Influences from the Past (pre-thinking)

Larger Categories

1. Types of Educators
• formal/informal
• childhood/adult
• authority figure/peer
• external/internal
• human/non-human
• academic/non-academic
• seen/unseen
2. Good Teachers
•  social/emotional needs - coping strategies
• relevant to personal interests
• allowed exploration
• facilitated, not dictated development
• enhanced development of  problem solving abilities
• engaged in two way dialogue with students
3. Bad Teachers
• objectivist teaching - one way dialogue, power hierarchy
• did not validate personal interests
• increased risk factors - opposite direction of developing resiliency in students
• no personal interest in students

Relationships/Connections between the categories

1.   Student interests and exploration
2.   Resiliency and self-efficacy
3.   Developmental appropriateness
4.   Relationships

What have I learned about my educational history?

1. There is more importance in interpersonal relationships than I previously admitted.
2. The attributes of my good teachers are mirrored in my Week 9 modification of my goals
3. It is important for me that education motivates, facilitates, validates, and advocates.
4. Good teachers complement student interests and development
5. Good teachers problem based learning

 What questions do I still have?
1. Can a negative environment stimulate creative development? Can external chaos act as a trigger for disequilibrium? Can the disequilibrium be stabilized by finding unusual connections in the chaos? Could this process be a coping strategy transferable to other problem solving situations - ergo a creative individual?