Description of a high school 9th grade classroom introduction: describe the grading policy, student demographics and educational resources. part 1: group differences (ability level, ethnicity, language differences, gender) define at least one major concept associated with group differences. describe at least one incident during which group differences were addressed or not addressed. explain one instructional approach that could be used to address differences. part 2: social cognitive theory ( modeling, reinforcement) or Motivation ( self efficacy, goal orientation) Define at least one major concept associated with motivation explain at least one major instructional approach that could be used to motivate students in the classroom. conclusion: describe at least three ways in which school can facilitate a teachers understanding of adolescent development and learning.
Education
The ninth grade language arts classroom was comprised of eighteen students, half male and half female. As an Advanced Placement (AP) class, all of the students were high achievers. Because of this, the teacher had several different and alternative grading policies to help motivate the students. Traditional letter grades were given, but there were also peer grading systems and other assignments that were not graded at all. Educational resources varied depending on the lesson. Traditional books comprised most of the educational materials, and much of the class was in fact structured in traditional ways with the teacher leading the class in a discussion about certain elements of a novel or poem. There was surprisingly little technological integration, and yet there was also not much need for it.
Group differences were not as immediately pronounced in this AP class as they are in other classes I have observed. This is because the ability level of the students was already normalized as being high. However, even among this group, there were differences that were readily observable. One of the most noticeable differences was gender differences in self-perception and self-efficacy. The females in the class tended to be self-deprecating. There were a few girls in the class who were confident, and a few boys who were not, but the girls generally exhibited shyness, a fear of reading their own writing aloud in the classroom, and self-abnegating comments when the teacher gave them praise. The boys were generally the opposite. When the teacher praised the boys, they usually smiled smugly and occasionally stuck their tongues out at peers as if they were trying to prove something and won. Self-esteem factors were also different between different ethnic groups Asian students (there were four) were not as prone to showing off as some of the other students in the class. The group differences were never addressed, and the teacher made no attempt to mitigate the group differences. To address these differences, the teacher could have taken advantage of technological tools when making assessments. When the students read their passages aloud to the class, the teacher can refrain from giving immediate feedback. Instead, the teacher can give the feedback in digital format. Only the students have access to their own feedback. This reduces the competitive environment in the classroom, and might help reduce the gender and ethnic differences.
Bandura's social cognitive theory is related to the concept of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is believed to be linked to motivation and achievement. Therefore, it is important to engender a strong sense of self-efficacy in students. Students with a strong sense of self-efficacy will be more likely to speak out in class, answer questions, and challenge the teacher. Students will also be more resilient and will bounce back from criticism or setbacks. Another feature of self-efficacy is that students with self-efficacy are more likely to remain committed to their interests, as they believe in their own abilities to see things through successfully. Students who have low self-efficacy will be likely to give up easily, avoid challenging tasks, focus on their failings, and quickly lose confidence at the first sign of criticism (Cherry, 2013). Bandura's social cognitive theory and the concept of self-efficacy can be applied to this classroom with regard to the differences between genders. Clearly, boys had a high sense of self-efficacy vs. The girls, and the teacher did not recognize this fact. Again, refraining from offering feedback immediately after a verbal presentation might help the students with low self-efficacy address challenges in a safe way. As they build self-efficacy, learn to enjoy the art of failing gracefully, and see difficult tasks through to the end, the girls may increase their self-efficacy. The teacher can achieve this through gentle encouragement.
Self-regulated learning is related to social learning, motivation, and self-efficacy. In this classroom, the teacher already incorporates activities that will encourage self-regulated learning because it is an advanced placement class. However, there are other ways the teacher can use different instructional approaches to motivate students in the classroom. For example, the teacher can ironically capitalize on the gender differences by segregating the class into boys and girls, and having a competition. If the girls lose, they will still have collaborated and the collaborative learning activity will strengthen their social networks. This will lead to increased trust among the students, possibly more collaborative learning, and more goal-driven behaviors. Accountable to peers, the students are likely to be motivated to meet the group's expectations as well as their own. If the girls win the original competition against the boys, it will have the added benefit of boosting the self-esteem and self-efficacy of the female students.
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