If teacher's give students the time in class to work with peers then student learning will be enhanced through peer centered discussions.
Each teacher needs to develop a pedagogical stance towards teaching. This stems from a teacher's beliefs and values on what qualifies as best teaching practices and how students learn. As teachers we can study the major theories in education to help construct our views on how students learn. According to Piaget students develop cognitively in four specific stages. He sees child development as a very concrete and precise process. His four stages are not based on the individual child, but rather on the age of the child. If we look at Vygotsky's Socio-Cultural Theory of development we can see a more socially based perspective on cognitive development. Vygotsky focuses on the idea that family, community, and culture contribute the most to a child's cognitive development. This theory encourages more peer to peer interactions to enhance learning. It is important for educators to consider the different approaches to child development and apply them to their own beliefs on how children learn. If teachers study different theories in cognitive development then they will be better able to construct and understand their own beliefs and views on teaching and learning.
I like your observations so far, but i was hoping that you would get more in depth about being a special ed teacher in training. wouldn't your practices be somewhat different when approaching cognitive development. i haven't had much training in this area, but i will have some special needs students in my class in the fall and i am curious as to how it would differ.
ReplyDeleteErin,
ReplyDeleteUR T2P statement could be made more precise and theory-based by incorporating ur increased understanding of Vygotskian theory, especially related to group work. For example, what would Vygotsky say about the role of a more expert peer in a student's learning (within the ZPD)?