Chapter 9 - How people Learn

1. This chapter was all about technology. For example, what kind of technology do we use in out classrooms. The chapter discussed many different types that are used in the classroom today. I think it pretty much ties in well with the last chapter that we covered in How People Learn. I thought it was a good chapter to end the semester with!

2. The only thing that I didn't know was that there was so much technology used in the classroom. I just hope that some day I will be able to use more than what I have now. I had no idea about all of the software programs that were offered out there. Unfortunately I do not have any computers in my classroom that the kids can use, but I guess I could always schedule a day at the computer lab.

3. I feel like this chapter was very useful and I learned a lot from it. As a teacher it is important that you do use some technology in the classroom. As of right now, I am only using a projector, but I hope that some day I will have a Smartboard. I think that something like this would be very beneficial in my middle school math classroom.

Learning Environments

1. Chapter 6 and 7 from the How People Learn book is just adding on to the cognition book. The chapter on learning environments talks about the type of environment we provide in our classroom for our children.
2. There is not a thing that I am still unclear on from these two chapters. Again, I really enjoyed reading these two chapters. For example, I never knew what tpe of classroom environment I had until I read the chapters. It was very interesting to see what kind of environment I had and what I else I need to do to improve classroom learning.
3. A good learning environment is needed everyday in your classroom. Whether it's learner-centered, knowledge-centered, or assessment-centered they are all very important and have different aspects. I feel that my classroom is mostly learner-centered and knowledge=centered. I try my best everyday to relate the lesson the students with things that they would be familiar with. Also, I am always making sure they are asking questions so that they are understanding the concept. If they do not feel comfortable asking questions, then I begin to ask them. One thing that I want to work on is making my room more of a community-centered environment. Hopefully in time I will be able to do this.

Chapter 13

1. This chapter discusses the cognitive processes that develop in several areas that we have learned in previous chapters. Since this is the last chapter of the book, I feel like it talks about everything that we have learned so far. For example, it discusses memory, metacognition, and language. In this chapter I learned that some skills improve as children grow older, while others decline as children get older.
2. I actually found this chapter to be one of my favorites out of the book. I think it is very interesting to find out when and why children do things. For example, a child who is 3 years old begins recognizing the mother and can distinguish her from a stranger. I thought that was very interesting. So overall, there is nothing in this chapter that I am unclear about.
3. Since I do not teach language at all, this is hard for me to apply to my teaching. What I would take into consideration is that if I become an administrator things that I would like to see. After reading this chapter, I think it is evident that it is easier for a child to learn a different language at an early age rather than later in life. I would like to see more foreign languages being taught in elementary schools. I do not think it is fair that some schools offer these classes while others do not. So hopefully one da, this will change and our students will be able to learn another language before entering high school.

Chapter 9

1.Chapter 9 discusses the structure of language, factors that influence comprehension, and research on language. We learned about the reading processes and many important implications for teaching reading to children. This fits in with previous chapters because everything has to do with reading. We have learned about recognizing letters and eye movement in the early chapters. Then we learned about working memory, long term memory, and creating mental images in chapter 4,5,6, and 7. Language and reading involves everything that we have covered so far.
2. Overall, I felt like the chapter went pretty good. There is nothing that I am unclear on or need a better understanding of.
3. As a teacher, language and reading are applied daily. When going through my undergraduate program I always wondered why I was in Reading/Language methods courses if I was going to be a math teacher. I quickly learned that teaching math isn't all about math. In my classroom, I do journal entries a lot. I will pick a challenge or a word problem from the book and then I have them show all of their work and explain their answer. So they do get some practice writing in math class. I think that the basic skill every child needs to know is how to read and write. Without reading and writing you are not going to get very far.

Chapter 12

1. Chapter 12 on Deductive Reasoning and Decision Making relates follows along with the book. In the last chapter, we learned all about problem solving and creativity. This chapter kind of continues on from Chapter 11 and goes into reasoning and decision making.

2. There isn't anything that I am really unclear on. I thought that learning the heuristics was very interesting. Some of them I had to read over a few times to understand, but for the most part I understood them! Now could I actually go back and rename all of them and explain each one.. Probably not, but I could do my best.

3. I think that decision making and reasoning applies to our everyday lifestyle. Sometimes we do not realize it, but we are always making decisions. Whether it's deciding what to wear to work or what to do with a child who doesn't have his/her homework. After reading this chapter, I learned about all of the heuristics and the processes we go through when we are making decisions! It is important to see how our students reason and decide things.

Chapter 11

1. We started the course with just the general areas of cognition. We have studied working memory, long term memory, and memory strategies. Problem solving and creativity is another part of our daily lives. We as teachers solve problems everyday along with our students. For example, we may not know what to do when a student comes in without homework for the 4th day in a row. We may not know it, but we are always solving problems!
2. After reading chapter 11, there is nothing that I am unclear on. However, I did struggle with the Slavery and Duffy article. After reading it a few times, I do have a better understanding of it.
3. I actually enjoyed reading about problem solving because this is something that happens daily. As a math teacher, I am constantly trying to get my students to think outside the box to solve problems. It was very interesting to learn the problem-solving strategies. I never knew which strategy I related to most until I read the chapter. It's interesting to know that we do stuff everyday, now we are just putting names to what we do!

Chapter 8 - General Knowledge

1. This chapter informs us about semantic memory and schemas. Semantic memory refers to our organized knowledge about the world. There are four categories of theories that explain this: the feature comparison model, prototype approach, exemplar approach, and network models. The first three approaches have very similar features, while one I like to call is an outcast. The feature comparison model states that concepts are stored in memory according to a list of features. The prototype approach is where you decide whether an item belongs to a category or not. The exemplar approach says that you first learn specific examples then you classify. Lastly, the network models purpose is a net-like organization of concepts of memory. The last part of the chapter discusses schemas and scripts. A schema is general knowledge about a specific event or situation. Schemas have an important influence on five components of memory: selection, boundary extension, abstraction, interpretation, and integration.
2. I think this chapter fits in because it is more of a generalization of what we have been talking about. We were introduced to schemas and semantic memory in Chapter 5. Now it just goes into more depth about the two.
3. There is not a thing that I am unclear on. I have learned a lot this chapter because it was my turn to be the discussion leader. I have read a lot of great examples and it has helped me have a better understanding of the concept.
4. When applying this to my classroom, I refer to the four approaches to semantic memory. I believe that I go by the prototype mostly in my classroom. I feel that I categorize things before I present them. For example, when teaching a chapter in the book, I always find something else to go with it. When I taught geometry, somehow the chapter didn't include volume, so I made sure I taught that with geometry. The prototype approach states that we store specific information about these individual examples of a category. By categorizing things in the classroom, I think it is beneficial to our students because they are going to be able to recall things better! In conclusion, I think I have used all of the four approaches: feature comparison model, prototype, exemplar, and network model in my classroom. However, I feel that I use the prototype the most.
5. I think that they author does a well job of explaining the prototype approach and I do believe it.
7. This is the first time that I have heard of these approaches. I feel that I use them in everyday life, I just never knew it.
8. I do not have an answer to this question. Sorry!