VARIETY is STILL KEY!
According to Russell Poldrack, a neuroscientist and researcher at University of Texas at Austin, the brain is "built to ignore the old and focus on the new." In his blog at The Huffington Post, he goes on to say that new things in our environment cause the brain to activate the dopamine system, and dopamine is now thought to be a neurotransmitter that keeps us "going back for more." When dopamine is released in our system, it tells the brain to start paying attention - to start learning. WOW!
We certainly need classroom routines to keep things running smoothly, so what kind of novelty am I talking about? I'm talking about the approaches and activities we provide to help students process and learn information.
Here are some questions to ask while you're planning:
Can I vary...
how students are introduced to new information?
the way I ask questions?
the way students ask questions?
the perspective/point of view of the information being discussed?
how students learn basic facts and skills?
the way students apply facts and skills?
how students memorize information?
how students take notes?
how students talk about what they're learning?
how students write about what they're learning?
how students show that they "own" the learning?
how students show how they've changed because of new learning?
We certainly need classroom routines to keep things running smoothly, so what kind of novelty am I talking about? I'm talking about the approaches and activities we provide to help students process and learn information.
Here are some questions to ask while you're planning:
Can I vary...
how students are introduced to new information?
the way I ask questions?
the way students ask questions?
the perspective/point of view of the information being discussed?
how students learn basic facts and skills?
the way students apply facts and skills?
how students memorize information?
how students take notes?
how students talk about what they're learning?
how students write about what they're learning?
how students show that they "own" the learning?
how students show how they've changed because of new learning?
Resources to Help You Vary Your Learning Experiences
Jim Burke's Tools for Thought: Graphic Organizers for Your Classroom would be a fantastic addition to your professional library. It contains dozens of graphic organizers and provides many different ways to use them to teach different skills in all content areas.
Below is one of the organizers I like best. The Open Mind organizer provides students with a way to show their understanding or another person's understanding of an idea, concept, chapter, action, theme, etc. in a visual way.
Students draw evidence of what they're thinking and can later explain "what's going on inside their heads" in writing.
Below is one of the organizers I like best. The Open Mind organizer provides students with a way to show their understanding or another person's understanding of an idea, concept, chapter, action, theme, etc. in a visual way.
Students draw evidence of what they're thinking and can later explain "what's going on inside their heads" in writing.
open_mind_activity.doc |
Here's another resource to assist you in planning a variety of questions. It was adapted from Edward deBono's work with how the brain patterns information.
questions.pub |