In this third week of class, the first aspect of education our cohort examined was cues, questions, and advance organizers. These three strategies for increasing retention help students retrieve, use, and organize information. I believe the purpose of using the aforementioned tools with my students is to "trigger" their intellectual machinery, allowing them to relate to the material. The most recent example that I recall in my classroom would be the successful use of a cue. Last week, as a precursor to a seventh grade unit on writing/simplifying equations, I had the students do a group project on "deciphering ancient symbols." These symbols were essentially just basic equations with unique variables, but got the students extremely exited about solving equations (in large part due to their mysterious nature), leaving me quite pleased. On the other hand, I can recall several months ago beginning a unit on solving proportions with my Pre-Algebra students, and using questioning ineffectively. Essentially I led my lecture assuming my students were more comfortable with the subject matter than what they were, and my preliminary questioning left students confused and dejected. I believe I was unsuccessful because I made a false assumption about my students that could have been clarified by talking with their eighth grade teacher. In regards to the technology that can aid students with their advance organizers (the importance of which was stated in a research journal article that we read); tools such as Wallwisher and Kidspiration allow teachers or students to display their knowledge visually, both individually and collectively. A question that I have regarding the use of such advance organizers is how to appropriately incorporate them into my classroom? Would they be most beneficial as pre-content outlining, or better used to organize the content of the topic itself.
The next topic that we discussed was that of nonlinguistic representation. Nonlinguistic representation allows students to use mental images to retain subject matter. I believe that the purpose of utilizing nonlinguistic representation is to give students another method to master their learning material, besides simply copying down notes. Using my own classroom instruction as an example, I've found that it works quite well to draw pictures with word problems. I think this works well because students not only get the benefit of information from the problem, but also from their OWN drawings. I feel this is successful because it empowers the students, almost with feeling of creating the word problems themselves. Conversely, I've occasionally taught lessons where I've known that pictures would have enhanced the lesson, but in the interest of time, opted not to use them. For example a fractions lesson could have been enhanced by pictures of fractions in real life (partially filled egg cartons, drink containers, etc.); opting not to use them gives students fewer "weapons in their arsenal of learning." Technology that promotes nonlinguistic representation includes the website Kwiki, the podcast for "Maps Alive!" (great ideas sent in by educators of all ages), the WonderWheel feature of a Google search, among others. One of my biggest questions with the above technologies is what circumstances are required for WonderWheel to work? I noticed that some words provide a very detailed topic map, where others do not.
Along with discussing the nuances of cues/questions/advance organizers and nonlinguistic representations, we were assigned to examine three different types of advance organizers/nonlinguistic representations. The three that I chose to peruse were Bubbl.us, Webspiration, and CMAP. Comparing the three graphic organizers, I found that their ease of use were all relatively simple, with the exception of Webspiration. I found the sign up to be quite a hassle. However, I do believe that the resources differed in functionality. Once I was finally up and running on Webspiration I found it to be effective, allowing for easy creation of maps that were visually pleasing. Bubble.us was quite similar, but I found the screen to be too cluttered with sign up information and additional features (font sizing, zooming capabilities, printing options, etc.). Finally, although CMAP was rather informative, with hyperlinks to many different websites, I can't help help but feel like its functionality was limited. As I could not find a way to brainstorm my own ideas, I place it's functionality dead last of the three.
Lastly, we were to discuss the importance of notetaking and summarizing in the educational process. Proper notetaking/summarizing consists of taking in a lot of information, and then distilling it into a concise form. I believe the purpose of proper notetaking/summarizing abilities is to help students efficiently collect data, thus aiding a positive attitude toward the subject manner. An example of how I utilized an effective notetaking strategy would be my use of a KWL chart in my Advanced Mathematics class. This allowed me to gather information about what my students know, and what they wished to learn. However, the most important part of the chart, "L" for learned, allowed me to figure out what they exactly remembered. This helped me figure out if their notes were effective. I think this worked because it forced the students to provide me with what they learned, not just what I perceived of their knowledge. An example of me not promoting effective notetaking would be how I once began a seventh grade math section by telling my students to copy down "everything that I write down on the overhead." I don't think this worked well because it made the students focus on blindly copying things down, as opposed to focusing on the main points of the examples themselves. There are several different types of technological aids that help with proper notetaking/summarizing. These resources include, but are not limited to NoteStar, GoogleDocs, Cornell Notetaking, and KWLH charts. My question is how to involve Google Docs on a regular basis in math classes? I love this resource, I just can't quite seem to find a way to incorporate it into my classroom.
I too use a KWL chart in my science classes. It can be an effective gage to see where students are coming in as far as existing knowledge as we start a new unit. It also lets me know what interests the students have in the subject, and then finally it allows me to see what new knowledge my students actually gained. And just as you do, I seriously avoid having students copy down “every thing that I write down on the overhead.” I tell my students that from day one, it is more important to listen to me talk about each point and to get involved in the discussion than it is to write verbatim what is presented to them. I also tell them, “If I say it twice, then it is probably important.”
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