Week 5-Theory to Practice

IN CLASS:

How do you explain Akiana's virtuosity?

• She only works on what she is motivated to learn (painting)----> Pruning
• Her teacher( her mother) allows for her to pursue her desire to paint and disregards all other disciplines in her education.
• She is an example of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. She uses her ability to learn artistically to create beautiful portraits.
• Mitra would explain her virtuosity through her curiosity and motivation. He believes children will self teach themselves because they have a natural desire to learn.
• Intrinsic motivations

Theory to Practice:

Today' s class wrapped up all the theorist and their respective theories of learning. In the beginning of class we focused on the "why" of the moral/ethical implications portion of our T2P statements. We took a moment to revisit this topic by first writing down our thoughts on what makes a "Good Teacher." After addressing these points she then explained to us the importance of providing concrete evidence supporting our statements. We were urged to make sure we follow through with our statements and make sure we answer the question "why?". One technique simply involves reading your statement aloud and asking the question why?

After this short lesson we took the time out to connect a few of the theorist and their definitions of learning to motivation. This weeks homework assignment introduced the motivation into the picture and how it directly correlates to learning. We all took down notes and made connections to previous studied theorist through critical thinking questions. I believe today's class was both beneficial and essential to wrapping up our thoughts in order to start thinking about our final papers. It is key for instructors to use classroom time review concepts and thoughts they want their students to grasp. Today's class did exactly that for the students and myself as well.

Finally, we were given three options for last portion of day. The students in class chose the option to watch a video on the teenage brain and discuss how we believed this relates to either learning theory or physiology theory. I enjoyed the having options in the way we wanted to finish class today. This allowed for the instructor and students to understand that day can deviate from the regularly scheduled plan but still be productive. We discussed how Nodding support this theory in her work as well.

Over all, today's class was productive, essential, and collaborative. Everyone gave insight into their thoughts on motivation and how it connected to studied theorist believes on learning. We were able to finish the finally pieces of our Theorist Spreadsheet giving me a sense of completeness and comprehension.

"If teachers connect classroom instruction with the motivation that drives students to learn, they will ultimately produce better work. Students are intrinsically motivated to learn topics that interest them and when given the option to pursue their personal interest, they will work hard at accomplishing their goal. This theory is supported by Pink and his theory of intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivations. When rewards are placed on tasks they can eventually lead to poor outcomes if the motivation to complete these tasks are not internalized by the students first."