Understanding The Cognitive Learning Process

“If you want a good education, you need to have good teachers,” states William Deresiewicz, author of Spirit Guides (1). His article, published in Slate Magazine, was written with the purpose of redefining what college teaching is and the elements that constitute a good teacher. In order to promote his ideas and fulfill his purpose, Deresiewicz supports an enthymeme founded on the claim that teachers should challenge and care about their students, because that is what their students truly want and need (2,3).

Another point that I found important to internalize was on reading comprehension. As discussed in the video, understanding vocabulary does not mean that students will comprehend what is being read.

The other important lesson I learned was that research and reflection are essential to good teaching. Torey Hayden had quite a few unorthodox methods

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry B. Adams. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to play a big part in children’s education, which is why I have decided to enroll for an education course. I believe that educators have a lifelong impact on their students and on the development of resilience. Thus, I aspire to inculcate my love for learning into the next generation, by influencing and inspiring children all through their formal education.

An easy and not so problematic way of getting a better learning process is more one on one tutoring. Kids are being placed in classes together and not all of them learn at the same rate. One child might understand something without complications. Yet, the other might not understand a simple step. With classes with various amounts of kids, not all of them are able to get the attention needed to figure out that one step. If each of them were walked through the process of things individually, there would obviously be a better chance of understanding the content. Arun Alagappan properly stated

This is an article wrote by Mark Edmundson, a professor at the University of Virginia. In this article, Edmundson starts out with how he dislikes that people say something to the effect of teachers learn from their students. He goes on to say how he does learn more about how to teach based on the feedback he gets from his students.

“She wanted to teach us about consequences”(104). She encouraged students to face difficulties without fear so that they learned to be competitive. Miss Hattie made it clear for her students that there are more chances to succeed if they know more and are well organized. She was focused on her students understanding of “the fundamentals right” (104) to be equipped for any activity they chose to do. To her, knowledge itself was nothing if students did not know how to use, manipulate, and present it. Basics fulfill knowledge and help to pick only trustworthy information; it’s like the skeleton on which everything can grow, depending on a person’s basic beliefs.

The final key point that led me to understand the author's intended message, is how the author learned that the lessons about education are learned at the expense of those who weren't fortunate enough to receive one.

In order to, actually learn a person has to fully grasp a subject to comprehend it. The third author, Kyoko Mori, author of the essay School,  declaims that, “No matter what the subject, our teachers never gave us very clear advice about how to do it better” (Mori 206). Most people would agree with that statement, not just because of the truth behind it, but from personal experiences where that certain statement has been applied before. It could be math, english, science, history, art, sports, music, or anything under the sun that could possibly be learned, where the teacher of that particular subject may explain something where it all sounds familiar; it could be on the top on someone’s mind and they just wouldn’t quite be able to get it, because of the way the teacher explained it. Most people have figured out that most things, if they want to be successful with it, they have to do it themselves to know if they did it right or not.

This paper will briefly describe the targeted instructional setting that is the foundation for the discussion that follows. Then this paper will present the implications of several theories of cognitive development on the curriculum and instructional strategies used within the targeted instructional setting. These include the cognitive development theories of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, among others. Based on these theories, two recommended adjustments to the curriculum content for the targeted instructional setting will be presented along with a justification for the recommendations. This is followed by a recommendation of two instructional strategies for the targeted instructional setting and a justification for the recommendation.

When giving emotional support, I have seen many individuals feeling emotionally barricaded and stifled after a tragic occurrence. Wherever they are in the healing process, the simple act of letting people express how they are feeling without prejudice and acknowledging their feelings can help relieve a victim's interpretation of their situation and help change their own self-talk.

There will always be different kinds of intellects at classrooms. What are considered the worst students do not like to think through a problem or find out how a mechanism works, while some of the better students may understand the same concepts but do not think further about them once they are done learning what they had to learn. This is when the presence of a teacher asking them questions comes into play. A technique used to make students think further is called the cognitive disequilibrium.

Cognitive and behavioral learning theories tend to dominate modern discussions of learning theories. Employed in both educational and clinical settings, both have important contributions to understanding how and why individuals learn. Is one approach statistically better than the other, or do they each have their own place where one approach may be more effective under specific circumstances? Each theory has supporters who claim the efficacy of their theory is superior. Comparison of the theories is necessary to determine if one is significantly better than the other, or even if one theory may be slightly more effective than the other. Determining if one competing theory

Learning is not a skill that is necessarily instinctual or easy, and therefore different approaches must be used to make learning easier and more fun for students. Teaching is not a skill that can be memorized or made repetitive, and so teachers must continue to challenge not only their students, but also themselves. Teachers that become complacent in their jobs are not good teachers. Those who can find a way to make an old lesson new and exciting will have an energized classroom, and will be reenergized themselves.

A student has the ability to learn without a teacher. However, the Law of the Teaching Process creates the background for a teacher to guide a student on the path to more knowledge. A teacher should establish a safe environment that encourages thinking to help students learn “the unknown by the way of the known” (84). Acquiring their knowledge and increasing their mental power correlates to the aims of a teacher as they guide students. While a teacher is to be passionate in laying out knowledge, the really work of an education, acquiring knowledge, is the work of the student. A student learns by discovery and information stores as the student interprets the new information.