Unit 4: Theory-Based Instructional Strategies

Cognitive Constructivism

Cognitive constructivism states knowledge is something that is actively constructed by learners based on their existing cognitive structures. Therefore, learning is relative to their stage of cognitive development.

What does metacognition encourage students to do?

Reflect on what they have learned.

Theory of Multiple Intelligence

-Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: The ability to control body movements and handle objects skillfully -Interpersonal intelligence: The capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations, and desires of others -Intrapersonal intelligence: The capacity to be self-aware and in tune with inner feelings, values, beliefs, and thinking processes -Logical-mathematical intelligence: The ability to think conceptually and abstractly, and to discern logical or numerical patterns -Musical intelligence: The ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch, and timbre -Naturalistic intelligence: The ability to recognize and categorize animals, plants, and other objects in nature -Verbal-linguistic intelligence: Well-developed verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings, and rhythms of words -Visual-spatial intelligence: The capacity to think in images and visualize accurately and abstractly

Describe at least three factors that must be considered when establishing an instructional context.

-The age of the students must be considered when establishing the instructional context. As you have learned from previous modules, the developmental levels of students impact their ability to think and plan, so student age is important because it suggests certain cognitive skills sets. -The content being taught must also be considered when establishing the instructional context. If the content is primarily factual in nature, the types of instructional choices will change. If the content requires more critical analysis, that will also impact the decisions teachers make. -Finally, the purpose of the lesson or unit must be considered when establishing the instructional context. The purpose will also influence the type of assessment that is used.

Collaborative Learning

-The focus is on the process more than the product. -Students of similar abilities are grouped together. Students work in groups to explore a significant question. -Instruction is student-led.

Cooperative Learning

-The focus is on the product more than the process. -The focus is on the process more than the product. Students of mixed abilities are grouped together. Students work in groups on a structured activity. -Instruction is teacher-led.

Which type of assessment approach focuses on the recall of basic facts and concepts?

Behaviorism

Behaviorism

Behaviorism focuses on the idea that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment. This learning theory states that behaviors are learned from the environment, and says that innate or inherited factors have very little influence on behavior.

Why should assessments include multiple levels of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy?

Blooms Revised Taxonomy is designed to remind teachers that there are levels of learning. If all the assessment items focus on basic levels like "remembering" and "understanding," students do not have the opportunity to learn the deeper levels of knowledge that exist in all content. While it is understandable and even desirable to have questions at those basic levels of remembering and understanding, students need to move beyond those levels to get a deeper understanding of the content. Students should also "apply" the content, which also reinforces their "remembering" and "understanding." Moving to deeper levels of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy also provides an opportunity for an informal assessment. If students cannot move beyond basic levels, they may still be struggling with that information.

What are some of the advantages of competency-based assessment (CBA)?

CBA allows students to demonstrate their competency in a variety of ways. It focuses on students mastering the skills being taught, in whatever way works best for each individual student. CBA also allows students to select their preferred learning style in their attempt to demonstrate the particular competency. Perhaps the biggest advantage of CBA is that it transfers ownership of learning from the teacher to the student. It puts the responsibility of demonstrating competency squarely on the student.

What can a teacher do to increase students' self-efficacy or belief in their own abilities?

Compare students' current improved performance with their previous performance.

What is Comprehensive Assessment?

Comprehensive assessment is a process of eliciting evidence of learners' understanding and adapting instruction to increase their rate of learning. This process is integrated into regular classroom practice and involves three key steps: -Set challenging, meaningful learning goals and provide learners with multifaceted criteria to define success. -Use evidence of learners' understanding to provide actionable feedback throughout the learning process. -Motivate learners to improve their performance.

What Is a Constructivist Approach to Teaching?

Constructivist theory approaches to learning assert children have their own way of thinking. Students should be treated as individuals and should have the opportunity to work with others and learn through observation, talking and group work. In the model, students have ideas and skills that have not fully emerged but have the potential to be developed, particularly through this type of interaction with others.

What is a difference between criterion- and norm-referenced assessments?

Criterion-referenced assessment is designed to measure skills and knowledge a student has mastered.

True or False: The length of sensory memory is the same regardless of the modality of the information coming into the central nervous system.

False: For example, visual information lasts only about a half second, while auditory information lasts up to three or four seconds.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment is designed to provide the teacher with feedback about student learning. It can take many forms. For example, it could involve students holding up whiteboards with their answers. It could be a short quiz on the assigned reading. It could also be an exit ticket at the end of the class. The goal of formative assessment is to let the instructor know the level of mastery students have achieved. It is also used to determine whether more instruction is needed before moving on to the next lesson.

What are formative assessments designed to do?

Formative assessments are designed to check for understanding in an effective way in order to guide instruction.

Theory of General Intelligence

General intelligence, also known as g factor, refers to the existence of a broad mental capacity that influences performance on cognitive ability measures. Other terms such as intelligence, IQ, general cognitive ability, and general mental ability are also used interchangeably to mean the same thing as general intelligence.

Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic psychology is a perspective that emphasizes looking at the the whole person, and the uniqueness of each individual. Humanistic psychology begins with the existential assumptions that people have free will and are motivated to achieve their potential and self-actualize.

What is operant conditioning?

In classical conditioning, the stimuli that precede a behavior will vary, to alter that behavior. In operant conditioning, the consequences which come after a behavior will vary, to alter that behavior.

Metacognition

Metacognition is thought processes and an understanding of the patterns behind them. The term comes from the root word meta, meaning "beyond", or "on top of". Metacognition can take many forms, such as reflecting on one's ways of thinking and knowing when and how to use particular strategies for problem-solving.

Project Based Learning (PBL)

Project-based learning is a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom approach in which it is believed that students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems.

Theory of Primary Mental Abilities

Psychologist Louis L. Thurstone (1887-1955) focused on seven primary mental abilities rather than a single, general ability these include: -Associative memory: The ability to memorize and recall -Numerical ability: The ability to solve mathematical problems -Perceptual speed: The ability to see differences and similarities among objects -Reasoning: The ability to find rules -Spatial visualization: The ability to visualize relationships -Verbal comprehension: The ability to define and understand words -Word fluency: The ability to produce words rapidly -Multiple Intelligences

Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

Psychologist Robert Sternberg defined intelligence as "mental activity directed toward purposive adaptation to, selection, and shaping of real-world environments relevant to one's life." Although he agreed with Gardner that intelligence is much broader than a single, general ability, he suggested that some of Gardner's types of intelligence are better viewed as individual talents. Sternberg proposed the concept of "successful intelligence," which involves three factors: -Analytical intelligence: The ability to evaluate information and solve problems -Creative intelligence: The ability to come up with new ideas -Practical intelligence: The ability to adapt to a changing environment

What are some of the advantages of selected response assessments (SRAs)?

SRA items are very efficient and easy to score. Once the items are created, the teacher can assess and score a great deal of content rather quickly. These test items are considered "objective" because each question has a right and wrong answer and can be impartially scored. In fact, SRAs can be scored via a scanner to save time. There are several forms of SRAs, including multiple choice, matching, and true/false. Regardless of the form selected, teachers should be sure the items are clearly worded at the appropriate reading level and do not include unintentional clues.

Which type of assessment approach uses learning concepts such as the "zone of proximal development"?

Social constructivism

Social Constructivism

Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge according to which human development is socially situated and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. Like social constructionism, social constructivism states that people work together to construct artifacts.

Summative Assessment

Summative assessment is the final assessment in a unit of study. It is done after all instruction has been administered. As the name implies, it is the summary of what students have learned over a unit of study. It is done at the completion of a unit. Typically, there will be no more specific instruction on that unit's content.

Theories of Intelligence

Theory of General Intelligence Theory of Primary Mental Abilities Theory of Multiple Intelligence Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

True or False: A primary purpose of assessment is to give ongoing feedback to teachers and learners on how to improve learning.

True: Assessment is designed to provide feedback to both the teacher and the student.

True or False: An economics teacher asks students to explain the ways the theories of absolute and comparative advantage are alike and different. The teacher is asking students to use the "analyze" level of Bloom's revised taxonomy.

True: Explaining how two theories are alike and different is an example of analysis in Bloom's revised taxonomy.

True or False: Cooperative and collaborative learning experiences generally result in increased student achievement.

True: Numerous studies have confirmed the benefits of cooperative and collaborative learning.

True or False: Standardized tests are often used to compare students' performance against each other.

True: Standardized tests are norm-referenced, so the results can be compared for students in different schools, districts, and states, and sometimes even different countries. Authentic or performance-based assessments are more individualized.

True or False: Problem-based learning strategies must have an audience other than the teacher to be successful.

True: The project should have an audience other than just the teacher.

True or False: Maslow and other humanistic psychologists believe that students are self-motivated to improve because they want to reach self-actualization.

True: Though Maslow believed that self-actualization was not possible until more basic needs have been met, like other humanistic psychologists, he theorized that people are all motivated to self-actualize.

What is a basic model of motivation?

Your motivation to act comes from your needs. You need to eat to survive, you need to brush your teeth to keep them healthy, and you need to work to earn money to be able to buy food and pay your rent. Needs can come in many different forms - some needs are more emotional, like the desire to do well on an exam, and some are biological, like the need to drink a glass of water when you're thirsty.

Bloom's Revised Taxonomy

remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, creating