Chapter 3 talked about classic theories of learning and cognition.

In this reflection I will talk about a quote that helps me see different ways to approach helping the student be their best. Also, an interesting fact about conservation and the age that goes with it and direct instruction with standardized testing. Whenever I saw an a or a d on Dougs papers that was closer to the standard, I circled it and wrote better beside it. One time I asked Doug to look over one of his own papers and tell me which a he thought was best and which d best. (page 91). This quote talks about a technique a behaviorist would use. It is called shaping. I think that this is useful for me being a future teacher because it shows a way to get the student to write better on his own. Also I thought it was interesting because the teacher did not talk about what he did wrong, just the ones that he did right. I think that is a key because you are rewarding or emphasizing the good that the student did, not the bad. Some new ideas that I had while reading this text was when the book talked about conservation in ages of 2-7. Conservation refers to the fact that the properties of objects such as mass, volume and number do not change just because the objects appearance changes (page 100). The age group could not identify if you had the exact same amount of liquid but put it in a skinnier cup it would be the same. My opinion would be that seven year olds should be able to distinguish between the same size balls of clay but shaped differently. I know that some kids develop slower, but I think at age 7 it should have a basic concept of this. This chapter also talked about direct instruction. It is important for me to know about direct instruction because standardized testing used direct instruction. Now-a-

days, testing in the school is very predominant. That means that I most likely will give these tests. If I was giving a PSAE to sophomores in high school, Id need to follow the exact way to saying what they give me and to give the students the exact about of time the testing allows. All in all, people should realize that helping a student isnt by always pointing out what they do badly, but what they do well. Also, that students develop at different times and that when schools give standardized testing, the instructor is using direct instructing to give the test. Chapter 4 talked about information processing, memory and problem solving. In my reflection I will talk about how some students with a non-welcoming home may need extra help to get the best out of their information processing. Also, the number of items your brain can hold up to, and using if-then problem solving in my classroom. One factor is genes, which may influence how efficiently the brain functions. Another factor is the quality of a childs home environment. (page 136). This quote is referring to information processing. I think that all teachers should be aware of this. It is very important because this could be a reason why some students excel without trying while others are barely getting by with a lot of effort. If someone does not have the best at home environment, they may need a little extra help from you to be their best. A new idea that I had occurred when I was reading about how much information your brain can hold at one time. The textbook says that your working memory can hold about seven plus or minus two (page 129). With reading this, I thought that when I teach I will have to make sure that my students have about seven vocabulary words to do at one time because that is as much as their brain can remember. Also, I will have

to think of new ways to teach them how to remember information so they can have it for the future; such as grouping. The text also talked about problem solving. It said that six to twelve years of age will be capable of if-then problem solving. I want to be an elementary teacher (K-5), so this is important to teach my students. An example I could do, as a future teacher, is to teach this kind of problem solving then each day have one question for a morning quiz and will give students opportunities to become excellent at this task. The types of questions could become gradually harder throughout the year, too. To take out of my reflection would be to help students with a bad home to succeed at school, give students only a small about to memorize so they can do it. Also, a problem solving technique is use if-then in your classroom. In chapter 5, it talked about cognitive ability: intelligence, talent and achievement. In this reflection, I was discuss standardized tests, and three different components of intelligence. I will also discuss that it is important for the child to have good attendance. Academic achievement is measured by achievement tests and classroom grades. Achievement tests are standardized tests that measure what children have learned in school. (page 176). This is a quote that saddens me; however, it is important to know. Schools, now, have a lot of standardized tests. Teachers now arent teaching information, but they are teaching information for the students to know for the test. Everything is surrounded by the tests. Schools are making it less personable for teachers. According to Sternberg, there are three components to successful intelligence (page 172). They are analytic, practical and creative. I had never heard of these before

reading this. However, I agree with what he believes. I would think that these three topics would cover the basic needs for being intelligent. For teachers to know these three ideas, would help them become a better teacher because they can make sure their lessons cover all three and not just one. A topic that the textbook covered to help the students perform to their best abilities is to have high attendance. I want to teach 2nd grade. With my second graders, I could have a chart that gave a star for every day a student was there and arrived on time. If the student had perfect attendance they could get an award. This way it encourages the student to come to school. If I was teaching a 5th grade class, I could give the students who had perfect attendance a pizza party at the end of the year, to encourage them to come to school. All in all, teachers now a days need to be aware of how standardize testing effects how they will teach. Also, that helping the students become more intelligent could have to do with teaching and exposing them to the three topics that Sternberg used. Also, that teachers could help promote students perfect attendance in many ways.