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Moral Reasoning Stages (Kohlberg)

Reasoning occurs in six stages, structured in three levels: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional.
Imagine a conflict: a fight in the schoolyard where two ninth graders are beating up Tom.

Preconventional Level

Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment

Moral judgments are based on obedience and avoiding punishment.
Finn wants to help his friend Tom but refrains because he fears punishment from the teacher if caught fighting.
Asks: "How can I avoid punishment?"

Stage 2: Self-Interest

Motivation is driven by self-interest.
Mary intervenes to help Tom, considering that she might become a victim herself someday and hopes Tom will help her in the future.
Asks: "What's in it for me?"

Conventional Level

Stage 3: Interpersonal Accord and Conformity

Moral judgment is guided by interpersonal accord and conformity.
Betty observes the fight and wants to intervene but decides not to because everyone else is watching. She wants to be seen as a "good girl" who conforms with the ethics of the community.
Asks: "What do others think of me?"

Stage 4: Authority and Social Order

Values authority and maintaining social order.
The teacher steps in to stop the fight, emphasizing that fighting at school is forbidden.
He believes following the rules is crucial to prevent chaos and maintain a functioning society.
Asks: "How can I maintain law and order?"

Postconventional Level

Stage 5: Social Contract

Understands rules as a social contract rather than a strict order.
Jesse is unsure how to feel about the fight. Rules make sense only if they serve the right purpose.
Considers that Tom may deserve the beating because he punched a young girl from first grade the previous day.
Asks: "Does the rule truly serve all members of the community?"

Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles

Guided by universal ethical principles.
The headmaster explains school rules but clarifies that rules are valid only if grounded in justice.
Disobeying unjust rules is justified.
The headmaster’s highest moral principle is compassion, emphasizing understanding each other's viewpoints.
Asks: "What are the abstract ethical principles that serve my understanding of justice?"

Levels Summarized

Preconventional: Finn (fear) and Mary (self-interest) judge right/wrong based on direct consequences for themselves, not social norms. Common among children.
Conventional: Betty (peer pressure) and the teacher (rules) center morality around societal norms. Common during adolescence and adulthood.
Postconventional: Jesse knows individuals may disobey rules inconsistent with their own morality. The headmaster follows a universal ethical idea disconnected from societal rules, solving everything through compassion.
Not everyone reaches the postconventional level.

Kohlberg's Research

Lawrence Kohlberg based his work on Piaget's theory of cognitive development.
Kohlberg interviewed boys aged 10-16, analyzing how they justified decisions in hypothetical moral dilemmas.

The Heinz Dilemma

A woman is dying, and a drug could save her.
A druggist sells the drug at 10 times the production cost.
Heinz, the woman's husband, is poor and cannot afford the drug.
The druggist refuses to sell it to him at half price.
Heinz breaks into the lab and steals the medicine to save his wife.
Questions posed:
- Should Heinz have stolen the drug?
- Would it change anything if Heinz didn't love his wife?
- What if the person dying was not his wife but a stranger?
- Should the police arrest the druggist for murder if the wife had died?

Vygotsky's Theory of Social Development

Vygotsky argues that community and language play a central part in learning.
He rejects Piaget's stage-based cognitive development, believing children develop independently of specific stages as a result of social interactions.
We are born with four elementary mental functions: attention, sensation, perception, and memory.
Our social and cultural environment enables us to use these skills to develop higher mental functions.
Development ideally happens in the zone of proximal development.

Zone of Proximal Development

What we can do on our own.
Zone of Proximal Development: What we can do with help from an adult, friend, technology, or a "more knowledgeable other."
What’s beyond our reach.

Illustration: Twins Raised Differently

Twins are raised in a community where boys are expected to learn and succeed, while girls are expected to be pretty.
At age 10, both can crawl and are in the zone of proximal development for learning to stand.
The father provides the boy with opportunities and scaffolding to practice.
The boy is encouraged, explores, and eventually learns to stand.
The girl receives no support, and while she has the potential, she lags behind.
The boy moves into a new zone, learning how to balance, and has the potential to walk.
Both will eventually walk, but the boy will be more skilled.

Vygotsky’s Beliefs

Learning can proceed development within the zone of proximal development, meaning a child can learn skills beyond their natural maturity.
There is an explicit connection between speech and mental concepts.
Inner speech develops from external speech through internalization.
Thought itself develops as a result of conversation.
Younger children who haven't completed this process can only think out loud.
Once the process is complete, inner speech and spoken language become independent.

Legacy

Lev Vygotsky died of tuberculosis in 1934 at 37.
He became one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century.
Advice for educators: "By giving students practice in talking with others, we give them frames for thinking on their own.”

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Four stages of cognitive development that we must conquer to reach full human intelligence.

1. Sensory Motor Stage (Birth to 2 Years)

Develop through experiences and movement using our five senses.
Brain wants to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch as much as possible.
Start with simple reflexes and develop working memory.
Realization of object permanence: understanding that objects continue to exist even when we can't see them.
Become curious about everything, exploring through movement (sitting, crawling, standing, walking, running).
Remain egocentric, perceiving the world only from our point of view.

2. Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 Years)

Thinking is categorized through symbolic functions and intuitive thoughts.
Lots of fantasies.
Learn to speak and understand that words, images, and gestures are symbols.
Play pretend, which helps us experience new situations and learn a lot.
Around age four, become very curious and ask many questions, marking the birth of primitive reasoning (the intuitive age).
Thinking remains egocentric, believing others see the world as we do.

3. Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 Years)

Discover logic and develop concrete cognitive operations, such as sorting objects.
Develop inductive reasoning: drawing conclusions and making generalizations from observations.
Understand the concept of conservation: understanding that the amount remains the same even if the appearance changes.
Can understand that if 3 + 5 = 8, then 8 - 3 = 5. Brain rearranges thoughts to classify and build structures.
Apply new mental abilities in conversations, activities, writing, and school.
Get to know ourselves better and understand that our thoughts and feelings are unique.
Learn to put ourselves in someone else's shoes.

4. Formal Operational Stage (Age 12+)

Become formally operational, able to think more rationally about abstract concepts and hypothetical events.
Understand abstract concepts like success, failure, love, and hate.
Deeper understanding of our own identity and morality.
Think we understand why people behave the way they behave.
Brain can do deductive reasoning: comparing two statements and reaching logical generalizations.
Plan our lives systematically, prioritize, and make assumptions about events.
Philosophize and think about thinking itself.
New sense of identity creates egocentric thoughts; some see an imaginary audience watching them.

Piaget's Beliefs

Believed in lifelong learning but insisted the formal operational stage is the final stage of cognitive development.

Bruner's Theory of Development

Based on the assumption that we learn best when going from concrete to abstract in a three-step process.

Three-Step Process

Hands-on action (enactive representation).
Learning with images (iconic representation).
Transforming learning into language (symbolic representation).

Constantly revisit previously learned topics while teachers provide structured guidance.

Singaporean Math Curriculum

In the 1980s, Singapore stopped importing foreign textbooks and built the world's best math curriculum from scratch, following Bruner's guideline.
Singaporeans study fewer concepts with greater detail.

Breakdown of the Three Steps

1. Enactive Representation

Learn through hands-on experiences, ideally with real-world applications.
Example: Dividing 4 by 2, students cut a cake into four slices.

2. Iconic Representation

Link memories of the experience to iconic pictures.
Students draw a cake cut into four pieces.

3. Symbolic Representation

Use images and turn them into abstract language, such as mathematical symbols.
Solve the problem using retrospection.

Characteristics of Bruner's Curriculum

Students revisit the same topic at regular intervals.
The complexity of the topic increases with each revisit.
New learning has a relationship with previous learning.

Scaffolding

Teachers structure activities based on students' existing knowledge to help them reach the desired learning outcome.
Teacher demonstrates, then the student tries, with support and feedback from the teacher.

Singapore's Success

Singapore's fourth and eighth graders are the world's best in math and science.
Singapore's math curriculum is copied by educators worldwide.

Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development

Identifies eight stages a healthy individual should pass through from birth to death.
At each stage, we encounter different needs, ask new questions, and meet people who influence our behavior and learning.

1. Basic Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy)

Ask if we can trust the world and wonder if it’s safe.
Learn that if we can trust someone now, we can trust others in the future.
If we experience fear, we develop doubt and mistrust.
Key to our development: our mother.

2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Early Childhood)

Experience ourselves and discover our bodies.
Ask: "Is it okay to be me?"
If allowed to discover ourselves, we develop self-confidence.
If not, we can develop shame and self-doubt.
Both parents play a major role.

3. Initiative vs. Guilt (Preschool)

Take initiative, try new things, and learn basic principles.
Ask: "Is it okay for me to do what I do?"
If encouraged, we can follow our interests.
If held back or told we are silly, we develop guilt.
We are now learning from the entire family.

4. Industry vs. Inferiority (School Age)

Discover our own interests and realize we are different from others.
Want to show we can do things right.
Ask if we can make it in this world.
If we receive recognition from teachers or peers, we become industrious (hardworking).
If we get too much negative feedback, we feel inferior and lose motivation.
Our neighbors and schools now influence us the most.

5. Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence)

Learn that we have different social roles and experience an identity crisis.
If parents allow us to explore, we find identity.
If they push us to conform, we face confusion and feel lost.
Peers and role models are key to our learning.

6. Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adulthood)

Slowly understand who we are and let go of earlier relationships.
Ask ourselves if we can love.
If we can make a long-term commitment, we are confident and happy.
If we cannot form intimate relationships, we feel isolated and lonely.
Friends and partners are now central to our development.

7. Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle Adulthood)

Become comfortable, use leisure time creatively, and contribute to society.
Concerned with generativity.
If we think we can lead the next generation, we are happy.
If we did not resolve conflicts earlier, we become pessimistic and experience stagnation.
People at home and work influence us the most.

8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood)

Slow down and look back over our lives.
Ask: "How have I done?"
If we think we did well, we develop feelings of contentment and integrity.
If not, we experience despair and become grumpy and bitter.

Operant Conditioning

Increase or decrease a behavior by adding a consequence.
Reinforcement: increases the likelihood of a behavior.
Punishment: decreases the likelihood of a behavior.
Both can be positive or negative.

Four Options

Positive Reinforcement: Add something pleasant (cookie) to increase behavior.
Negative Reinforcement: Remove something unpleasant (leash) to increase behavior.
Positive Punishment: Add an unpleasant response to decrease behavior.
Negative Punishment: Remove something pleasant (comfy carpet) to decrease behavior.
Extinction: If we stop any manipulation, the conditioned behavior will eventually disappear.

Skinner's Experiment

B.F. Skinner placed a rat in an operant conditioning chamber (Skinner box).
The box contained a lever that released food when pressed.

The ABCs of Behavior

A (Antecedent): The rat accidentally hits the lever, releasing food.
B (Behavior): The rat keeps pressing the lever.
C (Consequence): Food keeps coming out.

Schedule of Reinforcement

If there is always food after pressing, the rat behaves predictably.
If the food is released randomly, the rat behaves erratically like an addict.

Skinner's Beliefs

Believed organisms are doing what they do naturally until they encounter a stimulus that creates conditioning, resulting in a change in behavior.
Argued that you can only study visible behavior, and anything within the mind is irrelevant.
Thought free will was an illusion because behavior is either random or a reaction to the environment.

Applications of Operant Conditioning

Foundation for behavioral therapy, military drills, and animal training.

Classroom Exercise

One person leaves the room, and the group decides on a task they must complete.
Use nonverbal reinforcement (clapping) when the person is on the right track.

Observational Learning (Bandura)

Albert Bandura studied if we can learn from observing others (observational learning).

Bobo Doll Experiment

Children watched a video of an adult interacting with a Bobo doll.
Group 1: Watched an adult not being aggressive.
Group 2: Watched an adult being aggressive (punching, hitting, kicking).
Children were then placed in a room with the doll, and researchers observed their interactions.
The group that watched the aggressive adult were more likely to be aggressive with the doll.

Conclusions

Demonstrated that humans can learn through observing others.
Children can learn to be violent when it’s modeled for them on TV.

John Dewey and Experiential Learning

Dewey championed learning by doing (experiential learning).

Learning by Doing

Children learn better when actively engaged because they are immersed in the present, not a distant future like final exams.
In biology, students grow plants, harvest fruits, and feed them to snails to see what happens.
Students take notes of their observations and form rich, memorable experiences.
At the end of each class, they summarize and have discussions to prepare them for life in a democratic society.

Interactive Classes

Interaction with the environment is essential for the learning process.
Passive recipients of knowledge learn very little.

Interdisciplinary Education

Continuity is critical to comprehension, and interdisciplinary education allows students to build on what they already know.
Observations in biology are calculated in math, written about in English, and put into images through the arts.

Value of Education

Societies should consider the cost of all hours input by the children because they are the future of our society.

Dewey's Beliefs

"Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself."
School should prepare children for life itself and serve society as a force for innovation and reform.

IEP vs. 504 Plan

IEPs are governed by special education law.
504 plans are governed by civil rights law.

IEP Eligibility

Must have one of 13 specified conditions or disabilities.
The disability must affect the child's performance in the classroom (educational impact).

504 Plan Eligibility

The child must have a disability getting in the way of learning in the general education classroom.
Requires changes to benefit from education, not specialized instruction.
Accommodations are made in the general education classroom.

Key Points

A well-written and implemented plan can be helpful for a child who doesn’t need specialized instruction.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in Special Education

All students with disabilities qualify.
The law is in effect for all special education students.
The Department of Justice enforces the law.
The law bars discrimination.

Civil Rights Law

If a student isn't physically able to ride a bus, alternative services must be provided.
If students can't climb stairs -> provide elevator keys.

Employment

Individuals with disabilities must be able to perform the essential functions of the job.
Employers must provide reasonable accommodations for equal employment opportunities.
Examples:
- Can't access the work entrance -> build a ramp.
- Have diabetes and need a basic medicine - very reasonable.
- Buying an expensive top-of-the-line computer - unreasonable.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Helps educators develop critical thinking skills and higher-order cognitive abilities in their students. The best education is one where students are challenged.
Provides a framework for classifying lesson objectives.

How to Use Bloom's Taxonomy

Consider the level of your students and the course level.
Aim to reach objectives for analyzing for remedial classes and evaluation for advanced placement classes.

Levels of Bloom's Taxonomy

Remember.
Understand.
Apply.
Analyze.
Evaluate.
Create.

Descriptive Verbs for Each Level

Remember: arrange, describe, order, name, memorize.
Understand: explain, summarize, paraphrase, infer, discuss.
Analyze: breakdown, calculate, model, subdivide, infer.
Evaluate: critique, judge.
Create: generate, plan, produce.

Schema Theory

A schema is a generalization of past experiences that forms a scripted pattern of thought.

Schemas as Mental Frameworks

Things we already fully understand enter our brain without a problem.
New, similar information can enter the brain through assimilation.
Completely new information requires accommodation to change the schema.

Assimilation

Making new information fit with existing understanding.

Accommodation

Remodeling brain space to understand truly new information.

Bartlett's "War of the Ghosts" Experiment

Demonstrated how schemas unconsciously alter perception and memory.

Findings

Omission of unfamiliar details.
Familiarization of things strange: using idioms or figures of speech to describe unique experiences.
Rationalization of the illogical: adding reasons to make the story logical.

Long-term memories are neither fixed nor immutable but are constantly being adjusted.

Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)

A stimulus that triggers a biological response is paired with a new stimulus that results in the same reaction.

Pavlov's Experiment

Observed dogs salivating in the presence of the technician who fed them.
Measured the dog’s output of saliva.
Served food and then served food while playing the sound of a metronome.
Removed the food and only played the metronome.
Dogs began to salivate in response to the metronome alone.

Key Terms

Unconditioned Stimulus: Food (effects are not learned).
Unconditioned Response: Natural, uncontrolled response to food.
Neutral Stimulus: Metronome (initially has no effect).
Conditioned Stimulus: Metronome (after pairing with food).
Conditioned Response: Salivation in response to the metronome.

Observations

Learning occurs rapidly when the interval between the sound and food appearance is short.
The composition of saliva produced by the sound differs from that produced by the food.
Classical conditioning triggers involuntary biological responses.
We can undo conditioning through extinction (repeatedly presenting the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus).

Brain Processes

When dogs see food, signals stimulate the brain, which activates salivary glands.
When dogs hear sounds, the ears send signals to the brain, but nothing is initially activated.
When both processes are activated simultaneously, new synaptic connections occur, strengthening the auditory stimulus and behavioral response pathway.

Classroom Exercise

Check and record pulse rate after relaxing.
Tap a pencil, stand and hop, then check pulse again.
Repeat, then tap the pencil again without hopping and check pulse.

John B. Watson and Behaviorism

Applied the scientific method to human psychology (behaviorism).

The Little Albert Experiment

Used classical conditioning to program a baby to be afraid of a lab rat.
Paired the rat with a loud noise, causing the baby to cry.
Albert showed distress towards any furry object, showing that conditioning could be sustained and generalized.

Watson's Theories

Behavior is either a reflex or a consequence of individual history of reinforcements and punishments.
Analysis of actions and reactions is the only way to apply the scientific method to psychology.

Child Rearing Advice

Advised parents not to touch their children too often and keep an emotional distance so as not to spoil them.

Consequences for his Children

His children suffered from headaches, drinking problems, and suicide.

Bloom's Taxonomy (Revised)

Toolbox teachers/students use to classify and organize learning objectives.

Six Levels

Remember.
Understand.
Apply.
Analyze.
Evaluate.
Create.

Detailed Breakdown

1. Remember

Rote memorization and recollection of facts without understanding.

2. Understand

Decode information and learn about properties.

3. Apply

Use knowledge to achieve goal.

4. Analyze

Examine and break down information into components.
Determine the relationships between parts.

5. Evaluate

Analyze, critique, and compare information.

6. Create

Formulate a plan based on understanding and evaluations.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Theory in psychology arguing that there are five stages of human needs that motivate our behavior.

Five Stages

Physiological needs (breathing, eating, drinking, sleep).
Safety (money, resources, shelter).
Love and belonging (family, friends, society).
Esteem (self-confidence, respect from peers).
Self-actualization (creativity, acceptance, giving back).

Assessment and Education

Types of Assessments

Formative assessment: quick check for understanding during teaching.
- Examples: Thumbs up/down, brainstorming.
Summative assessment: measures long-term academic goals, for grading.
- Examples: Tests, midterms, finals, projects.
Diagnostic assessment: gets prior knowledge and used to plan instructions.
- Examples: Pre-course test.
Formal assessment: strict procedures and rules.
- Examples: Standardized test (SAT).
Informal assessments: lack supporting data and use classroom assessment procedures.
- Examples: Exit ticket.
Behavioral assessment: common in special education.
- Examples: Functional behavioral assessment.
Rating scales: gauges understanding by giving a scaled score.
- Examples: Grading scales.
Emotional assessment: used for emotionally disturbed students, often observations. Examples: Checklists, questionnaires.
Screening: identifies students in danger of failing, in RTI (Response to Intervention).
Authentic assessments: take place in authentic setting.
- Examples: A speech to a large crowd.
Performance-based assessments: assess the students’ ability to compete work in the academic relatable task.
- Examples: application created by student for a computer programming class.
Criterion-referenced tests: students are graded based on content mastered, created by teachers.
Norm-referenced assessment: compares students against similar demographics.