Different Brains, Different Learners (How to Reach the Hard to Reach) Eric Jensen, 2000

Edition
Essential Question: How does learning happen?

Task Response
Select 2-3 key areas Point 1: Learned Helplessness
or points made by Learned helplessness is defined as being a behavioral disorder that is characterized by a student
the author that add who suffers from apathy, lack of motivation, and helplessness when faced with normal challenges
to your professional and problems in everyday life. Students who suffer from this disorder feel that whatever they do,
learning and
synthesize the ideas
they will never succeed at it. Due to this way of thinking they tend to withdraw and cannot bring
by making themselves to come up with potential solutions the problems that they face. Learn helplessness
connections to other can be cause by a variety or reasons. Neglect or negative role modeling, especially in the first five
relevant research years of life can be a huge factor as to why learn helplessness occurs. If a child is exposed to
and current lean helplessness throughout their life, then they are more likely to suffer from the disorder. It can
information to also be cause by a traumatic experience. An intense negative experience, a perceived lack of
support the validity control and the sufferer making the decision to stop trying, are conditions where a learn
of the book content. helplessness can occur. Teacher and parents can also unconsciously enable the condition by
constantly doing too much forth students. When a student is not encouraged to be independent,
they can begin to fear failure.

Point 2: Oppositional Disorder

Oppositional disorder is a condition that is characterized by various aggressive behaviors. Those
who suffer from this tend to bother others, have a confrontational attitude, are verbally aggressive
and have a disregard for how other feel. Individuals with this disorder do not mean to act out in
this was. The condition can stem from genetics as well as the environment. OPD is a mood
disorder that that affects the cingulate gyrus, also known as the fear arousal system. This system
allows us to move smoothly from one state to another, however it is overactive in the brain of one
who suffers from OPD. The over activity can intensify behaviors and make it biologically difficult
for sufferers to stop a thought or action.

Essential Idea 1: For the individual, who suffers from learned helplessness, learning happen when the
Question: How student feels that they have some value. Students need to be engaged and know that there
does learning thoughts matter. It helps to build off what they know in order to build confidence. Learning will
happen? take a group effort from parents as well as teachers. When they fell like they failed at something, it
How does the
imperative that the teacher shows them how to take a disadvantage and turn it into an advantage.
content support
long term learning? Idea 2: Consistency is needed for leaning to happen for the individual who suffers from OPD.
Learning happens when the correct behavior is modeled through direct instruction. It is very
important for the educator to stay calm when dealing with a student who has OPD. The individual
who suffers form OPD also does well when they are able to construct ideas on their own. Given
them they freedom to develop their own ideas of a topic helps give them control of the situation.

Evaluate the content But since you excel in everythingin faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete
in relationship to a earnestness and in the love we have kindled in yousee that you also excel in this grace of
Christian worldview. giving. 2 Corinthians 8:7 With all these disabilities, the main idea is they can be tackled and
Describe and made better with time and patience. Each individual has the ability to learn. We as teacher must
explain areas of
compatibility and
show grace and understanding the same way grace and understanding is shown to us. In the
beginning of the book, Jensen tells the reader about ten truths that the educator must hold onto.
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areas of What all the truths come down to are patiences and grace. God shows us grace in our everyday
differences? lives and we have to show the same to our students. Each disorder has a section where it gives
tips and advice to teachers and parents on how to work with each student. Jensen comes from a
growth mindset. He believes that every one has the ability to learn and grow.
Link the book Behavior Theory:
content to The book does talk about how the brain might be affected; however, he talks more about how with
one/several of the consistency and patience, these disorders can be tackled. For example when the section about
four theories we are OPD talks about how to help the student stay calm and feel that have control. This happens
studying in this
course. Provide a
through positive and negative reinforcements. Extra attention should be given when the student
comprehensive shows desirable behaviors vs. undesirable behaviors. He suggest that the parent or teacher
overview of how the should never get into a control match with the student because is will always be a losing battle.
content of this book
falls into the Constructivist Theory: it is good to build off of what the student already knows. Making the student
category of one or feel valued is very important with dealing with these two disorders. If they dont feel value then
more of these four there will be no motivation to learn. Constructivist theory gives the student more control over his
theories. or her own learning. The teacher usually sits back and let the student explore freely, only given
input when needed. If the teacher notices that the student is lost on a subject, its ideal to give
suggestions to help the student along and not directly tell how to solve the problem.
Describe1-3 Big Big Idea #5 Learners future learning and performance are influenced by the consequences
Ideas that seem to that follow their behaviors. For learned helpless, the student has to know that when they work
link your book to a hard that they are going to be rewarded. They have to feel good internally in order to preform
theory we are externally. Although those who have OPD cannot always control their aggression towards others,
studying and provide
a rationale for your
giving them some control of their environment can also shape their behavior.
choice. Explain in
full detailed manner.
Big Idea #6 Hints about how to think or behave often facilitate performance
Your critical thinking Giving cues on behavior helps with these two disorders also. Visual cues might help them
should come because they serve as reminders on what they task on hand is. Constant verbal instruction from
through your report. the teacher can be misinterpreted as reprimanding and can cause a riff between educator and
student. Sometime a more subtle way can help the student while still giving them dignity and
responsibility in their education.

How has this This book has helped me gain a deeper learning about the population that I would primarily be
reading helped you serving. I am working closely with those who have special needs and even though I might not
develop a deeper have these specific disorders I my classroom it is important to know how individuals function. I
conceptual need to know how to adjust the teaching styles that I use when dealing with each disorder. I have
knowledge of this
content? Refer to
to put myself in a position to be able to cater to their needs.
deeper learning in
Learning Sciences
article.
Depth and Along with gaining a deeper learning about multiple disorders that might affect students, Jensen
Complexity: How book gain me relief in know that I as an educator will not have all the answers and it is important to
did you achieve seek the expertise of others. Even after reader through the chapters several times, I still do not
deeper learning for have a dull grasp on the disorders. However with time and patience, I will learn more and more.
yourself in your
study of this book
Repetition and practice will help me to gain a deeper understanding. Jensen suggests that we
content? Provide work this way with our students. We have to understand that these behaviors did not develop over
explicit evidence. night and they will not be fixed over night. I have to keep telling myself that I will not be an expert
overnight. It will time patience and dedication.
How has this study Having an understanding about the different disorders that affect learning is important because I
helped move you am equipped with tools to better reach my students. These are students that can be lost and
from novice to brush off as students who just have bad behavior. Being a special education teacher, it is so
expert professional? important for me to have at least a basic foundation of these disorders. Having this knowledge
also means I will be able to pass on information to other educators. Especially those who are not
used to dealing with certain behaviors in the classroom

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 How does this All of these disorders can cause a student to have fixed mindset. The can feel no matter how hard
information help they try, they will never grow and be able to grow. This book gives a great insight for parents and
students develop a educators to be able to help those students. First the student must know that they are not at fault
positive growth for the disorder that they suffer from. Once they know and understand that, the educator has to
mindset for
learning?
give them some control of their learning. The teacher must instill that the student is ultimately in
How does it help control of their learning, but they dont have to do it alone. This book promotes a growth mindset
students develop in the reader also. Jensen states that educator should not worry about becoming an expert on all
GRIT? of the disorders. He suggests that the process of learning should be steady, and it best to focus
on one at a time. Even if it takes a month to do so. Knowing this gives the educator peace of
mind and will help them better work and help their students.

TEACHING: 10 BIG IDEAS

By Jeanne Ormrod
Many principles that we teach in educational psychology are common to two or more Isms. Here are ten examples of such
Big Ideas:

1. Learners do not passively absorb information from the environment; rather, they actively work to make sense of
their environment and construct their own, unique understandings of the world. This perspective pervades much
of cognitive theory; for instance, we see it in constructivists notion of knowledge construction and in information
processing theorists concept of elaboration. But it is also shared by the active information seeking that some behaviorist
describe.

2. Learning is more likely to occur when learners pay attention to the information to be learned. We see this idea in
information processing theorists dual-store model of memory, in social cognitive theorists four essential conditions for
modeling to occur, and in behaviorists concept of an orienting response.

3. Learners learn more effectively when they relate new information to prior knowledge. Such learning may take the
form of chaining two or more previously acquired S-R associations (a Piagetian perspective), or drawing on an existing
script to interpret a new situation (an idea from schema theory).

4. The close contiguity of events increases the likelihood that learners will associate those events with one
another. The concept of contiguity has historically been associated with behaviorist views of both classical and operant
conditioning. But it also plays a prominent role in contemporary views of information processing: Two pieces of
information are most likely to be associated in long-term memory if they have been in working memory at the same time.

5. Learners future learning and performance are influenced by the consequences that follow their behaviors. In
some cases, these consequences may be external (e.g., concrete reinforcers, teacher feedback); in other cases, they
may be internal (e.g., feelings of satisfaction, causal attributions).

6. Hints about how to think or behave often facilitate performance. Hints take difference guises in different Isms; for
instance, they may be retrieval cues (information processing theory), scaffolding (the sociocultural perspective), or
discriminative stimuli (behaviorism).

7. Learning and development are fostered when learners are challenged to perform increasingly more difficult
tasks or to think in increasingly more sophisticated ways. We see this idea in concepts from many theories; for
example, we find it in Piagets disequilibrium. Vygotskys zone of proximal development, Kohlbergs moral dilemmas, and
behaviorists shaping. We see it, too, in information processing theorists belief that learners develop more complex
cognitive strategies only when environmental events challenge them to do so, as well as in social cognitivists belief that
self-efficacy is better enhanced when learners succeed at challenging rather than easy tasks.

8. Learners benefit from hearing or reading the ideas of others. As noted earlier, many people conceptualize
information processing theory as being based on the notion that information is transmitted from the outside world rather
than constructed by the learner. This premise underlies much of behaviorism as well; we see it not only in programmed
instruction but also in the view that organisms are conditioned by environmental circumstances. Yet this Big Idea is hardly
unique to objectivist perspectives. Even social constructivists acknowledge that group-constructed knowledge does not
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 occur all at one sitting; for instance, the physical, life, and social sciences have evolved over the years (in some cases,
over the centuries) through a process of studying, testing, modifying, and sometimes rejecting the ideas of those who
have gone before.

9. Learning is enhanced when learners engage in self-evaluation. We see this principle in behaviorists programmed
instruction, in information processing theorys concept of comprehension monitoring, and in social cognitive theorys view
of self-regulation.

10. Learning is best assessed by using an assessment instrument that reflects the goals of instruction (i.e., an
instrument that has content validity). In some cases, this instrument may be a traditional paper-pencil test (a strategy
often attributed to behaviorist and/or information processing perspectives). In other cases, a teacher can assure greater
content validity by using authentic assessment (a strategy often attributed to the constructivist and perspectives).

NOTE Ormonds conclusion and apply:

A focus on Big Ideas has at least three advantages over a focus on Isms. First, Big Ideas are far less controversial
than Isms; most theorists agree with them to some extent. (As an example, when I changed the title of the Constructivism
chapter in my educational psychology textbook to Knowledge Construction--thus changing it from an Ism to a Big Idea--I
received more consistently positive comments from reviewers.) Second, Big Ideas typically describe general principles of
learning and/or instruction that lend themselves readily to concrete classroom applications; in contrast, experts do not always
agree regarding the specific applications of various Isms (e.g., see Anderson et al. [1997], or contrast the analyses of Spivey
[1997] and Greeno et al. [1996]).

Finally, a focus on Big Ideas allows us to draw from two or more Isms simultaneously when developing classroom
applicationsperhaps to analyze the effectiveness of authentic activities (a notion for which both constructivism and
situated perspectives take credit) from the perspective of generalization (as behaviorists describe it), or to talk about teacher
scaffolding (a sociocultural concept) when discussing ways to promote effective study strategies (strategies derived largely
from information processing theory).