My name is Keller Hayes and I am a sophomore at the University of South Carolina. I am majoring in Early Childhood Education and would like to teach kindergarten. My EDPY 401 class is creating a web page as a project. The video I choose from Teachertube.com is called 3 Steps for 21st Century Learning. I have created a video response below that gives my interpretation of incorporating Maslow's and Bandura's Theory into teaching in the classroom. I hope everyone will watch and enjoy. I found it very exciting creating this video and I learned many new things. I think this video should be taken in to consideration when transforming your classroom and teaching.

3 Steps for 21st Century Learning 

      As a future educator, I understand the importance of how a classroom setting and teaching style affects the child's ability to stay focused and interested in learning. The video I have chosen called 3 Steps for 21st Century Learning explains three steps that teachers today need to step back and re-examine their classroom. These steps will guide the teacher on how to transform their old classrooms into new classrooms. As educators to young children, I feel the need for a change. Children do not like sitting in a classroom with blank walls with a teacher who writes on a chalk board and rambles on and on about ancient history or reproduction of flowers. In 3 Steps for 21st Century Learning, it discusses the importance of: transforming the classroom into a CREATIVE learning space, teaching the skills of competition, cooperation, and collabortion (the three Cs) to students, and introducing students to their global peers so that they may collaborate. I agree with this video because I feel our world is changing rapidly, as are our children. We, as educators, must change too. The idea is that the young minds we teach today will one day be teaching our children and no one wants their child learning in a negative environment.

     Transforming your classroom into a CREATIVE learning space is exactly what is says. So many classrooms today look like those of the 1960's with nothing for children to indulge their creative minds in. The changes can be small and simple. First, rearrange the desks so that students may collaborate with one another. Make your classroom personal by hanging artwork and children's pictures on the wall. Also, have different materials to help them learn such a technology. Lastly, throw in some comfortable seating (bean bags, pillows, or seat cushions).  I think children should earn the priviledge to have these options. If a student makes a good grade on a test, allow them the next class to have this seating option. I believe MOTIVATION is the key to this creative classroom. Maslow's theory is based around this whole idea in which children learn better when motivated. His hierachy of basic needs expains when "a person is motivated to fullfill basal desires, they continue to move toward growth, and eventually self-actualization" (2007). In other words once children have basic needs met to help them learn better in a classroom, they will reach their full potential. I think this goes along with allowing comfortable seating. Children that have ADHD struggle in classrooms because they feel that they are not "grounded." These children can benefit from this comfortable sitting in allowing them to have that sense of being "grounded" and relaxed so that they may reach their full potential in learning. The question is now what are we going to do to meet our children's needs? The best way is to let your students have a say-so in how you transform your room.

     How might you teach your students the skills of competition, cooperation, and collaboration? Children are too involved with competing outside the classroom that their is no competition inside the classroom. It is the teacher's responsiblity to create games that involve healthy competition. Also, have students play classroom jeopordy so that they can work in teams or as individuals. Cooperation and collaboration go hand-in-hand. Bandura's theory of social learning says, "Most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action" (Bandura). I believe this is exactly true. Children seem to learn more through one another than from a teacher. The teacher's goal is to teach the child the new information and then have the students teach one another so that they may learn better. This incorporates cooperation and collaboration. As cooperation is focused more on teambuilding, collaboration focuses on allowing students to work freely or together. These two things are important for our students so that they may learn the importance of working with one another and incorporating others ideas into what they already know.

     The last step in the video says, "Introduce your students to their GLOBAL PEERS and provide the opportunity for them to collaborate." This step is important so that our children will learn about other cultures and how learning may be different. Teachers can allow their students to connect with other students through networks over the internet. These networks could be My Learning Space, Penpals, Skpe, or Friendship Through Education. First, make each connection personal by allowing each student to connect individually. Once the students have a good grasp at this, try doing a class project. This can be interesting and fun allowing every child to learn about another child from around the world. My teacher for this class created a fabulous way for students to create a video of how life is where they live. This idea was so simple and turned out remarkable. You could do this in your classroom and see what you can create and then build on it. The video says, "If our students do not learn to collaborate and cooperate with their global peers, how will they be able to compete with them in the global workforce?" This is an interesting point because it shows the importance of letting your children connect with these other children.

     These steps are here to get the facts out and make teachers aware of how critical it is to understand the need and importance for change in the classroom. With these three easy steps, all teachers are capable of making this change. We love our children and want the best for them but without these simple things we are not doing our job. Why dont you take the next step and make it happen? I believe in you!

References:

(2007). Maslow hierarchy of needs. Retrieved November 24, 2008, from Abraham Maslow Web site: http://www.abraham-     maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp

Learning theories knowledgebase (2008, November). Social Learning Theory (Bandura) at Learning-Theories.com. Retrieved      November 24th, 2008 from http://www.learning-theories.com/social-learning-theory-bandura.html

Helpful Websites: 

http://www.classroomjeopardy.com/

http://www.interpals.net/

http://www.mylearningspace.com.au/

http://www.friendshipthrougheducation.org/