Journal of Classroom Teaching & Learning: 2009-02-22

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Greetings from the editor

Dear readers,

Welcome to JOCTL—Journal of Classroom Teaching & Learning! This journal was originally created by Dr. Dengting Boyanton and her students at the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB/TSC) in the spring of 2008. JOCTL is currently contributed by all the students who are taking the undergraduate course of EDI 15A Psychological Perspective: Teaching & Learning; EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescents, and the graduate course EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education at the School of Education, Long Island University, C. W. Post.

JOCTL intends to publish our students’ research discoveries throughout their exploration with these three courses. It strives to provide the best platform for our university student researchers and scholars in the LIU as well as the New York community to exchange their findings and discoveries on teaching and learning. All of our students spend one whole semester investigating one research topic of their interest under Dr. Boyanton’s guidance and supervision. Most students’ research findings were or will be presented at the Conference of Elementary Secondary Teaching & Learning (CESTL), a completely student-oriented conference organized by Dr. Boyanton and all her students.

The main purposes of JOCTL is for our students 1) to discover principles, relationships, patterns, and theories of classroom learning and teaching; 2) to create a learning community for all students to discuss and exchange ideas about classroom learning and teaching; 3) to improve students’ analytical, critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative skills; 4) to enhance students’ communication skills (e.g., writing, public speaking, presenting); and 5) to help the students develop a deeper understanding on classroom teaching and learning and be better prepared as future teachers.

JOCTL seeks to explore the multitude of issues that impact and influence student learning in the classroom setting. In accord with its broad focus, the journal welcomes contributions that enhance the exchange of diverse theoretical and practical information from other educators, teachers, students, and researchers at LIU or the New York community. It is our hope that our JOCTL can provide a channel for all classroom instructors and professors to better understand students’ needs and characteristics as learners, thus to design their instructions which produce powerful classroom learning.

JOCTL has received much positive feedback and support from its wide range of audiences from from different universities (University of Texas at Brownsville, University of Texas at Austin, University of Virginia, Harvard University, Yale University, City University of New York, Willamette University, Long Island Universty). To read their feedback, click JOCTL Feedback.

We sincerely hope you will enjoy our students’ exploration on teaching and learning. If you have any comments or suggestions to improve JOCTL, please contact me directly at dengting.boyanton@liu.edu. We welcome honest feedback from you.

Thank you very much for your support!

Sincerely,

Dengting Boyanon Ph.D.
Editor, JOCTL
Assistant Professor
Educational Psychology
Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education
Long Island University, C.W.Post
720 Northern Blvd, Brookville, New York
516-299-4117 (Office)
Dengting.Boyanton@liu.edu
http://people.virginia.edu/~db6wq/

▼ 02/22 - 03/01 (22)

▼ 02/15 - 02/22 (26)

01/25 - 02/01 (30)

12/21 - 12/28 (6)

11/30 - 12/07 (26)

▼ 11/23 - 11/30 (14)

11/09 - 11/16 (25)

▼ 10/26 - 11/02 (30)

▼ 10/19 - 10/26 (14)

10/05 - 10/12 (22)

09/07 - 09/14 (27)

08/24 - 08/31 (3)

07/13 - 07/20 (4)

07/06 - 07/13 (6)

06/29 - 07/06 (6)

06/22 - 06/29 (9)

06/15 - 06/22 (5)

06/08 - 06/15 (10)

06/01 - 06/08 (11)

05/25 - 06/01 (4)

05/18 - 05/25 (5)

05/11 - 05/18 (4)

05/04 - 05/11 (5)

04/27 - 05/04 (2)

High Stake Test & Learning

04/06 - 04/13 (6)

03/16 - 03/23 (14)

03/09 - 03/16 (10)

03/02 - 03/09 (7)

02/24 - 03/02 (8)

02/17 - 02/24 (13)

02/10 - 02/17 (5)

02/03 - 02/10 (11)

01/27 - 02/03 (9)

01/20 - 01/27 (6)

Looking to the Sky

Looking to the Sky: A relationship between goal and motivation

By Chris Barone
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 12, 2009

Despite a difference of 50 years, many of the high-school students in the film October Sky behaved just like real adolescents today. Unmotivated and uninspired, they endlessly teased Homer Hickam for his hopes and dreams. They seemed to know where their future would take them, and they were satisfied with that. Homer, however, dissatisfied with the life of a coal miner, seemed to see something they were unable to: possibility.

While his peers and family members were looking down – both figuratively and literally, because they were looking at the coal mine – Homer Hickam looked up to the sky. While watching the film, I could not help but notice how where each character ‘looked,’ or in other words, their attitude or outlook on life, was intrinsically tied to the character’s future. John Hickam saw nothing but the coal mine, and that is precisely where he ended up; Homer saw the sky and all its possibilities, and his fascination with rockets and space was born.

As teachers, we can learn a great deal from this movie. The teacher, Miss Riley, was a key influence on Homer and his friends. While Homer seemed to have enough motivation without her, she did provide the necessary support and guidance. She is a prime example of what teachers should strive to be. Riley made it clear that she believed in her students’ abilities, no matter what. She encouraged them to never settle or be satisfied with their lives; they should always reach higher, higher, higher. Students of all locations, creeds, sexes, nationalities, and ages can not only achieve but also thrive in a classroom setting. All they need is the right teacher to allow them to look towards the sky.

Teaching through motivating: A reflection on movie October Sky

Teaching through motivating: A reflection on movie October Sky

By Andrea Garcia
EDI 15A Psychological Perspective: Teaching & Learning
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 13, 2009

The movie October Sky has been one of the best and inspirational movies that I have seen in my lifetime. The struggles that Homer and his friends went through to achieve a place in history is unforgotten. Through their achievements the field of physics and what we know about entering into space has revolutionized modern minds.

After seeing Sputnik sore through the clear October sky, Homer knew his destiny was to build rockets. With the help, encouragement and support from his friends, his dreams of leaving Coalwood was beginning to become reality. They embarked on a journey that no one believed was possible, except for Ms. Willey. I think Ms. Willey was a major factor in the boys’ achievements. They needed someone to encourage them to continue even after failure.

I think children feel encouragement from teachers more than they do from their parents because children believe that it is their parents’ job to encourage them, but do not feel the same about teachers. You can tell when a teacher genuinely cares about you and believes in you, and that makes you feel special. I think without Ms. Willey’s guiding light, the boys would have become miners after high school.

I think all teachers should show this movie to their classes, especially to high needs students. I believe it will greatly inspire students to pursue their dreams, no matter how much people put them down. It shows students that anything is possible and to never give up. It also shows that even though there might be people putting them down, there will always be at least one person encouraging them to continue and make a difference in the world. Every time you help or encourage someone to achieve greatness, you are a thread in their fabric of success.

Teaching through motivating: A reflection on movie October Sky

Teaching through motivating: A reflection on movie October Sky

By Thomas Brouillard
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 13, 2009

I thought today’s class was fun and interesting. I enjoyed watching the movie October Sky and thought it was a great representation of the important role teachers and parents have in their child's life.

The movie touched on a lot of different themes, but one of the most prominent of them was Homer’s relationship with his father. This relationship represented the impact parents opinions can have on their children. It was very obvious throughout the film that Homer’s father did not approve of his love for rockets. He thought it was a useless hobby and that his son should focus on preparing to work in the coal mine. I think this theme is very important to education, because parents opinions of their children’s interests has a huge impact on them. While I think parents are more accepting in today’s society, I think it is sad that there are still parents who do not support their children’s interests or creativity because it is not the path the parents wanted them to take.

In the film Homer’s father was portrayed as a hard nose, no nonsense, hardworking man. He had many strengths, but also a lot of weaknesses. One weakness was how he played favorites with his two sons. Homer’s father seemed to favor his brother, who was an accomplished football player. Homer’s father took pride in Homer’s brother, but not Homer. Homer may not have had the athletic ability that his brother had, but he had incredible motivation that drove him to do incredible things.

Homer’s interests in rockets is a perfect example of an adolescent finding something that interests them and really taking “the ball” and running with it. The motivation he showed was inspiring, and every teacher aspires to get their students as motivated to do something positive as he did. Many people try to find out what it is that motivates certain individuals to the point that no one or no thing can stand in their way. Everyone is capable of doing extraordinary things, it is motivation that allows people to do those extraordinary things.

As teachers it is our job to try and help usher students in their journey to accomplish great things. As shown in the movie teachers have a profound impact on students motivation. Once you get a student interested and motivated the sky is the limit to what they can achieve.

Motivating by supporting: A reflection on movie October Sky

Motivating by supporting: A reflection on movie October Sky

By Dana LaRose
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 13, 2009

The amount of support a child receives from their parents greatly affects their motivation to learn and to be creative. When it comes to career choices, my mom has always been supportive even if she does not completely agree.

In the movie October Sky, I think it was wrong of Homer’s father to try to stop him from creating a rocket. This was something that Homer was truly dedicated to and if I were Homer’s father I would be inspired to do something I loved. Homer’s father watched his son’s interest in rockets grow and he just stood to the side. He always had either a negative response or did not show any emotion towards Homer. Homer’s brother did not want to work in the mine but their father did not criticize him for that decision.

Parents should be proud of what they are doing but they should not expect their children to do the same. If parents are proud of what they are doing they should set an example for their children and help their children get involved in something they are interested in so they too can be proud. Parents should understand that children are not clones of themselves. Their children will have different dreams and goals and parents should be supportive and encouraging. Children should be proud of their parents’ profession and respect it. If their parents are very hardworking, the children will be able to see this and the children should respect their dedication to their job. Discouraging parents lead to children with low self esteem. Parents should have a strong role in their child’s education. They can inspire their child to want to learn and give their child opportunities to find out what interest them.

Motivation: The forgotten tool in our classroom

Motivation: The forgotten tool in our classroom
A reflection on movie October Sky

By Ilyssa Adelman
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 20, 2009

I feel that “October Sky” is a movie all perspective teachers should watch before stepping into a classroom. I believe that people decide to become teachers because they want to make a difference in the lives of their students and try to help them to achieve their dreams. However, somewhere along the way teachers and professors forget the importance in motivating their students, just to want to be in the class, let alone following their dreams. There is more to teaching then just “talking” at students for an entire class period. In average level high school classes I think teachers do still try to motivate their students but in advance placement and even in college classrooms teachers forget that.

I can truly say that I look forward to coming to this class everyday. In most of my classes, while in college, the professors have done nothing but lectured to us. I will get the occasional class where the professor encourages classroom discussion and asks students to give their thoughts and opinions. However, I, like I’m sure most of my classmates, am lucky to have one class a semester like that. Yet, with the class I know I am going to genuinely have a good time and not just sit, bored to death, in my seat. And that motivates me to want to come. I know that we are going to do something interesting and interactive and that to me makes all the difference.

Motivation: What motivates and demotivates me to learn?

Motivation: What motivates and demotivates me to learn?

By Dana LaRose
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 19, 2009

Many things motivate me to learn. Most of all, I am motivated by my curiosity. If a topic is being discussed that I find interesting, I will focus more on that conversation and look up information which I am not familiar with. I love science so I am constantly reading science articles to learn about new discoveries.

I am also motivated by my family. My mother is a single mom and she has worked hard to support my brothers and me. She is constantly trying to do too many things at once. She motivates me to learn because she inspires me to know more about the world around me. She motivates me to do well in school so that I can have a good career and be an independent person.

My brothers motivate me as well. They are both younger than me and when we used to play school they were always my teachers. They have motivated me to learn more about education. I am motivated by my own goals as well. I personally want to do well and am a driven person. This causes me to be motivated because I enjoy the rewards of having good grade; mainly that they make me feel I have accomplished something. I am also sometimes motivated by people telling me I cannot do something but this is rare.

When people are negative, I am not very motivated. Especially in a school setting, if someone is not supportive, I am not interested in learning. Extremely low expectations also de-motivate me. If someone believes I cannot do something, I do not feel a reason to prove them wrong because that is not fair judgment. If expectations are too high, I feel stressed and feel that I cannot amount to what the person is expecting anyway.

Motivating students by finding their passion

Motivating students by finding their passion: A reflection on October Sky

By Thomas Brouillard
EDI 17 Psychology and Development of Adolescent Students

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 20, 2009

In today’s class there were many interesting discussions that took place. I personally enjoyed the lengthy conversation that I had with Matt and professor Boyanton. The conversation included questions like how can a teacher, administrator, and parent motivate a student. I thought this conversation tied very well into the movie we finished in class. Parents have a responsibility to be supportive to their children and their dreams. Unfortunately some parents believe they are helping or doing the right thing for their child, but instead this discourages them from exploring what they want to do with their lives.

In the movie Homer’s dad believe he was doing what was right for Homer, but he wasn’t. Eventually he realized his error and the end of the movie was very touching.

We also discussed how it is a myth that smart or intelligent students are not socially accepted. Again as stated in our discussion the notion that nerdy kids are considered uncool is generally not true. In the elementary level this does exist slightly but once you get to high school most kids popularity is based on their personality. This also ventures into another problem that exists in schools today, students tend to care more about their social status rather than their academic status. As time goes on and they mature this does change, but in high school this can be a problem.

It is important for teachers to motivate their students and try and help them find something they are very passionate about. Once a person is motivated and is passionate about something they will never stop. It is one of the best traits that human beings have.

One thing I am very passionate about is running. I run Cross Country and Track and Field. I have been for 7 years now. When I first started out it would be an understatement to say I was not good. Most people did not take me seriously. But as time went on people did, because I worked extremely hard. At first I was respected because of all the hard work and passion I put into the sport. Eventually that paid off and I was then respected for what I could run. I went from being last on a high school team to captain of a college cross country program.

My high school coach was always a great motivator and my current coach is also a great motivator. They have helped me get through some tough times were it seemed hard to continue on. Every teacher should strive to be like them and motivate and find what their students are passionate about and help them reach new levels.

Passion: A key element in happiness

By Lindsay Springer
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 19, 2009

I have a lot of passion for things that I enjoy and love to do. I think it is really important for everyone to have passion for something in their lives. If you don’t have passion then what is life? There are many things that I love to do and I can always do that gives me peace at mind when I do it.

I love to go horseback riding. I can go riding for hours and never be tired from it. It is my escape from the world. I think about what I am doing in that moment and not what happened the day before or about the stress in life. When I go horseback riding I just enjoy it. If everyone had one thing that they were passionate about and it made them peaceful in one moment of their day.

I honestly believe that people would be a lot happier in their everyday lives. It is important as future teachers to figure out what “de-stresses” us. As a beginning teacher life can be very tough and tiresome, but if you go back to that one thing that you are passionate about it makes the stress go away and you can refocus what you want to do.

My passion, my love, my motivation

My passion, my love, my motivation

By Elyse Capozza
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 20, 2009

For some people, it is extremely difficult to choose one thing that they are truly passionate about. For me, this decision was probably the easiest one that I had to make. Since I was little, I always loved to sing and listen to music. I was always singing some sort of song either it be from the television or from the radio.

When I entered 3rd grade, we finally got to attend music class. The first day, the teacher handed us our own recorders for us to keep! I was so ecstatic that I actually taught myself a couple songs within the few weeks that I had received the instrument. My mother saw this and asked me if I would like to learn the piano and of course I said yes! I was enrolled in private lessons and I enjoyed them very much.

I was so excited when 6th grade was approaching because that meant you were allowed to join the school chorus, which I definitely did. I loved the chorus and the people in it slowly because my friends and we were all somewhat of a musical family. The entire chorus from 6th grade on actually stuck together through our senior year of high school. It was rewarding to be able to all sing together for one last time at our graduation.

As you can tell, music is my passion. If we didn’t have music, I don’t think I could go through one day with sanity. I feel that music, instrumental or vocal, can tell a story and everyone can have their own interpretation of it. I currently play the piano and am trying to improve every day. I am also in the process of teaching myself to play the guitar because it is something I have always wanted to do. I also feel that with music, there can always be a new creation, and if someone really wanted to, they can write a whole bunch of new songs that are totally unique to their own self. I feel that music is my passion because music lets me show my true colors at times when I don’t want to show them to the world.

My passion, my love, my motivation

My passion, my love, my motivation

By Vivett Hemans
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 20, 2009

Passion, for me, is the foundation upon which my life is built. It is the driving force behind all that I do. I am passionate about life and all that truly living entails. Above all, I am passionate about learning and loving. This is the cornerstone of my desire to achieve the self-delegated goals of being the best mother, teacher, and eventually wife that I possibly can. These goals, while attainable, do not come easily and require ongoing work on my part; however it is a labor of love, one whose challenge I eagerly await and readily accept.

Having children has propelled me towards greatness more than any other event in my life up to that point. Being responsible for their rearing, growth, development, citizenship, humanity and socialization is an awesome undertaking, one which I hold in the highest esteem. My children are my greatest teachers, my clearest reflections, causing me to constantly fine tune who I am and what I am about.

For the past year I’ve been involved in an intimate, loving, relationship that has broken down many self-erected walls of defense wrought out of years of heartache and betrayals inflicted on me at the hands of another. After surviving an emotionally and physically abusive marriage, I didn’t think it possible for me to open up my heart to a man again. It was a risk I wasn’t willing to take and quite frankly, had not met someone who I deemed worthy of the love that I have to give.

Then I met Wayne and with his mere smile, my wounded heart began to mend. He is intelligent, kind, compassionate, strong, hard-working, ambitious and caring. His genuine interest in my well being and that of my children has caused a transformation in how I view the world and how the world views me. The love he gives inspires me to be my personal best in all areas of my life. He is a beautiful man - inside and out - and I find him to be worthy of the wealth of love that I have to share. I am passionate about him, about our relationship and about the promising future I see ahead for us as individuals , as a couple and ultimately as a family unit.

Does our skin affect our brain? Examining the achievement gap

Does our skin affect our brain? Examining the achievement gap

By Melissa Pfeffer
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 11, 2009

When a child around the age of three or so first starts school he or she is usually on equal footing with all the other kids in the class. This is taking into account a child’s race, gender, and ethnicity. However, as time goes on these factors do begin to have an impact on a child’s learning and development in school. While skin color does not directly affect a child’s brain (a brain taking up less than 1% of the overall human body), it does affect student’s ability to mature in both psychological and social ways. Race, ethnicity, and gender become much more prevalent in revealing intricate differences as children reach a certain threshold.

A significant portion of this problem can be attributed to reality itself. A minority child is living in a world where White Anglo-Saxon Americans still in most of the positions of power. Even with newly elected president Barack Obama (the first African American ever to have the position) minority children are not getting support from either their family or the media that they can be nearly as educated or as successful as Caucasians. The images they constantly see in the media are of Caucasian males who comprise the top 10% of society.

The rate of minority high school dropouts continues to grow at an alarming pace as it doubles and sometimes even triples the amount of white students dropping out of school. For instance, in 2005 the high school dropout rate for white students was 6% percent compared to a robust 10.4% for black students and a striking 22.4% dropout rate for Latinos. There seems to be something wrong with society since minorities are not getting the support they need in either their home life, education system, or from the media. All of these factors have contributed to rarely affect minorities in a successful way that would encourage them to stay in school.

One point that was brought up in one of my other classes was that a professor of mine taught in an inner city school not too long before President Obama was elected. She asked the students: “What would you like to be when you grow up?” There were only two answers given: rock star and basketball star. She said to the class of about 30 students: “Only two of you at the most will achieve this dream, but I am not sure about the rest of you.” Not one of these students provided the answer of doctor, lawyer, or veterinarian. The problem here as I mentioned before is that these careers are not reflected as a minority vision, thus these children can not emotionally believe this is something they can achieve.

When looking at one side of the spectrum you do need to see the other side, and see the successful cases.

Does our skin affect our brain? A Hispanic perspective

Does our skin affect our brain? A Hispanic perspective

By Oliveskin
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 19, 2009

I believe that my skin does affect how I learn to a certain point. There is a lot of prejudice out there. Its funny because when I told people that I was going for my Master’s Degree, they all kind of looked at me and said ‘Wow, good for you’, They say it as if Spanish people, or even Spanish females don’t go on to further their education.

It’s funny that people don’t expect Spanish people to be well educated. Society has created this stigma that Spanish people are the working class; they do the jobs that Americans do not want to do. For example, restaurant, cleaning, and other lower educated jobs. I totally do not agree with this at all, but it is a little ironic that my uncle owns a boat cleaning company and my mom’s friend owns a cleaning company. BUT, still who are other people to judge?

I believe that growing up with olive colored skin in a predominately white upper class town was hard on me. People looked at me like I was different, I felt different growing up. I mostly became friends with other kids like me, until I reached middle and high school when I started to integrate more. I also remember that in my town, most teachers were also white…which I always kept a mental note on. I do believe that skin color plays a role in learning, I believe that teachers/adults have preconceived notion on what different cultures are capable of.

Race & ethnicity: A Social-constructed concept?

Race & ethnicity: A Social-constructed concept?

By Louiza Mark
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 11, 2009

I don’t believe that there is a specific way to define any race or ethnicity. The reason is because I do not feel or identify myself within a specific race. I feel that race is an obscure theoretical construct with tremendous social implications. I feel that the term race was created in order to differentiate people.

However, it has been abused to such an extent in this country that it purely connotes negativity. Not one time have I heard the word race associated or accompanied by a positive remark or story. This term has been infested with the disease of hatred and therefore, I find it to be insignificant in my vocabulary. I do not feel that race is a term that can be defined.

Ethnicity I feel is a different more flexible term. I feel comfortable using it. I feel that my ethnicity is defined by my culture. The elements of my culture that differentiate it from the rest are what define my ethnicity. For example, the commitment to familial structure is a large part of my culture and it can be used to define my ethnic background. Granted, there are many ethnicities that emphasize family and that is acceptable. But, what separates any one ethnicity from the rest is its combination of other cultural practices and customs along with the family. Religion, belief systems, worldviews, dances, folklore, language, history, and many other factors are precisely what define any ethnicity-not only my own. That I feel is the standard that can be used to differentiate and to define ethnicity.

Race & Ethnicity: Does it matter or should it matter?

By Nicole Larosa
EDI 15A Psychological Perspective: Teaching & Learning

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 24, 2009

I liked Tuesday's class. I enjoyed our discussion on culture and discrimination. I thought that the activities we did, the poem and then breaking up into groups was a great idea that Dr. Boyanton had. I found it so interesting that when I wrote my poem, I did not define myself by my ethnicity or race. I did not say I am white or I am Italian. I guess it does not matter to me because I do not think that those factors truly define who I am.

I am complex. Everyone is complex. But, when we broke up into groups, almost everyone wanted to be in the Italian group even though some people were half Irish, and half Jewish. I don't get it. One is not better than the other and on top of it we pretty much started making fun of each other. I mean yeah, its funny, but what is the point of separating ourselves from each other.

The same thing goes for religion. Why do we have to start wars over it when all religions really stem from the same belief; there is a higher power. Being discriminated against is a terrible thing and definitely can lower someone's self esteem. I was made fun of for having red-ish hair and freckles, but I am Italian. No one believed me. It's a dumb thing to worry about, but people, and especially kids do because no one wants to be different.

The truth is that everyone is different, & no one will ever be seen as equal. The only thing the same is that we are all HUMAN and we should see that as the ultimate race and work together to make our world better.

Understanding Erikson: A critical view

Understanding Erikson & Piaget: A critical view

By Scott Mines
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 11, 2009

Today’s class was quite interesting on the psychological and cognitive development of children as they grow into adults. This is my first time studying any real theories that have been used in education practices. I agree with some aspects, and disagree with others. However, it is important to have different views from various educators.

I agree with Erickson’s view that “children love and want to be loved, and they very much prefer the joy of accomplishment”. I find that this pertains to my observations in the classroom as well as my experiences with my own children. The joy that love brings to children is immeasurable as you can see when a teacher really cares about what each student has inside of them. By being loved accomplishment follows for I believe a child tries to show people who love them what they can actually do in different instances. If a child is not loved, they tend to isolate and become introverted in what they really can accomplish.

I also agree that psychological development is caused by “crisis”. My interpretation of that is children learn from their mistakes. They take this learning process and apply it to other tasks in different contexts. I also agree that a person’s early experiences affect them in later life. For example, an abusive home life can change how people deal with relationships later in life. (marriage, dating, friendships).

I have to disagree with the timeline a bit though. People mature at different paces and may not fall into each category quite like Erickson says. When is middle age? It is very individually related.

Briefly commenting on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, I agree that equilibrium in our lives is important. Knowledge and information are good. “If schools are in harmony with children and their environments, the learning process becomes easier”. I also agree that along with equilibrium comes disequilibrium. That is why proper learning and becoming a good teacher or parent is important. Both ideas I believe are Constructivism where leaning is to acquire and create knowledge.

“I respectful disagree!” Encouraging students to express and learn from different perspectives in the classroom

“I respectful disagree!” Allowing students to express different perspectives in the classroom

By Scott Fialkoff
EDI 15A Psychological Perspective: Teaching & Learning

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 19, 2009

EDI 15A has become one of my favorite courses that I am taking at this University. This is because Dr. Boyanton incorporates a creative and fun teaching style into the classroom. We are allowed to express ourselves and reflect on different things that we learn in the class. I also like how we are allowed to disagree with information that is presented to us in class and in the textbook.

In many of my past classes the instructors have gotten upset when the students disagree with the information. I feel that it is important for each individual student to come up his or her own opinions about topics. This is because it allows people to become unique and to not just go along with the general population.

As a future teacher I will allow my students to express any disagreements they have with me. The only condition will be that they have to be respectful when they provide me with their views and opinions. Every Tuesday and Thursday at eleven I always get somewhat motivated and excited to enter the classroom. This is because I know that during EDI 15A I will learn valuable information that will aid me in becoming the best teacher I can be. I am looking forward to learning new information as the semester continues.

Recognizing students’ multiple intelligence: lessons learned from a talent show

Recognizing students’ multiple intelligence: Lessons learned from a talent show

By Nicole Larosa
EDI 15A Psychological Perspective: Teaching & Learning

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 19, 2009

I was really anxious and nervous to go to class on Thursday. This was mainly because of the talent show. I get so afraid of what people will think of me. In the past, none of my other acquaintances from school appreciated my talent. But I got more confident as people went before I did. I really loved the talent show! Everyone did something different and most things took a special skill, such as the Irish step dancing, which was really cool. I think it is so interesting. The musical saw was awesome. I'd be afraid to hold one because I hate sharp objects.

I think that maybe we should have brought the show outside so that I could do my whole routine, and other people would not have to worry about breaking things or hitting other people. The presentation Dr. Boyanton gave us on intelligence was very interesting. People can be intelligent in all different ways, so it is important to never call someone stupid, especially a child. A child will remember that for a very long time. I think that this was one of the best classes we've had so far. I love how everyone is so open with each other. I am definitely looking forward to Tuesday's class.

Increasing students’ self-confidence by recognizing their talents: lessons learned from the Talent Show

Increasing students’ self-confidence by recognizing their talents: Lessons learned from the Talent Show

By Scott Fialkoff
EDI 15A Psychological Perspective: Teaching & Learning

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 19, 2009

On Thursday the class had a talent show. I volunteered to be the first one to present my talents. I really enjoy exercising and engaging in muscle strength training, so I decided to show the class different dance moves that I have learned. The dance moves that I presented to the class consisted of bending and extending the knees very precisely. I learned these dance skills during my time in my dance class last semester. I also showed the class finger push-ups and the amount of regular push-ups that I could do. The class was impressed and enjoyed watching my skills. This raised my confidence level because I proved to myself that I could be the first one to present my talents in an exciting fashion.

Some of the other students also had amazing talents that they presented. One girl who is a martial arts instructor showed us different moves with her nunchucks. She moved her nunchucks with such grace and elegance. This is because she has a lot of experience with martial arts. The moves she made looked easy to do because she had very good eye-hand coordination.

One other student also presented a different astonishing talent. This individual was able to create music by playing a saw. I found this to be amazing because I never knew it was possible to make music by using a common hardware tool. The music she produced was excellent. I was upset to see her put the saw away because it was really interesting and exciting to watch her create wonderful tunes with this item. Overall this was the best class that we have had this semester.

Increasing students’ self-confidence by recognizing their talents: Lessons learned from the Talent Show

By Peter Severin
EDI 15A Psychological Perspective: Teaching & Learning

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 19, 2009

Today in class we spoke about intelligence and what we thought the definition of intelligence was. We also went over IQ. We broke into pairs and discussed our thoughts about intelligence and IQ. After this we had a class discussion and everyone expressed their different views about what exactly was intelligence and IQ. Although everyone had different views and ideas all made valid points on the subject. This led into our lesson on Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory. His theory describes eight separate types of intelligence; they include logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic.

We also went over Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence, which consisted of three parts: 1. Analytical Ability, breaking down ideas into component parts, and making judgments. 2. Practical Ability, applying knowledge to everyday situations. 3. Creative Ability, inventing, discovering and imagining.

After discussing Gardner and Sternberg’s intelligence theories we did a talent exercise. Everyone had to get up and talk about a talent they had. It was interesting to learn that some of our classmates had interesting talents. Some students had musical talent; one had talent with marshal arts sticks, and there was a tap dancer among the talents of other students.

What surprised me today was that everyone had the ability to do something special. When we see all the students every time the class meets we don’t realize that they have accomplishments outside the class. Some talents may be more elaborate than others, but everyone had something to be proud of.

Useful links

The following links are provided by the generous readers of JOCTL! We sincerely thank them for sharing!; Hi,; I think you and your readers might love this new mnemonics creation site:
http://www.joglab.com
I'm looking for some volunteers to help out at the moment- if any of your readers has a particular interest in mnemonics and a couple of spare hours to help please email me (danofweaver@googlemail.com).; Dan Weaver
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Dan, a life- loving bloke, is a research associate at Nottingham Uni, holds degrees from Leeds, Coventry & Nottingham and has particular love for: sustainable development, disaster management, neural-networks, efficient learning, human memory & geographical information science (GIS).
-------------------: Hello -

I write for our blog and I hear readers referring to a post of yours from time to time - which is what brought me to contacting you.We are headed to Seattle to blog at the NSBA's T+L Conference. Would you be interested in mentioning our posts in your blog?

Our blog is at:http://www.iqinnovations.org/educational-technology/

Keep up the good work on the blog and we'll keep reading it!

Sincerely,
Teresa Berry
IQity
Seattle Real Estate Agent

´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´
You make some good links here.
However, I also think that this can be helpful to you:
Go to: http://www.panix.com/~pro-ed/

If you get this book and video: PREVENTING Classroom Discipline Problems, [they are in many libraries, so you don't have to buy them] email me and I can refer you to the sections of the book and the video [that demonstrates the effective vs. the ineffective teacher] that can help you.

[I also teach an online course on these issues that may be helpful to you at:
http://www.blogger.com/www.ClassroomManagementOnline.com ]

If you cannot get the book or video, email me and I will try to help.
Best regards,

Howard

Howard Seeman, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus,
City Univ. of New York

Prof. Seeman
Hokaja@aol.com
http://www.blogger.com/www.ClassroomManagementOnline.com
------------------------------------------------
A collection of remotely-accessible, online library resources provided by Dr. Red Owl

This is web page with a menu of library links related to education, teaching and learning, educational psychology, counseling and development, educational technology, educational policy, education law, educational leadership and educational research (including testing and measurement). It includes links to major periodicals search engines; selected academic journals and professional periodicals for browsing; scholarly and general textbooks (via ebrary); selected yearbooks, encyclopedias and annuals; citation indexes; periodicals' directories (such as Cabell's); and APA citation style guidelines and examples. The menu page also includes instructions (and a web form) for creating persistent links to LIU's online library resources.

* Links to almost 500 selected browsable scholarly journals and professional periodicals related to education: http://journals.edlibrary.net

* Link to a service to find whether specific journals are available at LIU:

* Link to Ebrary (an electronic library offering access to more than 25,000 books from such major publishers as John Wiley & Sons, McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, Random House, Taylor & Francis, Yale University Press, Greenwood, etc.).

* Link to more than 30 education-related encyclopedias, yearbooks and annuals:

* Link to check the status of one's library account

* Link to APA citation style guidelines and examples

* Link to a web form for creating persistent links to online articles and books

The above links are provided by Dr. Red Owl
Red Owl
R. H. Red Owl, Ph.D., Professor of Education
Department of Educational Leadership & Administration
and Department of Educational Technology
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus

------------------------------------------------
A classroom observation software: eCOVE Software Provided by Dr. John Tenny
eCOVE was created by Dr. John Tenny. It is a software program that collects objective data during an observation. If it would be of use to students who are doing classroom observations. The students can download a trial version (the full version that runs for 30 days). With it, they can do objective research at no cost (just limit the data collection to a 30 day period). I hope it adds to the experience of your students.

Peace, John
Professor Emeritus of Education
Willamette University
Pacific City,Oregon
United States
------------------------------------------------
Discipline management link: http://www.panix.com/~pro-ed/ provided by Dr. Seeman

If you get this book and video: PREVENTING Classroom Discipline Problems, [they are in many libraries, so you don't have to buy them] email me and I can refer you to the sections of the book and the video [that demonstrates the effective vs. the ineffective teacher] that can help you.

[I also teach an online course on these issues that may be helpful to you at:
http://www.classroommanagementonline.com/

If you cannot get the book or video, email me and I will try to help.
Best regards,

Howard

Howard Seeman, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus,
City University of New York
------------------------------------------------
Parenting link: http://www.alankazdin.com/ Provided by Dr. Alan Kazdin

By the way, in case you know individuals parenting young children--evidence-based parenting for normal challenges of everyday life. Please peek at http://www.alankazdin.com/. Thanks.
-
Best wishes,
-
Alan
-
Alan E. Kazdin
John M. Musser Professor of Psychology at Yale University
Director of Yale's Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic
President of the American Psychological Association (APA)
------------------------------------------------
All kinds of fun games/activities: Provided by Ms. Mary Couzin

It is true that many of the traditional games are static as you say, but the new/modern and the eurostyle games are quite different. I think you will find them interesting, fun and fresh play every time as in many cases the board is ever-changing.

Have fun!

Mary Couzin
Founder of the Chicago Toy and Game Fair
Inventor of Hollywood's Reel Schpeel
mary@discovergames.com

JOCTL Feedback

Your approach to education is exciting. I wish I had young children for you to teach. Good luck in your graduate studies.

Anonymous reader

-------------------
Dr. Sanford Aranoff said...

A lot of stuff about learning, interactions, etc. When it comes to math or science, we must understand how students think, their pre-conceived ideas, etc., and build from there. See "Teaching and Helping Students Think and Do Better" on amazon.

Dr. Sanford Aranoff
Professor of Mathematics
Rider University
Lawrenceville, NJ
http://www.analysis-knowledge.com/

-------------------
Hi,

I think you and your readers might love this new mnemonics creation site:
http://www.joglab.com
I'm looking for some volunteers to help out at the moment- if any of your readers has a particular interest in mnemonics and a couple of spare hours to help please email me (danofweaver@googlemail.com).
Dan Weaver
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Dan, a life- loving bloke, is a research associate at Nottingham Uni, holds degrees from Leeds, Coventry & Nottingham and has particular love for: sustainable development, disaster management, neural-networks, efficient learning, human memory & geographical information science (GIS).

-------------------

Hello -

I write for our blog and I hear readers referring to a post of yours from time to time - which is what brought me to contacting you.We are headed to Seattle to blog at the NSBA's T+L Conference. Would you be interested in mentioning our posts in your blog?

Our blog is at:http://www.iqinnovations.org/educational-technology/

Keep up the good work on the blog and we'll keep reading it!

Sincerely,
Teresa Berry
President, IQity
Seattle Real Estate Agent

-----------------------------------------

Thank you for sharing your understanding of "How to be a great teacher?" Your role models: Erikson, Piaget, & Vygotsky would be proud of your discussion.

As we all can see by the Journal of Classroom Teaching & Learning blog, the computer is a great tool for us to listen, read, respond, and learn together.

Thank you for sharing your learning and enriching our knoweledge.

Roberta Levitt
Assistant Professor of Education
Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education
Long Island University, C.W.Post
-----------------------------------------
Congratulations, Dengting!
This is such a brilliant idea.
You are making research more real to your students.

Well done!

Efleda

Dr. Efleda Tolentino
Assistant Professor of Education
Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education
Long Island University, C.W.Post
------------------------------------------------
Dear Dr. Dengting Boyaton & Students,

Until I can write more, thank you for the exciting writing that you shared.

Roberta

Dr. Roberta Levitt
Assistant Professor
Department of Special Education & Literacy
School of Education
C. W. Post Campus of Long Island University
------------------------------------------------
Thanks for sharing. Very nice way of having the class interact amongst them selves.

Isaac Oddoye
Information Analyst
School of Education
Long Island University
------------------------------------------------
I love this idea. What a great way to make your course processes visible to others.

Dr. Joan Walker
Assistant Professor
Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus
------------------------------------------------

Hello Dr. Boyanton,

I love this idea and will share it with our music education students who are involved in our Rompertunes Early Childhood Music Teaching and Learning Partnership. Hopefully we can get something going.

Best,

Dr. Jennifer Miceli,
Director of Music Education
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus
------------------------------------------------

Dengting,

Your online Journal Classroom Teaching & Learning is a wonderful resource, and I want to congratulate you for your vision in creating this opportunity for your students and bringing it to LIU.

Welcome to LIU and the C. W. Post Campus School of Education! I'm delighted that you have joined our faculty, and I look forward to working with you.

Cheers,

Red Owl
---
R. H. Red Owl, Ph.D., Professor of Education
Department of Educational Leadership & Administration
and Department of Educational Technology
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus

------------------------------------------------
As an Editor of three refereed journals, the last being the Journal of Counseling & Development (2002-2008), the flagship journal of the American Counseling Association, I send you warm congratulations and much success with your SOE journal.

Dr. Scott McGowan
Professor

Dept. of Counseling and Development

School of Education

Long Island University, C. W.Post

------------------------------------------------
Your work is very inspiring and your students are having a grand experience. At the university where I was director of the School of Education until retirement we had a similar 'Leadership Experience' that brought to our students great personal awareness of their own growth and capabilities.

A side note: after retirement I wrote a software program that collects objective data during an observation. If it would be of use to your students, they can download a trial version (the full version that runs for 30 days). With it, they can do objective research at no cost (just limit the data collection to a 30 day period). I hope it adds to the experience of your students.

eCOVE Software

Peace, John
John Tenny, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Education
Willamette University
Pacific City,Oregon
United States
------------------------------------------------
You make some good points above.
However, I also think that this can be helpful to you:
Go to: http://www.panix.com/~pro-ed/

If you get this book and video: PREVENTING Classroom Discipline Problems, [they are in many libraries, so you don't have to buy them] email me and I can refer you to the sections of the book and the video [that demonstrates the effective vs. the ineffective teacher] that can help you.

[I also teach an online course on these issues that may be helpful to you at:
http://www.classroommanagementonline.com/

If you cannot get the book or video, email me and I will try to help.
Best regards,

Howard

Howard Seeman, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus,
City University of New York

------------------------------------------------

Dear Dengting,

Great to look at your web page and see wonderful accomplishments! Keep up the great work.

By the way, in case you know individuals parenting young children--evidence-based parenting for normal challenges of everyday life. Please peek at http://www.alankazdin.com/. Thanks.

Best wishes,

Alan

Dr. Alan E. Kazdin

John M. Musser Professor of Psychology at Yale University

Director of Yale's Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic

President of the American Psychological Association (APA)

------------------------------------------------

Congratulations, Dengting!

What a creative undertaking to begin your own journal.

Best wishes for a productive spring!

Harrold Strang

Professor

Educational Psychology

Curry School of Education

University of Virginia, Charlottesville

------------------------------------------------

Dengting,

Congratulations on starting your journal.

All the best,

Kurt Fischer

Charles Warland Bigelow Professor
Cognitive Development & Learning

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Harvard University

------------------------------------------------

Hi Dengting,

From my perspective, the Journal of Classroom Teaching & Learning is truly a wonderful thing to see happen in our school of education. You have done a superb job in this regard. This effort is definitely contributing to the University community.

I wish you the best. Thank you very much for your time.

Sam

Cheng-Chang (Sam) Pan

Associate Professor

Curriculum & Instruction

School of Education

University of Texas at Brownsville

------------------------------------------------

Thaks for doing this Dengting. I know how much work it takes, but the papers give us such insight to our students and life here in B'ville.

Betsy Price

Support Office for Part Time Faculty

University of Texas Brownsville Texas Southmost College

------------------------------------------------

Dengting:

Wow!! I find your integration of technology, pedagogy and content exceptional. Your project is a great idea! I'm interested in doing something similar for educational leadership.

Dr. Chuey Abrego
Assistant Professor
Educational Leadership

University of Texas at Brownsville
------------------------------------------------
I certainly enjoy the JOCTL, Dengting!

Dr. Michael Sullivan
Associate Professor

Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education

University of Texas at Brownsville

------------------------------------------------
Dengting,

I love this. Have you thought about asking your students to do a little survey of other college students as to their perceptions related to this (motivation)? Might be interesting.

Dr. Gayle L. Brogdon
Dean
School of Education

University of Texas at Brownsville

------------------------------------------------
Dengting,

I just wanted to comment that I’m very impressed with you work regarding the electronic journal. I hope to post some comments soon!

Take care,

Dr. Manuel Zamarripa
Assistant Professor

Counseling Psychology
School of Education

University of Texas at Brownsville

------------------------------------------------
Hi Dengting!

I want to commend you on the nice journal. I clicked and found it. It looks very professional, and it will be helpful to our students. I’m sure your students learn the writing process through it, also. Congrats!

Dr. Kathy Bussert-Webb
Assistant Professor

Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education

University of Texas at Brownsville

------------------------------------------------
Thanks for your time and effort - and well done with the blog!

David Pike
TTT Tech Specialist

University of Texas at Brownsville

------------------------------------------------
Dengting,

I enjoyed reading the journals and the honest comments from the students. This is a great idea.

Dr. Sandra Murillo Sutterby
Assistant Professor

Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education

University of Texas at Brownsville

------------------------------------------------
What an excellent idea!

Dr. Terry Overton
Associate Professor

Special Education
School of Education

University of Texas at Brownsville

------------------------------------------------
I like the idea of your blog. It's a good idea and should be good for a professional journal article.

Dr. Yvonne S. Freeman
Professor

Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education

University of Texas at Brownsville

------------------------------------------------
This subject is very interesting to me since I work with the part time faculty here at UTB. Professors are just as anxious as students.

Betsy Price,
Support Office for Part Time Faculty
University of Texas Brownsville Texas Southmost College
------------------------------------------------
It is true that many of the traditional games are static as you say, but the new/modern and the eurostyle games are quite different. I think you will find them interesting, fun and fresh play every time as in many cases the board is ever-changing.

Have fun!

Mary Couzin
Founder of the Chicago Toy and Game Fair
Inventor of Hollywood's Reel Schpeel
mary@discovergames.com

Journal of Classroom Teaching & Learning

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Greetings from the editor

Table of Contents

Looking to the Sky

Teaching through motivating: A reflection on movie October Sky

Teaching through motivating: A reflection on movie October Sky

Motivating by supporting: A reflection on movie October Sky

Motivation: The forgotten tool in our classroom

Motivation: What motivates and demotivates me to learn?

Motivating students by finding their passion

Passion: A key element in happiness

My passion, my love, my motivation

My passion, my love, my motivation

Does our skin affect our brain? Examining the achievement gap

Does our skin affect our brain? A Hispanic perspective

Race & ethnicity: A Social-constructed concept?

Race & Ethnicity: Does it matter or should it matter?

Understanding Erikson: A critical view

“I respectful disagree!” Encouraging students to express and learn from different perspectives in the classroom

Recognizing students’ multiple intelligence: lessons learned from a talent show

Increasing students’ self-confidence by recognizing their talents: lessons learned from the Talent Show

Increasing students’ self-confidence by recognizing their talents: Lessons learned from the Talent Show

Useful links

JOCTL Feedback

4th CESTL

Copyright © Dr. Dengting Boyanton Assistant Professor of Education 2008

Blog Archive

Long Island University C.W.Post