An effective teacher should engage in objective post-lesson reflection by overcoming fundamental attribution error, plan lessons with student learning processes in mind by facilitating Gagnes' 8 learning processes and using constructivist approaches with advance organizers and mediators, and create a safe positive classroom environment by increasing positive reinforcement and associations.

4.  Why do the students appear to be non-
participative and not learning
effectively?
 What can be done to increase student
participation and effective learning?

5.  As an effective teacher, it is important to…
1. Create a safe and positive classroom
environment
2. Plan lessons with student learning processes
in mind
3. Engage in objective post-lesson reflection

6.  As an effective teacher, it is important to
create a safe and positive classroom
environment.
Classical
Conditioning
Operant
Conditioning

7.  Why are the students so reluctant,
anxious and fearful to participate in Ms
Rita’s class?
 How does this affect learning?
 What can be done to remedy this
problem?

8. Unconditioned
Stimulus
Unconditioned
Response
Neutral Stimulus
Neutral Stimulus
Unconditioned
Stimulus
Unconditioned
Response

9. Initially Neutral Stimulus
becomes a Conditioned
Stimulus
Evokes a Conditioned
Response

10. Neutral Stimulus Unconditioned
Stimulus
Unconditioned
Response

11. Initially Neutral Stimulus
becomes a Conditioned
Stimulus
Evokes a Conditioned
Response
Student participation decreases as it is associated
with embarrassment and teacher disapproval.
Participation is an important part of effective
learning.

12.  Removing negative associations and
creating more positive associations will
increase student participation and
therefore, learning.

13. Increases
frequency of
behaviour
Positive
reinforcement
Negative
reinforcement
Decreases
frequency of
behaviour
Punishment

14. Punishment
Lack of Positive
and Negative
Reinforcement
Decreased
frequency of
behaviour

15.  Increasing positive reinforcement and
decreasing punishment will increase
student participation, which will increase
learning.
Decreasing
punishment
Increasing
positive
reinforcement
1. Do not humiliate or show obvious
disapproval in response to student
answers.
1. Use cues, prompts and praise.
2. Create a behavioural contract for
both students and teachers.

16.  As an effective teacher, it is important to
plan lessons with students’ learning
processes in mind.
Gagnes’
Learning
Phases

17.  Why did Ms Rita’s lesson not work out the
way she had planned?
 What were the clues that the students
were having difficulty learning?
 What can be done to facilitate effective
learning in future lessons?

18. 1. Gaining
Attention
2.
Expectancy
3. Retrieval
to Working
Memory
4. Selective
Perception
5. Encoding
to Long-Term
Memory
6.
Responding
7. Feedback
8. Cueing
Retrieval
A serious breakdown at
any one phase
or a cumulative
breakdown over several
phases can bring
learning to a halt.

19.  Ms Rita believed that she had planned
her lesson carefully.
Use of videos
and pictures to
trigger thinking
Attempt at
questioning to
scaffold
learning
Attempt at
higher-order
questioning

20.  However, there were obvious clues that
there were learning breakdowns.
Tentative
student answers
Uninterested
body language
and facial
expressions
Reluctance to
participate
Lack of prior
knowledge
Lack of
remedial action
by the teacher

21. Phases of Learning in which
Breakdowns Occurred
Evidence of Failure
Gaining attention • Inappropriate visual stimuli
• Misjudgment of prior knowledge
• Lack of scaffolding
Retrieval to working memory • Ms Rita did not recap relevant prior
knowledge
• When students made attempts to
tap on limited / imperfect prior
knowledge, she shot them down
rather than guide them to the right
answers.

22. Phases of Learning in which
Breakdowns Occurred
Evidence of Failure
Responding • Not good at soliciting responses
from students, who are afraid of her
disapproval
Feedback • No positive reinforcement
• Students are ‘punished’ for
responding as they are met with
unconstructive and discouraging
feedback

23.  Planning a lesson that facilitates all 8
stages of Gagnes’ learning processes will
increase student participation and
learning.

24. 1. Gaining
Attention
2.
Expectancy
3. Retrieval
to Working
Memory
4. Selective
Perception
5. Encoding
to Long-Term
Memory
6.
Responding
7. Feedback
8. Cueing
Retrieval
Abrupt stimulus
change
Recall / Recap
Interesting
resources and
activities
Lesson Objective /
Purpose / Benefits
Meaningful
organisation
Practices and reviews

25.  Active student involvement and
student autonomy are key factors.
 The learning process is facilitated by
social interaction with peers, teachers
and real-world experiences.

26.  Student motivation to learn has two
sources:
1. Cognitive Conflict / Disequilibrium
All students
have existing
schemas.
When their
schemas are
challenged or
disconfirmed,
they
experience
cognitive
discomfort.
They will
actively
observe and
seek new
knowledge to
adapt their
schemas.
Learning is
achieved.

27.  Student motivation to learn has two
sources:
2. Meaningfulness
Learning is viewed as
being important to
their lives.
Students will seek
new knowledge
through discovery
and questioning.
Learning is achieved.

28.  Lack of schema activation through
scaffolding and building on prior
knowledge
 Lack of emphasis on metacognitive
awareness
 Lack of student exploration and
autonomy

29.  Using the constructivist approach will
increase student participation and
learning.
Metacognition
Student
Autonomy,
Interaction and
Exploration
1. More groupwork
2. Effectively promoting and
managing discussion
3. Making students explain themselves
4. Providing feedback
5. Making connections
6. Communicating purpose of lesson
7. KWL
8. PQ4R
9. IDEAL

30.  Prior knowledge linkages that influence
the amount and proficiency of our
learning
 We learn and remember better when we
can associate new information with prior
knowledge

31.  Providing visual stimuli and verbalizing
higher-order questions did not facilitate
proper mental scaffolding
Is Tsunami more
prone in convergent
or divergent
boundaries?
What is the
difference
between a tsunami
and a typhoon?

32.  Failure to expose the intended
schemata or underlying structure
resulted in students filling in knowledge
gaps inappropriately
A Tsunami is caused by
volcanic eruptions?
A Tsunami is
caused by low
atmospheric
pressure? High
atmospheric
pressure?
A Tsunami is caused by
global warming?

33.  Including advance organisers and
mediators will allow students to learn
more effectively.

34. • Brief material presented in
advance of main material
• Of slightly higher abstraction than
student cognition level
• Creates cognitive disequilibrium
which stimulates learning
Advance
Organisers
• Helps student to identify the explicit
linkage between life experiences
and what they are learning now
Mediators

35.  As an effective teacher, it is important to
engage in objective post-lesson
reflection.
Fundamental
Attribution
Error

36.  Why is the teacher so insistent that the
problem lies with the students?
 Why is the teacher unable to pinpoint
her students’ difficulties with her lesson?

37.  This refers to a systematic bias in the
perception process.
• “ A pervasive tendency to underestimate
the impact of situational forces and
overestimate the role of dispositional
factors when making such judgements”
Forgas, 1998
• “A tendency to overestimate personality-
based or dispositional explanations, and
underestimate the influence of situational
constraints”
Tetlock, 1985

38.  People have a tendency to draw quick
and judgemental conclusions about the
attitudes, personalities and behaviour of
others, even when situational causes for
behaviour exists.
 The FAE hinders the Teacher’s capacity
to conduct an objective post lesson
reflection.

39. “The whole class was
blur and their
answers were lame.”
“They should know all
this general
knowledge.”
“I don’t know what
was wrong with the
class.”
“I showed them
pictures and video
clip… Wasn’t that
more than enough?”

40.  She is pre-disposed to overestimate their
capabilities.
 She underestimates the situational
factors her students may face:
 Constraints like inadequate prior
knowledge, lack of clear instructions,
fear and anxiety, etc.

41.  Taking heed of consensus, distinctiveness
and consistency information will reduce the
error’s effect, allowing Ms Rita to objectively
evaluate her lesson.
Do all my classes
behave this way?
Does this class
behave this way
with me alone, or
with other subject
teachers as well?
Has this class
been this way for
a long time (since
Sec 1)?
Oh no, maybe it is
not them, maybe
it is me!
Now that I know
who the real
culprit is, let me
objectively review
my lesson.
Consensus Distinctiveness Consistency

42.  Why do the students appear to be non-
participative and not learning
effectively?
 What can be done to increase student
participation and effective learning?

43. An effective teacher should engage in objective post-lesson
reflection.
By overcoming fundamental attribution error
An effective teacher should plan lessons with student learning
processes in mind.
By facilitating Gagnes’ 8
learning processes
By using constructivist
approach
By using advance
organisers and mediators
An effective teacher should create a safe and positive
classroom environment.
By increasing positive reinforcement By increasing positive associations

44. Books and journal articles
Andrews, P. W. (2001). The psychology of social chess and the evolution of attribution
mechanisms: Explaining the fundamental attribution error. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22,
11-29.
Carson, J. (2005). "Objectivism and Education: A Response to David Elkind's 'The Problem with
Constructivism'" in Noll, James (Ed.), Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Educational Issues (15th
Ed.), pp 50-56, New York: McGraw Hill.
Cole, M.R. (1990). Operant hoarding: A new paradigm for the study of self-control. Journal of the
Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 53, 247–262.
Eggen, P., & Kauchak, D. (2010). Educational Psychology: Windows on Classrooms (8th ed). NJ:
Pearson.
Elkind, D. (2004). "The Problem with Constructivism" in Noll, James (Ed.), Taking Sides: Clashing
Views on Educational Issues (15th Ed.), pp 50-56, New York: McGraw Hill.
Forgas, J. P. (1998). On being happy and mistaken: Mood effects on the fundamental attribution
error. Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, 75 (2), 318-331.
Gagné, R. M. (1985).The conditions of learning and theory of instruction. 4th edition. New York:
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Harris, K. & Graham, S. (1996). Memo to Constructivists: Skills Count, too. Educational Leadership,
53 (5), 26-29.

45. Kirsch, I., Lynn, S.J., Vigorito, M. & Miller, R.R. (2004). The role of cognition in classical and
operant conditioning. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60, 369-392.
Pavlov, I.P. (1927/1960). Conditional Reflexes. New York: Dover Publications.
Pegues, H. (2007). Of Paradigm Wars: Constructivism, Objectivism and Postmodern
Stratagems. Educational Forum, 71 (4), 316-330.
Perkins, D. (1999). The Many Faces of Constructivism. Educational Leadership, 57 (3), 6-11.
Tan, O. S., Parsons, R. D., Hinson, S. L., & Sardo-Brown, D. (2011). Educational Psychology: A
practitioner-researcher approach. An Asian Edition (2nd ed). Singapore: Thomson.
Tetlock, P. E. (1985). Accountability: A social check on the fundamental attribution error.
Social Psychology Quarterly, 48 (3), 227-236.
Tucker, M., Sigafoos, J., & Bushell, H. (1998). Use of noncontingent reinforcement in the
treatment of challenging behavior. Behavior Modification, 22, 529–547.
Windschitl, M. (1999). The Challenges of Sustaining a Constructivist Classroom Culture. Phi
Delta Kappan, 80 (10), 751-755.

46. Websites
Fundamental Attribution Error (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 27,
2010, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_error
The Phases of Learning (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2010, from
http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/vockell/cai/Cai3/cai3gagne.
htm#Attention