Reading about cognitive theories and the different ways in which the human brain retains information has made me more aware of the way that I teach. I have always incorporated various visuals into my lessons, but after learning about the sensory input of information, I think am going to add more to in each lesson. Allowing my students to see more of what they are learning will help them with the retention and recall of the information.
One method I recently learned about was a virtual field trip. The concept is so easy to understand and yet so effective. I have never used one before this weeks assignment, but I am definitely going to incorporate them into some lessons. It is a cheap and effective way to take your students out of the classroom and away from their standard text books and put them into the lesson that is being taught. All while never leaving the classroom. Using a graphic organizer to summarize what they have learned would follow each virtual field trip.
Using online graphic organizers is a great way to help my students organize a large amount of information into smaller pieces. The biggest obstacle that I face though is having access to enough computers to allow my students to do that. I could always use the standard graphic organizer using a pencil and paper, but it may not hold their attention. Though I have used graphic organizers in the past, I have found that my students do not get excited to do them. By them using online programs, they use technology that they are familiar with and probably use almost on a daily basis. Also, many online programs offer pictures and video that align with the material.
After reading "Summarizing and Note Taking" in my course text, I found some online templates that are great for brainstorming information. Summarizing is a concept, that as a high school teacher, I see students struggle with. Many of these programs push the students into summarizing, but in a way that they are already familiar with. By using the online note taking, the students can see what is expected of them and examples of what they need to do. This will allow them to sharpen their note taking skills which can carry over to every academic subject that they are enrolled in.
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I have had the same experiences with pen and paper graphic organizers. Students do not enjoy them and seem almost annoyed at the "extra" work. I like the idea of electronic mapping because there is more interest and students are more engaged just because of the new and exciting technology.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that students have a lot of trouble summarizing information and being able to model expectations is very helpful in assisting students in achieving success in this area. Being able to take notes and summarize is important and I think that we just have to find interesting ways to practice this in our classes.