Module 5:


The section of chapter 12 that stood out to me was the one about Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Maslow theorized that if certain needs are not met, a student cannot move up in the hierarchy or learn. Some lower level needs that must be immediately addressed are basic deficiency needs for survival, safety, belonging and self-esteem. Higher level needs are identified as being needs which include cognitive needs, aesthetic needs, and finally reaching self-actualization. Deficiency needs must be satisfied before being needs are met.

Working in a low socioeconomic school, I now recognize that a majority of my students’ deficiency needs require a little extra attention to ensure they’re met. It is common for my students to be extremely tired because they don’t own a bed. A majority of my students are always hungry and food is an excellent motivator because there is no food for them at home and meals are infrequent. Some of my students live in unsafe homes or feel threatened by situations involving their home lives. Last, and most importantly, most of my students feel the extreme need to feel loved, seek someone they can trust, and just want to feel like they have a place in this world. If I can’t adequately address these needs by establishing a welcoming classroom environment, how can I expect them to learn?

Chapter 14 defines Bloom's Taxonomy as a six level hierarchy system: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. Each level moves up to a higher thinking order and allows students to retain learned information if applied correctly.
·         Remember: Student recalls or recognizes information, ideas, and principles in the approximate form in which they were learned.
·         Understand: Student translates, comprehends, or interprets information based on prior learning.
·         Apply: Student selects, transfers, and uses data and principles to complete a problem or task with a minimum of direction.
·         Analyze: Student distinguishes, classifies, and relates the assumptions, hypotheses, evidence, or structure of a statement or question.
·         Evaluate: Student originates, integrates, and combines ideas into a product, plan or proposal that is new to them.
·         Create: Student appraises, assesses, or critiques on a basis of specific standards and criteria

Chapter 14 content really helped me when it came time to constructing a test for you all to take. I really wanted to design my questions at Blooms application level because this level demonstrates a student’s understanding and application of the material. I also wanted my essay questions to be at a higher level than my multiple choice questions. Chapter 14 provided me with the framework for structuring these questions. Blooms Taxonomy is definitely a concept that I am committing to memory for future use in devising lesson plans assessing my students understanding.

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