Sept 23rd 2010
Today in class we were asked two questions:
-What things in Piaget’s stages of cognitive development fit into your schema through assimilation?
- What things in Piaget’s stages of cognitive development fit into your schema through accommodation?
Perhaps first I should define assimilation and accommodation. According to the textbook, assimilation is an act in which individuals incorporate new knowledge into existing knowledge, and accommodation is an act in which individuals adjust to new information. This means that assimilation agrees with the knowledge you already have, and with accommodation you need to make room for new information in your head.
A girl names Theresa and I discussed these questions and we decided that the first stage fits through assimilation. The first stage is called the sensorimotor stage, and we thought that it was pretty straightforward. The sensorimotor stage is from birth to age 2. It involves development of movement and recognition of senses and what they are.
The second age is called the preoperational stage. I had a few issues with this stage, relating to the ages it covers. According to Piaget, the preoperational stage occurs from the ages of 2-7. He says that the child represents the world with words and images. They reflect increased symbolic thinking and go beyond the connection of sensory info and physical action. I don’t agree with this because I think that a two year old is lightyears away from a seven year old in development; a two year old is still a toddler! Some two year olds are barely potty trained, and a seven year old has been in elementary school for a few years already. I understand that his stages relate to development and not necessarily maturity, but isn’t that almost the same thing? The textbook says that young children begin to use scribble designs to represent people, houses, cars, etc. Then it goes on to say that in the elementary school years, children’s drawings become more realistic, neat, and precise. So to clarify in my head, considering that these were both said under the preoperational stage subheading, they’re contradicting Piaget right in the textbook! The example they use is a three and a half year old and an eleven year old; however a 2 year old and a 7 year old still have many defining differences. A 2 year old can barely hold a pen, and a 7 year old has been doing writing exercises in school for a couple years already. I don’t mean to undermine Piaget by any means, but I just believe that he could have given more thought to the difference between two year olds and seven year olds. I also must add that this fits into my schema through accommodation.
The last two development stages are the concrete operational stage and the formal operational stage. They cover the ages of 7-11 years, and eleven years through adulthood, respectively. The concrete operational stage is when a child can reason logically about concrete events and classify objects. The formal operational stage is when the person can reason in more abstract, idealistic, and logical ways. These last two stages and well as the first one fit into my schema through assimilation.
In summary, I’d like to say that I’m glad I studies Piaget’s perspective, however I am also very much looking forward to seeing who will challenge his theories.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Allison Cameron
Sept 20th 2010
In EdPsych class last week, we watched a video about a woman named Allison Cameron. She is a teacher at City Park Collegiate High School in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This school is focused on alternative learning and generally kids that need a little bit of extra help attend this school. More than half of Cameron’s class is diagnosed with ADHD or Oppositional Defiance Disorder.
Allison Cameron read a book named Spark by Harvard Professor Dr. John Ratey, and found the content intriguing. In short, his book is about the effect of exercise on focus and learning. He found that in teenagers, if kept in constant motion with their heart rates between 65% and 70% for twenty minutes, they could concentrate more. According to Dr.Ratey, kids are sharper, more attentive, less fidgety, less impulsive, and can sustain attention longer when they raise their heart rates regularly. Allison Cameron decided to try this on her grade 8 class, and she had amazing results! Her class gained a full grade level in English, which is about double what they would normally do. In addition to the gains at school, they were better behaved at home too. Parents were telling her that they had better attention and behavior, were eating better, and even were encouraging their parents to go for walks around the neighbourhood.
I found this video very interesting! I know through my own experience that when I have a day of eating poorly and being lethargic, I can’t focus on anything and all I want to do is watch TV. On the other hand, when I have a day that I jog or go to the gym and eat well, I feel like I can do anything, like I can take on the world! I find it very intriguing that there is actual proof that working out can help you focus. I always thought so much, but now that I know there’s some concrete information behind it, I’ll be going to the gym all the time! Maybe this way I will do really well in my Educational Psychology class!
In EdPsych class last week, we watched a video about a woman named Allison Cameron. She is a teacher at City Park Collegiate High School in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This school is focused on alternative learning and generally kids that need a little bit of extra help attend this school. More than half of Cameron’s class is diagnosed with ADHD or Oppositional Defiance Disorder.
Allison Cameron read a book named Spark by Harvard Professor Dr. John Ratey, and found the content intriguing. In short, his book is about the effect of exercise on focus and learning. He found that in teenagers, if kept in constant motion with their heart rates between 65% and 70% for twenty minutes, they could concentrate more. According to Dr.Ratey, kids are sharper, more attentive, less fidgety, less impulsive, and can sustain attention longer when they raise their heart rates regularly. Allison Cameron decided to try this on her grade 8 class, and she had amazing results! Her class gained a full grade level in English, which is about double what they would normally do. In addition to the gains at school, they were better behaved at home too. Parents were telling her that they had better attention and behavior, were eating better, and even were encouraging their parents to go for walks around the neighbourhood.
I found this video very interesting! I know through my own experience that when I have a day of eating poorly and being lethargic, I can’t focus on anything and all I want to do is watch TV. On the other hand, when I have a day that I jog or go to the gym and eat well, I feel like I can do anything, like I can take on the world! I find it very intriguing that there is actual proof that working out can help you focus. I always thought so much, but now that I know there’s some concrete information behind it, I’ll be going to the gym all the time! Maybe this way I will do really well in my Educational Psychology class!
My First Blog Ever!!!
When I first applied for college, my mother asked me a question. She asked me how I was going to learn to teach. I told her that I wasn’t sure; I didn’t think there was a class called ‘Teaching 101’. Once I finally made it through the process of being accepted and I looked at my course options and requirements, I realized that I would in fact be taking classes that directly pertain to how to teach! At this point I still wasn’t very confident that these so-called education classes were going to be enough for me to feel prepared for the classroom. I’ve been here for more than a full week of classes now, and already I feel more prepared than I did before.
In the first chapter of my Educational Psychology textbook, I read about ‘effective teaching’. In short, effective teaching is about how to be a good teacher. It has been determined that the top three characteristics of effective teachers are; a sense of humor, making classes interesting, and in-depth subject-matter knowledge.
I think it is absolutely wonderful that a sense of humor is at the top of that list! I also strongly agree with that conclusion. I remember when I was in school, and it didn’t matter how great the teacher could have been, if they didn’t have a good sense of humor, I didn’t want to pay attention in class! It was the teachers that would relate to me and understand my jokes that I really learned from. I hope that when I become a teacher that my students are there because they want to be, not just because they have to be.
The second point, making classes interesting, goes hand in hand with having in-depth knowledge of your subject. I think that if I were to have really great subject-matter knowledge, I would be able to come up with more interesting class activities. My rationale is that the more I know, the more I can do with that knowledge and therefore plan more diverse things. This hopefully will target all different areas of the brain and increase learning! I hope that I retain some of this information so I can use it when I am teaching!
In summary, I think my first week of college as an education student has been very successful, and if it continues on this way, I will be more than prepared to enter the workforce as a teacher.
In the first chapter of my Educational Psychology textbook, I read about ‘effective teaching’. In short, effective teaching is about how to be a good teacher. It has been determined that the top three characteristics of effective teachers are; a sense of humor, making classes interesting, and in-depth subject-matter knowledge.
I think it is absolutely wonderful that a sense of humor is at the top of that list! I also strongly agree with that conclusion. I remember when I was in school, and it didn’t matter how great the teacher could have been, if they didn’t have a good sense of humor, I didn’t want to pay attention in class! It was the teachers that would relate to me and understand my jokes that I really learned from. I hope that when I become a teacher that my students are there because they want to be, not just because they have to be.
The second point, making classes interesting, goes hand in hand with having in-depth knowledge of your subject. I think that if I were to have really great subject-matter knowledge, I would be able to come up with more interesting class activities. My rationale is that the more I know, the more I can do with that knowledge and therefore plan more diverse things. This hopefully will target all different areas of the brain and increase learning! I hope that I retain some of this information so I can use it when I am teaching!
In summary, I think my first week of college as an education student has been very successful, and if it continues on this way, I will be more than prepared to enter the workforce as a teacher.
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