Cognitive Psychology

What?
If you were to ask me what cognitive psychology means i could give you the definition that says, "theoretical perspective focusing on the specific ways in which learners mentally think about new information and events." But as we discussed in class it is much much more than a simple definition. We talked about sensory registry, short term memory, long term memory and how it is all linked together. I thought it was interesting how you were teaching us cognitive psychology by using cognitive psychology. The role play and the visual imagery when we made a line and were the actual process. It made the concept a little more easy to understand. This is what teaching is all about, getting the students to learn new information and to retain it. That is why we learn all the different models of instruction.
So what?
So what am I going to do with this information? use it! All the models of instruction that I have learned will be applied in the classroom. I think that time spent on writing lesson plans will show the quality of teaching in the classroom. I think that too many teachers get stuck in a rut and just plan on teaching the same way everyday. I always need to be whiling to change and develop good teaching skills. I think the teachers need to be humble in teaching and realize that they can always do better. Always be whiling to learn new models of instruction and apply them into your lessons.
Now what?
How will I make sure that cognitive learning is happening in the classroom is through proper assessment. This can not be stressed enough. I want to make sure that the students are learning the information. And not only learning it but are applying it and building upon it for new concepts. I need to make sure the foundation is right so that it is easier to connect the information learned to the information that is going to be learned. The student in my class need to have the positive experiences in order to embrace the information that needs to be learned. As I reflect upon the things that I learned in high school I can remember the information that had an enjoyable experience with it. That is the kind of learning atmosphere that I want to create in my classroom.