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!
Monday, June 27, 2011
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Personality, Self and Socialization
Today we started the class with a handout that asked you to reflect on certain scenarios. The objective was to identify possible prejudiced thinking and look at ways to rethink and unlearn our prejudices.
"The world is full of people who have never, since childhood, met an open doorway with an open mind." E.B White
We reflected individually on the following questions:
What kinds of prejudice do you see at KCI?
Do you think others are prejudiced against you? Who and why?
How do you deal with prejudice from others? Within yourself?
What prejudices do you have that you would like to change?
From those questions we discussed how prejudice is not simple. We all have biases that come out according to the situation we're in. We all draw our "Prejudiced/Nonprejudiced" lines differently but what we must figure out is where we draw our lines and why.
We ended the class by looking at five faulty reasoning categories (Building Cultural Bridges) that were ways that people try to rationalize or justify their prejudice.
Five Faulty Reasoning Categories:
1 - Over generalization
Thinking that one or more pieces of evidence can justify making a broad conclusion.
Ex: "I don't know him, but I know his kind is worthless and lazy."
2 - Bandwagon
Thinking that the greater the number of people who believe something, the greater the probability that the something is true.
Ex: "It must be true about the new student because everyone is talking about it and everyone agrees."
3 - Projection
Transferring blame for one's own shortcomings, mistakes, and misdeeds to others or attributing to others one's own unacceptable impulses, thoughts and desires.
Ex: "If we could only stop the immigrants from coming over, our economic problems would be solved."
4 - Expert Opinion
Thinking that something is true because it is stated by someone who appears to be an expert.
Ex: "African Americans are better at sports than other racial groups because of their physical construction. That's what a scientist said!"
5 - Railroading
Thinking something because you are pressured to do so in order to conform and belong to a group.
Ex: " I didn't want to beat that guy up, but my friends were watching and I had to show them I could handle it."
Some points to remember about stereotypes:
Stereotypes are nothing more than categories, and we all put everything in categories as a natural function of the way our minds make sense of the world. The problem is that we may create categories based on half-truths, incomplete or inaccurate information.
Stereotypes can be very hard to change.
Association with people in informal social settings is essential to breaking stereotypes.
Having stereotypes does not make us bad or wrong people. But we should continue to explore our stereotypes and work to change them.
We need to recognize and identify our stereotypes and prejudice before we change them.
"The world is full of people who have never, since childhood, met an open doorway with an open mind." E.B White
We reflected individually on the following questions:
What kinds of prejudice do you see at KCI?
Do you think others are prejudiced against you? Who and why?
How do you deal with prejudice from others? Within yourself?
What prejudices do you have that you would like to change?
From those questions we discussed how prejudice is not simple. We all have biases that come out according to the situation we're in. We all draw our "Prejudiced/Nonprejudiced" lines differently but what we must figure out is where we draw our lines and why.
We ended the class by looking at five faulty reasoning categories (Building Cultural Bridges) that were ways that people try to rationalize or justify their prejudice.
Five Faulty Reasoning Categories:
1 - Over generalization
Thinking that one or more pieces of evidence can justify making a broad conclusion.
Ex: "I don't know him, but I know his kind is worthless and lazy."
2 - Bandwagon
Thinking that the greater the number of people who believe something, the greater the probability that the something is true.
Ex: "It must be true about the new student because everyone is talking about it and everyone agrees."
3 - Projection
Transferring blame for one's own shortcomings, mistakes, and misdeeds to others or attributing to others one's own unacceptable impulses, thoughts and desires.
Ex: "If we could only stop the immigrants from coming over, our economic problems would be solved."
4 - Expert Opinion
Thinking that something is true because it is stated by someone who appears to be an expert.
Ex: "African Americans are better at sports than other racial groups because of their physical construction. That's what a scientist said!"
5 - Railroading
Thinking something because you are pressured to do so in order to conform and belong to a group.
Ex: " I didn't want to beat that guy up, but my friends were watching and I had to show them I could handle it."
Some points to remember about stereotypes:
Stereotypes are nothing more than categories, and we all put everything in categories as a natural function of the way our minds make sense of the world. The problem is that we may create categories based on half-truths, incomplete or inaccurate information.
Stereotypes can be very hard to change.
Association with people in informal social settings is essential to breaking stereotypes.
Having stereotypes does not make us bad or wrong people. But we should continue to explore our stereotypes and work to change them.
We need to recognize and identify our stereotypes and prejudice before we change them.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Work Period - Final Project Part III & IV
Today you came to class with Part I & II of the final project completed (event and song choices).
You had time to work on Part III where you were identifying and explaining a virtue that you developed through the events that you chose. These virtues are related to Erikson's Stage Theory where he describes the eight stages that humans go through and possible virtues that they develop at each stage.
Image Location - Stages of Life
You had time to work on Part III where you were identifying and explaining a virtue that you developed through the events that you chose. These virtues are related to Erikson's Stage Theory where he describes the eight stages that humans go through and possible virtues that they develop at each stage.
Image Location - Stages of Life
Image Location - Stages of Life
Also use time today to find the lyrics for the songs that you chose for your project. Remember not to just copy and paste them, but alter them so that they have a creative design and pleasing aesthetic.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Work Period - Journal Entries/Final Project
Today you were given the handout for the Final Project - Part I & II where you were asked to choose eight events that were important to you in your life so far or those events that shaped your life.
You were also asked to choose eight meaningful songs to accompany those events.
It was interesting to hear you talking today about how the initial choosing of songs was more difficult than you originally thought. Music truly is a backdrop to our experience and so many songs bring up vivid memories. It was nice to hear you talking in class beginning your thoughts with "Remember that song...?" or "Remember when we listened to...?"
Some students also brought up important points how often as our personality changes, that change is reflected in the music we listen to.
I'm really looking forward to listening to and reading about the music and events that shaped your life. Thanks psychology 30!
You were also asked to choose eight meaningful songs to accompany those events.
It was interesting to hear you talking today about how the initial choosing of songs was more difficult than you originally thought. Music truly is a backdrop to our experience and so many songs bring up vivid memories. It was nice to hear you talking in class beginning your thoughts with "Remember that song...?" or "Remember when we listened to...?"
Some students also brought up important points how often as our personality changes, that change is reflected in the music we listen to.
I'm really looking forward to listening to and reading about the music and events that shaped your life. Thanks psychology 30!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Final Project - The Soundtrack to Your Life
Today you were given a handout that detailed the final project for PSY 30. You will be creating a soundtrack for your life. The project follows a specific timeline to help you manage your time. You will have time in five class periods to work on this project.
Thursday, June 2
Choose eight major life events & eight meaningful songs that accompany each event.
10% Handout - Part I & II - Soundtrack of Your life
Friday, June 3
Computer Lab time to work on Journal Entries for the Baby book OR Final Project
Monday, June 6
Referring to Erikson's stages, describe a virtue that you developed or learned through that even in your life. Collect and compile the lyrics for each song you chose and make a lyric book to go with your soundtrack.
10% Handout - Part III & IV
Computer Lab time
Thursday, June 9
You will have time in class to begin drafting your Reflective Letter ("Dear Listener,"). On this day you will be given a handout that will detail the requirements for the letter and some suggestions to help with your writing.
20% Reflective Letter
Friday, June 10
Computer Lab booked to type letter and work on project details.
Wednesday, June 15
Putting it all together. The computer lab is book for you to put the final touches on your project.
Good luck - I'm curious to see what you will come up with :)
Thursday, June 2
Choose eight major life events & eight meaningful songs that accompany each event.
10% Handout - Part I & II - Soundtrack of Your life
Friday, June 3
Computer Lab time to work on Journal Entries for the Baby book OR Final Project
Monday, June 6
Referring to Erikson's stages, describe a virtue that you developed or learned through that even in your life. Collect and compile the lyrics for each song you chose and make a lyric book to go with your soundtrack.
10% Handout - Part III & IV
Computer Lab time
Thursday, June 9
You will have time in class to begin drafting your Reflective Letter ("Dear Listener,"). On this day you will be given a handout that will detail the requirements for the letter and some suggestions to help with your writing.
20% Reflective Letter
Friday, June 10
Computer Lab booked to type letter and work on project details.
Wednesday, June 15
Putting it all together. The computer lab is book for you to put the final touches on your project.
Good luck - I'm curious to see what you will come up with :)
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Stereotypes
Today you were given a handout called "Fear no differences" we read through the article and discussed the meaningins of prejudice & stereotypes.
A stereotype is defined as "a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions."
We also talked about how stereotypes can be negative and positive but most often seem to be negative conceptions.
We worked on an activity where we looked through magazines to look for media representations of stereotyped and nonstereotyped images.
A stereotype is defined as "a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions."
We also talked about how stereotypes can be negative and positive but most often seem to be negative conceptions.
We worked on an activity where we looked through magazines to look for media representations of stereotyped and nonstereotyped images.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
WOW!!!
Psychology 30 - you so impressed me with your rich contributions and critical questioning today. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas, your thoughts are at the essence of learning and I learned a lot from you today.
Today we looked at Personality and Gender by asking the question "Does (how does) gender influence personality?
We began the class by looking at something that has recently been in the news - the Toronto couple that has chosen to keep the sex of their child private. There has been much frenzy in the media due to their decision for their child Storm. Their child is not 'androgynous' and the mother states that "Storm will understand his/her own sex and gender to navigate this world (the outcry has confirmed it!), but there has never been any question that withing our family, the issues of sex/gender and decision making around it are open for age appropriate discussion." (Star, May 28, 2011)
'Genderless' baby's mother responds to media frenzy
We looked at questions like;
Why not raise your child to choose their own gender? Especially when we know that gender is socially constructed and sex is biological.
Why does society need to know if a newborn is a 'boy' or a 'girl'?
Is it ok to keep your child's gender private?
We began to explore gender roles and stereotypes in or society, community and the media. Looking forward to more class discussion tomorrow!
Today we looked at Personality and Gender by asking the question "Does (how does) gender influence personality?
We began the class by looking at something that has recently been in the news - the Toronto couple that has chosen to keep the sex of their child private. There has been much frenzy in the media due to their decision for their child Storm. Their child is not 'androgynous' and the mother states that "Storm will understand his/her own sex and gender to navigate this world (the outcry has confirmed it!), but there has never been any question that withing our family, the issues of sex/gender and decision making around it are open for age appropriate discussion." (Star, May 28, 2011)
'Genderless' baby's mother responds to media frenzy
We looked at questions like;
Why not raise your child to choose their own gender? Especially when we know that gender is socially constructed and sex is biological.
Why does society need to know if a newborn is a 'boy' or a 'girl'?
Is it ok to keep your child's gender private?
We began to explore gender roles and stereotypes in or society, community and the media. Looking forward to more class discussion tomorrow!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Social & Emotional Development in Childhood
Some topics that we will consider in this unit include the following:
- The Self & Personality
- Socialization and Play
- Moral Development During Childhood
- Gender Identity
- Perspectives of Child Development
When thinking about the self and personality ask yourself the following questions:
a) How and when do young children develop a sense of identity?
b) How do personalities develop?
c) What aspects of a child's world influence personality development?
d) How does gender influence development during childhood?
Personality refers to the many aspects of the self. As children socialize, they also learn about themselves. Some factors that influence children's personality development include:
Biology
Temperament
Family
Parenting
Attachment and care giving
Birth order
Economics
Self-concept
Emotional regulation
Social behaviour
Media
Culture
Remember that personality is defined as the behaviors and cognitive processes that people acquire thorough experiences in their social world. Socialization helps us develop self concept, identity, social competencies and what some psychologist call -Emotional intelligence.
Emotional Intelligence: refers to the ability to understand one's emotions, perceive subtle social cues, "read" complex social situations and demonstrate insight about one's as well as other's motivations and goals in any given situation
Also consider Erikson's theory of stages which identifies and looks at change over the lifespan. He shows how each stage contains a crisis that is essential for change. This development is continuous and each stage is followed by another equally important stage. You were given a handout in class that describes each of the stages.
1. Trust vs. Mistrus
2. Autonomy vs. Shame
3. Initiative vs. Guilt
4. Industry vs. Inferiority
5. Identity vs. Role Confusion
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation
8. Integrity vs. Despair
- The Self & Personality
- Socialization and Play
- Moral Development During Childhood
- Gender Identity
- Perspectives of Child Development
When thinking about the self and personality ask yourself the following questions:
a) How and when do young children develop a sense of identity?
b) How do personalities develop?
c) What aspects of a child's world influence personality development?
d) How does gender influence development during childhood?
Personality refers to the many aspects of the self. As children socialize, they also learn about themselves. Some factors that influence children's personality development include:
Biology
Temperament
Family
Parenting
Attachment and care giving
Birth order
Economics
Self-concept
Emotional regulation
Social behaviour
Media
Culture
Remember that personality is defined as the behaviors and cognitive processes that people acquire thorough experiences in their social world. Socialization helps us develop self concept, identity, social competencies and what some psychologist call -Emotional intelligence.
Emotional Intelligence: refers to the ability to understand one's emotions, perceive subtle social cues, "read" complex social situations and demonstrate insight about one's as well as other's motivations and goals in any given situation
Also consider Erikson's theory of stages which identifies and looks at change over the lifespan. He shows how each stage contains a crisis that is essential for change. This development is continuous and each stage is followed by another equally important stage. You were given a handout in class that describes each of the stages.
1. Trust vs. Mistrus
2. Autonomy vs. Shame
3. Initiative vs. Guilt
4. Industry vs. Inferiority
5. Identity vs. Role Confusion
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation
8. Integrity vs. Despair
Friday, May 27, 2011
Learning & Cognitive Development
Today you were given a handout on Learning. We discussed the following questions related to the handout:
Important Announcements:
There are only approximately 15 hours of teaching time left starting on Monday. It is important that you attend class because we will do assignments in class and prepare for the final project.
The Baby Book project is due: June 6, 2011 - I will only require the 6 journal entries and a cover page. You should have been journaling as the course proceeded, but today you were given 30 minutes of class time in the lab in order to organize your entries.
- What influence does culture have on learning during early childhood?
- How do children learn?
- How is intelligence related to learning?
- What theories help to explain intelligence?
Critical Thinking & Metacognition
Social & Emotional Intelligence
Important Announcements:
There are only approximately 15 hours of teaching time left starting on Monday. It is important that you attend class because we will do assignments in class and prepare for the final project.
The Baby Book project is due: June 6, 2011 - I will only require the 6 journal entries and a cover page. You should have been journaling as the course proceeded, but today you were given 30 minutes of class time in the lab in order to organize your entries.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Cognitive Development Theories Review
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development in Childhood
Main focus is on schemas, assimilation and accommodation
Schema - mental representations that define behaviour or categorize
Assimilation - where new info is incorporated into old schemata
Accommodation - an existing schemata is changed by a new experience
Sensorimotor stage: Birth to 2 - Child begins to interact with environment
Preoperational stage: 2 to 6/7 - Child begins to interpret the world symbolically
Concrete Operational stage: 6/7 to 11 - Child learns rules such as conservation
Formal Operational stage: 11 and upwards - Child/adolescent can think abstractly and hypothetically
Piaget's theory views cognitive development as primarily due to maturation as well as experience in the world. Through this maturation Piaget identifies the following characteristics in development:
Active Learning - child motivated by curiosity and looks for own understanding
Egocentrisim - think from your own perspective (Theory of mind?!?!)
Structure - Mental assumptions and Schema
Symbolic thought - at two children can think with symbols & language
Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development
The four main components of Vygotsky's theory includes:
Guided participation - a child who wants to learn will accept an seek adult guidance/need social interaction to learn
Apprenticeship to thinking - 2-6 year olds look to others for guidance in cognitive tasks
Scaffolding - building blocks put in place by a 'teacher'
(Zone of) Proximal Development - cognitive ideas and skills that a child can understand with someone's help. Influenced by social interactions and the child's skills interests and abilities
Vygotsky emphasizes that children construct knowledge, learning can lead development, that development can not be separated from a social context, language plays a central role in development and the Zone of Proximal Development
Information Processing theory
This theory compares a child's mind to a computer.
Input - Processing - Output
According to this theory children are active and selective in their learning and construct knowledge by the following:
1. select (input)
2. organize (process)
3. and create knowledge. (output)
Involves:
- Brain Maturation
- Practicing thought
- Developing New thoughts
- Learning
Theory of Mind
This theory refers to children's growing understanding of their own mental states and those of others. Children have a simplified and limited understanding of their own mental states as well as others' thinking. The idea of 'mindreading' or being able to imagine how another person feels begins at 3 or 4. Research states that earlier that children develop a theory of mind the more friends they have at school and the later a child develops theory of mind often are victims of bullies or rejected by their peers.
Helpful Links:
Theory of Mind
Theory of Mind - False Belief Test
Intro to Vygotsky
Intro to Piaget
Main focus is on schemas, assimilation and accommodation
Schema - mental representations that define behaviour or categorize
Assimilation - where new info is incorporated into old schemata
Accommodation - an existing schemata is changed by a new experience
Sensorimotor stage: Birth to 2 - Child begins to interact with environment
Preoperational stage: 2 to 6/7 - Child begins to interpret the world symbolically
Concrete Operational stage: 6/7 to 11 - Child learns rules such as conservation
Formal Operational stage: 11 and upwards - Child/adolescent can think abstractly and hypothetically
Piaget's theory views cognitive development as primarily due to maturation as well as experience in the world. Through this maturation Piaget identifies the following characteristics in development:
Active Learning - child motivated by curiosity and looks for own understanding
Egocentrisim - think from your own perspective (Theory of mind?!?!)
Structure - Mental assumptions and Schema
Symbolic thought - at two children can think with symbols & language
Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development
The four main components of Vygotsky's theory includes:
Guided participation - a child who wants to learn will accept an seek adult guidance/need social interaction to learn
Apprenticeship to thinking - 2-6 year olds look to others for guidance in cognitive tasks
Scaffolding - building blocks put in place by a 'teacher'
(Zone of) Proximal Development - cognitive ideas and skills that a child can understand with someone's help. Influenced by social interactions and the child's skills interests and abilities
Vygotsky emphasizes that children construct knowledge, learning can lead development, that development can not be separated from a social context, language plays a central role in development and the Zone of Proximal Development
Information Processing theory
This theory compares a child's mind to a computer.
Input - Processing - Output
According to this theory children are active and selective in their learning and construct knowledge by the following:
1. select (input)
2. organize (process)
3. and create knowledge. (output)
Involves:
- Brain Maturation
- Practicing thought
- Developing New thoughts
- Learning
Theory of Mind
This theory refers to children's growing understanding of their own mental states and those of others. Children have a simplified and limited understanding of their own mental states as well as others' thinking. The idea of 'mindreading' or being able to imagine how another person feels begins at 3 or 4. Research states that earlier that children develop a theory of mind the more friends they have at school and the later a child develops theory of mind often are victims of bullies or rejected by their peers.
Helpful Links:
Theory of Mind
Theory of Mind - False Belief Test
Intro to Vygotsky
Intro to Piaget
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Work Period
Remember your comic strip and explanation is due tomorrow: Thursday, May 19, 2011
On Friday there will be a quiz on Cognitive Theories of Development in Childhood:
Piaget
Vygotsky
Information Processing
Theory of the Mind
Be sure to study the notes from class. You have some notes from the unit on Infancy for Piaget and Vygotsky as well as new notes that outline the four development theories. We will review the theories tomorrow in class.
Short Biographies of Eminent People
(Type a response to these questions and explain your reasoning)
1. Determine the types of intelligences manifested by each person. Explain your reasoning.
2. Do these people fit the traditional definition of intelligence? Why or why not?
3. Can you think of any other people that you consider intelligent that do not fit the traditional definition? Explain.
4. Have your ideas changed about intelligence? Explain why or why not.
To date, in May out of a total 12 classes, you have had 5 full work periods. You have also had time at the end of class to complete work. Work that you do not complete in class is expected to be completed for homework. It is essential that you use the time in class to work on the designated task.
If you know you have other commitments and have been using class time to work you need to take responsibility and talk to me prior to an assignment due date to ask for an extension.
Class discussions rely on you. If questions and content is not taken seriously a valuable discussion can not happen. Please participate in class and be respectful of other opinions and contributions.
On Friday there will be a quiz on Cognitive Theories of Development in Childhood:
Piaget
Vygotsky
Information Processing
Theory of the Mind
Be sure to study the notes from class. You have some notes from the unit on Infancy for Piaget and Vygotsky as well as new notes that outline the four development theories. We will review the theories tomorrow in class.
Short Biographies of Eminent People
(Type a response to these questions and explain your reasoning)
1. Determine the types of intelligences manifested by each person. Explain your reasoning.
2. Do these people fit the traditional definition of intelligence? Why or why not?
3. Can you think of any other people that you consider intelligent that do not fit the traditional definition? Explain.
4. Have your ideas changed about intelligence? Explain why or why not.
To date, in May out of a total 12 classes, you have had 5 full work periods. You have also had time at the end of class to complete work. Work that you do not complete in class is expected to be completed for homework. It is essential that you use the time in class to work on the designated task.
If you know you have other commitments and have been using class time to work you need to take responsibility and talk to me prior to an assignment due date to ask for an extension.
Class discussions rely on you. If questions and content is not taken seriously a valuable discussion can not happen. Please participate in class and be respectful of other opinions and contributions.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Today you were given a handout that described Howard Gardener's theory of intelligence.
Linguistic: the ability to use language to express one's thoughts and to understand other people orally or in writing.
Musical: the ability to hear music in one's head, and to hear tones, rhythms, and larger musical patterns
Logical-mathematical: the ability to manipulate numbers, quantities and operation accompanied by a love of dealing with abstraction
Spatial: the ability to represent the spatial world visually in one's mind
Bodily kinesthetic: the ability to use the whole body or parts of the body to solve a problem, create a product, or put on some kind of production.
Intrapersonal: the ability to know and understand one's self, including goals, tendencies, talents, limitations
Interpersonal: the ability to notice and make distinctions among other individuals; a strong understanding of other people
Naturalist: the ability to discriminate among living things and to see patterns; also, a sensitivity to features of the natural world
You were presented with four biographies of prominant people in the world: Michael Jordan, Mohandas Gandhi, Charles Darwin and Oprah Winfrey. These people do not posess a 'traditional' definition of intelligence. In your response you would have reasoned why that would be and discussed their type of intelligence.
You then should have taken a look at your own type of intelligence. You would have answered three questions:
a) 1. In which of Gardner’s intelligences do you believe that you excel? What evidence can you show?
2. How does this affect the way you currently approach learning and school assignments?
3. How might the theory of multiple intelligences affect your thinking about your future?
You then would have taken a Multiple Intelligences test to see how your results matches your personal perspective on what type of intelligence was most prominant for you.
Linguistic: the ability to use language to express one's thoughts and to understand other people orally or in writing.
Musical: the ability to hear music in one's head, and to hear tones, rhythms, and larger musical patterns
Logical-mathematical: the ability to manipulate numbers, quantities and operation accompanied by a love of dealing with abstraction
Spatial: the ability to represent the spatial world visually in one's mind
Bodily kinesthetic: the ability to use the whole body or parts of the body to solve a problem, create a product, or put on some kind of production.
Intrapersonal: the ability to know and understand one's self, including goals, tendencies, talents, limitations
Interpersonal: the ability to notice and make distinctions among other individuals; a strong understanding of other people
Naturalist: the ability to discriminate among living things and to see patterns; also, a sensitivity to features of the natural world
You were presented with four biographies of prominant people in the world: Michael Jordan, Mohandas Gandhi, Charles Darwin and Oprah Winfrey. These people do not posess a 'traditional' definition of intelligence. In your response you would have reasoned why that would be and discussed their type of intelligence.
You then should have taken a look at your own type of intelligence. You would have answered three questions:
a) 1. In which of Gardner’s intelligences do you believe that you excel? What evidence can you show?
2. How does this affect the way you currently approach learning and school assignments?
3. How might the theory of multiple intelligences affect your thinking about your future?
You then would have taken a Multiple Intelligences test to see how your results matches your personal perspective on what type of intelligence was most prominant for you.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Cognitive Development in Childhood
Today we considered the following topics related to cognitive development in childhood:
1. What are some changes in the brain during childhood?
2. What are some of the theories of cognitive development in childhood?
3. Piaget's Theory of Childhood Cognitive Development
4. Vygotsky's Theory of Childhood Cognitive Development
5. Information Processing Theory
6. Theory of the Mind
Four theories we will study:
Piaget - supports the view that children develop more complex thinking skills as they mature.
Vygotsky - focuses on children interacting within their social and cultural environment
Information Processing - Mind is like a computer: based on the idea that humans process the information they receive, rather than responding to stimuli.
Theory of Mind - refers to children's growing understanding of their own mental states and those of others.
We also did an activity that showed us which is our dominant hemisphere of the brain. Your assignment was to reflect on whether the research was true to your experience and to find or create a cartoon/comic strip and relate it to one of the theories of cognitive development.
Remember: Friday, May 20, 2011 - Cognitive Theories Quiz
1. What are some changes in the brain during childhood?
2. What are some of the theories of cognitive development in childhood?
3. Piaget's Theory of Childhood Cognitive Development
4. Vygotsky's Theory of Childhood Cognitive Development
5. Information Processing Theory
6. Theory of the Mind
Four theories we will study:
Piaget - supports the view that children develop more complex thinking skills as they mature.
Vygotsky - focuses on children interacting within their social and cultural environment
Information Processing - Mind is like a computer: based on the idea that humans process the information they receive, rather than responding to stimuli.
Theory of Mind - refers to children's growing understanding of their own mental states and those of others.
We also did an activity that showed us which is our dominant hemisphere of the brain. Your assignment was to reflect on whether the research was true to your experience and to find or create a cartoon/comic strip and relate it to one of the theories of cognitive development.
Remember: Friday, May 20, 2011 - Cognitive Theories Quiz
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Childhood Development Introduction
Today we reviewed what we talked about earlier in the week related to Childhood development. You had been given six questions and were asked to respond to them first - in groups and second individually. The questions discussed were the following:
- How do sports influence children?
- How do learning disabilities influence childhood development?
- What effect does ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder have on children?
- What is the role and nature of aggression in children?
- Who are bullies and what effect do they have on other people?
- What effect does divorce have on children?
It was interesting to read how your responses differed from when you answered the question in group to individually. The issues that were most often included were related to the effect that Sports, Bullies and Divorce have on children.
Some other topics that were suggested to be covered as important issues in childhood development included: Physical, Emotional and Sexual Abuse, Substance abuse of a parent or caregiver, Parenting Methods, Low income families, Traumatic events that happen in childhood.
We also read "A Typical Day with My Preschooler" by Jessica Mills from her book My Mother Wears Combat Boots. This chapter illustrated the unique moments that a parent can experience with a child. Mills also provides some suggestions related to age appropriate expectations for behaviours where she talks about how "most toddler and preschooler behaviours are more directly linked to a developmental stage than they are to the child making a conscious choice to behave a certain way." Mills explains that she could tell her daughter millions of times why it is wrong to squish snails but her daughter would not fully understand until she had developed empathy.
For this article you should complete a reading response that includes three things worth remembering (quote and explanation) as well as one question.
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