NHS Week 7

[Anonymous]

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory in the Classroom

In the previous terms of the school year, Lisa Battaglia (who is the lead teacher of S120) runs a course called Achievement Seminar. Students who are assigned to S120 are often also enrolled in Achievement Seminar. In this course, students are encouraged to reflect on their current academic struggles, learn about executive functioning skills, and generally think meta-cognitively about their learning experiences. The goal of Achievement Seminar is to help students increase their perceived self-efficacy, shift their locus of control to that of internal motivation, and gain skillsets that will aid academic success.

One of the activities from Achievement Seminar was a one-page writing assignment called “Personal Rules for Success in High School and Life”. The aim of the assignment was for students to think about what immediate changes they could make in order to set themselves up for success both in school and in non-academic settings. Lisa had written an example piece, to demonstrate what she expected from the students. I think this was a prime example of applying Bandura’s SLT to the classroom and using modeling as an instructional technique.

In reading through the students’ submitted assignments, I was impressed by how insightful many of the responses were. It was clear that Lisa acted as model for the students not just through her writing example, but also in the way she indirectly encouraged vulnerability and reflection from the students through her own honest introspections. In this way, Lisa is serving as a positive role model for the students. I think it is easily possible for students in S120 / Achievement Seminar to feel inferior for being “behind” most of the student body; however, Lisa often iterates how all of the students are incredibly intelligent and capable, and that taking ownership of one’s learning is a sign of strength and something to be admired.

Bandura’s theory suggests the critical importance of teachers acting as positive role models for students on multiple dimensions. On an academic level, teachers should fully engage in the same activities and assignments that they assign to their students. If the teachers follows through with their own directions, the students will take the assignments more seriously since their instructor is completing the same task that they are. In addition, teachers should hold themselves to the same expectations and rules that they set for their students. In this way, the classroom becomes an environment of reciprocal learning, respect, and growth. Teachers should also act a positive role models in terms of character and behavior. It is important to remember that schools are indeed situated within social contexts, and that classrooms are spaces of social interaction and learning. Thus, Bandura’s theory suggests that teachers should be supportive, open-minded, and respectful since they are setting an example for their students (regardless of grade level). Students will act accordingly not just in the classroom, but will take learned behaviors outside of school. If students are directly learning social behaviors from their teachers, it is especially important for teachers to set strong examples that will help their class become not just good students, but good people.

My High School Role Model

I was on my high school varsity swim team. The coach during my last two years, Mr. Boumgarden, was actually an English teacher at the school. I never took an English course with him, but I do remember admiring him as a mentor and coach during swim seasons. Our team was composed of swimmers from many different athletic backgrounds, and Mr. Boumgarden was able to make every member of our team feel supported, valued, and challenged. Whether it was through thoughtful one-on-one instruction, organizing team bonding activities, or generally fueling positive energy in our team, Mr. Boumgarden made us want to work hard. He had high expectations of us, but he knew that the bars he set for our team were within reach if we worked hard enough (I guess you could say he recognized our team’s ZPD!).

I had swam on year-round club teams for years, and most of my coaches were either intimidating or only seemed to care about a handful of the “best” swimmers. It was refreshing to have a coach that didn’t seem to focus on outcomes or rankings, but rather on personal improvement and feelings of empowerment. As someone who had recently quit club swimming and had begun to hate the sport of swimming, Mr. Boumgarden helped me to regain the joy I felt in the water and the contagious positive energy of being on a swim team.

Social Learning from Popular Culture: Diet Culture

An example of social learning adopted from popular culture that has been quite evident in my life lately is the impact of diet culture on people’s body image (especially for women).  I (and many of my friends) am constantly bombarded with messages – through social media, Youtube, magazines, TV, ads, and more – that present an “ideal” body type and how all women should and can strive for such an ideal. Whether it is the newest fad diets or the celebrities that our culture deems as the most attractive and desirable, people are being taught by mainstream media to see only certain body types as deserving of respect and love. Through social learning from such symbolic models, many young people are growing up believing that there is only one type of ideal body or that how they look presently is never good enough.  This kind of social learning has serious implications – while some of these diets and body “goals” are dangerous and unachievable, I know many people who legitimately work towards reaching that end product in hopes of finding approval from others and achieving personal fulfillment.

Additional Observations and Insights

In my visit to NHS today, it is evident that everyone – both students and teachers – are experiencing a severe wave of burnout. Now that the academic year is coming to a close, there is simultaneously a panic to improve grades / catch up on work as well as a general feeling of fatigue and defeat. Lisa confessed that the hardest part of teaching during the pandemic has been the frequent and unpredictable ups and downs of each student; with so many uncertainties and challenges facing everyone in the last year, it’s taken significantly more time and effort to support each student.

In addition, S120 has become a place of more than just academic support this year. The limited staff of the room are faced with dealing with multiple facets of the students’ wellbeing, including academic, mental, and emotional. And while it is technically not the teachers’ responsibilities to assist with mental health issues, there are clear implications that the students’ mental health have on their motivation, focus, and academic performance.

Again, I am confronted with the thought that so many challenges in public schools might be improved or even solved if 1) teaching was a higher paid and more highly respected profession in the US, and consequently 2) if there were more teachers in schools. While the teachers and educational assistants in S120 are more than willing to help their students, I repeatedly realize that there is only so much that four adults can do for over 50 students.

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