[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Emotional meaning enhances LTM consolidation. Emotional arousal is accompanied by heightened levels of epinephrine (adrenaline) and cortisol. Small-to-moderate levels of adrenaline & cortisol activate amygdala & hippocampus and enhance learning (amount learned and retained).
Emotional barriers – unfriendliness in the classroom – the incoming data (lessons taught and discussed) will be ignored and is gone for good …![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Oprah talks with Ron Clark, the 2000 Outstanding Teacher of the Year and O, The Oprah Magazine’s first “Phenomenal Man.”
I met Ron Clark, the 2000 Outstanding Teacher of the Year, last fall at Disney’s American Teacher Awards. He’d not only traveled from East Harlem to Los Angeles to receive his award but he’d raised more than $25,000 to bring his entire class with him. As I watched the video about Ron’s life and his decision to relocate from North Carolina to one of the toughest areas of Harlem, I was moved to tears. What I saw in Ron that day left me humbled and inspired-I could literally feel his deep sense of love for and connection with his students.
OPRAH: Was it always your desire to be a teacher?
RON CLARK: I never wanted to teach; all I wanted was a life filled with adventure. After college I became a dancing and singing waiter in London. I went to Greece and got stranded on a desert island for four days. Then I went to Romania and stayed with gypsies in Transylvania-they fed me rats and I got really sick, so I had to come home. I lived with my mom in Belhaven, North Carolina. She told me a teacher in her area had passed away and asked me if I’d be willing to finish out the school year for that teacher. I wasn’t interested … but I figured I’d just go down to the school. I was hooked! The next day I started teaching fifth grade. From then on it was like magic-I fell in love with teaching.
Five years later, I saw a program about a school in Harlem. It showed these students who although they were intelligent had extremely low test-scores because the school couldn’t attract good teachers. And at that moment I had a feeling… it was like a calling. The next day I told my co-teacher, “I’m going to teach in Harlem.” I packed up my car, drove up to New York, and stayed at the YMCA. Every day, I went from school to school in Harlem trying to find a school like the one I’d seen on TV.
O: You’re kidding.
RC: I’m serious! It was hard. I knew the calling I’d felt was strong enough that when I came to the right school I’d know it.
O: That’s not a calling, Ron-that’s a siren!
O: How do you motivate your students?
RC: The main motivator, whether in rural North Carolina or Harlem, isletting the kids know that you care about them and that you’re interested in their success. Sometimes it takes other motivators, like jumping rope with them. When I first got to Harlem, jumping rope was the thing-all the kids were out there doing Double Dutch. So I tried it-I knew that if I could learn to do it, it would earn me points with them.
O: And a connection.
RC: Yes. It became a bonding experience because every day at lunch, when the other teachers would go to the teachers lounge, I would spend my time with the students and practice Double Dutch. And when I finally got [Double Dutch], it was a success for me and for the kids.
O: So your curriculum was based on what was happening in their lives?
RC: Exactly. Through my curriculum I tried to help them become complete individuals and to love life. Using things they were already interested in made my job a lot easier.
O: How do you encourage students to be lifelong learners?
RC: I model the behavior that I expect from them. For example, whenever I teach anything, whether it’s math, science, or geography, I am excited about it! When the kids look at my face, they can tell I’m excited about it. Sometimes I may not be that ecstatic, but it’s important to show them the excitement you can have from learning.
O: Why does your philosophy work?
RC: I’m sincere-my students know I mean what I say. They know everything I do is for them and that I’m giving it everything I’ve got. Some people say I’m crazy because I put so much effort into dealing with the kids. But when the kids see my effort, it makes them put forth more effort. They know I have high expectations for them.
O: Do you think of yourself as creative?
RC: If I had to name three of my characteristics, one of the top three would be creative. You have to be creative to be a good teacher because you can’t do the same thing day after day.
O: If you can make long division exciting, you are one creative person![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Today was the first class for EDUC390 Measurement and Evaluation in Education and the overall perception of students toward examination and grading isn’t that encouraging. This is mainly because exams and grades (in whatever form they are presented) create undue stress, division (through competition in the classroom), and ill-feeling in students. I was particularly fascinated and ‘sad’ at the same time by a statement made by a student from mainland China about people’s perception toward examination and grading in her country. I quote her…
“When children come home, parents ask them what did they get, instead of asking what did they learn for the day.” – Jessica –
Just think about the statement. I dare not expand on this statement and distract your reflective mind about the ill-effects exams and grading bring to our society.
When I was in Malaysia on a one-month home leave just recently, I read about students committing suicide for getting an ‘F’ grade in one subject (which they could re-do in a matter of a few months time). I know this is not an uncommon incident. But when we really think about it, we come to a realization of how ridiculous our premises and attitude toward examination and grading are!
We often talk and become concerned about moral degradation. But what happens in the school system is even worse than a decline in morality because those who are supposedly educated and well-versed in the principles and practices of ‘true’ education are the ones who place so much importance on something so feeble like exams and grades. In essence, we have become murderers of our own children. We kill not by using physical weapons. The instrument we use to kill our children is our own misperception about ‘what constitutes learning and how it is assessed’.
Copyright August 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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Outline:
Subject Matter of Cognitive Psychology? (When we talk about cognition, we mean one or more of the following)
· Human perception
A Brief History
The Associationist era
1. Stimulus – Response paradigm of psychology (1920-1970)
The Behaviorists Era (behaviorism – originator of behavior modification)
Problems with the two earlier eras:
1. Over-reliance on external, observable behavior to study internal, implicit mental processes – limiting the possibility of the functioning of mental processes in the absence of behavioral manifestation (“you can imprison my body, but I am free, in my mind!” – can we really study cognition in a confinement? – the experience of Apostle Paul in the prison?)
The Cognitive Era
Cognitive Themes for Education
Learners are viewed as:
Copyright August 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com
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“Where are we?”
“We need to?”
“When should we?”
“What should we say?”
We, we we. Being married certainly is a “we” proposition. And when kids enter the picture, whatever sense of privacy or self you enjoyed goes down the drain faster than ever. But remaining happily married requires an “I” focus, too.
Is taking time for yourself a selfish preoccupation? It can be if you routinely neglect the needs of others. But one of the more selfish things you can do is to neglect yourself. Why? Because when you neglect yourself you become needy. You then require more help from others and resent it when help isn’t forthcoming. Selfishness can unravel a relationship. But so can an absence of selfishness.
Who were you before you became a “we”? Does any part of that person still exist? When you’re alone (do you have quiet time to be alone?) who is the “me” inside of you?
“My teenager was talking about his future dreams,” a middle-aged man told me one day. “He wants to become an actor. An actor, can you believe it? He explained to me-before I could warn him myself – that 95 percent of all actors are unemployed and he doesn’t care. He simply wants to act. You know what? I envy him. Not for his wish to be an actor. I envy him because he has a dream.”
People stop dreaming when they think it’s time to wake up. Home loan repayments, taxes, children, aches and pains, hair loss, a fondness for quieter music – are all reminders that you’re older now and that the real world must be faced, not an imaginary one. But if facing the real world means abandoning personal dreams or losing your sense of individuality, you may feel imprisoned by your commitments and smothered by your intimate relationships.
Happy couples not only balance time together with time apart, they use their individual time to replenish themselves.
Broadly there are two kinds of self-renewal. Taking time to do more of those things you really enjoy is one type. Vacations sometimes serve that purpose, though most people could use more than the allotted two weeks every summer. Learning to relax, to enjoy solitude, to gaze at a night sky and feel a stirring of wonder and peace – all help you to re-orient yourself to your neglected inner world.
A second level of self-renewal is more profound and longer lasting. It involves having a vision for your life, a mission or purpose. Too many people with worthwhile dreams talk themselves out of them. They convince themselves that they already have too many responsibilities. Besides, dreams are risky. But meaningful dreams, according to Frederic Hudson, are not items on a wish list but “a visceral yearning…a picture of what you most deeply want your life to count for…a haunting refrain…” Will your dream still be important a year, or five years, from now? When your life is nearing its end, will you regret your decision to forsake that dream? If you answered “Yes,” you have a dream worth pursuing.
Maybe. Maybe not. If your dream makes you apprehensive, join the club. Dreams challenge us to stretch our capacities, which increases the risk of failure or setbacks. If you abandon your dream, will you resent your spouse for “holding me back”? If so, you are not accepting full responsibility for your decision. Instead, you are holding your partner responsible.
Sometimes a person lets go of a dream in order to commit more strongly to the marriage dream (for example, by turning down a promotion that would have required spending too much time away from home). A sacrifice, to be sure, but done for a worthwhile reason – to allow the marriage to flourish. It’s not always easy to know which dream should be followed and which should fade. But happy couples keep dreams alive.
Have you given up a bit of yourself over the years? Do you often think in terms of “we” or “us” and rarely “I”? If so, you’re preventing your spouse from enjoying a major source of marital pleasure: a partner who likes himself, enjoys himself, and who has personal goals and ambitions.
Respond to this statement: If I had complete freedom (more opportunity, more money, support from my spouse, etc.) I’d probably devote more time to …. If you come up with an answer that you can’t shake off, you owe it to yourself to take the idea seriously.
Two years ago, my wife bought a ticket for me to go deep-sea fishing. It was on our wedding anniversary. That morning when I woke up, I had envisioned spending the day together with her … but she had other plans.
I couldn’t believe it! Why would carol want me to be away from her? BUT she simply kissed me, and said, this is your anniversary gift! She gave me the ticket to go on a boat for the entire day, fishing. I enjoyed the kiss but couldn’t understand the message behind the gift.
I love fishing although I have moved away from the sea. I can still hear the ocean calling me. And now and again, I just play with my fishing gear in my garage.
I caught some very good fish that day and I will never forget Caroline’s gift to me. Her gift was not a ticket to go fishing but in essence, it was a gift of time alone with myself. Wow! My wife really knows how to choose well, look at who she married! Ahahhaha!
I will never forget that gift. She understood that sometimes we need to spend time alone, apart from each other. The importance and need to spend time apart was highlighted by choosing to give me that TIME on a very special day when it was expected that we should spend time together.
Today, as I write this article, it has been 7 days since our twelfth anniversary, I am in the Johannesburg International airport, waiting for my flight to take me to the arms of the only woman of my dreams. I wasn’t at home for my anniversary because I had to be in Zimbabwe for a speaking engagement. So it is time to celebrate 12 years of happiness with my high-school sweetheart.
I have loved Carol every minute we were together, but today, I love her even more as I realize that in marrying her, she did not bury “me.”
Copyright by Paul Charles, Ph.D, August 2006, http://www.paulinperson.com/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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Traditional Assertion about Student’s Academic Achievement:
“If a student does not do well in exams (obtains low scores), he/she is most probably suffering from an inferior intelligence, and/or comes from low socio-economic background, and/or is most probably experiencing some sort of medical/psychological/behavioral (ADHD) problems, and/or is obviously having a learning disability.”
Affectiveteaching.com’s Assertion about Student’s Academic Achievement:
“A student who is not ENGAGED in the process of learning becomes disinterested. This lack of interest prevents him/her from paying attention to the lessons taught by a teacher. The student finds it difficult to assimilate any type of knowledge if he/she doesn’t pay attention to the lessons in the first place. When there is a deficiency in the existing pool of knowledge (in the form of schemata), thinking is hampered. Academic performance deteriorates as a result of the above mentioned instructional defects!”
As a teacher, I have learned to stop looking for causes of academic problems outside of myself…simply because I can’t control anything external to me. No amount of lecture on discipline, time-management, and the value of education would change a student’s attitude toward learning if teachers don’t fall in-line with principles of ‘affective’ and ‘effective’ teaching. Instead, I look for ways to improve teaching and make the learning process as engaging and stimulating as possible. I have full control over this and everytime I focus on making learning a meaningful experience, students automatically fall in-line to become ‘affective’ and ‘effective’ scholars.
Copyright August 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com
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“Don’t leave anything but your footsteps!”
I saw this quotation on signposts along the footpath that leads to a famous waterfall in Malaysia. As I pondered upon the words of this line, I couldn’t help but be influenced by its implication for teachers.
Without doubt, the statement is an appeal to people, encouraging and calling them to keep the surrounding of the waterfall clean and tidy. It is obvious that visitors to this waterfall haven’t been friendly enough to its surrounding. Often times, they have caused damage to its beauty. Plastic and paper bags, bottles and cans, broomsticks, rotten food, etc., were some of the few items that I personally saw, thrown away without care and concern, during my visit to the waterfall. People do this in spite of having garbage disposal bins every few meters along the footpath.
Teachers affect students for eternity – they will never know where their influence ends! Teachers invariably leave footprints on students. They affect students’ way of thinking, their behavior, aspiration, emotion, spirituality, and every other aspects of life. The mere presence of a teacher changes the very being of an individual student. The experiences exchanged by both teachers and students help them to leave indelible mark on each other.
However, we often notice instances where teachers leave more than footprints. Just like the dirt and unwanted items disposed carelessly by visitors at the waterfall, teachers often hurl harmful, unkind, impolite, unloving, and uncaring words, actions, and thoughts at students. These significantly damage the ‘beauty’ that is inherent in each individual student. Many individuals become nasty and irresponsible because much of such negativity was hurled at them at school, by teachers whom they respected and desired to please.
The hurt that teachers cause students is more harmful than the ones caused by any other people. This fact is justifiable because students look up to their teachers and expect them to be loving, kind, and caring while teaching them about life and everything else. Students feel deceived when teachers do just the opposite and communicate authority, indifference, unkindness, and above all, hatred.
Let us remember, as teachers, that we are called to leave footprints and nothing more or less. Our footprints should be in the form of nurturing interactions and relationships that promote the holistic well-being of students. Failing to do this means that we are willing to consciously damage the lives of individuals who seek our guidance and care.
Students trust that their teachers will change them for the best! (not just for the better)
Copyright July 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com
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This past weekend, I had the privilege of speaking at a Camp-meeting in the Eastern Cape (Queenstown), in South Africa. It was a total of 5 sermons that I preached, including a presentation on Christian Lifestyle. It was a total of four hours that I spoke for on Sabbath. I was quite exhausted. On Sunday I had to deliver the farewell message and had the opportunity to listen to a colleague of mine preach for the morning manna. While listening to him, I thought to myself that it would be perfect if I could link my message with his, to let my message be an extension of his message from the morning. I had already preached a message similar to his many months ago and I could repeat it without much effort. It was a perfect plan.
But when I was about to stand behind the pulpit, I did not preach what I thought was best but preached a message that I was impressed with earlier.
I was anxious to drive back home at the end of the sermon.
As I pulled out of the ‘parking area’ of the camp-meeting venue, I was stopped by a woman who introduced herself as a Shepherdess. I have great respect for Shepherdesses. She said: “Pastor, do you know that you saved a soul today?”
I replied: “really!”
“Yes,” she replied, “I have invited a young woman who was determined to -end her life this weekend but I asked her to postpone and attend this camp-meeting today. Your message saved her soul today. Thank you.”
I simply replied: “Praise the Lord!”
The next few moments, I did not have the strength to turn my radio or cell-phone on. I just kept on the road with tears in my eyes. What a privilege to be used by God to save a soul. When I had wanted not to preach the message that I did, it was to accommodate me and “I” was going to preach.
It was yesterday, I was reminded that the Preacher is the voice of God, and should not take his calling lightly.
I am sharing this experience to encourage you to be faithful in your calling to preach the gospel. You may never know, who the Lord has arranged to HIM that day. Let them hear His voice rather than ours. After all, if they meet us and forget us, they lose nothing but if they meet Jesus and forget Him, they lose everything. Fellow preachers, this recent experience of mine made me realize that as a preacher, I am the nail on which the picture of Christ should hang. After all, Jesus said: ” … If I be lifted up …”
and the greatest testimony is a life lived for Jesus…
Copyright by Dr. Paul Charles, July 2006, www.paulinperson.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We become teachers out of convictions in our heart. But many of us lose heart as time goes by. If we take heart, and work together, we can give heart to our students and our world — which is what good teachers do.
Parker J. Palmer
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Usually, teachers react to situations and classroom difficulties. Since reactivity leads to impulsiveness (lack of opportunity to reflect about things), it doesn’t yield constructive outcomes. It’s important that teachers prepare, anticipate, and constantly expect the type of challenges and experiences that they will have to face and deal with. When this happens, they will be able to demonstrate kindness, care, and genuine interest for students, in a more deliberate manner. I believe that ANTICIPATION and PREPARATION are the keys to achieving genuine success in teaching and learning!
This is also applicable in other relationships we forge in life. Most married couples struggle to see eye-to-eye because they fail to anticipate and prepare for potential conflicts. However, both of these require a substantial amount of mental energy (at first). Once couples start doing this on a daily basis, it becomes almost automatic. Nevertheless, since humans are dynamic beings, the process continues to evolve and change from time to time. To be successful in any relationship, one has to constantly anticipate and prepare…to face the inevitability of human (spouse’s) inconsistencies.
To really think about it…Jesus demonstrated this to us in all of his experiences here on earth. Sometimes, the questions He presented to his followers were in anticipation of what was coming ahead of Him/them. He anticipated abundance of blessings (two fish and five loaves multiplied into so many…) that he asked them to sit in proper order so that they can collect and save the left-overs, etc. He anticipated the agonizing separation from His Father (on the cross), which prompted Him to pray in the garden – preparation for the moment of pain. We can many such examples if we examine the Scriptures.
Teachers often possess good intentions. However, these good intentions translate themselves into ‘evil’ actions when they are wrought in impulsive reactiveness to situations (the quick-fix mentality and approach never yielded anything substantial in terms of improving the cognitive and affective aspects of teaching and learning). The inability to ANTICIPATE and PREPARE (which results in constructive and well-thought responses and solutions) leads to many unwanted squabbles and misunderstanding between students and teachers. The only way to avoid this is to become PROACTIVE agents of care, kindness, peace, love, and patience in the classroom. Teachers who initiate and engage in behaviors, conversations, and thoughts that reflect all these positive qualities can expect to spread an epidemic of ‘cognitive-social-emotional-well-being’ in the classroom.
Copyright July 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com
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