QTC Unit Three

Unit 3

Chapter 2

(2.1) One of the most cited theories of human development is that of Swiss biologist Jean Piaget.  After reading about Piaget’s basic assumptions (p. 27-32) look with particular attention at the stage of child development you would like to teach.  The other most cited theory of human development belongs to Russian developmentalist Lev Vygotsky.  Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development leads us to expect greater diversity among our same-aged students than Piaget.  Given these two influential theorists’ ideas on cognitive development, how might you accommodate students who are not yet working at the level of their peers?

(2) Theories in educational psychology promote the idea that language plays a critical role in cognitive development.  Examine Table 2.2 (p. 51), paying particular attention to the age range that you are interested in teaching.  Consider how you might incorporate or adapt the strategies presented for use with your own students.

Chapter 3

(3.1) Personal and social development can have a major influence on both individual student learning and the learning environment as a whole.  Identify a case from the CSEL guidelines* that you would like to address in your paper.  Then, examine the possible developmental factors that could be influencing your target student(s) or classroom in the case study.  Consider all dimensions of personal and social development, including cognitive, language, social, emotional, and moral development. *CSEL guidelines can be found under CSEL Artifact. Cases are included at the end of the document. Choose the case that best suits your desired grade level.

(3.22) Check out tables 3.1 (p. 75), 3.2 (p. 83) and 3.3 (p. 91) with particular attention to the age ranges you are interested in teaching.  Identify your personal favorite ways that an educator can promote a child’s sense of self, perspective taking, and moral reasoning skills.

Chapter 4

(1) Using the CSEL case that you have chosen as a guide, explore all of the possible group differences that may have an effect on your target student(s) or the class as a whole.  Consider such group differences as cultural/ethnic differences, gender, SES differences, and “at risk” status.

(2) After reading this chapter, what are your thoughts about how to promote a positive learning environment in your classroom, realizing that your students may require your example in welcoming and appreciating diversity? Include at least three areas where you will facilitate honoring of students’ differences.

Chapter 5 (p. 137-149)

(3) You have now read several views about intelligence.  What do you think about intelligence?  Is it one trait or many? more heavily influenced by nature or nurture? a fixed capacity or a modifiable ability?  Articulate your views in a paragraph of 3-6 sentences. 

Unit Two QTC Instructions

For Unit 2, you will be responsible for creating QTC.  For each chapter:
(1) Make two questions: (a) one that requires lower-order thinking skills (as described by Bloom: knowing, understanding, applying) and (b) one that requires higher-order thinking skills (as described by Bloom: analyzing, synthesizing, creating).  You will categorize your questions so people can see what level you think it is.  For example: What is the difference between informal and formal assessments and which do you think will be most effective in your classroom? (memory/apply) 

(2) Along with creating questions, you will choose another student’s questions to both answer and comment upon. First, answer their questions. Then, comment in terms of whether you think it fits the Bloom's categories they chose and explain WHY.  For instance, if you think the question s/he asked could fit into more than one of Bloom’s categories, please explain why you think so. If you think they labeled the question correctly, highlight specifics in the question (or answering of it) that makes you agree with the label s/he chose. 

QTC and video for Monday, February 18th

Chapter 15

(15.1) Turn to p. 559 in Ormrod’s text.  Now, imagine that you are meeting with Ingrid’s grandmother today to explain her scores on the recent standardized achievement test pictured at the bottom of p. 559.  What will you tell her about Ingrid’s performance? her strengths? her weaknesses? Even though this is not a criterion referenced test, if Ingrid’s grandmother asks you what she could be doing at home to help strengthen Ingrid’s skills, what will you suggest? 

VIDEO

Please watch a segment of "School: The Story of American Public Education." 

(1) Go to the UTK library site: http://www.lib.utk.edu/ 

(2) In the "Books Plus" search field, type: As American as public school

(3) You will see a "video" link. Click on the "Online Resource" tab.

(4) You will be prompted to enter your user id and password.

(5) While you may like to watch the whole video, we will be basing our discussion starting from 24 minutes into the video. Please watch from 24 minutes to 42 minutes (Julian Nava and tracking)

(6) You may want to jot down (either through a blog post or in your own notes) your reactions to the ideas presented. This will help you as we discuss the video next Monday, February 18th.

Chapter 14.1

Chapter 14

(14.1) Think of a lesson plan from your licensure area. Knowing that assessment is an integral part of teaching, explain at least four informal and formal assessments that you will use in your lesson plan to provide you with feedback and involve the students in assessing their own learning.

Chapter 14.2

Chapter 14

(14.2) Consider norm referenced assessment and criterion referenced assessment. Are there advantages to both? Are there disadvantages?