Mel Levines A Mind at a Time Essay - 2679 Words

Mel Levines A Mind at a Time Mel Levine’s book, A Mind at a Time, describes many aspects of cognitive psychology and attempts to apply them to the educational system for young children. This book also makes suggestions for parents that have children with cognitive difficulties. The chapters in this book are designated to various aspects of cognitive psychology as they pertain to children. This paper focuses on chapter six in A Mind at a Time, which is titled â€Å"Making Arrangements: Our Spatial and Sequential Ordering Systems.† This is a very interesting chapter because it incorporates many aspects of cognitive psychology. In this chapter, Levine focuses on how children organize their world in terms of learning, thinking,†¦show more content†¦He states that there are five levels, starting with the most basic and finishing with the most intricate ways of learning and behaving. The levels are as follows: perceiving (level one), remembering (level two), creating (level three), organiz ing (level four), and thinking on a higher plane (level five). At the basic level, Levine states that the child must first be able to understand the relationships and the important characteristics of a spatial or sequential pattern. Once this is accomplished they can store this information for later use (remembering), which will help the child create output that is arranged spatially or sequentially (level three). Level four is where the child is expected to be good at â€Å"time management (sequential) and materials management (spatial)† (Levine, p.152). Finally the child is able to reason, solve problems, and form concepts using their spatial and sequential ordering systems. In the first half of the chapter, Levine discusses sequential ordering in terms of the five levels described above. He states that a child needs to be able to perceive the order of the days of the week, the months of the year, and perhaps the steps in solving a problem. If parents recognize a lack in this ability in their child, Levine suggests that they should practice teaching their children rhymes and other practices that force the child to use their sequentialShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Impact of Motivation on Learning2195 Words   |  9 Pagestowards learning and what methods can be used. Students at this stage are more eager and develop a sense of what he or she wants to do and accomplish in upcoming adulthood. With a division comes a group of intelligent theorists. All seen through the minds of Jean Piaget, Victor Vygotsky, Erik Erikson, Dr. Caroline Leaf, Albert Bandura, and Lawrence Kohlberg. When Jean Piaget examined his children’s interactions with the environment, he developed a sense that the older the child becomes, the greaterRead MoreEssay on My Classroom Management Philosophy 3785 Words   |  16 PagesI believe that demonstrating genuine respect to students and showing interest in their concerns will allow the effective use of instructional time, positive relationships to prevail, and minimal discipline problems to avail. Lastly, by actively engaging students in a variety of interesting activities that encourage critical thinking and discovery, time misbehavior is minimized. The key is preparation and participation. Having activities and lessons prepared will negate the acts of sleeping