Module 5

     Chapter 12 of Woolfolk centered on motivation. The chapter discussed extrinsic vs.intrinsic (p.445-446) and explained the differences in students who are motivated by different factors. I think this is critical for me to take into consideration in my future classroom because understanding the motivation of my students will help me plan lesson strategies, activities, and assessments accordingly. This chapter also covered Maslow's hierarchy of needs (p. 448-449). I know there are people who are critical of this theory, but I agree with the text when it proposes that a person cannot achieve a higher level of needs if the lower ones are not met. The example the text gave was a hungry student not being able to focus on learning (p. 448). This is another key element that is important for us to keep in mind as future educators. At some point in our careers, we will encounter students who are having difficulty learning due to the force of external factors out of their control. As educators, we are also advocates for these kids. It's important to learn the signs of students who are having trouble focusing or learning, and provide resources or support that will help them learn. Even if that resource is food.
     On pgs. 452- 453 of Woolfolk, the text discusses goal orientations. This part of  the chapter really held significance for me because I think it is imperative to set personal and classroom goals for my future students. I believe showing students how to set and achieve goals, is a key component to success in life well after the students leave my classroom. Having goal setting as a norm in my classroom is important to me so the students can learn to establish clear thoughts on what they want to achieve, how to do it, and gain a sense of value in themselves in the process. Lastly, the text broached the subject of students with anxiety (p.469), and I was super happy to see that this subject was covered! Growing up, there were many student in my class that suffered anxiety, and the teachers were not prepared for, nor had any tolerance for it. Instead of working to help students learn coping strategies, or include activities in the classroom to help decrease stressful situations, they succeeded in increasing the anxiety of the students. I
     On p. 530 of Woolfolk, in Chapter 14, it begins by mentioning three characteristics that good teachers possess: clarity, warmth, and knowledge. Providing clear instruction, examples, and lessons is one of the most important things we can do for our students. I think this is lacking on the part of many teachers in classrooms today. I can't tell you how many times my son has come home from school and not understood what the teacher was asking him  to do on his homework. Furthermore, as a student, I have had many experiences where I needed clarification on the expectations or instructions for certain assignments, projects, papers, etc. This is a principle I will take with me into my future classroom. This chapter also focused on  Bloom's Taxonomy and lower and higher level thinking objectives in creative and flexible planning (p. 537). This is especially important for us as we work on our test construction in this class!
     Chapter 15 was all about evaluation. I thought one of the most important concepts in this chapter was the emphasis on validity and absence of bias (p. 574). When the text was providing examples of unfair penalization, it reminded me of the video from the 1940's we watched a couple modules back, and how the teacher used gender specific examples to explain ration and proportion to the students. I also paid special attention to the section dedicated to multiple choice testing (p. 577), particularly because I want to be sure I can construct great multiple choice questions for our test construction! I was unaware that 3/4 of education professors reject this method of assessment. This chapter forced me to focus on all the different types of ways I could measure or assess how well my students are learning the material. One of the key elements of this chapter I will take with me is to ALWAYS go back and restructure my assessments based on how my students do with the material!