Assignment #10: Complete the 4 part assignment format as you read, reflect, and respond to Chapter 10: Cues, Questions and Advance Organizers.
Remember: Although your course packet asks you to post to blog for parts A, B, C, and D…we are asking that you only post part C and D. We’re trying to make the blog easier to read and more user- friendly. Thanks!
A. Self Assessment of Current Beliefs and Practices: This component asks you to reflect on how and why you currently use the instructional strategy of Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers in your classroom. The intent of this is to activate your prior knowledge of your strategy use so that you can make comparisons as you read the chapter. Below are the questions to help you complete your self-assessment.
• What is your purpose of using cues and questions in your classroom?
• Study the research results in Figure 10.1 for "Cues and Questions." In your experience, what makes some experiences with cues and questions better than others?
B. Read & Reflect “Research & Theory”: This portion of the assignment asks you to read chapter 10 and reflect briefly on your thinking after reading the “Research and Theory” section for Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers. You may want to consider the point below in your reflection.
• Many teachers who are aware of the research on the use of "wait time" will confess that they do not use it often enough. What do you think are some of the reasons that might explain why teachers do not use this strategy systematically and effectively?
C. Practice: Choose one of the specific “classroom practice” strategies or techniques shared in this chapter to try out with your students (If you are not currently teaching, you may share how you would use this strategy in your classroom). Please post a brief reflection of how this went to the posting labeled Week Ten: Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers. Click on the “comment” link below.
D. Final Strategy Reflection: Use the following sequence of questions/prompts to reflect on what you’ve learned about both the strategies presented in the chapter and what you’ve learned about yourself as both a teacher and a learner. Please post your brief reflection to the posting labeled Week Ten: Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers by clicking on the “comment” link below.
How has the information you read in this chapter on Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers effected your thinking about teaching and learning? What have you learned about yourself as a teacher and learner? Use the following questions to assist you in writing a brief strategy reflection:
• Research confirms that advance organizers are powerful when they help students focus on what is important, not on what might be unusual. All the different types of advance organizers described in this chapter, however, require up-front planning on the part of the teacher. How would you respond to a teacher who complains that there just isn't time to prepare the organizers?
• What will you do to improve the effect of using cues, questions, and advance organizers in your classroom? – Will you make changes?
• How might you monitor the effects of cues, questions, and advance organizers on student learning?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
In my Spanish II class I am currently teaching reflexive verbs. These are verbs where the action occurs to the subject. (I get dressed, Mary washes her hands, John puts on a jacket, Lucy drys her hair, etc.) The concept is a little tricky in Spanish as the verbs are the same as "regular" verbs, but they have pronouns added to them. I began the class with a familiar verb -poner "to put". In its reflexive form it is ponerse and means "to put on". I took my coat and I stood in front of the class. I put the coat on several times. Each time I slowly said "Me pongo el abrigo." (I put on my coat). Then, I took the coat and I put it on the table several times. Each time I said. "Pongo el abrigo en la mesa." I put the coat on the table. (I put the coat on the table.) I then alternated between putting the coat on myself and saying the correlating sentence and putting the coat on the table and saying the correlating sentence. Afterward, I asked students what was going on. They were easily able to identify that when I was putting the coat on myself I put a "me" in front of the verb, but when I was putting the coat on the table I didn't. They already knew the verb poner, so I was tying into existing knowledge, but, I then added something unknown to it. From there I took the verb "ponerse" and wrote all of the verb forms on the board. For the rest of the class we practiced verbs and made them reflexive or non-reflexive as I directed. (I wash my hair vs. I wash the car.) Whenever there was confusion, I just pointed to the coat. Their clear knowledge of the verb poner and their mental picture of my putting on the coat or putting it on the table would immediately clarify the situation.
In my Spanish IV class right now we are learning some really heavy vocabulary focussing around human rights. The students are always a bit shocked to read it. There are verbs such as "to detain", "to rape", "to kill" etc. After having read the chapter about the teacher doing the Advanced Organizer on talking to her 4th graders about a tornado before teaching a unit on them, I thought that I would tell my students more than I usually do which is that "this is great vocabulary to know for the IB exam." So I told them about when I was detained in Colombia when I was trying to leave after my year-long stay, because my VISA had expired and I was detained and questioned for a few hours. I told them that words like "judge", "rights" "lawyer", etc., were EXTREMELY useful words to know at that time and that there were other words I picked up mighty fast. I told them that probably a lot of them would be traveling in their lives and it's always a good idea to know these words because, just as I had never thought that I would be detained in a third-world country, they probably would never think that such a thing could happen to them. Their interest picked right up.
I like to teach with cues and by connecting with students' existing knowledge. Personally, I feel that it's the best way to have them feel that they're grounded. We all have to feel connected to what we learn and if we something new is presented in a framework of something known, it makes the new material much easier to categorize in one's brain. As a learner, that's at least the way I've always felt and been able to learn best, so that's what I always try to present new material for my students.
Regarding my Spanish IV class, I had never really thought about how narratives around vocabulary can actually be Advanced Organizers. But, put in the right context, they certainly can be. That was very helpful information for me and I will definitely use it in the future.
I want to thank both of you for your guidance during this course. I feel that I have gained useful and applicable tools. I have altered my curriculum because of the things I've learned--for the better!! Thanks so much!! Please let me know what else I need to do. Do you offer other courses through TINT?
Hi Robin! Thanks for your final assignment. Your use of putting the coat on vs. putting it on the table was a great example of how to use a very effective visual cue for students to be able to connect the known to the new. You've been a great participant, I only wish that you had been able to benefit from conversation with others in the course as well. I know that if I only had a Spanish teacher that taught like you, I may have kept up with it.
You are all set with this course, I've sent your grade "A" into TINT. You did a great job! Mary and I teach two other courses, Reading Essentials and Developing A Reading Workshop. We'd love to have you participate in another course. Best of luck!
Jackie and Mary
Post a Comment