Section 2

Chapter 2 questions

1. 1. Intentions are an important variable in being an effective teacher. Oftentimes intentions differ from what actually takes place. Teachers want to do a good job, but sometimes the methods they take don’t work for students.

2. 3. Traditional testing in schools usually tells teachers what they already know – that the student is unproductive or a “problem student.” Teachers send students to get tested because they think there might be a problem, then they get tests saying there is. This idea seems redundant and doesn’t get much accomplished.

3. 6. All children are special and unique in their own way. Whether children are gifted, above average, average, or below average, all children bring a unique set of gifts to the table. Some students, however, need more special attention than others. Students who are mentally or physically disabled should get extra help when they need it, and teachers should make a point to include them in the class.

4. 7. While most students have a natural curiosity that inspires them to learn, some students fight the urge, and it almost seems that they do not want to learn. This is because they don’t see the rewards in learning – they get more attention by being disruptions in the class than they do by learning. One way to avoid this is to have concrete rewards for learning for these students .

5. 8. It is important for students to be able to motivate themselves, but the idea of giving rewards for learning is an extrinsic form of motivation and goes against the concept of intrinsic motivation.

6. 9. Students must be willing to work to achieve their goals and assume that everything won’t come easy. These endeavors should use effort, self-discipline, and patience and repetition. Children should learn early on to work hard to accomplish their goals or they won’t change their attitudes and beliefs as they age. The secret to developing the capacity to learn is to lengthen the time in between rewards because students will work through the stress to get to the reward. Some students are industrious and work towards their goals, while other students can find the same joy and excitement without doing any of the work through the use of technology.

7. 10. From the student point of view, teachers control the classroom; however, teachers often decide what is important to teach based on the students need, so in a sense, everybody has a say in what is taught. In music classrooms this can be applied by asking for student opinion on music selection.

Chapter 2 Section Reflection – Modules 7-11

1. Disciplinary actions should be kept subtle, quite, and almost confidential, so as not to draw attention to the quieter students. As for praising them for positive behavior, this could maybe be done both quietly and more loudly and so the rest of the class hears. Hearing this positive praise and making it public might help to boost the confidence of the students

2. First off, I would ask him what made him mad and why he decided that was the best way to deal with his anger. I would then explain to him nicely that what he did was wrong and that I would have to punish him for it. Because he defaced his book, I would make him pay for the full price of a new book.

3. Rather than using these tangible gifts as rewards for good behavior, many other things can be used to praise good behavior. Special clubs for students with good behavior is a way to make students excited to act nicely. Teachers can also use posters to show or demonstrate good behavior used by students.

4. With interdependent group contingency, a reward is given to the group or class based on everyone’s success. Because of this, students can easily be singled out for not performing as well as their peers and they may become embarrassed. Also, as students age, they become more aware of what is and is not fair, and may realize that they are getting a grade based on someone else’s work and see it as unfair.

5. Before calling the parents, I would probably send her to the principal’s office to talk with him/her about the behavior. From there, the principal can make the decision to call the parents, or give the student another chance to behave in class. If more outbursts occur, I would definitely call the parents and ask to discuss the behavior with them to try to understand why it happens.

6. Obviously immediate action is necessary. I would immediately send him to a time-out corner (or something of that sort) to “think about what he’s done.” Then I would talk to the student about what he did and why it was wrong. Since he was dared, I would also ask who the student was who dared him, and punish that student.

Learning Activity 3

1. This diagram illustrates that every student is influenced by a variety of sources (parents, teachers, friend, and other social situations). For students who aren't yet mature, this can be confusing because they may get contradiction between the sources on what good behavior is, but students need to learn to change their behavior in different settings. Ultimately, when it comes down to "who has responsibility?" the student possesses the most responsibility over his/her actions, and that level of responsibility increases with maturity.

2. Most adults have learned how to switch behaviors on and off based on the social situation, the activity, or the people they are around. At sporting events (high school or professional), we know that it is an acceptable behavior to yell and scream really loudly, and that yelling and screaming is actually encouraged; whereas, we understand that while we're eating out at a restaurant (fancy or fast-food), we should speak more softly so we don't disturb other patrons. In church, we know that there is very little talking with the people around you during the service because more time is spent listening to the pastor. While watching tv in one's own home, it is acceptable to talk to other people, or even yell at the tv screen depending on what is being watched. And while playing sports, a little trash-talk is encouraged; whereas, the insults involved in trash-talk would be considered offensive in many other situations.

Learning Activity 4

Generally, I think that even though at times it is difficult to fully include special learners in some classes, teachers need to make the effort to keep them as included as possible. I think out of all the different classes secondary schools offer, rehearsal-based classes are possibly the most difficult to easily include special-needs students. Instrumental music may be especially difficult if numbers are down and instrumentation is small. Learning fingerings and notes might be incredibly difficult for special students, but simply putting them in the percussion section won't work either because they may struggle to keep time. In choral ensembles it might be easier to 'hide' special students during concerts, but still make them feel included. It seems that the trend is that most special-needs students do not participate in music ensembles, which could be seen as both good and bad. Good because the rest of the ensemble won't be slowed down, but bad because they won't get the experience of music that everyone deserves.