Matt+M

 Matt Margherita Ch 8 Controversy and Creativity “Controversy is the conflict that arises when one person’s ideas, information, conclusions, theories, and opinions are incompatible with those of another person, and the two seek to reach an agreement.” “Controversies are resolved by engaging in what Aristotle called “deliberate discourse” which is the discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of proposed actions – aimed at synthesizing novel solutions (i.e., creative problem solving).” Debate exists when two or more individuals argue positions that are incompatible with one another and a judge declares a winner on the basis of who presented their position the best. There are a number of reasons why conflict is avoided and suppressed in decision-making situations. 1. Fear blocks group members from engaging in controversies. 2. Ignorance of how to engage in controversy blocks group members from doing so. 3. Lack of training in how to use decisional conflict 4. Culture is so anti conflict that group members do not see the promotion of decisional conflicts as a possibility. 5. Group norms may block group members from engaging in intellectual conflicts. 6. Inertia the power of the status quo may be so great that group members do not try anything new. “Disagreements and arguments among individuals with diverse information and ideas are all important and ideas are all important aspects of gaining creative insight.” “Controversy encouraged group members to dig into a problem, raise issues, and settle them in ways that showed the benefits of a wide range of ideas being used, as well as resulting in a high degree of emotional involvement in and commitment to solving the problems the group was working on.” Johnson, David & Johnson, Frank P. (2009). Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills. Columbus, Ohio.     Matt Margherita Ch 7

There are five major characteristics of an effective group decision:


 * 1) The resources of group members are fully utilized.
 * 2) Time is well used.
 * 3) The decision is correct or of high quality.
 * 4) The decision is implemented fully by all the required group members.
 * 5) The problem-solving ability of the group is improved, or at least not lessened.

Groups are superior to individuals because of process gain: the interaction among group members results in ideas, insights, and strategies that no one member previously had thought of on his or her own. Process gain occurs in groups because discussion and ideas are discussed. Therefore, there is intellectual stimulation.

 10.Face-to-face discussion enhances the quality of reasoning and creativity.
 * 1) Groups facilitate higher motivation to achieve.
 * 2) Groups make riskier, more polarized decisions than individuals.
 * 3) Involvement in decision-making increases members’ commitment to implement the decision.
 * 4) Diversity of membership the variety of resources available.

“Changing behavioral attitudes and patterns can be achieved if the following two goals are achieved: Public commitment to peers and the degree of perceived consensus in the group. “

“When people participate in a group to change a behavior, they are more likely to implement the decision when they are committed to the group and they believe the rest of the group members are implementing the decision.”

Group decision making fails when groups do not have relevant information. Even then, the information may be presented in a biased manner.

“Consensus means that everyone agrees on the same course of action.”

‘Social loafing is the reduction of an individual effort when working with others on an addictive task.”     Matthew Margherita  Ch 6 Using Power

Is power a personal or a relationship attribute? 1. Is there an inherent “power” gene? Or is it a stronger/weaker relationship? 2. Power is a basic aspect of social life? 3. Power is defined as the capacity to affect the outcomes of oneself, others, and the environment.

Memorable Quotes:

“When individuals work together to achieve mutual goals, the use of power is inevitable, essential and distributed”

“Power is distributed among group members”

“The dynamic interdependence view of power posits that who is influencing whom to what degree changes constantly as members strive to achieve the groups’ goals”

“In a competitive context, power is used to gain advantage and to promote one’s own success at the expense of others.”

“Inducibility is openness to influence”

There is legitimate power, referent power, coercive power, expert power, and informational power.

“Oppression is the experience of repeated, widespread, systematic injustice, which may involve the legal system, be embedded in unquestionable norms and rules, or even involve violence.”

Johnson, David & Johnson, Frank P. (2009). Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills. Columbus, Ohio.     Ch 12 Groups can function to solve a problem or complete an assignment as well as help an individual grow in positive ways. There are many therapeutic ways that groups can serve a person. Growth groups, counseling and therapy groups, self help groups can help to overcome life stresses such as addictions and illness. These groups have similar goals: “decreasing self defeating patterns, increasing self-enhancing patterns, increasing psychological health, decreasing psychological pathology, increasing the ability to build and maintain humanizing relationships.” ( Johnson, Johnson, 503) T-groups, also known as lab training, or sensitivity training groups, study the development of groups and the relationships between the groups. Kurt Lewin created T-groups inadvertently when he arranged a group of democratic facilitators. What resulted was a group process of thinking. Participants in t-groups learn “about the way they interact with others while providing leadership, making group decisions, striving to influence what the group does, resolving conflicts, setting group norms, and so forth.” (504) T-groups are successful because they use an inductive way of teaching group dynamics. They also involve learning through experience, and they generate personal learning and emotional experiences by examining the interaction between members. “The primary difference between t-groups and counseling groups is that a t-group involves a facilitator and a group that does not anticipate the actions of the group. Instead of probing the past and past experiences, t-groups focus on group behavior and group members’ reactions to the behavior. Structured growth groups focus on specific interpersonal problems or skills. Exercises and assertiveness training focus on teaching individuals the difference between aggressive, passive, and assertive. Structured growth exercises help the individual to focus on inner conflict. Sigmund Freud believed that most people avoid conflict by repressing it. He was one of the originators of the psychoanalytic method. During these sessions, groups are encouraged to share their fears, fantasies and dreams in order to gain insight into their subconscious. Groups can provide multiple opinions and perspectives. Groups allow an individual to express their opinion and field advice and suggestions from other group members. Groups can influence behavior and attitudes. They provide a setting for which problems can be identified and new solutions can be applied with very low risk. Groups can be essential to personal growth and attitudinal change.

Johnson, David & Johnson, Frank P. (2009). Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills. Columbus, Ohio. Matt Margherita <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;">To Sir With Love:

Classroom First Day Observation with DLL

DO

I did the same things that were recommended for me to do on the first day of school. I knew in advance that I would have difficulty with names, so I had the students proudly make their desk name tag. I immediately made a seating chart and a visual chart to help me remember. With ESL, It is very difficult to play “name” games when Chinese kids have three first names. I attempted to assign duties, but this was a massive fail. I will try again when the English. It is important to delegate responsibilities.

Look

I feel like I have structured my classes very well so far. I have detailed the structure on the following page. The name tag (on the desk) worked well for a day or two. I have found that I have to collect all materials (activities, all paper, etc.) at the end of the day for my own well-being. In addition, I carry my own materials and dry erase markers considering that I have a shared classroom. The other teacher is not very nice, and is very territorial even though the class is disorganized and is a mess. I just keep my head down and leave with all of materials that I come with!

Learn

So far in my third week, I have learned that I have to have exciting activities to accompany any quiet reading time. I have devised a vocabulary game that pits the students against the clock. In ten seconds, a student has to list as many items in the particular place that I select: hospital, church, disco, garden, kitchen, Starbucks, etc. I can also do this in teams. The seating chart is effective, and I have already made changes to modify behavior. I had students interview each other in order for me to gather some data. I will issue demerits if students arrive late, and I will issue study hall after school if journals are not taken seriously or incomplete.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;">

Methods II
=== **1. Content** Pedagogy **The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.** ===

**3. Diverse Learners - The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.**
=== **4. Multiple Instructional Strategies - The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage student development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and performance skills.** === === Group dynamics are a major characteristic of the human race. Group dynamics are an area of social science that focuses on advancing knowledge about the nature of group life, groups, group development, and the interrelations between groups and individuals. I am eager to take the test that will list all of my actions from waking up to going to sleep. I then will eliminate all of the activities that I do myself. Most recently I noticed how people self-segregate themselves in a classroom. What is more interesting is that people will align themselves with people of the same color without knowing if the person can even speak the same language! === === Groups can be defined as people with the same goal. People often join groups to achieve goals that they would normally not achieve by themselves. Groups can also be composed of people that are codependent, interdependent, or simply chose to interact with each other. These groups can also be structured by a common set of norms or beliefs. Aggregates are a collection of people that are present at the same time and place but do not form a unit. === <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;">Matt Margherita <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;">9/8/10 Ch 2 <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;"> **1. Content** Pedagogy **The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.** Experiential learning is the action of reflecting on one’s experience to generate and continually update an action theory that guides the effectiveness of one’s actions. Procedural learning involves practice to master a skill. It involves a “progressive refinement of knowledge and Skills as the procedures are practiced, practiced, practiced.” (Johnson, Johnson, 2009) Procedural learning exists in a group dynamic to help in a) understanding the conceptual nature of a skill, using the skill, obtaining feedback about the performance, and using the skill to eliminate error in the performance to attain a level of mastery. Kurt Lewin is a key part to these theories, as he firmly believed in combining theory with practice in order to have effective learning. Experiential procedures were used primarily by Kurt Lewin to learn about behavior in groups. Experimental learning method was created out of the findings. Ultimately, Lewin’s work stressed the ideas that group involvement helps in the development of new attitudes, new skills, and the development of new knowledge about groups. He also noted that learning is achieved most productively in groups “whose members interact and then reflect on their mutual experiences.” (Johnson, Johnson, 2009) Member of the group can then spark one’s insights and creativity. People learn by experiencing things. Experiential learning involves generating an action theory from your own experiences and then continually “modifying to improve its effectiveness.” Group learning, role playing, playing team sports, observations, and giving /receiving feedback, are wonderful ways to learn new concepts. Experiential learning leads to action theory, which leads to practice, which leads to mastery. Skill building exercises help in-group dynamic situations. Matt Margherita Reflection Methods II To Sir With Love
 * 2. Student Development -** The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support a child's intellectual, social, and personal development.
 * 3. Diverse Learners - The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.**
 * 4. Multiple Instructional Strategies - The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage student development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and performance skills.**

**1. Content** Pedagogy **The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.** **2. Student Development -** The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support a child's intellectual, social, and personal development. **3. Diverse Learners - The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.** **4. Multiple Instructional Strategies - The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage student development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and performance skills.** **Do:** **In “To Sir With Love,” the main character is a black teacher who is new to the career of teaching. He appears education and well put together. The character uses sarcasm to “get back at them” and show his intellectual superiority. It is not effective! The sarcasm simply is misunderstood as more negativity.** **Look:** **I saw that many other students were laughing at the movie as well. The character demonstrates all of the weaknesses of a first year teacher.** **Learn:** **I was reminded that sarcasm cannot be used in the classroom at all. In addition, it does not matter how intelligent you are in the classroom if you are not structured and provide meaningful lessons. Teachers must also win the class over through consistency of demeanor and action.**

Surveymonkey **1. What is your primary content area? (CIRCLE) Matt Margherita** b. Science c. Mathematics d. Art e. Social Studies f. Other: ___(List) ||
 * a. English

**2. Mark a talent that you would like to focus on for this class:**
 * Mark a talent that you would like to focus on for this class:

a. public speaking b. test making c. creative homework e. improve quality of lectures f. grading help ||

**3. Briefly describe yourself. Where did you go to school? What was your major?** **4. Pick one of these people and assign homework in their language: (ON THE BACK)**

**A Jawa or Yoda** **Edward Scissorhands** **Gordon Gecko** **Michael Corleone** **A Smurf** **Other… (your creative choice)**