After I write a midterm, I like to go back and rerun it in my head and go over what could have been done better, what could have been overlooked while I studied and so on. This midterm is no different, we haven't gotten our marks back, but I feel somewhat confident in how I did. It was a fairly written exam, but a few of the questions confused me, maybe just because of how I had interpreted the information. A few of the questions I felt I had to prove my answer and I didn't feel like the answer could be answered by a yes or no but that is all it required. All in all, I think the midterm was fine, but I should have spent more time on the theories than I did on the readings in the book, because those questions carried more weight than the text questions. These are all pointers that I will definitely take into the next and final exam. Each teacher has a different style and exam style.
Now we are onto new content, but with the other stuff we learned ready to be called on from the back of our brains.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The world is a simple place....Hmmmm?
Busy busy busy, these days. Seems like everything happens at once, like the teachers all had a meeting to create the deadlines in the same week, but clearly that is NOT the case. What happened is I procrastinated until the last minute and left everything until this week to cram it all in. Like that saying goes, "when you point a your finger at someone else, 3 other fingers are pointing right back at you" , so it's time to step up to the plate and take some responsibility for my actions.
Classes this past few days have been very engaging for me lately, not sure if I'm trying harder or the content matter is more along the kinds that I can relate to and understand more clearly,probably the latter. I enjoy the examples used in class to relate something that has usually happened to me in class, or to someone I knew in class, to a big, crazy, definition or theory. This makes it much more real and in studying for the midterm I have found when I think of what the content is, I think more of the example then the theory, and then it makes a little path of remembering to get to what it is. It's been really effective. I've started also using this method of studying for my other classes.
Also in my other classes, I have used content that we have learned in EDPY in class discussions and in understanding relatable topics. We were discussing a moral issue and it was interesting to think of the different theories and stages we learned on moral devilment and think about why they may have answered or not have answered in a particular way to a question or debate.
One of my teachers says over and over " the world is a simple place as long as you place structure upon it" , which in many cases is true. In teaching it's a little more complex as to where , how and when the structure should be used, but even as a rule to self to not drive myself crazy. For example, Tuesday's and thursdays are days I focus mainly on anthropology and psychology, whereas the other three days I tend to devote to EDPY and math. It makes everything I'm learning much more manageable. It's interesting to see that what we learn in collage is not solely content, it's much more. It teaches us how to organize our schedules effectively and also that we all need a little breathing room as a break. For some of us it's going out for a drink, for others, maybe going to the gym, but some time away from studying and typing and so on is needed for sanity reasons.
Classes this past few days have been very engaging for me lately, not sure if I'm trying harder or the content matter is more along the kinds that I can relate to and understand more clearly,probably the latter. I enjoy the examples used in class to relate something that has usually happened to me in class, or to someone I knew in class, to a big, crazy, definition or theory. This makes it much more real and in studying for the midterm I have found when I think of what the content is, I think more of the example then the theory, and then it makes a little path of remembering to get to what it is. It's been really effective. I've started also using this method of studying for my other classes.
Also in my other classes, I have used content that we have learned in EDPY in class discussions and in understanding relatable topics. We were discussing a moral issue and it was interesting to think of the different theories and stages we learned on moral devilment and think about why they may have answered or not have answered in a particular way to a question or debate.
One of my teachers says over and over " the world is a simple place as long as you place structure upon it" , which in many cases is true. In teaching it's a little more complex as to where , how and when the structure should be used, but even as a rule to self to not drive myself crazy. For example, Tuesday's and thursdays are days I focus mainly on anthropology and psychology, whereas the other three days I tend to devote to EDPY and math. It makes everything I'm learning much more manageable. It's interesting to see that what we learn in collage is not solely content, it's much more. It teaches us how to organize our schedules effectively and also that we all need a little breathing room as a break. For some of us it's going out for a drink, for others, maybe going to the gym, but some time away from studying and typing and so on is needed for sanity reasons.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Midterm Approaching!
With the midterm edging closer and closer, its crazy to think that its already that time, and daunting to think of the midterm itself. We are all heading of the direction of being teachers ourselves and right now are very much still students. Not quite 'wearing the teacher cap'... still worrying about deadlines, projects, exams, etc, but I got thinking to myself about this.
But we never really finish being a student throughout our whole life. Hopefully we are aiming to be life long learners, therefore lifelong students. Even when I become a teacher I will be learning new material everyday, having deadlines, meeting new faces and trying to understand them, and so. So even if we aren't intending on being life long learners, I guess it happens anyways, I think the best thing to do then is to embrace it.
Embrace the challenges of being a continual learner and what it takes to do if effectively. I'm sure we've all been around a person who hasn't necessarily embraced this...Pride surprisingly and negativeity can get in the way without really noticing it. Lifelong learning is admitting we're wrong, when we are wrong; saying sorry when we've done something wrong; going the extra mile, even when we are exhausted; its awesome( for lack of another word) what happens when this happens. My grandma was an excellent example of this.
There I go rambling on and on, back to the books for me!! Study! Study! Study!
But we never really finish being a student throughout our whole life. Hopefully we are aiming to be life long learners, therefore lifelong students. Even when I become a teacher I will be learning new material everyday, having deadlines, meeting new faces and trying to understand them, and so. So even if we aren't intending on being life long learners, I guess it happens anyways, I think the best thing to do then is to embrace it.
Embrace the challenges of being a continual learner and what it takes to do if effectively. I'm sure we've all been around a person who hasn't necessarily embraced this...Pride surprisingly and negativeity can get in the way without really noticing it. Lifelong learning is admitting we're wrong, when we are wrong; saying sorry when we've done something wrong; going the extra mile, even when we are exhausted; its awesome( for lack of another word) what happens when this happens. My grandma was an excellent example of this.
There I go rambling on and on, back to the books for me!! Study! Study! Study!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
What'd I miss?
The last two classes I missed, and so I tried to catch up over the weekend which just so happened to be thanksgiving...so happy belated Thanksgiving!!
I looked up in more detail Carol Gilligan and her thoughts on moral development. I found her theory and ideas very interesting and she has managed to stick out in my mind. She found Kohlbergs theory to be biased and sexist. He only used males in his studies. The vital flaw with this testing is the key fact that boys and girl develop differently and at different rates. You see it in kindergarden, right up to the end of high school. Kids play differently, act differently, and make their decisions differently. Therefore develop differently in many ways. Of course they do have similarities in several areas as well.
I looked up in more detail Carol Gilligan and her thoughts on moral development. I found her theory and ideas very interesting and she has managed to stick out in my mind. She found Kohlbergs theory to be biased and sexist. He only used males in his studies. The vital flaw with this testing is the key fact that boys and girl develop differently and at different rates. You see it in kindergarden, right up to the end of high school. Kids play differently, act differently, and make their decisions differently. Therefore develop differently in many ways. Of course they do have similarities in several areas as well.
Monday, October 3, 2011
IQ Testing
IQ testing...everyone wants to know their own IQ, and where they fit in, in the scheme of things. Everyone wants to think that that are smart, and so in this sense I do not see the harm in IQ Testing. I believe that the harm comes when it begins to affect a child and where they too see themselves in their learning. Every child learns at their own pace and may reach a point of intelligence before another, but may plateau at another point. My sister had several intelligence tests done on her, and she was found that she could move up several grades in mathematics and English, but she chose not to. She chose not to because she did not want to separate herself from her friends and enjoyed being in that grade at that age. Also she would have found certain things different like maturity levels and so on and so may have found herself behind in other things, which is a horrible feeling for a child in uncertain circumstances.
Many children are convinced to move into grade ahead of them., and then the school and parents and the child them self find out that they are out of their league in other ways, maybe in socializing, or other areas that affect them, which then puts a strain on their already strained atmosphere of being with all the 'big kids'.
As much importance as you can put on intelligence, social adjustments are just as important or more. Socializing is used in every single aspect of our life in some way, and not being properly 'socialized' can affect every aspect of our life. If you spent several years of your life not hanging out with kids your own age, you will be affected by that too. Also in regards to IQ testing, so much work is put into creating and doing the IQ tests, with little benefit from them in comparison to the work. Once you are labeled with something, it is hard to get rid of that label.
Many children are convinced to move into grade ahead of them., and then the school and parents and the child them self find out that they are out of their league in other ways, maybe in socializing, or other areas that affect them, which then puts a strain on their already strained atmosphere of being with all the 'big kids'.
As much importance as you can put on intelligence, social adjustments are just as important or more. Socializing is used in every single aspect of our life in some way, and not being properly 'socialized' can affect every aspect of our life. If you spent several years of your life not hanging out with kids your own age, you will be affected by that too. Also in regards to IQ testing, so much work is put into creating and doing the IQ tests, with little benefit from them in comparison to the work. Once you are labeled with something, it is hard to get rid of that label.
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