Through the Mind, Brain and Teaching certificate program, I have gained a wealth of knowledge that can be applied to the classroom. In the first course, the Brain Targeted Teaching Model provided me with a framework for planning my lessons and instructing my students. As I have taken each course since then, I have learned more about how students learn as well as learning differences among individuals and even how learning disorders and disabilities can affect learning. Numeracy and Literacy allowed me to gain more insight into the specifics about how students become literate in math and reading. Finally, this course allowed me to use the information that I have gained over the last year and apply it to the educational setting.
Before beginning this certificate program, I sometimes read current research or articles about education. However, this course has opened my eyes to how much new research is out there every day regarding the best teaching practices and the latest information about cognitive processing and how students are learning. Throughout the program we have done an immense amount of research and this has helped me understand how to sift through the most current research to find the most applicable information pertaining to instruction or the topic I am looking for. This program has also taught me how to analyze articles, especially scientific articles that I read. Before these classes, I often had a difficult time reading through scientific articles because there was so much information within them. However, this program has taught me how to take a scientific article and read through it so that I can take away the information that I need as well as decide whether it is the most valuable information for the topic I am researching. I feel more confident and motivated at this point to look for and research information about topics in education. For example, if I am teaching small groups in reading and have a question about what is considered to be the most effective practice within guided reading, I will not hesitate to seek information regarding this topic. I will be able to utilize the resources available to me to find the best and most applicable research that I can apply to my instruction in the classroom.
I think the scientific subfield that I have gained considerable knowledge in would be learning disabilities. Before taking the courses within this program, I didn’t really understand the differences among learning disabilities or the specific components of each type of disability. Through the courses, I have acquired more insight into the specific parts of learning disabilities. For example, I now understand the underlying causes of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Before these courses, I didn’t know that this disorder was caused by deficits in executive function. I always had students with this disorder but now that I understand what is causing this I feel better able to assist these students in the classroom. Another example of a disorder that I better understand as a result of these courses is Autism Spectrum Disorder. I am now aware that this disorder can be a result of deficits within communication, social interaction and repetitive types of behavior. I have also gained more knowledge about how to help students with learning disabilities that can be applied every day in the classroom. All of this knowledge has assisted me in identifying symptoms of learning disorders and being able to respond to these situations better.
Overall the Mind, Brain and Teaching program has taught me knowledge that can be applied in my classroom every day. I have become more aware of how to research, analyze, synthesize and implement the most current research into my teaching practices. This program has impacted both my current and future career as an educator.
