On Cognitive Development and Undergraduate Learners in Science

Last night I read the article "Cognitive Development and the Complexities of the Undergraduate Learner in the Science Classroom" (Biochem. Mol. Biol. Edu., Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 267-271, 2006). Markwell and Courtney's goal is to increase awareness on us (in my case, a potential teacher) about how undergraduates develop their "capacity for reasoning, problem solving, and critical thinking" and why it is important to adjust the teaching methods from an entry-level class to a senior class. It was quite interesting for me to read the paper and stop once in a while to think in which level of cognitive development I was when I took my first college class. Moreover, I found extremely interesting to think if my teachers were aware of these changes students go through this time of life.

I believe that, in order to be a good teacher, you must have passion about teaching, and passion about your field of study. I think some teachers like feeling recognized and respected by their students, and by doing this, they send a message to the student that they are dealing with a higher, unreachable character. A student should respect the teacher, but the teacher should be more than a lecturer; s/he should try to be a person at the same level of the student, but one who has already understood the fact and theories that will be thaught in the class. The teacher should know how to handle a group, one individual at a time.