Theories and Models of Learning and Instruction

1. My husband and I had been having trouble with keeping our daughter in her own bed throughout the night. She is the queen of stalling and our bedtime routine had become something that we dreaded instead of something we enjoyed, and I wasn't getting adequate sleep at night because my sweet child would come to my side of the bed at all times of the night wanting to sleep with me. Something had to change.

According to B.F. Skinner, learning can be understood, explained, and predicted based on observable events. Antecedents are cues that signal the appropriateness of a behavior, while the consequences of a behavior help to determine whether the behavior is repeated again. These consequences can be both good (a smile from a teacher for a good action) or bad (a good action going unnoticed by the teacher).

So...to try and improve our nighttime routine with our daughter some changes were made. First, we converted her toddler bed into a full-sized bed and let her select her new bedding all by herself at Target. She'd been complaining that her bed wasn't comfortable so this nixed that problem because we used the mattress from the guest room for her new bed and she LOVES the mattress from the guest room! This gave her one less reason to come out of her room to tell us something once she'd been put to bed for the night. The tactic we tried to help encourage our child not to come out of her room at bedtime or in the middle of the night was a sticker chart that I made for her. I hung it on the back of her bedroom door so that she would have to see it before deciding to come out of her room (an antecedent). We told her she had the opportunity to earn two stickers a night--one for staying in her room once she'd been put to bed (unless she needed to go to the bathroom) and one for not coming to sleep with us before 5:00 am. The stickers are the consequence (a good consequence). Some nights she earns both of her stickers, other nights she only earns one, but she has always earned at least one sticker per night since we started this new plan. When she fills up her sticker chart she knows we will be taking her to the store to select a reward. I'd say that by our observations we have achieved success. YEA!

With this same goal in mind, I think it would be possible to use the Constructivist approach to help our daughter to become successful at staying in her room at night instead of stalling the inevitable by repeatedly coming out of her room, etc. While I don't think that the goal I have selected to write about for this assignment is necessarily a complex problem in need of solving, Constructivism encourages learning by engaging learners in authentic activities related to the discipline they are learning, providing collaboration, supporting learners in setting goals and regulating their learning, and encouraging learners to reflect on what and how they are learning. While this type of approach might be a bit difficult with a three year old, I do think it's possible. With regard to the afore mentioned problem/goal and in keeping with the Constructivist approach, my husband and I could sit down with our daughter and talk with her about the problem we've been having with our nighttime battle. We could help her with creating some goals for herself to help in finding a solution to the problem. Having already implemented the sticker chart idea and introduction of the new bed, we could encourage her to talk about how the new changes are working--what does she see that could be done better, where has she been successful, etc.

2.To apply the First Principles to my goal of getting my child to sleep in her bed through the night, I would do the following: 1) The Problem: I would ask my daughter to verbalize what the problem is that we've been having at night. I hope that she will respond with her inability to stay in her room after she has been put to bed or to sleep straight through the night without trying to sleep with Mom and Dad before the morning. 2) Activation: I would ask my child to recall our bedtime routine. 3) Demonstration: I would ask my child to give me some examples of valid reasons for getting out of bed (to go to the bathroom, feeling ill, etc.) and examples of reasons not to get out of bed (to see if Mom/Dad are still awake, watching T.V., etc.). Role play might also be a good way to demonstrate the behavior and lesson I want her to learn. She can be the mommy and I can be the child. 4) Application: The next morning, I would talk with my daughter about the previous night's events and have her point out her successes and/or areas in need of improvement. 5) Integration: My child can successfully sleep the whole night through without reminders or other incentives.

3. Teaching students to make and count back change without the use of a calculator or cash register is a valuable lesson to be taught. It is terrible to go to the store and watch a cashier struggle to make the correct change when handed coinage after the amount tendered has already been entered into the cash register. You can watch a flash of panic cross their face. Students begin learning about money at a young age, and this knowledge is built upon from year to year (scaffolding). First, students learn about the names and denominations of the coins and bills. This is followed by learning about the relationship between the coins and bills (i.e. 10 pennies = 1 dime, 4 quarters = $1, etc.). Once this task is mastered, the students will practice making combinations of money values (i.e. $3.27 = 3 $1 + 1 quarter + 2 pennies OR 3 $1 + 5 nickels + 2 pennies). At this point it is possible to begin teaching students how to make and count back change.

To teach this same concept using the mathemagenic method, the students will practice making and counting back change in various situations. For example, students will make change from payment made with only a paper bill (total = $6.57...cash tendered = $10...change = $3.43). The students will also make change from payment made with a paper bill and exact coinage (total = $6.57...cash tendered = $10.57...change = $4.00). Additionally, students will make change from payment made with a paper bill and some coinage (total = $6.57...cash tendered = $10.07...change = $3.50).

4. I am designing a course to show students how to use Animoto to create book trailers for other students to view as a means of determining whether or not to check out a book.
Attention:
Perceptual Arousal: Begin the presentation by showing an Animoto video to capture the attention of the learners
Inquiry Arousal: How could we use something like the clip that was just shown in a purposeful way in our school library?
Variability: Show a how-to PowerPoint presentation that highlights the steps that necessary in order to complete a similar video. Allow the students to work in groups to begin working on an Animoto video in order to become more familiar with the program. Introduce the students to Creative Commons in Flickr for finding photos for Animoto videos.

Relevance:
Goal Orientation: Ask the students to think about a time when they were trying to check out a book in the library. What factors influence the books they select? Have they ever selected a book and then were disappointed with the selection because the book was not as good as they had hoped?
Motive Matching: The students will be able to select the book they will be using for their Animoto project, as well as select the photos they will use for the project.
Familiarity: Ask the students to think about the previews we see prior to the featured movie at the theatre. What is the purpose of those previews? They should keep this concept in mind when creating their own book trailers (book previews).

Confidence:
Learning Requirements: Throughout the creation process, I will continuously provide support and encouragement to the students.
Success Opportunities: By creating these book preview videos for their peers, they will be able to see how their input and opinions matter and benefit others.
Personal Control: The students will clearly know their success is based upon their efforts and abilities because they will be the sole creators of their own videos. The students will also provide assistance to fellow classmates when problems arise, thus furthering their feelings of success and competence.

Satisfaction:
Intrinsic Reinforcement: Students will be able to create and submit an Animoto book preview any time they feel the desire to add to the growing supply of book reviews available for student use. Knowing that their videos might help another student to want to read a particular book is great encouragement.
Extrinsic Rewards: Extrinsic rewards will come in the form of fellow students commenting and praising the videos as they are viewed. Also, an end-of-year award show would be a great way to provide extrinsic rewards. Hosting an Emmy-type award show with awards for 'Best Fiction', 'Best Nonfiction', 'Best Chapter Book', etc. would not only be enjoyable but it would also serve to promote the videos that were created and hopefully increase the viewing numbers.
Equity: I could assist the students in anchoring a positive feeling about their accomplishments by promoting their videos on the library bulletin board. Each week I could select one or two videos and their creators to highlight to boost interest in the books, the videos, and the creators themselves.

5. Engaging in design research helps us to become better teachers and instructors. Knowing about the different motivational theories and design theories helps keep teachers current in the ways to promote success in the classroom. Design research provides another means for teachers to update and modify lessons to accommodate students and keep the lessons new and exciting.