-One question I have about this chapter is how does one draw the line with reprimanding a child before it becomes psychological punishment? When I was reading it seemed like praise-and-ignore could easily be public humiliation given the right circumstance in the classroom. This confused me a little bit with how to deal with children in an effective manner while still influencing the rest of the class in a positive manner.
-I believe the constructivist theory is more useful with teaching. This is because an object cannot possibly be the same thing to everyone that experiences that said object. Every student has a different perception of everything in the world around them based on their past experiences and environment. To one student a yellow marker could be a fun symbol of play because he/she is an artist while to another student, say an athletic less artistically inclined child a yellow marker is something to be loathed because the object means an end to physical activity and forced sitting and being still. With the constructivist theory, teachers are more able to adapt to different needs of students. This allows them to help students learn more effectively if they are able to understand the perceptions of the students. If a teacher were to only allow his/her perception of an object or the way a lesson should be taught, then he/she would lose many of the students in the process. This is not an effective way to teach.
You have a really good question here. That line seems like it could be easy to cross. I think the biggest way to tell the difference is to watch the student's reaction. If they're clearly humiliated, that's psychological punishment. It probably depends on the child, as well. I tend to look at praise-and-ignore as more of a praise than ignore idea. I don't think the book is saying to rudely or very, very clearly ignore the other student - that would be psychological punishment - but rather, just pay more attention to the student doing well, and make a statement about what they're doing correctly. I've had teachers do that before, and I don't think it humiliates the one who isn't behaving - it just makes them realize they won't get attention, so it stops them from behaving that way. But, you are right that it's hard to distinguish that line, so it's important for teachers to really pay attention to student's reactions.
ReplyDeleteI really love your idea here about perception. I also believe that's where all the meaning lies.... Also, it implies that there's only ONE right answer or ONE thing to learn, and ONE pathway of learning it, in many ways. Connecting to past experience or individual perception is a great tool while you're teaching, and helps students become more interested in the subject matter. The diversity of experience can really drive exploration into a topic.
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