Educational Psychology: Effective Teaching, Effective Learning by Elliott, Kratochwill, Littlefield Cook & Travers
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1. In what ways do you think your culture and social environment have shaped your cognitive development? Explain.

2. Imagine that you are teaching science to a culturally diverse group of second-graders (about 7 years old) at an urban elementary school. Compare what you think Piaget and Vygotsky would suggest concerning what kinds of concepts to teach and how to teach them. (See Cognitive Development: Applications in Other Sites to Explore.)

3. You notice that a student is struggling with new vocabulary while reading a story. Give several examples of how you could "scaffold" that student. (See Scaffolding in Other Sites to Explore.)

4. In a high school American History lesson, what could you do foster critical thinking skills and engage formal operational thinkers? How could you adapt the lesson for concrete operational thinkers?

5. What kinds of activities can you do in the classroom to enhance children's language development? Visit the Children's Literature Web Guide (http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html) for some helpful ideas.

Focus on TIPS

6. Review the TIPS ON LEARNING in this chapter. Which of the TIPS do you find most helpful for the grade level you plan to teach? What are additional examples of how you would use the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky in your classroom?

Focus on the Case Study

7. Choose at least two students from the Case Study and give specific examples of how Piaget's ideas could improve their academic and/or social development. Next, give specific examples of what you think Vygotsky would recommend for working with these same students. How do the strategies compare? What suggestions would you give to the teacher for successfully working with these students? How do your suggestions compare with Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories?

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