Synectics

Synectics is a fun topic because you can let your imagination run wild. There are no right or wrong answers. Use synectics to brainstorm in your classroom, at work, at home, for our grad classes. I think it's also a fun way to just "exercise" my mind. It gets me thinking out of the box, so to speak. Synectics was a blast to present, but I am glad my presentation is OVER!

RSC library

Not being able to get my headphones to work in the lab at RSC left me paranoid and frustrated. At home, I plugged in my headphones and listened to part of Karen's archive the first chance I got, just to make sure my headphones still worked... they did. Reviewing the Wimba quiz questions reassured me that I knew what I was doing. I will be a bit slow and unsure of myself during the quiz, but I know what I am doing, and that's what matters. During the entire class, my mind was focused on finding articles for my personal learning theory. This is the majority of my concerns right now. As much as I want to use the computer to order books and articles, I have a feeling I will need to take a good old fashioned trip to the library. But I will continue to persevere with the ordering aspect... a challenge I need to conquer. To reference Gagne's Events of Instruction, I think I needed more of step 6, responding, for our library session. You wouldn't think so, being a graduate student, but I do think that would've made my knowledge base stronger. For some things I need A LOT of practice.

Learning about learning

It's easy for me to reflect on this class because I link the visuals, the black box, rat, bell, eggs, etc., to the concepts. I liked knowing what we were going to learn about and the order in which we were going to do them (helps me keep organized in my thinking). Our lesson plan was exceptionally helpful. It helped me make sense of what the text was about by putting into practice what the words were conveying. When a student comes to me, I make certain assumptions about what their existing knowledge base consists of because they have passed a certain level in the math curriculum, language curriculum, etc. But what about the student that isn't grasping the material? Does she have any existing knowledge base for me to build upon? How can I help her organize the information so she can retrieve it and use it later? Can she inculcate the information or does she need to rely on external organizers? How is she thinking? Gagne and Briggs model keeps me thinking about the learner and where to begin to look if one of my students isn't quite grasping our subject.

Behaviorism

My favorite of the Behavioral Models is Behavior Modeling. It has been my experience that Behavior Modeling techniques, when followed through correctly, made learning a "soft" skill less painful and in many instances even increased the confidence of the student. When teaching social skills, practice and feedback are key. Learning interpersonal skills is difficult enough Throw into the mix that for every single social skill you learn, there are multiple situations and conditions under which the skill can be used. Similar in that you need to use the skill, different in that the people, places, atmosphere, are all different. Take greeting someone. If I learn to shake hands when first introduced to someone, how about after I already know you? Do I shake hands with you the next time I meet you as well? Do I just "nod" at you? Do I just say "Hey"? Do I say "Hey" to an authority figure or just friends? Does someone have to introduce us for me to shake your hand, or can you introduce yourself to me? Skillstreaming is a curriculum that many special education teachers have utilized with success when teaching their students how to interact in various social situations. I like this curriculum because it tends to explain things that I may overlook when teaching social skills. This curriculum even goes so far as to explain that when shaking someone's hand, your hands are to meet "web to web". Although behaviorial theories tend to not promote critical thinking skills, there are situations where they are very useful.