Jonathan Langdon

During CEP 800 on educational psychology, we refreshed ourselves on the major learning theories and spent significant time thinking about how students learn best. In teaching science, it was helpful to be reminded of how students come to the classroom with preconceived ideas and how they hold onto their previous beliefs very tenaciously. It is imperative that teachers know what misconceptions students have when coming into the classroom. Teachers must not assume they are blank slates that can be filled with the new information being presented. The students already have had many experiences and theories about how the world works. It is a very difficult thing for students to let go of those ideas (belief perseverance)– even when convincing evidence or explanations are given. Teachers need to help students to identify their misconceptions and discover how they are wrong. Rare probably are the students that can fully let go of incorrect preconceptions in favor of a new explanation presented in the classroom. More common perhaps are the students who end up blending their own previous theories with the new material presented in class. Remembering the tenacity of students' preconceived notions and helping students to let go of misconceptions in science class will be a fight, but at least I will have more tools going into the battle.

 

In my CEP 812 class about applying educational technology to practice, one of the things that I studied was how to help student anxieties in the classroom when writing lab reports. Many physiologists have found no proof of biological or cognitive causes for anxiety disorders, but they have been successful in proving effective pharmacological and cognitive-behavioral treatments (Genest, 2000). Among some of the most successful cognitive-behavioral techniques include that of “modeling,” where nonfearful behavior is demonstrated for the child as an “appropriate response for handling the feared stimuli (King & Ollendick, 1989). On important thing that King and Ollendick also point out is that for anxieties and fears to be overcome, the child must be exposed to the “fear-eliciting stimuli” again and again, thus desensitizing them to what they used to fear. Given this research and analysis done on anxiety disorders and writing in the classroom, I am excited about using the CAST Science Writer in my classroom. The Science Writer provides helpful scaffolding to break down lab reports into manageable parts. It is often hard for students to be able to start their lab reports and they often don't know what words to use or how to even start. I can imagine this is much of what gives students great anxiety and this tool helps model for the students how to handle this type of writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In CEP 820 on teaching students online, we created an online course environment where we practiced creating an atmosphere that fostered student learning. Creating an online course site has been a learning process requiring much thought and reflection in the process. One thing I noticed as I was making the course site is that it has a learning curve. A lot of time is needed to setup the course and make sure everything is in place. A lot of time can be spent tweaking things or making new content - sometimes too much time. So that is perhaps one pitfall in the process of making a new course – getting side-tracked and spending too much time on some things. I also learned in the process the importance of creating a template that can be repeated for each lesson/unit so that I don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time I make a new unit or lesson. For example, for each lesson, I had 3 categories of content: 1) learn, 2) collaborate and 3) show me what you know. Having a consistency across the lessons I think would help students to keep a good stride during an online course.

 

In CEP 822 on educational research, we learned how the often undervalued scientific enterprise of research in learning and teaching can give critical information to educators. I learned a number of helpful things about educational research during this semester at MSU – particularly from a book called “When can you trust the experts: How to tell good science from bad in education” (Willingham, 2012). A great tool that I gained from the book is a technique called, “strip it and flip it.” Take a claim made by an educational “expert” and strip it down to the essential claim: If I do X, then there is a Y% probability that Z will happen with my students. Also ask yourself the flip-side of the claim. If an educational “expert” says that 75% of students are successful with his method, flip it and consider the opposite: 25% of students will not be successful if you use their method. Many sales pitches try to give the better sounding statistic, so flip the claim and consider the opposite. Also be aware when part of their arguments appeal to either a romantic ideal (natural and whole child) or an enlightenment ideal (research based and formula based). It is also helpful to keep in mind some psychology that occurs as we process research claims. We are more likely to take a risk if the statistics are phrased in a way that cover up the risks involved and we are more likely to act conservatively if the statistics emphasize the loss that is possible. This is where the “strip it and flip it” strategy is really helpful to get away from those mind games.

 

The psychology of learning, understanding with technology, adapting innovative technology, applying educational technology to practice, technology leadership, creativity in the classroom, teaching students online, educational research and accommodating differences in literacy learners: these are the tools that have been added to my tool belt over the past two years. These tools will be indispensable in my work both as a teacher and technology facilitator at my school. Tools are helpful and more effective than brute force. One could break branches off of a tree to prune it, but a tree pruner is much more effective.

 

What I will be taking from my work at Michigan State is invaluable not only in the numerous ideas and technologies I experienced, but also in the gained enthusiasm and vigor for continuing to develop in how I use technologies to foster learning in the classroom. Just as a healthy body requires many good ideas to be put into practice like a balanced diet, regular exercise and adequate sleep, so does a healthy use of technology in education require many good ideas to be put into practice. And if there are many diseases and malfunctions possible with the human body, there are also many things that can go wrong with using technology in the classroom. Fortunately I will not need to use trial and error in dealing with problems along the journey – my work at Michigan State has been like medical school – preparing me and giving me tools I can use to diagnose and treat diseases that might arise while using educational technologies.

 

References:

 

Genest, M. (2000). Anxiety. Canadian Psychology, 41(3), 197-198. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/220815250?accountid=12598

 

King, N. J., & Ollendick, T. H. (1989). Children's anxiety and phobic disorders in school settings: Classification, assessment, and intervention issues. Review of Educational Research, 59(4), 431. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.msu.edu/login/url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/214113898?accountid=12598

 

Willingham, D. T. (2012). When can you trust the experts?: How to tell good science from bad in education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, a Wiley imprint.