Module 1 Assignment

 Overview

 During this learning module, you will explore the ideas of some of the world’s great behavioral and cognition theorists and apply their theories to your work as an educator. From B. F. Skinner’s behaviorism theories, the constructivist theories of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky,

Albert Bandura’s social learning framework, Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, to Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences model, each has helped shape how we look at student behavior and learning and has assisted teachers in better understanding their students’ needs and promoting higher achievement for students with diverse backgrounds and approaches to learning.

In this campus application assignment, there are two parts. In Part 1, you will examine at-risk students on your campus. In Part 2, you will explore Skinner’s application of positive reinforcement as you attempt to change negative behaviors, promote active learning, and build feelings of perceived control, self-efficacy, and relatedness in the students you targeted.

Performance Outcomes

•    Use positive reinforcement strategies when interacting with students to promote active engagement and student self-efficacy. 

Rubric

Use the following Rubric to guide your work on the Module 1 Assignment.

 Module 1 Analysis Assignment, Part 1 of 2: Examining At-Risk Students

The first step of your campus application assignment is to examine students in your campus or classroom who are labeled “at-risk,” and determine how many of your students are eligible to receive federal Title I services. If you are not currently teaching or if your campus do not have any at-risk students, then locate a nearby campus of your choice to complete this assignment. The information you need can be retrieved from the Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR) or you can use currently available data from your campus as appropriate by reaching out to your school administration. For information on the state-defined at-risk indicators as outlined in the Texas Education Code, refer to Section E0919 of the Public Education Information Management Systems (PEIMS) Data Standards (https://tea.texas.gov/reports-anddata/data-submission/peims/peims-data-standards) by clicking the hyperlink. After your initial investigation of the information, you will complete elements that are listed below. In rare cases, if you have no at-risk students on your campus, you can complate this assignment by working on underachieved students.

Directions:  

1.     At-Risk Students

Complete the table by inserting appropriate numbers by retrieving most recent TAPR report for your campus (https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/accountability/academicaccountability/performance-reporting/texas-academic-performance-reports) or by obtaining the necessary data from your administration.

2.     Campus Discription for At-Risk Students

After your careful examination of at-risk student information on campus, provide a narrative description of how at-risk students are supported on campus. For example, how are at-risk students get advised and supported for their learning needs? Based on your learning in this learning module from the lecture and course reading, what are the needed support that can be included and or enhanced to support at-risk students?

*The length for this part should be a well-developed paragraph or two.

Module 1 Analysis Assignment, Part 2 of 2: Case Study

B. F. Skinner stated that positive reinforcement is a vital tool in both promoting positive and changing negative behavior. For Part 2 of the application assignment, you will focus on a student who you identify as both underachiever and at-risk. You may provide a pseudonym for the studentwithout using the actual name of the student.

Focus your descriptions on the student’s learning behaviors and factors that are influencing his or her achievement level. Your next step in this assignment is to identify behaviors that you observed in your student that you would like to see changed or modified, and describe positive reinforcement strategies that you tried in changing these behaviors or you plan to implement. In your description, you need to be specific by including 1) reinforcement strategy schedule (how often, when, etc.), as well as 2) how you monitored (or will monitor) the effectiveness of your strategy. You will also describe the roles you think these reinforcement strategies played (or will play) in promoting feelings of perceived control, self-efficacy, and relatedness in these students. For the rationale for reinforcement strategies you select, you need to cite sources from course readings.

Directions:  

1.     Student Profile

A brief description the student characteristics including grade level, subject matter, achievement level, learning history, etc.

2.     Target Behavior

Describe the student behavior you wish to change.

3.     Reinforcement Strategy

Describe the reinforcement strategy you used or plan to implement including scheduling and monitoring plan.

4.     Critical Analysis Reflection

Describe how you believe the successful implementation of the strategies above in step 3 promoted (or will promote) a greater sense of control, self-efficacy, and relatedness in your student. If your plan did not work well, you can describe your “learned lessons” and what things you would do differently next time. If you have not implemented the reinforcement strategies yet, list possible challenges.