In the first half of this Educational Psychology course, there were several concepts that I feel that I was truly engaged in, some concepts that I feel that I should have paid more attention to, and one thing that I feel should have been covered more deeply in the course. Three concepts that I believe were well covered and that I was truly engaged in were group differences, cognitive and linguistic development, and individual differences. Two concepts that I feel I should have paid more attention to were learning, cognition, and memory and educational research. One thing I wish was covered more deeply in Module 5, specifically, is special education law and the best practices to use to better help special education students learn in the classroom.

The first concept that I feel was well covered in this course was group differences. I had fun with this topic, which was covered in Module 4 of the course, because I was able to learn about gender and ethnic differences found in research. I learned that group differences are the “differences we’re apt to see on average among students of diverse cultural and ethnic groups, different genders, and different socioeconomic backgrounds” (Omrod, 2020). There were a few ideas that I learned to keep in mind when looking at the average group differences. I learned that a great amount of individual variability exists amongst groups, meaning that there may be many students within each group that may not be at all like the averages we find in research. I also learned that there may be overlap that exists between two groups. For instance, when we look at the data from the many research studies conducted on the verbal ability of boys and girls, we see that on average, girls have slightly higher verbal ability than boys. However, there is still a great amount of overlap between boys and girls. My favorite part about learning about this concept was discussing the different stereotypes and bias amongst gender and ethnic groups. Some of the uncommon stereotypes that aren’t often discussed in teacher trainings are that male teachers should not be teaching elementary students and that special education students cannot complete tasks without assistance.

The second concept that I feel that was well covered in this course was cognitive and linguistic development. This topic was covered in module 2 of the course. Two things that I enjoyed learning about is Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development and Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development. Piaget believed that children are active, motivated learners and “because Piaget proposed that Children construct their own beliefs and understandings from their experiences, his theory is sometimes called a constructivist theory or, more generally, constructivism” (Omrod, 2020). Piaget also believed that children learn through assimilation and accommodation and that one’s physical and social environment is important for cognitive development. Vygotsky believed that biological factors played a role in cognitive development. Vygotsky believed that “every culture passes along physical and cognitive tools that make daily living more productive and efficient” and that “thought and language become increasingly interdependent in the first few years of life” (Omrod, 2020). I learned that Vygotsky believe that children needed constructed guidance to learn and grow. One thing that I had one fun with during this chapter is discussing language diversity in the classroom and the many ways we could support our English as a Second Language (ESL) students in the classroom.

The third concept that I feel was well covered and that I enjoyed learning about was individual differences. What I learned about this topic, which was covered in Module 5, is that intelligence is “the ability to apply prior knowledge and experiences flexibly to accomplish challenging new tasks” (Omrod, 2020). I learned that intelligence can be characterized as adaptive, as a learning ability, culture specific, and even as having different mental processes. I learned that there were several theorists that shared similar and different theoretical perspectives of intelligence. One theory that I found interesting to learn about is Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner’s categories of intelligence included linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. In learning about this theory, I was able to identify certain areas in which I am more skilled or intelligent in than others. One thing I had most fun with when learning about individual differences is discussing learned helplessness and special education using the app FlipGrid. I enjoyed watching the videos of my peers discussing their opinions about whether there is enough being done in Special Education.

Two concepts that I feel that I should have paid more attention to is educational research and learning, cognition, and memory. Although I was given nice compliments on my article analyses, I still found myself having difficulty understanding the different types of quantitative and qualitative research and determining what type of research study was being conducted when examining a research article. With everything that has occurred in these past few weeks, I hadn’t been able to focus on and dive into the topic of learning, cognition, and memory in modules 6 and 7. I wish I would have spent more time understanding the relationship between learning and cognition. One thing that I wish was covered more deeply in module 5 is special education law. I think that it would be helpful to at least learn and understand the basic of terms and laws of special education that we’ll most likely come across in our career as educators. Although I work in a school district, I still get confused when I hear administrators and teachers talking about things such as IEPs.

What I learned about myself in the first half of this course is that I learned better when topics were interesting and when visuals were provided (for example: videos with audio lecture, notes, and images were VERY helpful). I also learned better through interaction with my peers. I feel like I acquired more information about topics when I was able to get the facts and opinions of my classmates through discussion posts on Canvas and FlipGrid.

References

Omrod, J. (2020). In Chapter 2: Cognitive and Linguistic Development (p. 42). New Jersey : Pearson Education .

Omrod, J. (2020). Chapter 2: Cognitive and Language Development . In Educational Psychology (p. 30). New Jersey : Pearson Education .

Omrod, J. (2020). Chapter 4: Group Differences . In Educational Psychology (pp. 107-108). New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Omrod, J. (2020). Chapter 5: Individual Differences and Special Educational Needs . In Educational Psychology (p. 146). New Jersey : Pearson Education .