Module 2

Chapter 4

The readings and resources this week had me in a panic.  I only scored a 111 and 108 on my IQ tests and thought to myself am I not intelligent? After further reading I find I am average. With my past experience in taking tests I am OK with.  This is were it all clicked after reading.  With different types of learning and disabilities that could be possible are IQ tests even accurate. 

I also currently work with special education students with an array of disabilities. Reading about disability etiquette was one of the major points that caught my eye.  Realizing that the structure of your sentences can be offensive to the students is something I did not think of.  Granted I knew the basics of what to say and what not to say but for example " Students with learning disabilities" NOT "Learning disabled students." (Woolfolk, 117) Also, the different types of intelligence was very interesting. I always had the mind set of book smart and street smart. Obviously I was incredibly wrong. I found that the Triarchic theory of successful intelligence explains learning the best way possible.  It covers the three main learning influences that I see most while working with my students.

1) Thought process: My students, with various disabilities, their thought process are all different not only from one another but sometimes each day. The day to day change is usually  caused by an out side influences or experiences.
2) Coping with new experiences: Some experiences may be positive and some may be negative. Depending on the severity of the negative experience I have noticed that these are usually that cause for thought and behavior change.
3) Adapting to context:. This can be explained in several ways but I am choosing the path of culture and upbringing. For example, solely based on what I have been told from friends in the culture and experience within this culture, Middle Eastern cultures do not look at women in the same light that we as Americans do now a days. How does this point tie in? Well if you look at it from the outside you may disagree with someone else culture but if you understand and respect it than a behavior can be correct or understood due to the context.  

Chapter 5
Language development is a key part of education and now with ESL being a very big portion of public schools student body it is essential to better understand the process in differentiating lesson for ESL students. In 5.1 there is a table that reference the milestones in childhood language development. Children learn to speak as early as two or three years old. granted not in perfect sentences but the development of sentences starts with sounds then words. Then in table 5.2 the outside-in process which directly relates to site words, inside-out processes which is recognition of letters and growing from there. "Most school programs expect all children to learn to read in English." (Woolfolk p. 173)
With this being said any student that comes to school with ESL needs faces a much more difficult process of learning and learning the English language especially. The foundations of their speech is not developed in English . Not having the foundation of the English language is a set back but not one that can not be overcome. Referring to table 5.5 on page 180 of Woolfolk also explains even after three years of learning a new language complex grammar is spoken with errors. Granted the students would be able to tell stories, good comprehension, start learning and use academic language and have a larger vocabulary. 

Chapter 8
Cognitive views of learning is confusing to me at first sight, but after reading chapter 8 I now better understand that looking at the different parts of learning and how the brain and body react to it. The memory is most interesting to me, and with the given vocabulary breaks down the different types of memory for better understanding. The explanation of the similarities and differences between the different types of knowledge is mind blowing. Also the figures on page 285 (8.1 and 8.2) gives a visual explanation of information processing. My personal favorite is Gestalt, which is German for pattern or whole. The thought is that people organize their perceptions into coherent wholes. Gestalt is a set of principles of how we "see" patterns in the world around ourselves. (287 figure 8.3)