Details and the Bigger Picture

While reading chapter 12 of Zull’s book, I was intrigued about the section, “How the Brain Remembers Stories”. What I got out of the chapter was that while reading lengthy passages, students can get bored. The excitement is found in the details. When the students are just focusing on the end result, they are missing out on so many learning opportunities within the details. Something I would like to see my students do in the future is to focus of minor details of the story and create their own story, or character study, about what is happening. For example, in the novel, The Westing Game, readers are mostly focused on what will happen in the end. Trying to find out who is the murderer. I think in order to see the big picture, and engage the students, the students need to see what is going on with the other characters in the book. An example of this could be allowing the students to complete character studies for each character in the story. I would make it a physical learning experience by allowing students an opportunity to act out their findings for each character. This gives the students an opportunity to focus on the details as they read. Details they will need in order to see the order to figure out the ending. By allowing students an opportunity to focus on the details and traits of each character, they are able to remember the story better because they got to become engaged in the “big picture”.

It Just Comes Naturally

In chapter 10 of Zull’s book, he discusses natural thinking. I love the idea that he thinks teachers need to trust their students. “Thinking is natural.” (Zull, 2002, p.189) By allowing students an opportunity to think for themselves about presented information, it allows the connections (text-to-self, text-to-world, etc.) to come naturally. The learning will not feel forced. As I reflect on my own teaching, there have been times where it was difficult to let go of some of the control. Yet, when I did (in certain situations) the outcomes were pleasantly surprising. As I read about natural thinking, I made the connection to concept attainment lessons I have done in the past. In concept attainment lessons, students are given an opportunity to think, problem solve, and connect information and ideas on their own. The teacher is just the facilitator. For example, in the past when working on 3-D shapes, I have used the strategy of concept attainment. I presented my students with a large group of 3-D shapes. From there, my students had to sort the shapes however they saw fit. I made sure to stress there was no wrong way or right way; as long as they were able to fully explain their thinking and attain properties of 3-D shapes (number of bases, sides, edges; etc.). What made this activity so much fun was that students became engaged quickly. By allowing students to tap into their natural abilities their processes, procedures, and products which are created in the classroom will be of a much higher quality. Also, since they are in charge of their own learning, the students will have a stronger connection to the concepts/information they discover.

Activating Prior Knowledge

Since I have been teaching, the importance of prior knowledge has always been stressed. It is a vital element to understand what your learners already know. In the past, I have used KWL charts or pre-assessment quizzes to see what my students know about newly introduced topics. This had really been helpful when trying to fully meet the needs of each student in my classroom. After reading chapter six of Zull’s book, my beliefs on prior knowledge are confirmed. Prior knowledge is the best way to understand how much each student knows about given topics or concepts. A teacher will be more likely to hit target areas if they fully understand what knowledge the learner already possesses about that topic. They will not be repeating information that the students already know. This will allow for a better chance to fully engage the students in the lessons being covered. At the end of chapter six, Zull discussed important aspects of prior knowledge. Some that really resonated with me where the following:

·         “If we ignore or avoid prior knowledge, it will hinder our teaching.” (2002, p.108)- This is why pre-assessments are so important. Teachers need to understand what their students know in order to achieve the goal of fully engaging the students in the classroom lessons.

·         “Prior knowledge is complex and personal.” (2002, p.109)- It is complex because, no two students have the same prior knowledge. Keeping that in mind, the teacher has to be able to manipulate his or her lessons in order to meet the needs of all students in the classroom.

·         “Writing assignments are helpful in discovering prior knowledge of students” (2002, p.109) - Love the idea of allowing student to express themselves in writing. By allowing this freedom, there is a great chance the student will open up. This will allow the teacher to get a deeper understanding of the student. I also like this idea so much that I am adding it as an intervention in my final project. When I return to school in August, I plan on incorporating much more writing in my classes.

Just a little something extra-

I came across this resource when researching about prior knowledge. It has some great examples on how to activate prior knowledge in the classroom.

http://www.classhelp.info/Biology/Strategies%20for%20Activating%20Prior%20Knowledge.pdf

Learning Not Recalling

Read first:)
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/09/when-memorization-gets-in-the-way-of-learning/279425/

When I read chapter four of Zull’s book, there was a statement about brain structures and emotion that stuck out. “Then we can be grateful when our students sputter, because that is valuable information.” (Zull, 2002, p.55) As I thought back over the discussion about the importance of memorization, I felt this statement from Zull solidifies my argument that memorization of facts is not always a benefit for the long term memory. As I thought more about this topic, I decided to research more about memorization and its effects. I came across the article by Ben Orlin that discusses memorization. I found it very interesting. During my reading I read about how memorization of facts does not allow the students to learn anything. They are just storing information in their short term memory in order to complete a task or test. The information rarely makes it to the students’ long term memory. Orlin (2013) stated, “Memorization is a frontage road: It runs parallel to the best parts of learning, never intersecting. It's a detour around all the action, a way of knowing without learning, of answering without understanding.” By just recalling information the students are not learning anything. In order for students to learn material, they need to understand why they must know things. The teacher needs to engage the students and have them question concepts and discover their own understandings about concepts. If the students cannot tell you why something is important, then they have wasted valuable learning time. “What separates memorization from learning is a sense of meaning. When you memorize a fact, it's arbitrary, interchangeable--it makes no difference to you whether sine of π/2 is one, zero, or a million. But when you learn a fact, it's bound to others by a web of logic.” (Orlin, 2013) Learning must be meaningful, and students should struggle some. This allows them an opportunity to problem solve. I believe this was what Zull was talking about when he was discussing emotions. Students need to “sputter” because it allows teachers an opportunity to see which of the aspects of critical thinking are weak, as well as where students could use some improvement in their learning abilities. If the class is made up mostly of memorization activities, this needs to be changed because the students are not gaining true knowledge. Although there is no way around memorization, the information being memorized must be meaningful and learned-not recited. Orlin discussed how this can be done in a way where the information is retained in the long term memory. The two examples he gave was that of repeated use and building on prior knowledge. When using the repeated use technique, students are interacting with the same information over and over, but what makes it different from memorization is that the repeated use is not deliberate. Students are not using this technique to cram for a test. It is a strategy, or concept, they see weekly, or even daily, and it comes naturally. Building on prior knowledge is different from memorization because students are constantly firing and wiring information through different pathways. By using this strategy, the students are able to continue to make connections which will help information to be stored in their long term memory. Memorization techniques do serve some importance, I just do not think it should be a goal or objective for practicing educators.

Passive vs. Active Learners

Passive teaching seems dull and boring. Although there are some concepts that are taught off of memorization, this should not be the highest level of achievement in school. Students need to be engaged in their learning. They need to be intrinsically motivated to think critically about concepts. Active learning allows the teacher to present information, and facilitate learning. Students need to take the information presented, and discover concepts on their own. An example that could be very enjoyable for active learners has to do with learning about the human body. An idea for active learners would be something called, “Create a Debate”. In this lesson, the teacher assigns groups of students a system of the human body, such as the circulatory system. Each group would then receive a letter from the body’s CEO (the brain) that there are going to the budget cuts. Each system needs to research, in detail, every reason why their system is the most beneficial and why it needs to remain in the human body. After a certain time frame, the class will come together and have a debate in front of a panel of other teachers. Students will then take notes on all of the arguments presented. By being in charge of their own note taking, the students are taking responsibility of their learning. This type of activity allows students an opportunity to fully engage in their learning. They must find the facts and functions of their assigned system and use critical thinking skills to create topic points that make their body system imperative to the overall well-being of the human body.  Although this assignment is fictional, the students are getting an opportunity to engage in non-traditional strategies in the classroom. By allowing students an opportunity to take control of their own learning; the information they discover will be much more valuable in the long run.

Helpful Insight

This video on passive and active learning by the Brady Bros. on YouTube was very interesting. Are our leaders so concerned with standardized test scores more important than students’ abilities to engage in active learning that will be more beneficial in their lives? Just something to think about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1XQMqcuPYo

Counting

     After reading chapter 9, The Big Picture, I came across something that does not surprise me. People use reciting techniques to “teach” information to students. Reciting information is not going to help to students successfully obtain and understand concepts they need to know. Zadina discusses how young students are taught to recite numbers to set the foundation for upcoming math skills. It is great if students can recite their numbers and even recognize them in written form, but the students are not applying any of their mathematical knowledge. They are just recalling information, not much critical thinking going on there. In order for students to truly understand numbers, young students need to apply number sense. This can be done by allowing students opportunities to count. This could take place in the classroom, on the playground, lunchroom, or even a homework activity. For example, students could be asked to create a math “story” or word problem (could take it a step further, and the students could create a song about their story) Students would then allow others to try and solve the created problems using manipulatives where they must count items. By constantly counting items, it allows students opportunities to relate math inside and outside of the classroom. By applying counting skills, students’ number sense becomes stronger. Which means they have a better chance of storing this information in their long-term memory.