Module 3: Learning by Observing Others, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation, Dealing with Discipline Problems

Module 3: Learning by Observing Others, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation, Dealing with Discipline Problems

Summary:
Woolfolk in this section speaks how modeling: learning by observing others speak to can be influenced by three factors "Development level, the status of the model, and watching others" (pg. 429).  She also gives us a diagram of how certain factors observational learning (pg. 429)

Reflection:
I agree with how Woolfolk breaks down the process of how students learn by observing others (pg. 429). Growing up and now working security at a large high school I can clearly see how she describes these stages. At the development level "As children grow older, they can focus attention for longer periods of time,  more effectively identify the important elements of a model’s behavior to observe, use memory strategies to retain information, and motivate themselves to practice".  I still think this can happen even when students reach adulthood. I see students every day hanging out with certain cliques and inside those cliques students are looking up to one individual and trying to model them. The status of the model plays a huge part in how students develop. Everyone in high school or at least when I was in school had those popular kids that students looked up to and wanted to become. Lastly, by watching others students will start to develop or model their personality and what group they would like to hang out with. I can see this in high school today, with students engaging in different activities and surrounding themselves with different groups of people students begin to further their curiosity about who they are wanting to become.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Summary:
Woolfolk describes" Intrinsic Motivation as associated with activities that are their own reward and  Extrinsic motivation as created by external factors such as rewards and punishments." (pg.463). Both of these motivations are strong and steady in today's classroom, but one may not be the answer in extrinsic.

Reflection:
Students at a young age tend to be full of intrinsic motivation wanting to show off what they have accomplished inside their classroom (this can been seen in older students, but more prevalent in younger age group). From my observations, students who are enrolled in regular classes are more inclined to be less intrinsically motivated than those who are enrolled in honors or AP courses. But Kahn shows us the importance of building and maintaining the intrinsic side but to forgo the extrinsic motivation because it is doing more harm than good. I will not be using many extrinsic factors in my classroom but rather try to build up the student's intrinsic motivation.

Dealing with Discipline Problems

Summary:
Woolfolk on page 527 states "that being an effective manager does not mean publicly correcting every minor infraction of the rules. The key is being aware of what is happening and knowing what is important so you can prevent problems" and "It is critical that you have many effective ways to deescalate rather than escalate student behavior problems."

Reflection:
Woolfolk hits on key points in her text such as not correcting every minor infraction and being aware of what is going on inside your classroom. Disciplining students will always be inside every classroom and it's up to the teacher on how to deal with it. It is very important to stay fair across the board when dealing with students. When Woolfolk speaks on effective ways to deescalate behavior problems I would like to see more teachers take PD courses on these practices. I have been called into rooms where both teachers and students are engaged in a verbal argument, this where the teacher needs to either swallow some pride or just be an adult and handle the situation better. She gives eight techniques that we can use to help defuse a certain situation (make eye contact, make verbal hints, ask students, interactive activity, remind students of the procedure, state correct rule or procedure, tell the student, and offer a choice).