Course Student name School Date of submission Introduction I

Course
Student name
School
Date of submission
Introduction
I reside from rich collectivism cultural background where people like to interact,
gather around for events and eat together. The collectivism culture being practiced in the
society has stimulated my intention of learning how to cook vegetables and to roast a lamb.
The Learning concepts on how to cook vegetable and roast a lamb will be of beneficial in the
development of knowledge, skills and intelligence that are essential in cooking.
SECTION 1
Cognitive Development
Cognitive development refers to changes by which mental processes develops and
matures over time. Research conducted by Piaget shows that the process of thinking changes
slowly as people steadily struggle to make a world better place to live (Woolfolk and
Margetts, 2016, p. 81). On his research, Piaget also stated that “as we explore, observe,
interact with peers and organize the information we are more likely to change our process of
thinking “(Woolfolk and Margetts, 2016, p. 81). The ability to interact effectively with
others, organize information and changing process of thinking is directly linked to my study
skills as I can influence family members to learn cooking concepts just like my mother who is
very talented in the area of cooking. The ability of the mother to cook delicious food has
strengthened my cognitive development.
Schemes are defined as structure of thought and basic thinking building blocks.
Piaget’s research implication indicates that there are diverse pathways for learning (Woolfolk

and Margetts, 2016, p. 93). For example, to learn concepts of roasting a lamb, a person may
opt to Google, watch videos on YouTube, follow advertisements on TV, read a recipe
together with its methods on books and online or get tutored by friends and family members.
I have tried to learn ways of roasting a lamb by watching videos on YouTube although I
missed essential concepts. However, my mother who is an expert in cooking concepts guided
me on all steps of roasting a lamb and cooking vegetable. Furthermore, by the end of section,
I was able to prepare lamb and vegetables on my own. I realized that being guided by
someone assisted me to develop my cognitive on how to cook vegetables and roast a lamb.
As people develop, they tend to interact with others. In this interaction case, am interacting
with my mother to enhance my capabilities and skills which are in relation to Piaget
statement that “cognitive development is influenced by how people learn from others or
social transmission (Woolfolk and Margetts, 2016, p. 81). The principle portrayed by Piaget
is manifested in my learning practice as I have learned how to do predictions and gain
patient. In the kitchen, it was essential for me to arrange my developed information and
structure the cognitive process in order to organize my learning process. I started by coming
up with a list of ingredients and other kitchen essentials needed which allowed my schema to
concentrate on a broader structure during my thinking process.
Gender differences/Intelligence
Biological factors play a critical part in the determination of gender (male and
female). According to Brym & Lie (2018) “our sex depends on whether a genetic program
(which is responsible for releasing female and male) stimulates the reproductive system’s
development or we are created naturally with distinct female and male genitals. Further
research conducted by Jantz shows that there are major differences that exist between female
and male brains. The differences exist in cognitive thinking and physical form. Scholars have
researched four primary areas that include structure, processing, activity and chemistry.

Jantz’s research shows that female brains utilizes almost ten times more white matter
while the male brain utilizes approximately seven times more gray matter (Jantz, 2014). The
differences are shown on how male have success in handling one task at a time as compared
to females who are great in multitasking. The differences link closely with my learning skill
on how to prepare vegetables and a roasted lamb where I can talk to my mother while still on
phone call and cooking food at the same time. Jant’z results also show that females like
preparing sweat dishes while males prefers being involved with cooking meat which links to
“creating chemistry” (Rokicki, Herder, Kusmierczyk & Trattner, 2016, p. 6). The differences
in preferences are shown in western culture. However, on my cultural background (Assyrian),
we believe that males should deal with the provision of family and paying bills while females
provide meals for families and handle all kitchen related chores. However, the research might
true with consideration of reality on how males make best cooks when it comes to cooking of
meat (Rokicki, Herder, Kusmierczyk & Trattner, 2016, p. 6). Linking this research with the
theory of Gardner, when it comes to cooking matter among the genders, it falls under
interpersonal skills (ability to socialize) (Woolfolk and Margetts). Interpersonal is closely
associated with my skills as it promotes effective interactions with others (through social
gathering and family) and motivates me to learn cooking techniques.
Physical Development
Changes in appearance, functions, proportions and physical size influences how
people respond to each other, make new behaviours and what people can or cannot do
(Woolfolk and Margetts, 2016). Furthermore, there are strong bonds associated with
emotional, social, cognitive and physical development. The physical development that is
associated with cooking includes chopping vegetables, cutting lamb’s top layer, adding
seasoning along with oil, covering the top with foil and placing it on cooking oven.

The kinaesthetic process is closely linked to my social-emotional development as it
assists me to develop experiences, abilities and skills to my cognitive thinking. Furthermore,
the kinaesthetic process encourages me to build problem-solving skills and self-confidence in
the cooking process. Cooking can be done with aromatherapy to relieve stress, improve
moods and personal health. The skills I learned on roasting a lamb taught me to be patient.
According to Zimmerman, the theory behind aromatherapy is that inhalation of important oils
stimulates olfactory system (brain part that controls smell): sent signal to the limbic system
(region of the brain that retrieves learned memories and controls emotions). This causes the
release of chemicals that makes a person stimulated, calm and relaxed (Zimmerman, 2018).
SECTION 2
Cognitive views of learning
Cognitive learning theory emphasizes that diverse learning process can be explained
vividly by first conducting an analysis of the mental process (Sincero, 2008). It is incredible
how cognitive functions when people develop skills or even learn something new beyond
their horizons. Cognitive usually have three processes including long-term memory, short-
term memory and sensory memory.
The short-term memory is used for storage purposes. For example, short-term
memories last for a few seconds if not rehearsed (Cherry, 2018). In relation to my cognitive, I
often forget to provide effective timing of checking whether a lamb is roasted and vegetable
has cooked. Furthermore, my mother had to remind me often about the dish in the oven. In
addition, if I had rehearsed about cooking vegetable and roasting a lamb repeatedly it can
significantly assist me in organizing information and translating it to long-term memory
(Cherry, 2018).
The long-term memories usually hold well- learned information and that is rehearsed
severally. In relation to my cognitive skills, I can recall what my mother has educated me

while we had been together in the kitchen. I can remember the appropriate seasoning used in
cooking and that is included in a dish (for example, garlic, sweet potato, potato, onion and
carrot), the process of roasting a lamp, the right amount of oil to add to the food and
ingredients used in cooking. The cooking process is still in my long-term memories and it
will stick there forever.
Lastly, there is sensory memory that involves awareness of what is happening around
the surrounding environment. In relation to cognitive skills, joining my mother in the kitchen
is where my mind was fully engaged and it created awareness of things that happened around
me which is a clear indication that my sensory was completely in function. For example, my
sensory is usually turned to my senses whenever the vegetables and a lamb's roasted meat are
ready, hears when the timer goes off, smells the species before spreading it on the lamb and I
touch kitchen essential,
Social Cognitive
According to Vygotsky, collaborative situations enable people to engage in advanced
thinking levels (Woolfolk and Margetts, 2016, p. 94). Social Cognitive theory deals with
aspects of behavioural, emotional and cognitive in order to understand the “change in
behaviours”. The SCT concepts outlines methods for conducting research in behavioural
changes where opinions from other theoretical areas like psychology are discussed in order to
come up with new perceptions and understanding ("Health Communication | Social Cognitive
Theory", 2017). In relation to my skill, I start experiencing a change in behaviour when my
mother was still there providing guidance on how to cook vegetable and roast a lamb.
Furthermore, without my mother’s guidance, it was difficult to organize my cognitive
thinking to get insight about the food preparation process. Vygotsky also emphasizes that
social cognitive is closely associated with behaviour where it develops what people think but
not what people knows (Woolfolk and Margetts, 2016, p. 94). I strongly agree with

Vygotsky’s theory on diverse ways people show their willingness of learning through their
behaviours as I was interested on learning the concepts of preparing vegetables and roasting a
lamb and that was my key motivator in developing my cognitive learning thinking of
preparing the dish.
Constructivist
Constructivist is defined in a worldview posits or paradigm that learning is an active
constructive process and the person learning it is “information constructor”. In constructivist,
people actively produce their own subjective representation of objective reality with prior
knowledge which is closely associated with the new information thus proofing the statement
that “mental representations are subjective” ("Constructivism - Learning Theories", n.d.). For
example, when trainees are learning on the process of cooking, they must be in apposition of
tracking down all the changes taking place and further translate the information into a deep
understanding of the process of cooking. A good example of monitoring the process is
coagulation (when proteins cause the custard to thicken as it heats). In this case, I learn how
the heat from the oven is regulated and a lamb and vegetable crisped because it is was my
responsibility to regulate the heat of the oven.
Behavioural
The behavioural theory emphasizes on ways which people change behaviour,
cognitive, emotional and social abilities. The theory also shows how people are able to
regulate their lives and their key motivators in order to move ahead (Woolfolk and Margetts,
2016, p. 315). The skimmer theory further indicates how behaviours are reinforced in a
positive manner which motivates people to conduct processes and reinforcement repeatedly.
The repeating of process and reinforcement usually has significant consequences to the
behaviour. Furthermore, skimmer’s theory also emphasizes that “the best method of
understanding behaviour is through the determination of course of actions and its

consequences. This approach where behaviour is understood through the determination of
course of action and its consequences is known as “operant conditioning (McLeod, 2018). I
can relate the skimmers approach with how I usually receive positive reinforcement from my
family every time I present a dish to the dining table. Furthermore, my family members
usually congratulate me for presenting a dish in the dining table in an impressive manner that
fits our culture. The negative side occurs when vegetable get burned as I have previously
received a negative comment from my family members that “vegetable is poorly cooked,
fully burned and stuck to the baking paper”.
SECTION 3
Teacher characteristics
Teachers’ traits and qualities are demonstrated by their abilities to show passion
towards the students or followers and what contributed to where they are. As a teacher, I need
to understand the needs and demands of my students as they are all special and every student
has his or her strengths and weaknesses. In social learning context, Vygotsky has educated us
on the importance of supporting students to collaborate effectively during class time as he
emphasized that “many hands are better than one”. As an educator, I have come to learn that
everybody has different abilities and type of learning and therefore it is essential to share our
experiences, abilities and knowledge with others because it enables us to fit that one missing
puzzle or paint a big picture.
Apart from encouraging the student to work collaboratively with each other to solve
diverse problems or bare tough situations, it is essential to make students understand that
combined ideas are better than single idea. In addition, it is also essential to encourage
students to check on their social skills particularly students who are not confident (shy) and
they fail to grab chances of participating in class discussions to improve their confidence.
Therefore, as an educator, it is my duty and responsibility of following keenly Australian

professional standards (APS) as it provides me with guidance on what I need to express to
myself, parents and also to the staff members. The Australian professional standards 1.3 is
essential to me as it taught me on how I should demonstrate knowledge of teaching that are
responsive to the weaknesses, strengths and demands of students from different races,
cultures, linguistic and religions ("Australian Professional Standards for Teachers", 2011).
Furthermore, if am able to show my teaching knowledge and skills to meet the needs and
demands of students, then am satisfied as I have proofed I possess traits that are desired for
becoming great teacher in the near future.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the portfolio was meant to demonstrate my abilities and knowledge of
roasting a lamb and cooking vegetables. In addition, the portfolio also demonstrated how the
cooking of vegetable and roasting a lamb with effective support and guidance from my
mother assisted me to enhance my capabilities and further increased my intelligence and
knowledge of cooking. Linking of the three theories discussed throughout the paper: theory
of Skimmer, Vygotsky and Piaget with my cognitive skills and reflecting the effectiveness of
theories, it is clear that the learning has significantly boosted my self-awareness.