Developmental Psychology 101

After reading about cognitive theories, especially Piaget and Vygotsky, I would probably apply Vygotskian principles through my teaching. I believe that principles such as dialogue, scaffolding, co-constructed knowledge, and cultural tools are all important aspects in a students learning. Students who are exposed to these principles will hopefully internalize and utilize them at later stages of their life. Piaget proposed many educational strategies, such as discovery learning with an emphasis on activity and play, which I would use in my classroom. However, I feel that Vygotsky’s importance of social interactions and co-constructed knowledge is more applicable in my special education classroom.

Piaget and Vygotsky also differ in how they approach discovery learning. Piaget believed in discovery learning with little teacher intervention, while Vygotsky promoted guided discovery in the classroom. During Guided Discover the teacher should offer intriguing questions to students and have them discover the answers through testing them out. Students should be engaged during the discovery process. However the teacher is still giving assistance. Students do have problems remembering and applying concepts. They memorize for a test and it is like after they take it, what the “learned” disappears right out of their brain. This is because they are not learning it…..short term memory is not learning…it is only temporary.

Since my classroom in so diverse I am sensitive to her student's cultural background and language. I am trying to learn Spanish and French Creole from the students. They think it is funny when I try to speak some words I learned in class. Apparently I have a very bad Spanish and French accent. Teacher Student role reversal is a great way for students to plan and organize data and information. Also they can use technology to help present the information and this will enable them to problem solve in an authentic manner.

In conclusion, my focus is to provide assistance to special education students needs. I can do this through utilizing many educational resources and including providing cultural tools. I provide for group and peer learning, in order for students to support each other through the discovery process. Depending what I am teaching, I pair or group the students homogenously or heterogeneously. I try to mix it up a little since I feel both grouping techniques have benefits. Social interaction is imperative in development. There are a myriad of technology tools that can be useful for these strategies. Open-ended Projects, Interactive Websites, interactive graphic organizers, making commercials or their own instructional videos, Photostory, Spresents, Powerpoint, Podcasts, etc..
These tools could be a good way for students to use their creativity while exploring new concepts. Perhaps if students construct their own knowledge, while working in a social, real life situation, they will remember more because they will actually learn the information instead of “trying to remember it for the test.”