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.

Social Interactions in the Classroom

Although independent work in a classroom needs to be a main priority for educators, it is important to know students must learn social skills as well. A good way to do this in the classroom is to allow opportunities for group assignments. One assignment that I would like to incorporate into my classroom is allowing small groups of students to create a skit to measure their level of understanding in a given subject. I would begin by incorporating journaling (week 5, day 3 of Zadina’s workbook). I would have my students “log on” and tell me all of the prior knowledge they know about the current topic. I would then group them heterogeneously. This way each student has an opportunity to learn something from each of their classmates. I would not want all of the students in the same group to know the same information. The students would then work together to explore their topic for more information. For example, my students could work together to create a skit that would present their learning and understanding about different life cycles, or human body systems. By allowing students to work in groups, they will be working on socializing with others. They would be learning to negotiate, as well as how to show respect for others. This would all be done while learning about given content. The teacher would then be able to measure the understanding of the group as a whole. Once the group portion of the assignment is complete, the students would then need to complete an individual post reflection (“log off”) on the assignment. This would allow the educator an opportunity to see what each individual student understands, as well as any misconceptions or misunderstandings they may have about the material. This lesson could be extended by allowing the students to participate in an open discussion where they share their journal entries with the class (optional, of course).  By presenting the information in multiple ways, the students are constantly “firing” the material. In an ideal world, it would be “fired” enough in order for the information to make it to the long-term memory.

Explaining Their Thinking

This week we read about the Frontal Lobe Executive Function. The Frontal Lobe is very important and is responsible for Metacognition. Higher-order thinking deals directly with Metacognition. When students think about their own thinking, and breakdown their thought process, they are using Metacognition. A lesson that I would like to use in my class allows students an opportunity to share their learning with their classmates. From the Homework Menu at the end of chapter seven, there is an option- “Design a PowerPoint that illustrates the steps in carrying out a problem, project, or product.” I believe this would be a great way to engage students. It would also allow them an opportunity to explain their thought process to their classmates. This could be implemented in any subject, but my example refers to math. I have always been a strong believer in knowing there is more than one way to solve a problem. For my example lesson, I would present a math problem to my students. I would present the class with a word problem that relates to a real-life situation, such as “I have 5 pizzas sliced into eight slices. If there are 11 people, how many slices would each person get? Would there be any left? Explain your thinking in words, pictures, diagrams, etc.”

From here each student would then create a short presentation where they are allowed to present their thought process using a PowerPoint, the Smart board, chart paper, or an overhead projector. They would share their findings with the class. This assignment would also allow students an opportunity to continue using higher-order thinking. As a class, we would reflect over each presentation and discuss how it was helpful, or ways to improve it. In the end, I believe it would show students that not everyone thinks alike and it is okay to try different ways to complete assignments or tasks.

“Think-Pair-Share”- Yes Please!!!

Keagan strategies are a great way to implement cooperation into the classroom. I learned some of these strategies in my undergraduate coursework, but I was not always the best at implementing them. Now that I am an itinerant teacher, I see teachers in all of my schools successfully implement various strategies as they teach. One that I hear of often is “Think-Pair-Share”. I have always had an idea of what “Think-Pair- Share” was, but I really enjoy seeing it being implemented daily. This leads me to want to incorporate it more in my own teaching. After reading through Zadina’s workbook for chapter three, I think “Think-Pair-Share” is a great way to make students responsible for their own learning while doing group work. This type of activity opens up the line of communication among peers and allows them to discuss their educational discoveries in a positive atmosphere. By using the “Think-Pair-Share” format listed by Zadina, I would present the students with a question or problem. The students would then have to write their thoughts. Once each student has written their own thoughts, they would discuss their thoughts with their partners. Each student would then record their partner’s responses. Then comes the best part of this assignment. The partners would have to work together to decide what to share with the rest of the class. I love this because the students bounce ideas off of each other and come to a compromise as to what they would like to share with the class. Another great aspect of using this technique in my classroom is that it could be integrated into any subject. I plan on using it for lesson introductions, closings, and alternative assessments. An example of this would be using it when discussing character traits for a character in a story. After reading a passage or story, I would have my students partner up and complete the “Think-Pair-Share” form. This would also allow for possible mini-lessons, such as that of perspective. This type of activity not only allows for students to learn responsibility and tolerance of other ideas; but it also allows an opportunity for students to build up their social skills. If done enough, the students would become comfortable speaking with their peers about any area of content within the classroom.

Question or Problem:

What I Thought:                    What my partner thought:                   What we decided to share:

Selective Attention

I really enjoyed Zadina’s chapter on attention and memory. As an educator, I have always known that it is very easy for smaller students to lose focus in class. I was not fully aware of the affect it could have on their long-term memory. After reading about the difference between working and long-term memory, I am now reflecting on how I have conducted lessons in my class. In order for students to focus on important information, and move it from working memory to long-term memory, Zadina stated, “Spaced repetition has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to encode information into long-term memory” (2014, p.129). So from what I get out of this, repetition of information is important for students, but they must know what they need to focus on, and how often. So, teachers should not drill the information for the duration of the lesson, then stop reviewing the information altogether. The information has to be repeated, with space between repetitions. For example, if you are teaching students about plant life, you may review important vocabulary or cycles, extensively, over the course of the lesson. Once, the lesson is over, and the class moves on to a new concept, the repetition for that information should not stop. It should be integrated into the students’ daily routine. As the students are walking to a destination, they could look for plants along the way. The teacher could then review terms and plant life cycles with the class while the students are in line for the restroom or lunch. This would not be done every day, maybe just once a week. This way the concepts would make their way from the working memory to long-term memory. Spacing out the repetition allows students an opportunity to focus on information that is important enough to store in their long-term memory.

Fun Videos on Selective Attention:

http://pumaattack.blogspot.com/2010/11/selective-attention-video-demos.html