Kyle Fitch

Dr. Turner
EDUC 3320
28 October 2016
Field Experience 5
A.

Examples of the following 7 critical factors for learning: Please describe one example
for each of the critical factors for learning (Teaching with the Brain in Mind; Chapter 3)

1. Engagement
a. Teacher breaks students into small groups and goes over content in each
group. She allows questions from each student to make sure they are paying
attention, and if she sees a student getting off-task she will ask a compelling
question to redirect their focus back onto the lesson.
2. Repetition
a. An example of repetition during a lesson taught by my teacher is when a
student has a question that she has already answered. She will ask the class
who knows the answer since they already covered it. Also, for key points in
her lesson, she will repeat that point 2 or 3 times, and ask the students to

repeat it back to her after they write it down. This helps with the retention of
that information.
3. Input Quantity
a. Since most the students in my class have cognitive disabilities, my teacher
must break up her lessons into small sections. The students comprehend the
best when given 1 or 2 step instructions, and their notes consists of short
bullet points.
4. Coherence (prior knowledge, mental models)
a. My teacher uses mental models. After students have written down the
information, she will go to each group and help them organize it in an easier,
and more organized, way so that it is easier to read and remember.
5. Timing (activity shifts, transitions)
a.

In my class room, the students can get up and stretch if they feel the need. My
teacher realizes this will help them with focusing on the task at hand. Because
my teacher has to break her lesson into small sections, this helps keep their
energy up during class.

6. Error correction (feedback)

a. Error correction is a big aspect of this classroom. A great time that my teacher
addresses this is after small group discussion. She goes to each group and ask

questions about what they discussed, referring to the content being covered,
and can give feedback on the answers the students give her and correct what
they did not get right.
7. Emotional States
a. My teacher notices when students are not being positive about the day and
realizes how that is going to affect their learning during the lesson. Therefore,
she makes small talk to them about what is going on outside her class. The
students are usually excited about telling her what has been going good for
them etc., thus their negative disposition changes to positive. As a result, they
are the more apt to be ready to start the lesson, and have a more positive
learning experience that class.

B.

Please describe one example of how the teacher addresses the different learning styles of
students in the class (perceptual strengths and/or learning needs).
A prime example of my teacher addressing different learning styles is when she
hands. There is a student in class that requires a copy of the notes for each lesson. So not
only will she auditorily give the information, but she also hands a copy of the notes to the
student after the lesson to make sure he gets all the information. This student is a visual
learning and seeing those notes helps him tremendously.

C.

Describe one example of how the teacher used cooperative learning or informal social

groupings during the lesson. If none were observed, could cooperative learning or informal
social groups be used effectively during the lesson? Justify your answer.
One example of my teacher using informal group discussions was from this week
of my observation. On some Fridays, she does a Leadership/Motivational Friday. The class
watched a retiring address from the National FFA Convention, and then reflected on a notecard
about who they are and what they wanted to become. After the students were done reflecting she
allowed them to get in groups of 2 or 3 and share one thing that they wrote down on the
notecard.