Premium Essay

Importance of Teachers in Developmental Education

In:

Submitted By lauramarie1114
Words 1076
Pages 5
Final Exam Essay: Topic #2

Laura Kerkhoff
Developmental Educational Psychology
Tuesday/Thursday 5PM
The Metropolitan State College of Denver

Teachers make a crucial impact on every child’s life. The teacher is the main source of learning from Preschool or Kindergarten all the way until they graduate from High School or College. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of Teach is “to show (a person) the way; to direct, conduct, convoy, guide.. To direct or refer”. To me, this is a beautiful definition, because I love the thought of teachers guiding, directing, and showing students the way through their lives. I think the main purpose of education is to prepare children for the everyday world and guide them along steady, successful paths. Parents, of course, play a big role in this as well, but it is teachers that give children the fundamentals of every subject, teach them about all of the wonderful and not so wonderful things in the world, and fuel a curiosity to learn more. I believe that a good teacher should be an inspiration to all of their students to do well in school, and to pursue their dreams. It is some of the best teachers that I have had that inspired me to become a teacher and make an impact on other children’s lives. I want to not only be a source of knowledge for my students, but also someone that they can trust and look to for guidance. The biggest thing that I was able to take from this class is a greater understanding of the learning process through the different stages of childhood development. Since my sister and I are the youngest out of all my extended family, I have never really had the chance to see a child grow up and move through all of the stages. Before this class, I never really realized how large of changes there were between the stages, and I didn’t have a clue when each stage happened. I now have a

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Developmental Delays and the Environment of Learning Needs of Children

...1 Developmental delays and the environment of learning needs of children LaKila Salter ECE 205 Prof. Dana Bux June 18, 2012 DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS AND THE ENVIRONMENT 2 Although the early childhood education field recommends programs utilize what are known as Developmentally Appropriate Practices, it does not yet have the research base to promote any single curriculum model as “best.” In addition, no state government or federal entity mandates use of just one particular curriculum in their publicly funded preschool programs. Preschool curriculum models vary widely. Some may detail exactly what to teach. A single curriculum may not address all of the different areas of learning. Even if a curriculum fits a program’s philosophy and provides the needed amount and type of content, it might not be appropriate for the children enrolled. Not all curriculum models have been empirically evaluated or even based on a systematic and comprehensive review of research of how young children learn. In addition, no single curriculum or approach has been proven to be best for all preschool programs. (http://www.isbe.state.il.us/earlychi/pdf/preschool_curriculum.pdf) For example, preschool Palace Curriculum is an age-appropriate, complete 10 month preschool curriculum for ages 2 1/2-5 designed for daycares, preschools, and homeschooling families. The curriculum includes daily lesson plans, monthly planner, craft ideas, and printable...

Words: 1073 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Quality Physical Educaton

...Quality Physical Education Apart from the time and effort it may take to come up with an appropriate curriculum, quality physical education is best understood as the way an educator teaches students about the importance of health and wellness, for the reason that its main programs are an effort to create a healthy physical lifestyle for all students. While there are surely more pros than cons regarding physical education, there are issues at hand which teachers, parents, administrators, and students are faced with when providing or receiving quality physical education. Some parents may feel that the standards are set too high, while teachers may feel the standards aren’t high enough. There may be some children who have developmental or health issues, which will require the physical education teacher to reorganize the curriculum. With that said, administrators are basically stuck in the middle as they have obligations to teachers, students, and parents. While quality physical education is of extreme importance, especially within the elementary school setting, there are many issues educators will stumble upon more often than not. Child obesity and asthma are becoming more and more of a problem, which more than likely stems from their home environment, or a health problem. There are budget constraints, teaching methods, and students with special needs. Despite the fact that all of these factors will come about, it is still important to emphasize the importance of quality...

Words: 1893 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

All About Science: Word Scavanger

...Elementary Education Standards (1999 ed-rev. 2003) - Summary DEVELOPMENT, LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 1. Development, Learning and Motivation--Candidates know, understand, and use the major concepts, principles, theories, and research related to development of children and young adolescents to construct learning opportunities that support individual students’ development, acquisition of knowledge, and motivation. CURRICULUM 2.1. English language arts—Candidates demonstrate a high level of competence in use of English language arts and they know, understand, and use concepts from reading, language and child development, to teach reading, writing, speaking, viewing, listening, and thinking skills and to help students successfully apply their developing skills to many different situations, materials, and ideas; 2.2. Science—Candidates know, understand, and use fundamental concepts in the subject matter of science—including physical, life, and earth and space sciences—as well as concepts in science and technology, science in personal and social perspectives, the history and nature of science, the unifying concepts of science, and the inquiry processes scientists use in discovery of new knowledge to build a base for scientific and technological literacy; 2.3. Mathematics—Candidates know, understand, and use the major concepts, procedures, and reasoning processes of mathematics that define number systems and number sense, geometry, measurement,...

Words: 5673 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Play Reflection Paper

...social, and emotional development” (Ivory and McCollum, 1999, p.238). Undertaking the literature review on play made me realize how important and underused play is when working towards improving developmental domains for children with exceptionalities and when promoting learning. The first main finding that stood out to me was that children with exceptionalities display delays in play development (Lifter, Mason and Barton, 2011; Messier, Ferland and Mainimer, 2007; Bray and Cooper, 2007; Hine and Wolery, 2006; and Pierce-Jordan and Lifter, 2005). This is useful information if we want to foster meaningful interactions between children with and without exceptionalities in the inclusive classroom. If some children are using more complex play skills, children with exceptionalities may not be able to keep up if they are unable to play at the same level. This could result in a decrease in the amount of social interaction that takes place between children and to some extent exceptional children may become alienated within the classroom. Exceptional children who are physically present in the classroom but do not belong (their presence isn’t valued) are known as squatters (Kliewer, 1998). In an inclusive classroom all students should be full citizens; Rapp and Arndt (2012) discuss the importance of this. Kliewer (1998) outlines four principles of citizenship: believing in one’s own ability to think, believing in one’s individuality, belief in the reciprocity of relationships and a...

Words: 1337 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Psychology of Education

...of psychology and psychological methods to the study of development, learning, motivation, instruction, assessment, and related issues that influence the interaction of teaching and learning. This definition is broad because the potential applications of educational psychology to the learning process are immense! Today educational psychology is a vital discipline that is contributing to the education of teachers and learners. For example, Jerome Bruner, an enduring figure in educational psychology, recently noted the need to rethink our ideas of development, teaching, and learning and the interactions among them. Specifically, Bruner (1996) urged educators and psychologists to see children as thinkers, and stated: No less than the adult, the child is thought of as holding more or less coherent "theories" not only about the world but about her own mind and how it works. These naive theories are brought into congruence with those of parents and teachers not through imitation, not through didactic instruction, but by discourse, collaboration, and negotiation . . . . This model of education is more concerned with interpretation and understanding than with the achievement of factual knowledge or skilled performance. (1996, p. 57)...

Words: 4519 - Pages: 19

Premium Essay

Intellectual and Development Disabilities and Behavioral or Emotional Disorders

...Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Emotional or Behavioral Disorders Natasha Hoaglen California State University, Chico Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Emotional or Behavioral Disorders Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Emotional or Behavioral Disorders are complex disabilities and disorders that are hard for families to deal with not to mention the person enduring them. Such disabilities or disorders may seem very challenging or impossible to overcome and become successful, however throughout this paper it will be evident that it’s not the case. It is possible to succeed, when educators and families work together to provides services to students so they can become the best them. The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Emotional or Behavioral Disorders and how to help such learners. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Description & Characteristics Intellectual and developmental disabilities [ID and DD] are defined as those having “significant limitations, both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before age 18” (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2009, p. 178). There are different levels of ID and DD depending on a person’s intellectual quote [IQ]. Mild is an IQ between 50-70, moderate is an IQ between 35-50, severe is an IQ between 20-35, and profound...

Words: 1519 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

The Role of Educational Psychology in Teaching

...Educational Psychology in Teaching Aundrea Riley PSY 6631: Psychological Foundations of Education March 9, 2012 Dabney Hunter McKenzie, Ph.D. Introduction There are many who have wondered about the place of educational psychology in teaching and learning. However, a closer look at the nature and scope of learning and teaching and the essence of educational psychology clearly shows a relationship that can be best described as mutually integral. This means that there can never be effective educational programs outside educational psychology. This paper therefore seeks to establish the lucidity of the interconnection between the two. Background of the Study There have been arguments and counterarguments in favor of, and against the integrating of teaching practices with educational psychology. While proponents of this integration cite the gains that are to be realized from this fusion, opponents maintain that the cost of integrating the two is too high. These opponents maintain that inserting educational psychology disciplines into teaching college education is costly and makes this tertiary level of education laborious. The same group maintains that integrating educational psychology into teaching exercises is a peripheral undertaking and only makes teaching laborious and inundating. Literature review As many experts on education maintain, there are several roles that educational psychology play in training and teaching...

Words: 2675 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Outcomes and Indicators of Positive Start to School

...Acknowledgements This report would not have been possible without the support of two research assistants, Caroline Scott and Karin Barty. We thank them for their enthusiasm for the project and the many hours they spent searching the literature. The Early Childhood Education Research Team would also like to acknowledge the parents, primary school teachers, school principals, early childhood professionals and other support staff who were willing to provide their views on what they considered to be a successful transition to school. A very special thank you to the kindergarten teachers who, at the time, were very busy writing Transition Learning and Development Statements yet somehow put time aside to answer our questions. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the support and colleagueship provided by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, especially Pippa Procter, Gina Suntesic and Karen Weston. This has been an interesting and stimulating project for us all. The Early Childhood Education Research Team Victoria University December, 2009 Table of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction • Background • Purpose Methodology • Literature Review • Participants • Data Collection • Victorian Early Years Learning & Development Framework (Victorian Framework) • Outcomes • Indicators • Measures • Tables Outcomes & Indicators of a Positive Start to School • For Children • For Families • For Educators • Table 1: Outcomes & indicators of a positive start to school...

Words: 22052 - Pages: 89

Premium Essay

Early Childhood Teacher

...As an early childhood teacher my goal is to reach every child and treat them as an individual despite their weaknesses or strengths. Every child is unique in their own way. Each child grows at their own developmental level and each child comes from an environment that has their own beliefs and values. My role would be to form a relationship with each child as I seek to guide them and help them to become independent individuals and also provide them with a rich environment where they feel safe to explore, initiate learning and feel free to express themselves among their peers. I believe it is our responsibility to understand the child as a whole and customize our curriculum to meet the child’s needs. As educators we should set up a high quality classroom environment where the child can grow, learn and explore at his or her own developmental level. Each child has the potential to bring something unique and special to the world. I will help children to develop their potential by believing in them and encouraging them. I will assist children in discovering who they are, so they can express their own opinions and nurture their ideas. “One of the fundamental principles in early childhood pedagogy is the importance of play to children’s learning and development. The commitment to a play-based curriculum can be traced through theory and ideology into early childhood programs in many different countries” (Saracho, et al. 2002, p. 188). I want the children to feel that learning can...

Words: 608 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Early Childhood Development

...Project Harvard Graduate School of Education HARVARD FAMILY RESEARCH PROJECT  NO. 1 in a series  SPRING 2006 Family Involvement IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION  The family seems to be the most effective and economical system for fostering and sustaining the child’s development. Without family involvement, intervention is likely to be unsuccessful, and what few effects are achieved are likely to disappear once the intervention is discontinued.1 —Urie Bronfenbrenner This brief is dedicated to Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917–2005) whose pioneering research influenced the work of Harvard Family Research Project. Introduction Family involvement matters for young children’s cognitive and social development. But what do effective involvement processes look like, and how do they occur? This research brief summarizes the latest evidence base on effective involvement—that is, the research studies that link family involvement in early childhood to outcomes and programs that have been evaluated to show what works. The conceptual framework guiding this research review is complementary learning. Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) believes that for children and youth to be successful from birth through adolescence, there must be an array of learning supports around them. These learning supports include families, early childhood programs, schools, outof-school time programs and activities, higher education, health and social service agencies...

Words: 7085 - Pages: 29

Premium Essay

Sharing Sources

...NORTHCENTRAL UNIVERSITY ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET Learner: Todd Martin | | ED 6001-8 | Dr. Sean Spear | | | Action Research for Education | Assignment 2 Sharing Sources | | | ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Faculty Use Only ------------------------------------------------- <Faculty comments here> ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- <Faculty Name> <Grade Earned> <Writing Score> <Date Graded> Assignment 2 Sharing Sources College readiness is a perennial issue, and one that will garner much attention. For several decades, researchers have documented the gap between high school and college expectations, noting that even students who complete a college preparatory curriculum in high school are often poorly prepared for college. This lack of alignment contributes to high postsecondary remediation rates and hinders college completion. Over the years, state policymakers and education leaders have responded with a variety of wide-ranging and costly efforts, including the development of state-level content standards and assessments. However, these standards vary widely among states and generally lack sufficient rigor to assure readiness for credit bearing courses in college. It is...

Words: 2862 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Inclusion

...Inclusion, or organized placement of children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms (Cook, 2001), has certainly been one of the major topics in education for the last two decades (Avramidis, Bayliss, & Burden, 2000). However, it was not until quite recently that teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN) became the focus of extensive research (Avramidis & Kalyva, in press; Jobe & Rust, 2006). The major reason for this change in research interest could perhaps be traced to more contemporary approaches to education, which claim that in order to gain valuable insight into the practice as well as the dynamics of the inclusive classroom, there is perhaps no better method than to evaluate the attitudes of those who form an important part of that dynamic system; namely, the teachers (Rose, 2001). Indeed, teachers’ attitudes have been found to affect the process and the outcome of inclusion to a great extent (e.g., Avramidis et al., 2000; Richards, 2009). More specifically, teachers’ positive attitudes towards the inclusion of children with SEN could facilitate inclusion in a mainstream setting (e.g., Cook, 2001; Richards, 2009), since positive attitudes are closely related to motivation to work with and teach children with SEN. Teachers’ motivation in this case is of utmost importance because inclusion demands time, organisation, and cooperation with a pupil with SEN who is not customarily willing or able to participate in classroom...

Words: 1510 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Lifelong Learning Essay

...Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) addresses the area of the development of infants and toddlers with disabilities. The thought behind this program was to reduce educational costs by providing early intervention services to children with disabilities before they reach school age. The intention was to encourage the collaboration of agencies that provide health, education, and human services. The neural circuits which are a part of the brain that creates the foundation for learning, behavior, and health, are most susceptible to change during the first three years of life. In order to intercept and encourage the effectiveness of intervention, early diagnosis and identification is critical. Extreme poverty, abuse and neglect, or severe maternal depression leads to damage that can have a life time effect in learning, behavior, and physical and mental health. Intervention in these areas can provide education and resources for proper nutrition, health and mental health screenings. Positive early experiences strengthens the brain while early social and emotional development provides a firm foundation for the building of cognitive and language skills. (Goode, Diefondorf, and Colgan, 2011). Recognizing early childhood is a distinct period prime for intervention, IDEA requires all states and localities to develop a system of services to target this age group. This requirement is to reduce the need of, or reduce the amount of, special education services, enhance the development...

Words: 1404 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Its Complicated

...but on the opinions and developmental tactics of teachers and how they foster communication with parents when faced with problematic behaviors. The teachers that were interviewed were part of the National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) teaching the elementary school level. Based on the feedback of the teacher interviews, children in today’s society are coming to school more often with problematic behaviors and attitudes; as a result, there is a growing necessity to instill character education within schools as well as establishing stronger communication ties with a student’s parents or caretakers. Teachers believe that this can be attributed to many factors; some including children are often confused about appropriate and inappropriate behaviors due to being exposed to more adult targeted media at a much younger age. This can also be misinterpreted by the thin line that separates appropriate and inappropriate behavior that is constantly broadcasted on the media. One similar response that was heard throughout the teacher interview process is that in order for character education to be successful there needs to be a joint responsibility between home and school. According to the interview teachers have agreed that the most popular strategies in teaching students character education is through modeling of desired behaviors and taking advantage of teachable moments which can happen at home as well as in school. This article clarifies the importance of establishing open relationships...

Words: 416 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Doctoral Identity

...they are identical or fraternal, each should have their own identity. Identity can be defined as “who one is” or “who one sees in the mirror.” When one enters a doctoral program, he or she embarks upon a new identity, generally known as the “doctoral identity.” Mentors, faculty, family, coworkers and cohort members all play a critical role in fostering the doctoral identity. “Developmental Networks and Learning: Toward an Interdisciplinary Perspective on Identity Development during Doctoral Study by Baker and Lattuca, (2010) discusses and links two theories – developmental networks and sociocultural perspectives on learning and to foster the interdisciplinary approach of doctoral education as a Segway to the professoriate. Weidman and Stein (2003) in “Socialization of Doctoral Students to Academic Norms” addresses socialization of doctoral students to the academic norms of research and scholarship. They are joined by Visser, Visser and Schloasser’s “Critical Thinking Distance Education and Traditional Education” (2003), emphasizes the importance of critical thinking to traditional and distance education. These three articles are so intertwined, that it would be futile to discuss one without the input of the other two. The purpose of this paper is to analyze, compare and synthesize the themes via literature reviews inclusive of research questions, sample populations, the results, limitations and recommendations that include future studies. This paper will discuss how socialization...

Words: 1550 - Pages: 7