Through my experience and education at Michigan State university I believe that my views on child development align with an Interactionist and Modern/Alternative view. Specifically, the 8 Stages of Man (Erickson), Hierarchy of Developmental Needs (Maslow), Constructivist Stages of Cognitive Development (Piaget), and the Ecological view (Bronfenbrenner) are all theories that I believe in and will be the base of my future classroom. I also believe that assessment is a huge part of how the classroom functions. There are many different types of assessments, so many, that I wouldn’t be able to pick just one that is the best. I do have a few that I like more than others because of their benefits. The way I will teach in my future classroom will come from my views on different theories and different assessments that I have learned about, and I will take what I believe is the best of the best from many different sources to create an authentic classroom environment for each and every child that enters my room.
I personally believe that I cannot just pick one theory to base my career off of. I like many different parts from a couple theories. The Eight Stages of Man developed by Erickson includes trust vs. mistrust starting at the bottom, and then continuing to autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and ending with integrity vs. despair at the top (Harewood, 2017). It is viewed that a child starts at the bottom and increases in complexity as their life grows. I like this model because it breaks down into categories depending on a child’s age, and I do believe that they learn these skills or experience these skills in situations and as they grow.
Another theory that I align with is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Developmental needs. This theory also has stages that builds on each other, which is something that I believe in because I think that children grow by starting simple and learning new things that build on top of each other to create more complex emotions and experiences (Harewood, 2017). This theory starting from the bottom includes: physiological needs, safety needs, love and belongingness, esteem needs, cognitive needs, aesthetic needs, and ends with self-actualization (Harewood, 2017). I think that these are all stages in life that build on each other and that everyone uses in their daily lives to learn about the environment and relationships that children live and grow in. I agree with Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development because again these build upon each other and also have ages with the stages. This model starts with sensorimotor (0-2 years), preoperational (2-6 years), concrete operational (7-12 years), and ends with formal operational (12 years - adult) (Harewood, 2017). I think that this is a helpful guide because it does include the ages. Just like the other theories that I align with, this model describes emotions and experiences that children experience as they develop into adults. Lastly, I believe that Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological model shows the child in a multi layered context and I appreciate how the model shows how a child is influenced directly or indirectly by the different layers. These layers start at the individual and then build off into the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem (Harewood, 2017). Again, this model builds off each other which is something that I believe strongly about. I also feel strongly about how the child is directly impacted by the people and environment that he/she is surrounded by. I think that children learn so much by their families, teachers, and friends, who surround them most of the hours of the week. So much research has been done to show that children are affected by the people around them and the way they act is because of the experiences and opportunities given to them. As a teacher I think this is one of the most important aspects to remember for every child walking into my classroom.
During my education at Michigan State University I have learned that assessing students is just as equally as important as teaching students. There are so many benefits as a teacher that you can receive from assessments. The catch is that you have to be able to assess in the best way possible for the children that are in your class. High quality assessments are purposeful, objective, clear, detailed, and separate form interpretation (Harewood, 2017). The best way to assess children is through observations. There are qualitative assessments, for example: running records, anecdotal notes, antecedent behavior consequence (ABC) (Harewood, 2017). There are also quantitative assessments for example: checklists, rating scales, tally event sampling, and time sampling (Harewood, 2017). I believe that anecdotal notes and tally event sampling are two out of many beneficial assessments that I will use in my classroom. “Anecdotal notes are brief, accurate notes made of significant events or critical incidents in a particular child’s day” (Mindes & Jung, 2015). These are quick, nonjudgmental notes that an observer writes. I love these because they tell exactly what the child was saying and doing. It is recorded in the past tense, and it is recorded because it is developmentally significant and valuable (Harewood, 2017). I love these because they can tell me anything about a child the possibilities are endless. Some examples could be: what a child is interested in, what they are feeling, what might be going on at home, etc. By using this information, I can also pick up on patterns during the child’s day at school (Mindes & Jung, 2015). I need this kind of information to make my classroom child based and to make the environment as authentic as possible. “Event sampling is a record of skills or behaviors that you want the children in your class to know or to do in a specified amount of time (Mindes & Jung, 2015). This kind of information will also let me know what the child’s interests are. For example, I might notice that a child spends all 40 minutes of free choice at the sensory table. This lets me know that I need to keep up to date on the table and frequently change what is it in to keep the child involved. I can also use the table to incorporate other learning subjects/domains to increase other skill, but during an activity that this child enjoys. Lastly this tells me that I need to work on making the other centers more appealing to this child and I can do that by incorporating their interests.
These assessments have different goals that provide specific benefits and drawbacks depending on what the outcome or goal is. I have had experience with all of these different assessments, and I have learned that it is not just the assessment that matters, but it is the information from the assessment. In order to be the best teacher possible you have to put the children first and make them the top priority. By simply knowing their interests and hobbies I can make lesson plans to improve their growth in many different domains. It is important as a teacher to make the learning environment as authentic as possible. This means providing opportunities that interests the children, and by caring about them, gaining their trust, building a relationship with them, getting to know their family/life at home, and their backgrounds and beliefs. It is also so important to provide a strong and trusting relationship with not only the child but the parents too. I believe you need a trusting relationship with the parents as well because when I get results back from an assessment that might lead to more evaluations and tougher decisions, I need parents to know that they can trust me, and I need to be able to address these situations with parents in a flexible, calm, and informative way.
Overall, I believe that children come first in the classroom, and starting off with a strong trusting relationship with children and their families is the foundation for an amazing classroom. I believe the 8 Stages of Man (Erickson), Hierarchy of Developmental Needs (Maslow), Constructivist Stages of Cognitive Development (Piaget), and the Ecological view (Bronfenbrenner) will guide my classroom to be student led and child centered. I plan to use certain assessments that fit the needs of my students, and I plan to communicate the results to parents in a fitting way. This means that I will use clear and simple words, I will take their feelings into consideration, I will choose the words I use carefully, and I will always respect them. I hope that with my experiences through Michigan State University I can lead a classroom and create an environment for students to learn, grow, and be successful!
I personally believe that I cannot just pick one theory to base my career off of. I like many different parts from a couple theories. The Eight Stages of Man developed by Erickson includes trust vs. mistrust starting at the bottom, and then continuing to autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and ending with integrity vs. despair at the top (Harewood, 2017). It is viewed that a child starts at the bottom and increases in complexity as their life grows. I like this model because it breaks down into categories depending on a child’s age, and I do believe that they learn these skills or experience these skills in situations and as they grow.
Another theory that I align with is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Developmental needs. This theory also has stages that builds on each other, which is something that I believe in because I think that children grow by starting simple and learning new things that build on top of each other to create more complex emotions and experiences (Harewood, 2017). This theory starting from the bottom includes: physiological needs, safety needs, love and belongingness, esteem needs, cognitive needs, aesthetic needs, and ends with self-actualization (Harewood, 2017). I think that these are all stages in life that build on each other and that everyone uses in their daily lives to learn about the environment and relationships that children live and grow in. I agree with Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development because again these build upon each other and also have ages with the stages. This model starts with sensorimotor (0-2 years), preoperational (2-6 years), concrete operational (7-12 years), and ends with formal operational (12 years - adult) (Harewood, 2017). I think that this is a helpful guide because it does include the ages. Just like the other theories that I align with, this model describes emotions and experiences that children experience as they develop into adults. Lastly, I believe that Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological model shows the child in a multi layered context and I appreciate how the model shows how a child is influenced directly or indirectly by the different layers. These layers start at the individual and then build off into the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem (Harewood, 2017). Again, this model builds off each other which is something that I believe strongly about. I also feel strongly about how the child is directly impacted by the people and environment that he/she is surrounded by. I think that children learn so much by their families, teachers, and friends, who surround them most of the hours of the week. So much research has been done to show that children are affected by the people around them and the way they act is because of the experiences and opportunities given to them. As a teacher I think this is one of the most important aspects to remember for every child walking into my classroom.
During my education at Michigan State University I have learned that assessing students is just as equally as important as teaching students. There are so many benefits as a teacher that you can receive from assessments. The catch is that you have to be able to assess in the best way possible for the children that are in your class. High quality assessments are purposeful, objective, clear, detailed, and separate form interpretation (Harewood, 2017). The best way to assess children is through observations. There are qualitative assessments, for example: running records, anecdotal notes, antecedent behavior consequence (ABC) (Harewood, 2017). There are also quantitative assessments for example: checklists, rating scales, tally event sampling, and time sampling (Harewood, 2017). I believe that anecdotal notes and tally event sampling are two out of many beneficial assessments that I will use in my classroom. “Anecdotal notes are brief, accurate notes made of significant events or critical incidents in a particular child’s day” (Mindes & Jung, 2015). These are quick, nonjudgmental notes that an observer writes. I love these because they tell exactly what the child was saying and doing. It is recorded in the past tense, and it is recorded because it is developmentally significant and valuable (Harewood, 2017). I love these because they can tell me anything about a child the possibilities are endless. Some examples could be: what a child is interested in, what they are feeling, what might be going on at home, etc. By using this information, I can also pick up on patterns during the child’s day at school (Mindes & Jung, 2015). I need this kind of information to make my classroom child based and to make the environment as authentic as possible. “Event sampling is a record of skills or behaviors that you want the children in your class to know or to do in a specified amount of time (Mindes & Jung, 2015). This kind of information will also let me know what the child’s interests are. For example, I might notice that a child spends all 40 minutes of free choice at the sensory table. This lets me know that I need to keep up to date on the table and frequently change what is it in to keep the child involved. I can also use the table to incorporate other learning subjects/domains to increase other skill, but during an activity that this child enjoys. Lastly this tells me that I need to work on making the other centers more appealing to this child and I can do that by incorporating their interests.
These assessments have different goals that provide specific benefits and drawbacks depending on what the outcome or goal is. I have had experience with all of these different assessments, and I have learned that it is not just the assessment that matters, but it is the information from the assessment. In order to be the best teacher possible you have to put the children first and make them the top priority. By simply knowing their interests and hobbies I can make lesson plans to improve their growth in many different domains. It is important as a teacher to make the learning environment as authentic as possible. This means providing opportunities that interests the children, and by caring about them, gaining their trust, building a relationship with them, getting to know their family/life at home, and their backgrounds and beliefs. It is also so important to provide a strong and trusting relationship with not only the child but the parents too. I believe you need a trusting relationship with the parents as well because when I get results back from an assessment that might lead to more evaluations and tougher decisions, I need parents to know that they can trust me, and I need to be able to address these situations with parents in a flexible, calm, and informative way.
Overall, I believe that children come first in the classroom, and starting off with a strong trusting relationship with children and their families is the foundation for an amazing classroom. I believe the 8 Stages of Man (Erickson), Hierarchy of Developmental Needs (Maslow), Constructivist Stages of Cognitive Development (Piaget), and the Ecological view (Bronfenbrenner) will guide my classroom to be student led and child centered. I plan to use certain assessments that fit the needs of my students, and I plan to communicate the results to parents in a fitting way. This means that I will use clear and simple words, I will take their feelings into consideration, I will choose the words I use carefully, and I will always respect them. I hope that with my experiences through Michigan State University I can lead a classroom and create an environment for students to learn, grow, and be successful!