Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Organizing, summarizing and note taking to aid cognitive learning
In my subject (math) students have trouble recalling how to start the solving of a problem. They also struggle with what the solution of a problem really represents. In other words, sometimes they will memorize the steps for getting to an answer, but they will have no idea what the answer stands for. Storing such knowledge in long term memory would involve storing declarative and procedural information (Orey, 2008). The use of concept maps which show the order of the steps of the problem and which relate the solution to a real life situation could be a way to help tag this information for later use. I particularly like the idea of using an Excel spreadsheet to set up a series of similar problems. Proposing an essential or focus question such as, "Which is the best method for working this problem?" will help students choose from what they know and will also help highlight what they do not understand.
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This type of concept map works well for English language arts as well. When students need to name the parts of speech in a sentence, they can do it if I ask questions to guide them. On their own, a concept map would work to lead them to ask the right questions. I think I will try creating a map showing the steps to find a verb, the subject, adjectives, etc. If students can remember the questions to ask, they should be able to find the parts of speech.
ReplyDeleteGinger
I think that you are on to a really great lesson if you were to have the students answer the question, "Which is the best method for working on this problem?"To make it appealing to the students, I would spice it up a bit by turning it into a debate. Have the students break up into groups and provide them with a problem that they would have to figure out what is the best way to solve it. Each group would then present their argument, the reasons why they feel that way, and their evidence or proof as to why it is the better method. I am not a math teacher, nor am I remotely good in math, but I foresee the students truly benefitting from this experience. For one, the students will be learning from one another using a language that many teachers cannot speak - teenager. I had a chemistry teacher that tried several different ways to teach the class about Moles, and she failed every time. Well, one day a student who did understand the concept raised her hand and asked if she could attempt to teach the class, and would you know, we all learned it. So, by having the students create their own debates and presenting their information to the class could in fact help the students learn the material because it is coming at them from an entirely different prospective and most importantly, from their peers.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using concept maps in math. As the concepts get more complex (upper elementary) I believe we sometimes lose students because we have not taught them how to chunk information. By chunking and grouping in a concept map we are making that information easier to retrieve for the students. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteI also like asking the students to prove to each other the best method for solving a problem. I like the rich language I get any time I ask students to take a side and defend their thinking. I'm going to try this!