tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post7097069142904049060..comments2024-03-28T19:47:39.985-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: Metrics and BehaviorismPeter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-62159912432723744672016-01-09T17:13:12.164-05:002016-01-09T17:13:12.164-05:00I do that too, and I think it's so helpful. I ...I do that too, and I think it's so helpful. I don't think it has anything to do with behaviorism, though.<br /><br />I forgot to mention, I think Peter doesn't like performance objectives much, but I always found an adapted form of them helpful. Just doing an activity isn't an objective, and if you just say you want them to "understand" or "appreciate" something, how do you know if they are? I DO want them to appreciate and understand things, and I can usually tell by their reaction, but I don't write that in my objectives; but especially where skills are involved (and there are a lot of different skills involved in teaching foreign language) I try to write as many objectives as I can where for assessment I want them to be able to do things that will show me as many things as possible that they can do with what they've learned, usually in a similar way to things we've practiced in class. But I don't think of that as behaviorism either, it's more complex than that and it's cognitive skills, not behavior. Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-15550779736486628012016-01-09T12:35:11.318-05:002016-01-09T12:35:11.318-05:00Peter, you lucky guy, you mentioned the best rock ...Peter, you lucky guy, you mentioned the best rock band in Uruguay. I learned this song on guitar and used to sing it to my kids when they were little...it made them college-ready, I think:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6VqPh9vP74<br /><br />And Los Shakers are still shakin' in the 21st century...<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2RZlx-uENMRon from Oaklandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12199505256850858143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-70840803946830717992016-01-09T11:52:41.926-05:002016-01-09T11:52:41.926-05:00Two things:
(I apologize for still being "ano...Two things:<br />(I apologize for still being "anonymous," but after several attempts to get on board one of the other platforms, I've given in to my Luddite frustration.)<br /><br />1. This piece is expressed so well. We are bombarded with all-or-nothing arguments all the time, and it's good to see some nuance in our discourse.<br /><br />2. I don't know if this is "behaviorism," but I have found great value in the practice of analyzing student tasks (or skills) by breaking them down into component parts. It gives me great insight into what students may be struggling with, and thus able to address their missteps or misconceptions specifically. Diagnostics are a great use of this sort of objectivism, as long as they are used as such.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01638646078223591586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-15935936431183119802016-01-09T09:46:26.044-05:002016-01-09T09:46:26.044-05:00Following another tangent (which is the way my min...Following another tangent (which is the way my mind often works), you mentioned "free will". I actually personally dislike this term, especially since I've come to the conclusion that it's a belief in "free will" that causes some people to blame the poor for being poor. They reason that people have free will, therefore the only thing that has caused them to be poor is either "poor choices", or "choosing" to be lazy, or criminal, etc., without taking into account the context and impact of any external determining influences. <br /><br />You could say that the argument of free will vs. determinism is like that of nature vs. nurture, both having influence of varying degrees, but to me free will vs. determinism is a false dichotomy because I don't think either concept exists in reality in the way that we think about them. I go with Spinoza in believing there really is no such thing as "free will"; we just think there is because we don't understand the causes of our decisions. It doesn't mean that anything is pre-determined, but using this framing puts a moral element into the issue that isn't helpful because the focus should always be on understanding the complex interplay of factors involved.Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-89467184113983359292016-01-09T09:45:29.512-05:002016-01-09T09:45:29.512-05:00I've thought from the beginning that reformers...I've thought from the beginning that reformers treat the process of teaching like Skinner's idea of the mind as a "black box" that we can't see inside, therefore don't understand, therefore should just ignore in favor of observable actions that can be measured. But this is because the reformers aren't teachers and don't understand the (complex) process of teaching and learning, so for them it IS like a "black (incomprehensible) box". <br /><br />(I also think Miami University of Oxford must have been more in the fore-front of thinking than I realized when I was there, because in my 1972-73 Ed Psych class we learned about Skinner, but it was made clear that the idea of behaviorism was limited in scope and passé in education theory, and that Jerome Bruner and cognitive learning theory was the way to go. Bruner has always served me well.) <br /><br />I think Garrison is very perceptive when he says, "Behaviorism instituted a “new” sense of morality rooted in the experimenter’s control of the environment to induce the 'right behaviors'...In this framework, tests do not produce understanding...metrics thus became a favored means to establish control." So standardized tests are used to try to "modify" teacher behavior, and "No Excuses" charters use behavior modification on their students. But all this is because of simplistic, linear, unimaginative thinking, lack of understanding of cognitive psychology and the complex process of teaching and learning, and ignorance of the importance of the social context.<br /><br /> Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-69259729409597482512016-01-08T22:14:08.934-05:002016-01-08T22:14:08.934-05:00TSWBAT to a little more than they could do yesterd...TSWBAT to a little more than they could do yesterday!<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124618450615172190noreply@blogger.com