There are many strategies that can be used with students to improve their learning. This week we are exploring cognitive learning theories. The recommendations are to use expository advance organizers, narrative advance organizers, teach our students the importance of skimming, use graphic organizers, and to ask analytical questions (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). All of these wonderful recommendations flow nicely with technology. Each one has an application that will help guide students to the highler level of learning that we are looking for.
The next recommendation was to help students with summarizing and note taking. It was here that a light bulb went off for me. Students really do not know how to take effective notes, at least notes that they can reflect back on for an assessment. They need to be taught and this is something that I am going to incorporate the first few days of the new school year. What better time? There are so many things to learn in those days, they will have a chance to learn how to take notes and a way to look back in case they forget a classroom rule.
Cognitive learning takes many approaches to helping students remember material longer, we need to get the information from short-term (where it is rehearsing) to the long-term area where future connections can be made (Laureate Education, Inc., ND). By demonstrating the material with the available applications, the students as they progress through the school year and through the years have many resources, that they in turn will be able to use at their disposal. One student may like to use graphic organizers, but another student learns best from watching BrainPop mini-movies. Both represent cognitive learning, but at different levels based on the learner.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (ND). Cognitive learning theories. [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Pitler, h., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M. & Malenoski, K. (2007). instUsing technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Note-taking has been a struggle for my fourth graders. They want to write EVERYTHING! I really like your idea of taking notes the first week of school on various things such as the routines and rules they learn during that time. What a great way for them to apply it to something they have probably been reviewing for a few years (especially when they get to me in the fourth grade). I really need to be modeling the note-taking and start doing it often.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the wanting by students to write everything down, they are so afraid that they are going to miss something, that they want it all there. Note taking is a tough strategy to explain to students, especially those students that don't understand why they have to write in the first place. I believe with daily practice they will not only become stronger but will come to appreciate the skill they have acquired over time.
DeleteNote taking is a tough thing to teach. I found an interesting site from Penn State University that gives great ideas. I thought the most important thing was how to recognize key words when trying to take important notes. Here is the site:
Deletehttp://www.sl.psu.edu/Documents/Note_Taking_Strategies.pdf
I believe it is geared at college-age students, but we could modify some of the ideas to teach our students to look for the verbs and other clue words.
I think note-taking can sometimes be taken for granted. This was a strategy that I struggled with even in college because I tried to write down every single word the instructor would say. I am glad you are teaching your students this important strategy because it will most certainly help them out in the future.
ReplyDeleteThank you Seamus! College at times must of seemed nearly impossible with all of the notes you were trying to write down. Glad that you perservered through! Students need to have a clear understanding of why notes are not only necessary but important to their education. I think that modeling is another perfect example. If your students see you referring to notes, then they will see just how important they really are.
DeleteI have also struggled with getting my students to take useful notes. I have tried many different techniques from giving them nothing to giving them some missing words to fill in to giving them the whole set of notes so that they can just add extra information to it. It is nice that reading through the book has given me some more ideas on how to make note taking more effective for studnets so that hopefully retention will increase. This is just one way that I hope to make my class more effective in the future.
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