FINAL LEARNING LOG

What?

After taking the test to see how i believe people learn best, I found that I believe in Cognitive Development the most. In the cognitive chapter I learned about the different elements of getting information and how and where it goes. Encoding, retrieval, and storage are all part of the process. We looked at the model of how memory is processed and stored. Information goes through a series of processes in order to be used as short term memory, long term memory, or is lost. You can promote short term memory by using mnemonics, chunking, and massed practice. To gain more long term memory you can try doing more hands on activities and distributed practice.

Information goes into the brain and then is processed. First there has to be some sort of stimuli or input that wants to go into the brain. These stimulus' are entered through our senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, etc). Then the information goes through a process of sensory registry and it is quickly scanned for importance and precoding. Some information is lost here. After a processes called Attention (which is focusing on a particular stimuli), information goes into the working or short-term memory stage. Here is where maintenance rehearsal takes place along with coding and recoding. Some information is lost again. Then through the process of encoding, information is passed down to the Long term memory stage where it is stored and used in the future.

Memory is very much so connected with emotions and senses. Think about when you were a child. Visualize the sights and smells of a particular place. Now today if you were to smell that same smell, you would be taken back to that place as a child. Remember detail. The one down fall of memory is that it is always changing and reinterpreting. This leaving room for misunderstanding and confusion. Learning is a semi-permanent change in the mental process and it's mostly due to experience. There are many different reasons why people sometimes can't remember information but the most common reasons are because you may not have completely decoded the information, there is interference because something else is in the way of that memory, or because of decay, the idea of use it or lose it.

Encoding is an important process to help retain information for the future. There are several different ways to encode, here are a few:

Rehearsal
Meaningful learning (previous knowledge)
Organization (chunking)
Elaboration
Visual Imagery
Enactment
Mnemonics

I really liked this chapter and found it really helpful. Before this assignment I thought I believed in the Behaviorist Theories the most, however, I have learned otherwise. I liked behaviorist because I truly believe in the idea of motivation of students or people in general. People won't do things without knowing that there is something in it for them, so it's important to give students those motivations and also train them on how to behave.

So What?

This chapter is important for me to understand so I can better utilize different skills in my classroom. Understanding how the brain works and how my students are going to remember or recall the information that we give them in class will help me as a teacher know how to help students retain or recall that information. I know that most of the information that students learn in my class is lost shortly after the class is over; however, I believe that if we help them use different memorization skills and do activities that will help students store that information in different parts of the brain, it is more likely that they will be able to use it in the future. Memory is a process and not something that just happens, so I believe it is important to help steer the information in the direction that I want it to go.

Now What?

I have found the Educational Psychology class to be really helpful and informative for me. I loved learning about all the different ways in which students learn because that will be a key component to how I structure my lesson plans. I would like to better understand the aspects of Erikson's Psycholsocial stages of development. I know the eight stages, but I want to be able to work with students in these stages to better understand the impacts of actually dealing with issues in those stages. Some students will be in different stages in my class such as industry lv. inferiorityl, initiative v guilt, identity v. role confusion. Erikson says that my students will only be in Identity v. role confusion, but I think that they may fall into a couple different categories at once and it will be interesting to learn more about that and see if my theory is correct!

Group Differences Learning Log

What?

In this chapter we learned about being able to recognize the differences between students. There are natural barriers between students that occur just because of age, sex, race, or social status. It is important to notice these differences and work with them to the best of our ability. It is not smart to be colorblind in the classroom. You just need to be sensitive. There are also students that are at high risk which means that they have a high probability of dropping out of school or failing. We need to pay special attention to these individuals and make an extra effort to help them succeed. Many times these student don't have a good parent figure that gives them the confidence to do well in school, so it may be out job to be there for them to support and encourage them. We can't teach to one group of students or be bias in any wayl. We need to be sensitive to these different groups and be a nuetrlal player. Everyday as teachers we look through our cultural lens; our cultural background. We neeld to keep an open mind and by willing to learn about other cultures in order to better understand our students.
There are a few gender differences between boys and girls. First misconception is that one gender is not better in math or writing then the other. This common misconception is false and we must not gleltl trapped in guiding our student's in directions that are not always good for them. Boysl do seem to express themselves in a more phsyical aggressive way while girls are more emotional aggressive.

So What?

This topic is really important. That is why we devote a whole class to this very issue. Students in the United States all have come from different backgrounds and cultures. This is unlike a situation as if you were living in Japan where everyone had the same culture. Teachers need to be aware and do their best not to label students before you get to know them. Just because their asian, doesnt mean their smart. And just because their black, doesnt mean they play sports. These are common assumption, but we can't label students. Give them a clean slate and really get to know them. If there is a cultural mismatch, as teachers we need to be flexible and willing to work it out with the students so they don't have to compromise their culture, but still are learning in your classroom.

Now What?

As a future teacher, I think it would be benefical to start to get to know other cultures NOW. Why wait. Be outgoing and chatty and get to know those I assiciate with better and learn about their culture. This will not only allow me to get to know my friends better, but I will be better prepared for the day that I have something come up in my classroom! I think it is smart to look up the demographics of the school I'm going to be teaching at to know how many student's are on free or reduced lunch because that effects their socioeconomic status. this information will give me a heads up and I can be sensitive to that.

Individual Differences and Special Educaional Needs Learning Log

What?

During chapter five we learned about Individual Differences which means the variability in abilities and characteristics(intelligence, personality, etc.) among students at a particular age. There are multiple different ways in which students may learn or grow within a classroom. It is out job as teachers to take this knowledge and make sure that every student has an opportunity to learn with their best learning styles. Intelligence is the ability to modify and adjust behaviors to accomplish new tasks successfully; involves many different mental processes and may vary in nature depending on one's culture. There were five different studies that we covered in class dealing with individual differences. Spearman's G deals with general factors that influences one's ability to learn and perform in a wide variety of context. Catell's Fluid and Crystallized deals with things that come easily or innate,l and using prior knowledge to quickly adapt new information. Sternberg's Triarchis Theory is a complex theory involving two elements, Environmental context, Prior Knowledge, and Cognitive Process. Under each element holds different elements that fall into each category. Distributed Intelligence basically says that anyone will be more intelligent if they use aspects of their physical, cultural, or social environments. These include, technology, charts and graphs, and team work. The last theory that wel discussed in class was Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. In this theory they believe that there is eight different ways to learn including, lingustic, logistics, spacial, music, bodily, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. This is one of the most qualified and used theories around.
Concerning students with special needs, we discussed that resources students have including, IDEA (individuals with disabilities Education Act), IEPl's (Individual Education Plan), and Inclusion. These are programs that have been developed to help those students who need extra attention or accomadations in order to succeed in school.

So What?

This chapter was important because it is crucial to understand that students all learn in different ways and that they may have certain natural talents in one area, when someone else has a talent in another. As a teacher is would be fun to get to know students well enough that you can allow them to use their talents for their benefit but also get them to do things they are not comfortable with as well to push them to reach their potential and help them find thier identity. Concerning students with special needs. This is always going to be a struggle to make sure these students don't fall behind or are so bored in my class that they hate it. There needs to be a balance between the two and as a teacher I need to make sure that I'm well aware of my class and their success and progress throughout the year. It's important to be aware of how IEP's work so that I can play an active role in my students success.

Now What?

Now as a teacher I think that it's important to know how our students learn; that is the biggest key. Being aware of this will guide you in what you decide to teach and how you teach it. It's always a smart idea to ask questions as a new teacher and get ideas from other more experienced teachers. Never be afraid to clarify with someone else. If I am struggling reaching a student, ask other teachers that have that student what they do to help them and see if those strategies help me.