice unconventional ways of teaching, by using more then just pencils and paper, bring relevance to their students by using technology that is a part of their generation. Vicki Davis' allows her students to not only practice learning on their own, but to practice the learning they have gained by teaching classmates and their own teacher what they have discovered. These type of opportunities will satisfy the three big principles of self-determination theory of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Deci and Ryan state that if these three principles are present then students will develop and function effectively and experience overall wellness. As future educators, we should all strive for this type of confidence and rewarding avenue of learning. In doing so, the student will be able to take-on challenges in any classroom in the future based on their successful experience with intrinsic motivation to further their education in all realms of learning. 


Last but not least Week 4 T2P:


If... then... because....
     If an educator is flexible with their lesson planning then learning is more likely to be optimal for all because there is an ability for the educator to work through situations they find themselves in that are unfamiliar.
  As we move forward in this first six weeks of pre-service teacher education, I find myself realizing that there is more beyond the chalkboard, the desks, the powerpoint presentations, and the textbooks. Teaching is about reaching out to your students and motivating them to reach beyond their own personal goals to extraordinary goals they never thought was possible. It is using your own knowledge and motivation about education to build relationships within your classroom to your students and help them achieve the same level of evaluation and passion for a subject area. There are many types of learning theories and intelligence styles which each have their own positive contributions that can be brought into the classroom. As an educator, you must find the certain styles and preferences that work for you and incorporate them into a meaningful lesson everyday. The big picture is not the information, the teacher, the students, the assessments, it is the self enhancement that education and knowledge bring to all human beings.
     As I sit here thinking about what I will bring to the mix as a teacher, each and everyday I discover something new about myself that will add another dimension to my toolbox of education events. Using different styles and activities will allow optimal learning growth for all. I can take Skinners ideas with Behavioral learning and Lave's idea of apprenticeship model learning, and even Siemen's connectivism theory to almost make a hybrid model of learning that works for me and caters to all students evenly. There is always room for improvement and the students are students of us as we are students of them. 
     






Link to Week 4 Content: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkAibXJ3G655dC14WjFLNDl2ai1oV0E1aFhOUlhnbFE&hl=en_US&authkey=CLioku0O