Learning the Social Cognitive Theory Essay

Although the teacher is the authority figure and the rules are clearly established, the students are allowed to voice their opinions. This setting creates the best learning environment because the children know their boundaries but are able to participate in the decision-making process. In addition, the teacher can improve instruction by generating feedback about lesson delivery and instructional techniques from his or her students.

Question 3: Assessment

Standardized testing is a major issue in education today. According to Chen (2009), this problem will not be going away any time soon. Under President Bush and the No Child Left Behind act, teachers were required to give their students standardized testing in specific subject areas. Many of Obama's supporters had hoped that he would rescind the act. Instead, President Obama has indicated that state governors must "pledge to improve the quality of standardized tests and raise standards" (Chen 2009).

Some advocates of standardized testing believe that the testing is necessary to ensure teacher accountability. Others feel that it is important to use these tests to determine how well schools and districts are performing. However, there are also many arguments against standardized testing. First, the United States is the only country in the world that relies mainly on standardized tests to track performance. Most of the other developed nations use performance based assessments such as writing samples or projects to showcase learning (Fair Test, 2007). Teachers feel that most of their time is spent teaching to the test and that there is little authentic learning that takes place inside classrooms. The tests are geared towards middle-class learners, so low income and minority students often score significantly lower than their middle class counterparts. Finally, the tests are often used within schools for screening and tracking, which pigeonholes students into instructional groups (Fair Test, 2007).

There are other alternatives that may be equally or more effective in assessing student achievement. Real world applications such as project development, presenting writing samples, and the use of portfolios can showcase a student's knowledge far more effectively than a multiple choice test.

References

Bandura, a. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Stanford University. Retrieved March 12, 2010 from http://des.emory.edu/mfp/Bandura1991OBHDP.pdf

Chen, G. (2009, April 23). Will public school students soon be taking more standardized tests? Public School Review. Retrieved March 12, 2010 from http://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/98

Fair Test: The National Center for Fair and Open Testing. (2007, August 28). How standardized testing damages education. Retrieved March 12, 2010 from http://www.fairtest.org/how-standardized-testing-damages-education-pdf

Huitt, W. (2003). The information processing approach to cognition. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved March 12, 2010 from, http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cogsys/infoproc.html

John-Steiner, V. & Mahn, H. (1996). Sociocultural approaches to learning and development: a Vygotskian framework. Educational Psychologist. Retrieved March 12, 2010 from, http://nateweb.info/johnsteiner.htm

Yilmaz, Kursad (2009). Primary school teachers' views about pupil control ideologies and classroom management styles. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences. Retrieved March 12, 2010 from http://www.world-education-center.org/index.php/cjes/article/view/137/pdf_1