Psychology Paper



Psychology Paper

In the modern academic world, teaching and learning is not always what it seems (Woolfolk, 2001). Today teaching has moved from mother's hand to more formalized environments designed to promote learning where the teacher or the educator speculate the academic results and critically analyze psychological thought explicitly or implicitly (Bigge 1982, p.5). In all aspects, there are acceptable theories of learning which implies a set of teaching practice inside and outside the classroom. The theories include cognitive, behavioral and social aspects. These theories are needed in order to motivate the students. Motivating the students is one of the critical tasks of teaching (Woolfolk 2001).

Behavioural learning theory: learning involves the formation of association between specific actions and specifies events (stimuli) which can be directly observable. These events may either precede (antecedents) or follow the action (consequences). Behavioural theories mainly focus on methods of modifying children's behaviours to facilitate learning smoothly. The key concept of behavioural learning theory includes conditioning, reinforcement, punishment, shaping, premack principles, etc.

Starting in seventh grade, I went up a grade in science. So, in fifth grade, I would go sit in the sixth grade science class and so on. By the time I was in ninth grade, I would go up to the high school for geography. There were about four of us that would do this, and the teacher did not like it. He taught Geography the old school way—proofs and constructions. By the time the first semester was ending, I was essentially failing.

Outline:

Theoretical Perspective 1:

Piaget

Theoretical Perspective 2:

Vygotsky

Story Point 1:

I failed Geography

I failed Geography because learning lags development. Specifically, I didn't have the abstract reasoning ability to be developmentally ready for Geography. This is evidenced by me passing Geography just fine the next year after I had some time to develop this ability.

The ability to analyze information and solve problems on a complex, thought-based level. Abstract reasoning tasks involve skills such as: (Crawford 1996)

Forming theories about the nature of objects, ideas, processes, and problem solving;

Understanding subjects on a complex level through analysis and evaluation;

Ability to apply knowledge in problem-solving using theory, metaphor, or complex analogy; and

Understanding relationships between verbal and non-verbal ideas.

Abstract problems are often visual and typically do not involve social ideas. Abstract reasoning is usually assessed as part of intelligence testing. Abstract reasoning ability is important because it enables students to apply what they learn in complex ways. Many students with learning disabilities have weaknesses in abstract reasoning and can benefit from direct instruction in problem-solving skills. They may also benefit from language therapy to help them learn to use language to understand and solve problems. My first teacher didn't instruct me in my ZPD. I was clearly struggling and the teacher made no extra effort to bring me up to speed. Because the instruction was in my frustration level, I essentially gave up. The next year, I did better because I had a teacher who taught in my ZPD.

In intelligence quotient (IQ) testing, abstract concepts are ...