Theories of Cognitive Development
Ted Baskerville
ELP-520
Reflection Paper 2
The theories of cognitive development are fascinating topics because of the intimate connection between the ideologies and one’s intellectual advancement into adulthood. Every individual has unique experiences relating to cognitive development due to real-life situations, who they interact with, and their type of childhood environment. I can vividly remember some of my childhood friends that I interacted with and how those experiences had an influence on my cognitive development. There was Carlo and Benjy, who were descendants of an Italian immigrant family, and Uri, who was Jewish American. I also had several Polish American friends that I grew up with, Jarek and Ferdynand. We went to the same schools, K through 12, and played little league baseball together. Even though we were from different ethnic groups, we were still friends who had the commonality of being members of society’s perception of the lower social class. I still recall the various aromas coming from my childhood friends’ parents’ kitchens and each family’s diverse customs. Due to my childhood exposure to other ethnic groups I gained a tremendous insight about how different cultures navigated within our society.
The theory that seems to be applicable to my personal cognitive development is the “Commitment/Constructed Knowledge” theory. Having the racial identity of African-American, my commitment to intellectual and ethical development was indoctrinated through careful parental nurturing. In spite of my familial social class, my parents taught me and my siblings the concept of independence while being responsible for our own self-knowledge. To this very day I can still hear my mother’s voice saying, “The only person that can hold you back is you”, and I have definitely recognized the truth in that statement over the years of my life. During the early years of my childhood I was introduced to the public library where I learned to read different
ELP-520
Reflection Paper 2
The theories of cognitive development are fascinating topics because of the intimate connection between the ideologies and one’s intellectual advancement into adulthood. Every individual has unique experiences relating to cognitive development due to real-life situations, who they interact with, and their type of childhood environment. I can vividly remember some of my childhood friends that I interacted with and how those experiences had an influence on my cognitive development. There was Carlo and Benjy, who were descendants of an Italian immigrant family, and Uri, who was Jewish American. I also had several Polish American friends that I grew up with, Jarek and Ferdynand. We went to the same schools, K through 12, and played little league baseball together. Even though we were from different ethnic groups, we were still friends who had the commonality of being members of society’s perception of the lower social class. I still recall the various aromas coming from my childhood friends’ parents’ kitchens and each family’s diverse customs. Due to my childhood exposure to other ethnic groups I gained a tremendous insight about how different cultures navigated within our society.
The theory that seems to be applicable to my personal cognitive development is the “Commitment/Constructed Knowledge” theory. Having the racial identity of African-American, my commitment to intellectual and ethical development was indoctrinated through careful parental nurturing. In spite of my familial social class, my parents taught me and my siblings the concept of independence while being responsible for our own self-knowledge. To this very day I can still hear my mother’s voice saying, “The only person that can hold you back is you”, and I have definitely recognized the truth in that statement over the years of my life. During the early years of my childhood I was introduced to the public library where I learned to read different
References: Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Educational and identity (2nd ed.) San Francisco, CA; Retrieved April 15, 2013 from Portland State University E-reserves database. Jossey Bass Weathersby (1981). Promoting Autonomy and Self-Direction: Autonomous and Integrated Stages. In A. B. Knox (Ed.), Learning and Change in the Adult Years: A Developmental Perspective (61-62, adapted). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass