Study Guide Chapter 1

Characteristics of good teaching

-Warmth                      -Classroom management                 -ability to care about others

-Planning                      -Speaking ability                                    -Contagious love of learning

-Hard Work                 -Communicate ideas                            -Leadership

-Humor                        -Application                                           -Enthusiasm

Specific skills of intentional teachers

Intentional teachers ask themselves what goals are they trying to meet.  While striving to reach these goals intentional teachers include all children, know the developmental level of their students and use a wide variety of instructional methods, experiences, assignments and materials.  Intentional teachers are persistent in the face of obstacles, they consistently trying new strategies and seeking ideas from other colleagues.

Educational Psychology is applied to every decision a teacher makes; conscious or unconscious.   It helps teachers learn classroom management skills, the different obstacles that students might be facing in their development and the different learning styles of students so that teachers can understand and become better teachers.

Developmental research indicating adolescence is looking for peer reassurance can be applied to classroom management and discipline.  Research on how if a behavior is repeated many times then there is probably a reward being given for the behavior can be applied to classroom management and problem solving.  The different kinds of learning styles should be looked at when preparing lessons so that teachers do not just focus their teaching styles on a specific learning style.  Research on how a subject is best taught can help a teacher in planning.

Experimental research tests a certain program or treatment.  There are usually two groups in experimental research a control group and a testing group.  Both groups are chosen at random.  Single case research is a branch of experimental research it uses one person or one group and tests before, during and after the experiment.  While Correlation research does not use a control group and a test group it attempts to use a presence or absence of a relationship between two or more variables.  Correlation research shows either a positive correlation or a negative correlation.  Both correlation and experimental research look for relationships or non-relationships while descriptive research describes something of interest and action research try’s something new and then assesses the results.  Action research is done in your own classroom or own house and the researcher does the experiment and the assessing.

Examples

Experimental research- in a nationwide study of the affect of rewards six people are chosen to come and stay in one hotel room for a week and are asked to clean it everyday. 

A second group chosen at random is in the same hotel room with all the same stuff.  They are asked to clean the hotel room everyday and if they do everyday for the week they can stay the next week without having to clean the hotel room.

Single case study- A classroom teacher is asked to perform an experiment on her well behaved third grade class.  She is asked to give an award for reading out loud in class something that the students already do with out the reward.  After one week the teacher is asked to take the reward away.

Correlation- A researcher looks at 12 different school districts chosen at random around the country.  She is looking to see if the location of the school has anything to do with mathematics achievement.

Descriptive- Jean Piaget described the different stages that he observed his children in.

Action- At home my parents did research on how after school activities affected my household duties.

Correlation is a relationship between two or more different variables.  Cause is an effect or something that happens because of something else that has happened. Examples correlation is the relationship between how many times my apartment gets cleaned and how busy that my roommate and I are while a cause would be the apartment gets cleaned because we are expecting company.

Vocabulary

Educational Psychology- The study of learners, learning and teaching

Pedagogy- The study of teaching and learning with applications to the instructional process

Intentionality- Doing things for a purpose. Planning actions based on outcomes one wants to achieve

Teacher efficacy- Degree to which a teacher feels that their own efforts determine the success of their students

Critical thinking- Evaluations of conclusions through logical and systematic examination of the problem, the evidence and the solution

Principle- explanation of the relationship between factors such as the effects of alternate grading systems on student motivation

Theory- Set of related principles and laws that explain a certain phenomena

Experiment­- Procedure used to test the effect of a treatment

Random Assignment- Selection by chance into different treatment groups; intended to ensure equivalence in a group

Experimental Group- Group that receives treatment during an experiment

Control Group- Group that receives no special treatment during an experiment

Correlation Study- Research into the relationship between variables as they naturally occur.

Positive Correlations­- Relationships in which high levels of one variable correspond to high levels of another.

Negative Correlation- Relationship in which high levels of one variable correspond to low levels of another.

Descriptive Research- Study aimed at identifying and gathering detailed information about something of interest.

Action Research- Research carried out by educators in their own classroom or schools.