Description

ELM 200 Discussion Question – Child and Early Adolescent Development and Psychology

ELM 200 Week 1 Discussion Question 1

It has been suggested that the best prediction of a child’s learning is based on what they already know. Do you agree with this statement? What other factors do you think influence how a child learns?

ELM 200 Week 1 Discussion Question 2

What do you do to learn and remember the things that you read in your textbooks?  What-do your teachers do to help you learn and remember course information? What retrieval cues do you provide for yourself?  Do you sometimes find yourself forgetting to do something because you did not give yourself a retrieval cue? Which of the recommendations presented in the assigned readings should minimize the likelihood of retrieval failure? Reconstruction error? Interference? Decay? Failure to store?

ELM 200 Week 2 Discussion Question 1

What is diversity in the sense of self development and social development? How do you think it influences a person’s positive social-developmental outcomes such as trust, moral development, and social competence?

ELM200 Week 2 Discussion Question 2

Do you think your own social development will affect who you will be as a teacher? Explain why or why not.

ELM200 Week 3 Discussion Question 1

Based on your reading, are children who reach developmental milestones (walking, talking) earlier than their peers the same ones who have higher academic ability in later years? Support your answer using the principles of physical, cognitive, and/or linguistic development with a specific example.

ELM_200 Week 3 Discussion Question 2

What strategies can teachers use to make socioeconomic differences between students less visible in the classroom? Which strategies will you apply in your future classroom?  Why?

 ELM200 Week 4 Discussion Question 1

How can parents and guardians foster English language and vocabulary development at home? How might this be affected if the parents’/guardians’ primary language is not English?

ELM_200 Week 4 Discussion Question 2

It has been said that the way we view the world is directly tied to the language we learn to describe it. What examples can you think of where language reflects culturally-based perspectives?

ELM200 Week 5 Discussion Question 1

In J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), schoolmaster Albus Dumbledore says, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities” (p. 333).  Interpret his statement in light of what you know about motivation.

ELM_200 Week 5 Discussion Question 2

What are some possible advantages of competition? What are some possible disadvantages of competition?  How do teachers and schools promote competition? How-might teachers make classrooms less competitive? How might teachers increase students’ willingness to take risks in the classroom?

ELM200 Week 6 Discussion Question 1

The textbook identifies several examples of primary and secondary reinforcers.  Can you think of other examples of primary reinforcers?  Of secondary reinforcers? What are possible advantages and disadvantages of using concrete reinforcers in the classroom?  In what situations might concrete reinforcers be the only effective reinforcers?

ELM_200 Week 6 Discussion Question 2

As a classroom teacher, what strategies might you use to minimize and/or extinguish potentially aggressive behavior in the classroom?

ELM200 Week 7 Discussion Question 1

Researchers have identified several factors that lead to an increase in requests for help. How can teachers encourage students to seek help when they need it without encouraging students to be overly dependent on others?

ELM_200 Week 7 Discussion Question 2

Think about your own experiences as a student and classroom activities that were especially effective.  What aspects of those activities made them effective?  Provide one example each of when an expository instructional strategy, hands-on practice activity, and interactive and collaborative approach are appropriate in a classroom. For one of the examples, describe the activity you would create for your future classroom.