My First Class-12

My First Class

By Rebecca Klein
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation Of Education
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
September 3, 2008

Today’s class started off fairly well. I think it is important that when beginning a new class with new classmates, and professors that it is important for bonds to form between everyone, as well as getting some form of knowledge about the people we will be spending two hours for the next few months with. Filling out the survey in the beginning of the class was a nice way to start off. Not only did the survey allow for the teacher to get to know the students better, but it also gave the students an idea of what kinds of issues and ideas we will be dealing with during the duration of our semester. Continuing on to the name game was also a good idea in that it served the role as an ice breaker, and also aided in everyone getting to know a little about each other as well.

What I learned in today’s class, is there are multiple different learning styles; which the name game definitely help me realize. Some people decided to use an adjective which described themselves, other used rhyming, alliteration, analogy, enthusiasm, personality, etc. What interested me was listening to people recite the names, and paying attention to which peoples names were missed the most; as well as what adjectives were used to describe themselves. The “name game” definitely made me think about all different types of learning strategies that are out there.

The small group presentation was also helpful at the end of the class. It allowed us to hear our classmates thoughts and opinions about their experiences with the game. It enabled us to see if we had shared the same ideas/ opinions, or whether we disagreed with others ideas and opinions. I thought it was very interesting to hear the way people we able to rationalize why they thought the way they did, as it helped me to understand more effectively.

Looking through the syllabus, I saw a lot of research topics that I have the option to research this semester. The one that caught my eye was how gender effects the ability to learn. I earned my BA in English literature. Through the course of my undergrad work, I spent a lot of time taking English classes regarding women’s rights activists. The topic of gender intrigues me, and the stereotypes that both genders carry fascinate me! I would be very excited to do the research to see how, and if gender really does affect the ability to learn.