Week 3 LT1

Q- Bloom level 2 (I agree-  this relates to comprehension)- Describe the components relevant to understanding Skinner's theory.
Skinner focused on behavior. He believed in cause and effect- certain triggers and circumstances will create a response. He also promoted the use of positive and negative reinforcement to encourage desirable, or discourage undesirable, behavior.

Q- Bloom level 5 ( I agree- this is definitely a "design" type of response which is level 5-synthesize)- If you were a teacher how would you use Skinner's Behavioral Learning Theory as a way to develop a classroom management tool? Provide a specific example.
If I wanted to encourage students to work collaboratively in groups with active participation by all members, I would monitor the behavior of the groups to see which groups were working most effectively. Those that  appeared to demonstrate all the expected behaviors would be rewarded by being allowed to take their group outside to work on their own Those that seemed not to be adhering to the norms needed for collaborative work would be kept in the classroom to work under the supervision of the teacher.

Q- Give an example of how you could incorporate abstract thinking into your class. (This question was not labeled- I would put this as a "design" type response, and thus another Bloom level 5- synthesize).
For beginning learners of calculus, to introduce differentiating functions, I would use a function of position. The first derivative of this would be velocity ( the change of position over time) the second derivative would be acceleration (rate of change in speed over time). I would start with a physical model of a car on a track. Demonstrate the position at start (0) then at some points along the track. I would then move the car and have students note the time to move from one point to another to calculate velocities. Similarly we could talk about acceleration. I would then ask the class to think of OTHER processes that would have applicable measurements (aging comes to mind- I would hope they came up with that or other ideas...) So we would scaffold from the instructor demonstrating a concrete example toward the students showing their comprehension of the abstract idea.