Effective Study Strategy

This week while I was studying chapter 7 and making the study guide to go along with it I tried one of the effective study methods that was mentioned in class. I used the reflective strategy. I would read a section then sit back and think about what I just read. By doing this I stayed focused on what I was reading and didn't get done and wonder what I just read. It also helped in making the study guide. By reading and than reflecting on what I just read I was able to put into words on paper what I just read. It also helped to pick out the important parts that I needed to pick out for the study guide as well. I hope to try some of the other strategies in the future.

Cognitive Psychology

I like the analogy of the brain as a circuit board. The brain has storage, memory, encoding and retrieval. I like how we went over the model of the memory and used the signs and had different things we need to remember and people go through and decide where that information would be stored. I have enjoyed chapter 6 and learning about the brain. All the terms are hard for me to remember but the activities done in class really help to remember the information. I have enjoyed learning about the brain it is facinating to me to see how we keeps so much information in how heads and decide when to use it and when not. I think of myself and how sometimes the smallest thing will spark a memory that I haven't thought of in years. Its amazing!

Piagetian Tasks

For the piagetian tasks I performed them on my nephew who is 7 years old. I did the water in the cups (which one has more) I also did the playdough (which pile has more), and the pennies (which one has more.) It was really fun and he enjoyed it as well, helping me do my college homework. He was mostly in the concrete (mature) area. He new that the cups had the same amount of water. He new the playdough had the same amount, even after being smashed. He new that the rows of pennies had different amounts without counting them. He is a genius He he he! It was a lot of fun to see how he would respond and to be able to see what area he fit into. I would do it again to see how different ages end up in different areas.

Google-Brain Researcher

http://radteach.com/page5/page5.html

Judy Willis is a neurologist and teacher. She went to medical school and practicted neurology for 15 years. From there she went back to school to obtain her teaching degree and masters. She is currently a middle school teacher. Her studies consist of Research-Based Strategies To Ignite Student Learning: Insights from a Neurologist/Classroom Teacher (2006), Brain-Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom (2007), and Teaching the Brain to Read: Strategies for Improving Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension (2008) ASCD. She is completing a fourth book ASCD book about research-based strategies for math instruction. She lectures around the US on her research studies.
Judy is renowned for her research in helping students in the classroom learn. Her research can be benificial to help the students in our classroom learn in a way that is easy for the brain to do so. We as teachers can read up on her reasearch and apply it to our teaching methods.
I would love to read one of her books. I think it would be great to see how the brain can work in different ways to help the students understand various sujects. I think it would be great to be able to help parents understand her research as well to get them involved in helping their children learn.

Fertile Minds-TIME

WOW! This article is so great. It is so amazing to read about how the brain works. The article helped me realize how the brain develops and how the brain is at a constant change. I like how the article brought out the point of working mothers putting their children in dare care and if that is really what should be happening with the federal government giving them money for that. Children need to play, touch, and see to develop the brain. Those children who do not get the chance to do so their brain could end up 20%-30% smaller than normal for their age. As the article says we need to provide rich experiences to end up with rich minds. there is a urgent need for preschool programs in underprivelaged areas where children are not getting the proper interaction with people. There are windows of opportunities for childrens brains to develop and those windows need to be used to help the children to grow. By age three a child who is neglected or abused will have that mark and is is more than likely not able to be removed. It is amazing how by the age of two children's brains contain twice as many synapses and consumes twice as much energy as the brain of a normal adult. Childrens brain reach the highest point at age two and remain that way until age eleven. Parents are greats source to help childrens brains develop. This article was great it really helped me think about how the brain functions and how we make it the way it is. Human brains are amazing!