Student Development Profile
THE QUESTION: "Based on your field experience observations to this point, what are the students' needs with regard to:
Cognitive Development (include concepts from both Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories)
Physical Development
Identity Development (include concepts from Bronfenbrenner's, Erikson's, and Marcia's theories)
Moral Reasoning
For each of these areas, write a robust paragraph or two analyzing the students' needs and how you plan to address those needs when you teach your lesson. Use and underline vocabulary from the theories as you complete your analysis and to justify your plan."
Cognitive Development
The students I observe are exhausted in their other classes. Sitting in lectures for hours takes a toll. The great benefit of coming to a theater class is that they get some time to play. Piaget and Vygotsky both emphasized the importance of play and that children learn as they play. Through this play they experience assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium. In my lesson plan, I've organized that we begin the lesson by playing. In an exploration of character development the students will get to play the dating game and take on roles of different characters. This may put some students out of equilibrium, having to face the idea of being someone completely different, someone that could be embarrassing. But as they play they will assimilate and accommodate, maybe seeing the risk of being embarrassed can be rewarded in comedy and laughter, a new concept. In more Vygotsky terms, the idea of being in front of a class as a completely different person may put them in the Zone of Proximal Development. Just challenging enough that they can be coached through it by my guidance of understanding that once you are prepared with knowing the ins and outs of the character, it becomes less frightening to become someone else and actually quite fun.
Physical Development
As I've observed I've noticed that the teacher doesn't do a great deal of physical warm-up, even on days when the students are up and moving on the stage. One of the things I plan to do before any day that we are physical in my class is a five minute warm-up of body and voice. These students will learn that their bodies and voices are their instrument and have to be taken care of as such. With stretching and warming up the students will begin to feel more comfortable in their ability to move in certain ways across the stage, even with how awkward an adolescent body can be. By stretching and taking care of that growing body we can prevent injury and hopefully make them more at ease and aware of the growing, awkward thing they are inhabiting.
Identity Development
Erik Erikson expressed several different crises that human beings go through. The crisis most associated with adolescence is Identity vs. Role Confusion. Over and over as we went through the unit, it came clear to me that the best way for students to establish identity was through choice. Being exposed to several different kind of subjects and being able to choose which one best agreed with them at the time. Within my lesson there will be ample opportunity to choose. They will be able to choose what kind of character they are portraying as well as the background to that character.
Moral Reasoning
The lesson I teach won't go a great deal into moral lessons, but I do the see the connection in Moral Reasoning with character development. We discussed Theory of Mind, or a person's tacit belief, in this unit and in that discussion we looked at one way to develop that characteristic is role play. Throughout theater many students will take on many different characters very different from themselves, characters with or without morals. When characters arise that are morally ambiguous or compromising I plan on discussing what makes these characters fun to play, but someone we never truly want to be like. As we look at heroes and other characters with strong moral fiber we will identify characteristics we want to embody not just on the stage but in every day life. Character research will become personal, introspective and will also help in identity development. As Marcia put it, there will be some identity moratorium as students look at these characters and try their traits on, seeing if it matches themselves.
Cognitive Development (include concepts from both Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories)
Physical Development
Identity Development (include concepts from Bronfenbrenner's, Erikson's, and Marcia's theories)
Moral Reasoning
For each of these areas, write a robust paragraph or two analyzing the students' needs and how you plan to address those needs when you teach your lesson. Use and underline vocabulary from the theories as you complete your analysis and to justify your plan."
Cognitive Development
The students I observe are exhausted in their other classes. Sitting in lectures for hours takes a toll. The great benefit of coming to a theater class is that they get some time to play. Piaget and Vygotsky both emphasized the importance of play and that children learn as they play. Through this play they experience assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium. In my lesson plan, I've organized that we begin the lesson by playing. In an exploration of character development the students will get to play the dating game and take on roles of different characters. This may put some students out of equilibrium, having to face the idea of being someone completely different, someone that could be embarrassing. But as they play they will assimilate and accommodate, maybe seeing the risk of being embarrassed can be rewarded in comedy and laughter, a new concept. In more Vygotsky terms, the idea of being in front of a class as a completely different person may put them in the Zone of Proximal Development. Just challenging enough that they can be coached through it by my guidance of understanding that once you are prepared with knowing the ins and outs of the character, it becomes less frightening to become someone else and actually quite fun.
Physical Development
As I've observed I've noticed that the teacher doesn't do a great deal of physical warm-up, even on days when the students are up and moving on the stage. One of the things I plan to do before any day that we are physical in my class is a five minute warm-up of body and voice. These students will learn that their bodies and voices are their instrument and have to be taken care of as such. With stretching and warming up the students will begin to feel more comfortable in their ability to move in certain ways across the stage, even with how awkward an adolescent body can be. By stretching and taking care of that growing body we can prevent injury and hopefully make them more at ease and aware of the growing, awkward thing they are inhabiting.
Identity Development
Erik Erikson expressed several different crises that human beings go through. The crisis most associated with adolescence is Identity vs. Role Confusion. Over and over as we went through the unit, it came clear to me that the best way for students to establish identity was through choice. Being exposed to several different kind of subjects and being able to choose which one best agreed with them at the time. Within my lesson there will be ample opportunity to choose. They will be able to choose what kind of character they are portraying as well as the background to that character.
Moral Reasoning
The lesson I teach won't go a great deal into moral lessons, but I do the see the connection in Moral Reasoning with character development. We discussed Theory of Mind, or a person's tacit belief, in this unit and in that discussion we looked at one way to develop that characteristic is role play. Throughout theater many students will take on many different characters very different from themselves, characters with or without morals. When characters arise that are morally ambiguous or compromising I plan on discussing what makes these characters fun to play, but someone we never truly want to be like. As we look at heroes and other characters with strong moral fiber we will identify characteristics we want to embody not just on the stage but in every day life. Character research will become personal, introspective and will also help in identity development. As Marcia put it, there will be some identity moratorium as students look at these characters and try their traits on, seeing if it matches themselves.
Comments
Post a Comment