Walking into a classroom full of students and not knowing who
you’re going to be working with for the next ten months is a scary feeling.
Having an understanding of your students
on a psychological level helps to navigate a teacher's
approach to building a classroom culture
that is conducive to both them and their
students. Nature vs. Nurture, Biological, and Cognitive
development are fantastic steps in the right direction.
The idea
of nature vs. nurture helps teacher’s look at their student from two
lenses. Genetic inheritance or environmental factors. Knowing these factors can
be the answer to various portions of a child's classroom
and personal development. As for the biological and cognitive side of things, I can assess my student's achievements
based on whether or not they are
following healthy growth habits for their age both physically, mentally
and developmentally. Piaget's explanations on
these developmental stages will be very helpful for me as I transition from
teaching K-1 students to high school students. Piaget was able to break
something down as simple as symbolic play and change it into a child's logic. As
a parent of a young child, I witness every day that my adult logic is a million
times different than my 3-year-old son’s but when in the classroom having this
data is a fantastic safety net when confronting students and their needs.
Having this knowledge in one's teacher tool
box can be awesome when working on plans of differentiation for students. To
create an individualized plan, I would have to know and recognize the strengths
and weaknesses of my student. Being a Para for four years has taught me so much
about education and teaching in an academic setting. What I did lack was a real
understanding of the development of a child minus what I learned in one semester
of psychology in college. I had to use a lot of trial and era in some
situations, but the real life experiences plus my new found knowledge will pave
the way for my success next year.
