Module 1

The topic of how one's brain develops has always sparked an interest in me. Being a certified athletic trainer, I find myself constantly having to know how an athlete's brain develop especially with the risk of an athlete suffering a concussion in their sport(s). I also have to know how one's brain develops being a future physical education teacher. Being able to understand how the brain develops will help me and in the future because it will allow me to determine how to progress an athlete during the rehabilitation stage of an injury or what time of activities I have my students participate during physical education. However, each and every day there are new types of research being performed to fully understand the development of the human brain. 

Currently, we know that "the brains of young children show more plasticity (adaptability) because they are not specialized or lateralized as the brains of older children and young adults "(p.38). This plasticity allows the brain of younger children change and grow over time until young adulthood. The process in which the brain changes and grows is known as cognitive development, which mainly focuses on childhood. As a child gets older and reaches adolescent, "the brain increases an individuals ability to control their behavior in both low and high-stress situations, and the ability to be more organized and purposeful and to inhibit impulsive behavior" (p.38). The main thing to understand about the brain is that it is not fully developed until one is in their late 20s. With all these facts said there are many different researchers who have done research to fully understand the development of the brain. 

One of the famous psychologist, who studied cognitive development was Jean Piaget. Piaget developed a four-stage model to better understand the cognitive development of the human brain. In this four-stage model, Piaget states, "our thinking processes change radically, though slowly, from birth to maturity because we constantly strive to make sense of the world" (p.45). The four-stages consist of biological maturation, activity, social experiences, and equilibrium. Chapter 2 ends with asking Do we all reach for the fourth stage (p.53). I think that everyone develops at their own pace and eventually, we will all reach the fourth stage "formal-operation". It may take some time for every single person to reach this stage and not everyone will get the same benefits from formal-operation, each individual will use what they feel is the best for them. 

Chapter 3 goes on to cover self, social, and moral development. This topic is one I feel like for me is forever changing as I get older and figure out who I am as an individual on my own. I also feel that this is a very important topic for me in my profession in the world of sports. I must be able to identify how an athlete develops physically in order to treat them properly because no two athletes are the same and will respond differently to the treatment I am giving them. As a future physical education teacher understanding social development is huge because I must be able, even though it may be hard at times, to identify what students are going through whether it be something at home with their parents/caretakers, or if they are having issues in schools with their follow peers, etc. As future educators, we must all understand how our students develop so that we can assist them accordingly matter what may be going on in their lives.