During their years in first grade, the kids are between the Preoperational and Concrete Operational stages of Piaget’s theory. They are working on determining differences in things such as logical reasoning vs fantasies, or determining what is right and wrong, particularly in the classroom. Their performance in school is continuing to adjust to what is appropriate for the classroom and they continue to learn how to be a good student.
LOGICAL VS. FANTASTICAL THINKING
Several things are happening cognitively at this point in their life; one of the most important being their ability to begin thinking logically. Of course, they still need time at this age to do creative work and express their “magical” ideas, but they also need this ability that they are developing to problem solve and reason through their problems with others. In my host classroom, I can absolutely see how these things are coming into play. During their writing time, they have journals that they call their dream journals where, not only are they supposed to be writing, but they have the ability to draw and color about the stories that they are telling. Most of their drawings are not logical, but more fantastical, and they still have that ability to express that form of thinking. They also have very “magical” ideas that are centered around themselves, or in other words, they tell a lot of stories that most likely are not true about themselves in order to draw attention to themselves. For instance, we were sitting at the teacher table working with some of the kids and they were talking about being artists someday and how they were going to meet up in Paris someday, and one of the girls said something about how she was from Paris. I definitely don’t think this was true but it was the idea of “magical” ideas which are also egocentric. In addition to the fantasies, the kids are also showing signs of using logical thinking as well, which is something they are often encouraged to do in the classroom. For instance, anytime they have a problem, my host teacher asks that they think about it and figure it out for themselves, in order to encourage them to solve the problem logically. I can also see this in their stories as time has gone on. The stories are not fairy tales that they made up, but real stories about themselves with small details that happened. Overall, I can see that Piaget’s theory is everpresent in the classroom and the students are in a war between logical and theoretical thinking.
RIGHT VS. WRONG
As this is the kids second year in school, they are beginning to figure out what the firm rules are in school and have a better idea of how to follow them. They are determining what is “right.” They are beginning to invest more time in doing things as they are expected to do them. The students are also using their understanding of another person’s point of view. I can see how these students are developing in this sense every day in the classroom. When they are doing something they should not be doing, they are beginning to realize it’s wrong, so they are also trying to hide that they are doing it, which may not be such a good thing. For instance, one part of the stations is being able to use the iPads, and a lot of the boys try to show each other what they are doing and so they will slyly try to lean over and whisper to the person next to them to show them. Normally, they get caught and are reinforced that it is wrong. I can also understand how they are beginning to understand the point of view of others in the classroom, but I see it more in how they are disciplined. For example, many times when they have a problem my host teacher tries to show them how the other person is feeling and make them understand in order to solve the problem. I think when she does this they are beginning to get it but still have some work to do. The egocentrism definitely plays a big role in them not being able to do this I think, but that is also declining during this stage so they are getting better.
SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
Just overall, with the idea of right and wrong, logical thinking and many other skills that are being improved, the kids are just beginning to develop to the way school works, as well human interaction in general. The kids are starting to develop abilities like a better attention span, being able to compare several different objects, and being able to problem solve in new ways. One thing that I love about how they are developing is that I see these skills are being used in the classroom by the teacher. They know that these skills are important and they make an effort on a daily basis to make sure that students are developing all of these skills and are doing what is developmentally appropriate for them. I think they have definitely conformed to the classroom and they are learning what is acceptable within society, especially in school.
ARTICLE
Teaching Portfolio 