Themes that emerged for me across the sources was that there is a biological bases for everything that we do. Our experience can induce changes in brain anatomy which can have either a positive or negative effect. I have a few examples of where this theory/ies shows up in the classroom but I want to focus on one because it was the most illuminating for me. What this means for me as a learner/teacher is that there are many roadblocks as well as building blocks that are imperative to know about a student before beginning any lesson especially on lessons that go deeper into students beliefs and knowledge.  

One such case that I’ve seen this show up is when teaching a pop up lesson for a 7th grade class about Portlands Black History. This was not normally my classroom but the students had been in what I would call an enriched classroom environment for a long-term (about half a year). I was taking over for the main teacher in order to teach a one day lesson. The students were already familiar with me, most I'd gotten to know throughout their 6th grade year. Of course, there are a lot of issues with teaching such a complex history in one 50 minute class; setting up students for having difficult conversations was minimal, students were not adequately prepared for learning this information, and there was no follow up about the lesson afterwards. During a part of the lesson we looked at images of the  living space slaves were subjected to in Oregon. It wasn’t the space that students might have imagined, it was nice in their opinion. It was essentially a wooden cabin but with only one bed for an entire family. A student took note of this, suggesting that it wasn’t such a bad environment. That the slaves had it good and he wouldn't have minded living there.  

Cosmides theory for preconditions to learning, Gazzaniga also states this in a way, is that it’s important to get to know the student(s) in order to facilitate a community of cooperation but also to create an environment that students feel safe in and cared for in order to create an inclusive classroom. It was evident that the students environment was comfortable enough that they felt safe to state their opinion however, as Cosmides stated in the role of the learner, students connect most with those that are apart of an “in-group”. How far does the “in-group” concept go for students? Expanding on the types of student groups; cheater for example, students must learn ways to factor groups of people based on those in their surrounding; parents, family, friends, and teachers. The NPR video on Rosenzweig illustrates this a bit. How do expectations that we, and students, have in our heads translate into tiny behavior changes. If the expectation when learning about a subject matter is low or it doesn’t connect with previous experiences/knowledge of those within an in-group, how is learning affected?  

This student could have been feed accurate and proper information however, when we remember, we are piecing together fragments of stored information under the influence of general knowledge and beliefs. The issue with this lesson was that there wasn’t previous information stored about this subject matter so the conclusion the student would reach would be based off of his general knowledge and beliefs. These were lacking in a full narrative of slavery in Oregon, resulting in a hurtful statement. As the group members stated the left side of the brains information is only as good as the information it is fed. If it’s fed false or in my case, lacking information, the left side of the brain may create a narrative that is wrong. Something I would like to learn more about is how these functions affect students who learn race, social justice, or American history lessons. How do we piece together fragments of stored information if our general beliefs and knowledge is flawed, falsely given, or lacking in a full narrative. If experience can induce changes in brain anatomy then how would past experiences that are passed down to children affect students, if that’s possible. How does memory that is more negative affect the constructive process used for learning?  

After watching the TED talk on Peter Doolittle, I have a deeper understanding on working memory and its components. It stores some immediate experiences and a little bit of knowledge, allows us to reach back into long-term memory, and it mixes this and process it in light of whatever our current goal is. The current goal is more mundane, such as I’d like to get a good grade on an assignment. The goal for my pop up lesson was not defined and even if it was it would have been too broad. Students would have attempted to make a meaning out of what they learned but it wouldn’t have been a complete narrative because of time constraints. Students wouldn’t have been able to get the support they need when asking questions such as what’s missing, what would I like to know, do I agree with these assumptions? Peter Doolittle’s talk helped in reminding me that practicing it here (in the classroom) outside, and at home results in students processing it and thus really learning it.  

I think the assimilation/accommodation aspects of Piaget’s theory show up often in students learning and in my teaching. From my perspective, when I teach about say, the atom, I use existing knowledge and perception of the atom to start. I often begin with the image they’ve seen of the atom from pop culture like Jimmy Neutron or Big Bang Theory. From there I tell them those images they see are actually a model of what we think an atom is like. I explain that the atom is made of parts, a nucleus in the center, and an electron cloud on the outside. They assimilate the parts of the atom into their existing structures but must accommodate that electrons don’t move in neat discrete orbits, but rather exist as a dense cloud swarming around the nucleus. 

The implications for this theory are that as a teacher, I must remember to not only build upon the existing schema that students have and relate it to the content at hand, but I must also do work to find out what those schema are. I have to do more assessment before I teach to see where the students are and what structures they already have in place. Additionally, to look at it from an equity lens, I should realize that the schema students have will vary based on things like ethnicity and socioeconomic status. And I must be aware that the schema I have currently or think I had at their age will also be different from what they possess currently. 

I remember learning about this theory in my undergrad, but it was hard for me to fully comprehend without the experience in the classroom. It was great for me to now learn about this theory again and be able to fully understand the concepts and make connections to my own teaching. I really liked your slide #8 (Process of Learning/Development) because the image at the bottom really helped me understand how Schema works. Also I liked the bullet point talking about how information is comprehended. It is a great reminder that when I am teaching to not get frustrated when students are not comprehending new information and remember that they might not have the background knowledge in order to make connections and fully understand the new information. 

I see Schema a lot in my teaching. I work at a low income school where many of the students are emerging bilinguals. When introducing new vocabulary or even reading a story I make sure to front load new information that might seem silly to me but could be very foreign to my students. Many of my students don’t have enough English vocabulary and/or experiences to make connections when learning new things. Just the other day we were reading a book and many of my students did not know what a leopard was. When I asked if they had ever been to the Zoo many of them said no! How would they be able to make connections if I as their teacher didn’t engage in a discussion, use pictures, and help them relate the new information on a topic that is familiar to me, but not to them.

My class is starting a new math unit with time. This unit is very hard for 1st graders to understand because they aren’t familiar with the concept of time and the vocabulary used for it. I will make sure that I engage in meaningful discussions about the new topic to help my students use their schema in order to understand it better. 

The theory that has caught my attention is "GENETIC EPISTEMOLOGY / DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY of KNOWLEDGE". This theory caught my eye because I was not familiar with the language of the name, but as I was reading about the theory, I noticed how crucial it is to my teaching of first graders. And one thing that had me eager to learn more about is the concept of assimilation and accommodation. I know that these learning processes already take place but I was not aware of how students use them when learning new knowledge or skills. When reflecting upon my teaching and this particular theory I thought of a unit we teach on time (telling and writing time). According to the theory my students are still in the pre-operational phase. That means I need to use many manipulatives, pictures and hands on strategies in order for my students to assimilate and/or accommodate this new knowledge.  I usually use mini clocks that each student can use, a lot of anchor charts with pictures and diagrams of clocks (that they make with me) and plenty of learning games that we play to help them practice their new skills of telling time. In order for them to assimilate this new knowledge/skills, I usually open the unit by discussing with them where they have seen a clock (as well as showing them pictures of different clocks). Then we discuss why we might use clocks and what they might do at different times during the day. According to this theory, this discussion helps my students to use their schema (background knowledge) about clocks and bring that information to their working memory and assimilate the new information into that schema. Through hands-on practice, games and activities, this new information will be moved to their long-term memory. Because my students are so young, they might not have a solid or large schema about clocks, so in that case they need to accommodate this new knowledge/skills by adapting their old schema to fit the new information. The discussion that we have in the beginning of the unit, as well as subsequent discussions, anchor charts and activities,  hopefully allows their brain to make room for the new learning by figuring out how it fits alongside their prior knowledge. This accommodation skill is what particularly resonated with me as I have a hard time fully understanding how such young students do this. However, I know that it is an important skill and would love to learn more about it so that I can make sure I am delivering appropriate content that will either fit in with a prior schema or alongside prior schemas. This will ensure the students are engaged and their new knowledge/skills move to their long-term memory. For future instruction, in any topic, I will continue to activate my student’s prior knowledge by showing pictures, using manipulatives, and having discussions at the beginning of and throughout the unit to ensure they are able to assimilate and/or accommodate their knew knowledge and ultimately be able to move that new knowledge and skill to their long-term memory.

After reading through the presentation I realized I have used Motivated and Self-regulated Learning quite regularly. In my experience working in Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms teaching students how to control and regulate their emotions and behaviors is one of the first things we tackle and continually practice throughout the year. For many students this is their first experience at school. At the beginning of the year, my focus as a teacher is creating a warm classroom community. We talk about what it means to be a good friend and how to make a friend. We also give strategies on how to solve problems with friends through modeling and discussion. 

Following Zimmerman’s 3-step cycle, in regards to problem solving with a friend, the goal has been established that students work through problems with their friends by using their words.  I continually encourage students to solve problems on their own “did you try to solve the problem with your friends” or  “remember when your words don’t work you get a teacher”. Throughout the year, we revisit strategies, where I can offer support where needed, redirect undesirable behaviors and reward successful strategies. I often involve parents and ask them to use similar methods in the home. By giving students the opportunity to learn how to problem solve on their own they will become more confident in solving their own problems in the future. 

Thank you so much for your presentation!  The information was organized very clearly and I really appreciated the different visuals that you incorporated.

As a Special Education teacher, motivation and self-regulation are critical to the success of the students I work with.  One way in which I see this theory in my practice is when I am goal-setting with students.  For the students who have IEP goals in behavior and social skills, we work together to create goals and a plan to get there.  I explicitly teach and provide examples of SMART goals, and then help students to make a goal that follows this framework.  I try to include a visual way for them to track their progress on the goals so that they can self-monitor more effectively.  Part of the goal-setting process is also helping students to reflect on their progress and problem-solve if needed.  By supporting students with creating goals, we are teaching them valuable, life-long skills.  My hope is that, in the future, I will be able to work with all students on my caseload to set individual goals.  

In my practice, I see this theory show up regularly.  One thing that I try to do whenever I teach a new subject or before we dive into a new text is to support students with making connections.  For example, we read a text last week about bees.  Before jumping into reading the text, we had a discussion about what students already knew about bees.  This helped my students to get excited about the topic, as well as make connections to their own life experiences.  In math, I also try to help my students to see the relevance of what we are learning.  Using real-world examples, or having students come up with their own, is one way to help them to make connections.  For future instruction, I would like to be able to bring in more realia and visuals to help students to make connections in a different way.  Hopefully, by giving students those additional access points, they will be able to form stronger and longer-lasting connections.