Lawrence Kohlberg and Heinz Dilemma

In class today we discussed the 'Heinz' dilemma. It was very interesting to hear the different viewpoint from others in the class. There were so many different opinions on what to do from a class of under 70 people. I always find this very interesting to see. It makes me think how hard it must be to be in charge of things much bigger like a premier of Alberta, or prime minister of Canada. Not everyone will ever have the same opinions on very many things. Many this is a little off topic but it's just what popped into my head.

When answering the question of what do do in that dilemma, I found my overwhelming answer would be to steal the drug. If I can help the ones I love in any way I will usually do it. As I've mentioned before, I have spent nights in the hospital with my cousin, or picked my sister up from a friends house at 4:30 in the morning, when I am comfy and warm in my bed. I know those examples are different from actually going as far as stealing, but in terms of those I love, I would do almost anything for them. Our group discussed this a lot and the overall consensus was the same as mine. We took into consideration things like age, or situations as well. I believe that a good parent would stop at nothing to save their child. I realize in this scenario it is his wife, and I believe the same for true love. I like what was mentioned from supporters of the other side of the coin, but it did not manage to sway my opinion.

In class we also started to discuss Kohlberg's theory on moral development. I enjoyed what was mentioned in regards to Kohlberg, that he took a cognitive look at moral development, not just from behaviors or emotional actions. I also found it very interesting that many of his ideas and theories stemmed from Piaget's theory. Its hard to pinpoint why someone might do something, but its an interesting and necessary before you judge someone else's personal choices. Sometimes I find myself wondering why someone would do something that to me seems completely ridiculous, but what I need to understand and come to realize is that they are at a different stage than my own in their developments, and that I am not necessarily right in my actions either.

We also learned about the process of internalization which was interesting because it was along the same lines as some of the topics that we discussed in my Anthropology class. We were discussing meaning yesterday. We discussed reasoning behind actions, and how or why people from different cultures may act in a way that does not fit in with our culture right now. Not directly the same as it, but it made a connection in my mind I guess. :)

I really do not know what stage to place myself in. I do not yet completely understand them well enough. I do think that maybe in certain things I may be in the 3rd stage but in others I am not quite there. I also think of the discussion in class today that got quite heated. What I wonder is this: Are certain students at a certain maturity of this development and others at a different stage because of what they said, or does it take into consideration why we choose what we chose. Hmmm.... I think I have some weekend readings ahead of me to figure it all out.

Digital Nation

The digital nation...seems like a crazy thought, but its real. We see it everywhere, from the workplace, the hospital and even the classroom. Must admit, I've never been too savvy with technology, but it's not because I did not have the opportunity. I have had a cell phone since I was 13, and at that age everyone thought that was way too young for it, but now, my younger cousins and friends children all have cell phones, ipads, and ipods. Things are changing pretty quickly. But not necessarily for the worse.

It seems intimidating to walk into a classroom and not know everything that's happening at that time. But technology in the classroom is pretty cool too. In grade one my classroom had books, chalkboard and an old computer(I say old, but it was new for then) and a phone. Now if you walk into a majority of classrooms, everyone has a computer, their own phone, and the chalkboard/whiteboard is replaced with a projector or a 'Smartboard'. Things have definitely changed. When I was in grade school I didn't get bored with the little technology we had there, but if a student was to sit in a classroom like that now things would be different. My parents sure thought that my grade one classroom had it all. They had even less in their classrooms, but they didn't think it was minimalistic, it's what was there at that time. Our perspectives change. This topic was mentioned in the film we watched in class called ' Digital Nation'. A quote from that film was "Technology is like oxygen" and when I heard this at first I thought it was a bit drastic, but after thinking about it for a while, it makes total sense.  To go back to a chalkboard and not much else would not much sense, and not work when we have so many new resources at our disposal. Why take a step backwards, when you don't have to? My grandpa used to often say "just grin and bare it" and that's kinda what you have to do if you don't agree with it. Your never going to get rid of the changes, so just get on with it. Before I mentioned that I was never really technology savvy, but this doesn't mean I don't appreciate it, and especially the stuff I understand.

We got our first computer when I was in grade 6, and we loved it. We would fight over who got to go on and play pinball. Now I have pinball on my phone. This seems crazy. Brad Paisley, a country singer did a song on this same topic. He sings about how when he used to go on family trips he would just look out the window, now there is a DVD player in his family mini van, and his phone has so many things he can do on there to keep himself occupied.

Multi-tasking was another topic  that was brought up in this movie. Right now as I write this I am listening to music, and thinking about several other things, but I am still doing this post. The point that I am trying to make with this is that, yes maybe we have all become addicted to multi-tasking, but it doesn't take away from what actually gets done and completed. Opposers to multi-tasking have many valid points that I do agree with, but there are still positive aspects to multi-tasking.  I cannot personally pay attention in class when I have my phone or laptop out, so I choose not to bring them out, but others use them and do fine. We have learned over and over that we are all different learners, and so maybe on some people multitasking isn't very effective, so as a user just don't use it then. And, I may not use my laptop or phone in class, but I doodle and am always thinking about several different things and that has been around forever. Who's to say doodling on your page isn't as distracting as playing solitaire?It was mentioned in the movie that we need to be more open minded. There are stats against technology, and stats for technology, who right? We all need to decide for ourselves.

"With technology there are always gains and losses-that's just the way it is". I enjoyed this statement. It was also mentioned how these changes have been happening for a lot longer than this current generation. Yes we have lost some capabilities, but we have also gained some as well that are brand new. It's all about how we see it. Half empty/half full kind of thinking.

There are so many technologies that help us as teachers, not only in our daily teaching, but also in understanding students and meeting THEIR needs. They also help us understand our students and decipher
why a student may not understand certain material and so on. Technology is turned on, and its not going anywhere, so make the best of it and you'll probably grow to enjoy it...or I hope so. This happened for me.

Things have changed, and always will with technology!
Embrace it!


(picture from goggle images)

Where am I in these stages?

What stage am I at? What is my current, main priority in my life? These questions seem pretty strightforward to answer, but there is a lot more beneath the surface of these questions. Other questions you have to answer before you can even begin to answer those questions. Questions like:

1. What do I absolutely put first in my life?
2. Who do I absolutely put first in my life?
3. Why do I put these first in my life?
4. When did this change, and when will it change again?
5. etc

I would love to be able to honestly say that I put school first, but that is not true. It ranks in my top 3, but not number 1. Things I put first in my life, and have always put first in my life are my relationships. My releationship with my immediate family, close family, and my boyfriend. I've always grown up very, very close to my family on my mother's side. So if there is something that is going wrong in my family it always takes first place. I have a cousin who has put this to a test. His addiction has put a huge strain on my, and my family's life. His addiction has kept us up at night, in hospital rooms, on late night telephone calls, and much more. So like I said, it would be great, easy answer to this question, but from what is seen above, its not that simple.
School is very important to me as well. It too takes away my weekends, ability to go on spontaneous trips, but will be so worth it at the end. I will be so glad that I stayed up all night on essays, reports, and projects, instead of going to Mexico for example.This recognition of gratefulness seems far away but I'm postive it will be there.

Understanding what stage I am in my life is a very interesting question to ponder. It is interesting as an observer of my own life and others around me, both in my peer group and others. It can be frustrating to try and decide where 'I fit in' in the various stages we have learned. We were told in class that you don't go tyo bed in one stage and wake up in another complete new one in the morning. The stages overlap, or in the case ofErikson's stages, some people may not make it to a certain stage because of happenings in their life.

In class we talked about the stage we see ourselves in right now. I see myself in stage 5 and 6. I still see myself in 5 (Identity vrs. Identity Confusion) because I am still trying new things, seeing what I like and don't like and so on.  I am in a commited relationship right now but not quite ready to be married, kindof like it is my ease into stage 6. Where I see myself in 10 years is very different than where I am, and see myself right now. One girl in our group discussion felt frustrated at these stages because she saw herself in so many of the stages, and knew people that had never been married or wanted to. She mentioned that this set of stages of human development are very limited in some ways. It is a very good basic framework for much of the population, but cannot be said for the whole, just the same as all of the other stages we have learned in class.

I enjoyed the fact that Erikson's theory was not solely based on thinking, but on the human as a whole. I find the brain and mind fascinating. Why we say things, so things and not others. Although I found his theory somewhat broad, it does still cause a deeper thinking and better understanding of what's happening, and more importantly, understanding what will be happening in my classroom as a teacher.

Ecological Theory

The ecological theory gives us another interesting look at education and various students and the possible answers to why, what, or how come. A student may be repeating a negative action in class everyday, but if you have no clue as to what is going on at home for that child, a teacher cannot begin to understand or help the child. Also some parents may seem very involved in their child's success, whereas  other parents do not. We as teachers never get to see completely what it is like at home, but it is our duty to do all we can for each and every student and to not race to hasty conclusions. In the popular movie and book 'Matilda' is an exceptionally bright student, but her teacher does not understand why she is so smart, or why she is only in grade 1, when she has the abilities for a much higher grade. 


Youtube Clip from Movie 'Matilda'

As teachers we only see the external: a student is late for example, and then it is very easy to make the assumption that he does not care, but we do not know why he is late or what happened that could make him late. These assumptions can be very dangerous for the teacher -student relationship because a teacher may assume something and say something wrong that in turn sends the student away with the feeling of being wrongly accused and negatively judged.

As teachers, like students, we have our own ecological 'map' which shows what and why we may do something. For example, my father is an immigrant and so we have quite a few traditions of Canadian and British cultures. As teachers, it is important I think to leave our judgements at the door when we walk in and like I have mentioned before from something I heard in class,  "BE THERE WHEN WE ARE THERE!"

My Ecological Theory Map

Jean Piaget and New Learning Styles



Schelma Mind Map

 Jean Piaget has played a vital role in the construction of what we know today about children and their learning; How they learn, what they learn, what they see and hear from what you say. When my parents and grandparents were in school there was little to no importance placed on different learning styles.  Today our curriculum has changed and what and why we are learning specific things is in far more depth because of the technology that is available to us. It makes sense for the technology to also take a closer look at education, but I never realized how far advanced we are in education until I took EDIT 302 last semester. The resources that are available are outstanding.

A teachers’ role has also changed over time. A teacher used to be almost the sole giver of information in schools, but now they are more of a guider to find information and to help decipher between helpful and non-helpful information. With the addition to computers, internet, and cell phones, teachers have to be even more prepared and organized. Those tools are there to help teachers but we must also really know how to use them or a PowerPoint is really just like notes on a chalk board or projector, and a smart board is really just a white board.

Jean Piaget focused on the 3 Cognitive Processes. He looked at how we organize new, old and odd information. He noticed how we choose to take in new and odd information changes our whole entire outlook on things and forces a new ‘framework’ for our thoughts and ideals. Its very interesting to look at his stages that he pointed out and the different focuses a teacher should have at each of these stages. As an elementary math teacher for example, it may be frustrating to teach addition if you did not know of these stages. You would wonder why something that seems so obvious is seemingly impossible to teach. With the simple addition of ‘props’ like coins or apples and oranges it could bring this skill to life for a child.

Looking at examples of each of these stages makes more sense to each of his stages.

1.     Sensorimotor- First stage. A child cries, meaning the child is wanting food, diaper change or sleep. Here the child is young and in a ‘ME’ stage I like to think of it as.

2.      Preoperational- Here the child is working with symbols of things rather than logic. A child learns to add or subtract using real fruit or objects because they cannot do it first without the help of objects/props.

3.      Concrete Operational- Here a child begins to use reasoning and logic. A child no longer has as much use for props and objects to learn material. They can start to do more intensified problems such as long division and working with longer words in spelling.

4.      Formal Operational- Highest level. More abstract thinking and child is beginning to have more ‘adult’ thinking. See more thank one way of thinking things and solving problems.

It was mentioned in class about concerns or issues with this theory. Each child develops at different rates and may reach one stage early and another one late or vice versa or may just be naturally faster or slower than other children.  Also, children can be going through more than one stage at a time. 

Although Piaget brought many new ideas to the face of education, children and students are like fingerprints, there are none that are completely alike in every way so we must also teach in this way that each child learns differently and achieves success at different levels.

Being a wise consumer of Information

We all grow up being bombarded with information left, right and centre. We are told ideas and blunt viewpoints from both sides of the spectrum. No matter where we turn this will always be the case, so what I need to learn is how to better be a consumer of information. We watched a film in class about the use of exercise to help the brain and how it is being used in schools. Being totally honest I believe this study 100%, I have seen results in being physically active verses not doing school.  I have seen first hand my grades start to slump because I am too fidgety in class.  But what this lesson in general has shown me is that I am too quick to believe and buy into information that has a statistic behind it.

My mom always said when we were growing up that “there are two sides to everything” so don’t believe everything you hear. She was roommates with a girl her age in university when her roommate’s parents and younger brother were killed in an airplane crash. The Edmonton Journal reported this accident incorrectly which has in turn affected her friend and my mom so I understand why she always told us to hear both sides. That is a fairly extreme example of this case, but important to remember when information comes my way.  

Also, information can sometimes actually be correct to an extent but not to extent that it may claim. In this video, the teachers in both Saskatoon and Chicago saw results, but maybe in another instance it may not have been so effective. The study was also done on a very particular group of students which may or may not include students in a regular school, or the students in a regular school may not see the same results.  Always look at information presented from more than one perspective, and where it’s coming from and possibly why it’s coming from that source.

Better late than never

September 11.2011

So it took me a little bit of time to finally re-figure out how do this blogging concept and everything.

Beginning of this class we learned about effective teaching.  We were given a list of aspects of the teaching profession:

1. Teaching involves social and ethical matters
2. Teaching involves multicultural students
3. Subject matter competence
4. Professional Skills
5. Commitment
6. Professional Growth

Within this list we were given examples that outlined and defined these aspects. One of the things said that really stood out to me was "Teaching is messy even though it seems easy on paper". That is so true. When I look around our class alone I see so many different learning styles, backgrounds, and possible home lives. There are most likely mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, big sisters, little sisters, etc that alone have so much impact on how you go about your daily life like; Should I attend my little brothers 16th birthday party and then have to stay up all night doing homework? or should I miss it and do homework that needs to be done also? Questions and dilemmas like this affect me every weekend. As all my family lives up by Edmonton, I usually choose to go home on weekends which then forces me to work extra hard all week and then have the weekend free, and be scrambling to get things done Sunday night, or do I stay home alone and end up wishing I was at home anyways.

Another way things get messy being a teacher is learning styles. Research has been so helpful in the teaching field to help understand why a certain child learns one way and another learns in a completely different way.  It seems almost impossible to grasp how to teach so many different ways...and to do it effectively.  This baffles my mind.

Another interesting thought mentioned was “We as teachers must not only be tolerant of multicultural students but excited." I grew up in a very small town, with a very 'white' school. I grew up being with many different races and cultures because of my dad's job, but many of the kids I went to school with were very racist against anything that wasn't the same as themselves. To be completely honest I never really stood up for anything unless it was out of hand and this is where the ' not only tolerant but excited' part of that thought comes into play. I like to think that I've grown up a lot since then, but I know I have a lot more of this to do. My minor is in aboriginal studies and when I finish I would like to be working in Aboriginal communities, and so a zeal for teaching everyone from every kind of upbringing is what I most want to strive for!

Subject matter competence "It’s only apparent in its absence"- this too stuck out to me. I have sat in class with a Biology teacher, trying to teach computer class. Or a math class with a English Major. It makes it that much harder for students to truly learn the subject matter when they too are learning it for themselves. In the Alberta Education system right now it is very hard to find jobs, and some are willing to take almost anything with a pay check, but if you aren't willing to put in the time so you can teach competently, then you shouldn't be there. I want to store this thought in my memory. Put the students learning, before my personal wants or desires!

Finally Commitment and Professional Growth!! "BE THERE WHEN YOUR THERE! Don't be thinking of your weekend plans, summer vacation, etc. I need to be there 100%. And professional growth- take criticism seriously. Meaning, if you receive helpful hints or constructive criticism... take it to heart and use it. It is essential for growth as a teacher and could be the make it or break it factor for your year.

About Me

Welcome to my blog...although this is not my first blog, I still feel like a rookie every time I start. Little information about me... I am in my second year at Red Deer College and still enjoying the slower pace of things in comparison to where I’m from. Ardrossan is my home town but that is quite close to the city limit of Edmonton, and I also spent my first two years in post secondary fighting traffic, honking horns, noise and of course business school until I decided enough was enough and transferred to RDC.

I grew up lining up my dolls to play school and being the teacher, and then when younger siblings came along, they became my new students, whether they liked it or not.  Right after high school I moved to England for a year to clear my head and figure out where I wanted to go and end up. When I moved back I had an idea that business school would be a great place to start, but teaching was always in the back of my mind. It’s in my roots. My great grandmother was a teacher in the Northwest Territories and would take her dogsled team to work. Although the novelty for that would probably wear off quite quickly come winter that was always my dream.  My grandma was also a teacher before she got married.  And my aunt is a teacher still today and loves her job, with the obvious bad day here or there, but if you ask her what she thinks, she wouldn’t have a negative response in regards to the career she chose.

 So after two years in business school in Edmonton, I finally switched into Education and it finally feels like things make sense and that I’m in the right field and on track!