Reflections on Chapter 15 by Bethany Iyobe https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u Discussion board for reflections on meditation activity utilizing the Guided Discovery Learning Principle from Chapter 15. en-us 2018-10-17 23:31:15 UTC 2025-12-01 19:54:15 UTC hello@padlet.com Tyler Schultz https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/301526051 Using the first activity really helped me to understand and figure out what meditation and the process are all about. I think this type of activity falls into the process constraints technique. Under process constraints the article states "This type of guidance should be used when students are able to perform the basic inquiry process but still lack the experience to apply it under more demanding circumstances" (de Jong & Lazonder, 2014, Section Process Constraints, para. 1) This first activity was a great way for us to use scientific discovery and determine what meditation is. Although we were not explicitly given the definition, we could perform the action and understand what meditation is about. Open types of guidance like prompts and loose learning experiences do help older students learn more. I enjoyed being able to meditate in a small sample size and actually dive into it myself, which I believe allowed me to understand it better. 

]]> 2018-11-07 14:50:09 UTC https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/301526051 Jocelyn Alfera https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/302572899 I thought the second activity was the most helpful in my understanding of meditation. By reading the purpose of meditation and the steps to take, I was able to process how to mediate. By providing the three different ways of using and understanding meditation I believe you used the process constraint guidance technique (de Jong & Lazonder, 2014, p. 374). Instead of simply telling us to meditation, you offered a restricted number of options we could use. I liked the progression you used as well. The first activity was student-focused in allowing us to figure out meditation for ourselves. Then you gave us a definition and finally prompted us with the audio instructions. The prompting techique was helpful because it really honed in on what you should be focusing on and was a reminder of what to do when meditating (de Jong and Lazonder, 2014, p. 376). ]]> 2018-11-09 14:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/302572899 Denise Corona https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/302758787 The first activity was nondirective support. Nondirective support, by contrast, helps students in performing certain actions but does not tell them exactly what to do. (de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014, Types of Guidance, para. 1) If you had prior knowledge or experience with mediation, this first activity would have been more useful. I am somewhat familiar, using breathing techniques in Yoga, however, doing this activity my mind was racing, and just about any time I close my eyes I have the tendency to doze off. LOL 

The second activity was interpretative support with prompts. “… interpretative support that helps students in structuring their knowledge (de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014, Types of Guidance, para. 1). This article was informative and helped me with the understanding and learning process.

The third activity used guided experimental support with heuristics. Heuristics thus offer more specific guidance than prompts: they remind students of a particular action and, in addition, point out possible ways to perform that action. (de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014 Heuristics, para. 1) This was the most meaningful, since it guided my learning and understanding of the mediation process. Having the audio talk you through the mediation process allowed me to learn the process, however, the discovery of how mediation works was still left for my own interpretation and learning.

Your entire activity followed the science discovery learning process. Methods of science learning that adhere to this recommendation are instances of scientific discovery learning, a process in which students investigate scientifically oriented questions, conduct experiments, formulate explanations based on evidence, evaluate their explanations in light of alternative explanations, and communicate and justify their proposed explanations(de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014, Guided Discovery Learning, para. 2)

With multi-media learning and current educational trends (STEM, STEAM, and STREAM) guided learning is important to ensure that students do deepen their understanding through their own inquiry learning process.

]]> 2018-11-09 20:13:02 UTC https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/302758787 Stephanie Valentine wolbert214 https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/302764620 This activity provided different types of guidance. The ones that strongly stood out to me include prompts, scaffolds, and background information.  When I started the first activity with the nondirective support that simply told me to Set a timer to 2 minutes. Sit, and try to focus inward, and turn off my thoughts my initial reaction was that the idea of meditation sounded great, however, in reality it was harder for me to stay focused and clear my mind. As I attempted this first activity my mind continuously returned to all of the tasks on my to do list. Depending on students prior knowledge and inquiry skills there could be various outcomes (de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014, p. 381).

As I progressed through activities two and three I was more focused to stay on track. I had an article that I was able to read through that informed me on meditation practices.  Directly presenting information, along with learning through experimentation offering information before and during inquiry proved more effective than just presenting information before the activity (de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014, p.  379).

Bethany’s prompts during the third activity using  motivated me to remain on task as I felt that I was going to miss something important for the next step. Prompts help students to carry out certain actions. With this activity I found it helpful to keep me focused on the given tasks. I have used the meditation process before, where I had learned and experienced the method on my own, but this kept me on track reminding me of scaffolding. 
Scaffolds help students perform with the learning process by supporting the dynamics of the activities provided the components and structures of the process (de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014, p. 377). 

The model progression provided each step one at a time and I believe it could be used to increase and sustain motivation. It’s beneficial and allows monitoring to be more effective and efficient throughout the learning process. Utilizing this approach, learners could achieve more goals successfully.


]]> 2018-11-09 20:29:01 UTC https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/302764620 Paige Passatore paigepassatore https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/302766766 I think these activities did a great job displaying the various types of guidance and support during guided discovery learning. The tasks were presented in a logically order considering a "typology of guidance" organized to increase diverse learner needs for overall positive outcomes (de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014, p.375). As I began the first activity I thought, oh that's easy... just relax and try not to think too much for two minutes. Way harder than I thought! It seemed like as soon as a close my eyes, I started thinking about everything I had to do for grad school, work, and to get ready before leaving for Florida. Then, the two minutes was up. This type of nondirective activity did not give me enough guidance. Although it helped me in performing the task (setting a time limit), I needed more direction as to what to do (de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014, p.374). 

The second and third tasks provided more explicit guidance which were definitely helpful to me as a learner. I had meditated once or twice before, so I would say my prior knowledge was low to moderate. I liked the article the most because it provided us with prompts, but I still was able to interpret and learn for myself. "Prompts are given to students who are (expected to be) capable of preforming that action but may not do so on their own initiative" (de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014, p.376). They provide an extra support to learners who are ready to learn the material. I use prompts all the time with my ELs.

I also thought it was a good idea for Bethany to include activity three, a more heuristic approach, because she did not know everyone's prior knowledge of meditation. This should be used when learners "are unlikely to know exactly when and how an action or learning process should be preformed" (de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014, p.377). This tasks explained to students exactly that, and gave them the opportunity to practice. I believe an important take away from this chapter is to remember the progression of support, guidance, and scaffolding that we must provide our learners in order for them to be successful. ]]> 2018-11-09 20:35:35 UTC https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/302766766 Malimi Kazi https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/302935434 Activity 1.
I tried to the activity while sitting on my bed. I found it difficult to focus inward and to still my thoughts. I closed my eyes but it was hard to still my thoughts and focus inward. I could hear music played outside my room. Some thoughts were running in my mind.

Activity 2.
The description of meditation which enabled me to know what meditation (dhyana) is and what is not; and technique of doing meditation, I think, this is what de Jong and Lazonder (2014) call “heuristics” (p. 377). “Heuristics give students suggestions on how to do perform a certain action or learning process” (Jong & Lazonder, 2014, p. 377). So, with this kind of guidance I was able to focus inward and I started to feel rest and relaxation of my mind as stated by Rama (n.d.). 

Activity 3.
Doing meditation seemed to be easier after I have listened to the guided meditation instructions and followed them. In about 5 minutes I really felt “an inner vacation” Rama (n.d.). The guided meditation instructions were scaffolds for me to enable me do meditation. “Scaffolds are tools that support students to perform the learning process by supporting the dynamics of the process involved” (Jong & Lazonder, 2014, p. 377). 

]]> 2018-11-11 04:06:27 UTC https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/302935434 Samantha McNally https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/303074229 For Activity 1, I honestly did not want to take the time to meditate - my mind was focused on all the things I had to do.  As the short time passed, my mind was focused on the idea that perhaps if I quieted my mind more often, I would be more focused and less stressed.  Towards the end, I enjoyed the quiet and focused on my breathing, which felt more calm.  I knew a little about meditation before this activity, but Activity 2 was helpful to confirm the idea that meditation can help you reach a different state of consciousness, because the idea is to eliminate distractions from your mind and focus inwardly.  This helped me as I moved into Activity 3, because I was more focused and relaxed and got more out of the activity.  I feel that the progression of these three activities relates to the appropriate scaffolds and guidance that can be provided to students during discovery learning.  I feel Activity 1 helped to prime the mind for the remaining activities, and then Activity 2 and 3 scaffolded the process of meditation for me so that it was more effective.  If I had gone back to do Activity 1 again, it probably would have taken me less time to quiet my mind.  The progression of scaffolds along with some experimentation, therefore, were more effective than simply presenting information (de Long & Lanzonder, 2014, p. 379).

]]> 2018-11-12 00:52:42 UTC https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/303074229 Nawal Alqarni https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/303142655 Before I do the first activity, I was need a mental relaxation :) Therefore, I was able to focus inwards and meditate with a complete relaxation. The second activity refreshed my previous information about the concept of meditation. In the third activity, I could really meditate deeply without any difficulty as I did in the first activity.  In fact, I have taken a course in meditation, and I am used to practicing the meditation almost weekly for many years. Therefore, it was easy to understand and do these learning activities. 

I think these activities represented the techniques of the guided discovery effectively, especially the scaffolding and prompts. The ordering of the tasks was beneficial and efficient throughout the learning process, "...direct instruction and learning through experimentation before and during inquiry, proved more effective than merely presenting the information before the inquiry"(de Jong & Lanzonder, 2014, p. 379).]]> 2018-11-12 08:25:36 UTC https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/303142655 Lauren Harter laurenharter16 https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/303265487 For activity 1, I set the timer and closed my eyes and sat at my desk. Within less than 2 seconds, I found myself thinking about all the different assignments I have to grade and other work related things. I still felt relaxed though, it was if I was just organizing my thoughts.

For activity 2, the description of meditation really helped me to better understand the difference between just silencing my thoughts or "sitting still" and actually meditating. I have never practiced meditation before so the process of practicing it is new to me. I had some misconceptions that it was just sitting there and closing my eyes. This decoration helped me to better understand what it is and what it is not.

For activity 3, I think the guided meditation really helped me to understand what I should be doing. The text notes, "Heuristics thus offer more specific guidance than prompts: they remind students of a particular action and, in addition, point out possible ways to perform that action". When I first was listening to the guided meditation, I thought I would consider the steps or recommendations to be prompts. However, as I continued to listen, I realized I would consider it to be Heuristics since I found the steps to be more specific and points out "ways to perform that action" (Jong & Lazonder, 2014, p. 394) (I have the ebook). 

I think that the document outlining and explaining what the meditation process is (and is not) and also the guided meditation helped me to best understand what meditation is and how I should be practicing it. ]]> 2018-11-12 14:21:23 UTC https://padlet.com/iyobebethany/93chovgj180u/wish/303265487