The Toilet Paper Tube Theory

First, let me say that I am a “searcher” this week, and I realize my post should be added as a “comment” to another post, but because of the difficulty in sharing video in a comment, I have posted this as a “new post,” but it is actually a comment. That being said, read on . . . 

I have often joked, saying that I think of my mind as the tube from the middle of the roll of paper towels running through my head from one ear to the other. My tube is completely filled, so every time I put one more thing in, something MUST pop out from the other side! I use this as an excuse for being forgetful. I have even explained that after the age of 40, my paper towel tube was replaced by a toilet paper tube, so now I can only remember about half of what I used to remember!

But is this just a joke? It is possible that in some cases, absent-mindedness is a naturally occurring phenomenon of working memory. Before you finish reading this blog, watch this video.

But seriously, when do we know when our forgetfulness or absent-mindedness is just a natural event or when something more serious is going on? The National Institute on Aging, a division of the National Institute of Health, has a wealth of information to guide us. One page in particular, (link is provided below), details some of the things that can contribute to forgetfulness. One of those is depression, especially depression triggered by a life-altering event such as the death of a loved one or spouse. There are many others, but this stood out to me because my Mother began presenting symptoms of disorganization, forgetting important events, repeating herself, and so forth, after the death of my Father. Of course, it has now progressed into Lewy Body Dementia, but early on, it was difficult to tell the difference between what was a normal reaction to grief and what was simply not normal. I live with regret for the times I became angry with her, assuming what was happening was controllable. I encourage everyone to visit this page, and if any of you suspect you or someone you love needs help, GET IT! Mom’s symptoms have responded very well to medical treatment and behavioral modifications, and I wish I hadn’t waited so long to ask for help!

http://www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication/forgetfulness-knowing-when-ask-help

Gardner's MI Theory

Chapter 14 poses an interesting question in asking whether adults lose intellectual ability as they age.  I enjoyed reviewing Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory because it recognizes that there are multiple measures of intelligence.  On campus at Mitchell, we've really embraced the concept of incorporating contextual learning opportunities into all of our classrooms.  I really like the idea of finding ways to tap into the strengths that each student has to enhance the learning environment that we provide.  At the community college level, we seek to embrace the unique skill sets that all of our students bring to the classroom.  Using the MI theory allows us to value the less traditional measures of intelligence.  I think it also provides more understanding of how life experiences improve our overall intelligence.

Gardner's MI Theory

Chapter 14 Intelligence and Aging

Chapter 14 explores the traditional approaches to intelligence including the biological, individual differences and also cognitive recognition processes. Preconceived notions that intelligence changes as you age and whether adults retain your intelligence ability as a age is explored in this chapter.

Traditional approaches to intelligence at three areas of biological research individual differences in the cognitive process from. The biological approach assumes that nearly everybody believes that intelligence resides in the brain virtually synonymous with the power of the brain. It’s long been debated by psychologists and neuroscientists, that use it or lose it theory.  Some researchers feel that there’s a genetic component to intelligence, that’s inherent with in us all. Others feel it’s a very widespread variation that is simply learned. The individual difference approach has long since served the field well. Scholars from this approach have provided systemic means for studying individual’s differences.

Age and intellectual abilities spans the study of the depth and breadth interesting intellectual changes during adulthood, and has increased dramatically in recent decades. The fundamental question that researches and struggled through the decades does intelligence decline with age. The concept of intelligence is thought to be intelligence that is measurable and constructive. Primarily is based on comparison and measurable by standard test scores. Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence's broke away from the psychometric tradition of intelligence in the early 80s. Gardner’s stated, “There is persuasive evidence for the existence of several relatively autonomous human intellectual competencies that can be fashioned and combined in the multiplicity of adaptive ways by individuals and cultures.”

At the University College of London, UK there show that there was a cognitive loss of brain function starting at age 45. For men and women aged 45-49, there was a 3.6% decline. They went on to state that "More research is now needed to help us fully understand how measurable changes in the brain can help us improve diagnosis of dementia."

This Chapter concludes with the four concepts; individual difference, expansion of  alternative concepts, individual circumstances, and mutli-factorial intelligence. All these concepts will enhance the adult learners that we’ll touch through our teachings currently, and in the future.

I come from a family of 3 grandparents that were all teachers and professors.  Three out of the 4 lived to the ripe old age of 99. I believe they held the key to healthy aged intelligence, keeping a simple lifestyle - such as eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and keeping blood pressure and cholesterol in check - can all reduce the risk of dementia. My thoughts, well, I feel that learning program such as Luminosity help keep the brain active and thinking. I guess we’ll see if it hold true as I age.

http://creatingminds.org/articles/age.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16425522

Piaget's Theories: I think he was on to something after all.

I want to focus on Piaget’s Cognitive Development theory on this blog entry.  You’ll know why in about 900 words from now. 

When I was watching the videos and reading chapter 13, it brought back many memories for me.  I’m 49 and have been doing this college thang since I was 26 years old.  Now much of that involved taking part-time classes while I worked full-time, but it literally seems like I’ve been attending college for most of my adult life with just a few breaks in between. 

First, there was Gaston College which took me 3 ½ years instead of just two to get my AA since most of it was done part-time.  When I finally received my AA in 1993, I enrolled in the Gardner Webb University Goal program and it only took 4 years to complete that degree because I was working full-time. 

 I finally graduated with my Bachelor’s of Science in Business Management in 1997 and thought I was done.  Wrong!  I decided to become a teacher, so I taught at a private Christian Academy for two years, teaching everything from high school science to high school math to high school history – none of which I had any business teaching with confidence and certainty, but it was OK.  It was a private school.  All you had to do was have a 4 year degree ( it could have been in Library Science),  follow the script in the book and you were fine.  Actually, the books were really quite amazing.  The only problem was that teaching at that private school  wasn’t fulfilling my calling as a music teacher. 

I had been a music person since I was 5 years old and all I ever wanted to do was teach music.  So why did I get that darn BS degree in Business?  I told myself it couldn’t hurt if I ever got signed to a record deal because you’ve got to have business knowledge if you’re going to keep your money, right?  Of course, the real reason was I was scared of the music degree.  Playing music by ear and being able to read music was one thing, but taking college music theory and history and learning how to transpose chords and stuff scared the hell out of me.  Plus, it required….you guessed it, more college.  Still, I wasn’t happy and I wanted to teach music, so something had to give. 


So, I went back to teaching privately, but this time I was teaching music, so it was OK. I taught privately for five years and even ran my own music academy in there somewhere, taking a college course from time to time during that period.

One day, I received a phone call and the next day I was interviewed for an honest to God music job at an honest to God public school which meant lots more money and finally, happiness.  But I had to go back to college and do lateral entry work to get the job.  So I enrolled at UNCC in 1999 as a music major and as bad luck would have it, I was an awesome music teacher but couldn’t complete the lateral entry requirements my third year of teaching.  I still needed 2 music history’s and 3 music theory classes and they were not offered online or at night at UNCC.  Actually, I had never heard of an online course before.  However, the rules state that if you can’t complete the work in three years (which I never understood, because it takes 4 years to get a degree even if you’re a full-time student), you’re out. 

Eventually of course, I was able to get my license as a music teacher when just three years later I was called out of the blue to teach at West Lincoln High School in 2007.  I would have to enter the lateral entry program again (Really???), but not to worry…I had 3 whole years to complete the program. 

So off to Winthrop I went and this time, mainly because I had one heck of a department head helping me, I finished my courses and took the praxis and was done with school forever.  (Yeah, right.)

  I was finally a real teacher with a real license and that was all I had ever wanted anyway.  I thought I was truly done with college.  I know I was truly tired. 

Then, out of nowhere, that job was suddenly gone and here I am getting my masters degree at Lenoir Rhyne, just 23 years after I had started my college journey.  I think this time it will only take 2, maybe 3 years at the most to get it done, and then, I’ll really be done….maybe. 

So what does this visit down memory lane have to do with Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development?  You see, every time I would start a program, I would eventually have to study this theory in a Psychology course or while taking a required Sociology class.  This is the sixth time I have studied this theory!  I should be a genius at it by now.  I definitely know that it is a solid theory and he was dead on with the stages of development. 

But in some ways, I’m still at stage one – Object Permanence, the permanence being college and always thinking that it’s gone only to find that it’s still there – it’s always been there.  And in some ways, it may always be there for me.  I’m the lifelong learner that we’ve talked and studied about so much in this course.  I’m proof that if you want something bad enough, you have to realize it’s still there, even if you think it’s not.  And it made me wonder how many college students will be or are just like me?  Attending college, learning, growing only to start over again when you think what you thought you wanted had disappeared, but in actuality, it was still right there. 

I know I went way over 300 words with this one, but 300 wouldn’t have done it, it just seemed like it would.    

Guess What. You're Fired.

First thing’s first… This chapter made me feel a little sentimental because I took a developmental psychology course at ASU (go ‘neers!) from the late & great Dr. Eric Hatch.  He was by far the best teacher I have ever had, and I’ll always remember the way he pronounced the words “locus of control” (he had this awesome and funny accent that made it easy for me to remember the vocabulary from the course because I would repeat the words in his voice over and over in my head, just because they sounded so cool when he said them).  He passed away in 2009, but I think of him often, and this chapter just reminded me of how much I loved his class.  Cheers to you, Dr. H!

Thanks for letting me share my developmental psych. story.  Now back to chapter 13…

If you want to see an adult migrate through various stages of cognitive development, put them through a life altering experience: divorce, loss of a loved one, accomplishing a major life goal, the birth of a child.  Any event that requires a person to change the way they operate on a daily basis will inevitably enforce cognitive change. 

Last week I had to fire a student.  Yes, I said fire.  Donald Trump style.  She was skipping work shifts at her internship site, and so at the request of her instructors, I parted my hair in glorious comb over fashion and headed to the internship site to ruin her day.  (Ok, maybe I didn’t do the comb over…)

Anyway, when I showed up to talk to the student about her poor attendance and help create an improvement plan, she initiated a fight or flight response to my “accusations” (although I promise you that in my mind they were less like accusations and more like supportive statements….tom-ay-toe, tom-ah-toe…).  First came the tears and trying to reason with me.  “I’ve been sick, my son was sick, bad weather,” etc.  Then, when the tears clearly weren’t making much of a difference, came the anger, and return of accusations.  “You’re a terrible teacher, this is your fault, I hate working at this office,” etc. 

After a dramatic display of frustration complete with two slammed doors and hysterical sobbing, she claimed to be having a panic attack and began the 9 mile walk to her house (I’m almost certain she called for a ride to meet her at the entrance to the parking lot).  The office manager (needless to say) asked that I inform the student that she was officially fired, and could not return to the internship site.  A few days later, the student came to my office where I informed her that she would be failing her internship, which meant she would not be able to graduate this semester, as planned.  She was devastated, and halfway through my meticulously planned spiel, I almost changed my mind.  Maybe she does deserve to graduate, maybe her absences should have been excused, maybe the panic attack was real…? Ultimately I stuck to my guns and assigned her a grade of “F” for the course, in hopes that this lesson would be a hard but valuable one, and that nothing justifies a bout of hysterics after a mild confrontation, especially when your job is on the line.  After all, we community college professionals are in the business of preparing students for work, aren’t we?

I bring this up because I think that unfortunately for my student, we come from two different perspectives when it comes to cognitive processing.  It seems to me that during her lifetime, pitching fits and making empty threats have helped her accomplish her goals, which stumped her cognitive development in some way.  The context of her life has led her to the thought that making me miserable will help her in some way, which is a pre-conventional way of thinking.  Her world is upside down right now because her plans for graduation have been postponed, and she isn’t getting her way.  It’s traumatic for her (and understandably so), but she is growing from the experience, and moving to a different phase of cognitive processing.  In the world of internships and job prospects, a conventional way of thinking is the bare minimum requirement, and even then an employee’s morals or dedication could be called into question. 

A few thoughts on Learning Theories and Actualization

I actually feel that there is no such thing as achieving true complete self actualization because man is flawed and has been since the beginning when Adam ate the forbidden fruit.  I think it's a wonderful thought and many of us will get very close, but perfection is ultimately impossible since we all will always have needs, even to the point of our death.  

People screw up (some more than others) and there has been only one perfect being that I know of.  No, I won't make this a religious debate, but I do see how a religious person could have trouble with all five theories.  However, I believe we all work toward that end in trying to achieve our life goals and be all that we can be as people and citizens.

 I agree with James that we must be bold in our goal of bringing out the inner student and their talents and that roads have been forged in that end.  But I don't believe we will ever get to the end of that road as teachers, at least not in our lifetime.  There are too many students falling through the cracks and too many teachers that are teachers by title only.  Conditioning students to learn is one thing, getting them to end of their journey is quite another.  It literally takes a village and I know I sound skeptical, but I don't believe there are enough villagers to get it done.

 I think cognitive learning theory is one theory that makes the most sense to me.  I see it played out in people’s and even my own life every day, most frequently, through modeling.  People learn what they see and usually do what they learn.  I have often been a bad role model for my own kids when I would lose my temper or throw something out the window.  I never wear my seat belt, so as a consequence, my kids have to be told to put theirs on.  This behavioral learning starts from birth when we’re teaching our babies to say “da da” or “ma ma” and continues on through life.  

I think self-actualization is an individual process and how we are motivated affects how we achieve actualization.  If we’re motivated by pain or our situation in a negative way, we can actually be more successful in achieving our goals.  For instance, someone from the Bronx might achieve more in their lives than someone from a small town simply because they are so motivated to achieve a better life and change their history.  I also think that contentment, while being a worthwhile goal, could also be a stumbling block for improvement and further learning and growth because it can turn into complacency.