Educational Psych Exam 2

CH 4-8

group differences

• differences we’re apt to see on average among students of diverse cultural and ethnic groups, different genders, and different socioeconomic backgrounds

  • A great deal of individual variability exists within any group

  • A great deal of overlap typically exists between groups

  • Be aware that these should not always be taken at face value

cultural mismatch

situation in which a student’s home culture and the school culture hold conflicting expectations for behavior

acculturation

when people come into contact with a culture very different from their own and adopting some of the new culture’s values and customs

ethnic identity

both aware and proud of their ethnic group and willingly adopt some of the groups’ behaviors

• Develops and changes over time

dialect

a form of a particular language that includes some unique pronunciations, idioms, and grammatical structures

cultural lens

assumptions and worldviews we’ve acquired in our own culture are pervasive in our lives that we tend to treat them as common sense or facts rather than beliefs

• Can become a cultural lens through which we view events that may lead us to perceive other cultures’ practices as somehow irrational and inferior to our own

worldview

our general beliefs and assumptions about the world

multicultural education

instruction that integrates the perspectives and experiences of numerous cultural groups throughout the curriculum

culturally responsive teaching

classroom strategies that build on students’ existing knowledge, skills, and accustomed ways of learning and behaving

stereotype (identity) threat

students become overly anxious in domains in which their group stereotypically does poorly and as a result, perform more poorly than they otherwise would have

gender fluidity

flexibility in gender

gender-nonconforming

when individuals do not conform to the traditional societal descriptions of being either female or male

gender schemas

self-constructed, organized body of beliefs about characteristics and behaviors of males or females

self-socialization

children or adolescents putting pressure on themselves to adopt behaviors they think mothers will find acceptable

Socioeconomic status (SES)

one’s general social and economic standing in society

• Encompasses family income, parents’ education levels, and parents’ occupations

• High, middle, or low SES

• Higher SES students tend to have higher academic achievement

• Lower SES students tend to be at greater risk for dropping out of school

resilience

students who succeed in school and in life despite exceptional hardships at home

• Acquire characteristics and coping skills that help them rise above their adverse circumstances

• Have likable personalities, a positive sense of self, ambitious goals, and believe that success comes with hard work and a good education

“at risk” students

those with a high probability of failing to acquire the minimum academic skills necessary for success in the adult world; typically have these characteristics:

• A history of academic failure

• Emotional and behavioral problems

• Lack of psychological attachment to school

• Increasing disengagement with school

individual differences

diversity in abilities and characteristics (intelligence, personality, etc.) among students at a particular age and within a particular gender or cultural group

distributed intelligence

people are far more likely to think and behave intelligently when they have assistance from their physical, cultural, and social environments

• People can “distribute” a challenging task (can pass some of the cognitive burden on to something or someone else)

students with special needs

students who are different enough from their peers that they require specially adapted instructional materials and practices to help them maximize their learning and achievement

inclusion

students with special needs receive instruction in general education classrooms for part or all of the school day

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

• grants educational rights from birth until age 21 for people with cognitive, emotional, or physical disabilities; guarantees rights for students with disabilities:

  • A free appropriate education

  • Fair and nondiscriminatory evaluation

  • Least restrictive environment

  • Individualized education program (IEP)

  • Due process

lack of evidence for learning styles (dispositions)

• Stimulation seeking → eagerly interacting with one’s physical and social environment to gain new experiences and information

• Need for cognition → regularly seeking and engaging in challenging cognitive tasks

• Critical thinking → consistently evaluating information or arguments in terms fo their accuracy, credibility, and worth, rather than accepting them at face value

• Open-mindedness → flexibly considering alternative perspectives and multiple sources of evidence, and suspending judgment for a time rather than leaping to immediate conclusions

Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE)

All students with disabilities are entitled to a free educational program designed specifically to meet their unique educational needs

fair and nondiscriminatory evaluation

A multidisciplinary team conducts an in-depth evaluation of any student who may be eligible for special services

least restrictive environment (LRE)

the most typical and standard educational environment that, with sufficient supplementary aids and support services, can reasonably meet their needs

Individualized education program (IEP)

when an individual age 3 to 21 is identified as having a disability, the multidisciplinary team collaboratively develops an instructional program

• Tailored to the individual’s strengths and weaknesses

• A written statement that the team continues to review and if appropriate revise at least once a year

Response to intervention (RTI)

a teacher keeps an eye out for any student who has exceptional difficulty with basic skills in a certain domain despite normal whole-class instruction and intensive follow-up small-group instruction that have been shown by research to be effective for most children

benefits of inclusion

• Academic achievement equivalent to (and sometimes higher than) that in a self-contained classroom

• More appropriate classroom behavior, better social skills, and more frequent interaction with peers without disabilities

• Better sense of self if the school environment is one in which all students accept and respect individual differences among their peers

learning disability

students have significant difficulties in one or more specific cognitive processes that can’t be attributed to cultural or linguistic diversity, generally delayed cognitive development, emotional problems, sensory impairment, or environmental deprivation

• Common characteristics:

  • Poor language, reading, and writing skills

  • Ineffective learning and memory strategies

  • Trouble concentrating on and completing assigned tasks, especially in the face of distractions

  • Poor sense of self and low motivation for academic tasks, especially in the absence of individualized assistance in areas of difficulty

  • Poor motor skills

  • Poor social skills

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

marked by inattention, hyperactivity, impulsive behavior, or some combination of these characteristics

Common characteristics:

• Exceptional imagination and creativity

• Exceptionally detailed memories

• Certain specific cognitive processing difficulties and low school achievement

• Problems with planning and time management

• Classroom behavior problems

• Greater use of media (watching TV or using a computer)

• Poor social skills and interpersonal difficulties

• Increased probability of substance abuse in adolescence

Speech and communication disorders

impairments in spoken language or language comprehension that significantly interfere with academic performance

Common characteristics:

• Reluctance to speak

• Embarrassment and self-consciousness when speaking

• Difficulties in reading and writing

accomodations for students with learning disabilities

• Minimize distractions

• Present new information in an explicit and well-organized manner

• Present information in multiple sensory modalities

• Present stimulating, novel materials

• Analyze students’ errors

• Teach study skills & learning strategies

• Provide scaffolding

accomodations for students with ADHD

• Modify students’ schedules and work environments

• Explicitly facilitate attention and concentration

• Provide outlets for excess energy

• Help students organize and use time effectively

accomodations for students with speech and communication disorders

• Encourage oral communication

• Listen patiently

• Ask for clarification

• Use augmentative and alternative communication (A AC) when students have little or no oral language

accomodations for students with academic difficulties

• Start appropriate interventions early

• Take skill levels into account in assignments

• Clearly describe expectations

• Take steps to enhance self-confidence, motivation

emotional or behavioral disorders

students with special needs when their problems have a substantial negative impact on classroom learning

• Common characteristics:

  • Frequent absences from school

  • Deteriorating academic performance with increasing age

  • Often, but not always, below-average intelligence

  • Low self-esteem

  • Aggressive or withdrawn behaviors

  • Angry or argumentative

  • Rule-breaking

  • Little or no empathy for others’ distress

  • Significant substance abuse

accomodations for students with emotional/behavioral disorders

• Show an interest in students’ well-being and personal growth

• Give students a sense that they have some control over their circumstances

• Make sure that students are learning basic skills

• Be alert for signs that a student may be contemplating suicide:

  • Sudden withdrawal from social relationships

  • Increasing disregard for appearance

  • Dramatic personality changes

  • Preoccupation with death or morbid themes

  • Overt or veiled threats

  • Indication of putting affairs in order

externalizing behavior

have direct or indirect effects on other people

• Ex: aggression, defiance, stealing, general lack of self-control

internalizing behavior

primarily affect the student with the disorder

• Ex: severe anxiety or depression, exaggerated mood swings, withdrawal from social interaction, and eating disorders

autism spectrum disorders

impairments in social cognition (ex: perspective taking, interpreting other people’s body language), social skills, language usage, and social interaction

• High functioning autism → a fairly mild form in students usually have normal language skills and average or above-average intelligence

• Severe cases → students have major delays in cognitive development and language and may exhibit certain bizarre behaviors

Common characteristics:

• Strong visual-spatial thinking and exceptional awareness of visual details

• Unusual ability to maintain attention and focus during distractions

• Difficulty understanding how other people feel

• Good memory for a set of unrelated facts

• May avoid physical contact with others or making eye contact

• Difficulty planning and organizing a future course of action or adapting to changes in routine

• Strong need for a consistent, predictable environment

neurodiversty

the paradigm view that differences in brain function, learning styles, and behavioral traits are natural, normal human variations rather than medical deficits or pathologized impairments

intellectual disability

refers to students who show pronounced delays in most aspects of cognitive and social development

• Significantly below-average general intelligence and deficits in adaptive behavior

Common characteristics:

• Sociability and a genuine desire to belong and fit in at school

• Less general knowledge about the world

• Poor reading and language skills

• Short attention span

• Poor memory; few or no effective learning and memory strategies

• Difficulty drawing inferences and understanding abstract ideas

• Difficulty generalizing something learned in one situation to a new situation

• Immature play behaviors and interpersonal skills

visual impairments

students have malfunctions of their eyes or optic nerves that prevent normal vision even with corrective lenses

Common characteristics:

• Normal functioning of other senses

• General learning ability similar to that of nondisabled students, although visual memory and concept development may be delayed or impaired

• More limited vocabulary, expressive and receptive language, and general world knowledge because of fewer opportunities to experience the outside world in educationally important ways

• Delayed motor development; reduced capability to imitate others’ behaviors

• Inability to observe other people’s body language and other nonverbal cues, leading to occasional misunderstanding of others’ messages and immature social behaviors

• Uncertainty and anxiety because of having no visual knowledge of ongoing events

• In primary grades, less knowledge about the conventions of written language

hearing impairments

students have a malfunction of the ears or associated nerves that interferes with the perception of sounds within the frequency range of normal human speech

Common characteristics:

• Delayed language development because of reduced exposure to spoken language

• Proficiency in sign language or finger spelling

• Some ability to read lips and/or facial expressions

• Less oral language than that of hearing classmates

• Less developed reading skills

• Below average academic achievement

• Some social isolation, more limited social skills, and reduced perspective-taking ability

physical health and mobility impairments

general physical or medical conditions (usually long-term) that interfere with school performance to such a degree that special instruction, curricular materials, equipment, or facilities are necessary

Common characteristics:

• Low stamina and a tendency to tire easily

• Varying degrees of intellectual functioning

• Lower levels of academic achievement as a result of frequent absences

• Fewer opportunities to experience and interact with the outside world

• Possible low self-esteem, insecurity, social isolation from peers, or heavy dependence on adults, depending partly on how parents and others have responded to their impairments

giftedness

Unusually high ability or aptitude in one or more academic domains

• To such a degree that special arrangements are necessary to help the student meet his or her full potential

• Depends somewhat on age or developmental level

  • Young children—general precociousness

  • Older children—exceptional achievement in very specific areas

• Subject to cultural differences in perception of intelligence’

• Minority groups are generally underrepresented in gifted programs

Common characteristics:

• Advanced vocabulary, language, reading skills

• Extensive general knowledge about the world

• Ability to learn quickly, easily, and independently

• Efficient cognitive processes, learning strategies

• Considerable flexibility in thinking

• High standards for performance

• High motivation for challenging tasks

• Strong interest in areas in which strengths have been identified

• Positive self-concept, especially academic

• Average or above-average social & emotional adjustment

learning

a long-term change in mental representations or associations as a result of experience

general principles:

• experence

• interpretations

• prior learning

• motivation

• consequences

• diversity

basic assumptions of cognitive psychology

• Cognitive processes influence the nature of what is learned.

• People are selective abut what they process and learn.

• Meaning is not derived directly from the environment but instead is constructed by the learner.

• Prior knowledge and beliefs influence the meanings that people construct.

• People are actively involved in their own learning.

construction

mental processes in which a learner takes many separate pieces of information uses them to build an overall understanding or interpretation

constructivism

Theoretical perspective proposing that learners actively construct (rather than passively absorb) knowledge and beliefs from their experiences

individual constructivism

focus on how learners idiosyncratically construct knowledge on their own, with little or no assistance from other people

social constructivism

focuses on how people often work collaboratively to make sense of their joint observations and experiences

encoding

mentally changing the format of new information in order to think about it or remember it more easily

storage

process of putting what is being learned into memory

retrieval

the process of recalling previously stored information (finding it in memory)

retrieval cues

Stimulus that provides guidance about where to “look” for a piece of information in long-term memory

3 component model of memory

• sensory register

• working memory/short-term memory

• long-term memory

sensory register

the component of memory that holds the information you receive (the input) in more or less its original, unencoded form

• Stores unencoded sensory input

• Large capacity, very short duration (1–2 seconds, max)

working memory (short-term memory)

the component of human memory where we hold attended-to information for a short time while we try to make sense of it

• Requires attention to move info from sensory to working memory

• Makes sense of raw data from sensory register

• Limited capacity, short duration (5–20 seconds, max)

long-term memory

where learners store their general knowledge and beliefs about the world, the things they’ve learned from formal instruction, and their recollections of events in their personal lives

• Stores processed information

• Knowledge, beliefs, episodic memories, procedural skills

• Unlimited capacity, long duration

attention

whatever someone mentally pays attention to moves into working memory

• Has limited capacity

• multitasking

• automaticity

automaticity

can retrieve what you’ve learned quickly and effortlessly and can use it almost without thinking

declarative knowledge

knowledge that relates to the nature of how things are, were, will be, or might be

• Encompasses both general world knowledge (semantic memory) and recollections of specific life experiences (episodic memory)

procedural knowledge

knowledge that relates to how to do things

rote learning

when trying to learn and remember something without attaching much meaning to it

elaboration

learners use their prior knowledge to embellish on a new idea, thereby storing more information than was actually presented

knowledge organization

• concepts — mental groupings of objects or events that have something in common

• schemas

• scripts

• personal theories — peoples’ general understandings and belief systems

meaningful learning set

an earnest effort to understand rather than simply memorize material

mnemonics

help students remember material more effectively

• Verbal mediation

• Keyword method

• Superimposed meaningful structures

• Loci method

schemas

tightly organized set of facts about a specific topic

scripts

when a schema involves a predictable sequence of events related to a particular activity

misconceptions

beliefs that are inconsistent with commonly accepted and well-validated explanations of phenomena or events

conceptual change

a process of revising or overhauling an existing theory or belief system in such a way that new, discrepant information can be better understood and explained

confirmation bias

people of all ages tend to actively look for information that confirms their existing beliefs and to ignore or discredit contradictory evidence

situated learning (cognition)

tendency for some responses and cognitive processes to be associated with and retrieved in some contexts but not in others

hot cognition

thoughts and memories sometimes become emotionally charged

positive transfer

phenomenon in which something learned at one time facilitates learning or performance at a later time 

negative transfer

phenomenon in which something learned at one time interferes with learning or performance at a later time

recognition tasks

assessment activities where students recognize the correct answer from options given, rather than generating it completely on their own

recall tasks

assessment activities where students must generate the correct answer on their own, without being shown options

wait time

the silent pause a teacher intentionally allows after asking a question or after a student speaks, before the teacher says anything else

forgetting

framed as something that can be influenced by retrieval cues, attention, classroom environment, and cultural/linguistic differences, and they highlight strategies to help students remember rather than forget.