Presentation/Assigment

Child’s name:

Dmitri Danilov

Child’s age

9 years

Child’s grade:

Fourth Grade

Child’s academic achievement:

Dmitri is doing well

Child’s main academic interests:

Reading non-fiction books, and writing, play games

Child’s relationships with classmates:

Dmitri loves to play with his peers. He enjoys having conversations with children who share the same interests. He also enjoys recreational activities with his friends in school and afterschool.

Child’s relationships with the teacher (other authorities):

Dmitri respects his teachers and other authorities. He understands his role as a student in the classroom. He often seeks individual attention from his teachers and loves to be recognized for his efforts and accomplishments.

Socio-economic status of the child’s family:

Dmitri comes from a low-class family.

Child’s family composition

Dmitri resides in a single-parent household. He resides with his mother and eldest brother 22 years, who is now studying upstate in college.

Child’s family atmosphere

Dmitri lives in a warm and carrying family.

Child’s relationships with relatives

Dmitri has a great relationship with his grandfather, grandmother, aunt, and uncles.

Presence/absence of child’s special need(s):

Dmitri does not have any special needs.

Presence/absence of IEP or any therapy sessions

Dmitri does not have an IEP, but receives individual support in the classroom to help him stay on task. Dmitri sees a social worker once a week to talk about his feelings. He started receiving help in the second grade when the teacher noticed he had some behavior issues in the classroom. Some of these behaviors included disruptive behavior like, fidgeting, playing with an object, making noises, or refusing to complete his work. Getting Dmitri to stay on task was a challenge, so the teacher and parent needed to come up with a plan to get him to focus.

The sequence of the child’s activities under observation

The teacher assigned the child to read a book, and then Dmitri answered questions about the book.

The main task the child is accomplishing while being observed

(describe in detail)

The main task is to observe how Dmitri will concentrate on the given task and assess his reading skills.

Something else what observer believes is important to know about the child.

Dmitri loves playing gambol, chest, reading books, creating comics of his own, drawing

What an observer sees (it is reality, it is objective)

What an observer thinks about it (subjective opinion and interpretation)

1.

The teacher prepared several books and said: “It’s time for ELA. Choose your book” Dmitri picked up a book named “The golden sword” and sat down, waiting to hear directions from the teacher.

Dmitri can follow the teacher’s instructions.

2.

The teacher says, “Begin to read,” and Dmitri read the cover page, then turned the page and begins reading the story.

Dmitri seems to be excited about reading a new book.

3.

Dmitri stopped in the middle of the sentence on the second page of the book, and he looked confused. The teacher says, “Look at me one time, “If you run into a tricky word, and you can’t stretch it out, skip it.” Dmitri asked to skip the question.

Dmitri looks frustrated and disappointed. This book level is a little bit higher than his reading level, therefore it seems to be out of his current ZPD, but possible to reach.

4.

Later, Dmitri reached a tricky word and asked to skip the word again. The teacher says, “Dmitri let’s try to stretch the word before you skip it” Dmitri does not want to try and said, “I don’t know, let just skip it.”

Dmitri is showing his teacher that he is struggling to read some words and in need of the teacher’s support.

5.

Dmitri finished reading the book. The teacher says, “Okay, let’s close the book, and I will ask you some questions. Are you ready?” Dmitri closed the book, gave it to the teacher. He responded yes, by nodding his head, letting her know that he was ready.

Dmitri looks at the teacher and gives her the book with a smile. He is ready for the next activity.

6.

The teacher asked, “What is the name of the story? Dmitri says, “The golden sword.”

Dmitri seems happy when he answered the first question correctly.

7.

The teacher says, “Good job! Could you tell me what happened at the beginning of the story?” Dmitri answers, “I forgot because I was not looking at all the pages.” The teacher looked at Dmitri and said: “Remember when you are reading a book, it is important to look at the words, listen to it and look at the pictures so that you can understand it.”

The teacher is using praise in verbal form to motivate Dmitri.

Dmitri likes to hear words of praise.

The teacher provides feedback to Dmitri to help him remember things in his future reading.

8.

The teacher says, “Alright, let’s move forward. What do you think the book is about? Dmitri smiles and answers “Golden Swor”

Dmitri seems to be more confident in this question and answers quickly.

9.

The teacher says, “Who are the characters in the story?” Dmitri took a pause and then said: “Sam, its Greg, Rubi , and Bob.”

Dmitri begins to be more relaxed and feel comfortable in answering the questions.

10.

The teacher says, “Do you know where the setting was in the story? Dmitri asked a question, “What is setting? The teacher says, “A setting is where the story takes place. Where are the characters?” Dmitri gingerly answers, “They are in the backyard.” “Excellent, now you know what setting means,” the teacher says.

Dmitri is asking for support and direction from his teacher, who is acting as MKO (More Knowledgeable Other).

The teacher guides him to help Dmitri reach his ZPD zone since this is new information for him.

11.

The teacher says, “Could you tell me what happened in the middle of the story?” Dmitri answers, “They trade it.” The teacher asks, “Who trade it?” Dmitri explains, “Bob!” The teacher asks, “What did he trade?” Dmitri answers, “sword.”

Dmitri’s answers are concise.

By asking more questions, the teacher is trying to help Dmitri make his answers more open.

12.

The teacher says, “Alright, we are almost done. Do you remember what happened at the end of the story?” Dmitri answers, “Yes, Greg swung his sword at up to the sky.”

13.

The teacher praised Dmitri and went over the story one more time. Then the teacher went over all the skipped words together. Dmitri was able to read the tricky words.

The teachers are using Operant Conditioning by verbally praising Dmitri and gives him motivation and encourage him to reread the hard words.

The teacher provided the necessary guidance to Dmitri to help him master his ZPD.

Dmitri can read the tricky words on his own without the teacher’s assistance.

Specify the two theories that are applied to the child’s behavior analysis in your Inferences:

1. Cognitive Development Theory (ZPD and Scaffolding ) by Lev Vygotsky

2.Operant Conditioning Theory (Rewards and Reinforcement Theory) by B.F. Skinner

The sources which represent these theories are:

Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding Theory by Lev Vygotsky

1. Alber, R. (2011, May 24). 6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students. Edutopia; George Lucas Educational Foundation. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/scaffolding-lessons-six-strategies-rebecca-alber

2. Kathleen Stassen Berger. (2008). The developing person through the life span. Worth Publishers.

3. Pre-Assessment: A Key to the ZPD. (n.d.). Aurora Institute. https://aurora-institute.org/cw_post/pre-assessment-a-key-to-the-zpd/

Operant Conditioning Theory (Rewards and Reinforcement Theory) by

B.F. Skinner

1. Mcleod, S. (2007, February 5). Skinner - Operant Conditioning. Simplypsychology.Org; Simply Psychology https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html

2. Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner) - InstructionalDesign.org. (2018). InstructionalDesign.Org. https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/operant-conditioning/

Text of Inferences:

Lev Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist and founder of the social development theory that includes Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and scaffolding principles. He investigated the process of mastering by children’s new knowledge and skills. Vygotsky believes that mastering new skills is one of the varieties of social activity. Most effectively, a person can learn in the company of other people, entering into interaction with them. Among these people: teachers, parents, classmates and a number of others who know at least a little more about what the student is studying. “For learning to occur, a teacher (parent, peer, or professional) must locate the learner’s zone of proximal development, which consists of the skills, knowledge, and concepts that learner is close to acquiring but cannot yet master without help” (Kathleen Stassen Berger, 2008). Vygotsky believed that children will learn better when assisted by a more knowledgeable person rather than a children will learn on their own. “A student is in the ZPD when they still need support from a teacher or a peer in order to do or understand something new. Once they no longer need teacher or peer support, they are out of the ZPD for that particular skill or understanding.” (Pre-Assessment: A Key to the ZPD, n.d.). Scaffolding is a teaching method that is part of education in ZPD concept. “Scaffolding is breaking up the learning into chunks and providing a tool, or structure, with each chunk” (Alber, 2011). This method helps students learn more by working with a more knowledgeable other (MKO) to achieve their learning goals. These methods can be used by educators to promote learning in their classrooms and help children to learn new skills with the help or guidance of someone else.

During my observation, Dmitri was asked to read a book and then answer questions. The purpose of this activity was to check his reading skills and comprehension. He was given a book that is a level higher than his level of reading. Dmitri was given a choice to choose the book on his own, and it helped the teacher to engage him in the given activity. Dmitri had difficulties reading some of the words, and he did not know the meaning of the word “setting.” This shows that Dmitri was outside of his zone of proximal development (ZPD) at the beginning of the lesson. In this lesson, the teacher was a more knowledgeable other (MKO) who helped Dmitri achieve his zone of proximal development (ZPD) by using a scaffolding method. With the teacher’s guidance, Dmitri was able to read the tricky words at the end of the lesson that shows that he mastered his ZPD.

B.F. Skinner was an American psychologist who developed a theory of operant conditioning. His theory explains that learning can occur through rewards and punishment. “Through operant conditioning, an individual makes an association between a particular behavior and a consequence” (Mcleod, 2007). Skinner believed that a child would most likely repeat the behavior that had positive consequences rather than the behavior that received negative consequences. “Reinforcement is the key element in Skinner’s S-R theory. A reinforcer is anything that strengthens the desired response. It could be verbal praise, a good grade, or a feeling of increased accomplishment or satisfaction” (Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner) - InstructionalDesign.org, 2018). When a particular behavioral pattern is reinforced (in other words, rewarded), it will continue to occur in the future. On the other hand, there is negative reinforcement, such as punishment, that can help eliminate negative behavioral patterns.

The practice of the theory of operant conditioning is seen in my observation. During the lesson, the teacher was giving verbal praise every time when Dmitri did good work in reading or answering the questions. The teacher’s use of the operant conditioning technique creates a positive reinforcement that helps Dmitri feel more confident and happy during the lesson. Dmitri likes to be recognized for his efforts and accomplishments, so when he received verbal praise from a teacher, he became very excited and motivated to keep working on the activity and achieve new skills.

References:

Alber, R. (2011, May 24). 6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students. Edutopia; George Lucas Educational Foundation. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/scaffolding-lessons-six-strategies-rebecca-alber

Kathleen Stassen Berger. (2008). The developing person through the life span. Worth Publishers.

Mcleod, S. (2007, February 5). Skinner - Operant Conditioning. Simplypsychology.Org; Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html

Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner) - InstructionalDesign.org. (2018). InstructionalDesign.Org. https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/operant-conditioning/

Pre-Assessment: A Key to the ZPD. (n.d.). Aurora Institute. https://aurora-institute.org/cw_post/pre-assessment-a-key-to-the-zpd/