**Please refer to Lesson Plan #1 for recommended class discussion, class activities, and homework assignments that utilize the following theories while addressing the issue of Violence in America.**
Lesson Plan #1: Gun Violence and Psychology and Cognition
Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain (Bloom, Englehart, Furst, Hill & Krathwohl, 1956), discusses a hierarchy of the process of how students come to “know” a topic (Huitt, 2011). By leading a class discussion on a recent event, it will engage students in every level of Bloom’s hierarchy, thus applying and illustrating the concept of cognition. Furthermore, by allowing students to explain what they know and how they know of the event, the teacher will obtain a better understanding of the “process by which knowledge is gained” (Webster’s Dictionary; as cited in Huitt, 2006). Additionally, the lesson will also involve theories of psychology, specifically, those discussed by Stangor (2012). Stangor (2012) discusses how emotions and motivations are important parts to the study of psychology because they guide and drive behavior. Since the students are the same age range as those that participated in the walkout, there is a connection to the participants that may or may not create a natural emotion in students. Allowing students to discuss in their words the event, their understanding of why students participated, and to express pros and cons, is a direct illustration of the “cognitive interpretations that accompany emotions” (Stangor, 2012).
References
Bloom, B., Englehart, M. Furst, E., Hill, W., & Krathwohl, D. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York, Toronto: Longmans, Green. Huitt, W. (2006). The cognitive system. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/cogsys.html Huitt, W. (2011). Bloom et al.’s taxonomy of the cognitive domain. Educational Psychology Interactive.Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/bloom.html Stangor, C. (2012). Introduction to Psychology. Washington, DC: Saylor Academy. Retrieved from https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_introduction-to-psychology/index.html