Module 5

Chapter 12 focuses on motivation in education, and different styles of motivation that can be used to reach various types of students.Like many psychology subjects, there are varying views of motivation based on different schools of psychological thought. Schools such as behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, social cognitive, and sociocultural have their own theories and concepts. I personally found the Social Cognitive view of motivation particularly interesting because it considers motivation to be a combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors meaning it come from both inside of the individual as well as motivators independent from the individual. (P. 447-448) I found this relatable to my career goals as a future coach because I believe that motivation has a large part in sports, and that motivation is most effective when it is perceived by the athlete themselves as well as a motivating external factor such as a coach. I think motivation techniques are going to be important in my future as a coach, and knowing different ways to motivate different types of students would be significantly beneficial for me as well as my athletes as a future coach.

Chapter 14 revolves around being able to teach different types of students. The chapter also goes into detail about what makes an effective teacher, and shares research on teaching and planning. The section on Rosenshine’s Six Teaching Functions (P. 541) and how these six portions of teaching as regarded as a framework for the basic teacher. The six basic functions include:

1. Reviewing and checking the previous day’s work
2. Presenting new Material
3. Providing guided practice
4. Giving feedback and correctives based on student answers
5. Providing independent practice
6. Review weekly and monthly to consolidate learning

I found this framework extremely relatable because this formula is the formula that was followed by roughly 99% of the classes I have been in during my entire academic career and it was interesting to be able to put a name to the academic routine I have been exposed to over my academic career.

Chapter 15 includes classroom assessment, grading, and standardized testing. This chapter is really applicable to us as future educators because now more than ever schools are stressing student success on standardized tests scores. Standardized test scores also often used to dictate funding school districts may receive from federal and or state governments. I found the following quote from the textbook (P. 579) to be close to my feelings on the importance placed on standardized tests in the modern school system. “Wiggins continues to argue for assessment that make sense, that tests knowledge as it is applied in real-world situations. Understanding cannot be ,measured by tests that ask students to use skills and knowledge out of context.” I agree with this sentiment that we need to try and judge knowledge in a way that is more complex than just repeating information and other common questions used in standardized testing. I believe that in my future when creating assessments, it is important to be aware of the level of thinking I want my students to achieve and to create my assessments to be more than just the basic level of assessment.