Chapter 5 Reflection

What? This was a good chapter to have at the end of our studies in educational psychology. It seemed to boil everything down to, "Every student is different in the way they learn best and it is your job to figure out how teach them all...you can do it!" One of the best points was to recognize that labels don't work and that students have a disability or whatever the case may be...it is not that the students are. Making that distinction is to use people-first language. Intelligence, in this chapter, is defined as: "The ability to apply prior knowledge and experiences flexibly to accomplish challenging new tasks." It then outlines many ways that ability can differ from student to student.

So what? Part of our conversation on Chapter 4 seemed to address the fact that, though students may be very different, as teachers we will not be able to cater to every need or know everything going on. The same applies to Chapter 5...though all of these things may seem overwhelming to take in, it comes down to being aware of what you are dealing with and what ways there are out there for dealing with those differences.

Now what? I think that in my future teaching, I will be more aware of varieties in student learning and will, hopefully, be able to move more quickly from something not working right, to trying to find a way of reaching a specific student, than a teacher who may have a narrow understanding of students might have. When I was growing up there was the "regular kids"...the ones that did fine sitting in their desks and listening and then regurgitating what they learned...and the special education kids. There ws no spectrum...you were one way or the other. I think these thingsd that are being emphasized now will make education more pleasant than it may have been in the past, because it addresses the different needs and strengths of children. Wonderful!