This
week we have learned about the cognitive learning theory. The
cognitive learning theory revolves around information processing.
There are three stages of information processing: sensory, short term
memory, and long term memory. (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). In
the classroom, our ultimate goal is to store our content into the
students long term memory. In order to successfully complete this
goal, we have to make sure we are integrating multiple senses. When
you integrate multiple senses you improve the chances of students be
able to recall the knowledge on a long term basis (Laureate
Education, n.d.). This week we learned about two different teaching
methods that I believe are successful cognitive learning strategies.
The
first strategy is cues, questions and advanced organizers. The main
purpose of this strategy is to help students organize information so
that they can more easily retrieve it and use it at a later date
(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Cues and questioning
allow students to take their current understanding and reinforce it
by connecting it to questions being asked. This method can also
challenge students to dig deeper and learn more about the topic. The
advanced organizers are a great tool for students to use to make a
visual of their understanding of the topic. It takes the words they
are processing in their head and outlines it in a visual that
explains their individual understanding.
The
second strategy is summarizing and note taking. Summarizing and note
taking focuses on enhancing students' ability to synthesize
information and distill it into a concise new form (Pitler, Hubbell,
Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). When taking notes or summarizing my hope
as a teacher is that my students are putting the information in a
useful format that will help them recall it at a later date. The data
can be used as a trigger to help students quickly recall what they
had learned. I have used summarizing in my classroom through
journaling and blogging. This has been productive because it gives
students a condensed version of what they learned. I feel that the
advanced organizers can be a powerful tool to enhance note taking and
give a quick visual to trigger the information. This coming up school
year I plan on using a lot more organizers in place of long written
notes.
References:
Laureate
Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Cognitive Learning Theories.
[DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Pitler,
H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using
technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA:
ASCD.
I also plan on using more organizers in the classroom this year. I have not seen them used a lot in math classes but I am going to start using them in my Geometry classes first and see if I can tell a difference. I also love the idea of using a blog to help with summarizing but once again, I am not quite sure how I can incorporate that into my classroom yet.
ReplyDeleteI use the strategy of beginning lessons with cues and questions quite often. I always felt it was very effective in focusing students' thinking prior to a lesson. Now I understand the benefits more clearly. "Questions perform the same function as cues by triggering students' memories and helping them to access prior knowledge" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).
ReplyDeleteI am going to try and improve the quality of my questions, as suggested in this week's resources. I will try and work with a curriculum-based, essential question. "Higher-level questions and advance organizers produce deeper learning than lower-level questions and advance organizers" (Pitler, et al., 2007).
I must admit, I have not been as good about using advance organizers as frequently as I should. My goal is to begin creating and saving some quality organizers into my SMART Notebook for use with the students. My kindergartners will most likely benefit from the use of these as a whole group instruction and collaboration, or a very primitive, partially completed organizer.
Lisa LeBlanc
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Eric,
DeleteI love how you stated that we can use note-taking and summarizing as a helpful trigger to recall information from students minds. Higher order thinking questions are essential in our classrooms as they teach students to think for themselves. I also love your connection about advanced organizers and using them to trigger students thoughts.