Applying Psychology to Teaching Study Guide

To enter answers or to print this guide, click the Expand icon on the right. Then go to the File Menu in the upper left. Click Make a Copy to create your own copy to type into, or Download if you prefer to hand-write your answers Learning Guide: Chapter One - Applying Psychology to Teaching Below you will find study questions and graphic organizers to help you organize the information for Chapter 1. Watch the podcast and read the indicated sections of your text. To jump to specific sections or pages, you may type the page number into the “search this course” function or click on “chapter contents,” which is in the top left once you click into the textbook. To jump to specific sections or pages, you may type the page number into the “search this course” function or click on “chapter contents,” which is in the top left once you click into the textbook. 1. Read Section 1-3b (p. 8), focusing on explanations of the Characteristics of Scientific Studies: Characteristic Sampling Control Explanation in your own words researchers study a representative sample of subjects so that individual idiosyncrasies are canceled out If all factors but one can be held constant in an experiment, the researcher may be able to trace the impact of a given condition by comparing the behaviors of those who have been exposed to it and those who have not Objectivity special efforts to be objective and guard against being misled by predetermined ideas, wishful thinking, or selected evidence Publication Complete reports of experiments—including descriptions of subjects, methods, results, and conclusions Replication dissemination allows other experimenters to replicate a study to discover if they obtain the same results 2. Read Section 1-4 (p. 9-11), focusing on the Four Complicating Factors related to applying research in the classroom: Factor Limited focus of research Complexity of teaching and learning Explanation in your own words Only examining a few variables at a time. (by combining and interrelating separate studies that have looked at different aspects of the same problem, we can apply the findings to a wider range of people and circumstances) First, it is difficult to implement research findings and programs uniformly because schools and classrooms differ from one another along such lines as quality and quantity of personnel, teaching methods, budget, leadership, and community support. ● a program or technique may work just as the research says it should in one district or teacher’s class, but not in other classes or districts Second, the outcomes of schooling that teachers, students, and parents typically value are the result of complex interactions among numerous variables ● Achievement may, for example, be the result of interactions among student characteristics (such as prior knowledge, interests, and socioeconomic levels), teacher characteristics (type of training, ideas about learning, interests, and values, for example), curriculum materials, socioeconomic status of the community, and peer influences Complexity produces two outcomes that teachers find both frustrating and challenging: 1. students exposed to the same materials and teaching methods are likely to vary in how much and what they learn 2. a teacher’s effectiveness is likely to vary from class to class and year to year Differences of opinion result from selection and interpretation of data. Selection and interpretation of data Researchers will read scientific evidence, but draw different conclusions of the same data. A series of experiments may lead to the development of a new concept or pedagogical technique that is highly successful when it is first tried out. New findings mean revised ideas Accumulated knowledge leads researchers to revise original ideas (Science is a process of accumulation of evidence and revision of conclusions based on that new evidence.) 3. Read Sections 1-5a (p. 12-13), 1-5c (p. 15), and 1-6 (p. 16-18) and complete the focus questions below. Focus Questions What does Wasserman mean by flexibility? Section 1-5a (p. 1213). Response/Notes Flexibility is a “feel” for doing the right thing at the right time the ability to improvise (making some sort of onthe-spot change) Provide some examples of how you might be a flexible teacher. ● Instead of writing out what they intend to do in great detail, they formulate general mental plans and wait to see how the students react before filling in such details as pacing, timing, and number of examples ● knowing when and how to take advantage of an unexpected event The ability to modify (adopting a different approach after some data collection and reflection) ● substituting guided discovery lessons for more direct forms of instruction, knowing when, how, and to whom to give direct help, and knowing when technologybased instruction will help students achieve your objectives more than some other approach Flexibility involves communicating emotions and interest in a variety of ways Flexibility involves a willingness and resourcefulness to work around impediments that are not of their own making but that nonetheless affect their teaching ● impediments include inadequate facilities, insufficient materials, poor-quality textbooks and curriculum guides, interruptions (announcements over the PA system, fire drills, visits from the principal), spotty attendance by certain students, and minimal time to create lesson plans during the school day because of such responsibilities as monitoring halls, lunchrooms, and playgrounds, and supervising after-school clubs and teams. Explain what counts as credible research evidence. Section 1-5c (p. 15). (this is a thought question, there are no “book” answers). Identify and Explain the four steps of teaching as inquiry. Section 1-6 (p. 16-18). Credible research evidence is research that has been studied scientifically ● while research shows us what has worked under a particular set of conditions, it cannot tell us what will work because the circumstances that surround classroom learning vary from school to school and change over time. Asking questions-specific ones that help identify the particular circumstances under which a given action is likely to produce a desired result. Gathering data- collecting information that bears on the questions you’ve asked. ● notes from previous years about the effectiveness of ● ● ● ● ● ● various instructional techniques for particular lessons and students discussions with colleagues about which teaching techniques they use, why they use them, and how effective they are discussions with colleagues about what assumptions you (and they) make about what it means to teach and what it means to learn asking one or more fellow teachers to observe and critique your teaching (a process known as lesson study) observing other teachers reading the research literature conducting what are called formative assessments at frequent intervals Reflection- Thinking about how one teaches, why one teaches that way, and what effect that has on students ● to become a reflective teacher, you need both the willingness and the ability to question your assumptions about teaching and learning. Taking Action- incorporating what you learned into future lessons 4. Read the Chapter 1 summary (p. 23-24) thoroughly. There is additional information from the chapter in the summary that you haven’t yet encountered. Please be sure to read ALL chapter summary information to support your learning! You may add additional notes here: