Educational Psychology - Angie Andrus

THE QUESTION: "What evidence do you see of specific teacher behaviors that are geared toward Piaget's theories about cognitive development? Cite specific examples and make clear connection to Piaget's work. Be thorough in your coverage of the theory, addressing multiple concepts (e.g., stage(s) of development, process of adaptation/equilibration) to demonstrate your understanding. Be sure to include a reference in your response." I observe Mr. J's CE US Government class in the afternoons. Everyday he has a journal question that the students take about 20 minutes to answer and discuss. This was a fascinating exercise to watch the first time around and make me think a great deal about metacognitive skills but looking through Piaget I realized Mr. J's journal questions can also tie to this theory of cognitive development. Mr. J presented the following question my first week of observation: "President Trump signed an executive order for the construction o...

THE QUESTION: "Based on your field experience observations to this point, what are the students' needs with regard to: Metacognition Mindset Motivation For each of these areas, write a robust paragraph analyzing the students' needs and how you plan to address those needs when you teach your lesson. Use and underline vocabulary from the theories as you complete your analysis and to justify your plan." The class I will be teaching this upcoming Friday is Mrs. O's Beginning Theatre. It is my job to teach a lesson that introduces them to comedy and guide them as they begin to pick comedic scenes to perform. METACOGNITION: In my observation I saw many students coming to class unprepared. Metacognition is the most difficult skill to apply in an individual lesson, but the best way I can think of to get the students thinking about their own thinking is to have them identify their own personal tastes in comedy. This hopefully will help incorporate some declarativ...

THE QUESTION: Describe how the teacher and/or school motivate students. Give specific examples of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators. Include vocabulary from specific motivational theories (e.g., Self-determination Theory, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, etc.) and be sure to include a reference in your response. I spent the entire day, February 10, at my local high school observing Mrs. O, Mr. J, and Mrs. M. I was able to sit down with each of them for few minutes and pick their brains about motivation. Mrs. O felt you had to prove to your students you were actually competent in the subject and once they respected you they would be motivated to accomplish what was needed in your classroom. I feel this attitude comes from her still trying to prove herself as an only second year teacher, which is completely understandable. She also ascribes to the arousal and fun theory. She often rewards her students with improvisation and other games. She also ascribed to goal theory, sitting o...

THE QUESTION: Describe how the teacher develops and promotes true growth mindset in his/her instruction, assessment, and/or procedures. What more could/should the teacher do in this regard? Provide specific examples and be sure to include a reference in your response. Feb. 3 was my time to observe this week. When instructed to analyze and describe how Mrs. O or Mr. J develops growth mindset the experience in Mrs. O's Intermediate Theater class comes to mind this week. In this course this week they were supposed to have come to class prepared to turn in a hard copy of the monologue they had chosen and then spend the remainder of the class time working and memorizing the piece. I observed a lot of chaos. More than half of the class spent the time on their phones trying to find a monologue and asking Mrs. O how they were expected to find one. I saw a lot of disconnect and misunderstanding. I also saw a lot of frustration from the students. As the students asked Mrs. O and I how they...