Barb Rentenbach

One thing from this presentation that I will consider when teaching children with Autism is that it's important to meet the children where they are. A few examples were given where it was necessary to connect through the child's interests before being able to work on other things. This just shows the importance of knowing your students.

One thing that I learned from this presentation that I hadn't really appreciated before is just how observant and contemplative individuals with Autism are. Hearing excerpts from Barb Rentenbach's book really made this clear. It's amazing how much individuals with Autism can take in because they aren't hindered with some characteristics that we consider normal. Thinking of Autism as something that puts individuals at a higher level than "normals," as Barb Rentenbach calls them, is a much better way to think about  Autism when comparing it to thinking of it as something that hinders individuals.

This presentation was great and very eye-opening.

Group Differences Forum

The group differences forum was very interesting. I thought it was a great way to get a good understanding of  many topics. It was very beneficial, and it made me consider some things that I hadn't before. 

One thing that I learned from this discussion that I didn't previously know is that some people consider Asian Americans the model minority. I had never heard this term before, but I can definitely see how stereotypes could lead to this association. While discussing this, the point was brought up that this idea of the model minority puts average and low achieving students at a disadvantage. Even though teachers may not realize, they may have higher expectations for their Asian students which makes it more difficult for low achieving Asian students to live up to the teacher's expectations and sets them up for failure. 

One thing that has been discussed in various classes and reinforced through this discussion is to never make assumptions about students. I think this is one of the most valuable pieces of advice that I can take to my classroom. Whether it's assuming a child's strengths and weaknesses by looking at an IEP, assuming a child's religion based on where they're from, or assuming a student's culture or language based on skin color, it's never a good idea to make assumptions. Each child is unique and comes with different ideas, beliefs, abilities, and cultures, and making assumptions can hinder a child from reaching their full potential.

This group differences forum was very beneficial, and I enjoyed it.

Language and Cognitive Development

The following is a list of some strategies for supporting and encouraging language development for students in grades K-2. I will likely include these in my own classroom one day.

• "Read age-appropriate story books as a way of enhancing vocabulary." 
• "Ask follow-up questions to make sure students accurately understand important messages." 
• "Give corrective feedback when students' use of words indicates inaccurate understanding." 
• "Ask students to construct narratives about recent events." 

I strongly believe in the importance of reading story books aloud to students. It can be beneficial in many ways; it can help students with reading fluency or grab student interest when starting a new lesson. But it also aids students in enhancing their vocabulary. This is a much better strategy than simply assigning vocabulary words each week and having the students write definitions. Hearing a term in context makes learning a new word much easier.

Another strategy that should be apart of any lesson is asking follow-up questions to check for understanding. It is never good enough to assume that your students understand correctly just because they are able to produce a correct answer. One way I would incorporate this into my class is by asking students to explain their answers either verbally in class or in written assignments.

It is also essential to inform your students when they use a word incorrectly. I was recently in a situation where I had to inform a student that he was using a word incorrectly. When observing a second grade classroom, I worked with a small group as they discussed a story they had just read. They were instructed to discuss how the main character was feeling. One student in my group stated that the main character was oppressed. It was obvious that he was confusing oppressed and depressed considering that the main character was simply upset about her garden, so I told him that I thought he meant the word depressed. Then as the teacher came to the group, she further corrected his word choice by suggesting that depression is a little too strong of a word for this situation. As in this example, I think that corrective feedback needs to be included daily, as there can be a need for it at any time.

And lastly, I also see great importance in writing, so I could easily see myself having students writing narratives about recent events in their lives. I would probably incorporate this into my classroom as part of a daily journal.

Below is a video that describes a fun way to enhance students' oral language.

Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulation

How might self-efficacy and self-regulation contribute to the intervention plans you use in your case study?

Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy could be the reason why third grader Lisa refuses to participate in group work. Maybe she feels  she is unable to perform the duties of her assigned role, so she simply does not try. If this is the case, this piece of information would be important. It could influence the way I would react to Lisa's off-task behavior. Some ways to help Lisa might include giving her one or two of the responsibilities of her assigned role that I know she will be able to accomplish and succeed in. This could boost her self-efficacy. Hopefully, she would see that she is able to succeed in this role and give the other responsibilities a try.

Self-Regulation
Self-Regulation is another important aspect of the social cognitive theory to consider with Lisa. She is doing a poor job at emotion regulation and self-monitoring. I also doubt she is using self-imposed contingencies. First, I would have Lisa set a clear goal for her participation in the group. Then, I might try having Lisa continuously monitor her behavior in the group and then evaluate her behavior and participation at the end of each group work session. We would then talk about evaluation, and I would tell her she should feel proud when she has done a good job working with the group. I would encourage her to use these and other self-regulating strategies.


Here's a video about developing self-regulating strategies. It focuses on writing, but these strategies can be used in other areas too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czNaUbeAZnA

Behaviorist and Constructivist Interventions to Misbehavior

I am again going to refer to the case study about third grader, Lisa. She is refusing to do her share of group work because she dislikes her assigned role in the group. In an earlier post, I described an intervention to this behavior that I might take, and looking back at it now, it seems the only behaviorist action I suggested was negative punishment. After trying a few different ways to get Lisa motivated, I suggested removing her from the group in an effort to decrease her off task behavior and increase her desire to work productively in a group. This is an example of negative punishment because I would take away the benefits of working with a group in an effort to decrease distracting and off task behavior.

I feel that it might have been more effective to include some sort of reinforcement. For example, I could praise Lisa every time she does do her job and is on task. Or as other groups are working, I might highlight the work of Lisa's classmates who have the same role that she has. She might see the importance of that role and be more motivated to do her job.

These interventions would be very different if I were looking at this situation through Constructivism. I would likely not give reinforcement or punishment. I would logically explain that there are consequences for her actions. I would ask Lisa how she thinks her actions affect her group. Once she realizes the problems her behavior causes, I would ask her to consider ways to fix this problem.

Here are some Constructivist alternatives to punishment and reinforcement. I found this very interesting.

 http://tigger.uic.edu/~lnucci/MoralEd/practices/practice1devries.html

Metacognition and Problem Solving

Think of an activity or lesson component that explicitly teaches one or more metacognitive skills and one or more problem solving skills.

An interactive read aloud is one way teachers can model and explicitly teach metacognitive and problem solving skills. You can use a read-aloud to show students how to consider and connect to prior knowledge, to hypothesize, to question, to reread, and to reflect when reading on their own. We as teachers should be thinking aloud as we read aloud. We should be aware of our thought processes as we read, so we can model and explain them to our students. 

Teachers can also model problem solving skills in an interactive read aloud. Whenever conflict comes up in the story, the teacher could pause and ask the students to consider possible solutions. Teachers should also take this time to encourage their students to be creative and brainstorm about a new solutions to the problems in the story. 


I like how the teacher in this video tells her students to keep things in their "think bubbles" as they read the story. She is helping them learn how to use metacognition in kid friendly terms.

Lesson Based on Constructivism

Make a list of the sequence of skills necessary for ultimate mastery of the content of your lesson through a constructivist approach. Which of these learning activities/skills lend themselves to student's individual or group construction? How might you structure learning activities that lead students to discover these skills/principles?

My lesson is a first grade science lesson. And for the students to reach ultimate master of the content, they must be able to identify the basic parts of a plant such as the roots, stem, and leaves. They must also know how these parts help the plant grow and survive. 

Here is a list of skills necessary for students to reach this mastery:

• Students must be able to pull from and consider their previous knowledge and understanding of plants.
• Students must be able to explore and examine plants.
• Based on knew experiences, students must be able to build on what they already know about plants. The new experience with plants will either confirm or challenge their ideas of plants and their parts. 
• Students must be able to work together to explore, examine, discuss, and challenge each other's ideas about the plants. 

I would structure learning activities where students get both individual and group time. This way they can construct their knowledge of plants based on their own thoughts and from what others believe. Each student will also get to participate in a hand's on activity to provide them with a chance to explore. Each student may be given a plant to take care of over a period of time. This gives them a somewhat authentic experience. 

Here's an interesting article I found on constructivism. 
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/000000811.htm