Parents

I am currently working the extended school year, or as most people call it summer school. I am in a classroom of six ED students. Three of which are in my room all year long. I have learned in the last two days that two students are no longer on medication. The first student's mother read a book and decided to take her kid off meds and try a new parenting style, and feels it is working just fine! This poor kid can't even sit in the classroom. He acts like he is trying to crawl out of his skin. He can't control his verbal outburst and is threatening his peers. When the parent was approached about this the comment was well he is fine at home, it must be your problem.

Student two went away on vacation to visit his father and 5 half sisters in 3 different states in 5 days, he came back a different person. THe normally well mannered student now is cutting up making rude comments and the list of things goes on. I was talking to him in the gym during dismissal and his mother didn't refill his meds because they needed money for vacation.

I'm venting here of course because the classroom once again is becoming very stressful because of parents uninformed decisions. It floors me that they don't see what they are doing to their children. It just seems they are setting them up for more failure. They are in our program simply for behavior reasons! How are we to get them back into district programs if they don't give us support from home?

Guys don't think I believe all kids should be medicated, because it is my belief that Medication is the last resort, but in their case it probably is the last thing to do. I was wondering if anyone has some advice on the situation?

Four Psychological Perspectives of Learning

The Four Psychological perspectives of learning are; behaviorist, cognitive, constructivist, and social-psychological. As a teacher you quickly learn that you can not run a classroom on simply on theory. It often takes a combination of learning theories to be a successful teacher. What may work on year may not work the next school year.

The Behaviorist perspective

The behaviorist perspective of learning is when a subject shows permanent change in behavior due to experience or conditioning. Pavlov’s study of dogs suggests behaviors are learned by a stimulus. Pavlov rang a bell before every time the dogs were to be fed, in time the dog would salivate at the sound of the bell, proving that stimulus equals response. This refers to a change in behavior, an external change that we can observe. Often a system of small rewards is set up with students to encourage behavior. We currently use this in our P.B.I.S. program, all positive behavior is reinforced with small rewards.

The Cognitive Perspective.

Piaget suggests there are several levels of learning. Each level of learning builds off the previous level. Each level of learning involves acquiring a new or different of skill. It is important when using this perspective that students can experiment and discover things on their own. I often show students how to use a piece of software by lecturing them on how to it is used, then walk them through it step by step, and finally have them complete something simple on their own through experimenting and discovering. It is my belief that through practice and exploration a student can retain more information.

Constructivism Perspective

I find that constructivism is the perspective I am most comfortable using. I like to do a lot of hands on activities with my students. ED students often need hands on activities to stay engaged in the activity. I enjoy using manipulatives when ever I can in lessons. Especially in math for my students they have to make a connection between an understanding and facts. During an ELA lesson I also ask students to predict what might happen, then reflect on their reading. During my undergraduate work, we focused on the constructivist approach.

Social Psychological Perspective

The social psychological perspective is one that allows students to work in small peer groups. Students feel they have a sense of control over their own learning. It is believed that students can better explain concepts to students on the students level better than a teacher can. It also increases the students comfort zone. In my setting this perspective can be very dangerous. When working with Ed students they often don’t take guidance for other students very well, and things can escalate and explode very easily.

References:
Smaldino, S., Lowther, D., & Russell, J. (2008). Instructional technology and media for learning. Columbus, OH: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.