1.  Reaction Papers:  Each of the eight modules involves one reaction paper in response to a required reading and/or designated supplemental media resource. Each reaction paper must address principally—though not exclusively—a critical analysis of the designated reading and/or media resource in accordance with the following titled subsections in bold:  (a) Background addressing a brief summary of the principal theoretical constructs and empirical research bases; (b) Evaluative Critique inclusive of your pro and con assessment of the aforementioned constructs and research bases; and (c) Real-World Applications addressing viable ways in which the designated focus under consideration may relate to pragmatic concerns such as, e.g., therapy, instruction, parenting, and/or workplace behavior.   

2. The stylistic/ formatting specifications for each reaction paper are as follows:  (a) two word-processed pages (approximately 500-600 words in toto); (b) the heading on the very first page should include only one horizontal  line displaying the student’s name, module number/topic, and date; (c) double-spaced; (d) maximum of one-inch margins—top, bottom, right, and left; (e) 12-point Times New Roman font; and (f) American Psychological Association (APA) stylistic format preferred, but any standard format is acceptable.   

3.  VERY  IMPORTANT:  Regarding the two word-processed pages, the Background section should span the entire first page and should label explicitly by name and address five issues/themes/topics you consider to be critical   in the module(s); the Evaluative Critique section should encompass only the top-half of the second page and should address explicitly by name two pro and two con positions in the module; and the Real-World Applications section should address only the bottom-half of the second page and should address explicitly by name three pragmatic concerns in the module such as, e.g., therapy, instruction, parenting, and/or workplace behavior.  Finally, you must explicitly display by underscoring and/or italicizing the following aforementioned: (a) the Background section’s chosen five issues/themes/topics; (b) the Evaluative Critique section’s chosen two pro and two con positions; and the Real-Life Applications section’s chosen three pragmatic applications. Please know that this previous sentence is critical and absolutely necessitates the underscoring and/or italicizing. 

Given that you have just read the three previous  paragraphs (viz., 1. – 3.), 

a sample of a Reaction Paper

as linked should illustrate the type of narrative that spans only one horizontal line displaying the student’s information,  the Background section including five issues/themes/topics,  the Evaluative Critique section citing two pro and two con positions, and the Real-World Applications section encompassing three pragmatic applications.

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John/Sally Doe — Motivation, Self-Perception & Classroom Management – X Feb XXXXBackground:Chapter 11 first outlined the factors that generally affect a student’s motivation, and these are as follows: how capable they believe they are to meet classroom demands, whether they believe their actions will affect the quality of the outcome, how interested they are in the task, and whether they receive approval from people who are important to them. All of these factors in combination generally dictate a student’s motivation to complete classroom tasks. From a Behavioral viewpoint, there is extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is when a learner engages in an activity because of the awards they might receive, while intrinsic motivation means a learner acquires a skill in order to become more knowledgeable/independent. Extrinsic motivation is dangerous because changes in behavior may revert back after a reward is received, students may develop a materialistic view of learning, and it will likely lessen any intrinsic motivation a student may have to complete the task. Intrinsic motivation decreases when students have to compete for a limited amount of rewards, and increases when the reward is positive verbal feedback. From a Social Cognitive viewpoint, the two factors that strongly influence learning motivation are the models the learner is exposed to and the learner’s sense of self-efficacy. This refers to the teacher, and the student’s sense of their ability to complete a task. When it comes to beliefs about ability, students can be entity theorists, incremental theorists, or mixed theorists. Entity theorists think about intelligence as a fixed thing with certain characteristics, incremental theorists think intelligence can be improved gradually, and mixed theorists believe in both theories depending on the subject. Out of authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative styles of teaching, authoritative produces the highest level of desired behavior.Evaluative Critique:

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A con position explained in chapter 11 is that teachers should avoid the excessive use of rewards for influencing classroom behavior, especially when students seem to be naturally interested in the activity without a reward present. Along with this, a pro position is that rewards should instead be used to provide students with information about their level of competence on tasks they’ve yet to master, and encourage them to explore topics they aren’t interested in. Another con position is that critics of computer-based learning argue that increases in student-motivation with the use of computers are likely going to be short term, and are mostly due to the novelty of learning through a new program. Lastly, another pro position is the recommendation for teachers to follow constructivist learning theory by involving students in a variety of subject matters and meaningful activities, with the hope that situational interest will turn into personal interest.Real-World Applications:Something that presents itself daily in real-world teaching environments is vicarious reinforcement, which says that we expect to receive the same reinforcer that we see someone else get for exhibiting a certain behavior. It is so important as a teacher to be consistent with reinforcers for all students so that everyone is treated fairly. Another real-world application is the suggestion that goes along with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, that a teacher should do everything possible to make sure the lower needs of students are met (physiological needs, safety, belonging) so they will be more likely to function at higher levels. Lastly, to limit the amount of classroom disturbances, students should know what they are expected to do, be kept busy with activities, receive frequent feedback, and believe that their teacher is interested in helping them learn.