Improving the Educational Psychology - Essay Example

Educational Psychology Introduction Teaching is more than just appearing in and explaining concepts. Effective learning is achieved when all students actively participate and engage in the learning process. There are several instances where students, due to diverse reasons, may not have the intrinsic motivation to participate in the learning process. In such cases, the teacher is presented with a daunting task of deploying effective methods and tact that can bring back the learner to find meaning in the learning process. Asking questions is one of the many ways an instructor can use to ensure everyone in the class is alert and attentive to the learning process. Probing students for answers is a crucial process that enhances the learners’ cognitive skills. It helps them to think, memorise, perceive, make decisions and solve problems. Their social skills are also enhanced when they are given a chance to explain and justify their viewpoints in front of the class. Surprisingly, numerous research studies show that some teachers have not fully understand the essence of class participation and the significance of keeping students alert all the time during class sessions. It is unfortunate to find out that there are cases when students turn off and resort to sleeping after the teacher comes to class. Even worse is the fact that some teachers do little to rejuvenate these students. Some would even ridicule the sleeping students and make fun of the situation. In the end, the students’ achievement level drastically falls. Learning, therefore, becomes inadequate. The prime aim of learning should be to equip students with knowledge and skills that can positively influence their behavior. Without this change, learning is of no use. Eventually, in such classes, some few students who are ever attentive will gain while those who switch off will continue recording low scores. Paddlepop Stick Method and Popsicle Stick Method of learning are strategies that have been used by the ‘concerned’ teacher to ensure that all students are active in class. These learning strategies will actuate a learning environment where every learner actively participates in all the classes daily. This method involves inscribing of the learners’ names in popsicles sticks. These sticks are then given to the students to hold during class sessions. The teacher the initiates the lesson and when they have a question to answer, the names written on the sticks are read out. If a student’s name is mentioned, they will be the one to respond to the question. This is unlike the traditional method where students raise their hands to answer questions in class. It is meant to engage even those students who have little enthusiasm for the subject/topic. All students become ready at any time since they do not know when their sticks will be pulled out. In case a student is asked to answer a question and they do not have the answer, the teacher may skip to the next student but inform the student the question will be tossed back to them. Once the correct answer has been found, the student who did not answer it correctly is asked to give now an accurate response. This challenge does not only keep them attentive but also improves their memory. Based on the ‘classroom experiment’ conducted by Dylan William, there are several modifications that have been made to the basic Popsicle Stick Method. It is, however, worth noting that these changes are in line with the Stanovich’s principle of connectivity. The mentioned principle demands that any modifications or adjustments made to a scientific theory or model need to be constructed in a way that the new model explain and compare with the preceding perspective. The assumptions, facts and data of the new theory should connect with the old one. This, according to Stanovich principle of connectivity, is meant to stem out and curtail scam that may be proposed as scientific theories and models. New models should be founded on the old ones such that the basic principles remain almost the same. For example, in the case of William’s classroom experiment, the modifications that have been made in order to improve learning connect to the basic principles of Popsicle Stick Method. First, the rule of ‘no hands up; has been retained. Students in the experiment are not allowed to raise up their hands before they are selected to answer particular questions asked in class. They are expected to stick to wait until they are identified with the use of the sticks. Consequently, the teacher mixes the sticks and randomly picks one name to respond to the questions. This aligns with Popsicle Stick Method’s principles. In a nutshell, Dylan’s experiment has observed the Stanovich’s principle of connectivity. Observably, there are some adjustments that Dylan William’s experiment makes with an objective of enhancing classroom learning. First, the new method incorporates exercises. The experimenter resorts to taking the students through exercises explaining that this will bring to them numerous health benefits. Dylan explains that other than the classroom activities, students need to be actively engaged in outdoor games and exercises so they may have increased blood flow. This will not only break boredom but also help to increase the flow of blood to the brain. Subsequently, various tasks require cognitive abilities to solve. Evidently, this seems to world well as students’ moods and emotional and cognitive response improve positively. This is the first adjustment that is made in the experiment. As the experiment progresses, some difficulties are detected. Students begin to respond negatively to the Popsicle Stick Method. The unlikelihood of being picked to answer a question perturbs the students in different ways. The relatively brighter students feel frustrated because they probably have the answers to the question asked but the teacher seems to ignore or rather they miss the chance of being picked. This prompts the experimenter to device two more new ways. This, the experimenter refers to as ‘all students response system’ (Hardy, 2012) This is an attempt to ensure all learners progress at the same pace. Just using the sticks to identify the respondent has demonstrated a drawback as most of the students lag behind. Only the students who are selected to respond move with the teacher. These new methods are meant to keep all students alert and ensure they all respond to the questions. First, students are asked to write their response to the questions asked on some whiteboard. This is a modification of the basic Popsicle Stick Method. The method in which all students are asked to write on the whiteboards is an all-inclusive tact that aims at triggering every learner to respond to the same questions asked. The instructor then scans or eyeball on the response given latently before identifying whose work is to be read. However, this technique, apparently, does not work in the mathematics class as the students take the boards as playing objects where they write some unrelated stuff. Learners of this level of study seem to be preoccupied with games and finding such materials is an opportunity to demonstrate their artistic creativity. This modification, according to the teacher causes more harm than the communication benefits it was meant to bring to both the teachers and the students (Hardy, 2012). The idea of using colored cups as a way of communication between teachers and their students is similarly another technique used to enhance learning. This is also another enhancement to the Popsicle Stick Method that has been devised in while observing Stanovich’s principle of connectivity. The basic crux of Popsicle Stick Method is still maintained as given in the Stanovich’s principle. In this experiment, students are asked to communicate with their teacher through the colored cups in case they need some assistance especially when the teacher is too fast or when they do not understand concepts in class. This new idea works for the student although it creates problems in the mathematics class. Students seem to have found a better way of complaining and showing how bored they are with the cups. Dylan explains the students do not understand how to communicate with the cups (Hardy, 2012). Next, Dylan adds a new method that he believes will improve learning even better. This time, students are trained on how they should observe and give feedback regarding the lessons they attend. Constructive criticism is central to this technique. This technique is combined with cup communication. Some few students are selected to give their feedback concerning the lesson. This method is beneficial as the teachers are able to determine what areas they should adjust on. More improvements are noticed with the combinations of these techniques, and this translates to their academic performances. One more modification is introduced. The grading system is scrapped and students are given achievement comments instead; something that most students repulsed at the start but embraces in the end. It shifted the learning process from being grade-oriented to achievement-oriented thereby improving performance (Hardy, 2012). Conclusion In exploring ways to improve learning and engage all students in active participation, methods such as Popsicle Stick Method have been identified by researchers to be significant models that can be used. As outlined, the basic principle of this model demands the traditional method where students raise their hands for selection when answering a question be abolished. This concept has been a cornerstone that Dylan has used to build a more concrete and efficient system that consists of the use of cupboards, whiteboards, exercises and comments as mechanisms for improving learning. The experiments sought to improve the mere use of Popsicle sticks to come up with other better ways that can enhance participation of every student. There is no doubt the experiment has achieved tremendous outcomes amongst the students used in the study. References Hardy, E. (2012). The Classroom Experiment (Ep.1). YouTube. Retrieved 27 May 2015, from http://Hardy, E. (2010a, September 27). The Classroom Experiment. Episode 1. [Television broadcast]. London: British Broadcasting Corporation Hardy, E. (2012). The Classroom Experiment (Ep.2). YouTube. Retrieved 27 May 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iD6Zadhg4M Read More