Applying Learning Theory to Life

Applying Learning Theory to Life

Preparation is key to any good research paper and presentation. Next week, you will be creating your Final Paper and PresentationPreview the documentView in a new window. It is important to begin gathering your information and sources to fulfill this project successfully. For your Final Paper, you will be designing a training module proposal (not a full training module). The title of this training module is “The Importance of Understanding Your Learners’ Needs”. Essentially, you will be proposing the information you would include for assisting managers gain knowledge in how to meet the learning needs of their departmental employees.

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Based on your developed knowledge about learning theory, this week you will be developing the “bones” for your final paper/presentation. Thus, you are organizing the information you will apply and fully develop  next week, as well as, confirm your understanding of each area of content to be included.

Required elements:

  1. Explain Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, and Humanism as applied to learning.
  2. List and briefly (two or three sentences) describe seven perspectives/principles that you have learned about that you think would be important to teach managers so they can better understand their employees’ learning needs. These perspectives (principles) will be aligned with Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, or Humanism.

Examples include:

  • From Behaviorism (associationistic models of learning)
    • Associative Learning , Classical Conditioning , Operant Conditioning, Conditioning, Extinction, and Ratio/Interval Schedules
  • From Cognition (the cognitive science of information processing representations of learning).
    • Schema Theory, dialectical processing, Problem-Based Learning, memory development, categorization, Elaboration theory (i.e. Bloom’s Taxonomy), spiral curriculum, memory development, and coding.
  • From Constructivism (conceptions of knowledge are derived from the process of constructing individual interpretations of one’s experiences)
    • Cognitive Constructivism, Social Constructivism, Situated Cognition, Social Learning Theory, Zone of Proximal Development, and Discovery Learning
  • From Humanism
    • Motivational theories of learning (i.e. Self-determination Theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs), Emotional Intelligence development, Multiple Intelligences, Experiential Learning , and Steiner pedagogy or Waldorf education.
  1. List and briefly explain seven strategies that could be applied in training based on the areas we have learned about the past weeks that you think would be the most successful based on the learning groupPreview the documentView in a new window.
  2. Explain how each strategy would help ensure learning is taking place.

Examples include:

  • From Behaviorism (associationistic models of learning)
    • Rewards and Punishments
  • From Cognition (the cognitive science of information processing representations of learning)
    • Practice, scaffolding of the content, repetition of curriculum/content, and application of Bloom’s Taxonomy
  • From Constructivism (conceptions of knowledge are derived from the process of constructing individual interpretations of one’s experiences)
    • Scaffolding by the instructor, interactive learning as seen in role-playing, discussions, and  discovery activities
  • From Humanism
    • Meeting individual needs, activities that encourage belonging, autonomy, and competence, metacognitive activities,  and alignment of learning to personal experiences.
  1. Apply your research skills to this content by synthesizing supporting evidence from at least three scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library that defend these strategies as the best options for your training. View this great tutorial provided by the Ashford University Library which will show you how to find scholarly articles and how to assess the scholarly quality of the resource.

Additional Requirements:

  1. Must be two to three double-spaced pages in length (excluding title page and references) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
  2. The title page must include the following:
    • Title of paper
    • Student’s name
    • Course name and number
    • Instructor’s name
    • Date submitted
  3. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that introduces what you will be outlining in your paper.
  4. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms the learning perspectives/principles and strategies you chose.
  5. Must use at least three scholarly sources, all of which must come from the Ashford University Library.
  6. Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
  7. Must include a separate reference page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

Challenges In Identifying Mental Disorders

PSY 381 Module 1 Assignment 3: Challenges in Identifying Mental Disorders

Most mental disorders lie on a continuum with “normal” behavior at one end. For example, nearly everyone has a fear of something, but it does not rise to the level of a phobia. A behavior may seem abnormal in one context but completely normal in another context. These two aspects show why it can be challenging to properly identify mental disorders.

Using your textbook and the Argosy University online library resources, research the principles and methods of identifying mental disorders. Note particularly the diversity of views and the challenges of identification. Based on your research, write a reflective essay. Use the following question to direct your thoughts and organize your essay:

  • Why is determining abnormal behavior or a mental disorder so difficult?

To develop your essay, keep in mind issues such as the role of social norms in defining the abnormal, the multiplicity of indicators of what is abnormal, the stigma suffered by those identified as abnormal, and finally the need for objectivity in dealing with the concept.

 

Write a 2–3-page essay in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M1_A3.doc. For example, if your name is John Smith, your document will be named SmithJ_M1_A3.doc.

An example of how this age group might use probability to make decisions in everyday life.

Discussion: Probability in Real Life

Individuals of all ages use probability to make decisions in everyday activities. For instance, when deciding whether to cross a street with traffic, people estimate the odds of making it safely across. Consider the prevalence of probability in your daily life. How does knowing the likelihood of something occurring affect how you make daily decisions? Usually, you choose an option because you believe that it will have a more pleasing outcome than the other choice(s). If you knew your likelihood of succeeding or failing, you would have an even easier time making a decision. Each decision you make is influenced by probability. Using what you know about probability might help you make decisions of low importance, such as purchasing goods, but it can also play a role in making critically important decisions. For example, scientists often use probability testing to evaluate the safety of drugs for human use and to help determine the likely outcome of other high-stakes decisions.
For this week’s Discussion, you will have the opportunity to practice your understanding by describing probability “in real life.” You will select one age group (elementary school students, high school students, or colleague/significant other) and explain how you would teach probability to that group.
To prepare: Think about examples of how individuals of various ages use probability to make decisions, and decide which age group you will write about in your discussion response.
By Day 3
Post the following:
  1. An explanation of how you would initially teach the concept of probability to one of the age groups, listed below, in a way they would understand. In other words, describe how you would initially present and explain the concept in order to create background knowledge and a basic understanding of probability. Be sure to Include the age group you chose in the Subject of your post.
    • Elementary school students
    • High school students
    • Colleague/significant other
  2. An example of a demonstration you could use to illustrate the concept of probability to the age group you chose.
  3. An example of how this age group might use probability to make decisions in everyday life.
Think outside the box by avoiding common examples such as coin tosses, decks of cards, and dice. Take care not to confuse the concepts of probability and relative frequency when writing your post.
Be sure to fully explain your rationale for each of your suggestions, and support your ideas with evidence from the text and Learning Resources.
Provide an APA reference list.
Assignment

Assignment: z-Test

Hypothesis testing is the foundation of conducting research in psychology. Researchers must first determine the question they wish to answer and then state their prediction in a null hypothesis and an alternative hypothesis. Once the hypotheses are stated, researchers move on to data collection. However, once the results come in, the real challenge is to determine if they have meaning; that is, are the results statistically significant or just due to random variation?
This application will allow you to practice hypothesis testing by using z-scores to compare a single score to a population mean in order to determine if results are statistically significant. Download the data set that you will use for this Assignment from the Weekly Data Set forum found in Week 3. Be sure to watch this week’s instructional video in the introduction or Learning Resources folder before beginning your Assignment.
Scenario: Lucy wants to know how her fourth-grade daughter, Monica, scored on a test of reading comprehension compared to the population of other fourth graders in the school district. Luckily, Lucy has taken this course and knows that a z-score will help her understand Monica’s reading score in relation to the population. You can find the data for this Assignment in the Weekly Data Set forum found on the course navigation menu. (not posted yet) …will send once received,
By Day 7
  1. State the dependent variable.
  2. Explain whether Lucy should use a one-tailed or a two-tailed z-test and explain why.
  3. State the null hypothesis in words (not formulas).
  4. State the alternative hypothesis in words (not formulas).
  5. Calculate the obtained z-score by hand. Describe your calculations (i.e., show your work).
  6. When alpha is set at .05, the critical value is ± 1.96. Should the null hypothesis be retained or rejected? Explain why.
  7. Are the results statistically significant? How do you know?
  8. What should Lucy conclude about Monica’s reading comprehension score in comparison to the population?
  9. Lucy is excited that she remembers how to compute a z-score and does some additional computations to find Monica’s z-score in math. You can find the information you need in the Weekly Data Set forum. Use it to calculate Monica’s raw math score by hand. Provide your calculations in your Assignment submission (i.e., explain your work).
Submit responses to the following:
Be sure to fully explain the rationale for your answer to each question, including evidence from the text and Learning Resources.
Provide an APA reference list.
References
Required Readings
Heiman, G. (2015). Behavioral sciences STAT (2nd ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage.
  • Chapter 5, “Describing Data with z-Scores and the Normal Curve” (pp. 68–84)
  • Chapter 6, “Using Probability to Make Decisions about Data” (pp. 88–102)
  • Chapter 7, “Overview of Statistical Hypothesis Testing: The z-Test” (pp. 106–123)
Weekly Data Set: Your instructor will post the data set that you will need for the week’s Assignment to the Weekly Data Set forum found in the course navigation area of the classroom.
Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2015d). Introduction to z-score [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The video is available in this week’s Introduction section
Laureate Education (Producer). (2015k). Probability and introduction to inferential statistics [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The video is available in this week’s Introduction section
Optional Resources
Rugg, G. (2008). Using statistics: A gentle introduction [E-book]. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/waldenu/docDetail.action?docID=10229869&p00=statistics

 

StatSoft. (2015). Electronic statistics textbook. Retrieved from http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/elementary-statistics-concepts/

What did you learn about yourself through the process of learning about learning?

Metacognitive Evaluation

Prior to engaging in this discussion, please read Chapters 8, 9, and 10 in Applied Metacognition, and review your notes (including those on all articles read in this course about metacognition).

First, reread your posts from the Week One discussions and consider everything you have learned during the past four and a half weeks. Then, apply the knowledge attained from the course to your own development by critically considering the following questions:

  • What did you learn about yourself through the process of learning about learning?
  • What did you learn about your peers in the class through the process of learning about learning?
  • How will you apply what you have learned about yourself in your future learning activities (whether you are the learner or the instructor in these activities)?
  • Describe an event you experienced during the past five weeks in which you noticed learning theory at work.
  • How have your metacognitive experiences in this course influenced your desire to better understand learning in comparison to others?
  • Do you agree or disagree that by applying the elements of metacognition into your studies, you will improve your ability to learn more effectively? Thoroughly explain your reasoning and provide research to support your statements.