EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

Final Essay Exam

Marquis B. Bowling

EDUC 5302 Educational Psychology & Learning Theory

Dr. Kristy Duckworth
East Texas Baptist University

July 7, 2016

EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

Introduction

Educational Psychology has been a great class full of information that I really feel like I can
apply to my career as a professional coach. In this finals paper there will be concepts by
Bandura, Gordon, Winne and Hadwin. Topics like cognitive theory, self-efficacy and selfregulated learning will be addressed in the first section. Self motivation as well as performance
and mastery goals and how they play a port in how a child approaches different things. The
motivation aspect of performance and mastery goals is a concept that will be vital in my
coaching career. Conflict resolution will be addressed by the No-Lose Method courtesy of Mr.
Gordon. Not only will this be a factor in my career as a coach but conflict resolution will be
something that every single person on earth will have to deal with at some point in their life.
Grading scales and concepts will round out this paper and even though I can not apply this
directly to my profession, it could be invaluable in many other careers especially in the education
realm.

Question #1 (#1 on the list)

Annie, a fifth-grade student in Mr. Baer's class, is being quiet and sullen for the fifth day in a
row. "I just can't do this writing stuff," she finally says in an appeal to Mr. Baer. "I'm not a good
student. Give me P.E. or art over this stuff any day!"
1) How does Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory help us to understand Annie's comment "I
just can't do this writing stuff"?

EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

Based on Bandura's social cognitive theory, Annie is displaying the self-efficacy phase of the
theory and this allows us to understand what's going on with Annie here. The textbook defines
self-efficacy as "our beliefs about our personal competence or effectiveness in a given area."
Bandura defined self-efficacy as "people's beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated
levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives." Annie sees her
writing as an area of struggle and she associates that with being a bad student as well. She seems
to be more proficient and confident in her physical abilities and her creative abilities. Since she
sees writing as a difficult aspect of her life she will struggle with writing. She will also continue
to associate that with being a bad student. When faced with challenges, Annie is more likely to
have poor effort, a lack of persistence as well as a lower level of resilience. Anxiety levels will
probably be high along with stress levels with Annie when it comes to writing. So Bandura's
social cognitive theory gives us a blueprint to understand what's going on with Annie.

2) What might be the sources of Annie's low self-efficacy beliefs related to her writing beliefs?
The source of Annie's low self-efficacy probably stems from her previous experiences with
writing. It is likely that Annie did not achieve a desired level of performance in the past and that
was carried on with her for the following years. The models in Annie's earlier learning life may
also be a reason for her low self-efficacy when it comes to writing. Annie may have developed
her opinion about writing based on someone else's view of writing.

3) How could you apply social cognitive theory to helping Annie become more confident and
successful in her writing skills?

EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

One aspect of social cognitive theory that could be applied that could potentially help Annie is an
environmental change and modeling. If Annie had an environment where she would not have
others to compare her writing to, maybe that would help improve her writing. A one on one
environment with her teacher as a model to pattern herself after could be a viable solution for
Annie.

4) Annie's self-efficacy beliefs for writing are expected to influence her self-regulation. How
might you use Winne and Hadwin's model of self-regulated learning to help Annie become a
better writer?
Winne and Hadwin's self-regulated learning model can help because it outlines a four step
process to resolving a specific problem of self-efficacy/ self-regulated learning like Annie's
writing. You could analyze Annie's writing problem. Set goals for her to achieve with her
writing. You can put together strategies to help her accomplish those goals. Finally, regulate
learning for her by following the model outline.

Question #2 (#3 on the list)

Although Bill and Elliot are fairly similar in ability, they are as different as night and day in their
approaches to school. Elliot seems to care only about how he looks to others. For the school
science fair, for example, he selected an extremely easy project on ants that looked fancy and
impressive but, actually, had very little substance. He continually makes excuses before taking
tests, such as "I'm taking this without any studying." Or he might say, "I'll be happy with a C."
After the test, however, he is quick to promote his own good performances when they occur. Bill

EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

is quite the opposite. He loves challenges and becomes totally immersed in books and projects.
He says that when he gets interested in
something, he wants to learn all that he can. He usually earns good grades in his courses, but he
seems basically unconcerned about his test scores.
1) Discuss the behaviors of the two boys relative to the distinction made in the Woolfolk text
between learning goals and performance goals.
Elliot is all about looking good in the eyes of others. Elliot thrives more on being better than
others more through appearances as opposed to actual content and performance. Oddly enough,
Elliot is a kid that will fall under the performance goal category based on the textbook. These
goals are egotistical in nature and he will tend to not be as invested or to meet challenges head on
as they come.
Bill is about the results of his work and he is really interested in learning as much as he can. How
Bill looks to others is really not his concern at all. Bill wants to master things and it is more of an
internal satisfaction that drives him not outward appearances. Bill will be more invested in his
goals and he will attack difficulties as they come.

2) Suppose that the boys' school is holding the annual fund-raising drive. Each student is asked
to set goals for selling candy. (Last year the highest total sale was $225.) What is your prediction
regarding the nature of the goals likely to be set by Bill and Elliot? Provide a rationale by
explaining your predictions.
This type of activity is cosmetic in essence and this would be something that Bill would struggle
in way more than Elliot would. With the goal being set from the previous year, Elliot, more than
anything else, would like to be the leader of the pack when it comes to others in a competitive

EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

setting. Elliot would want his name to be next to the top dollar amount for this particular year
and, in my opinion even more than that, he would want to be the person that is talked about as
being the absolute best at raising funds. Elliot's goal would be to exceed $225 and he will also be
the kid that will adjust his goal as he finds out what all of the other kids decided to do. I think
Bill will set a modest goal and see this as a new learning experience.

3) Clearly, teachers would prefer students to behave like Bill rather than like Elliot. Suggest
some techniques that Elliot's teachers might employ to help him develop more achievementoriented goals.
The first thing that comes to mind for this is to make your approach with Bill appeal to his
strengths and traits. Bill thrives off of competition, being better than other, being first, getting the
highest scores, all with the hopes of appearing superior. I would set goals for him like
challenging him to be first to finish his work but include stipulations like, points off for incorrect
answers and at the end of the grading period, offer simple rewards for the top performers.

Question #3 (#5 on the list)

Ellen's face is twisted in an angry sneer and her body is visibly shaking. "I'm not going back to
my seat!" she screams at Mr. Fournier (the ninth-grade Spanish teacher). "You're always picking
on me. I've had it with being the one who's told to do everything." Mr. Fournier is taken aback
but stands his ground, and says, "Ellen, return to your seat right now." "I'm not going to," Ellen
replies, "No way, no how."
1) What step would you take next in dealing with Ellen, if you were Mr. Fournier?

EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

I would like to address Ellen's concerns because she is obviously upset and it is clear that this is
something that has been building up inside of her. I would actually try to take Ellen out in the
hallway to speak with her in a sensible manner away from her peers. I would give her a chance to
try and calm down and then hopefully have her express her issues with me and try to reassure her
that we would address every issue and concern she calmly expressed in the hallway.

2) Would Mr. Fournier's initial response be classified as assertive, hostile, or aggressive? Provide
a rationale for your answer.
I view his initial response as assertive. The sentence ended in a period, which leads me to believe
there was no real anger there and it was also stated that he was taken aback. I think his reaction
was more defensive in nature.

3) Discuss how Gordon's "no-lose" method could be used in attempting to resolve the problem
with Ellen. Identify the specific steps of the model in your answer.
The Gordons no-lose method is a six step process that can help this situation with Ellen.
Step 1 - Mr. Fournier needs to make sure he understands Ellens problem(s) and
really listen to her without being judgmental at all.
Step 2 - Both Mr. Fournier and Ellen both need to come up with as many potential
solutions as they can together.
Step 3 - they both need to narrow down the solutions they came up with and take
the ones that work for them both, not the ones that work for only one person.
Step 4- Decide on a solution(s) and they both have to agree that this will be the
way(s) that they will work through their issue(s)

EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

Step 5 - They both decide who does what in this solution(s), when theyre going
to do it and how.
Step 6 - At this point they have to go back and check the results of their action
plan and see where they stand at this point compared to when they started.

Question #4 (#6 on the list)

6) Ms. Rogers uses a grading system in her high school Spanish class in which students who
average 60-69 percent receive a D, 70-79 percent a C, 80-89 percent a B, and 90-100
percent an A. Ms. Rogers has the reputation of being an excellent "expert" teacher. This
year, 18 of her 24 students earned a final grade of A and the other six students earned a B.
Her new principal criticizes Ms. Rogers for using "an apparently invalid grading system
that fails to provide adequate differentiation between students."

5) Identify the type of grading system that Ms. Rogers is using. What are its
general advantages and disadvantages?

Criterion is the system that I think Ms. Rogers is using. The advantage in this
system is that the students can hit their required marks for the grades that
they receive. The comparison of one students comprehension to another is
not a real factor in this grading system. A disadvantage of this system is
that you can have extreme grades on either end of the scale. If students
dont make the marks at the required points then their grades will reflect

EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

that. Also, comprehension of the material can be questionable with this
system.

6) Would her grading system be considered norm-referenced? Why or why

not?

I do not really consider this a norm-referenced grading system. Ms. Rogers

has a reputation of being a excellent expert teacher and norm-referenced
grading would be something like grading on curve and that can limit the
number of excellent grades that a teacher can give out and 18 of 24 have
As in her class and the last 6 have Bs which leads me to this way. With a
curve or norm-referenced grading system, you would still have a student
with a low grade but that is not the case in Ms. Rogers class.

7) React to the principal's arguments. Do you believe that the grading system
is inappropriate? Explain your rationale.

I do not believe that Ms. Rogers grading system is inappropriate. Measuring

comprehension and intelligence is tricky in general and if the kids feel like
they have retained the things that Mr. Rogers taught them then that is the
real desired effect of a good teacher.

EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

Conclusion

The four questions that I chose to address in this paper maybe not necessarily be situations that I
could personally relate to but they could come up in my future. I will need to know what kid is a
confident kid in whatever event or capacity we would have them in on the field or on the track.
Dealing with different personalities and understanding different motives in people is definitely
something that I will use on a regular basis in my coaching. Knowing who my Bill is and who
my Elliot is and knowing what motivates each is vital to my success as a coach. I will need to
know who just wants to look good and who actually wants to understand and be better. The kids
that will take on the challenge and not just be front runners. As a football coach at the collegiate
level, I more than likely will not encounter any teaching other than on the field but the things like
the conflict resolution could be applicable for me. Playing time is the first thing that comes to
mind about conflict resolution as a football coach. I will not really need a grading scale in the
sense of the one that a teacher would use for any of my athletics. When it comes to athletics, it is
all a performance based entity. An athlete knows first hand if he or she is performing at an elite
level or not, playing time will often reflect that also.

References

Six Steps of the No-Lose Method [Web log post]. (2010, November 17). Retrieved July 7, 2016,
from http://parenteffectivenesstraining.blogspot.com/2010/11/six-steps-of-no-losemethod.html

EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

Woolfolk, A. (2016). Educational psychology video analysis tool with enhanced pearson etext.
S.l.: Prentice Hall.

Appendix A

Categories

Points
Possible

SelfEvaluati
on

APA formatting / Grammar / Punctuation /

Usage / Spelling

30

27

Quality, depth, and support for the first

response

60

60

Quality, depth, and support for the second

response

60

58

Quality, depth, and support for the third

response

60

57

Quality, depth, and support for the fourth

response

60

54

Introduction, conclusion and evidence of

personal insight and/or learning

30

25

Instruct
or
Evaluati
on

EDUC 5302 Final Essay Exam

Total Points

Average of the two scores:

300

281