Reflective Journal 1: Chapters 1, and 2/ Week 1 and 2 Discussion

Reflection of Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Week 1 Discussion and Week 2 Discussion

Description

The focus of the readings and discussions for EDAT 6115 this week were on the concepts and questions; “What was my reasoning for becoming a teacher”. “What makes and effective teacher”, “How do children develop their cognitive skills” and “ What are the implications of the Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development”.  Becoming a teacher is more than just wanting the summers off. It is a calling that people obtain when they know they want to help others. An effective teacher stems from that outlook. Building relationships and fostering a love of learning helps make an effective educator and successful students.

Analysis
Chapter One

According to Slavin and chapter one, there are many attributes that make up an effective teacher. Slavin discusses that simply believing in oneself and that you can make a difference is one of the best ways to become a great teacher (Slavin 2012, pp. 6). Educators who are open minded to change and help also make a better impact on their students learning. Teachers who become teachers for the love of student success and education; who are content and happy with their career choice are the greatest effective teachers. Effective teachers are able to take their knowledge and understanding of something and effectively communicate it to a learning child in a way they they understand best, this leads to better learning and overall progress in a student’s educational career (Slavin 2012, pp.3). A teacher’s love of student educational progress as well as their content shines through and their students want to embody that. These educators build relationships with their students that fosters learning and safety ( Ripley, 2010).

Slavin also discusses that teachers need to understand their students. Where they come from, what developmental stage they are in and how they are able to learn (Slavin, 2012). By doing this teachers are able to better themselves and their teaching methods to have the greatest impact on their students. Teachers who understand how to transmit information to their students also have a great effect than those who just “teach”. Slavin argues that teachers who simply “challenge their students to give their best efforts, help them make conceptual leaps and stay organized” receive the best from their students and therefore build longer lasting relationships and better cognitive learning (Slavin, pp. 4-5, 2012).

Based on my personal experience I can attest to student teacher relationships being a huge part of teacher effectiveness. Students who trust and respect their teacher beyond the classroom, are able to gain more out of education than just content knowledge. Being flexible, firm and understanding to change and implementing new criteria or ways of delivering information make up a great part of being an effective teacher as well. A teacher has to be able to adapt to any situation or student to ensure the best impact on their education.


Chapter Two

Jean Piaget became one of the leading researchers for developmental psychology. Later in his life he took his findings to that of the developmental stages of children. Piaget decided that based on his findings and data that human development is based on biological factors and that humans develop at different stages in their life. His theory of Cognitive Development or “a child’s intellect, or cognitive ability, progresses through 4 distinct stages” (Slavin, pp.31, 2012). These stages are found at specific growth times or age within a child’s life and they are known by the ability to do different fundamental skills and abilities. Through the use and research of Piaget’s theory and work this has set the basis for other developmental psychologist to further their work and research and give a better understanding of child development (Slavin, 2012).

Piaget was able to identify that children develop different skills and understandings at different age levels. He divided these stages up into four main groups “sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational” (Slavin, pp.32, 2012). Children pass through these developmental stages at different times and at different rates. Children go from discovering the world around them with only relying on their senses to being able to think abstract, critically and develop hypothetical occurrences. During the concrete operational stage is ages seven to 11. At this stage “children can form concepts, see relationships and solve problems; but only with familiar situations or skills that are already known” (Slavin, pp.36, 2012). However, children of this age tend to have difficulty understanding reality versus appearances. Therefore children at this stage can only observe and infer what they already know and understand but they cannot correlate other outside instances or information of the same sort. Children of different upbringings can accumulate other worldly experiences that can allow for a better understanding and development of the concrete operational stage. According to Gomal University Journal of Research, within a Science class of students in the age bracket of the concrete operational stage, those who were of a higher economic status and were further along in this developmental stage did better on Science subjects like Biology, Chemistry and Physics because they had the prior background information to connect to the other Science subjects to make them understandable (Ghazi and Ullah, 2015). Within the formal operational stage a student has the ability to deal with potential or hypothetical situations that is separate from the content being taught or learned (Slavin, pp. 37, 2012). This is where a student can apply all background, content knowledge and skills to a completely new concept and be able to deduct a reasoning or answer to a proposed problem. Within a science class older children who are in the formal operational stage are usually ages 11 to adult, these students think critically and their reasoning is far more advanced than those of other children, therefore they are able to elaborate and connect other criteria needed for a science lesson (Moore, 2012).

When a science teacher who is familiar with Piaget’s findings and his developmental stages wants to implement a new lesson into their classroom, they need to be familiar with their children to understand what level they are on first of all. Simply because they are of the developmental age does not mean they are at that stage of learning fully. Within a second grade classroom the teacher needs to make sure that the assignment given is of already known information and relationships to the students. If the students do not understand the real world connection they will have no understanding of the lesson; they have to be able to connect it to prior knowledge. Within an eighth grade class, seeing as the students should be at the formal operational stage the teacher could allow the students to conclude understandings about the new concept on their own findings through their prior knowledge and background information, then allow them to see if they made the correct inquiries.  

An argument to Piaget’s development is Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky argued that unlike Piaget’s theory, children are not influenced by biological factors but simply their surroundings. Their culture, symbols that they see and especially their surrounding language and written system (Slavin, pp.41, 2012). Vygotsky states that children first develop independent thinking then lead into speech to help them solve problems. Vygotsky is a leading influence in how important vocabulary and reading fluency is when it comes to the development and cognitive ability of a child. Slavin argues that “children who develop high vocabulary become effective speakers and readers which leads to children being more successful in school” (Slavin, pp.44, 2012). An argument made by Rao and Babu, Indian educators teaching English “an extensive reading program integrated into the syllabus may have a significant positive effect on learner's language learning abilities” (Rao and Babu, 2016). Educators have to implement these reading and vocabulary skills early on in a student’s academic career because it will effect them in every subject not just reading and language.

Reflection

I never knew that children went through so many developmental and cognitive stages that encompassed learning in different ways. Students and children alike understand things in different ways. Piaget and Vygotsky allow educators to understand these skills and stages in life. I also did not realize how much simple vocabulary can impact a student's success rate in school.
These concepts of being an effective teacher, cognitive development and the importance of literacy and reading skills are very important to me as an educator. They allow me to understand my students and how they learn. They also teach me how to make sure I am impacting my students education to the best of my abilities by making sure they have the skills and abilities needed for their future academic career. I feel that these concepts are something that educators need to understand early on in the teaching field. Many people who go into teaching fail at the aspect of teaching versus being an educator. Some who go into this field leave simply because they do not understand their students and how they need to learn and what influences they have on their education.

Within my classroom I can greatly implement these concepts. I teach middle grades which are suppose to be in the last cognitive developmental state according to Piaget. Many of these students however have not had the proper vocabulary or reading skills in their early education nor do many of them have the best home life and learning environment outside of school to give them the background information they need to close the developmental gaps and stages that they lack. Within the classroom I plan to understand my children better, see what stage they are at and implement more vocabulary skills to try and better their stages so that they will not fall further behind. However, the drawbacks of these concepts is how much society and an outside learning environment can influence a child's development and their ability to be successful in school. The positives though outweigh because if a teacher can figure out the stages and level of their students than learning can be made.

These concepts are going to allow me to be a better teacher because now I can better understand my students and the different learning stages they are at. Being a middle school teacher comes with its trials because this age is very difficult so understand. I can handle activities and lessons in my classroom better now because I will know what and how the students learn and what they are able to bring to the lessons themselves. These concepts are going to influence my teaching and understanding of children a great deal more now.

Reference

 Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: a foundation for teaching. Educational psychology: Theory and practice. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Ripley, A. (2010). What makes a great teacher?. Atlantic, 305(1), 58-66.

 Ghazi, D. R., & Ullah, K. (2015). Concrete operational stage of piaget's cognitive development theory: an implication in learning general science. Gomal University Journal Of Research, 31(1), 78-89.

 Moore, J. C. (2012). Transitional to Formal Operational: Using Authentic Research Experiences to Get Non-Science Students to Think More Like Scientists. European Journal Of Physics Education, 3(4), 1.

 Rao, C. S., & Babu, K. S. (2016). Importance of extensive reading in language learning. language in india, 16(2), 251-260