Week 2 - Theory to Practice

Week 1 Hypothesis:
If a classroom provides an open learning environment, then students will gain a fuller world view because through their interactions, students will not only see what they have in common, but will be able to view topics from different perspectives.

Week 2 Theory to Practice:
Today I gained a greater understanding of the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky. I think that both psychologists have valid and important ideas pertaining to the cognitive development of the child. I believe that we all learn in a successive manner that builds off of our previous knowledge and understanding. I subscribe to Piaget's idea of the 4 developmental stages in so much that children learn differently and have a changing world view as they grow, but I don't think that these stages are necessarily as clearly defined by age brackets as Piaget says they are. I am inclined to agree with Vygotsky that where a child comes from and their upbringing plays a very essential role in their cognitive development. If a child as a relatively easy life and is not wanting for any of their basic needs and comes from a supportive family, then they are going to be more apt to learn. However, if I child's basic needs are not fulfilled, then their learning may be hampered because of their desire to have their basic, fundamental needs met.
Both theories seem to suggest that children learn sequentially and will build off of what they previously learned. This is what Vygotsky termed "scaffolding". This idea reminds me of the answer a college professor would give to the question of "Is this test going to be cumulative?" He would always respond with "Yes. Since kindergarten." This makes a lot of sense to me because where you are in life with regards to education and cognition is the sum of everything else that you have learned and experienced thus far.
I also found the exercise of creating the Lesson Plan with my INTEL group very valuable. It had me thinking about how to craft a lesson plan in a more objective way and to plan it off of the goals and not on how I would go about teaching my lesson first.