Standardized Post 1

A good information processing technique to encode information would be rehearsal. Students can retain new information by repeating it over and over. Students can rehearse vocab information that would be valuable for successfully completing a standardized tests. However, rehearsal doesn't necessarily mean the students understand why they're rehearsing certain things. Rote memorization isn't always the best method to gauge students' understanding. A high stakes standardized test may cause learned helplessness in a student, especially if the student has always been a low-achieving student. Since the student has always been a low-achieving student, he/she may feel like they can do well if a teacher gives them the information they need to know. The student may accept the failure because they always have performed poorly. If they know others perform better than them, they may exhibit learned helplessness. Also, they may attribute their failures to something out of their control which is why they may think the only way they can be successful is if the teacher helps them more than other students. The learned helpless could be attributed to the memorization that is required for the standardized testing, rather than focusing on understanding of material. An instructional goal and learning strategy that may align with how the standardized tests are used could consist of something such as every student should be able to identify the subject and predicate in any sentence. An instructional method to cater to this could be social cognitive theory. If the students can model the teacher and other student's work, they should be able to identify the subject and predicate in every sentence. Rehearsal through information processing would be effective to remember what constitutes the subject and predicate, too. If they've got it memorized and they understand, they should be able to apply their skills to the standardized tests when it comes to the grammar/reading portion of the test.