his job and I love Science because I grew up watching him do what he does. I also love science fiction and fantasy media in any form, likely because I grew up watching sci-fi and fantasy movies and tv shows with my family. In my short time teaching, I've noticed that a children growing up in environments that lack love and support, seek that love and support in other places, from other family members, teachers, mentors, gangs, etc.
My students' development is also reflected in social and cultural interactions and experiences within different environments. It's clear that the culture a student is raised in is going to effect their values, ideals, and beliefs. Also, their experiences like losing a parent (to incarceration, death, or divorce) or consistent bullying at school will also effect the relationships they form. Vygotsky's theory of sociocultural development blends well with Bronfrenbrenner's Ecological Theory to support my point of view. Vygotsky "emphasizes that culture and social interaction guide cognitive development" (Santrock 23). Culture is complex and involves many things from behavior patterns to beliefs and other products passed from one generation to the next (tools, mythology, social hierarchy, etc.). Environment is also complex because it is everything from the setting in which a child lives to the many different settings they visit (church, school, work, etc.), and even includes the connections made between settings. Students are always immersed in some type of culture and environment (sometimes more than one at a time). I cannot deny it influences their development, and I must understand how it does in order to teach them.
As far as learning goes, I know all children have different strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. I think it is crucial to use those strengths and build upon those weaknesses in achieving student success in the learning process. Gardner's multiple intelligences is the theory that I most prefer. Teaching in consideration of multiple intelligences forces me to present the content in various ways, which allows me to appeal to the many learning strengths of my diverse audience. This also allows me more opportunities to differentiate instruction for my diverse learners. For example, I can use more visuals to help my autistic and dyslexic students as well as my visual learners. I also believe heavily in different forms of social interaction in the classroom, not only to promote learning for my interpersonal students, but to help all my students build social and
emotional skills. Now we've moving back to Vygotsky again. His ideas of scaffolding
and the zone of proximal development fit perfectly into my constructivist view of teaching. I think children learn and retain more knowledge when they are building that knowledge with just enough help from someone else (teacher or peer) that the challenge isn't insurmountable. Learning and child development is very complex, but most important, my students are all different. I have to use the knowledge of how they develop coupled with my knowledge of who they are as individuals to help them be successful in learning.
My students' development is also reflected in social and cultural interactions and experiences within different environments. It's clear that the culture a student is raised in is going to effect their values, ideals, and beliefs. Also, their experiences like losing a parent (to incarceration, death, or divorce) or consistent bullying at school will also effect the relationships they form. Vygotsky's theory of sociocultural development blends well with Bronfrenbrenner's Ecological Theory to support my point of view. Vygotsky "emphasizes that culture and social interaction guide cognitive development" (Santrock 23). Culture is complex and involves many things from behavior patterns to beliefs and other products passed from one generation to the next (tools, mythology, social hierarchy, etc.). Environment is also complex because it is everything from the setting in which a child lives to the many different settings they visit (church, school, work, etc.), and even includes the connections made between settings. Students are always immersed in some type of culture and environment (sometimes more than one at a time). I cannot deny it influences their development, and I must understand how it does in order to teach them.
As far as learning goes, I know all children have different strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. I think it is crucial to use those strengths and build upon those weaknesses in achieving student success in the learning process. Gardner's multiple intelligences is the theory that I most prefer. Teaching in consideration of multiple intelligences forces me to present the content in various ways, which allows me to appeal to the many learning strengths of my diverse audience. This also allows me more opportunities to differentiate instruction for my diverse learners. For example, I can use more visuals to help my autistic and dyslexic students as well as my visual learners. I also believe heavily in different forms of social interaction in the classroom, not only to promote learning for my interpersonal students, but to help all my students build social and
~References~
Santrock, J. W. (2014). Child Development. New York: McGraw Hill Education.
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