Monday, June 27, 2011

Year end...

Thank you PSY 30 - many of you really ended the year on a great note by handing in a truly reflective, personal and connected final project. I have enjoyed reading your letters and listening to your soundtracks. Well done!

Have a great summer and all the best for next year!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Projects Projects Projects!

Keep up the good work Psych 30!

I have been reading some great reflective letters and seeing some interesting degsigns for your final projects.

Be sure to look over the marksheets that were handed out today and pay attention to comments that were made - Hand in outstanding assignments by Friday, June 17, 2011.

I know it is getting to the end, but don't give up - make the final your best effor!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Soundtrack to Your Life - Work Period

I have booked one extra class in order for you to work on your final project. The last class will be tomorrow. Be sure that you check to see that you have included all the elements required for the project.

Any outstanding assignments need to be handed in by this Friday, June 17, 2011.

Your final project is also due this Friday, June 17, 2011.

If you need extra time to use the computers come and talk to me about working at lunch time or after school.

Good luck!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Value and Moral Development During Childhood

"We have to know where we have been to know where we are going."

Today we looked at the following questions:
What are values?
What are morals?
How do children learn values?
How do children develop moral behaviour?

How do children learn values?

Through daily interactions with family members in ordinary daily encounters.
- Through others' example
- Learn to strive towards those values their family members work to attain.
- Learn values through the way families do things and interact.
- Learn values as well as beliefs through exposure to the larger world: family, friends, books, media and within their community.
- Through the explanations that adults give them about their world and their experiences.

How do children develop moral behaviour?
Children as young as two years will help others, share belongings and give comfort. Caregivers who encourage prosocial behaviours or helping behaviours assist their children in making good decisions as they grow older.

We also looked at moral dilemmas and worked in groups in a 'New Civilization' activity.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Final Project - Work Period

Use the time today to work on typing your reflective letter, gathering your lyrics, formatting your project.

Remember to show your creativity in this project - it is a reflection of yourself and the process of human development.

We will only have one more work period in the computer lab after today so be sure to use your time appropriately.

Good luck!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Final Project Part V: Reflective Letter

Part V: Reflective Letter – Soundtrack of Your Life
Now that you have created the soundtrack of your life, write a reflective letter (addressed to “Dear Listener,”) that explains why you chose the particular songs you did. For each song you will need to reflect on the experiences, persons, places, etc. That inspired the selection. Obviously, you will also need to explain who you are as a person then offer some type of reflection upon the album as a whole. Again, for the purposes of this assignment, be sure that the letter is school appropriate.

Use the outline below to help you construct the letter. You need to cover each topic listed in the appropriate number of paragraphs; however, the questions listed are only there to help you begin thinking about the topic. You do not need to answer each and every question or any of the questions as long as you have sufficiently explained the topic of each section.

Topic #1 – Explanation of yourself (One paragraph)The paragraph is basically a brief autobiography:
• Who are you?
• Where are you from?
• Where are you now? Etc. Etc

Topic#2 – Explanation of the soundtrack (One paragraph) This paragraph outlines your rationale or purpose in creating the soundtrack:
• What is this album you have created?
• Why are you completing it? (because it is an assignment is NOT an answer!)
• What do you hope to get out of the project?
• What do you see yourself doing with this later in life?
• What goals did you have for creating it?

Topic #3 – Explanation of each song on the soundtrack (One paragraph per song) This section is made up of many smaller paragraphs. Song by song, be sure to explain:
• What is the name of the song and the artist?
• Why is each song important to you?
• What virtue did you learn by the event the song represents?
• How does each song connect to your life?
• What does each song reveal about the kind of person you are and what you think is important in your life?

Topic #4 – Final remarks and reflection on the soundtrack as a whole (One paragraph)
This paragraph is your conclusion in which you should thank your reader for taking the time to listen to your soundtrack and offer any final reflections upon this project as a whole.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Socialization & Creativity

Some questions to consider related to Socialization and Creativity in Childhood development are the following:

1. How do children learn to understand their own emotions?
2. How do we assess social competency in early childhood?
3. How important is creativity to development in early childhood?
4. How should we view children's art?
5. Is creativity related to intelligence? (Convergent and Divergent Thinking)

We discussed the factors that influence socialization and talked about outcomes of children in a variety of situations.

We also talked about Tim Wise and work that he has done related to challenging stereotypes and recognizing privilege.

Yesterday some thoughtful responses came out in the reflection questions related to stereotypes and prejudice including:

Unlearning & Rethinking Prejudice - "Nobody is born a racist."

"People have attacked me for thinking I'm 'just like the others'"

"I would like to change by not accusing someone of something before I really know them."

"I deal with prejudice by not laughing at all or saying that I don't want to hear what you have to say."

"I deal with prejudice by saying, that hasn't been my experience."

"...there has been a silent war of races going on. I think because it's been that way for so long and people just don't change."

"When I see that others are being prejudiced towards me, I speak my mind, I let the other person know that I don't like it."

"I love where I come from and I'm proud of my culture."

"Positivity is the key through prejudice."

"...I feel that it makes them look stupid and rude to be speaking publicly about such things..."

Remember that it is important to identify and acknowledge stereotypes and prejudice within yourself and then work to make changes. Thanks for your thoughtful responses PSY 30!