Activity 7.5: What makes a successful learner?

            I listened to the podcast featuring Tough’s How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character.  Tough talks about what is missing in our education system- skills that he calls non-cognitive skills and include curiosity, creativity, character, self-regulation, grit, and resiliency, among other things.  Schools often have trouble teaching these skills because they can’t be measured, like achievement and cognitive ability can be through standardized tests.  The podcast talks about children who live in poverty and the achievement gap for those children, and gives stress, rather than economic status, as the reason, to discuss how non-cognitive skills can be taught and how these skills can improve academic achievement for kids lacking in these skills.  I think Tough is correct in that schools should be focusing more on skills like character and self-regulation instead of test scores, based on my own experience in school.  I have mentioned this before, but I have terrible test anxiety, and I think the reason is because my school really emphasized our scores on high stakes state testing measures.  I also think this is the reason for my math anxiety and my low self-efficacy.

            This podcast doesn’t fit into the social cognitive theory, and yet in a way it does, also.  Individuals are viewed as self-organizing, proactive, self-reflecting, and self-regulating in the social cognitive theory.  Tough is saying that some children, mainly those who fail to develop secure attachments with an adult figure as infants, often do not have the skills (or ability, as stressful situations can decrease executive function growth) to be self-organizing, self-regulating, etc. 

            This podcast reminded me of a couple of things.  First, in the beginning they talk about the emphasis on cognitive development in schools, which reminded me of the fixed mindset talked about by Dweck in our previous activity.  Teaching non-cognitive skills to improve achievement is a new idea, and what Tough says schools should be moving towards; it also is more like Dweck’s growth mindset.  This podcast also reminded me of the nature/nurture discussions we have had in class and in our powerpoints.  Teaching non-cognitive skills rather than relying on a child’s innate ability falls within the “nurture” point of view adopted by behaviorists. 

            I think Tough would say that the role of failure in learning is a call to develop better non-cognitive skills, such as resiliency.  I also do believe there is a recipe for success.  Below is my recipe for success:

·         1 part secure attachment to an adult figure as an infant/child

·         1 part personal factors (attention, cognitive ability, memory, metacognition, etc.)

·         ½ part good observational models

·         2 parts educational instruction

·         ½ part reinforcement

·         1 part motivation (either innate or taught)

·         2 parts instruction of non-cognitive skills (self-regulation, character, resiliency, etc.)

 

As I am writing this, I am wondering, for all those who have actually worked in a teaching environment, how feasible is it to teach non-cognitive skills in the classroom?  What are some ways that you do so/do you think you could do so?  Also, do you think that the social cognitive theory can stand alone, or do you think the recipe for success must be a mixture of theories?  Do you have anything you would add/take away from my recipe?

Activity 7.4: Implicit Theories of Learning

Activity 7.3: Responding to Bandura (2011)

          Bandura's article, "But What About That Gigantic Elephant in the Room?" talks about misconceptions that people have about his social cognitive theory of human behavior, which says that learning happens through observing models.  But are modeling and observation conducive to learning?  Bandura says yes, and goes through the misconceptions people have about his theory and debunks them.  One of the misconceptions Bandura talks about is that modeling only produces mimicry.  However, as Bandura says, "Modeling involves abstracting the information conveyed by specific exemplars about the structure and the underlying principles governing the behavior rather than simply mimicking the specific exemplars" (Bandura, 2011, p. 2).  This reminds me of our classroom discussion at the beginning on observation as reinforcement.  Bandura is saying that one does not simply mimic a behavior just to do so, that instead modeling in order to learn new things.  Bandura also talks about modeling as promoting innovativeness, which reminded me about something that I experienced as a child.  In the second grade, we were directed to draw a big star on our paper.  I did not know the secret to drawing the perfect star (i.e., drawing the lines and then erasing the middle) and was just drawing the outline- badly.  I was directed by my teacher to do a better one, and one of my peers showed me how by modeling the way to do it.  Not only did I learn how to draw a star, but I also practiced doing it frequently and eventually developed a better way for myself to quickly draw stars.

Activity 7.2: Exploring my own self-efficacy

I often doubt my abilities, and I don't have great self-efficacy in a lot of areas, math and relationships being prime examples.  My story, however is not about math, or about relationships, and is quite funny now that I look back upon it.  My senior year of college, I had to take the GRE in order to get into graduate school.  I also happen to have (sometimes intense) test anxiety (because, as Pajares says, I lack confidence in my abilities as a test taker).  For about a week before I took the test, I was so anxious I was having heartburn; I would find myself starting to panic at least twice a day.  The day of, I left my apartment three hours early- and I lived 25 minutes away from the testing center.  Not only that, but I also drive 45 mph (on the interstate!) because I was afraid I would wreck my car and miss my test.  Needless to say, I obviously had to take the GRE over at a later date, because I did not do as well as I needed to.  So, when Pajares talked about the self-fulfilling prophecy, this story is the first thing that popped into my mind.  I was not confident in my abilities that day, and my anxiety and lack of confidence affected my scores.  As for the root cause of my belief, I'm certain it was due to the pressure Kentucky schools put on students during high-stakes testing (such as CATS, which is no longer in use), and also my own personal issues with success, the need to control everything, and not knowing what to expect.  

Activity 7.1: Social Cognitive Theory, Motivation, and Self-Beliefs

The social cognitive theory is near and dear to my heart, as the school psychology program at UK really focused on the "whole child," which is essentially Bandura's process of triadic reciprocality... we take into consideration not only the child's personal characteristics and behavior, and the child's environment.  So, as a school psychologist, it's important for me to recognize the personal factors, behaviors, and environmental factors that influence learning.  Here are some that come to mind to me:

Personal Factors:

• Intellectual ability
• Health
• Personality type
• Motivation

Behaviors:

• Attention
• Attitude (positive v. negative)
• Ability to self-regulate
• Ability to problem solve

Environmental Factors:

• Socio-economic status
• Area in which you live (i.e., rural, urban)
• Role Models
• Culture (i.e., collectivist vs. individualist)
• Religion
• Home life (including family structure, parental employment, familial support system, parent relationships, etc)
• Friendships
• Resources 
• Protective factors like better schools, more affluent neighborhoods, etc
• Risk factors like gang activity, poverty, 
• Access to basic needs- food, water, shelter
• Exposure to trauma

Activity 6.5 : Processing Information in a Technolically-Rich Age

          I find Carr and Powers to be absolutely correct that technology is changing the way we learn, and affecting our self-regulation, and I find it kind of scary, don’t you? I was amused by Powers’ metaphor regarding the room and the tapping people, but I also realized the truth in it- I see every day how technology affects my productivity, my decision making, and my habits.  I don’t really like it.  Even in the time it took me to read Powers’ chapters, I received three texts and four emails, and each time I was brought away from the material I was reading by that familiar “ding!” and had to redirect myself.  It makes me want to give up all this technology. 

            How can we move away from this phenomenon?  Do you think we can?  Do any of you have ways that you resist the digital busyness?  

Activity 6.4: Self-Regulation and Metacognition

          I agree that self-regulation is important in being an effective problem solver.  I see self-regulation as not only making important decisions and choices in order to develop new and better habits, but also as a trial and error sort of technique.  I see self-regulation as making changes to less effective choices and decisions so that you can improve, change, and develop better, more effective, choices and habits.  I read the chapter by Nell Noddings on what schools should teach, and she talks a lot about how teachers should foster motivation, good study habits, and self-understanding, all which relate to self-regulation in that students must learn to make good decisions in order to develop these good habits.

Noddings talks about the two theories of motivation; one of which assumes that students are naturally motivated to learn, and the other assumes that students avoid learning and that motivation needs to be fostered.  This reminded me a lot of nature v. nurture, and the discussions we have had regarding Piaget, Skinner, and Vygotsky and their views on how information should be taught.  Obviously, if teachers believe the first theory of motivation, they would just be supervising the learning process, as they believe that students inherently have motivation.  If teachers believe the second theory of motivation, they would believe in a more “tabula rosa” view, in which they feel the need to guide the child through shaping behaviors to learning. 

Noddings mentions briefly motivational rewards, and how they can foster motivation.  I believe this is absolutely true, in my own life and through my experiences with others.  Often when I am writing reports (the bulk of my job), I will tell myself, “Okay, write two more paragraphs and then you can have a handful of candy corn M&M’s,” and that usually helps me! 

Activity 6.3: Returning to Free Will

The chapter, "The Will," from James talks about the little free will we may have.  James talks about the two different types of will, the precipitate will and the obstructed will, and goes on to discuss his views on the will.  A passage that stood out to me is about the balky will, a type of will that teachers may face.  He says,

Certain children, if they do not succeed in doing a thing immediately, remain completely inhibited in regard to it: it becomes literally impossible for them to understand it if it be an intellectual problem, or do it if it be an outward operation, as long as this particular inhibited condition lasts (James, p. 88-89). 

            As I was reading this, I began thinking about the self-fulfilling prophecy, and wondered if this was similar.  I would think it would be; if a student doesn’t master a task, they may develop a balky will, in which they shut down and decide if they can’t do it, they won’t try master the skill, which will result in a lack of that skill.  When you read this passage, what did y’all think?  Did it remind you of the self-fulfilling prophecy, and can you think of examples of students exhibiting a balky will?  This also relates to James’ question, “Will you or won’t you have it so?” discussed by Robert Richardson in the video we watched.  Students who exhibit bulky wills have decided that they won’t have it so, because they have convinced themselves they will not succeed.  They are not being realistic, and they are not putting forth voluntary, or “willed,” effort. 

            This passage also reminded me of two connections from my own experience.  First of all, I myself displayed a balky will when it came to math.  I convinced myself that I could not do it, that I wasn’t good at it, and so I resisted against it, big time.  I avoided math class at all costs (I spent a lot of time in the nurse’s office in the 5^th grade!)  Not until I began working with a tutor who approached math in a creative way did I find myself making improvements in math, and less resistant.  Another example of this occurred when I was babysitting my cousin one summer during college.  I decided that I was going to teach him to swim, and so I would take him to the deep end and position myself just far enough that he had to make his way to me.  He hated this.  He liked swimming, but he eventually began to hang on the side of the pool and completely avoid me.  We stopped going to the pool for a while, and when we went back we approached our lessons differently, and he is now one of the best swimmers I know.    

Activity 6.2: Videos on Problem Solving

     I found these videos to be interesting, especially as they pertain to the information we are learning in class.  The first video, about changing the math curriculum, reminded me a lot of some of the readings we have been assigned lately.  Dan Meyer, the speaker, talked a lot about the information we receive when asked to solve a problem; usually, we don't get all the information we need and are required to go out and find it.  Moreover, he said, we expect (in general) simple problems, and so when we are presented with tough problems, we struggle.  This reminded me a lot about the reading we were assigned about myths in education, along with Carr's chapter and our growing reliance on technology.  As we have talked about a lot, we learn from our experiences; thus, I believe that our experiences with technology as a means to make things more simple is hindering our ability to problem solve.  Also, as technology is depleting our attention spans due to the ability to load things quickly and easily, I think it is also making us more impatient when we have problems that take time to figure out.
     I don't find myself to be a great problem solver, as I may have mentioned earlier.  Thus, I think I would perform terribly at the marshmallow challenge.  Like the business students, I have been trained (not in my education but in my life in general, through observations and experience) that there is one best solution to everything.  Often, because I tend to be impatient (see above discussion!) I just pick the first solution I find, usually at the last minute, and forget about the "marshmallow".  I like to be in control (which isn't a great trait!) so I have trouble letting the control go, which doesn't help my problem solving ability at all, because I am so focused on a better solution that I overlook all the possible solutions around me (see: things that constrain nonroutine thinking from our Activity 6.1 PowerPoint!).

Activity 6.1: Problem Solving

   I found this PowerPoint and reading to be interesting, as I tend to be quite indecisive when it comes to making decisions and I don't feel that I am a good problem solver.  Problem solving is the key process in learning; it is analogous to learning because when you problem solve, you make a goal familiar, which leads you to make similar goals similarly familiar in the future.  When you encounter those similar goals later on, the familiarity you have with those goals results in a change in behavior that is required for learning, as learning occurs through changes in behavior resulting from experience.  I think because learning is analogous to problem solving, and because the aforementioned explanation, learning is problem solving.  When you learn things, you have a goal you want to accomplish, whether it is changing a tire or mastering multiplication facts.  You have to problem solve in order to meet your learning goal. 
   I found the reading interesting because I am currently facing an ill-defined problem; last week my boyfriend broke up with me, and now I have to get myself back to the point where I am okay with being alone.  I didn't really see this issue in a problem-solving point of view, until I read this reading and made connections to what is happening in my life.  Obviously, the problem recognition is easy to see, because it was presented to me- he was unhappy, and he ended our relationship, and now I'm alone.  There's the problem.  However, I am having trouble defining the problem- am I unhappy because I miss him or am I unhappy because I am alone?  Is this problem due to my faults or his?  The list of questions goes on, trust me.  The problem representation is also tricky, because I am having trouble coming up with realistic goals that I like, probably because this issue is so personal.  However, as I have been dumped before, I remember things that worked then, and things that didn't, and so I am using my past experience to help me in my problem-solving.  I am also finding it helpful to talk to people about this problem, which as we know from the PowerPoint is a factor that enhances non-routine thinking and aides in problem solving, because discovery can take place when explaining issues to others.  I have realized incidences in which I am self-regulating, and I find myself brainstorming all the time to try and find reason.  I know it will take time, but I also know that in the end problem solving will win and I will discover my goal and work towards reaching it.

Activity 5.4: Information Processing in Context

I found The Shallows to be interesting because I can see Carr's points about technology, memory and attention playing out in my own life.  The dual memory model of the information processing theory says that information goes through a process in order to be coded into long-term memory.  The first thing the information must connect to is our sensory register, which includes attention.  If we have trouble attending to the material, it will not be processed and sent on through the dual memory process. As Carr says, technology is deeply affecting our ability to attend to information, because it allows you to access information so rapidly and move from link to link in a matter of seconds.  Thus, it is also affecting the way that information moves through into short- and long-term memory.  Carr's argument reminded me of the article we read last week, "Do Learners Really Know Best? Legends in Education," by Kirschner & Merrienboer.  The first legend has to do with learners as "highly information-competent digital natives," and how students are "able to effectively multitask with various technologies" (Kirschner & Merrienboer, 2013, p.170).  The authors refute this myth by saying that students are only using limited technology, but more importantly, are not effective multi-taskers, but are becoming more efficient at switching quickly between different tasks, thus training their attentions to want to do so, and not actually retaining as much information as thought.  This goes along with what Carr is saying about how technology is changing the way we learn.

Carr's digression made me smile a bit, as I too have fallen into the need to constantly check my email, Twitter feed, Facebook feed, Instagram feed, Buzzfeed app, text messages, etc., which greatly affect my productivity at work.  Sometimes I forget to open my email on my computer, and I find that I get so much more work done if it is not constantly refreshing.  This is also true of receiving text messages; every time I hear that little "ding!" I must check it right away, thus tearing my attention away from my work, and making me forget my train of thought.

Activity 5.2: Long-Term Memory and Retrieval

The chapter we were assigned from James this week talks about memory.  I have always been interested in memory, and so I found this week's information and readings interesting.  After performing the short-term memory tasks last week and realizing that I don't have a great short-term memory, I began wondering, how does one improve their memory?  James says,

"The 'secret of a good memory' is thus the secret of forming diverse and multiple associations with every fact we care to retain . . . of two men with the same outward experiences, the one who thinks over his experiences most, and weaves them into the most systematic relations with each other, will be the one with the best memory” (p. 61).

           I read this chapter, and then I watched the video Shanshan posted about feats of memory; as soon as I listened to the speaker talk about the art of remembering as simply making a whole lot of connections, I remembered this passage, and all the lectures we have had about making associations (I think James would have liked this video).  The speaker mentioned elaborative encoding, or finding new and creative ways to make information meaningful, which is also what James is describing in this passage.  This got me thinking about how I do this in my own life, and I began picking out different times in which I had to memorize things, and how I did it.  For instance, in the eighth grade we had to learn the Preamble to the Constitution, and our teacher taught us the School House Rock song- and I can still sing it!  Making the connection between the words and a tune is helpful, as are mnemonic strategies such as PEDMAS (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally) for order of operations. 
My question is, how can one constantly creatively make connections that can be easily remembered?

Activity 5.3 Video on Memory

I chose this TED talk about false memories because I was interested in finding out more about them.  False memories happen when people remember things that didn’t happen or remember things differently from the way they actually happened.  The PowerPoint we watched talked all about the process of memory, and only touched on false memories just a bit, so I thought it would be interesting to show how easily our memories can be altered.  Elizabeth Loftus, the speaker, talks about memory as a Wikipedia page- we can change it, but so can others.  She goes on to talk about studies done in which leading questions altered subjects’ memories about what actually happened, and discussed how false memories are often created in therapy by the use of leading questions and other methods.  She also talked about several studies in which false memories were planted in a good number of subjects.  This makes me think about my memories; for instance, I have a memory in which I saw a ghost as a child and played with her (it’s a long story) but I don’t know if it is actually my own memory or if I have just heard it told so many times it has been implanted in my mind.

Activity 5.1: Warm-up: Long Term Memory and Retrieval

   I think that learning does depend on memory; after all, what is the purpose if learning if you can't remember it in order to use it?  On the other hand, I think that just because we can't remember something doesn't mean we haven't learned it; more like, we have trouble retrieving that something from our long-term memory.  I also don't think we can conclude that we have forgotten something if we can't recall the information verbally; I'm thinking about the "tip of the tongue" phenomenon here, where  one cannot retrieve a word or series of words, but knows that he/she knows the word/s trying to be recalled.  I think we learn a lot more of what we have been taught than we think we do, but I also think that we remember little of what we have been taught because information gets tangled up with previously learned information and can be tough to retrieve.  As for remembering things we wish to forget, I think we spend so much time ruminating on those things and actually trying to forget it that it becomes more and more prevalent in our memories.

Activity 4.5: Short Term Memory

Performing these short-term memory tasks seemed kind of funny to me, as if the tables had turned a little bit, because there are tasks on cognitive assessments (which, for those who are unaware, are the school psych’s specialty, in a way) that measure short-term memory, like number recall; I always feel thankful I don’t have to perform those tasks.  But, today, I did.  And I learned that I don’t have great short-term memory, especially when it comes to numbers!  Something I did learn, however, was on item #3 when the word pairs were also paired with pictures, I performed better, and I also displayed some chunking, primacy, and recency in my answers.  Also, I noticed that on the countries task, I tended to remember the country names in which I found interesting and exotic, i.e., Botswana and Dubai.  Another thing I learned was if I am interrupted and asked to do another task (i.e., item #12), I am not very good at retaining the information I was learning to begin with.  I found this activity interesting, because, like I said before, I usually am on the other side, measuring others’ memory, and so it was refreshing to be able to test my own instead.

Activity 4.4: Dispelling Three Myths About How Learners Process Information

The Kirschner and van Marrienboer article debunks three educational urban myths; one, learners as digital natives, learners as having distinct learning styles, and learners as self-educators on the internet. 

To begin, the first myth talks about this idea of a new generation of children who are able to do many things at one time due to technological fluency.  However, the authors express the range of resources these students use is small, and this generation does not actually have a good idea of what technology can actually do for them.  In debunking this myth, the authors bring up two things I found interesting: the butterfly defect, which says that children just flutter around and pick things at random (without a plan or value); and the inability for humans to multi-task.  I always thought I was a good multi-tasker, until I read this part of the article and realized that what I actually do is switch fluently between activities.  This also reminds me of the texting and driving issue: people say that they can do both, but really, they can’t focus their attention on two things at once, which is what makes texting and driving that much more dangerous.

Myth two talks about learning styles, and how it is thought that instruction targeting individual learning styles is the best way to introduce concepts in education.  However, as the authors say, there are a lot of issues with learning styles, for instance the way they are assessed- via self-report, which may not be the most accurate way to report learning styles.  Learning styles also put students in groups, and may not always generalize to all subjects, for as the authors say, the preferred learning style for someone may not be the most effective one.  Instead, the authors suggest, “it is probably more fruitful to focus on the fundamental things that learners have in common… than on the myriad of styles in which they may be different from each other” (p. 175).

Myth three specifies learners as self-educators, using the Internet as their main resource, giving there no reason to teach and acquire knowledge.  This myth talks about   If this myth is true, how are teachers supposed to guide students?  What role will they take, if not to teach information?  

Reading this article, especially when it talked about the role of technology and learning for students today, reminded me of two connections, one within my experience and one outside my experience.  The high school in my district recently received a grant in which every student got an iPad to use for school.  This has resulted in almost all instruction being online via a program called Edmodo (which I believe is something like BlackBoard).  The assumption that students can be self-educators is clear at this school, and it seems to me that it probably is not a good assumption.  The talk about technology reminded me also of a conversation I overheard at the Kentucky Association for Psychology in the Schools (KAPS) conference last week about.  Two people were talking about the update of the Weschler Intelligence Scales for Children (it will be the 5^th edition) and how it is all computerized; the materials needed are two iPads, and one set of blocks.  I think the developers of the WISC may be playing into that first myth; what do you think?

Activity 4.3: Resource on Perception

     I chose this video about how we perceive color because of my love for art in all forms, and also because I learned something new that I didn't know before.  First of all, as I mentioned, I love art; I like pretty things and have always been drawn to colors (as a child, apparently, I saw people's auras), and so I found this video interesting.  I chose the video because I wanted to convey how we perceive information other than general knowledge.  What I learned from the video is something we don't ever think about- why we don't see colors at night.  I knew that I didn't see colors at night, and thought maybe I knew why, but I didn't quite know.  This video is connected to learning because colors are information to be processed, just as any other sensory information is.  A connection I made while watching the video was just that this is another example of how the human brain perceives and processes information.  Color is visual information that is taken in and processed; what I found interesting is the colors we perceive as colors are actually mixtures of color waves. 

Activity 4.2: William James Chapters 11 and 14

Chapter 11: Attention

James’ 11^th chapter in Talks to Teachers is all about attention and how teachers can get students to attend more by making new and old concepts interesting, eliciting student interest from within (by making connections between previously learned/interesting material and new information), and constantly changing the modes of instruction used.  After giving instructions on how to capture student’s attention, James moves on by saying that attention levels and types differ between all people, but that there is no “right” level of attention; in some situations, being scatter-brained can be an asset, and in some situations, it can be a boon, just as being hyper-focused in some situations can be an asset or a boon. 

This chapter really interested me, as attention is something I struggle with personally and thus am interested in working on with students.  When James began talking about focusing on the dot as an example of voluntary attention, I was instantly reminded of what happens every time I try to do yoga.  I like the idea of yoga, however when it comes down to it, I do not have the attention span for it.  My voluntary attention during the activity (like my voluntary attention during most activities) maybe lasts about a minute.  Then, while trying to concentrate on nothing, I begin thinking about what homework I have left to do, what my plans for the weekend will be, if my friend has texted me back; and then I’m even more stressed out than I was before I started.  However, when I am reading (an activity I enjoy), I can sit and read, with my mind only focused on the material (especially if it’s a good book!), for hours. 

Attention is an issue for all kids in the classroom, and often teachers wonder why students in their classroom have trouble paying attention.  There are so many books, resources, websites, etc., that target the attention spans of children in the classroom; there are even books for children.  Julia Cook’s It’s Hard To Be A Verb! is a children’s book about a little boy, Louis, who has trouble paying attention.  He says, “My knees start itching.  My toes start twitching.  My skin gets jumpy.  Others get grumpy.  When it comes to siting still, its just not my deal” (Cook, p. 2).  Louis says he is always doing something, but most of the time he isn’t doing the “something” he should be.  This happens to most kids in classroom, and it is important to teach kids and teachers strategies for attention.

Chapter 14: Apperception

            James’ chapter on apperception first talks about what apperception is (“the act of taking a thing into the mind” (James, p. 77)), and then talks about how he thinks we process information, including connections through past experiences and how we associate new and old information together.  James also talks about the law of economy, a part of apperception that says when we learn new things, we try as hard as possible to assimilate them into our knowledge so that we don’t feel distress about not knowing; the rest of the chapter continues to discuss apperception and what it looks like for humans. 

            I think James is right when he suggests a good way we learn is by connecting to past experiences, because in my own experiences, connecting to things I already know when learning new concepts has been effective.  The reason I became a school psychologist happens to be in large part due to my mother’s work as a special education teacher.  Through her narrations of her experiences, I became passionate about helping children who struggle in school, and was able to start making connections as soon as I began learning about students with disabilities and how to help them.

            James talks about assimilation also in chapter 14.  A funny story (and also a connection outside my experiences) my aunt loves to tell- when my cousin was just beginning to talk, a snake got in the house.  My cousin did not know what it was, but because her mom was freaking out, she began to, also, and learned through her mom’s words that it was, “a nake!”.  So for about a month or two after, every long, straight or coiled thing, my cousin thought was a “nake”.  The garden hose, a piece of rope, vines- you name it, and she would immediately start getting visibly stressed until someone told her what it actually was.