Hannah Worachek Psychology of Education Blogs

Blog #1

Meaningful learning event in my life.

Ever since I was little, I had always been playing sports throughout my life. I was raised in an athletic family, my dad played sports throughout his life, and the same as my mom. My old siblings all played sports and I went to all their sporting events. One sport that was the love of my life was basketball. Ever since I watched my older sister play it got me loving the sport more and more. The more I grew up the more work I put in to perfect the game. I would spend more than 6 hours in the gym over the summer just improving every day. I wanted to play college basketball and hopefully continued to become a professional basketball player. But when I got into high school everything changed. The style of the game was a little different compared to middle school. I was used to pushing myself, but we had a lot more work we did. Soon enough I started to get injuries that would sit me out. It started with a fractured foot to a concussion, soon enough ankle sprains, and plantar fasciitis in both feet. I started to think less and less about my body and my future and kept playing, but soon enough that changed. I was in a lot of pain and my mom sat me down and told me that I should start taking care of my body now before it’s too late. I was kind of shocked by what my mom just told me and just thought it over. After the conversation with my mom, I learned to take care of my body more. I started to do physical therapy to help with all the injuries I have gotten. I learned that you need to focus on yourself before anything else, put your health before anything. You only have one body, and you need to take care of it.

Blog #2

A concept or skill I know well.

This one is kind of hard to choose. I could choose a skill that is related to sports, or I could also potentially choose a general skill I exceed at. I’m going to talk about a skill that I used in sports and in everyday life, that skill is communication. I really believe that communication is very important not just in talking with your teammates but in everyday life. First off I’m going to talk about the importance of communication in sports. Every sport needs communication, without it would be difficult to talk with your teammates and coaches and it would probably be very difficult to win games. Every sport has a different way of communicating; individual, on the field/court, off the field/court, and non-verbal. I’m going to talk about the many ways I have used communication. When I was younger and used to play basketball. Basketball is a sport that has a lot of communication in the sport. On the court, you’re always talking with your teammates on offense and defense. On the offensive end, you’re calling out the play, telling your teammate to cut/screen, saying their name if passing to them, or screaming their name to kick the ball out after they drive in or if they get the rebound. On the defensive end, you’re talking a lot. You’re helping your teammates in many ways; letting them know when a screen is coming, switching players, helping defense, when a shot is up, and many more. Without communication, it would be very difficult to play the sport. Off the court you’re cheering on your teammates, warning them about stuff they can’t see, just helping them out. Coaches are communicating with players by teaching them plays, telling them stuff that they could do/ telling them what they’re doing wrong. Overall communication is very important and without communicating it would be very difficult to play the game. Proper communication makes things better. Verbal, written, and nonverbal communication are all present in the game and the lack of any one of these can spell doom to a team. The players of a successful basketball team not only communicate verbally, but they understand the body language, gestures, and mindset of their team play. Coaches sometimes stress the importance of communication while inside the hardcourt and playing, many times they comment on the lack of communication that leads to failure to work as a team. They point out that communication by the players and the coach can spell victory from the agony of defeat. 

Now in everyday life, Communication can help to build strong relationships, improve the working environment, foster a strong team, find the right solution, and earn more respect. Communication is essential for the development of our personalities and self-esteem.

Blog #3

Describe a specific student learning experience during the Village Project.

A learning experience I had during the Village Project. In my first experience, I was very interested in what was going to happen, what was I going to do, and how my experience was going to be with the students. I’m from a smaller town up north in Wisconsin and I knew that Green Bay/ De Pere was going to have a different environment compared to the small town where I’m from. On my first day, I showed up early because my mom has always told me that it’s better to show up early than late. When I got to the school I was assigned to, I knew I had to stay focused and learn that I’m in a new environment. I don’t know much about this area, so I didn’t know how diverse each school was. I walked into the school, and it reminded me so much of my elementary school or when I was in kindergarten-3rd grade. I was the new kid on the block, so everyone was looking at me. I got a tour of the school, and it was a medium-size school. The school is a little bit smaller than my school, but I was able to find my way around pretty easily. The students at the school are very diverse and that is something new for me. The students at first were shy and were just trying to get to know me while I was doing the same thing. I became close with a couple of students, and they started to tell me personal stories. I became someone that they could trust and talked to when they had an issue. I was happy I was able to talk with them and help them out, but it was difficult to connect with them when we all lived in a different life. When I was younger, I didn’t live in the best house but when I grew older, we soon lived in a bigger, nicer house. Most of the students didn’t connect with me because they had a different livelihood. I felt bad for them, but I knew I had to get used to it, especially what I want to do when I’m older. I didn’t treat them any different from any other student. I treated them with the same respect and made them feel welcome and if they needed anything they could come to me. I learned that when you open up to the students, they would do the same thing… Every school has many students that have different lives when they’re out of school.

Blog Post #4

Study of Motivation 

I’m going to start this blog post talking about what motivation is: “the general desire or willingness of someone to do something” Motivation helps you achieve your goals by supplying the motivation to push through periods of extreme work and low results. It minimizes relapse and allows you to create suitable objectives for your health, fortune, enjoyment, and satisfaction in the first place. During life’s inevitable disappointments, motivation is crucial. 

Now that I have talked about motivation, why is motivation important in the classroom? Motivation is not only crucial in and of itself, but it is also a strong predictor of learning and success. Students that are more motivated to learn to remain in class longer, put in more effort, learn more thoroughly, and do higher on standardized tests. Motivation has the potential to excite, direct, and maintain positive conduct throughout time. It requires establishing goals and changing efforts to achieve them. Motivation also encourages creativity and curiosity in children, encouraging them to study more. When educating pupils with poor motivation, it might be beneficial to figure out why they aren’t engaged in their classes or tasks. Is it because they are uninterested in the subject? Do they not perceive the link between their previous experiences and what they are learning in class? Educators can only give suitable support if they understand the root of their students’ lack of desire. Students will be much more driven to perform at their best once they know that they can do everything they set their minds to. Students aren’t the only ones who need motivation in the classroom. Why is a motivated teacher key to the classroom? For a successful classroom, a highly motivated teacher is required. They will have a fresh perspective on teaching and, as a consequence, will motivate their students to learn as well. As a result, it’s critical to identify and respect this quality in others. Teachers who create relationships with their pupils are the ones who are most driven. This entails spending time with each child individually to learn about their interests and motivations. Only then can a teacher deliver a meaningful and relevant experience for their students. Why is it important for students to have a growth mindset? A growth mindset is positive and forward-thinking. Every blunder is embraced as a learning opportunity rather than a failure. It’s a positive attitude that stimulates growth and leads to achievement. Without a growth mindset, it would be hard for some students to be motivated. A growth mindset has been shown to have a favorable impact on student motivation and academic achievement in empirical investigations. Why is motivation so crucial to academic success?  It is the key to long-term learning and persistence. The difficulty is to assist each individual in identifying his or her most significant goals, and then to identify, or create the educational experiences that will lead to those goals. Motivation is essential for students to be able to catch up with everyday lessons and learning. Learning institutions such as schools serve as the training ground for future leaders, and as a training ground which is the cornerstone of democracy, it is deemed to have a crucial role in instilling a sense of determination in the students.