Piaget  Influence

Piaget Theory of  cognitive has helped  me as  an educator  and as   an individual. I  have nephews  and  nieces  and   in order   to  help them at  each stage  I must be  able   to  give them  the  appropriate   activities. I  also teach 9-10 years  and knowing  what childen  are  cable  of  doing at  this  stage   it makes it  much easier  for  me as a  teacher  to  find  activities  suitable  for   my  students. Piaget theory  has   also helped  me realize  that there are lot of things  that   must be considered  before  I  plan activities  for my  students. The principles  of  accommodation and  assimilation are  also very  important  for us as  teachers. We  must  be able  to  build on previous  knowledge of  students and  also help to  build   a strong  foundation .

Assignment 2

 This  assignment  was  a bit  of  a  challenge for me.  Although  I  understood  what  the  principles   were  about,  I found it  quite challenging to put  my  activities  together. After  re-reading the   materials  I  was then able  to integrate  new knowledge into  what I would have already known. The  two principles  I  chose were  Piaget 's principle of  Assimilation and  Vgotsky Zone of  Proximal Development. The use of the two principles  is  quite  rewarding, not only  for the   students  but  for the  teacher   as  well.

Cooperative Learning. 

 This  is  a  very rewarding  teaching ,learning  strategy. I  realized  that  teachers  as  well the  students  can  gain a  great  deal of  knowledge  while using this  strategy. The students  will be  able to develop their  cognitive  and  affective  skills  .Additionally  this  strategy    allows  students  to develop their  social   skills.
The  teacher on the other  hand  is  able to  identify  the  needs , interest and  abilities  of the  students. Here  the  teacher   can use  ICT   tools  to  find  activities  suitable  to fit  students'  needs.
The  use of this  activity also  shift the  focus  from   teacher  centered  approach  to  student centered approach  and as  a  result  students  can  gain a measure  of    success and  become independent  learners.

Module 1 : Activity 5
 Developmental Psychology

I  have learned that in order to care  for  learners  there  are  many factors that  must  be  taken into consideration. In doing this  activity, I   realized that  the  development  stage  of  a  learner's  life is  of  uttermost importance. As  educators we  need to know  the type  environment the  learner is  coming from. What are  his  or  her  needs?What are some  of the challenges  encountered .? How  did the learner deal with those problems?  Who are the people in the learners  life  that   he  or  she  considers  to  be  important? In finding out  these  pertinent  information one  will be able  to   care  for the  individual.

                                     Module 1:Assignment 1

 This  assignment  was  one that required deep  thinking, however  I   was  able to finish  my draft  on time  and got  feedback.The  section that I liked  most was  section  C. In this  section   I  had to state the most  successful  moments and   explained the   factors that  would have  contributed  to my  success  as   a  teacher. I  was  able to  do  this  section  well because  I would have  achieved  some great  accomplishments. The   readings   were  very helpful and informative . I was  able   to make connections by using   use   real  life  experiences .   I  hope that  I would have  met  the criteria and   more  so  my  final mark  would be one   that  I would  be  happy about.

Behaviorism

The most powerful lessons that I  learnt during  this activity  are   strategies , factors  and  how  students  react  to certain   stimulus.The idea of  positive  reinforcements has  helped  me   overcome a lot of  challenges in my class..
Another idea  that has  helped  me over  the   hurdles in  my class is the  taking  away of  students  privileges. When  I  implemented  this  idea   it  was hard  for me to  see   the  different  emotions of   my  students. Some  were   sad, angry and  to an  extent  very   disappointed, however  as  a leader  I had  to  remain firm.
 I  realized  that privileges  mean a lot to students and  as a  leader  I had   to make sure that my  students   knew  that  to  every  action there is a  reaction  and to  every  action there  is a  consequence  whether  good  or  bad.

Social Cognitive Theory

As  I  read the  extract  from Violet Joshua's book I was  reminded  of  how I felt  when I first  began  to teach. The challenges  of  dealing  with  children who were  different in every way  frustrated me  a lot.I felt like  a  failure  a  lot  of times but  with the  support   I  got from family and  friends I was  able  to  adjust. I  have  really learned    a lot  through  observation.  I realized  that the  teaching and learning process   should be an active and a dynamic  one and   therefore    meaningful learning  can take place. As  educators  we  have to mindful of  what we say and do  because  it  would  impact  on the  students  lives for a very  long time.  As an educator I also realized that we can  learn so much from  students' reactions. My students reactions   have  help me in   my personal and  professional life.