D094: DJM3 Task 1: Video Observation

ARTHUR DOUGLAS

D094

Task 1

A.1. Video #28 – Using Uno Cards to Engage in Fitness Activities. Ages 6 to 7, First Grade, 18
Students (9 Boys, 9 Girls).

A.2. Students in this video are near the boundary of Piaget’s Preoperational (Stage 2) and
Concrete Operational (Stage 3) (Cherry). As these students are in a more academically
advanced group, they demonstrate more aspects of having advanced to the Concrete
Operational stage. Students are generally able to take a random number on a card and
convert that number with either addition or multiplication. They then take that concrete
number and use it to determine the number of repetitions on their chosen activity.

More evidence of the advancement to the Concrete Operational stage can be found in the
teacher’s discussion of integrity. One student says it would be wrong to choose another card
if they didn’t like the one they had picked. Children in the Concrete Operational stage are
less egocentric and more able to realize that their feelings aren’t the same as those of other
children (Cherry).

A.3. This teacher relies on the Self-efficacy Theory (Seifert & Sutton). After choosing a
random color of a card for an activity, the student is then allowed to choose between
multiple activities in that learning zone. Some students choose activities that are easier,
while others choose activities that are more challenging. A student is required to draw
multiple cards and therefore perform multiple calculations; this assists with the persistence
of the integration of math into a primarily physical activity. Students who are struggling with
the mental calculations are given prompts or different ways to solve the problem. The
teacher also assists multiple students with the physical tasks as well.

B.1. Video #2533 – Clarifying Misconceptions about Photosynthesis and Respiration, Ages 11
and 12, 6th Grade, 22 students (8 boys, 14 girls).

B.2. Students in this classroom are in Erikson’s “Industry versus Inferiority” social
development stage which typically runs from ages 6-12 (Lumen Learning). When these
students are comparing the answers they give to the teacher’s questions, they are
frequently looking for support from other students for their answers.

B.3. This teacher demonstrates the Collaborative Learning process in her lesson on the
similarities and differences between photosynthesis and cellular respiration (Barron &
Darling-Hammond). First, she takes a Formative Assessment of her students’ background
knowledge. Then, she asks a series of questions designed to lead the students to an answer.
She asks questions then has students discuss the answers in small groups. During these
discussions the teacher is interacting with these individual groups before asking for answers
from the entire class. This leads the students to reaching a conclusion that the two
processes are a circular pattern. Using the small groups within a classroom is a common tool
used in collaborative learning.

PAGE 1
D094: DJM3 Task 1: Video Observation

C.1. Video #134 – Applying the Properties of Quadrilaterals to Determine Length and Angles,
Ages 15-17 years, 10th and 11th Grades, 28 students (16 male, 12 female).

C.2. Students in this classroom are in Erikson’s “Identity versus Role Confusion” social
development stage which typically runs from ages 12-18. While some students in the video
are actively taking part in the discussion, others are more withdrawn and either unsure
about the role they should be playing in the group or are unwilling to be an active
participant.

C.3. This teacher’s lesson demonstrates Collaborative Learning (Barron & Darling-
Hammond). The teacher assigned students into groups based on their abilities and
disabilities, and students also had specific roles within that group which helps with individual
accountability. These assignments allow weaker students to be active participants in the
learning. The teacher is actively circulating around the different groups to answer questions
and help them remain on task. The teacher is also focusing on students with infrequent
participation and making adjustments to their roles (Barron & Darling-Hammond).

D.1. Video #367 – Identifying and Understanding Figurative Language, Ages 13-14 years, 8 th
Grade, 32 Students (17 males, 15 females). This inclusion class has students with unstable
home environments and frequent absenteeism. 8 of the 32 have IEP’s for reading or writing.

D.2. Students in this video are in the Formal Operational stage of Piaget’s stages of
development (Cherry). This stage begins around age 11, and students in this video are ages
13 and 14. Students are engaging in exercises to help their abstract thinking and increase
their writing abilities.

D.3. This teacher’s lesson demonstrates Collaborative Learning (Barron & Darling-
Hammond). The teacher assigned students into groups based on their abilities and
disabilities, and students also had specific roles within that group which helps with individual
accountability. These assignments allow weaker students to be active participants in the
learning. The teacher is actively circulating around the different groups to answer questions
and help them remain on task. The teacher is also focusing on students with infrequent
participation and making adjustments to their roles (Barron & Darling-Hammond).

E. Understanding the basics of human development and psychology is important for all
teachers because teachers play a key role in the psychological and emotional development
of the many students with whom they interact throughout their careers. A poor teacher can
destroy a student’s self-esteem and outlook just as significantly as a great teacher can
change a student’s life for the better. Instructors must understand the emotional
development of their students. Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development illustrate that
teachers at different levels need to focus their teaching style to meet the abilities of their
students. Teachers at the Pre-K through 2nd Grade (ages 2-7) need to have lessons that use
pictures as symbols but those students will likely be unable to see the perspective of other
students (Cherry). Teachers at the 3rd-6th Grade Levels (ages 7-11) need lessons that are still
concrete but can begin to teach logic about those concrete events. Lessons at this level
should also teach students to start with a specific fact and expand that to a broader idea
(Cherry). Teachers above 6th grade (ages 11 and up) are working with students at the Formal
Operational Stage. Lessons can focus on more abstract, moral, ethical, and social issues.
Lessons can also be taught starting with a general idea which leads to specifics (Cherry).

F. With students at different levels of development in my classroom, I will need to use

PAGE 2
D094: DJM3 Task 1: Video Observation

able to simply teach a lesson and hope that all my students learn the material equally. I
need to provide a mixture of visual, oral, and technological information to appeal to
students’ different learning preferences. Straightforward lectures are not going to be
effective teaching methods for students who are unable to process the words I say and
translate them into their written notes. After studying the IEPs of students in my class, I will
need to adjust my lessons to help those students succeed. If I have a student with dyslexia, I
will need to help him by providing accommodations. Those may include smaller
assignments, oral instead of printed instructions and responses, preferential seating,
extended time or oral exams, and testing in a private room (LD Online).

G. As a teacher, I must be able to not only help students understand lessons; I must also be
able to understand why they do not understand. As I read and learn about the many
different theoretical approaches to classroom education, the phrase “Know Your Audience”
keeps circulating in my head. I believe that Constructivist Teaching theories will most closely
allow me to tailor my information to my classroom audience. Jerome Bruner’s synthesis of
Vygotsky’s social constructivism and Piaget’s cognitivist learn by experience theories
(Williams) aligns with my personal belief that a genuine teacher learns more from his
students than the students learn from him. Students need the safety of a scaffold to build
confidence in a subject, and when students see that confidence expand, they are more
willing to then take on new tasks and topics. Scaffolds than then be moved higher on the
learning spiral as the lower bases are solidified. I hope to be more than just a transmitter of
knowledge and instead be a facilitator (Williams).

PAGE 3
D094: DJM3 Task 1: Video Observation

References

Barron, Brigid, and Darling-Hammond, Linda (2008), Powerful Learning: Studies show Deep
Understanding Comes from Collaborative Methods.

https://www.edutopia.org/inquiry-project-learning-research

Cherry, K (5/2/22), Plaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development Explained.

https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457

Lumen Learning. (n.d.). Modification of Erikson's 8 stages of psychosocial development.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/teachereducationx92x1/chapter/eriksons-stages-
of-psychosocial-development/

National Center for Learning Disabilities (2006), Accommodations for Students with LD.

https://www.ldonline.org/ld-topics/ieps/accommodations-students-ld

Seifert, Kelvin and Sutton, Rosemary (n.d.), Motivation As Self-Efficacy.

https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/educationalpsychology/motivation-as-self-
efficacy/

Williams, Alison, What is a Constructivist Approach to Teaching? (2018).

https://www.theclassroom.com/constructivist-approach-teaching-8455246.html

PAGE 4