I am finding it difficult to complete the weekly assigned readings without losing interest. The texts are theory laden, extremely technical, and lack explicit connection to a group of students with whom I can identify. However, I am able to make connections to my personal experiences and am excited about understanding the theories of cognitive development.
Teaching is a social experience. I enjoy observing and interacting with students and teachers daily. Often the scientific theories behind what we do in the classroom are not part of my daily thinking, but they will be. When we learned about the Simon’s Informational Processing Theory this week I was able make numerous connections to the learning of students and reaffirmed in my own mind the importance of schema.
Students need to have opportunities to build a strong foundation in educational concepts before progressing to learning that extends the basic concepts. I think that school systems are pushing teachers to move their students to the next level of thinking without ensuring that learners have mastered the basics in all subject areas. The push for progress for the sake of progress is not honoring students’ learning and development.
I am going to need help remembering which theorist believed what ideas. The author referring to the theorist that inspired them often confuses me. Are they are attempting to build upon current educational beliefs or disprove long held theories. Repeated expose to the texts will help solidify this information.
