In this lesson we had to listen to another one of Anita's podcasts, in which I enjoy. She focused on cognitive development and to follow, we had to answer questions that went along with her podcasts.
EDUC 2130 - Lesson 4 – Cognitive Development
Podcast Questions
What are some basic findings concerning the brain mentioned by Anita?
Anita mentions that we all have billions of neurons. We have nerve cells in our brains that send out branches to reach out to other branches in the brain, but the branches don't totally connect to one another. The space in between the branches is called a synapse.
What does Anita mean when she says ”Use it or Lose it?”
When Anita says “use it or lose it”, she is referring to synapses in a child’s brain. She says children have many more synapses than adults do, but if they don’t use them, they will lose them. Children soak up everything at a young age, and if they don’t use that information, they’ll lose it, and it won’t be very easy trying to get it back.
Why does Anita mention Taxi drivers in the podcast?
Taxi drivers were mentioned because she was using them as an example with brain process information. There is a part of the brain that is larger than the rest due to all the processing. The part of the brain is called hippocampus. Because of all the navigating around the city, and them having to remember each turn, buildings, streets, etc. their hippocampus is known to be bigger than non taxi drivers.
According to the podcast, why is it important to learn different methods in solving math problems?
Being able to learn different methods helps with brain development. The more knowledge you have about something, the more processes you can take to figure out your problem. You need to practice the knowledge you already have in different ways to help the chemical processing in your brain.
Explain ”Bloom’s Taxonomy”.
“Bloom’s Taxonomy” is to classify forms and levels of learning. To be able to get to high levels of education, such as, analyzing and evaluating, understanding the process needs to be understood, rather than just remembering facts. There are steps to "Bloom's Taxonomy". The first step to learning is remembering. Next comes understanding everything that has been learned. Then, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and then creating.
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html
Summary
Just the way the brain works amazes me. Our brains can hold so much information and I honestly don't know how. Bloom's Taxonomy explains really well of how learning needs to be processed to where you understand it. This was a really good lesson about the learning process and how the brain works.
Research Question
What are the main concepts of cognitive development?
Reference(s): http://www.psychologycampus.com/cognitive-psychology/cognitive-development.html
https://ayeshapenuela.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/perspectives-on-learning-vs-maturation-2/
Research Analysis
Maturation and learning are two main concepts in cognitive development. Maturation is a permanent change in thought or behavior regardless of the environment he/she is in. It is a natural process. Maturation connects to heredity, also. Because it is based off of heredity, it gives a person a limit of how much information a person can retain or who that person will become.
Learning is the second concept in cognitive development. Learning may seem very easy to describe because we've learned our whole lives, but it's much more than just sitting in a classroom of lectures. The process of learning is understanding, clarifying and applying our knowledge. There's even much more beyond understanding the process, clarifying, and applying our knowledge. It can also be exploration, discovery, refinement, and extension, meaning extension of our knowledge. This being said, individuals become learners when their behavior and knowledge changes.
Research Summary
Cognitive development is interesting and this question I researched explained the main concepts of cognitive development well. Where it explains learning, there's so much more that is to learning than we ever thought. Learning is much more than just understanding facts, a process, etc. My goal as a teacher is to get a student to actually learn the material I teach them, not just to understand it.