FINAL EXAM

EDU /PSY 401 EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY SELF-ASSESSMENT

For EDU section:
MAINE INITIAL TEACHER CERTIFICATION STANDARDS:
Standard #1: Learner Development
The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that
patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the
cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and
implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning
experiences.
Through this course, I identified and studied different theorists and ideas
applicable to learner development and how I can and should incorporate these into
my classroom and instruction. I specifically learned about Eriksons eight
psychosocial stages and how children are impacted by these individually. I
demonstrated my knowledge and future application of these ideas through one of
the discussion board forums; Eriksons Influence in the Classroom. I also learned
about the fact that many of these theories are flexible guidelines that are not
necessarily cut and dry, but that they have a lot of value in understanding what
stages of development my students may be in as well as some of the key issues of
importance that they may be facing at different stages of their life. Through
Vygotskys theory, I also learned about the Zone of Proximal development, and the
whole concept of ensuring that students are being challenged and working at
whatever level they are at. This really helped to solidify the idea of differentiation,
and how we can reach students through being aware of the importance of assessing
them to ensure that they are always working at the right level. This was also
demonstrated in my Scaffolding discussion forum. I learned about cognitive
development through Piagets cognitive development theory which was discussed in
week two of class. I learned about the value of play, and why I should incorporate
this into the classroom as well.

Standard #2: Learning Differences
The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures
and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each
learner to meet high standards.
Over these past six weeks, I learned that all students are diverse, and that
they have specific needs and situations that should be thoroughly examined in order
to help the whole child and have a clearer understanding as to what the child needs
so they can be successful in the classroom and in life. In the Behavioral Analysis
forum, I focused on what the specific child needed and how their needs differ due to
circumstances such as personal characteristics, values, etc. Through the discussion
board forum Multi-cultural Classroom, I defined ethnocentrism and racism to show
my understanding of these terms and also discussed the value of a multi-cultural
classroom and ultimately world. Through interaction with a peer, I also highlighted
some way to realistically apply this concept on a small and larger scale.


Standard #3: Learning Environments
The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual
and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction,
active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
Through the Social Skills and Group Work forum of chapter nine in our text, I
was able to identify the importance of collaborative learning to encourage positive
social interactions. I identified key social skills such as; participating, respecting,
supporting, summarizing and elaborating that are necessary for effective,
collaborative learning. In the Observational Learning thread, I analyzed
commercials in order to identify key aspects that I could implement in my classroom
to create a positive learning environment. The use of technology was something I
also learned more about in my literature review as I discussed the use of
collaborative technology in the classroom. Also, in my second case study, I
evaluated the importance of collaborative learning as well as some important
aspects to consider; such as gender, heterogeneous vs. homogenous grouping,
including ALL students, having students identify what did or didnt work and
making part of their grade include participation. I also learned about the
importance of collaborative learning through the initial posts and responses I did
throughout the course each week.