1. Emily Sirotkin’s Application EDPS 457 T/R 12:30-1:45 Abbott

2. Philosophy of Teaching This application is based on key aspects of my philosophy of teaching, including that I will: – Teach based on proven educational psychology practices and theories – Provide fair, equal education for all students, regardless of individual or group differences – Create a classroom of high-processing, deep, meaningful learning that will be stored in long-term memory – Scaffold activities using a series of guided practice, expert models, and peer models to help students’ self- efficacy for learning and memory

3. Educational Psychology as a Science (S) Psychology: the science of human thinking and behavior Science: uses falsifiable, predictive, quantifiable, and parsimonious theories to control and improve outcomes Human thinking: thought patterns, reasoning, and opinions Human behavior: observable verbal and non-verbal activity

4. Educational Psychology as a Science (O) Psychology is a science that studies human thinking and human behavior. These key terms relate to the rest of the sections in this application. Behaviorism especially focuses on human behavior, while self-efficacy and memory focus more on human thinking. All of the information studied is based on psychology as a science.

5. Educational Psychology as a Science (A) Educational psychology as a science helps with my philosophy of teaching because I realize that there are some extremely scientific aspects of how students learn. I would like to use scientific studies to shape my future teaching, because scientific studies can be proven and are predictive of learning. I would like to study my students' learning curve so that I can understand how my students' performance changes over time, and what factors impact their learning curve.

6. Educational Psychology as a Science (R) Q1: What does it mean that educational psychology is a science? Q2: How could educational psychology influence your teaching style? Q3: How does educational psychology shape the structure/content of your class?

7. Behaviorism (S) Behaviorism: perspective in which learning and behavior are explained through stimulus- response relationships Classical conditioning: form of learning in which a new, involuntary response is acquired as a result of two stimuli being presented at the same time Stimulus: specific object or event that are presented to influence an individual’s learning or behavior Response: specific behavior that an individual emits or exhibits after a stimulus

8. Behaviorism (O) Behaviorism can be studied through classical conditioning in which an unconditioned stimulus (or reflex) produces an unconditioned response. The unconditioned stimulus is paired with a conditioned stimulus and over time, the conditioned stimulus produces the same response. Human behavior can be very different based on individual differences or group differences.

9. Behaviorism (A) Understanding behaviorism affects my philosophy of teaching because it relates to student motivation and classroom management. I think that understanding how specific stimuli produce student responses will be extremely important to classroom management and maintaining a good learning environment for my students.

10. Behaviorism (R) Q1: What is one example of a classroom management technique that involves classical conditioning? Q2: What is one way that you can see behaviorism affecting students differently? Q3: What is one way that students become classically conditioned at school?

11. Modeling (S) Behavioral modeling: modeling an action or observable behavior Cognitive modeling: modeling a thought pattern Expert model: modeling by a person with more skill level, experience, or expertise Peer model: modeling by a person who is equal in ability level, background, age, or social status

12. Modeling (O) Behavioral modeling and cognitive modeling by both peer models and expert models will affect students’ behavior and thought patterns. Peer models have been shown to increase motivation and self-efficacy, while expert models are more likely to improve learning and knowledge. Both behavioral and cognitive modeling are important in the classroom.

13. Modeling (A) Understanding how modeling works in the classroom is really important for effective teaching. I want to use peer group and partner work to help students to learn from each other, which is peer modeling. I think that especially in a Spanish classroom, it can be helpful for students to listen to each other and learn from each other's mistakes. Expert modeling is really helpful as well, especially with pronunciation, because students probably won't know how to pronounce the words until they hear someone else model how to do it correctly.

14. Modeling (R) Q1: What is another way that peer models could be used in a Spanish classroom? Q2: What is another way that expert models could be used in a Spanish classroom? Q3: Why is cognitive modeling especially important for a Spanish class?

15. Self-Efficacy (S) Self-efficacy: belief that one is capable of executing certain behaviors or reaching certain goals under specific conditions Motivation: inner state that energizes, directs, and sustains behavior Goals: result, achievement, or aim toward which effort and energy are directed Resilient self-efficacy: belief that one can perform a task successfully even after experiencing setbacks

16. Self-Efficacy (O) Self-efficacy is affected by students’ motivation and will impact the students’ goals. Peer modeling increases motivation and self-efficacy. Goals could be based on performance, such as grades or people’s opinions, or mastery, such as a desire to conquer a new skill. Having a high self-efficacy will increase students’ ability to learn, and it will impact their memory, development, and assessment taking. Every student will encounter some setbacks in their learning, and so it is also important for students to develop a resilient self- efficacy so that they will continue to try, even after experiencing failure.

17. Self-Efficacy (A) Self-efficacy is really important for understanding student's attitudes in the classroom. Some kids believe that no matter how hard they try, they will still fail, or they might feel like they are too far behind to ever catch up; these students lack resilient self-efficacy. Other students come with high expectations, knowing that they are capable of success. It is really important for teachers to help students develop a higher self- efficacy - not by lowering the standards for the class, but by truly believing in each students abilities. My favorite teachers have had very high standards, but they made sure that the information was accessible and attainable to learn.

18. Self-Efficacy (R) Q1: How could lowering class standards hinder students’ self-efficacy? Q2: What impact do you think goal-setting can have on students’ self-efficacy? Q3: After a student experiences failure, how can a teacher help the student develop resilient self-efficacy?

19. Memory (S) Memory: ability to save something mentally that has been previously learned Attention: focusing of mental processing on particular stimuli Long-term memory: component of memory that holds knowledge and skills for a relatively long time Working memory: component of memory that holds and actively thinks about and processes a limited amount of information

20. Memory (O) Memory involves storing the information that we have learned. In a classroom, students will have a lot of stimuli, but we need them to pay attention to the most important sensory input. When students begin to process the information, it is in their working memory. Over time and through deeper levels of processing, the information will move to long- term memory.

21. Memory (A) Understanding how memory works is really important for teaching in a foreign language classroom. Most people have taken at least a year of a foreign language, but can only recall the basics (counting to ten and hello/goodbye). Somehow, students need to learn and process the information on a deeper level so that it moves into long-term memory. Another important thing to remember is that students have a limited working memory, so they cannot learn everything in the textbook at once! We can help students focus their attention on the most important vocabulary words and grammar concepts to store in long-term memory.

22. Memory (R) Q1: How are working memory and long-term memory related? Q2: What is one practical idea for moving information from working memory to long- term memory? Q3: How can we help students recall and use concepts that are stored in their long-term memory?

23. Development (S) Development: appearance of a new, more advanced behavior or trait; to grow into a more advanced or mature state Cognitive development: development of increasingly sophisticated thinking and reasoning processes Linguistic development: development of increasingly sophisticated understanding and use of language Physical development: development of the human body from infancy to adulthood

24. Development (O) Development occurs continuously for every living thing; people are always growing, adapting, and changing with the world around them. Human’s physical development might be the most obvious, because we can see the outward changes of maturity towards adulthood. Cognitive development has been categorized into specific stages by Piaget. Linguistic development was studied by Chomsky and explained through his theory is of an innate Language Acquisition Device (LAD).

25. Development (A) Development is another very important part of my philosophy of teaching. I have seen this in the ESL classroom, where there is often a wide range of linguistic development. One of my ESL classes has 2 students at ELL Level 1 proficiency (very basic), 4 students at Level 2 proficiency, and 2 students at Level 3 proficiency. Each student is at a completely different stage of language development; some students can communicate with complete sentences and talk for long stretches of time, while other students struggle to produce one-word output. In my future classes, I know I will have a wide variety of abilities and development among my students and it is important to be aware of each student’s development so that I can make my teaching applicable and helpful for all of the students.

26. Development (R) Q1: What is one way that physical development could affect a high school classroom? Q2: How does linguistic development affect students’ writing and reading abilities? Q3: What is an example activity that is appropriate for high school students’ level of cognitive development?

27. Individual Differences (S) Learning disability: deficiencies in one or more specific cognitive processes but not in overall cognitive functioning Intellectual disability: deficiency/variation in working memory capacity; low IQ; lowered overall cognitive functioning Physical disability: general physical or medical conditions that interfere so significantly with school performance that special accommodations are required Emotional/behavioral disability: emotional states and behaviors that consistently and significantly disrupt academic learning and performance

28. Individual Differences (O) Each student will come into the classroom with their own individual differences. For some students, these differences will significantly affect their academic lives. Students with an intellectual disability or learning disability may have more trouble understanding or processing specific concepts, while physical disabilities can change the way students receive input (e.g.: blind students will need more auditory input) and emotional/behavioral disabilities can affect the entire class and change the classroom management dynamics.

29. Individual Differences (A) Individual differences will have a huge impact on teaching in the classroom. It is very important to know each student's strengths and weaknesses. For students who have an IEP, special accommodations will need to be made for that student. In my own philosophy of teaching, I think its really important to remember that students will all learn differently, so as a teacher, it is my job to help ALL students learn. I want to be responsible to create a classroom and curriculum that helps every student to learn, succeed, and do their best.

30. Individual Differences (R) Q1: How will emotional/behavioral disabilities in the classroom change your classroom management techniques? Q2: What is one way that you could accommodate students with physical disabilities such as deafness or blindness in the classroom? Q3: How could you change your classroom set-up to better accommodate students with physical disabilities that cause them to use a wheelchair?

31. Group Differences (S) Group differences: consistently observed differences (on average) among diverse groups of students Ethnicity: students who have common historical roots, values, beliefs, and behaviors and who share a sense of interdependence Socioeconomic status (SES): one’s general social and economic standing in society; encompasses family income, occupation, and educational level Cultural mismatch: situation in which a children’s home culture and school culture hold conflicting expectations for the child’s behavior

32. Group Differences (O) Group differences will affect students in the classroom, because each student will belong to several groups and will have differing degrees of identify with those groups. For some students, especially for minority groups, ethnicity is a significant group to define the students’ identity. Socioeconomic status (SES) will also significantly affect the background experiences that students have when they enter the classroom. Teachers need to be aware of potential cultural mismatch between students’ groups and the mainstream culture and expectations in the classroom.

33. Group Differences (A) Group differences affect my own philosophy of teaching, because I think that it is important to recognize that students will be coming from different backgrounds. Our students are each people who have history, culture, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status, which affect their identity and the way that they learn. Some of these barriers in the classroom could include language, non-verbal communication, and personal space. I want to be considerate, respectful, and learn more about my students’ identities and backgrounds so that I understand potential cultural mismatched situations in my teaching and classroom.

34. Group Differences (R) Q1: What is one way that gender differences could be present in the classroom? Q2: How could a teacher incorporate other students’ cultures into the classroom? Q3: How do you think SES affects students’ learning and educational experience?

35. Task Analysis (S) Task analysis: identify the specific knowledge, behaviors, or cognitive processes necessary to master a particular subject area or skill Behavioral analysis: identify the specific behaviors required to perform a task Subject matter analysis: break down the subject matter in terms of specific topics, ideas, and concepts Information processing analysis: break a task down in terms of the specific cognitive processes it requires

36. Task Analysis (O) Task analysis can be used to analyze any particular subject area or skill. It is helpful to break a task down into smaller parts in order to better explain and teach it to others. Sometimes, teachers will use behavioral analysis, for example, to teach the fingerings and mouth placement to play a trumpet. Other times, subject matter analysis, such as identifying the key elements of reading sheet music, will be more helpful. Information processing analysis is more helpful for recognizing the cognitive processes. In reading, students should be aware of effective reading strategies, such as finding main ideas, elaborating, and summarizing.

37. Task Analysis (A) Task analysis is central to my philosophy of teaching, because I want to analyze the break-down of how to teach each task. Sometimes teachers give an entire task at once, which would be overwhelming to the students. If I understand how to break down the task into its specific parts - whether behavioral, subject matter, or information processing - I will be able to explain the steps to my students better. I think that information processing is especially important, and I definitely want to engage my students in meaningful learning rather than just rote learning. This means that I want to ask high-level questions that engage the students in my classes.

38. Task Analysis (R) Q1: What is an example of a behavioral task in the Spanish classroom? Q2: For what types of information would subject matter analysis be the most useful in the Spanish classroom? Q3: How can teachers help students with information processing analysis? What is one practical example of this?

39. Assessment (S) Assessment: process of observing a sample of a student’s behavior and drawing inferences about the student’s knowledge and abilities Recognition tasks: memory task in which one must identify correct information among incorrect statements or irrelevant information Recall tasks: memory task in which one must retrieve information from long-term memory with only minimal retrieval cues Test anxiety: excessive anxiety about a particular test or about assessment in general, self-efficacy about taking the assessment

40. Assessment (O) Assessment is a key part of instruction, because teachers want to test the amount of learning that has actually taken place. It relates back to the memory unit, because testing checks for learning that has moved into longer-term memory. Test questions could be either recognition tasks or recall tasks. Some students will experience high test anxiety. Also, it is important to create fair assessments that accommodate students with individual and group differences.

41. Assessment (A) Assessment will be important in my classroom because I want to know that my students have really learned the information. I prefer assessments with recall rather than recognition, because I think that it is a better test of what students really know. In real life, students won't have a word bank or multiple choices when they want to communicate in Spanish. Therefore, to test real learning, recall and higher-level questions will be important. It is really important to realize what information students understand and what parts of the lesson that the students are still confused about, which is why assessment plays a large part in my philosophy of teaching.

42. Assessment (R) Q1: What is an example of a time when recognition tasks would be more useful for students? Q2: What is an example of a time when recall tasks would be more useful? Q3: How can assessment play a formative role in the classroom?

43. Elaboration Concept Map Operant conditioning Reward Punishment Creates an increase in frequency of behavior using Creates a decrease in frequency of behavior using Modeling Response Inhibition Response Disinhibition Observation of punishment leads to Lack of punishment leads to When observing someone else punished for a behavior leads to When observing someone else NOT punished for a behavior leads to Initiation Performance Goals Mastery Goals A student begins to desire his/her goals in order to make a good impression A student begins to desire his/her goals in order to master new skills can be observed in Positive reward increases the likelihood of

44. Conclusion Through the study of each of these major sections of class, I have learned about many key terms and related them to my future classes and philosophy of teaching. I have also discovered how the topics that we studied are very interrelated, and I have been able to draw several connections between the topics and terms of each section.