Interested in Music Therapy? Music therapy, which is often used with children with autism, can also be used in the classroom to help children learn patterns. In this interview music therapist Kamile Geist talks about types and techniques of music therapy along with her research in this fascinating field. On the website Kamile talks about courses and programs that will prepare you to be a music therapist, as well as how insurance programs deal with this type of therapy.
Here is a link from an article in Ohio University’s research publication about Kamile’s work with music and speech therapy (Kamile’s last name was O’Donnell at the time).
We’ve looked at the story of the Good Samaritan so now it’s time to scientifically answer the question: is it better to give than to receive? Psychologists have recently examined the relationship between happiness and charitable giving. Will you be happier if you donate money rather than spend it on yourself?
The research study discussed in this episode used a 2×2 factorial design. Click the image below to see more information about this design.
The article discussed in this episode is Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness, by Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Aknin, and Michael I. Norton, and it appeared in Science 21 March 2008: Vol. 319. no. 5870, pp. 1687 - 1688
Could it be that the roots of math anxiety lie not with math itself but with the way math is taught? In this episode I am extremely fortunate to speak with Dr. Eugene Geist, Associate Professor at Ohio University - Athens, Ohio and specialist in early childhood education. We talk about math anxiety - how it develops and what can be done to help kids overcome it. So if you have math anxiety, are a parent of a child with math anxiety or are a teacher of math you’ll want to hear what Dr. Geist has to say about this topic. Don’t let your kids say “I hate math!” Children are, as Dr. Geist will point out, natural born mathematicians and you can help them with their math homework and in the process help them overcome math anxiety.
Summary of Dr. Geist’s ideas as to what causes math anxiety
Understand that, developmentally, young people hate to be wrong. We all don’t like being wrong, but it is especially embarrassing and painful to the developing child.
Don’t Create Embarrassing situations: Asking students to “come to the front of the class and work out a problem on the board” contains the potential for a publicly embarrassing situation for a child. Use this approach (if at all) very carefully.
Don’t focus on right and wrong: Math learning is difficult if it occurs in an atmosphere (either school or home) in which there is pressure to use one method to find the right answer. Allow some room for exploration and for the child to find one or more ways to find the best answer.
Focus on Concepts instead of Math Facts and Processes. Focus math on applications and uses in daily life. When teachers focus on teaching only the processes or procedures of solving math problems and not on helping students understand conceptually why we do those procedures, then students will focus on learning processes (ex: “invert and multiply”) and not on seeing how those processes make sense. Fluency with the multiplication table can come later - first make sure students understand what is going on and why.
Let Students Work On Their Own. Let students try to figure math problems out first on their own and let them debate with each other about the right answer. You’ll find that they enjoy learning math this way and are more likely to understand it better.
Don’t Let Math be a Mystery: It is no wonder that math can seem like a mystery and create anxiety in many children when it is taught in the ways described above.
Don’t Give The Right Answer. Give a try doing what Dr. Geist mentioned in the podcast: give students a problem, but don’t give them the answer right away. Let them think about it until next class when you give an answer - but tell them that it may not be the right answer. Let them tell you if it’s right or wrong and why.
What to do if Your Math/Statistics Teacher’s approach Isn’t Working For You
Study in Groups: work with other students in your class to see how they are coping with the situation. Students can be great at explaining things to other students.
Look online for help. Search YouTube - there’s lots of tutorials there on math made by other teachers. Also, iTunesU may have a lecture from a teacher on the topic you’re stuck on.
Put up a question onYahoo Answers. Yahoo Answers is a place where students ask other students questions about a whole range of topics. Check it out. See if some other student somewhere in the world would be willing to answer a math/stats question. Experts also drop by to answer questions on Yahoo Answers. I go there myself every once in a while to see if there’s a question I can answer.
Rewrite Your Notes After Class. I know - this one sounds dull, but I did it when I was taking a class and was really confused. Re-writing your class notes - immediately after class - can really help clarify things for you.
Use Your Textbook. Most textbook authors bend over backwards to explain things clearly. You paid for it - use it. And don’t forget to use the website that accompanies most textbooks.
Ideas on What Teachers and Parents Can Do to Avoid Fostering Math Anxiety in Children
Have the right attitude toward math: math is not inherently “hard”. Math is about puzzles and kids love puzzles
Work together with the child when working on math problems. Don’t stand over the child holding onto the “right” answer, ready to judge the child if he/she doesn’t get it right. Work collaboratively with the child to solve the puzzle.
Model problem solving with the child. “Now let’s see, what should we do…?”, “How about if we try this…?”, “You know, I think I may be wrong here - let’s try a different approach.”
Take a constructive approach to wrong answers: “Gee, that seems like a really big number. Do you think that’s right? I mean, how could….lead to….?” and, “I’m not sure about that one. Can you show me how you got that answer?”
Get kids to work with each other to solve a problem. When they come up with different answers, have them work together to see who has the right answer.
Make math learning not about long pages of worksheets, but rather an adventure in puzzle-solving.
Resources on Math Anxiety
Dr. Geist has written and spoken widely about the topic of math anxiety as well as about the teaching of math and about constructivism. Here is a link to his website, and here is just a sample of some of his publications:
Geist, E.A. (2008 In Review) Because I SAID So: Power Relationships in Teaching Mathematics
Geist, E.A. (2008 In Review) What Is The Self-Fulfilling Prophesy and What Does It Have To Do With Learning Mathematics?
Geist, E.A. (2008 In Review) Dealing with Math Anxiety in Early Childhood Teachers and Students
Geist E.A & Geist K. (2007 in press) Do Re Mi:That’s how easy math can be: Music interventions to support mathematics concepts in infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Young Children
Geist E.A. & Janson G. (2007 in Review) Timed Tests and the Effects of Anxiety of Learning Mathematics.
Phillips, S.K., Duffrin, M.W. and Geist, E.A. (2004). Scientific salad and apple analysis: Take food out of the kitchen and into the classroom to teach mathematics, science, and more. Science and Children, 41(4), 24-29.
Geist, E.A. (2002) Annual Editions - Early Childhood Education 03/04 Children are Born Mathematicians: Encouraging and Promoting Early Mathematical Concepts in Children Under Five. p.174-179 McGraw-Hill; Guilford CT
1993 Jacksonville State University - Jacksonville, Alabama - What is Constructivism: Beyond Just a Buzz Word.
2000 Research Council on Mathematics Learning - Las Vegas, NV - Constructivist VS Traditional Methods of Teaching Mathematics.
Here is the word problem Dr. Geist discusses in this class:
A man buys a horse for #20 and then he sells it again for $30. He then he buys the horse back for $40 and sells it to somebody else for $50. Did he make money or lose money and how much did he make or lose?
Here is the link to the web site called Project Construct. Here’s a blurb from their website telling what Project Construct is all about:
Project Construct is derived from constructivism—the theoretical view that learners construct knowledge through interaction with the physical and social environments. Through “hands-on, minds-on” experiences, students in Project Construct classrooms attain deep understandings in the core content areas, while they also learn to work collaboratively with adults and peers and to be lifelong problem solvers.
Tired of rote memorization? Tired of NCLB? Try mindful learning. In this episode I explore psychologist Ellen Langer’s concept of mindful learning. What does it mean to teach and learn in a mindful way? How does this concept differ from what is being encouraged in the new report on the teaching of math called the Foundations of Success? Find out the answers to all these questions in this episode of The Psych Files podcast.
Here’s an excellent powerpoint presentation on Ellen Langer’s concept of mindful learning (clicking on this link will download a pdf version of the presentation). This presentation was created by Micah Fierstein, Ed.D, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska. Dr. Fierstein has created exercises he calls “practice fields” (safe spaces for students to engage in deeper learning) based on Langer’s work. You can contact him at micah@uaa.alaska.edu for more information on his work with mindful learning.
Here’s a short article by Ellen Langer in which she discusses mindful learning (a pdf file). This article appeared in Current Directions in Psychological Science.
In this episode (a reposting of the previous episode due to a technical glitch) we delve into a two by two factorial research design. Sounds dull you say? Well, I’ll try my best to make it kinda fun. You’ll see how more complex research is carried out. In this case I’ll examine the downside to being an attractive person. And you thought attractive people get all the good stuff in life. Watch to find out how it can be to your disadvantage to be attractive and along the way learn a bit about research design.
This past week it seems like people have been talking as much about Elliot Spitzer as they have about his wife Silda. In fact, emotions may be running higher about her behavior than about his. Why did she stand by and support him when it appears that he clearly betrayed her trust? Aside from gossip, what’s the tie-in to theories in psychology? Would you believe that the “Covariation Principle” can be applied to this and many similar situations where we are trying to figure out why people do what they do? Have a listen and learn how we use consensus, consistency and distinctiveness information to make important decisions.
Resources on the Covariation Principle
This page from psychology instructor Jeffrey Ricker, Ph.D. contains a very clear and thorough explanation of the covariation principle.
And here’s another excellent explanation of the covariation principle works. This is from a site called “CROW - Course Resources on the Web” which has lots of excellent resources on psychology.
Online discussions and Video regarding Silda’s actions
Toby Harnden wrote an interesting article that spurred a lot of discussion. Very interesting to see people’s different perspectives on Silda’s actions.
If nothing else, this video on YouTube shows how fast people put music and images together to express their opinions on the Spitzer situation.
The video below might be a good way to start an exploration on the topic of internal vs. external attributions for Silda’s behavior. Was she, as one woman says, “crazy” or “insecure”, did she, as another person says, “not have a choice?”.
The Monty Python sketch I referred to in this episode is called the String Sketch and while the audio is not available online (which is really the only way to get the most from the skit), the text is available here. You can buy the audio for 99 cents (and believe me it is worth buying) here at iTunes. It’s from The Final Ripoff album.
How many scientific studies find their inspiration from a parable in the bible? Well, this one does and for my 50th episode I’ll go over a very interesting study based on the Good Samaritan parable. We’ll take another look at the topic of bystander intervention by asking the question: are people more likely to help someone if they are thinking “pious” thoughts at the time?
After reviewing the study I’ll take a look at a couple articles that cite the good samaritan parable and ask the question: what does the results of this study imply about the value of character education, virtues programs, codes of ethics, citizenship and ethical behavior in general?
The Good Samaritan Parable (Luke 10: 27-37)
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus…”And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down the road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by the other side. but a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? He said, The one who showed him mercy” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Resources on Helping Behavior
Darley, J. M. & Batson, C. D. (1973) From Jerusalem to Jericho: a study of situational and dispositional variables in helping behavior, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27(1), 100–119.
Samuels, S.M. and Casebeer, W.D. (2005). A social psychological view of morality: why knowledge of situational influences on behaviour can improve character development practices. Journal of Moral Education, 34, 73-87.
Kotre, J. (1992). Experiments as Parables. American Psychologist, 672-673.
Episodes on Bystander Intervention and other Good Stories
Festinger, L., & Carlsmith, J. M. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance.
Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58, 203-210
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology,
67, 371-378.
Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgment. In H. Guetzkow (ed.) Groups, leadership and men. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Press.
Watson, J.B. & Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned Emotional Reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, 1-14.
In this episode I continue the interview on Collaborative Problem Solving in the classroom with Dr. Ross Green, author of The Explosive Child. As I stated in the previous episode, there are a variety of classroom management techniques, all designed to help solve the issue of how to discipline children who are having behavioral problems. I think you’ll find that Dr. Green’s approach makes a lot of sense and it can be implemented in the classroom as well as at home. A fascinating interview.
Episode 49: Classroom Management - An Interview with Dr. Ross Green part 2 [32:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Here again are the resources on this topic that I think you’ll find useful:
Classroom management techniques - there are a lot of strategies for dealing with behavior problems in the classroom. It’s time to add Collaborative Problem Solving to your toolkit. Learn an alternative to traditional classroom discipline techniques like timeout or sending the child to the principal. A recent Time magazine article entitled “How to Make Great Teachers” mentions that in a 2001 survey of teachers, 44% listed "student behavior problems" as the reason they left the profession. What can be done?
In this episode I interview Dr. Ross Green, author of The Explosive Child and the upcoming book "Lost in School". He’ll tell you how to use collaborative problem solving with your students. This episode is also for parents, daycare workers, babysitters - anyone who wants to help young people learn to think their way through everyday behavior problems.
Think you know a lot about the little Albert experiment conducted by John Watson? Well, guess what - you’d be surprised at how much of the story is simply not true. If you’re wondering whatever happened to little Albert, whether the little Albert study created a lasting phobia in a small boy, or even what place this story has in the history of behaviorism, then I suggest you take a listen to this episode of The Psych Files and get the facts on this fascinating part of psychology’s history.
When Albert was conditioned again to the rat, 10 days after the initial trials, Albert,
Fell over to the left side, got up on all fours and started to crawl away. On this occasion there was no crying but strange to say, as he started away he began to gurgle and coo, even while leaning far over to the left side to avoid the rat…
- in addtion, on this same day he was again conditioned to fear the rabbit, alberts response was reported as,
…fear reaction slight. Turned to the left and kept face away from the animal but the reaction was never pronounced.
31 days after being shown the rat, Watson reports that when in the same room as the rat "He allowed the rat to crawl towards him without withdrawing"
On the final day of testing when albert was exposed to the rabbit to which he had been conditioned to fear, he did not avoid the rabbit at all. Watson (1920) reports:
..after about a minute he [Albert] reached out tentatively and …touched the rabbit’s ear with his right hand…
Objects Albert was supposedly afraid of, but for which there is no evidence:
Cats
Fur muffs
White furry gloves
Albert’s aunt (who wore fur)
Albert’s mother’s fur coat
A teddy bear
Most overlooked facts:
The study is not an experiment (an experiment requires at least two levels of an independent variable). It is a pilot study at best.
Samuelson , F. (1980). J.B. Watson’s Little Albert, Cyril Burt’s Twins, and the Need for a Critical Science. American Psychologist, 35 (7).
Watson, J.B. & Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned Emotional Reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, 1-14. This article is available online at Christopher Green’s excellent Psych Classics site.
If you’re interested in learning more about the history of psychology, Chris Green’s excellent podcast (which is no longer being produced but which is still available in iTunes) is called This Week In The History of Psychology.
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Music Therapy [37:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
