Assignment #6: Complete the 4 part assignment format as you read, reflect, and respond to Chapter 6 – Nonliguistic Representations.
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 strategies of Nonlinguistic Representations 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. After completing your self assessment please post a thought or two as a comment (click on comment link below) to this posting labeled Week Six: Nonlinguistic Respresentions.
• Nonlinguistic representations help us to recall and use information every day. Think of a topic that you understand very well and notice how many images related to this topic you can generate in your head. Now identify a topic with which you are familiar but that you do not understand well. Try to generate images and notice how difficult it is.
• What would be the purpose of representing knowledge in different forms everyday in our classrooms across curriculum areas?
B. Read & Reflect “Research & Theory”: This portion of the assignment asks you to read chapter 6 and reflect briefly on your thinking after reading the “Research and Theory” section for both Nonlinguistic Representations. After completing your chapter reflection, please post it as a comment (click on comment link below) in the posting labeled Week Six: Nonlinguistic Representations.
C. Practice: Choose one of the specific “classroom practice” strategies or techniques shared in this chapter to teach to your students (If you are not currently teaching, you may share how you would use this strategy in your classroom). You may want to consider the bullets below.
• This chapter explains that nonlinguistic representations are powerful ways to learn and recall information but that many classrooms are very linguistically oriented. Think of classroom experiences that are often effective but that are inherently linguistic (e.g., reading the textbook, engaging in a discussion, listening to an explanation). Suggest several specific ways that these linguistic experiences could be even more effective by guiding students to generate and use nonlinguistic representations, such as graphic organizers, multimedia, and role-plays.
• When do you ask students to represent knowledge using forms other than words?
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.
How has the information you read in this chapter on Nonlinguistic Representations 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:
• How might I change how use nonlinguistic representation in my classroom?
• What is something you now understand better about nonlinguistic representations?
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13 comments:
Assignment #6
Part C:
I am happy to say that I do use many strategies considered to be nonlinguistic in my classroom, especially graphic representations and physical models. I discuss with my students the idea of creating mental images in the mind, but I do not do much to help facilitate this for students. I plan to include more of this in my units to help students create the mental pictures that may help them to better understand and recall information. For example, in my Colonial Times/Revolutionary War unit, I plan to provide students with more descriptive information about the different locations and time points that are significant to the subject (i.e. Roanoke and Jamestown settlements, frontier life, slave ship travel, port towns, plantations) as was done by the teacher in the text. I think that this would definitely help my kids to better understand these important places, allowing them to extend their knowledge in comparing and contrasting them as well.
The incorporation of creating mental images will also make my vocabulary lessons more beneficial to students. I currently create a Cognitive Content Dictionary (a GLAD teaching strategy) with my students for their reading basal units, in which we discuss the meaning of some unknown vocabulary words in the text. As part of this, the students verbalize a sentence using the vocabulary word to demonstrate understanding. I would like to try having the students describe what something would look/sound/feel like if it would doing or being depending on the meaning of the word. For example, they could describe what a setting would look like if it were “ominous”, or how a character would feel and react if they were “skittish”.
Part D:
As I mentioned before, I do use some of the nonlinguistic strategies in my classroom fairly regularly, including graphic representations, pictures and pictographs, and physical models. However, I have learned from this reading that these strategies, and student learning, are greatly enhanced when students are asked to “explain and justify” their representation. I plan to use this to extend these lessons for my students; I am planning to ask students to justify representations much more often via small group discussions, with partners, in presentations, or even in written form. This will be an important change to my use of this teaching strategy.
I now better understand that the use of nonlinguistic strategies is powerful and worthwhile for students. I have often worried when using them that they are too simple, not asking enough from students to make them important to my lessons. I see that that is not the case, and will continue to use them, using the justification piece to ensure that students are thinking critically and have true understanding of the concepts throughout the process.
Cassandra, I like what you say about using small group discussions to have students explain and justify their visual representations. I agree that would be a way to deepen their understanding and enhance their memory of the information. I also find that when students know they are going to discuss what they come up with with others it is incentive for some, to put more effort into it.
C. Practice: I agree that teaching using a combination of linguistic and nonlinguistic systems of representation results in students being better able to think about and recall knowledge. I frequently use graphic organizers in both English and history classes, but I have not seen anyone categorize information into six common patterns with a graphic organizer specific to each pattern. I like the way selecting the type of organizer to use requires a higher order thinking skill. I plan to create a graphic organizer handout containing all six patterns along with the perspective title of each. I will introduce each organizer by having students use it for its intended purpose. After using all 6, I will hand out the sheet that contains all 6 types of organizers along with their titles. Students will then have the additional responsibility of deciding which one to use, thereby gaining increasing skill in analyzing and categorizing information. It’s been my experience that using graphic organizers deepens the student’s understanding of information.
I plan to use the Episode Pattern Organizer when studying the Vietnam War. I might have students begin individually, then have them bring their completed Episode Pattern Organizers to small groups and have each group agree on one EPO which they will present to the whole class. Justifying why they chose the information that they chose, in both small and whole group discussions, should increase understanding of the central information.
D. Final Strategy Reflection: Using nonlinguistic representation methods to present is something that I have increasingly tried to do in my teaching. I use role plays in English 9 and simulations in U.S. History throughout the year. Students nearly always respond favorably to these experiences. They also have good recall of information they learned through these activities. This chapter reminded me that it’s valuable to have students generate mental images. In the last four years Pegging has been one of my favorite ways to teach using mental images. Using this technique students memorize information by associating it with images learned in some prearranged order. This is particularly effective if the information they are learning is ordered, like the Bill of Rights. I’m always looking for ways to expand my use of this as I’ve found it especially useful to students who struggle to learn in other ways.
I now better understand that there are six common patterns that information can be organized into. I also have seen an example of a graphic organizers that can be used for each pattern. I ‘m looking forward to expanding the ways in which I use graphic organizers.
C. Being a language class, it’s perhaps a bit more challenging to use non-linguistic methods. I can see teaching the “Time Sequence Pattern Organizer” and the “Process/Cause-Effect Patterns” to my students for use studying events in French history. The first one would be used to chronologically list events in order to help students remember the events sequentially. The second one could be used to study specific events and their causes and effects. These could be used in the “Combination” technique of note taking referred to in Chapter 3. I also sometimes have the kids draw pictures and storyboard short stories that they read.
D. I think now having read the chapter I see more potential for using non-linguistic representations in my classes. Some of the uses that I see that I could use that I mentioned in section C will be easier now that I’m moving back to teaching high school. I’ll have more opportunity to teach short stories to do storyboarding and illustrations. Also I’ll have more of a chance to use some of the organizers as well for some of the higher-level concepts. This chapter reminds me of how useful they can be in note taking as well as other activities. My high school students will be taking more notes than my previous middle school students and are going to be working towards high-stakes exams, so any additional strategy is much appreciated!
I use the episode Pattern Organizer 6.5 on page 77 of the book when I introduce play structure to my students in drama class. I like this model much better that the old ‘Mountain’ story map that is commonly used by English teachers because I feel it does two things much better. The first thing it does better is outlines the beginning of a tale, what in theatre writing and analysis we call stasis. The best example of this is the cue I use with my new playwrights,” It was a day like any other day.” For staging purposes, actors, directors and designers need a really clear understanding of the stasis of a play. The second important feature this model uses and emphasizes better than the old mountain peak one is that the dramatic question clearly comes from the climax of the play. Again for performers, this question is the most basic and important target to keep your eye on. It is what gives a production its focus for actors, directors and designers. It is the question you want your audience to ask from the moment stasis ends for the main character to the climax. This model also serves to provide scenario outlines for actors to develop scenes and whole plays with improvisation. Here is what it looks like for Goldilocks. (Sorry I'll email it to you Jackie & Mary as it can't be input here.)
One other thing that I didn’t find in this chapter but I plan to do next year, as a non-verbal activity is to have kids make 3D models to help them explain math concepts. One idea I had was that they would use clay to make cones, cylinders and pyramids and the like to demonstrate how 2D shapes are created in by slicing it with potter’s wire. We could then fire these in ceramics class and I could keep the best ones to put around the room for the future.
D. How I might change how I use non-linguistic representation in my classroom?
I think that I would tend to use this type of activity at the intro, learning, testing and reflective stages of learning. It could be a powerful alternative to written tests for example and generate connections to the students’ out of school experience.
What is something that you now understand better about non-linguistic representation?
I like the concept that modeling, picture drawing and labeling and using student creations make learning closer to the natural act of play learning that children instinctively do their whole childhoods.
Jeff - I like the idea of using nonlinguistic representations as part of the assessment piece of a unit. This would be a powerful way differentiate for students for whom producing a large amount of writing is an issue, or who have other learning needs that bar them from success on more traditionally styled tests.
Nonlinguistic Representations
C.
I don’t use nonlinguistic organizers often enough. This was a great reminder to use them. I am thinking that the nonlinguistic organizers will be great, especially the descriptive pattern organizer, for the nonfiction unit I will be doing in my literacy class this year. But the organizer I am most interested in trying this year is the concept pattern organizer. It will be great when we are learning about genres. Each genre would get its own organizer. After some class discussion, we would put the genre’s characteristics on the organizer and list some examples for each characteristic. I think it will be a great way for students to understand the differences between the genres.
D.
After reading this chapter, I better understand how important it is to include both linguistic and nonlinguistic in my classroom instruction. The chapter also helped me better understand that nonlinguistic organizers can help students better recall what they have learned. Nonlinguistic representations are also a good way for students to elaborate their thinking which deeps their understanding and improve their ability to recall what they have learned. I may change how I use nonlinguistic representations in my classroom by increasing the number of organizers I use in my classroom. My math lab class will especially benefit from using the organizers. Reading this chapter also makes me better understand how I could use the nonlinguistic organizers in my classroom.
Thanks all (Cassandra, Colleen, Gina, Jeff, and Heidi) for you interesting comments on your use of nonlinguistic representations. Cassandra – enhancing students’ representations with having them “explain & justify” was one of the strategies that stood out most for me also….and it definitely “ups the ante” into getting the children to think more critically about their understandings. Colleen – I love the idea of having students identify which graphic organizer would best suit their individual purpose – great idea. If you get around to creating the organizer with all 6…sent me a copy (maryandjackiereading@hotmail.com) – thanks :)
Gina – I’m glad that the note-taking strategies will help you support your high school students. I think the organizers you suggested would be great instructional strategies to use within your French courses! Jeff – It was so interesting to see how you used the organizers in your drama courses which are completely unfamiliar to me! I also loved your ideas of making 3D models in math…your students will definitely enjoy each of these learning experiences. Thanks for emailing the info…a friend of my husband teaches drama, and I actually forwarded the info to him because I thought it would be so beneficial. Heidi – great idea to use the Concept Pattern Organizer to differentiate between reading genres for students. I plan to share this with teachers this coming year as we launch our Reading Workshops.
Chuck Camp
Assignment #6
C.
After reading this chapter I realize that I use nonlinguistic representations more often than I thought, but I take little time to think about how powerful they are. In September the 4th and 5th graders create an All About Me probe, which is sometimes displayed on a poster or using file folders stapled together. A probe is just an in-depth look at a particular topic, in this case themselves. They use symbols in describing different parts of their lives. For instance they cut out a house shape in colored, lined paper to write about their habitat. Favorite sports might have stenciled sports equipment, etc. Their creativity is amazing.
We study the Oregon Trail in 4th grade and I’ve used an organizer similar to the Time Sequence in the text for events along the trail. In Literature, when teaching character analysis, I’ve used an organizer similar to Descriptive Pattern for listing the different characteristics of the main character. Large numbers representing the distance of planets from the sun are meaningless to 4th or 5th graders, and probably the rest of us too. So out on the playground we lay out cones that at least show relative distance and different sized balls that can at least show relative size of the planets. In math, probably most 4th grade teachers up through high school use PEMDAS for teaching Order of Operations.
One thing I haven’t tried is the Kinesthetic activity using arms for angles and fractions, which I hope to use this year.
D.
If I sifted through everything I teach (or any of us), I could probably find a hundred instances in which I or we use nonlinguistic representations throughout the year. I’ve been doing them because I’ve always been doing them, but not because I a light bulb flashed and I told myself how powerful these are. I’ve worked with a great team for a long time and we often share what works but not always why. At our school twice a month we make a peer visitation to observe other classrooms. We often see things that are in the nonlinguistic category and try it out in something we are doing. I, personally, need to look at everything with a new set of eyes.
I like Cassandra’s idea for using small groups to explain and justify. That will appeal more to those that don’t enjoy being the center of attention.
Thanks Chuck…isn’t it great when you get some positive confirmation about your teaching?! It sounds as though you’ve done a wonderful job of integrating nonlinguistic representations throughout each of your content areas. I’m glad that you now have the “why” and the back-up that supports your instruction :)
Chapter 6
Part C:
This was a very interesting chapter as it got me thinking about my teaching. I realized that I do a lot of teaching linguistically and I do quite a bit nonlinguistically. I also realized I need to be more nonlinguistic. In my classroom when doing reading, that is where I do a lot of graphic organizers, role-plays and drawing pictures. I need to add in generating mental pictures and being explicit about it when doing it. Now that I will be teaching 5th grade I will need to be more nonlinguistic especially in the areas of Science and Social Studies as I tend to be more linguistic in those areas. I see myself generating mental pictures in many units of Social Studies and making physical models in Science.
Part D:
I will change how I use nonlinguistic representation in my classroom by using it more in all areas of studies, not just reading where I have being doing it the most. I understand now that using more nonlinguistic representation can increase my students achievement and that I need to be more explicit when doing so. Anytime I can help students understand content in a new way I have the greater chance of helping students understand what I am teaching them. I am excited to use some of the new ideas in school this fall.
To Heidi:
Heidi, I am a teacher at East Orient and I am taking another TINT class, Designing the Successful Classroom and the book needed for it is really hard to find. Its called Classroom Spaces that Work. The instructor of the class said you took the class and you might have the book and if you did I was wondering if I could borrow it? I sent you a first class message. Thanks for your time.
Thanks Rhett for your comments about nonlinguistic representations. Isn’t it great to realize that your doing something really well already? Like using nonlinguistic representation in your classroom already :) Your students will definitely benefit from your use of these strategies in the areas of science and social studies as they strive to comprehend and synthesize all of that new content. Did Heidi ever get back to you about the book for the other course? I know it’s getting late, but I could send her an email. Please just email to our maryandjackiereading@hotmail.com to let me know. I was working backwards (plus I’ve been working off of my Iphone while in Florida for two weeks) and feel bad I just am seeing your note.
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