As students move to the upper elementary grades, they are able to work more independently and with their peers than they are in the younger grades. I truly believe in fostering this independence in the classroom at the upper elementary level so that students are adequately prepared for middle and high school as well as life beyond school. Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, and the research that has been done since Piaget, can tell educators what our students are capable of understanding and remembering. This information will be vital as I develop lesson plans and teaching strategies in my future career. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development tell us that students between the ages of 2 and 7 are in the preoperational stage. In this stage, children are able to use pretend and imaginative play to symbolize and recall events that are not currently happening. Piaget also tells educators that students in this stage of development are egocentric and will “have difficulty in seeing points of view other than their own” (Driscoll, 2005). This means that it would be hard for students in the preoperational stage of development to work in groups to solve problems or to share opinions on various subjects.
From the ages of 7 to 11 years old, children are in the concrete operational stage. Because I plan on teaching grades 3-5, I will be working with students in the concrete operational stage. In this stage, children achieve higher level thinking, especially with logical-mathematical knowledge and operations. Their problem solving skills are more advanced than they were during the preoperational stage. In this stage, children also lose the egocentricism seen in the preoperational stage. This means they will be able to work with their peers more easily on team projects. (Driscoll, 2005) As a teacher, I will use Piaget’s theory to guide my lesson plans because I believe the students will be successful if I do so. Group projects and individual assignments that challenge students to solve problems and discover learning for themselves will be prominently featured in my classroom.
Self-efficacy is vital in a classroom, and I want to foster self-efficacy in all of my students every day they are with me. Self-efficacy, according to Albert Bandura, “refers to beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (Driscoll, 2005). Students work better when they have achieved self-efficacy. According to Bandura, when someone believes more in their own capabilities to perform a task, “they visualize success scenarios that provide positive guides and supports for performance” (Bandura, 1993). They will set higher goals for themselves and work hard to meet those goals. Self-efficacy is a fantastic motivator because “people motivate themselves and guide their actions anticipatorily by the exercise of forethought” (Bandura, 1993). Students who have confidence in their abilities will succeed, and I want to help them build this confidence in the classroom through my instruction, assignments, and extra support.
Technology will be a cornerstone in my classroom. Employing various digital tools will give students the opportunities "to investigate and explore the world just as professionals do in the field” (Coffman, 2017). Students are able to connect to places all over the world through these various technologies, and by bringing them into the classroom, it opens up the world to students who may never have the opportunity to travel or experience it firsthand. Technology also encourages self-efficacy and self-regulation in learning because students are given autonomy through technology. As a teacher, I will instruct students on how to properly and safely use the resources available on the internet. Once they can access these resources well, “the result will empower students to develop knowledge and skills at a more sophisticated level, displaying an increased, deliberate participation in intellectual work that runs parallel to the concepts of self-regulation” (Rogers & Swan, 2004). As our global environment grows because of the internet, inquiry-based learning is vital. Inquiry-based learning asks students to critically think and question the world around them. New technology, used in 21st century inquiry-based learning, “provide students with different ways to view and experience content, work and interact with others, use technology in an authentic way, and cope with and understand complex information” (Coffman, 2017). In my classroom, I will encourage inquiry-based learning through the use of technology to help students develop the problem solving skills that are naturally emerging according to Piaget.
One of the most challenging parts of being a teacher is classroom management. However, it is also one of the most important because when the classroom is out of control, instruction and learning is more difficult. During my time as a substitute teacher, I have been in numerous elementary school classrooms with various strategies for classroom management. I have been able to see what does and does not work in the classrooms. One of the methods I find least effective in the classroom is the color chart that elementary school teachers often use. Students can clip up or down depending on their behavior and then receive notes for their parents based on their behavior. After reading Marcy Driscoll’s Psychology of Learning for Instruction (2005) explanation of punishment versus negative reinforcement, it is clear that this does not work largely because it is a punishment. Driscoll states that the effectiveness of the punishment “tends to be short-lived” (2005). Therefore, the punishment temporarily stops the negative behavior, “but this does not mean it has been necessarily forgotten” (Driscoll, 2005). Often, punishment can lead to emotional issues and other aggressive behaviors. It is clear to me that the color charts do not work because they are only temporary solutions to the problem. They do not help the student learn that their behavior is the wrong choice and why it needs to be changed. Instead, in my classroom, I want to develop a classroom management style that focuses on positive reinforcement that can help them learn right from wrong. This positive reinforcement will strengthen desired behaviors and encourage students to do their best every single day in school.
As a teacher, I plan on evaluating my work frequently. In the article “Education Stories: Engaging Teachers in in Education Theory” by Dewhurst and Lamb (2005), I discovered the importance of periodically reviewing my work as a teacher throughout the year. As a teacher, each day on the job has something different to offer. I will have students with a wide range of interests, needs, and learning styles, and I need to constantly be checking my own work to guarantee that I am doing the best job I can for each child. If I fail to do these critiques of my work as a teacher, I could hinder the learning experience and even leave a few students behind. The article stresses the importance of using stories in the classroom to “appeal to the opposing tensions and schemata in students’ own minds” (Dewhurst & Lamb, 2005). Debates and stories in the classroom allow teachers to engage in various theories of learning that “do not just make our constitutive self-understandings explicit, but extend, or criticise or even challenge them” (Dewhurst & Lamb, 2005). By engaging the students in these debates and stories from a young age, I am allowing them to develop critical thinking skills and the knowledge needed to form their own opinions as they grow. I look forward to spending time in the classroom with my students and adapting my teaching philosophy based on their needs and the challenges I face each day in the classroom once I graduate.
References
Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28 (2), 117-148.Coffman, T. (2017). Inquiry-based learning (3rd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Dewhurst, D. & Lamb, S. (2005). Educational Stories: Engaging teachers in educational theory. Educational Philosophy & Theory, 37(6), 907-917.
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Rogers, D., & Swan, K. (2004). Self-regulated learning and internet searching. Teachers College Record, 106( 9), 1804-1824.
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