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Chapter 9 Early Childhood: Cognitive Development
Chapter 9 Early Childhood: Cognitive Development
Chapter 9 Early Childhood: Cognitive Development
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Observation #1: Theories of Cognitive Development
To begin, my observation was at Webster Elementary School, a school placed in the city surrounded by houses and other schools. The specific classroom I am observing is full of Kindergarten students who seem to very advanced than I had imagined. The classroom walls are brick and white, but the classroom teacher Mrs. O'Brien does an amazing job keeping the space use for both an upbeat and educational vibe, especially for environmental print. Everywhere you look there are educational posters, numbers, and mental state vocabulary words, as well as, students completed work. To add, students sit in medium sized tables with 4-6 other students when they aren’t having whole group instruction on either
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O’Brien continuously pushes the students to be the best they can be. She does this by not only setting high expectations, but helping and guiding each and every student to reach those expectations. According to “Cognitive Development and Learning in Instructional Contexts,” by James P. Byrnes, Thorndike believed in “other regulation,” not self regulation. He believed that is was up to teachers to help students regulate themselves and succeed. Though this, he recommended that teachers take an active role in students lives. Instead of pushing information at students while they sit and listen passively, teachers must regulate the students and take steps to extend their learning. (Byrnes, 2007, p 12) Mrs. O’Brien may believe the same as well, because she uses these strategies in her classroom during all her lessons. For example, while I was observing this literacy lesson students were completing an individual assignment. Mrs. O’Brien then stated that once the students were done with the assignment, sitting nicely, and quietly, they would be given a heart on their paper and then a skittle to eat and enjoy! Mrs. O’Brien took Thorndike’s idea and strategy by not expecting the children to stay on task, finish their work to completion, and regulate themselves. She kept this in mind and used a form of reinforcement, in order to keep these children regulated and on top of the task at …show more content…
According to “Cognitive Development and Learning in Instructional Contexts,” by James P. Byrnes, in order to best predict a students reading achievement, it is best to see if children are able to repeat stories that were just so recently read to them. This is a better way of assessing the students than any digital span. (Byrnes, 2007, p. 175) With this in mind, I asked questions that provoked a lot of thought and guided the conversations. I also implemented turn to talk into my lesson to hear what the students were saying to their peers about the story as
During this assignment, I needed to observe infant/toddler from birth to 36 months. The observation was for 30 minutes while the infants interact with the world. While the observation, I created a running record observation to keep track of the developmental domains. The observation took place in the ECE classroom. There were three children which were Charlotte, Loui, and Benjamin. They were placed in the center of the class where there was different kinds of toys. During the observation, Charlotte and Loui were interacting with one another. However, Benjamin wasn’t interacting at all. Loui interacted with classmates and went outside the circle to get some toys.
This lead into another treatment students can adopt into their learning process is challenging themselves academically. Students need to stop finding the enabling factor, the Polonius. The Polonius is degrading factor making school a “slide through” experience for students, the common spreader of the Ophelia Syndrome. Find the teachers who deny a student the chance to be the Polonius. Locate challenging and powerful teachers who “refuse to make you a baby, and they refuse to do your thinking for you.”(Plummer, 1990, p.440) when students learn to challenge themselves, the evidence of such syndrome begins to ease. Tanner explains being academically demanding with a example of her own, posing how she analyzes all words and passages to truly understand them. “the way they are put together, the possible symbolism, the clever use of literary devices, and new meanings that I may never have noticed or understood before—all become apparent in the process of memorizing.” Is doing this easy? Convenient? No. However, to sincerely receive substantial learning, challenging yourself as a student is not only recommended, but necessary as a authentic student and gain a more heartfelt and individual learning
During middle-to-late childhood, growth and development begins to slow down a bit. However, while the development may not be as rapid as it may have been in previous stages, it is more consistent and steady. The development that occurs during this stage begins to incorporate the skills learned in previous years, and the skills gained during this time are more applicable to real world situations. Cognitive development, intellectual development, and disabilities are key aspects to consider during this time.
Theories abound around how people develop emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. This essay will examine the theories of five leaders on the subject of development.
In this assignment I am going to describe a child observation that I have done in a nursery for twenty minutes in a play setting. I will explain the strengths and weaknesses of naturalistic observation through the key developmental milestones based in Mary Sheridan (2005) check-list and provide a theoretical explanation to support the naturalistic observation.
In the biography “A Childhood”, Crews explained his life story on how he grew up without a father. Crews often wondered if his life would have been different had his father played a role in his life. Although Crews did not know his father, many individuals often told him stories about his father. In Crews’ biography “A Childhood”, it shows how the absences of a father can affect one’s attitude and outcome in life.
I completed my final observation on October 15 at the UTC Children’s Center at Battle Academy. When I arrived to my classroom, the students were on a field trip so I quickly went down to the fire hall on Main Street to meet up with the class. At the fire hall, parents, as well as the two teachers accompanied the students. The students arrived back in their classroom around 11:10, and that is when the parents left. After the field trip the children ate lunch in the cafeteria, had a brief lesson in the classroom, and played outside. The class I observed was preschool, with most children around 3 to 4 years old. All the children seemed to be developing normally. There were 7 boys and 3 girls present in the classroom.
The classroom that I observed in was arranged in a simple way. In the dramatic play center there was a long coat rack and each hook was labeled with an image and name of the outfit. This was done so the children know where do place the clothing when they are done with it or cleaning up. Also in this center was a cash register, puppets, an oven, refrigerator, ironing board, sing, dishwasher, a table set and a comfy chair. Their block center was small, and sectioned off by a shelf and an arch way in the corner of the room. In this center there was also a table. I felt that they children would not have enough room to build although I did not measure the area. The art center had stamps, children’s art work, an easel, magazines and other essential art supplies. In the same area as the art center was the writing center. In this center was maps, chalk and chalk board, stencils, a ruler, notepads, loose paper and pencils.
Developmental theories are broken up into two perspectives; Life-course, and Latent Trait. These perspectives may answer questions on why juveniles have grown to lead a destructive life-style and why others grow out of their delinquency. Latent trait explains that some tendencies we are may be born with and how important it is to be there for our children. Our parenting skills do have a profound effect on how our children may lack self control or have an impulsive behavior.
In this essay I intend to discuss two psychological theories of development; The psychodynamic approach and the behavioural approach. In order to do this, I will outline each theory and explain how it accounts for psychological development, health and behaviour of the individual. In addition to this, I will explain how an understanding of these theories relates to care and would help a care professional to support an individual in a care setting.
In my personal experience, I have seen many different classroom designs that catered to the subject or content being taught, the teaching style itself, and the learning styles of the students. The physical environment is often modified depending on the type of classroom activities and the age group. In an elementary class, which usually covers all of the core subjects with one teacher, the layout is one in which each student can see and hear the teacher when being given instruction, but they are also usually set up in a way that is conducive for working together in groups. In addition, the walls in the classroom are usually covered in subject/content appropriate and age sensitive material that serves to help the students learn, rather than being a mere decoration. As the age of the students increase, and assignments become more individual based, the layout of the room follows suit, and tends to be set up more for teacher instruction instead of
That is the goal of being a fluent reader. Mrs. Baughman uses the components of a story to teach comprehension. The components of the story are the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution. If students can easily pick out the answers for the components of a story then their comprehension is growing. Another way to teach comprehension is by using graphic organizers like Venn-diagrams, story maps, and cause and effect charts. Teachers can also ask questions to make sure students understand the text. Not only does the teacher need to ask questions, but so do the students. If a student can ask questions, and with guidance answer it themselves they understand the material. The same goes with summarizing texts. A good way to check comprehension is to see how well the students summarized the texts. Doing so, can show if they really understand the material or they are just reading without thinking about it. Group work is a good way for students to share their thoughts on texts and help explain it to others in an easier way. If students do not comprehend text then their reading skills for the future will not be good. Teaching comprehension is not by just asking questions. There are many ways to check it that give a better view on how students are
The class I visited is comprised of 24 five and six year old children, a lead teacher and a ‘Para-Pro” who assists the teacher and provides support and guidance for the children. Within the classroom itself, there are 6 tables organized in the center of the room in a grid formation. Children have their own workspace at a shared table. Around the perimeter of the room are ‘centers’ where each day, the children work on tasks such as listening, story development, gross and fine motor skills, math, reading and other important skills that are needed to develop socially and academically. In several places on the walls, there are displays or ‘brag boards’ where children can post their work that they feel best represents their efforts. The walls are brightly decorated and are filled with pictures, letters, numbers and other basic elementary school information. It is energizing and interesting without being chaotic or overstimulating.
My class is a typical kindergarten group, in that they are very active and learn best by doing. They are a very talkative group and are in constant competition to share their ideas and to have "their turn" to participate. I have some particularly active boys, one of which is on medication for ADHD, another who has autism, but is currently not receiving special services, and a 3rd who came to me from another district's developmentally delayed kindergarten classroom. The majority of my students can sit still for 20-30 minutes but I have 5 boys who have trouble sitting for just 5 minutes without being disruptive or inattentive. I am challenged to constantly engage my students in their learning, rather than "feed" them information.
I took this class because it aligns with other studies I have done. I have completed life coaching certificates and other psychology and mental classes. My expectations for this class are to learn what it means to educate and be educated. In life and business, I can see where understanding individual and/or group motivations can help show the bigger picture and give ideas on how to proceed.