Script: Structured
[Scene one setting: classroom. Students sitting in rows and columns waiting for the teacher to give them a test]
Teacher: Ok children, today we will be taking... [Flames shoot up around the walls and great demons with giant clubs fall from the ceiling] AN ESSAY TEST!
Students: NOOOOOOO!
[The teacher begins to laugh in standard villain fashion while the demons beat the children severely.]
Mark: I have a feeling -ouch, that club has a nail in it- I have a feeling this will reflect negatively upon my psyche years from now. Ouch, seriously that nail is sharp and rusty!
[Fade to black]
[Scene two setting a similar classroom with a different teacher.]
Teacher: Ok children today we will be writing in our journals. To save time, you should finish up in class and turn it into me.
[Mark begins to scream and look to the ceiling for club wielding demons.]
Teacher: Mark, is everything ok?
Mark: Well sir, because of negative experiences with essay tests in the past I have developed a severe, if implausible, form of test anxiety.
Teacher: But you are not taking a test at all, this is journal writing.
Mark: I understand that, but the situations are so similar (e.g. writing within a time limit) that I experience the same feelings as I would if I was taking an actual essay test. It is called stimulus generalization. I have been conditioned (via demons) to react with anxiety towards the stimulus of taking essay tests. The stimulus of journal writing is so similar to an essay test that I cannot help but feel anxious.
Teacher: Like being afraid to get in a hot tub after being half devoured by a shark!
Mark: Precisely!
Teacher: Is there anyway around this phenomenon?
Mark: Yes. Try mixing things up. if you present something in a different way, the stimuli will be so varied that I can distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and another stimulus that is sufficiently unlike it so as not to elicit the same (or possibly any) level of conditioning.
Teacher: Interesting I will try and think of something new.
[Fade to black]
[Scene three setting: same class different day]
Teacher: Well children I have thought about the odd episode we had the other day in class and I have decided to try out blogging as your new journal writing activity. I have created one blog with a writing prompt for each day. All you need to do is write as you normally would in the comments section. this way not only will you be doing the same amount of work, but you can also view what other students have written and see if your writing matches up or even alter what you were going to write so it responds to other issues that other students bring up.
Students: HUZAH!
[Fade to black]
Teacher: Ok children, today we will be taking... [Flames shoot up around the walls and great demons with giant clubs fall from the ceiling] AN ESSAY TEST!
Students: NOOOOOOO!
[The teacher begins to laugh in standard villain fashion while the demons beat the children severely.]
Mark: I have a feeling -ouch, that club has a nail in it- I have a feeling this will reflect negatively upon my psyche years from now. Ouch, seriously that nail is sharp and rusty!
[Fade to black]
[Scene two setting a similar classroom with a different teacher.]
Teacher: Ok children today we will be writing in our journals. To save time, you should finish up in class and turn it into me.
[Mark begins to scream and look to the ceiling for club wielding demons.]
Teacher: Mark, is everything ok?
Mark: Well sir, because of negative experiences with essay tests in the past I have developed a severe, if implausible, form of test anxiety.
Teacher: But you are not taking a test at all, this is journal writing.
Mark: I understand that, but the situations are so similar (e.g. writing within a time limit) that I experience the same feelings as I would if I was taking an actual essay test. It is called stimulus generalization. I have been conditioned (via demons) to react with anxiety towards the stimulus of taking essay tests. The stimulus of journal writing is so similar to an essay test that I cannot help but feel anxious.
Teacher: Like being afraid to get in a hot tub after being half devoured by a shark!
Mark: Precisely!
Teacher: Is there anyway around this phenomenon?
Mark: Yes. Try mixing things up. if you present something in a different way, the stimuli will be so varied that I can distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and another stimulus that is sufficiently unlike it so as not to elicit the same (or possibly any) level of conditioning.
Teacher: Interesting I will try and think of something new.
[Fade to black]
[Scene three setting: same class different day]
Teacher: Well children I have thought about the odd episode we had the other day in class and I have decided to try out blogging as your new journal writing activity. I have created one blog with a writing prompt for each day. All you need to do is write as you normally would in the comments section. this way not only will you be doing the same amount of work, but you can also view what other students have written and see if your writing matches up or even alter what you were going to write so it responds to other issues that other students bring up.
Students: HUZAH!
[Fade to black]
posted by Mr. Pardue at
5:37 PM
1 Comments:
Ah, my script! This monstrosity is a product of 3 bottles of vault. Imagine drinking 10 cans of normal Coke and sitting down to write. You will have to forgive my demons with clubs.
My script is probably one of the most important parts of my entire paper. Looking back, I wish I had taken it more seriously. At any rate, this is an oversimplification of the research I did pertaining to classical conditioning. I feel that classical conditioning explains best why we need to use blogging along with several other new tools in the classroom. Students have become programmed to react in certain ways to certain situations. If we mix that up the students should be able to learn more effectively and be less prone to going through the motions of what is familiar.
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Mr. Pardue, at 7:57 PM
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