Dr. Temple Gradin

Two weeks ago, I went to a seminar that was held at the education building on uvu campus. We were told that a Dr. Temple Grandin a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and author of a half-dozen books on autism would be speaking about how it was to have autism and what obstacles she had to get through to succeed.
Nothing could prepare me for what to come! It was amazing to sit and hear this woman with autism crack jokes and be very grounded on what she does for a living. Not only did she explain autism and what it was like, she made the audience laugh as well. The only experience I had in the past with autism was being a nanny in which one of the kids was non verbal autistic. It really put in perspective how much people with autism can do!
Another big idea that I got out of the lecture was the fact that she knew that she was autistic and had to work very hard to be able to do ordinary things. One that she mentioned was staying organized and it wasn't until she figured out a system that worked for her was she able to be organized. Also the fact that prevention and early awareness is key in helping others with autism succeed.
My favorite part was hearing her make jokes and at the same time rely to us the importance of how hard she worked but she did it and was successful. She was so confident in herself and in what she was working for. I admire her very much for it.

Learning and Cognitive Process, Chapter 6

What?
Today's reading and class discussion focused on how the brain learns and how memory works. There is a process in the brain which learning takes place. Once something is learned, memory is essential. There's a process for memory which begins with input, which is information is given and the brain's sensory register picks up on it and either the information is lost or else attention is given which puts it into a short term memory, also known as a working memory. Once the information is there, it will either get lost again or else with work and in depth processing, will be transferred to long term memory. If this information is not used or neglected, it will be lost.
Two types of memory, either working memory or explicit (which requires the hippcampus). Then there is the Semantic and Episodic; Semantic is memory of fact and Episodic is memory of event.

So What?
As a teacher, we need to get our students to not just memorize (Sematic) so they can pass but we want to give them life long lessons. learning how the brain learns and retains information can help us as we plan our lessons, manage our classroom's environment and react to our students. By learning the process of the brain not only what happens but how it work can also be good information to have when we are writing us tests and figuring out what we want our students to remember the most.

Now What?
When I go into teaching, I will use the encoding information we were given as i prepare my lessons. I can use meaningful learning, Elaboration, Chunking or Mnemonics if necessary with my lessons. Learning how to teach and what ways help students learn the best will help me succeed as a teacher. I will also be able to help teach the students how they learn best so when they further their education, they already have the study skills necessary for their classes.

Cognitive Development, Chapter 2

What?
We discussed in class Cognitive Development and focused on the main theorists, Piaget and Vygotsky. Their main differences can be seen below.


Piaget VS. Vygotsky
Individual Constructivism - Social Constructivism
Role of environment - Role of culture
Interaction with peers - Interactions with adults
Theory derived from observation - Theory derived from observation

Piaget also had the idea of the process of equilibration which included assimilation
and accommodation, which is giving information to students which make them stop and realize what you are giving them, does not go along with their past knowledge and helping them come to accommodations with the new knowledge. He also had his stages of development which included sensorimoto (0-2), Preoperational (2-7), Concrete Operational (7-11), Formal Operational (12+). These four stages are sectioned by age and define the child's capabilities during that age with brain development.

Vygotsky theorized on the ideas of inner speech verses self-talk and Zone Proximal Development which is the ideal zone for an individuals learning; too hard would be above the ZPD and too low would be above the ZPD.

So What?

As a teacher it is vital to understand where your students brain capacity is and what they are capable of doing. Also knowing where they are can help you plan your lessons accordingly. So many teachers don't realize that many of their lessons aren't in the ZPD area and are either way to high or way to low.
Understanding the development of children, especially those in middle school can help us as teachers understand not just their ecclesiastical development but also their emotional development. Many of Piaget's and Vigotsky's when compared are on two ends of the spectrum which gives us the ability to use both to see what works for our students. Many of their ideas, although different are both right.

Now What?
What I will be using mainly from this chapter and discussion is using the process of equilibrium. I want my students to stop and question what they are learning and have them to use their critical thinking skills to resolve any conflicts that occur in class. To do that, I need to do some more research on the topic as well as activities and examples others have used to use it in their classroom. I also would like to get examples of what it is NOT.