Social Cognitive/Sociocultural Post 2

The bobo doll experiment relates to modeling in a classroom because it shows the importance for all people to model appropriate behavior to students. The model is most effective when the imitator has the most in common with the model. For instance, if they are the same gender, if the model will be more effective, along with the relevance of the behavior, the authority of the model, and the success of the behavior.

In my classroom, a model could be student or buddy from an older grade who works together with my students. I have had this experience in schools and it usually is very enriching for both parties.

Society and culture influences learning because they determine what should be learned, how it should be learned, and assessments to determine if it is learned or not. This relates to classroom instruction because it is much governed by society in ways like standardized tests, teaching to the test, and student achievement of standards. Large-scale cultural factors will influence my students learning because they have a preconceived notion of how much they are capable of learning, which is determined by culture. These stereotypes will prevent students from achieving their full potential.

One distinguishing factor that might be a component of my classroom culture would be building confidence. One way I would do this is by having a star of the week. I think an activity like this allows students to ‘show off’ what they can do, and it boosts confidence. This student will learn that they are capable of doing great things and will be rewarded by praise from the whole class. I also think something I would incorporate into my class would be ‘happy board’ where students and teachers could post things they were proud of that happened during the week. They could be anonymous, or personalized. Some things could be “Jane was kind to a student who got hurt at recess” or “The class was quite in the hallway” or “Everyone did awesome science projects this week”. At the end of the week, the class could go over all the good things they did that week, and then set a goal for something they could improve on next week (the goal would be posted on the board). These confidence builders allow students to determine how much they can achieve, and take learning into their own hands and out of society’s influence.