Barchock1

Multiplication is Easy Jack N. Barchock Bridgewater College

Multiplication is Easy

Barchock2 Abstract

Students learn through many different forms of teaching. The environment of the classroom has to be a place where knowledge will be learned and obtained for not just that class period, but for the rest of their lives. Information is constantly thrown at students and the majority of the time it goes in one ear and out the other. This paper will explain the different approaches theorists have on how students learn in the classroom. Countless number of articles and books have been read and dissected and the information that is going to be presented will explain how students learn best. Students learn best through reinforcement (positive or negative), shaping, Gagnes Nine Instructional Steps, social interaction, and modeling. Students have different stages of cognitive development and it is the job of the teacher to make sure these needs are meet.

Barchock3

Multiplication is Easy A school is a place where knowledge needs to be obtained by the students. Outside factors that can misguide or delay learning needs to be absent in the lives of students, but as most teachers know this is not the case. Students fall into the trap of peer pressure by allowing their environment to dictate the outcome for their future. In the classroom teachers will deal with: students that constantly raise their hands to get the appraisal of their teachers, other students will be day dreaming and not paying attention to classroom discussion, and finally students that are sleeping. Teachers need to have an energetic personality when teaching so active participation will occur. If participation is absent the classroom will be taught solely by the teacher and active learning will not occur. The classroom is a place where knowledge needs to be learned and retained into long term memory. When students transfer knowledge from short term memory into long term memory a sense of self-fulfillment takes ahold of the student. Psychologists have made theories on how students learn best, but as time changes so does the theories and theorist. The best way students learn is through, reinforcement (positive or negative), shaping, Gagnes Nine Events of Instruction, modeling, and social interaction. Students learn most efficiently through reinforcement and shaping. Reinforcement is a way the teacher can keep control in the classroom by using positive or negative rewards. The theory of reinforcement was created by B.F. Skinner. Skinner who is a behaviorist came up with his own branch of psychology called Operant Condition. The Journal for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior states, Changes in behavior are the result of an individual's response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment (Operant Conditioning Article). There are two types of responses positive and negative. Both of these steps can be applied into the classroom setting. If the teacher is putting up the daily warm up on the board, and awards a piece of candy

Barchock4

to anyone that gets the answer right they are demonstrating positive continuous reinforcement. The candy is the reward for getting the answer correct. This form of positive reinforcement also stimulates the mind to get ready for class. Gaining attention of the students is crucial to having the classroom start off on the right foot because if students are not paying attention early in the class period it will be harder to gain their attention later on. Also it puts the teacher on the right track in following Gagnes Nine Events of Instruction which all teachers should follow to achieve maximum instruction. A negative reinforcement would be if a student didnt wait for the teacher to call on them and just blurted out the answer. They would not be able to receive candy the next time they answer a question right, but after they answered the following time they could a receive candy. This will make the student realize that shouting out answers is not accepted, and their punishment is waiting longer to receive candy. A con parents or administrators might have would be, does all students receive candy or only the ones that constantly raise their hand. Every student will have the opportunity to receive candy because the teacher will go in the rows and call on every student until they get to a student that has the correct answer. Reinforcement has shaped the way teachers uses rewards in the classroom to get desired responses. Another form of Operant Conditioning is shaping. B.F. Skinner used shaping on animals, but the concept still applies to the classroom. The original design Skinner used was with a pigeon pecking every time the sign said peck. Skinner rewarded the pigeon every time it started to get to the desired response of pecking the sign. This was a behavior that Skinner taught to the pigeon by using a process of rewarding the pigeon every time it came close to the desired response. In a similar fashion to how Skinner shaped Pigeons into pecking on command by using rewards, a teacher is giving a rewards every time a task is complete. Boeree stated, Basically, it involves first reinforcing a behavior only vaguely similar to the one desired (Boeree). A teacher is

Barchock5

teaching their second grade class how to add one digit numbers. The desired behavior that the teacher wants is having their students add long numbers. The teacher stays on one digit numbers for one week, and on the second week move on to two digit numbers. Each day the teacher informs the students of the task at hand or the objective as well as recall prior knowledge from previous lessons about adding. As the weeks progress the teacher moves on to teaching the students long addition by providing guidance and having each student practice problems. The teacher then gives a test at the end of the unit of addition by having one digit, two digit, and three digit problems to assess performance. After the test the teacher will go over any problems they did not understand. Shaping is a good method to make sure students do not get discouraged with the material before they even start. Students can feel overwhelmed when too much material is presented. That is why shaping is a good way of getting students to perform tasks that are simple at first, but as time goes on the complexity of the problem changes. If Skinnerian theory is followed correctly in the classroom the teacher should be able to maintain order, and also complete Gagnes Nine Events of Instruction through their teaching. Other ways students learn is through social interaction and collaboration among each other. Lev Vygotskys work was done mostly on cognitive development. Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky conducted their work around the same time, but Vygotskys work was locked in the vault of the KGB because he was going against Ivan Pavlovs theory of Classical Conditioning. An article by Mcleod states: The fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition as Vygotsky believed strongly that community plays a central role in the process of making meaning (Mcleod). Having students in groups will allow them the ability to collaborate with one another and see how each one takes their own approach to solving problems. While in groups the students are using Vygotskys second aspect of social

Barchock6

development and that is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Vygotskys theory of (ZPD) has been defined as, the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky, 1978, p86). Vygotsky figured out that cognition happens more when students collaborate with one another. An example in the classroom would be through the teacher modeling out simple multiplication. After many classroom examples, the teacher will put four problems on the board and have each group of students work on the problems together . The students will then receive eight minutes to complete the problem, which is two minutes a problem. The teacher will let the students figure out the problems together while he/she walks around and guides the classroom. Coffey states, The teacher provides tasks that enable the learner to build on prior knowledge and internalize new concepts (Coffey). When the students do the work on their own they are making connections and creating new knowledge. (ZPD) is important because it is the critical point where students can complete the problems that are given as long as the teacher is there for guidance. So when each student is going up to the board to write their problem out and see they made a mistake the teacher can walk them through the problem instead of just telling them the answer. A con some might have is how the teacher knows the student did the problem on their own or with help with someone else. Using Vygotskys (ZPD) it is acceptable if a student does not know how to do the problem as long as when they were done getting taught the knowledge is stored. Even if the student did have someone give them the answer the teacher still needs the student to walk the class through how they came up with the problem. . Albert Bandura was the first psychologist to gap the bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning with this theory of Social Learning.

Barchock7

Albert Bandura was an innovator in his theory of social learning. According to Bandura, Most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action (Bandura). Modeling is the most important component in students retaining knowledge. An example of modeling is putting math problems on the board in the same multiplication table as the one the students will be answering after the modeling is complete. There are four steps that need to be followed in order for effective modeling to have any significance on knowledge. The teacher must gain attention of the class the teacher by using a bell, or a whistle to signal to the students that class is about to begin. The students will have to be paying attention to the class so retention of the material is being processed. The students will then have to reproduce the problems the teacher has on the board in their groups by collaborating with one another. The final step to effective modeling is the motivation or incentive the student has for doing the problems. One motivation for the students could be a few extra credit points on their next test or a piece of candy. A con that might be presented is learning is not taking place, but rather memorization. This is not true in a math classroom because memorization is essential for moving forward. Learning math is a process that needs to be treated with care because if the teacher moves forward too fast they will have to go back and reteach the material. Albert Bandura incorporated cognitive development through peer interaction, and used modeling as a behavior to get a desired response. Many students still can have trouble learning in the classroom, but using these different theorists can help any teacher by making the classroom fun. Operant Condition is used as a reward, punishment and is really effective when teaching adolescent students because the teacher is in a position of power. The teacher that has authority over the class and a system of rewards

Barchock8

and punishments hold deeper value to younger children. Gagnes Nine Events of Instruction is important in the classroom because it acts like a guideline for teachers to follow. All nine steps followed correctly will enhance retention of knowledge as well as make transformation of knowledge into long term memory. Vygotskys (ZPD) allows students to use one another as well as the teacher to make learning happen. According to Ormrod; Discussion and collaboration among two or more students are common occurrences and play a key role in learning (Ormrod). Having students in groups working allows not only the teacher the chance to observe the classroom, and help any student that is trying to reach their own zone of proximal development, but also allows the students a chance to work together to form a community of learners. The final way students learn best in the classroom is through modeling. Modeling allows students to pay attention to the teacher and see all the variations on how to solve the problem. The best modeling occurs when more than one way is presented because each student has their own thought patterns of how to solve a problem. If a teacher follows these steps a community of learners will be built, learning will be fun, and knowledge will be processed into long term memory by social interaction.

Barchock9

APA
Bandura, A. (2011, November 4). Social learning theory. Retrieved from http://learning-theories.com/social-learning-theory-bandura.html Boeree, G. (2006). Personality theories . Retrieved from http:// webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/skinner.html Coffey, H. (n.d.). Scaffolding. Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/5074 Mcleod, S. (2007). Simple psychology. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html Mcleod, S. (2010). Simple psychology. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html Ormrod (pg.235, (7e)). Education 200 community of learners list . The journal for the experimental analysis of behavior . (2007). Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/operant -conditioning.html