Module 1:Building the

Context &
Understanding
Characteristics of Your
Students
Group Members:
Lorna Baldwin
Eric Barrett
Corey Barnwell
Wendy Brison
Wynena Curley-Cox
Professor: Dr. Li Cao
University of West Georgia: Psychology of Classroom Learn

September 14, 2014

Module 1: Building the Context & Understanding Characteristics of your Students

Incremental, Stationary, and Iterative Trends will have a dramatic effect on
teaching and practice because each trend has a style that can affect the teacher
and the student. Our group compiled how incremental trends affect this behavior
through information vs. knowledge, media, and population. The chapter states that
finding ways to break through this informational force fieldto get and hold
students attention in the classroombecomes increasingly more challenging yet
imperative to teachers (Mitchell, 1993; Alexander & Jetton, 1996). In regards to
population, as numbers go up in classrooms, so does the variability (Chapter 1,
page 53). The more individuals to educate, the greater the diversity. As society
continues to grow and change, education struggles to keep up. Stationary Trends
are discussed through mental hardware, mental software, and demand on human
memory, as well as contribution to human diversity. Finally, Iterative Trends entail
recycling of educational programs, reforms and over-simplifying. Its a consensus
that learning should be engaging, interesting and enticing for our students. Under
Oversimplification of Complex Issues on page sixty-three of chapter one: What
matters in effective practice is not the extremes, but rather questions of when,
where, and for whom these different variants of educational practice should be
implemented. Population of the classrooms can make a difference either negatively
or positively. This swelling of the Earths population has significant implications for
learning and teaching, in terms of the numbers to be taught and the diversity within
this population on each and every dimension of human development (Ackerman,
Kyllonen, & Roberts, 1999). Technology should be updated for the educators so
that they can better serve the students. Its noted that we know there is a
generational gap between teachers and students, and that it should be addressed
whenever possible. Teachers do not need to be the sole authorities in classrooms

Module 1: Building the Context & Understanding Characteristics of your Students

(Alvermann & Hayes, 1989; Garner & Gillingham, 1998), and both students and
teachers profit from shared learning and shared teaching (Palincsar & Brown, 1984).
Technology is a beautiful way to blend this shared learning and teaching.
In conclusion, each trend has a profound effect on the level of education to a certain
degree. One educator gave this scenario about teaching and practices in the
classroom: Its like being told to put a big puzzle that you don't get a picture of and
instead of starting with the edges you must start from the middle. The picture in the
middle is dark so, you wind up forcing pieces together that don't belong. Because
students learn at different levels, its imperative that they are challenged whenever
possible.
The characteristic of our students in Cognitive Development is Sensorimotor
Operation, Concrete Operations and Formal Operations. Sensorimotor Operation
Infants rely on their senses to connect with the world; they enter this stage with
only innate reflexes and later begin to use their minds to solve sensorimotor
problems; they always think in the here-and-now and in terms of their own physical
and emotional needs and comforts. (Alexander, p. 11) For example, some students
would have to repeat their daily routines or experiment with toys in the classroom.
The student would experiment with stacking blocks up or placing block inside and
outside of a plastic container for curiosity. We use a lot of visual aids for students
that need to process what they are being asked to do. Concrete Operations is
Childrens reasoning becomes logical and increasingly more symbolic; they solve
practical problems with concrete referents; they are able to sort and classify objects
and think categorically; they think forward or backward through a problem or
situation. (Alexander, p. 11) For example at this stage between 7-11 years old, the
child is learning how to read and solve simple math problem. For example, at this

Module 1: Building the Context & Understanding Characteristics of your Students

stage between 7-11 years old, the child is learning how to read and solve simple
math problem. For example, when the students learn about numbers such as place
value, we teach the students using manipulative and how to break numbers apart
and how to mentally do math in their head. Once the students have seen these
numbers in its concrete form then they learn that numbers have values, especially
the zero. So as the students view a number such as 7102, they understand after
introducing the number from concrete to abstract that the number looks like 7000
+100 +0 (tens) +2. They understand that the 0 is there but there are 0 tens in the
number. Often enough when students in the lower grades are asked to add numbers
with regrouping they see two digits in the ones place and leave it there. Concretely
they leave the number there because its the answer. As they progress they
understand that once youve reached 10 you must move to the next place value.
These forces the students to think critically even in its simplest form and have more
than one option in answering the question. They start with base ten blocks, using
and empty number line, and then even adding up in increments. As the students
evolve in their math thinking they can use mental math or even our standard
algorithm. Many people are having issues with common core but those people are
missing the whole design for it. We believe the design for the common core is to
help students understand that there is plenty ways to get to an answer. The way we
are trying to apply the developmental characteristics to our classroom teaching is to
try and teach them at their level while maintaining the essential necessities of the
county and getting students to see math not as disconnected with numbers, but as
tools. (Pappano, 2013) Formal Operation is those in this stage are able to think and
problem-solve abstractly; they can deal with the hypothetical and consider longrange consequences; they can weigh problems from multiple perspectives.

Module 1: Building the Context & Understanding Characteristics of your Students

(Alexander, p. 11) According to Bronfenbrenner experiment of transformation a 12
years old enters a new environment and interacts with other children the same age
until they was separated into groups and started competing against each other.
(Alexander, p. 11) As a result, a rivalry evolved between two groups and started to
dislike each other. In other words, this interaction leads to disgust and prejudice.
The cognitive development principles of Piaget, Vygotsky, Maria Montessori
and Kohlberg, questions of how the mind changes with age and with experiences,
which is the basis of cognitive development. Piagets theory of cognitive
development is a comprehensive theory about the nature and development of
human intelligence. The children progress through four key stages of cognitive
development: Sensorimotor stage, from birth to age 2; the preoperational stage,
from age 2 to 7; the concrete operational stage, from 7 to 11; and the formal
operational stage, which begins in adolescence to adulthood. Piagets concrete
operational stage, It starts that these children reasoning becomes logical and
increasingly more symbolic. (Alexander, 2006) Vygotskys theory is the idea that
child development is the result of interactions between children and their social
environment. The cognitive development depends on social interactions, cultural
tools, language, knowledgeable others and the Zone of Proximal Development. The
Zone of Proximal Development is the set of tasks which an individual can only
accomplish with the assistance of a more experienced other. In a classroom, we
stay actively engaged in our learning, and cognitive engagement. We have math
centers at least every other day which include a technology center on computer or
iPad. The teacher explores the math center with me, we use hands on
manipulative, and use the math talk center where students play games and
describe their mathematical thinking out loud with partner. This type of learning

Module 1: Building the Context & Understanding Characteristics of your Students

encourages children to work together socially, get along emotionally, and enhance
cognitive development all at the same time. While there are many developmental
principles that can guide the instruction of students the concept Maria Montessori
presented by exposing children to enticing and varied experiences. She knew that if
the young mind was opened and acceptable for new and exciting things then
learning would be more acceptable. The classroom becomes a place of exploring
the world and learning from that exploration our text notes. We can apply the
developmental characteristics of our students by allotting time and effort for
exposing them to new and innovative things. There are new ways of learning being
presented each and every day, so if we can tap into those resources and get
students involved in the experiences of learning nontraditionally, may be able to
accomplish the task. And the Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Reasoning is the thinking
process that occurs when we decide whether an act is right or wrong. The
Kohlbergs stages: Preconventional Morality avoiding punishments & getting
rewards; Conventional Morality social rules; and Postconventional Morality moral
principles. Students that are between the ages of eight and ten, they are
experiencing a change in their morality, moving from preconventional to
conventional. This is also known as the Golden Rule Period. One teacher uses
the Golden Rule in her classroom, its the first rule displayed on the Class Rules
poster. The students are beginning to understand the existence of a moral code
and understand a social order. Its critical to use to show good example and make
sure to enforce proper behavior management in the classroom. Using the different
development principles in our classroom and describing each of these stages a
student goes through a process as an infant, toddler, child, and teenager/adult.
Through each development principles the student experience activities and events

Module 1: Building the Context & Understanding Characteristics of your Students

that evolved the student to the person they are today. As a result, these
developmental principles show that no matter what is the age of the student
through those stages they will have to learn in order to develop.
In conclusion, we asked what role psychology can play in everyday
educational practice? The Answer is a great deal. Educational Psychology is the
intersection of Psychology and pedagogy. Psychology is the science of the mind and
Pedagogy is the science of teaching. The socio-historical context in which learning
and teaching occurs by the three interrelated educational trendsincremental,
stationary, and iterativeand their influence on teachers and their students. Each
trend has a profound effect on the level of education to a certain degree. The
characteristic of our students in Cognitive Development is Sensorimotor Operation,
Concrete Operations and Formal Operations. Sensorimotor Operation Infants rely on
their senses to connect with the world; they enter this stage with only innate
reflexes and later begin to use their minds to solve sensorimotor problems; they
always think in the here-and-now and in terms of their own physical and emotional
needs and comforts. (Alexander, p. 11) And understanding how the mind changes
with age and with experience, which is the basis of the cognitive development by
Piaget. Piagets four stages of cognitive development are sensorimotor stage,
preoperational stage, concrete operational stage and formal operation stage.
Vygotskys cognitive development depends on the following: social interactions,
cultural tools, language, and knowledgeable others. The direction of development
for Vygotsky was socialization to internalization, in contrast to the internalization to
socialization course articulated in Piagets theory. According to Bronfenbrenner
experiment of transformation a 12 years old enters a new environment and
interacts with other children the same age until they was separated into groups and

Module 1: Building the Context & Understanding Characteristics of your Students

started competing against each other. The last perspective, Kohlbergs Theory of
Moral Reasoning is the thinking process that occurs when we decide whether an act
is right or wrong. The stages were preconvetional morality, conventional morality,
and post conventional morality is the thinking process that occurs when we decide
whether an act is right or wrong. Again we ask what role can psychology play in
everyday education practice? The answer is that psychology has an essential and
integral role to play in all facets of learning and teachingfrom the knowledge that
students construct to the creativity and curiosity they exhibit, and from the
reasoning they display to the differences they manifest. (Alexander, p. 15)

Reference:

Module 1: Building the Context & Understanding Characteristics of your Students

Alexander. (n.d.). CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING COGNITIVE AND SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT. In Introduction to Educational Psychology & Develop
Pappano,L. (2013). (Changing the Face of Math) 14.