Lev Vygotsky Vs. Jean Piaget

So, before I compare Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget, Ill explain a bit about Vygotsky seeing how I have touched on Piaget in previous posts. Vygotsky believes in a "Developmental Trajectory" in which everything a child knows or has learned comes from previous learning, it is all working together to get them to that certain point, ie. it acts as a "trajectory". His idea is based on the "zone of proximate Development" and "Scaffolding". These two ideas basically work off one another in which the teacher sets goals just outside of the students knowledge making it so they need guidance or new knowledge from the teacher to get this task done, and then it moves up, just as scaffolds do. And then again the goal is set just above their ability making it so the student grows some more.
Now looking at Vygotsky's and Piaget's work or findings, I believe it is almost a combination of the two that resonate with my personal inclinations and preferences for teaching. This is because I fully agree that children go through different stages, and can only learn certain things and grasp certain problems or tasks at the proper age. However, I believe in the scaffolding technique set out by Vygotsky, because I will constantly be wanting the students to grow and to be challenged rather than just doing the same thing over and over that they already know how to do.
By combining the two theories, It shows that depending on the stage of development the child is in, you will be able to know how far out of reach you can set the goals for the students, and you will know what new forms of learning you can involve in the "scaffolding" procedure in getting the student to grow and move up. Therefore, I don't think one is better than the other, but that they both serve as use full guidelines in child development and learning.

Shyness...

The 1953 vido entitled "Shyness" which was put out by the National Film Board of Canada shows how there is normally an underlying issue that results in a shy child, and that not all cases are the same. There are actually different variations and degrees of shyness. Now, even tho this film is a little out dated it still showed me some insight into the development of children, and especially the psychological development. I now see that a child won't always just grow out of it, there could very well be a measure that needs to take place to aid in the child in overcoming this obstacle. If the child is unable to overcome it, it very well may end up preventing the growth in other areas. In this case, with shyness, the child could grow up having a lack in social skills preventing them from having any proper realtionships or even a good careeer. Again I belive this is in very extreme cases of shyness, definately not all. And although the film did only touch upon the area of shyness in children, I belive the same sort of action can be taken in other cases. That is, to assess the situation, see if there is a serious problem, or underlying issue, then if required try to right the situatuation.

Jean Piaget's Four Stages

Jean Piaget describes the four stages that children go through; Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational. As I have watched my younger cousins grow up I have witnessed the changes and it now makes a lot more sense as to why they would act in a sort of way depending on their age. For instance when they are a baby they are in the sensorimotor stage and it kinda makes sense as to why they are always putting stuff in their mouth and feeling everything and anything. They're trying to get a sense of their surroundings. Then when they hit the Preoperational stage you see that they recognize that their caregiver is there mom an they actually begin to call them mom. They speak very little but they seem to know certain words that they have been able to put with that object or symbol. Then as they got a little older and hit the concrete operational stage you see that they are able to figure certain things out and actually distinguish different patterns or classify certain objects. And I would notice this when say my 9 year old cousin was playing with a game in which they had to match up certain objects she was able to perform the task. However, when she would get her younger brother to try he was unable to complete the same task. Same goes for the fourth stage, Formal Operations, you see this in older children in their school work when they are planning out what they are going to do before actually doing it. So now that I have learned the stages set forth by Jean Piaget, it makes more sense, and is more obvious when I look at the way my younger cousins act or have acted through the different years of child growth.

Physical Activity in Schools

According to a News Report, Allison Cameron a teacher in Saskatoon brought exercise equipment into her classroom and had the children keep there heart rate up for 20 minutes before their math class. Cameron saw a tremendous increase in the students ability to focus as well as in their grades. I definitely agree that physical activity helps with mental focus and the ability to remember what they are being taught. And yes you do need to be a "wise consumer of information about educational psychology", especially with this report because they focused mainly on 14 year old males who have extreme trouble with school and focusing. So, yes there are still many questions that would need to be asked and it would probably vary from school to school but I would definitely want to try this with one of my classes when I become a teacher.

Effective Teaching pt. 2

Another point for effective teaching is "commitment and motivation", and it was brought up in class that the results from a study showed that the best teacher was the one that loved their students. This really showed me that there is such a bond created between the students and the teacher that it actually allows for the teacher to feel this emotion.
I fully agree with the findings of the study because if a teacher loves their students, then the teacher will want to create the best environment possible, and make sure that they all succeed and that no student gets left behind. That teacher will be looking out for the students best interest.

Now, I have touched upon two of the methods for effective teaching; "effective teachers" which I touched upon in my last entry and "commitment and motivation" which I looked at today. There are five more methods which are equally important in becoming an effective teacher,
      1. Teaching Involves Social and Ethical Matters
      2.Teaching Involves a Diverse Mosaic of Students
      3.Professional Knowledge and Skills
      4. Subject-matter Competence
      5. Professional Growth

Effective Teaching pt. 1

There are many different types of teachers and most have there own styles and attitudes on teaching. When I was in high school I had one teacher in particular that really made an impact and had a huge effect on not only my grades but my liking for the subject. It just happened to be high school math, which is definitely not every ones favorite subject. But he had so much passion and love for the subject that he was able to portray it through his teaching. He not only made the subject fun and interesting, and made you want to learn it, he always put the time in to making sure you understood the concept. I went from math being my worst and least liked, to my best subject and my favorite subject!
This ties into the 3rd point under effective teaching, which is also labelled "effective teachers". He had all three parts; humour, made it interesting, and PCK -> Pedagogical Content Knowledge.