Focus Question 1: What is operant learning and applied behavioral analysis and how can teachers manipulate antecedents and implement consequences to increase desirable behaviors or decrease undesirable behaviors?

ANSWER:

Operant learning is based on the notion that behaviors are learned. In this way, individuals can either unlearn undesirable behaviors or be taught new behaviors. The first step to helping students learn and use appropriate behaviors is to manipulate antecedents, or to attend to the events or stimuli that proceed certain behaviors. Providing effective instruction that is well organized and presented, implementing consistently a classroom schedule and rules, arranging the room to limit noise and distractions, and attending to peer interactions can prevent many misbehaviors before they occur. When undesirable behaviors do occur, using consequences can help students unlearn or replace selected behaviors. Identify a behavior to change, observe the behavior, make a plan for changing the behavior by using consequences and/or reinforcers to increase other desirable behaviors or to decrease the undesirable behavior, implement the plan, and follow up by monitoring progress towards reaching desired behavioral goals.

Focus Question 2. What is Cognitive Strategy Instruction and how is it used to teach academic, cognitive or social skills?

ANSWER:

Cognitive Strategy Instruction (CSI) is a systematic method used to change thinking processes by organizing the teaching and monitoring of task completion or skill development and by actively involving students in learning. Examples of strategies or skills taught in CSI are finding the main idea, decoding unknown words, and taking notes. First, the teacher selects a target strategy or skill to teach. Then, the teacher analyzes the target skill carefully, determines if and what strategies the student is already using, and selects strategy steps (a series of steps that can be used as a guide by the student when solving a problem or completing a task). Next, the teacher works with the student to develop the strategy steps, teaches the prerequisite skills and strategy steps using modeling, teaches the student to use self-regulation strategies such as verbalization and reflective thinking. As the student learns and applys the new strategy, the teacher gives explicit feedback, monitors the use of the strategy, teaches strategy generalization, and helps the student maintain use of the strategy.

Focus Question 3. How can you use the features of sociocultural theory to make instruction more effective for the students you teach?

ANSWER:

Sociocultural theory is based on the notion that learning occurs through interactions between people. Therefore, an emphasis is placed on language as a teaching tool and the instructional conversations that occur between teachers and students (as well as between students). There is also a focus on the resources or background knowledge, language, and culture that students bring with them into the classroom. Teachers should consider not only academic functioning but also students' backgrounds in planning and implementing instruction that is meaningful and at the appropriate level. Scaffolding is another important feature and occurs when a more knowledgeable person (teacher, parent, student) provides support during learning situations and gradually decreases the support as the learner becomes more proficient.

Focus Question 4. How can knowledge of information processing and schema theory assist teachers in meeting the needs of individuals with learning and behavior problems?

ANSWER:

Information theory emphasizes the components of the brain that are used to manage information in terms of (1) input: stimuli from environment, senses, and sensory register; (2) executive functioning or metacongition: attention, perception, short-term and long-term memory; and (3) output: observable (motor, speech) and unobservable (thinking) responses. Schema theory posits that our knowledge is organized into schemas, or organized structures of knowledge (e.g., restaurant schema, driving in traffic schema) that assist in understanding and recalling events and information. Information processing and schema theories call our attention to various components of the brain that are activated during learning. Examples of instructional features that incorporate these theories are activating prior knowledge; relating new learning to existing schemas; and teaching and monitoring the use of metacognitive strategies to organize task completion and to check for understanding.