Step 5: Rehearse- pages 103-126
"We remember better the more fully we precess new subject matter."
-Larry Squire and Eric Kandel
I have always said we, as teachers, wear the content we teach on us. I also believe our classroom walls and space contribute to our scholars' episodic memories. "Rehearsal" helps us transfer information from episodic pathways to semantic pathways.
Below, are five rehearsal techniques that aid in memory. Use the visuals to trigger your memory from this week's reading. For each letter bullet, paraphrase in your own words how each technique helps our scholars remember and how you have similarly applied this technique in your own experience. (personally or professionally)
Good afternoon,
ReplyDeleteI liked the prompt from the post, connecting our classroom environment to “episodic” memory. I thought about how important it is to create memories during class while also creating opportunities to invoke emotions and the senses. By creating rich opportunities for rehearsal, our students will move from “episodic” to “semantic” (Robinson, 2018).
Here are my responses to the pictures from the prompting; however, I may need some help with B. :- )
A. I liked this one the most. I felt like it combined/synthesized a few techniques (music, pictures, and rhyme). This could help our students remember because they can rehearse information in the form of a song. I have tried to apply a similar technique. For instance, recently, when teaching figurative language in summer school, I incorporated the use of the following rap song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K9pd6h9JT0
Additionally, when teaching “O Captain! My Captain!” I showed the following rap song and, then, had students answer questions about things like: the rhyme scheme, the main idea, etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAP4kMzWTpI
B. I am not sure what the technique is from this picture. I felt, however, like it used humor and made the content relatable. Using a picture like this could help “break the ice” and make students smile. I have tried to apply a similar technique when teaching things like grammar. For instance, I showed them a cartoon like: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1PRFC_enUS802US802&biw=1920&bih=925&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=FGk6W_zQOdDz5gKbkLyoBA&btnG=Search&q=when+grammar+teachers+snap#imgrc=GNTXFZIObpkyVM:
C. I really liked this one. I felt like using graphical organizers, like this cluster, can help our students to recode (or organize) information. It can also help them to make deeper connections to the content. I have tried to apply a similar technique when teaching things like prewriting. For instance, I used clustering to have students “brainstorm” possible ideas that they could use for their paper.
D. I feel like this could help students perform more effectively. Our scholars need to care for themselves and get enough sleep. I have to admit this is one of my greatest weaknesses… moving on… lol!
E. Our scholars could benefit from this, because, mnemonics can help them to remember information. This was taught to me, in various ways, e.g. when I went to bible study and they say BIBLE stands for “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.”
There were many interesting techniques from the reading this week. I hope to try and incorporate a variety of these more. I feel like I rely on music and graphic organizers. I need to try and use mnemonics more. While I hope that our scholars get enough sleep, I really can’t promise this one for myself.
I hope everyone has a very happy and safe 4th of July!
Kind regards,
Christine Weatherby
Thea Bowman Leadership Academy
cweatherby@tbla.email
A. Catering to the “emotional pathway” is the best way to get
ReplyDeletestudents to retain information. I’ve used “School House Rock”
for some of the parts of speech. By the way, I like how this
video combines music and storytelling while catering to visual
learners.
B. Homework is a form of practice. I assign homework for
independent practice. For example, after teaching a math lesson
using “explicit instruction,” my students will be assigned 15
math problems for independent practice. The next day we will
review the answers and only discuss the problems that students
request.
C. Cross-curricular teaching strengthens the memory. For instance,
encourage students to write a paragraph about what they learned
in different subjects. The skill being rehearsed would be
“organizing a paragraph.”
D. Sleep helps us retain information in long-term memory.
Personally, I try to make sure that I get enough rest so that I
can perform well at work. In regards to my students, I have
never mentioned it to them in the past, but I will be more
intentional about stressing the importance of sleep to them
now.
E. Mnemonics is beneficial for making unusual facts memorable. I
strive to memorize a lot of unusual, yet important, facts at my
job. One acronym that I created is to “TO FAKE” to aid me in
memorizing “The Pepper,” which instructs employees on how to be
successful at their job.
a. Training is the key.
b. Our guests come first.
c. Have fun.
d. Act like you own the place.
e. Keep it simple.
f. Every detail matters.
PLA #103
Good morning Ebony,
DeleteI liked where you shared that you assigned homework and then, the next day, "reviewed answers and discuss[ed] the problems that students request[ed]." This provides an important opportunity to see where each student is struggling and to reteach a portion of the lesson as needed. This could also be a way to group students and have other students help each other.
I like to give "light" homework. However, recently, this topic has become controversial.
Thank you for sharing. :-)
Kind regards,
Christine Weatherby
Thea Bowman Leadership Academy
cweatherby@tbla.email
A. The students love when I teach with emotional pathways. Their favorite last year was "Old McDonald Has Some Vowels." They loved the song and learned their vowels and vowel sounds so quickly.
ReplyDeleteB. Their is a lot of controversy about homework right now. Most of my students have little to no academic support at home. Not even someone to check to see if they've done their homework. Most of their papers stay untouched in their folders for months (even unopened report cards). I am grateful for our schools after school program that encourages those students who attend to do their homework. I have to give incentives to get any homework back. It is still less than 50%. So I totally agree that homework needs to be Just Practice for these students.
C. Cross Curriculum teaching is a lot of fun for the students and the teacher. The students love to focus on one topic and because we revisit the same ideas all day or week it has time to really sink in. They love to express the facts they have learned in art or a story.
D. Sleep... I completely agree with everything Sprenger says about sleep. They need adequate sleep to be able to remember. In every newsletter home I remind the parents about making sure their children get sleep. I still have students falling asleep in the afternoon. I had one little boy who was progressing so well and then his grades just dropped. He was falling asleep all the time in class. When I spoke with the Mom, she admitted that things at home were not allowing him to get enough sleep. She still didn't change the situation. It breaks my heart to think of how hard it is for some of these kids to even get a good-nights sleep. They come to us tired and hungry. After lunch and recess I would turn out the lights, allow them to lay on the floor and I would read to them. Just having a little time to relax did seem to help some.
D. Mnemonic Devices... My personal favorite is "Method of Loci". I had a paper rout when I was younger with 156 houses. I used to impress my cousins on long distant rides with my abilities to memorize long lists of items. They would do everything to try to trick me but to no success. I was to arrogant to ever share how I was doing it. I had forgotten about that until reading this chapter. I think I will teach these methods to my students next year.
I've been reading a book called "When Kids Can't Read" and it states that dependent readers need to encounter a word up to 40 times before it is theirs. That is A LOT!!! I really appreciated the reminder of different methods to rehearse. So I'm not all skill and drill. I definitely will incorporate these into my lesson plans next year. I agree with Sprenger ..."If information can be stored in all of the memory pathways, then it can be accessed easily through various memory cues."
"To recite or repeat in private for experimenting and improvement. Students must try out newfound learning."pg 107
Delete(A) Songs: Nowadays, there are so many resources for educators to use songs/videos/chants to help learning new concepts. By putting information to music, it encourages students to remember and to put a picture to a sometime abstract content. In my kindergarten classroom, I used many songs/chants throughout the year, but I use a phonics songs to encourage scholars to learn letter sounds. I love hearing them sing it on their own throughout the day! Another favorite of my students each year is the "coin song" which is a rap about the different coin names and amounts.
(B) Homework: It is an aide to reinforce content in the classroom, but to not be used to introduce new concepts. Since our fall, spring, and winter breaks are so long I use that as a time to have students complete a review HW packet to reinforce what we have learned in the previous quarter. I hope it boosts their confidence in their learning.
(C) Word Web: This tool is used to engage the students as well as activate prior knowledge. It can also be used to show what they already know about a topic to set the stage of the assignment. As a student, myself, I used these word webs many times because being a visual learner, it helped me begin my writing assignments or the writing process.
(D) Sleep: This is an important tool/piece of the memory process. People remember more if they study or read right before they go to sleep and have a good nights sleep. It is not just a nice saying, it is important with recalling information. In college, I could never do all-nighters and always tried to get a good nights sleep (especially before a big final!)
(E) Mnemonic Device: I believe this can be used for personal, practical, and academic information. It can be used similar as a song/chant. By shortening the new information that is taught in a familiar way or "easier" way it is a helpful tool to encourage memory with students. I always use mnemoic devices when I was learning addresses, recipes, and even peoples names (for example: Funny Fred).
Amanda Davis
PLA@103
Good morning Teresa,
DeleteHomework has been very controversial lately. Last year, my students had trouble with even a short reading assignment (to prepare for class discussion). I do believe that students should have "light" homework. Examples can include, but are not limited to: a reading journal, a blog post, 5-15 math or grammar problems, etc.
I think you brought up some important points- that students may not have support at home, even just to check that they are doing their homework. You also made some important comments about possible solutions. For instance, after school programs might be a way to provide support to our students and their families. I also think that incentives are a good idea.
One of my daughters High School teachers, assigned homework, but had a cool strategy. He told the kids that he realized that they might have sports, band, or work that day. So, he let them navigate their homework assignments over a period of time (usually about 2 weeks). If they had sports during the week, for instance, then they could do their homework over the weekend. My daughter, and her friends, seemed to like the measure of freedom that came with this approach. The only problem could be if you needed students to read a specific passage for the discussion the upcoming week. However, if you planned in advance, then it could work. Of course, this approach was designed for older kids. I am not sure if it could work for younger ones.
Thanks for sharing. :-)
Kind regards,
Christine Weatherby
Thea Bowman Leadership Academy
cweatherby@tbla.email
Hello,
DeleteI agree with your information about homework. I think that it can be an important part of a students educational experience. Unfortunately, students are not completing their homework due to not having the support system at home. So sometimes giving homework out just does not work. One of my son's teachers would give the students time at the end of day to work on their homework. They would be able to ask each other for assistance if needed.
Sohn'a Duff, Computer Teacher
Hello All,
ReplyDeleteHope you are all having a terrific summer while enjoy heat, this weeks’ learning was very interesting and powerful. I used to tell my students how import study/practice was to the learning process. I would ask how many had participated in athletes or were part of any extracurricular activity in school or clubs; and then lead them to the understanding that proficiency only came with repeated practice of the fundamentals and grew toward mastery. So many had played baseball or softball and could relate to the numerous drills and the increasing complexity as their skills developed. This helped them to understand that academics are the same and that good writing is a developed skill rather than an innate ability as were other subjects. I was reminded of this when as a returning student I had to take an algebra class after roughly 30 years since any I’d had any type of math course. With determination and hard work that included a lot of practice I was able to succeed. Having personal experiences recently helps me to relate to the students and what they are currently experiencing rather than assuming they can handle whatever gets thrown at them.
The first method (A), is interesting because it uses song as a method of remembering but in addition to song it could be poetry or some other method that stores information in a way it can be recalled later. My only concern is like the example on pages 103-105 there is a danger when information is blocked or taught in isolation and the trigger is not obvious for recall. Funny enough, like the example I would ask adult students what form of government we have in the USA. These students frequently were composed of various law enforcement officers and military personnel of all types. I would also be greeted by blank stares and usually the obvious partially correct generic “democracy”. I would explain that every single one knew the correct answer but were unable to recall because they learned it in isolation. I reminded them that many of them took an oath and still blank stares. I then explained they had pledged their allegiance to it every day of k-12 schooling and would start reciting it until we got to the part about a republic. Finally, it would click. Rehearsal is powerful but must be taught in tandem so that student may recall without being dependent on a trigger.
Next, B I think related to when enough is enough and is a caution against overloading scholars with too much busy work that their minds can absorb it. There is a lot of biology being added to psychology courses these days which gives us added insight about the brain and how it can retain information in shorter blocks. I think the science is being developed but if I recall an average adult can retain about 20 minutes worth of information at a time before needing a short break. I think this is accomplished by taking breaks in lecture, adding movement breaks, or mixing up activities. I usually introduce a topic, break into groups, then return to whole group discussion debriefing followed by a few minutes of reflective writing.
The next method, (C), mental networking is great way to get scholars to relate to the material by making it personal relative to their own experiences. I try to instill this in scholars while teaching notetaking and annotation. Teaching that when they are able to relate new information to their existing world view it is easier to recall and understand. I insist that annotations be in the scholars’ own words and stress annotations over highlighting etc. I try encourage them to develop symbols and graphics to speed up note taking and make it more relevant to themselves.
Sleep, or number 4, is vital to scholar’s success but a really hard one to get our students to accept and practice. Many times, this is out of our control or the control of our scholars due to their home environment or multiple competing responsibilities. I usually employ a scheduling activity where scholars make a visual planner of all the things the scholar MUST do SHOULD do and WOULD LIKE to do. Typically, I ask to block out are the time they are committed to be somewhere, school work, church, and sleep. Then block out study time, family time, social responsibilities etc. then block out what they’d like to do like go to the lake or see a movie or have a date. I have them color code so they can see easily when they have an open block in which they can fill their time rather than overbooking. They understand that when you substitute a have to do with a like to do the have to do doesn’t get done and there is a consequence such as a poor performance because they are tired or a poor grade because they are unprepared. The visual helps them understand time better.
ReplyDeleteThe mnemonic device or (E) is helpful for many but one in which I have the least success. I find that you wind up with so many acronyms that it’s hard to remember which is which. I found this true of others as well as demonstrated in my first aid and AED training trying to remember all the acronyms just thrown at us. With that said I do recall to this day, nearly 45 years later that every good boy deserves fudge and Please excuse my dear aunt sally so what do I know. I guess this goes to the first method which is “practice”. A 4-hour course where we were introduced once was simple not enough time to accurately recall while a class I took 45 years ago is still in my head.
Til next week,
Mikael Badgett
TLJA
A. I love music in the classroom! Everyone hears music as early as when you're in the womb, so it's very relateable. It's even more useful to scholars when you can make the lyrics relevant to things you've talked about in class or that they can make their own.
ReplyDeleteB. One of my biggest beliefs is that homework should not be taken as a grade. I know as a student I often struggled with homework and with both of my parents available to me every night and having college degrees, even they struggled to help me sometimes. I know not all students have parents who can be there for whatever reason and students may not always feel comfortable or know when the right time to ask their teacher for help. I truly beleieve that students should be help accountabel for completin ghomeowrk, but that actually grading it is just not the purpose. I use homework as more of an informal asssessment of where I should take my lessons or who needs a little bit of small group instruction.
C. Graphic organizers are important in elementary, because organization is a skill that these students are still struggling with. For my unit assignment for student teaching, I created a graphic organizer to accompany the story, The Lorax, I was able to help students organize their thoughts about the books features and pictures and they were able to make an inference. The students answers were suprising and I think seeing their thoughts laid out in front of them really helped them dig a little deeper.
D. During my student teaching there was a student who consistently came to school late and very tired. She performaned at a significantly lower level than her peers, almost two grade levels lower and was not accepted socially among her peers. This student always missed out on small group work and the beginning of lessons. You can tell how much sleep affected her education. When asked why she was so tired everyday, her answers would often be that she was up watching movies or playing. Getting parents involved and keeping students accountable for their goals and progress is a great way to stress the importance of sleep, health, and education.
E. Mnemonics are a great tool for many things, but expecially helpful with information that is more difficult to relate to real life. acronyms and acrostics such as, PEMDAS and the order of the planets are something you rememeber your whole life even though they don't hold a lot of real life application. When I worked at a nursing home, one of my duties was to make sure that all 200 residents were accounted for and had eaten dinner. Through a checklist of their names, I had to check them off and without knowing it I used the Method of Loci. Because they often sat in the same seats everyday, I was able to go seat by seat to recall each name. It worked well and is something will keep in my to teach my students for tricky topics.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteA. Music -- This is an example of Mnemonic and it works pretty well. Students love to sing and dance. When they are able to sing songs about what they are learning they tend to show more interest and tend to learn, remember and recall easier. Teachers should use this more often. I remember learning how to spell the word Bible and Bingo singing the songs that spell out these words. I also remember watching School House Rock and learning what verbs and pronouns were and about the constitution. I used a rap song to teach my older son his multiplications at an earlier age. He loved it. My best friend daughter attended a school where they learned a lot of songs. She knew how to say her alphabets frontwards & backwards, she could recite the 50 states and capitals, she could recite all of the presidents in order, she could recite all the continents and more at the age of 5. She may not understood what she was learning but as she grew older she knew this information and was able to recall it and apply it when needed.
B. Homework -- I feel that homework is important because it reinforces the information that was taught. Just like the book said it allows the student to rehearse the information. But it works only when the information was already taught and when the student is completing their own work.
C. Graphic Organizers -- I believe this helps students to organize their thoughts/information and as they are going through the organization process. As they are going through it they are learning and remembering more about the subject at hand.
D. Sleep -- Sleep is important for all types of reasons. A good nights rest is important for students to get all they can get from school. When students come to school and they are sleepy or they fall asleep they miss out on a lot at school. They seem to not focus as much, they tend to get attitudes quicker, and sometimes this can lead to getting in trouble more. In kindergarten and preschool settings most students take naps during mid day and after they wake they are alert and ready to learn again. When students come to school sleepy it might be a good idea to allow them to take a nap which may allow them to learn a little bit more than if they didn't take that nap. Unfortunately we work with a population where some of our students do not get a good nights sleep no fault of the students of course and therefore, we either have to communicate the importance of sleep to the parents or compensate for it during class.
E. Mnemonics -- I believe this a great tool to help remember things. I used this a lot during college. I would create sentences that made no sense but I was able to remember the sentence which allowed me to remember the information. I still use this at times to help me. I also use Method of Loci to help me remember my students name. I assign them seats in my classroom and if one student moves their seat sometimes I forget their name. When you have 500 or more students to remember Method of Loci is good.
Sohn'a Duff, Computer Teacher
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading everyone's posts. I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer and enjoying the break.
A- This is emotional connection for students as well as a conditional response (automatic). Students are able to remember a song that they have heard multiple times and can relate to other songs and beats. This is important when teaching students new information or a lot of information at a time. I personally, found myself swaying to the music and listening multiple times. This will peak student interest.
B- Students many times are bogged down with lots of homework and get frustrated before they even start. Homework should be reinforcement of a strategy that students have already learned. I loved the reading when it stated "If homework is assigned to students before the concepts are clarified...then it does more harm than good." pg 111. Many times students are giving an assignment for homework on a skill they just learned. Students have not had time to process that skill and master it. This is something that as a resource teacher I run into many times. Assuming students payed attention and have learned the skill. I must make sure that I am assigning work they can complete independently for homework.
C- This reminds me of the Semantic on memory lane. It is important for students to be able to learn through cross curriculum to make sure that skills are constantly reinforce to play on students strengths and weaknesses. When I see this I think of school, and how can I teach students that everything is connect in some way or form? They may not see it right off the bat, but sooner or later it will make sense and it is my job to help them along the way.
D. When I see this I think of sleep. Too many students come in tired and want to sleep during a lesson. This does not allow them to rehearse, or they are busying with homework and are not getting enough time to rest for the next day. Also if students listen to a song (like in A), or rehearse something before they go to sleep, this can help them memorize information in hopes to pull the information and put it to good use. Many students think it will happen the next day, but in reality to takes time.
E. Mnemonics- This is a huge skill I use with my students in math and reading. Students have knowledge and if we link what they already know to what they need to know it can make it easier for students and show them some type of success and make them a part of the learning process (which is HUGE)! I think the most I got out of this is being able to teach students how to use them. We can give students different strategies daily, but if we do not teach then it is difficult for students to learn them and be able to apply them when needed. As well as explaining to students that they must be rehearsed, like anything else, to be able to remember them and put them to use when needed.
Courtney Singleton
JRPLA
Special Education
A. Music taps into a couple different memory lanes. Last year I found a video for my kiddos to watch while we were working on converting measurements. It was an older video and, honestly, rather cheesy. However, the kiddos loved it. At one point, they requested to watch it for a second time. By the time it was over, they were singing along. I’m sure it helped in remembering metric conversions.
ReplyDeleteB. Homework is one that I struggle with every year. I definitely understand the “enough is enough” argument, but I also think it is important to use homework as a time to reinforce and practice what is being done in the classroom. I only assign homework as a spiral review, so the students never get brand new concepts. For older students, I think homework can not only be used as a tool for review, but also as a tool to help teach responsibility.
C. I use some type of graphic organizer in class almost daily. Graphic organizers can be used in any subject you are teaching. They help students keep their information organized. They can be used as reference tools for review.
D. Sleep is so important in keeping you alert and ready to learn. You always perform best when well rested. This is one of the reasons why each year during our standardized testing window, I do not assign homework. I always tell my kiddos to use the time to come to school rested and ready to test.
E. Mneumonic devices are helpful in learning new information and concepts by connecting them to things students are familiar with. They help create visuals in the mind. I use mnemonic devices time in Math (Please, excuse my dear Aunt Sally) when teaching order of operations. I have also started using RACE (restate, answer, cite, and explain) when teaching constructed response answers in Reading.
Deb Daniel
Timothy L. Johnson Academy
Week 5: Rehearse
ReplyDeleteHello everyone, it has been fun reading all the different experiences and responses to the tasks. I really enjoy all the sharing, it’s like my toolbox for next year is about to overflow.
Technique A: This particular song uses Episodic memory lane and integrates conditional response, and I might add procedural (students tend to rap/move to the beat). This song was introduced to me by my son, he came home and couldn’t wait to show me the coolest and most educational song he knew. I was in my second year of teaching and I would never have thought music was his thing. I had to hear at least 30-50 times this song in my house until he mastered the 50 states. Also, songs are my preferred hook, in K I used several about abc, phonics, shapes, counting (with movement). In 2 grade I used measurement raps, money raps, story elements. In 3 grade the students love the multiplication mash, and after 6 weeks of playing daily my students improved from only 15% of them mastering all multiplication facts to 65% of them mastering multiplication 0-10. It also helps immensely my ELL and ADD learners.
Technique B: Homework is my least favorite rehearsal method. As a working mother I struggle with helping my child at home, as I get home late in the afternoon. Although, as my son has grown it is easier and I only support when he doesn’t understand the lesson in class. I do send home homework and I make sure it is mostly something they need to practice and can do independently. My first class in my T2T program my professor was a teacher who had gone from being a foster child to obtaining her Doctorate degree in Education with help from all her teachers since 2 grade. I still remember when she told us to be cautious with homework and to have grace. She told us we didn’t know where that child had slept, lived or if they had even eaten. Therefore, she warned us to not punish harshly hw turned in wrinkled, dirty, and to sometimes work and allow students to have time to complete in class. She personally had slept in cars, spent weekends without food. This story opened my eyes to what sometimes my students have to endure and so I try to use all my minutes in the classroom the best I can to move their knowledge forward to be college ready. I do reward homework turned in and have conversations about responsibility with the ones that don’t. When I started giving 5-10 minutes of math time to finish homework in class my turn in rate improved 30-40%. Also, I was able to answer questions immediately as I walked around.
Technique C: This is a semantic memory lane usage. I use few graphic organizers, but I plan on implementing more usage of them during the next school year. I have assisted students using peer teaching and practice tests to increase memory applying the semantic memory lane. I think organizers can be used to recode and rehearse understanding of a concept.
Part 1: Luna PLA 103
Technique D: This is a controversial theme. How many hours should children sleep? What do we do if our students are falling asleep in class? As the years have gone by, I have seen teachers send students that are acting out to other teachers, and when asked to sit quietly at the corner you turn around and they are sound asleep. This is not always the case. When my students start acting grouchy or fidgeting, I ask what time did you go to bed, most of the time it is after 10 pm. I make up an errand and send them to do take something to the office or another teacher, I tell them go by the bathroom and wash your face and drink some water. This is normally enough to refocus their attention. Sometimes a 10 min nap at recess or specials can do wonders and improve their attention and classwork. I also talk to the parents to make sure they are aware of how it affects their behavior.
ReplyDeleteTechnique E: Mnemonic, this method is fun for many students that struggle with memory. I always had good memory and didn’t apply this technique at all. My sister on the other hand could never remember nothing, but she could sing every song on the radio from beginning to end. This type of rehearsal would have benefited her. I have used it a lot to help students remember hard concepts. The one that helped students the most was for subtracting using regrouping. Is there more on the floor, no stay indoors. Yes borrow next door. Students would see subtraction and ask these questions in tests, Star, and practice reviews.
Part 2: Luna PLA 103
A. As Ebony mentioned, emotional pathway is the strongest pathway we have. “Logic tells; emotion sells!” Using this technique will increase the emotional pathway, and thus allow the scholar to remember. Songs can be used as prompts to recall information. I have previously used songs to assist them in recalling the days of the week, how to solve basic math problems, the steps in solving social issues (like sharing and calming down), and so on. When they got stuck on a problem, I would sing a bit of the topic’s song and the student would figure out the solution.
ReplyDeleteB. I was relieved to have read Sprenger’s insight about home work. Sprenger recommends adding 10 minutes to homework for every grade level, offering students opportunities to move their bodies in their homework assignment, having them understand the usefulness of their practice in real-life, and making sure the scholars know the material before doing homework. Having scholars practice what they learned that day will strengthen the brain pathways. When I taught first grade, the students were eager to complete their homework. It was like a video game in that they wanted to earn points that I gave out to decorate their avatar on www.raz-kids.com. For math on www.reflexmath.com, they played games to level up to more challenges. The other assignments involved dinner discussions to their parents, teaching others what they learned, and taking pictures of them implementing what they learned into real-life situations. I included some worksheets, but just enough to review what they learned. As a result, they continued excelling on the websites and sending me pictures of their experiments for fun during their vacation. These scholars wanted to learn.
C. This technique helps our scholars to remember by seeing a theme in different learning styles and subjects. Using this technique will help with storage and retrieval of information. For example, when I taught fractions, it was practiced when we cooked, played stringed instruments, created art, made change with money, and so on. The children wanted to learn because they got to see how fractions are used in real life. They then carried what they learned in their role-playing games, board games, and activities at home.
D. I was again thrilled to read that experiences should be spread over a period of weeks, with some being completed in class and others assigned as homework (p. 109). If the lessons require students to cram the information, it will dissipate after the objective (like a test) was met. Scholars need the networks of neurons during learning to reconnect and strengthen during sleep. After I teach, usually the lesson is carried over to a station. During station time, scholars are given the option to choose which center they want to complete. They must complete every station before the end of the week. This is the time neurons are strengthened as the students recall the lesson to complete their familiar task.
E. Mnemonics links what needs to be learned with what is known (p. 119). As mentioned in my previous post, learning grammar through brackets was like reading Greek until I watched Schoolhouse Rock. I was able to remember what adjectives, pronouns, and so on were. It was my link to success. It made learning easier. When I taught second grade, we used the Schoolhouse rock to remember the multiplication table. When we had to take tests, I could see their mouths moving to the song. I have no doubt that they will carry these songs years later.
A. Teaching through emotional pathways stood out most to me throughout this weeks reading. I find myself using this strategy throughout several lessons because I feel that using songs, rhymes, video, etc.. enrich the learning experience. The reading suggest that teaching thorough the pathways has a longer affect on student being able to practice and recall known knowledge and learned knowledge. I also love using songs to encourage transitions in my classroom because students should be moving, gives them a task, and allows them to participate by singing along. Personally, there are songs that I've learned at a young age that I still remember and has helped me in recalling information.
ReplyDeleteB. Thorough research and past experiences, homework, sometimes, never goes as planned. I agree with the reading passage that homework is a form of practice to see if students have reached a level of mastery. However, there are cases where students have a hard time returning homework, completing homework, having parents do the work for the students, and asking questions about the homework. In my classroom, I think it is important to establish a communication regarding homework and encouraging parent involvement. When I was student teaching, the homework was given once a week, usually Wednesdays, and was to be returned on Monday's. I loved how this schedule worked out because it allows for student to have time to work on the assignment, parents time to help with the assignments, and it focused on one particular area that was taught. I also agree with the reading in that homework should be about the quality and what is covered rather than the amount of homework that was given. Teach and practice with purpose!
C. Graphic organizers have been a life saver for me in my own personal life. I always tend to write everything down and by using some sort of T-chart, organizer, graphs, or bubble webs, I am able to keep things in line and organized. I believe that introducing these strategies to students will also encourage them to stay organized and give them a place to sort information.
D. Oh sleep. Its always a tricky situation when one of your students in the class hasn't received the proper amount of sleep they need in order to focus. I have found that incorporating movement, as the reading suggest, to get the blood circulating for those tired students and to get the wiggles out for those students who need to exert that energy. I also like the idea that several have mentioned above to give your sleepy student a task or errand to run to awaken the mind and get the student moving.
E. Mnemonic devices goes hand in hand with teaching by using emotional pathways. I like to use mnemonic devices in my classroom because they can be simple and sweet ways to have students remember and recall information Hattie and Yates (2014) research shows that using mnemonic devise as a strategy leads to students being able to remember and recall information long term rather than just learning for short term assessments. I tend to use several mnemonic devises weather I made them up or have remembered them from school. This type of strategy allows student who have a hard time with memory a little help in order to recall information. Mnemonic devices makes learning fun and easier.
Jacqulyn Ison, K
PLA 103
A. Mind maps can help you become more creative, remember more, and solve problems more effectively. It makes me think of drawing a picture or a map to find the thing you need Scholars can use mind maps like Anchor charts to help them to visualize their thoughts and help them to remember. We use anchor charts in our room.
ReplyDeleteB. Homework can be used to reinforce a scholars learning after they have already learned it. It can help a parent to know what the scholar is learning and they can help them study. It is a practice time for them, a rehearsal of what they just learned. I haven’t been using homework in my classroom.
C. Themes can be used to focus on a particular subject. Everything is learned about that theme throughout the school day. It is a saturation on the subject from all areas. I’m not sure themes would work in my classroom throughout the day unless the whole school was doing a theme.
D. Rest is important for a child to learn. If they are tired they will not be as focused and they will not retain as much of the information. Well rested children retain more information. Often my scholars come to me unable to keep their eyes open. I have been known to have them lay on the rug and take a cat nap for a few minutes. Maybe when they return to their classroom they’ll be more alert at least.
E. Mnemonic devices work by taking an unusual association and making it memorable (Gordon & Berger, 2003). This is one of my favorites to use. I used it in practicing for tests in college. I’d take the first letter of important things I need to know and I repeated the letters in order until I could state them all. When the test began I’d write the letters in order on my paper then I’d go back through the list and add details until I had my notes. Then I’d take the test.
Happy July! This summer break is going wayyy too fast! My response to Chapter 5:
ReplyDeleteA. Using music/raps to memorize states and capitals is helpful to committing new material to rote memory. It helps us to rehearse and remember by repeating the information in a fun and popular way.
Professional: My students learn many new concepts with music and movement. I often hear them singing songs during breaks or while transitioning. 'CVC words, I know what they are, Consonant Vowel Consonant, 3 letters that's for sure.' It's so helpful to use the songs as a reference point when teaching small groups as well.
B. Homework: allows for rehearsal of basic understanding. It gives students who routinely do their homework a 24 point percentile gain on standardized tests.
Professional: Last year a parent questioned my reasoning behind having homework and morning work that are exactly the same. Why do it twice? My response was that practice makes perfect and the more exposure kinders have to 'show what they know'; the better learners they become and they will remember what they've learned.
C. Themes: Allow for the transfer of knowledge across the curricula. Students can compare and contrast which leads to deeper understanding.
Professional: Using a Polar Animals theme to help children learn science, math, and reading skills is very effective and helps students remember new information by utilizing many memory pathways. When matching penguins to icebergs, they not only understand upper and lowercase comparison; they also get habitats. Themes help maintain interest levels as well.
D. Sleep: New learning is practiced during sleep. Memories are encoded and information is stored in long term memory when students have enough sleep.
Personal: Those basic needs must be met before students can learn. I would guess that sleep issues are the leading cause of memory issues with our population of students. I have a cot in my room for just that purpose. Sometimes I wish I could use it, too!
Mnemonic devices: Link prior knowledge to new information. They also allow easier access to stored information because of the cues connected to the learning.
Personal: The Great Lakes are: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior. I used this stuff in band and all through college. I still haven't found a way to help kinders with this strategy. It confuses them!
I love the technique of using raps and music and so do the students! I have tried it several times but haven’t felt very successful with it though. Middle school kids are so self-conscious that I haven’t felt successful in getting them to be creative and have fun with this exercise. I think it is great though because it uses so many different parts of the student’s brain and helps them to really feel the material.
ReplyDeleteUsing homework as a rehearsal technique is something that I struggle with. On one hand, I feel homework not only reinforces concepts but it also helps develop responsibility and time management. But in students who struggle in their home life, homework can be just one more area that they are not seeing success with. So, I go back and forth on whether I should use it and how much weight it should carry if I do.
Graphic organizers are wonderful for middle school social studies.They help students see cause and effect more easily as well as understanding important events, the people involved, and the consequences. One of my goals for next year is to use more graphic organizers with students and help them learn which works best for them and their way of understanding.
Sleep is so important. I see such a big difference in my middle school students before and after about 11am. Test and homework grades are usually much higher in the afternoon. I’ve found that if my middle school students fall asleep in my class, they are usually sick or have been up all night. I generally let them sleep. They might miss some material in my class but they will be awake for the rest of the day. Without a little nap, they will be falling asleep in every class.
Mnemonic devices are so much fun. I still use them to help me remember things. Students are comfortable being creative with these (unlike singing) and they have fun with them. For tasks that take simple memorization, like map quizzes or states and capitals, mnemonic devices are perfect.
A. Emotional Pathway: I love using rhythm and song in the classroom! The students love this too. Sometimes I resort to online videos and at times we're able to craft something up on our own. It is a great way to make things so much more memorable and to get them to retain the information.
ReplyDeleteB. Homework: Homework, when given as review and with purpose in small amounts, can be so beneficial. However, "If homework is assigned to students before the concepts are clarified...then it does more harm than good." pg 111. I found that most of my first grade scholars needed to be rewarded in some way for returned homework. Many of my scholars last year did not have adults who checked their folders nightly. It was then left up to my first graders to initiate this on their own, which teaches academic responsibility at a young age. I think that it is very purposeful and I give it nightly. I have considered giving homework packets that gives the scholar more flexibility for completion.
C. (Semantic) Graphic organizers: A great visual to show and recall what we've learned. I use graphic organizers a lot in my room to help make permanent connections. It also encourages organization.
D. Rehearsal and Sleep: Last year I found that several of my first grade scholars really suffered from a lack of sleep. I heard many unfortunate stories of why they didn't get enough sleep the night before. Some students simply needed a cat nap and some just needed some sort of stimulation to reenergize them.
E. Mnemonic devices: Linking prior knowledge with new information and used as a memory aid. I personally did this as a way to study new vocab. in college. It was fun and some of the connections that I made were comical, yet would likely have made no sense to anyone else. It's a fun tool to teach students.
Erica Andrews, TLJA
A: Music is very important in helping with memory. I began using music in my math small groups. We were struggling learning the angles of a shape. the students were struggling on identifying them. I found a video from math-antics that I thought the scholars could relate to. I played the video in a small group setting as the scholars rotated through stations. As the scholars began to move around to do their tasks, I could hear groups singing the song. As each group cycled through, pretty soon the whole class was softly singing. My enrichment group even asked to learn the song.
ReplyDeleteB: Homework is an ongoing debate in the education world. Some experts say that homework is a waste of the student and parents time. other experts believe that as long as it is a review skill, homework is beneficial. I really struggle with homework and its benefits. I use homework as a review of a skill that the student needs. I also try to differentiate it as much as possible.
C: I didn't use to see the benefits of graphic organizers until recently. Graphic organizers are becoming a useful tool in our daily lives. Graphic organizers give scholars the opportunity to tap into their own creative ways to remember things.
D: Sleep is the best tool a scholar has. If a scholar has not received a good nights sleep, school and learning is the last thing on their mind. I consistently remind my scholars the importance of sleep. During the testing window, I do not assign homework and in our planners we write down bedtime is 8:30 every night during he testing window.
E: Mnemonic devices are great learning tools to help define a new concept for students. I use them as a visual clue for students in both math and reading. An example in math would be for division (Dad(divide), Mom(multiply), Sister(subtract), Brother(bring down). For constructed responses in reading I use RACE(restate, answer, cite, and explain).
A: I loved this video because it reminded me of when I learned the "state song". I can still remember trying to memorize all of the states and their capitals in the 5th grade. using the technique of music, along with visual representation would give the visual and audio learners a way to memorize the states and their capitals.
ReplyDeleteB. Visual B is sad, but true. Personally, I love sending home homework. From the beginning I was told to only send home homework if it covers skills that have already been mastered. I loved how the book backed that up. Throughout the year we build up to where every scholar in kindergarten can count and write to 120, and read the first 100 Fry Words. Every week for homework during the last 8 weeks of school we would send home the Fry 100 list, and a fill in the missing number chart. Almost all of my scholars were practicing their reading and counting at home. They would be so excited to show me how whoever was helping them with their homework marked up their sight word sheet of the words that they knew. Next year I am planning on sending out the sight words at the beginning of the year, starting with the first 10 and building from there. I believe that homework can be a great thing if we use it correctly.
C. In the book there is a mental note that says, "Multiple experiences lead to stronger memories. (Sprenger, 2018)" If we can get our scholars rehearsing what they are learning in more than one area, they will have a better chance of retaining the material. During the last couple weeks of school we were doing reader's theater during reading time. One of the stories they acted out was "The Three Little Pigs". We spent all week rehearsing the play, and every scholar had a chance to have a part in the play. On that Friday we went to Holiday Park for a field trip. At the park, there was an area with bricks that the kids were picking up and moving. I walked over to see what they were doing, and my scholars were making the house of bricks from the story and acting out the play!
D: Sleep is so important to learning. Sadly, I had about 5 scholars who would fall asleep everyday. The scholars that were always sleepy were also the ones falling behind. In college I stayed up late cramming for geography tests more than once. When it was time to take the test, I would be so nervous and frustrated from being sleep deprived, that I never did very well. It is too bad that sleep plays such a big role in the memory process because it is one thing that we can't control at school.
E: I think that mnemonic devices are a great way to quickly memorize something. Although I don"t think that they are they best method of rehearsing. Personally I have a hard time remembering a mnemonic device unless I have applied it in my life and used it multiple times. The best mnemonic device that I have used is the name game. When playing the name game you say your name with a word that describes you and begins with the same letter as your name. This game is great for quickly memorizing someone's name, but doesn't work for log term memory.
Maddy Hinesley
GVPLA
Greetings,
ReplyDeleteI found these five rehearsal techniques to be very helpful, as well as techniques that I have used in both my personal and professionally life.
As a Sunday School Teacher and someone who use to teach younger students, I learned quickly the key and power of learning by putting information to a song. When I was a child, my teacher taught everyone a song that allowed us to remember all 50 states in alphabet order. My husband and I also applied this same technique when it came time for teaching our children how to spell their names and remember our address. While this idea works well with smaller children, I have applied with it older students when teaching new math skills. Music happens to be a big part of today’s culture with young people. The more we can apply to music, the better they will be at retaining the idea information.
B. Homework is like a two edged sword. When given in the right matter/right reason, it has the ability to aid in the scholar’s learning. On the other hand, when homework is handed out as a requirement or busy work, it takes away from the teacher’s ability to build strong skills towards scholar learning goals. Homework should always be practice, engaging, yet fun. It’s not helpful to the child nor parent to have scholars work on assignments at home that they have no clue of their learning expectation(s). Each night, my scholars are expected to work on reading, writing, and math. Math is always over the skills that we have been working on that week, reading is focused on our weekly lesson, and the same for writing. I also like to include family members in their assignment when at all possible.
C. I have found anchor charts and graphic organizers to be very helpful in teaching skills cross curricular. Also, teaching them how to make connections from text to text, text to self, and text to world happens to be another great way on building and remembering new skills.
D. I learned the importance of sleep my junior year in high school. Quick story; My father bought my twin sister and I a car our junior year. It was a stick shift. I would practices day in and day out to learning how to drive it. Before I would go to sleep at night, I would lay in the bed pretending that I was switching gears. Each morning, more of the information was builded into my memory. Many of our students receive less than 5 hours of sleep a night and are unaware of the role that a good sleep pattern plays in their learning process. The same way that we push for them to receive a healthy night sleep during ISTEP, we (I) need to enforce this technique while building toward success on ISTEP.
E. Appling mnemonic devices have been a great way to ensure memory of important information for scholars. In Social Studies we use Never (North), Eat (East), Shredded (South), Wheat (West). While in Math we often apply mnemonic to PEMDAS (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally). In ELA/writing this same technique is used for RACES (Restate the Question,
(Answer the Question, Cite Evidence, Explain your Answer, Sum it Up). Lastly in science, PEN for remembering the parts of an Atom (Protons, Electrons, and Neutrons). Each one has been successful in helping scholars recall on information by memory when it is time for completing test and assignments.
Rehearse (5)
ReplyDeleteI think it is so important that we teach for mastery. They only way for the students to master information that they have learned is for them to have multiple contacts with the information in multiple ways. It is so important that we not rush the learning process for students.
This rehearsal strategy is using songs. The students will begin to memorize the states by the hearing the song and seeing the visual.
I have used a technique such as this one in my classroom to teach the Friendly Letter parts. The children enjoyed using their different voices. One part that students tend to forget is the comma in a friendly letter. So in the chant when we identify the comma, we say, “It’s something that is very very small but very important. This technique really helped the students remember the parts of a friendly letter.
I have always believed that homework should be given on a skill only after the students have had multiple contacts with the material. The students should not have difficulty with the homework. If homework is given before mastery takes place, then the students are making errors over and over. Then we have to work twice has hard to get the students to unlearn those errors.
The web is developing semantic memory. The students are developing memory. We want to develop the higher order thinking. The more that higher order thinking is develop, the more meaning the students will get out of the material. Learning really takes place then. Multiple experiences lead to stronger memory. As classrooms teachers/parents we need to provide as many experiences as possible for our children.
The memory is encoded during sleep. I realize that a lot of times our students are just plain tired. They have not received the proper rest that enables the networks that are formed during learning to reconnect during the sleep process. Sleep deprivation is very harmful.
This technique is mnemonic using acrostic. I have taught the order of the planets using the first letter of each planet.
Angela Posey (5)
Phalen Academy @ 103
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA. Music and videos are such a great way to help remember something. I still know all the words to the preamble to the constitution because of a song and I loved when we would learn songs to remember formulas in my own classes. I will have to find more examples of this, since I know how much it helps and I know my students love to watch and listen to songs to introduce and reinforce what we have learned.
ReplyDeleteB. I have some conflicted opinions on homework, because I want to use it to help reinforce the information I have taught, but I also remember homework that was not very helpful or only served to confuse me when I was a student. I think last year we did a pretty good job of making sure the homework reinforced material we had taught well enough to try it without assistance at home. I also think assigning reading and a reflection of that reading as homework is a good way to help students practice skills we have used in class on their own. I think homework is important if it is thought about before it is sent home so it actually matches what we are teaching.
C. This reflection skill seems like both using graphic organizers and teaching across curriculum. I think both are important to include in the classroom, and that graphic organizers are a great way to reach across curriculum easily. I think it is so important for students to understand that there are connections among subjects since they are so often shown separately in texts. I also love using graphic organizers to help students learn to organize their thinking and make it easier to remember what we are talking about.
D. Sleep is so important to learning. It is so hard for students to focus and learn when they are tired, and sleep is the time that memories are really solidified. I remember learning in college about how detrimental a lack of sleep can be to learning, remembering, health so I am glad that this chapter talked about its importance here. I often let scholars who fall asleep in class to rest for a few minutes before waking them up. I will often ask them to stand up move about when they do to help them get their blood moving and stay awake for the rest of the day. I will also check at home with parents about the amount of time their child is sleeping so that everyone is aware that there is a problem.
E. I have mixed feelings about mnemonic devices. On the one hand, there have been a few times when these really stuck with me and I can recall the mnemonic today without any trouble. On the other hand, mnemonics have also been frustrating and ultimately useless to me or I might even have drilled the mnemonic but forgotten the connection to the actual concept I wanted to remember. Perhaps I was not taught how to use mnemonics correctly. I would like to try to teach my students how to use some mnemonics because they can be a great shorthand way to remember facts, I will just have to be careful when I introduce the mnemonic so I do not spend all my time teaching the mnemonic and take away from the learning.
My own pathways were lighting up reading this chapter! Remember different strategies I have used or observed over the years, and thinking of new ways to use these strategies.
ReplyDeleteEmotional Pathways (Rhythm & Music)-Fun, effective, and presents with a lot of variety! We have known for years that music is an effective way to help learners remember content. Now with the internet, we are set up for success with ready-to-use material at our fingertips. Yay, YOUTUBE! (I love my NUMBEROCK playlist!). Add into the variety and firing those synapses to create songs or chants with scholars.
Homework-As with many educators, this is an important subject for me and I have strong beliefs about how I approach with students and parents. As discussed in the reading, HW needs to be meaningful and to reinforce material. Students should not struggle to complete the material! I understand the idea of having nightly homework to create good habits, but the age of the student should be taken into consideration. Having a 1st grader complete 45 mins of homework is not a positive approach in my experience. Students come to develop a bad attitude towards even the idea of completing HW. Over the years, I have tried a variety of HW ideas-giving only when needed, choice reading (logs), review packets-give Monday, due Friday, journal writing, and several others. I have found that what has yielded the most effective use has been as needed, and sometimes that is needed pretty often! : ) With communication platforms like Remind and Class Dojo it is easy to keep everyone informed.
Graphic Organizer-Giving learners strategies they can use cross-curricular is such a valuable tool! Connections and organizational skills are so important for elementary scholars GOs will be used for years to come and will provide students with fun and effective ways to develop long term memory of content. Every year I have a list of GOs that I make sure to include (it is posted in the classroom too!). Over time older students come to have GOs they prefer and can choose. It is also a great way to create for partner/small group work as well. I add in here anchor chart (which could be added in MDs partly as well). A few years ago I had students ask if they could have time to copy a summary anchor chart in their reading journal. YES! They had fun making colorful and adding in their creative tweaks. We kept that up for the rest of the year and I have done each year. I always notice students recalling during testing time, some even draw a little pic of the chart in a corner of scratch paper.
Sleep-I explain the importance to sleep related to working out. How your muscles need time to repair themselves and grow strong. I also like to compare to the wait time it is important to give learners when teaching, time to take it all in. It’s no secret that sleep is important for our bodies and brain. I enjoying teaching scholars of all ages the way the brain works and sleep is a big part of that. This past year I noticed that our longer school day was really effecting the students. We conducted a scientific experiment. We took 30 minutes after lunch/recess to turn off the lights and relax. Some slept, some just rested. No reading, working, coloring allowed. Over the course of 2 weeks we logged (individually and as a class) work time, participation and opinions on individual focus. That 30 minutes allowed for the next 90 minutes to much more productive for us all. It was eye opening for the scholars and for me to see how much I needed this time as well. The students also appreciated me being open-minded and thinking about how they were feeling.
Mnemonic Devices-A CLASSIC MEMORY STRATEGY! : ) Right there with music and rhythm MDs place information in multiple pathways and can be taught and used cross-curricular. There are of course many MDs created for students (PEMDAS), but it is also fun to have students contribute to the creation. A combination can created as well-using the anchor chart and doing the Loci Method.
Enjoying this book! New stuff, great reminders, and adjustments I need to make for the new school year in every chapter.
ReplyDeleteA. Easy one! Song, music, rhyme all help to trigger information when heard or sung. Gonoodle, YouTube, etc. make it so easy to tie song and music to content to commit it to memory. Music and sounds are tied to many memories from my personal life and professional life.
B. Homework-A way to practice, practice, practice. A great reminder it needs to be the skills that each scholar needs to commit to long-term memory, practiced without help at home, and already learned in school. For my second graders, homework is an important habit to get into to prepare them for the rest of their schooling.
C. Organizing in any part of your life is helpful. Using graphic organizers, cards, anchor charts, etc. assist in putting information in a memorable order to commit to memory. Throughout the school year, I use anchor charts and many graphic organizers so that scholars can find what works for them.
D. Sleep-So important for scholars to get enough sleep to be able to process information they have received in school or doing homework and they can be strong and healthy for good brains!
E. Mnemonic devices are extremely helpful with the lower elementary grades. Hands on activities, manipulatives, using dry erase boards, etc. are all ways to offer scholars opportunities to make connections with their learning and memory. I have always been one to write things down to help me remember things.
Lauri Krober
Second Grade PLA@103
A. Being a Kindergarten teacher I have used songs and videos tremendously. I find that it helps reinforce what we are working on. I have played ABC songs, rhyming words, sight word songs, math raps about addition and subtracting, and seasons of the year.
ReplyDeleteB. We us homework to work on skills we have learned that week or the weeks before. I tie in concepts we have practiced all year and continue to give them as homework so scholars will get continued practice all year long. The book says that homework makes learning meaningful and deepens learning. I would agree as long as it is given correctly after skills have already been taught.
C. Organizers is something I would like to use more of this coming year. I have implemented main idea organizers and comparing characters. For kindergarten, I find it helpful at the beginning to allow picture drawing in the organizers to help scholars get their points across and then we build on that together writing in their sentences.
D. Many times this last year I had students come in who did not get enough sleep the night before coming to class. Students can not learn let alone retain information if they do not get enough sleep. I try to be mindful of my scholars situations at home, but sleep is necessary to learning. I encourage all of my students to get adequate sleep before coming to class.
E. Linking information from what needs to be learned to what scholars already know is Mnemonics. In kindergarten we use this a lot. We are often making rhyming songs, creating acronyms, incorporating music, and connecting information. These strategies help students recall information and learn conceptually.
A. I liked this one a lot because I love using music to get my scholars interested into a topic. I think that a visual as well as audio techniques work really well when used appropriately. I still remember certain things from when I was in school that was presented to me in the form of a video such as the school house rock videos, those aided in my learning tremendously. Now there are so many raps and rhymes that kids find fun to learn and rehearse and don’t even realize that it’s to aid in their education.
ReplyDeleteB. I’m not sure what this picture is here to represent, but I do use a lot of pictures to explain topics to my students. I especially like to look for funny pictures that my students might enjoy such as one like this. If there is something about the picture that can get the students to remember something then it can become an aid in their learning experience. The student in this picture looks disgusted by the homework sitting in front of him. I also know that homework can be a stressful thing for both parents and students. I like to take homework for a completion grade and not for correctness. I tell my scholars that as long as I can tell they put forth effort then they will receive full credit. I never want a scholar to feel defeated at home where I cannot be there to help when needed.
C. Graphic organizers are so helpful when instructing scholars. It is just another method to get your students thinking about a certain topic in a more specific way and breaking it down into details that will be remembered. Graphic organizers also help teach scholars how to organize their thoughts and to pull out the main idea and the details, separate one apart from the other.
D. Sleep is so important for scholars, especially those young ones. I have had many scholars come into school and tell me that their bedtime is later than mine. A scholar should be getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night if possible, without interruptions. I know this is not possible for every student, however it is very difficult for young minds to concentrate if their brains are not rested. If I see a scholar who seems to not have had enough sleep the night before I usually offer them a few minutes of rest so they can have a break before their day starts.
E. Mnemonic devices helped me a lot when I was in school. My mom and I would sit and make sayings that would help me for anything and everything on a test that I would be taking. The most popular one that I will always remember is PEMDAS for the steps of an equation and HOMES for the great lakes of the US. It is so fun to make them up and its even easier to remember them if they are funny. I would always look for ways to incorporate these into anything with the lessons I taught my scholars.
A. My kids LOVE when I use "flocabulary" videos to introduce a certain concept. By the 2nd or 3rd day listening to it they are already singing along and recalling the information included in the song.
ReplyDeleteB. I use homework to reinforce skills we have introduced that week, and to get extra practice with past skills that need more work. Homework allows scholars to get more practice on their own.
C. Less than halfway through my first year of teaching elementary school I realized how important and necessary graphic organizers are. It allows scholars to put information in appropriate sections and gives them a visual that I believe helps them store the information in their brains. I know without the assistance of a graphic organizer, my scholars would not be able to organize the information all on one piece of paper in a way that they would be able to understand.
D. Sleep is so so important for our scholars. As sad as it is to say, I've had scholars come to school so tired that I know it's going to be a waste of a day because they are not going to be able to retain any of the information presented to them that day.
E. I love mnemonic devises. Throughout high school and college I would use them as a study tactic almost all the time. Admittedly, I have not tried this method with my scholars before. Hopefully I can try to do that this year!
A. I liked this way most. I would consider it an emotional reach. The music and visuals reach a lot of scholars in a lot of different ways. I often use videos as hooks and memorizing techniques. Videos can often be used effectively as introductions.
ReplyDeleteB. Although not popular among scholars, homework is a really great memory technique. Usually done independently, it is a great way for scholars to practice their skill set and a good form of feedback for teachers to see how effective their method has been.
C. Organizing thoughts and facts is so important in the order of processing information. Getting your new information written in an organized fashion so that you can read it logically is so crucial. Semantic memory pathway as Sprenger describes it is only one way of learning but one of the most common ways.
D. Sleep is the most important for memory. Sleep aids brain function. Getting sleep also is what helps our scholars have their best days. The days that we don’t get adequate sleep are the days our brains constantly tell us “Fall asleep!”
E. Mnemonic devices such as acronyms, music and rhythm, and acrostics are ways that become very easy to implement. In my own experiences acronyms always improved my memory of rules or information given. Sprenger states that, “Mnemonics are based on linking what needs to be learned with what is already known, placing information in multiple pathways, adding attention and interest to what is being taught, and storing with cues to make information easier to find.” P.119