Course Contract Review

As I read through my course contract I was not surprised that I had already forgotten what I wrote just a month and a half ago (see previous post). So far I am feeling very good about my performance, I am understanding what we have been taught in class,for the most part, and I am passing the class. These were my three goals that I wanted to reach at the beginning of the semester.

However, I have not done well following my preparation plan. I manage to get through everything before class the next week, but not in the organized manner that I was hoping for. Usually I do my reading and study guide whenever I find a spare moment. I do my blog sometime after that and I usually don't review my notes till before class on Thursday. I also haven't been very consistent with my study strategies. I take my backpack everywhere and do my homework anywhere. I am usually distracted by most things, especially my own thoughts and am always worried about forgetting something in this class or one of my others. For our assessment packet project, my group has been meeting at the same time every Friday morning. It has been great because I have the time scheduled out just for that so I don't have to worry about it.

I have come to realize that I do need to make some "no school" time to keep me sane. I have decided that is on Thursday nights. Because I don't have school on Friday, I can relax the night before and then hit it hard on Friday before and after meeting with my assessment group. I will continue to make sure that I am caught up each week, so that I am not trying to play catch up, especially with so many different classes.

Cognitive Theories

WHAT?

I was fascinated learning about memory in class this week. It has always been something that has interested me. In my family, the joke is that my first memory is of last week. I always tell my parents that they may not be my real parents because I have no memories of either of them before I was about six. I don't remember most of my childhood beyond a few snapshot memories, and even those may be memories of an actual snapshot!

In class we defined learning as "the process of acquiring knowledge about the world". We also discussed cognitive learning and how it is difficult to measure because we can only assess learning through behavior. The basic principles of learning are:

• learning is due to experience
• meaning is constructed by the learner, not by the environment, and
• prior knowledge and beliefs play a major role in the meanings that people construct.

In class and in the text we learned about the model of human memory. In the model there are steps that are followed for things to be stored in first the short-term memory and then into the long-term memory. We discussed how these compared to the way we believe our brain physically stores information. When we are learning or making memories, we begin with our five senses. Information then travels to the reticular activating system or the attention gateway. After the RAS, information is sent to the thalamus to be sorted (short-term memory) and then sent to the different lobes of the cerebral cortex. Different information is sent to different places, for example, audio information is sent to the temporal lobe, while visual information is sent to the occipital lobe. The info is then sent to either the hippocampus to be processed, or to the amygdala, where very emotional things are sent. Then the info is shot back out to the cerebral cortex to be stored (long-term memory).

When we remember information, the whole brain works together to reconstruct that memory, and the hippocampus brings it all back together. There are a couple of reasons that we forget things that have been stored in the long term memory. There is decay which is basically use it or lose it. There is also interference which is not going down the right pathways to find the info.

We discussed the three different types of memory, Working or short-term memory, explicit memory, and implicit memory. Explicit memory is the kind of stuff that you can explain. Implicit is stuff that you just know, but you can't necessarily explain. We also learned about encoding, or ways to strengthen memory. Some things included were rehearsal, elaboration, enactment and mnemonics.

SO WHAT?

The basic message that I got out of chapter six is that memory is an intricate process. The short-term memory can only hold so much information while we are actively thinking about it. It is like an echo. The long term memory has a limitless capacity. When we make more meaningful connections about the information we are learning, we are able to understand and remember the information more easily. The more we know, the easier it is for us to learn. We must work to commit something to memory. While reading a text for another class (Instruction: a models approach), I found a quote that I think fits well. "Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand." We need to help our students find ways to not only study so that they can remember the information we give them, but also have them participate in the learning process.

NOW WHAT?

In getting to know my students, I need to find out how they best remember information. I need to find opportunities in my teaching to involve the students as much as possible so that they will create the right pathways to store material so that they will be able to find it when needed.

Learning with Autism

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Temple Grandin. For a while autism has been a subject that has interested me. I have a nine year old cousin who is autistic, so many of the topics that Dr. Grandin discussed were very familiar to me. I have seen how Reese is much more comfortable with everything if he knows what is going on. If he is told what and when something will be happening, he can prepare himself for it. Reese is very literal, so if you tell him to stick up for himself he will get very physical. He has gotten into a few fights because someone has made fun of him. I loved that Dr. Grandin talked about early therapy or even just interaction with the autistic child. I think the best thing she said was "The worst thing you can do with any 2- or 3-year old is to just let them sit and rock". It is very inspiring to see someone with autism "overcome" this disorder. She is an amazing person.

Moral and Social Development

WHAT ?

This week in class and in our reading we learned about Moral and Social Development. There are two major theorists we studied. Kohlberg had a theory on moral development and Erikson on social development. While learning about both of these theories I could see the different stages in people I know.

Kohlberg's theory on moral development is more controversial than the others because there is the question "Is school the right place for this?" The key to moral development in the school is not necessarily saying what is right or wrong, but developing moral reasoning, knowing how to choose between the two. Kohlberg's theory has three main levels with two stages in each.

Level 1- Preconventional Morality

• punishment avoidance/obedience
• exchange of favors

Level 2- Conventional Morality

• good boy/good girl
• law and order

Level 3- Postconventional Morality

• social contract
• universal ethical principle

Kohlbergs stages aren't exactly broken into stages, they progess through life and people can go in and out of each stage, sometimes multiple stages at once, throughout life. Stage six is something that is rarely reached. Kohlberg was a big fan of Piaget and talked about how moral dilemmas caus disequilibrium and therefore aide in development.

Erikson talked about the psychosocial crisis which means mind vs. society. Erikson's model of psychosocial development includes eight different categories. In class wer learned a mneumonic devise to help us remember all eight steps. Although they are a little silly, they help me to remember!

1. bun- infant- trust vs. mistrust
2. shoe- toddler-autonomy vs. doubt
3. tree- preschool- initiative vs. guilt
4. door- school age- industry vs. inferiority
5. hive- adolescence- identity vs. role confusion
6. sticks- young adulthood- intimicy vs. isolation
7. heaven- middle age- generativity vs. stagnation
8. gate- old age- integrity vs. despair

Although these steps don't always happen in the given age, they are widely accepted.

SO WHAT?

The basic message here is that kids need social interaction for personal and social development. As teachers we don't have the ability to control their environment at home, but we can provide an environment at school where they feel safe an callenged, where they have rules and consequences that help them understand why they have the rules. We need to give kids the opportunity to examine what they believe about themselves, about others, and about the world in general.

NOW WHAT?

I need to find ways in my teaching to give kids opportunities to develop morally and socially and also develope emotionally. I need to find ways to ask the hard questions so that no one feels threatened, so my students can examine their beliefs. This will be difficult to do, but it will help the students and make my class more useful in their lives.

Cognitive Development

WHAT

Chapter 2 is all about cognitive development. Cognitive development is defined as the physical development of the structures of the brain. It is impacted by life experience. It involves the pruning of neuronetworks, and encompasses brain plasticity. We reviewed structure and function of the brain as it relates to learning and memory. For most of class we discussed Piaget and Vygotsky. They were two theorists who had different views on cognitive development.

Piaget had four major factors in cognitive development. They include:

• biological maturation,


• active exploration of physical environment,


• social experiences, and


• equilibration.

The factor that we discussed the most in class was the process of equilibration which basically says that when we learn we take new information, (disequilibrium) and either group it with existing knowledge (assimilation), or deal with it as new information (accommodation) so that we feel comfortable with the information. Piaget believed that disequilibrium moved development along.

Piaget also broke cognitive development into four stages.

• Stage 1: Sensorimotor stage- birth- 2yrs- behaviors and perception


• Stage 2: Preoperational stage- 2 yrs-7 yrs-think beyond here and now, but not logical


• Stage 3: Concrete operations stage- 7yrs-11yrs- limited adult like logic appears


• Stage 4: Formal operations stage- 11yrs-adulthood-logical reasoning

Vygotsky looked more at the role of society in cognitive development and also self-talk and inner speech. His main factors include:

• socio-cultural learning


• guided participation


• apprenticeship


• peer interaction and


• power of play

Vygotsky's main idea was the Zone of Proximal Development. This is defined as the range of tasks that a learner can do with help from someone else, but that cannot be done alone. Teaching kids in this range keeps them continually progressing.

SO WHAT

Cognitive development is very important in teaching. Knowing what stage students are in can help me to know how to best teach them. It will be interesting looking for the different stages and trying to find how accurate Piaget was in his age ranges for the different stages. Seeing the different theories will be a great experience. This is all important in knowing why a student is a certain way, maybe they aren't lazy, they just aren't to the stage of development that the other students are.

NOW WHAT

The thing that I would most like to learn more about is how to teach in a way that all of the students are in the Zone of Proximal Development. Because they are all different and are a different levels of development, it will be hard to come up with lesson plans that will challenge all of the students without making it impossible for some to do the work.

I would like to thank the academy...

I really enjoyed getting to listen to Kim Peek this afternoon. He was not only interesting, but also hilarious. I think my favorite part of listening to him was how after answering a question he would say "Thank you".

I was so impressed by how his father has cared for Kim all of his life and has such a great attitude and has so much love for his son. I loved Kim's message that he wants to share with everyone he talks to, that we should treat everyone the way that we want to be treated. We shouldn't treat people badly because they are different, we are all different. He is an inspiration to me.

I was amazed by all of the information that Kim knows and how it isn't just factual recall, but he remembers new information by associating it with other things he knows. It is incredible that he can read two pages at once with separate eyes, in 8-10 seconds, and remember something like 97% of what he read. I can't remember that much reading one page slowly!

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Kim and am so glad that I took the time to listen to him speak. Holding his Oscar wasn't too bad either!