During my educational phycology class we have been discussing learning and how one can develop and construct knowledge. I believe that the best way to develop and construct knowledge is to give your students tasks that challenge their learning. These tasks should not be too hard, nor should they be too easy. If they are too hard the student will not develop knowledge in that area because they will become frustrated. The same events will happen with an activity that is to easy besides the student will not become frustrated, they will simply become bored with the activity that is at hand.
As my class has progressed through our previous unit we have discussed different developmental characteristics that can effect learning and teaching. Learning can be effected through developmental characteristics because each student has different characteristics, so they all learn different and at a different rate. This makes each student learn slightly different, but with the proper help and direction they can learn the same material. This is were the role of the teacher comes into play. The teacher is responsible for seeing and figuring out each students developmental characteristics so that he/she knows how to approach each student to help them learn the material being presented.
We have discussed as a class about different models and theories that tie into learning development. We took a look at Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, Erikson’s resolving developmental crises, Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, and Bronfenbrenner’s theory. I think that all of these models and theories that we have discussed in my class are positive findings that give a good base for how to gauge students and their development in learning. Some limitations that these theories and models have are that they are geared towards a general population. These models and theories are not going to be applicable to all students in the classroom. Every student will learn differently and grow and develop at a different rate. So although these models and theories are a solid foundation to reference as a teacher, they still have their flaws. These different models and theories will help during my future teaching because even though they have their flaws they can be very useful if used in the right ways. For example Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development will allow me to gauge were a student is at in their learning based on others in the class were they should be at based on research and studies.
A specific topic that peaked my interest during our class periods was the role of family life and poverty, and how that can effect the learning development of a child. A video that I watched was talking about poverty and the relationship between that and brain development. It said that the lack of brain development comes from the parents of the child experiencing stressors that impact the availability to a child and that can compromise the relationship. Also found in the video was that during a child’s early years the relationship between the primary caregiver and the child is important to brain development (Kulkarni, 2012). If the primary caregiver can not be there for the child this will ultimatly impact the learning development of the child, and they will fall behind in their schooling. Also this ties in with family life impacting the learning development because if the family life for a student is negative and non supportive then it could have a negative impact on the students learning. But if the student has a supportive household, then the parents might see better strides in school from their child and see more growth as a learner.
References
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i105vkXVok
Drew, awesome post! I liked how you addressed that the class should be built around the ability level of the students so they are challenged but not discouraged. I also really liked your last paragraph where you mention how students’ learning can be affected by their economic status. This plays right into Bronfenbrenner’s theory and how outside factors can affect the life of the student. This was a great post and can’t wait to read your future posts!
Hey Drew,
I thought your post had some great points especially when you talked about how the flaw in Erickson and Vygotsky’s theory is that it doesn’t apply to all learners. I feel exactly the same way but the struggle we both have is trying to figure out what changes we need to make so we can accommodate every child in our classroom. I also thought the comments you made about the video on learner development was very interesting. I never knew that if the mother has chronic stress during her pregnancy her child is more likely to have a under developed brain compared to a baby who’s mother had relativity no stress. You had some great insight keep up the great work!