Module 1 - Human development
Week 1 Module had us reading chapters 1-3. In these chapters there was a lot information
that we read and take in. The first
chapter gives us an introduction to education psychology. The first item was discussed was learning and
teaching. Woolfolk tells us that
diversity and increasing technology are becoming large factors with teaching
and learning in today’s society. The one
point of this chapter is the small section about teachers making a
difference. I totally agree about the
student-teacher relationship is very important.
I know in my past when I had a close connection with a teacher I did
better in the class because I seemed more engaged in class and wanted to make
sure I did my best. The stats that was
given about having poor teachers were a little eye opening. I knew it would affect student performance,
but not as severe as it actually was. Us
being new teachers soon the section about beginning teachers was helpful. I am sure the hope of being a good teacher is
scary for most of us so any advice we may get will help us out any way it
can.
Chapter 2 and 3 had me more engaged then chapter 1. Since taking life span development last
summer Cognitive development and the human brain has intrigued to me when it
comes to development. The whole section
of the brain and cognitive development really intriguing. I enjoyed reading the depth of the parts of
the brain that was written. I never knew
there was so many different parts and also how each part plays a specific
action for the brain. I have known that
neurons were very vital in the brain, but to hear the number of the number of
neurons we have in the brain was incredible.
The idea that we are born with 100 to 200 billion neurons is phenomenal. I
really liked looking at table 2.2. I did
not know that some of the items on the list were myths. For example, I always did believe that
alcohol did kill brain cells. I mean I
was told it was the weakest cells that were killed. I guess I was naïve to actually to believe
that. The section about teachers and
neuroscience general principles. Some of
them were commonsense to me like changing the brain takes time. This is true because we have always been told
that development and learning is a process and you can not figure things out
right away. You need to take time to
learn more about the subject. Another
commonsense principle is the plan of using stories in your teaching. Not only does the students stay engaged, but
it also helps them make a connection to personal experiences or just real-life
scenarios. Chapter 2 then goes into
discussing in depth the development theories of Piaget and Vygotsky. Both were psychologists that spent most of
their lives studying the cognitive development of a human. They both have a few similar thoughts about development,
but have one major difference in their theories. That difference is Piaget thought the
development is self-centered and independent whereas Vygotsky believed that a
child’s development is strongly influence by one’s social setting.
Chapter 3 discusses the self, social, moral
development of a person. It breaks down at
what time in growth that each person develops physical attributes. For example, preschool age is when students’
gross motor skills are improved and of course puberty happening during the
adolescent years. The chapter also tells
us about challenges to physical development.
One of those challenges that I have personal experience is obesity. The number of obese children has increased over
the years. This challenge can cause
diabetes, weakened bones and joints.
Many are embarrassed to play with friends or on sports team. Many get picked on by other students and this
can cause a stunt in growth whether its physical or emotional. The section about social context in
development for me was common sense. I
have always thought that family and friends are huge factors in development. The last part I enjoyed was about moral
development. It was an interesting
subject because I feel the morality for people in general is not as strong as
it once was. I liked reading Kohlberg’s
stages of moral development. However, many
criticize him because his stages are inconsistent. As a teacher we can blame a vital role in
moral development. We have to provide an
established community of respect and consistency of the rules. Also, responses to students need to appropriate
with the behavior.
The stats about the poor teachers were eye-opening for me too and reinforced my conviction to be a passionate teacher. The myths about the brain table was interesting to me as well, some of those ideas I thought were true as well!
ReplyDeleteHey, I enjoyed reading about your thoughts on the student-teacher relationships. I do agree with you that the more the students feel connected and comfortable with the teachers the more engage they are within the class. I also liked how you talked about your own experiences and all the challenges the students my face with it comes to any of the areas of development.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad about thinking that alcohol kills off brain cells. There are so many things that are falsely believed by the general public because someone has claimed that xyz has happened. For example, ever hear that the average human eats 4 spiders in their sleep a year? It was made up by someone who wanted to see how far that could spread.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the table 2,2, it had a lot of good information. I thought a lot of the myths were true. It was nice hear you open up about your challenge with obesity and talk about physical development. I agree peoples morals are not the same as in the past. Moral development is important and people need to have good morals and know how to treat each other.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky as a kid to have awesome student-teacher relationships. I was in my 7th grade teachers wedding! haha. Great notes on the first couple of chapters. I like how you share your own experiences and thoughts.
ReplyDelete