Hey everyone!
Personally, do you believe that cognition occurs before language, language occurs before cognition, or that the two occur interdependently? On another note, which habits of mind do you feel would be more difficult than others to implement in a classroom?
I feel as if the cognition debate can be looked at in many ways. When Dr. White asked the question last night, I immediately thought that cognition occurs before language. After more thinking, I felt as if language is necessary to be able to learn and think. Therefore, I believe the two function interdependently. Out of the habits of mind, I think some of the hardest things to do as an educator would be to implement persistence. Of course we can encourage students and emphasize the importance of not giving up, but at the end of the day, doing these things are ultimately the students' choice and dependent upon their attitude. As future educators, I think this is a very important topic to think about!
I also believe that they work immediately, but I think they work together as well. Like Mrs. White stated in class, abut the Chicken and the Egg, we will never truly know which comes first, so in this case, I feel that it is safe to assume they happen around the same time. But, I do feel that, we as humans, have the ability to function without a language, for a small amount of time. This is where we stand right after birth. We are not really able to conduct language, but we are able to develop an understanding of that language before we can communicate with it, if that makes any sense at all. So yes, I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I can't wait to read students' responses to this post. Thank you, Kelly, for reflecting on tonight's topic and carrying it over for this week's blog sharing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with cognition and language functioning interdependently. However, I do not believe that cognition is fully developed before language. I believe that you need language so that you can have a good functioning cognitive awareness.
ReplyDeleteIn response to persistence, most things involve bribery with younger kids. Sometimes its a snack, sometimes its a sticker, and sometimes its simply threatening to take away their recess. While they are in control of what they do, we as teachers just need to be overly encouraging for everything. Make persistence look good! If kids begin practicing persistence, they will come to find that it feels good to work hard for something and obtain the end goal. Positive attitudes are contagious. If you have a kid that refuses to get out of a slump, other kids will recognize that it isn't fun to have someone constantly be the "negative Nancy," they will make comments to that student about being grumpy. I think that implementing positive attitudes, of any type, in our classroom can be as easy as we make it.
I'm curious,what do you think about internal or intrinsic motivation? Is there such a thing or is there always an external factor? Kids? Adults?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think the two occur interpendently. I feel as if cognition can happen before language but there is no way to have an output for the information being taken in. I feel that language is a part of the thinking and learning process. One habit of mind that I feel would be hardest to implement into my classroom Is taking responsible risks; after getting in a routine I feel as if I may forget or struggle to get out of my comfort zone with my students. Also, my students may struggle to try new things after they’ve been taught a certain way several years before coming to my classroom. One habit I feel as if it would be easier is finding humor. In elementary education, students are typically not afraid to have fun and be goofy, with this being said I know I can easily get my students to take a break here and there to laugh it off, with a little dance to music or a short video clip.
ReplyDeleteI have thought a lot about the concept of language and cognition, especially in SED 260. Truthfully I am not sure what I think. I remember learning in my psychlogy class about a teenage girl who was taken out of an abusive home and she did not know how to talk. She attended several speech therapy sessions but she was never able to fully develop language because she surpassed those first few years of essential language development. I remember my teacher discussing that along with not being able to develop language the girl was also unable to grow academically. Now these two could have been unrelated, but it seems as though they directly effected one another. However, I believe that Furth made an excellent observation when we said that deaf individuals weren't excelling academically because of the lack of adequate langauge. So I do believe that having a langauge source to express one's cognition is essential in order for one to grow academically, I'm just not sure shich came first. I feel as if it is "the chicken or the egg" scenario.
ReplyDeleteGreat question! I feel as though that cognition and language occur interdependently. Meanwhile, I could understand why one would think that cognition does occur before language. When babies are born, we know they are thinking, which is why they cry, laugh, or exhibit some type of action. I agree with Mrs. White, as she stated this is similar to the chicken and the egg. We may never know which one directly came first, but I do know that the two work best as a team.
ReplyDeleteAs for persistence, I totally agree. An educator can only encourage so much in the classroom. Goals and certain achievements can be put in to play for the child to reach, but the child’s persistence is up to them. As my parents have always said, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink!
I think the two happen at about the same time. I can't see one fully happening without the other being involved. It was an interesting topic, and I thought through a lot of scenarios in this chapter. However, I kept coming back to the idea that they don't happen independently. One of the habits of mind that I think would be hard for me to continuously implement in my future classroom is taking responsible risks. It could be a hard concept to teach students. Also, I'm not sure I always remember to take risks. I tend to play it safe. It's definitely something I struggle with from time to time.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mrs. White asked that question the first thing that popped into my head was the chicken and the egg. Which one came first? You want to say egg because that makes sense but how did the egg come to be without the chicken? And then you are stuck in a battle that will never end. I want to say cognition but I feel you have to have language before cognition so its just one of those endless cycles of which one came first. For the 16 habits of the mind I agree with Amber that taking responsible risks would be hard. We talked about this one in class and mentioned how hard it would be for a Deaf child or even a Hard of Hearing child to jump out of their comfort zone. That's hard for even a non-Deaf child to do.
ReplyDeleteI am honestly not sure what to think because I have a couple of thoughts on this question (which is a really good and critical thinking question). I think it happens at the same time but I also think language is first before cognition as well. I think it happens at the same time because as little ones we are developing our cognition while trying to talk at the same time. With our five senses we can see and touch things (maybe this is when cognition starts, I am not sure, just a thought) and then once we develop language we kind of have a understanding of what things are due to our cognition. I also believe that if we develop language we will get a better understanding of what things are and then we start to our cognition occurring. I don't even know if that makes sense to be honest but this was a really good question, it made me think a lot.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tionna,I believe it would be at the same time since children are growing cognitively by speaking. This is a great but somewhat difficult for me to answer because I can see it as both ways pretty easily. Once we develop language, we put meaning to it letting us fully understand things.
ReplyDeleteI think that they happen interdependently. I feel as though it is a similar topic of the chicken or the egg when it comes to cognition and language.
ReplyDeleteI think some of the hardest things to implement in a classroom is taking reasonable risks. I feel as a student and an educator that it can be challenging to have students to get outside of their comfort zone but I also that is where the best learning occurs.
In my opinion they happen interdependently. I think that one might become more dominant then the other, but they are both going to be there. I agree in one of the comments before (by Brooklyn Bishop) stating that within a classroom at times you can give the students the information they need and offer them help, but as teachers we need to make sure that the students are held accountable. I believe ways to hold the students accountable by setting classroom goals before the course starts and also having classroom objectives available for the students throughout the day.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe that cognition comes before language. The child has to be able to remember anything before they have language. For instance the child, when it's born, cries when it's hungry or needs changed. When the child gets older, the child points at what it wants because it remembers what it is and when they need/want it. Then comes language. The child is able to talk and form a sentence, coherent or not.
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