This is your last assignment for this course...all assignments are due 8/20...thanks for participating!!!
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 D to the blog (especially since it's summer term and many of us aren't working with students). We’re also trying to make the blog more user-friendly and easier to read. Thanks!
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?
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23 comments:
Assignment #10: Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers
Marika Conrad
It was interesting to me that this chapter came last in the book, as the concepts covered are so much about where to begin when teaching new concepts to students. Cues, questions, and advance organizers helps students understand what they already know about a topic being taught so that they are more prepared to learn new information. When students activate what they already know, it helps them link their new learning and feel more engaged with what they are being taught.
The statement that cues should focus on the most important content versus the unusual was a good reminder, because sometimes I find myself wanting to share the most “interesting” facts to catch students’ attention. But, it does make sense that when you share the most important information, students are able to make connections to it, and therefore be more interested in the topic. One way I want to improve on using cues and questions is to reference my Bloom’s Taxonomy chart more often to make sure I am asking a wide variety of questions, especially higher level. I have a mini Bloom’s reference wheel chart in my classroom and I plan to move it up front so it’s on my computer desk. If I have it there, I can easily review it during transitions and be more prepared to ask my students questions that make them think deeply. Another area that I (as I am sure many teachers) can always improve on is wait time. I’ve even heard of a teacher posting a sign at the back of the room that says, “Wait” just so he/she remembered to slow down and give students time to think. One way I provide wait time is tell students that everyone needs to be able to answer the question, that I will draw a stick or select a clicker to answer, or I have students think-pair-share (therefore, naturally building in wait time).
The statement on page 114 that, “Questions are effective learning tools when asked before a learning experience” is so true. In fact, we even teach our students to read the questions before reading the text as one way to activate prior knowledge. This is a great test taking strategy! I found the questions listed in the text to be a great resource for promoting critical thinking. Inferring and analyzing are such important life skills and I like how the questions listed in the text are general enough to be used in a variety of contexts.
Although it does take time to prepare advance organizers, their use provides large percentile learning gains for students. If a teacher takes the time to prepare an advance organizer, the payoff for students will be greater and the teacher won’t have to spend as much time re-teaching material they’ve already taught. I’ve really seen the benefit in using advance organizers in my classroom. I love using narrative advance organizers, as students are naturally drawn to stories and it’s an easy way to engage them in what they are going to learn about. Sometimes I will hear them recall the story I shared, which helps them link to the new content they learned following it. I also feel that graphic advance organizers work well to scaffold my students in their learning (especially my visual learners).
Another way I engage my students in learning that wasn’t directly mentioned in the text is by utilizing technology. With my projector, I can show students a picture of something they’ve never seen or heard of before, play a brief video clip that pertains to the topic being studied, or find out more about any question posed to me. Having access to the Internet has truly changed teaching and my ability to really show students versus just describing things to them. Using technology is also a quick and easy way to activate prior knowledge, as it doesn’t take long to find what you want to use. Displaying a picture or showing a short video clip activates a great deal of prior knowledge for students and is one tool I will continue to use a great deal this year.
Assignment #10
Marti Severson
I will definitely change how I use cues, questions and advance organizers in my classroom. As a learner, I like to know what is coming up next, and I appreciate it when my teachers use visual/graphic organizers to help me gather my thoughts. I will remember that questioning before learning is very important, and I need to be mindful as to how I use these strategies. When asking questions, I will try to use more inferential questioning and give kids the needed wait time. I will remember to focus on what is important rather than what is most interesting. I generally try to capture their attention by starting out with the some exciting facts, but I learned that interest will come the more they know about a specific topic. I often feel rushed and don’t give kids the needed processing time. I’m starting to see a lot of overlap with this research and GLAD training. The Narrative Advance Organizer seems similar to the Narrative Input Chart. I haven’t really taken the time to use this, but I see the value in it. The Narrative Input Charts seem time consuming because they can be quite elaborate. I am more willing to give this a try, especially for bigger units of study. I usually use a KWL chart for most units, but I mostly use it for what we know and what we want to know. As we learn what we wanted to know, I need to take the time to write that as well. I will pull out my GLAD information, which is filled with advance organizers and other great strategies that can help students access prior knowledge and learning. I agree with Marika when she wrote about using technology to activate prior knowledge and build background. I have found incredible video clips and Power Point presentation for every story in our reading anthology. The kids love it!
The time that I put into planning advance organizers, higher-level questions and/or cues will actually save me time in the long run. Kids will develop a deeper understanding of the concepts and I will spend less time on reviewing the material.
Assignment 10: Cues, Questions and Advance Organizers – Paula Stepankowsky
I am a big believer in the strategies outlined in this chapter, and I use them frequently, probably more than any other strategy outlined in this book. It was good to see how the research continues to support these strategies as effective classroom tools.
The information that cues and questions are most effective around key issues students are studying, rather than extraneous detail, makes sense and somewhat appears to contradict information in the last chapter about setting goals that are too narrow. Nevertheless, I do use cues, questions and advance organizers in class and they do really work. I try to focus on higher level questions before we begin each unit to help students see where we are going with a particular text, say Lord of the Flies. And then we always come back to those questions and see how reading the text has helped us hone our views. If students can’t answer the higher level questions, I will ask some lower level questions to help scaffold them to the answers. I can monitor how well they understand the important questions by their responses on the tests and through class discussion. Wait time, I have found, is an extremely powerful tool, and I must remember to be more patient sometime and even let some student hands wave in the air before calling upon them to give other students time to think on their own. Sometimes I will ask students to answer a key question in their LA notebooks so they each have to do their own thinking on the topic.
Advance organizers really don’t take that much time to prepare. They can be as simple as putting some key questions on the board. I use some graphic organizers and generative questions at the beginning of units, and I think they really help students remember the key point of a text. I like the breakdown of the concept of advance organizers into four categories. I see that I use expository and graphic advance organizers a lot already. I also use narrative stories where appropriate – and a good story always gets their attention. Just like Marika, I also use a doc cam to project a visual or use short video clips to support information. But I see that I could make more use of the skimming technique, as well as increase my use of the other three. Every time I teach a text, I try to make one or two significant adjustments/additions, and thinking in terms of even more advance organizers will help. They can even be thrown in on an interim basis. I had to do that with The Red Badge of Courage because the students were confused by the third-person limited point of view in which the book is written. Once they understood that they were confused about what was happening in battle because Henry Fielding is also confused, they began to comprehend more fully Crane’s main theme.
I believe this is the end of the assigned tasks, but I see that there are two more chapters, one focusing on vocabulary. I do plan to read the rest of the book as it looks very interesting, with more information about how to incorporate the strategies in the book into lesson plans.
Ashley Madison
Assignment #10
Cues, Questions, and Advanced Organizers
Great chapter. Yes, accessing prior knowledge is at the heart of every educational training I have had. Asking questions works very well for me. I also like to vary how students respond to questions. Sometimes I let them volunteer, sometimes they write it down, or sometimes have them quickly share their answer with a neighbor (a cooperative learning strategy, too). I want to somehow make sure that students are engaged in answering the question, because if I rely on the one-third of my class who actually raise their hands, everyone else will tune out. I am okay with students being shy, so I try to provide lots of ways to participate in my class without raising your hand and speaking in front of everyone. Having a variety of ways to respond also provides me with a way to monitor if my cues and questions are working.
Using advance organizers will save a teacher who is concerned that there is not enough time to prepare the organizers needs to understand how much time. Plus, organizers like expository or graphic organizers only need to me made once, then you can use them year after year. I mostly use expository, narrative, and graphic advance organizers. When I use a graphic advance organizer at the beginning of the unit, I make it big—on butcher paper—hang it up, refer to it, and add to it throughout the unit. It is a constant point of reference. It helps weave together everything they are learning. I can also tie it to our learning objectives. I created an expository advance organizer for a book we read. Yes, it took a long time to make, but it is very useful. Students are expected to use evidence from the book in a paper they write, and the organizer helps them keep track of important events in the book. If they use a variety of evidence from the book, I know the organizer was effective.
Cues, Questions and Advance Organizers
Robin Rose
Time invested in preparing advance organizers helps create an entire framework for teaching and learning. To me it is like putting in a really good closet organizing system with hangers, drawers, divided shelves, etc. When you add the clothes, or in this case the information, it has a place to go, a place it can be stored until it is needed again (eg. for assessing), where you can easily find it again. Organizers also help relate the items to each other as we often need to do with information. This is particularly important with my students who very often have communication disorders that affect the way they receive information and/or organize it cognitively. My students with autism often need a very clear and direct way to organize incoming information because some research shows some students with ASD can not relate individual bits of information to each other the way you or I can. Advance organizers, cues, etc. have, by some teachers, been seen as extra things you would do only for special ed or ELL students. It is good to see these methods be encouraged for use by all teachers. We are all special ed to some degree and these are really effective teaching/learning techniques.
For all I make it sound like as a special educator, I use these techniques already, there is lots of room for improvement! I am going to take that list of questions, make a copy and laminate it to keep it handy. As much as I do question and cue, I tend to get in a rut with what types of questions I ask (and how difficult). The example questions will help me “stretch” my questioning and the level of responses I expect out of my students. I also tend to use the graphic organizers one time on the overhead and not always make copies for students, something I will remedy this year. One quick note: I am very guilty of “oh, and something really unusual/interesting…” Being very verbal (and a trivia buff) , when teaching students with communication disorders, I need to be very careful not to digress off into new areas in the midst of teaching the basics.
Monitoring the effects on learning can easily be done through making incomplete copies of the graphic organizers (or short cloze statements or passages) and checking for understanding by having students fill them in as a warm-up before starting on that day’s topic. I often use a +/- next to student names when reviewing and asking questions about the previous day’s learning. This allows me to spend more time with those students who really didn’t understand something and need more reinforcement of their learning.
@Marika - I too am encorporating technology (streaming videos especially, and still images) specifically to provide visual cues for my students. In fact as I have little technology in my room (other than computers) I am becoming more pro-active and am applying for a grant to get a projector and/or an Elmo. I think I would use the projector the most though.
@Ashley - Making a BIG organizer that can be added to sounds like a great idea for my classroom. That way it is always available, no digging through papers to find it. From SIOP training I also have used the A-Z vocabulary/word chart in super size. Another idea to bring back to my present teaching.
Re: the rest of the book. Wow, have quickly read the last two chapters and they are full of really good ideas. The vocabulary section is especially good.
Have a great rest of your summer all!
In my practice I have always tried to introduce new concepts or information by activating prior knowledge. I have repeatedly seen this give students a better anchor on how to approach and think about the objectives that are being introduced. As a teacher, I think that this chapter helped me with some ideas of getting my students to achieve a higher level of processing the information rather than just a superficial way of learning demonstrating recall and recognition of information. The challenge I still face is developing the questions that can engage the student into the higher level of thinking that I would like them to achieve.
If a fellow teacher were to discuss concerns with me that they do not have enough time to prepare organizers, I would be sympathetic in listening to them and their worries. Perhaps my views will change as I get further along in my teaching career, but I have at times felt overwhelmed with the amount of work that I put in to my teaching practice. Now with that being said, I believe I would talk to this person about possibly incorporating the use of an organizer on one or two concepts within each area of learning and implementing them into their teaching of the lesson. Hopefully they would see the value of the use of these techniques and become more motivated to use them more in future lessons.
In my own practice, I feel that I have much to improve on when I have used cues, questions, or advance organizers. I feel that one area I still am aspiring to become proficient at is getting my students to obtain a deeper or higher level learning of thinking when I pose questions. I have at times resorted too much to just simple recall or recognition of information to asses learning of the objectives. I look to the head of our science department where I teach. I feel he has this uncanny ability to ask questions whether they are during a test or using them as cues when bringing up new information which is able to draw in students and achieve a deeper level of processing.
I would monitor the effects of cues, questions, and advance organizers on student learning by having students fill out feedback sheets or more likely engage in a class discussion about the usefulness of the use of a thing like an advance organizer. I try and do this on a regular basis throughout each semester for my classes in getting an idea for what students feel is helping them in understanding the material versus what is not.
Assignment #10 – Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers
David Lee
About the last two chapters: I have now read them, and they are valuable additions to the course. I have wanted some additional tips about teaching vocabulary, and the tips in the book helped.
Assignment #10
Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers
Erinn Carrillo
Reading this chapter was reassuring that much of what we do is important for our students. Activating prior knowledge is important in all subject areas from math to history. Questioning students about their knowledge or framing their learning around questions is a successful strategy for helping them to retain information.
Asking students minutia questions about obscure or interesting facts is not the way to get them interested. Questions about what is most important to know are the most useful and help the students to become interested.
When reading about the higher level questions, I, like Marika thought about Bloom’s Taxonomy. I am planning to bring my Bloom’s Taxonomy chart in to my lesson planning notebook. This will prompt me to use the higher level questions with my students. Although they are learning English, they can think. If they begin to think more, they will develop more vocabulary by experimenting with the language. I am also going to remind myself to WAIT. Allow students to think before answering my questions.
I really like the idea that some of you presented on making BIG organizers that you use in your classrooms as templates. I move from classroom to classroom throughout the day, but I think that I can laminate some of the organizers and tote them with me to my classrooms.
In regards to the rest of the book, I agree that the vocabulary section is great information. We have a summer book club at my school that has been focusing on vocabulary building based on Marzano’s work. This is a really nice companion to what we are designing for our building.
Theresa Muller
Assignment#10 Cues, Questions and Advance Organizers
I agree with Marti that time spent planning advance organizers and formulating higher-level questions and cues will save time in the long run, because as students gain a deeper understanding of the concepts, teachers ultimately spend a lot less time reviewing material. I use graphic organizers to activate and build background knowledge (from GLAD) at the beginning of various units of study, and I leave them up throughout the unit so that students can refer to them and I can add to them periodically. They are well used and indispensable. Time and effort up–front almost always benefits kids and teachers.
I too use expository and graphic advance organizers most often, as well as a narrative story occasionally. I also use a document camera to display visuals and videos to activate background knowledge. But I see that I need to make more use of the other types of advance organizers, especially since research suggests that their use can go a long way toward enhancing student achievement.
I know I could improve my questioning techniques as well. As others have mentioned, I tend to ask questions with the intent of grabbing attention and building interest, focusing on the unusual or more exciting facts instead of the most important information. For me, it would be beneficial to jot down a few higher-level questions as I am planning lessons. I need to focus on getting students to analyze more and gain a deeper understanding of the content I am teaching. (Something that is easy to forgo when teaching young learners!) I think my challenge will be formulating questions that are easily understood by an average first grader, as well as encourage higher-level thinking.
I agree that allowing enough “wait” time is also important. Young children have a VERY difficult time waiting for anything, so it is challenging yet crucial to model and practice this technique from the very beginning. Having students “think-pair-share” is a great way to introduce and practice wait time. Positively reinforcing children for giving their classmates ample think-time is another good way to encourage this behavior.
I like Ashley’s idea that varying the ways a teacher asks kids to respond to questions is a way to monitor the effects on student learning. This is something I will make sure I am doing this year. Another indication that my cues and questions are efficiently activating student background knowledge, is to really analyze and examine outcome based assessments.
All in all, I am glad that this chapter was included as one of the most important instructional strategies. Getting kids interested in what they are learning is the key to helping them really comprehend and retain information and concepts.
Thanks Marika, Marti, Paula, Ashley, Robin, David, Erinn, and Theresa for your final assignment on Marzano’s effective strategies. I hope that the course has validated your own instruction as well as give you some research based ideas to try out in your classrooms this coming year! I have received each one of your assignments and will be submitting “A” grades into TINT for you. Mary will be responding to weeks eight (for some of you) and nine shortly. Thanks so much for participating and hopefully we’ll “see” you in future courses!
Marika – You make a good point about the placement of this chapter in the book, and that you might think that this chapter would be the foundation for everything in its ability to activate and link learning. It’s so funny you mentioned Bloom’s Taxonomy…something we all learned about in Teaching 101, but I just bought one of those small spiral bound laminated cue cards to help prompt for higher level thinking using Bloom’s Taxonomy from School Specialty ($3.95) . It sounds as though you’ve done a great job using organizers in your instruction!
Marti – It has been pretty amazing how often over the last several years, teachers from Oregon have mentioned the GLAD strategies and training. It definitely does have a foundation in research based practices. It’s great to not feel like this is something all brand new…Marzano is just confirming good instruction. I definitely need to spend a bit more time researching this training.
Paula – How wonderful that this chapter offered confirmation about your instruction as well. It definitely sounds as though you have already been including many of these strategies already in your instruction. I particularly liked your point about them not necessarily having to be so time laborious to prepare. I’m glad that you found the remainder of the book valuable as well!
Ashley – You make a great point about ensuring that there is variety in the way we are asking kids to respond to our questions as well…it’s all about balancing and careful planning. Another point about being able to reuse those graphic organizers is that you can reuse them year after year as long as you laminate them and then use dry erase markers that just wipe off!
Robin – I loved your metaphor for advanced organizers….a California Closet A map of information for their brains, so that they can more easily locate information in the future. With your students especially, this is a critical support strategy for learning. I’ve come to the conclusion over the last several years that “good instruction for one student (ie special needs, ELL) is good instruction for all students…good teaching is good teaching. It’s a great idea to have these questions laminated and out so that they are easily accessible during your daily teaching. I liked your idea of using the +/- to monitor student learning…this is a great tool to allow you to individualize instruction as needed.
David – You should check out the Blooms Taxonomy flip chart that I mentioned to Marika above. This might be something to help support you in asking those higher level questions more throughout the day.
Teaching is an overwhelming profession and I think we are all constantly finding ways to balance our time spent in our teaching lives vs. personal. I think one of the most time saving tips is to use reusable graphic organizers by laminating them. Best of luck as you continue to fine tune your practice!
Erinn – I’m glad that this chapter was affirming for you as well! As I mentioned above, I think it’s great how we’re all going to be bringing out our Bloom’s Taxonomy charts this coming year In my own school, we did several years of training using Marzano’s Academic Vocabulary and absolutely loved it. The hardest part, is finding time to fit it all in!!!
Theresa – It’s great that you also reference the GLAD strategies that you’ve had training with as a support for using organizers in your instruction. The document camera is a great technology tool to help with this strategy and help with time management. Great point about “think-pair-share” being a great way to get kids in the practice of “wait time”. Best of luck this coming year as you hone your skills in questioning!
Since I have not taught in a while this chapter for me was like learning new techniques. I also loved being able to read others comments! What wonderful insight from all of you! I think what struck me the most was the research and theory on cues and questions. I always thought that cues and questions should be structured around what is going to grab their attention like when you are writing a persuasive paper. I never realized that the questions need to be used in a way so that students’ gain a deeper understanding of the material being presented. I also can see how “wait time” is important but how easy it is to forget and move on quickly as a teacher.
I can see how advanced organizers are effective in helping students learn new information. I don’t think I realized the many different formats they came in and I would not have guessed that expository has the largest effect size. I would have guessed that the graphic advanced organizer would have had a larger effect size. I do not have any classroom experience to share using these techniques. This is information that I can take in and use if I ever do have my own classroom or maybe when I substitute teach.
Ashley-what great a point you made that once you make the graphic organizers you can use them year after year. Marika, Paula, and Robin-I love that you are all using technology in the classroom and how it is a great tool in activating prior knowledge. I am surprised that wasn’t addressed in the text too. Robin-I too loved your idea of using the +/- next to their names to know who is understanding what you covered and who is not.
I truly feel like I have gained a lot of great information through this text and hope to apply what I have learned through substituting. I have equally learned a lot through each of you and your experiences.
Sara Malvar
"Final Assignment:Cues, Questions and Advance Organizers."
The use of cues, questions and advance organizers is the “hook” where I begin to create the interest in my teaching. Sometimes this hook comes in the form of a personal story and sometimes it comes as I ask students about their prior experiences regarding the new topic. Frequently it is a combination of both. Last year, I received a document camera that is linked to my computer and I really took advantage of the United Streaming video clips. Short clips of the topic we are studying can be very powerful, especially to teach something like extreme weather (lightning storms, hurricanes or tornadoes) that students in our region have never experienced. I can even think of times where this activating of prior knowledge feels like it takes up too much time. I only feel this way until I realize the engagement of the class is mainly due to laying a solid foundation of what is to come. The key is making the students feel connected to the learning. If a teacher told me that preparing of these materials takes too much time, I would encourage them to prepare a few for a couple of subjects and pay close attention to the level of engagement of the students.
After reading this chapter, I saw some room for improvement. I think I would like to bolster the level of questioning to help my students raise the level of thinking. The ability to make inferences is key. This is something I really only talk about during reading but I can see there are many ways to apply this same strategy to other subjects. I also would like to incorporate some graphic advanced organizers, especially at the beginning of a unit of study. I feel like this will prepare students about what we are going to learn about and it would be much more comprehensive than just sharing the learning objectives.
One of the most difficult part of this strategy for me is the monitoring the effects of the cues, questions and advance organizers. I know they work because I have used them in the past and the only way I could tell was through engagement level. This was more on the whole class than it was individual students. I liked the example of +/- used by Robin to track her learners. It allows her to go back and check in with those students who did not understand. I would be interested in any other ideas to monitor throughout the unit rather than wait until the formal assessment at the end. I sometimes give short quizzes or have students respond to a question as their ticket out the door to monitor learning. I do appreciate the new ideas and the conformation that what I am doing is best practices. I just need to make some minor adjustments to the implementation of these strategies to get the most from my students.
Assignment #10 (8/15/11) Questions, Cues and Advanced Organizers
Thanks both Sara and John for your comments on advanced organizers. We have received all of your assignments and will be submitting an “A” grade for both of you. TINT has let us know that grades will be posted by 9/1. Thanks so much for participating in our course, and hopefully we see you in a future course.
Sara – I’m glad that this chapter as well as everyone’s comments gave you plenty of food for thought. I definitely think that you will be able to integrate some of these strategies into your work as a substitute. I think I may have asked this question, but don’t remember reading an answer anywhere….are you looking to get into a full time teaching position? If so best of luck on your search and journey!
John – OK….I think I’ve had my head stuck in books for too long as a reading teacher…I’m a little embarrassed to say I didn’t know what United Streaming video clips were. So I Googled it and hope to use this and share with my staff this coming year!!! Thanks – this is an incredible resource!!! It definitely seems as though you’ve done a great job grabbing the interest of your learners. Have you ever thought of using “Exit Slips” as a way to monitor learning during the unit? They are a great tool to have kids summarize and clarify new learning along the way. Check out this Read WriteThink link that explains more and gives some examples: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/printouts/exit-slips-a-30772.html . You can also Google “classroom exit slips” and it’ll give you other sample exit slips.
#10
It always amazes me how much prior knowledge students have on some topics. Often times vocabulary words used in math class are words they already know in a different context. Usually the “math” definition is not that different from the “English” definition. It is important to tap into this understanding to help the students familiarize with the topic more quickly.
One thing I do need to change is that I tend to ask lower level questions which doesn’t force my students to think beyond recall or recognizing. Higher order questions helps students apply the knowledge or reorganize it, which improves learning. The other thing I am working on is wait time, and I have been doing better. It’s important to give the students that extra time to think and analyze the question, but sometimes I do call on the first person whose hand shoots up after I ask the question.
I do think advanced organizers are important and help improve learning. Exposing students to a topic before discussing it gives them prior knowledge and it also gives them an opportunity to be interested in the topic. My argument to someone who says advanced organizers take too much time to plan is for that little bit of extra planning you get more focus, better understanding and better learning on the subject. So in the long term learning is improved and there is overall less planning.
Amy Ryan- Chapter 10: Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers
This was a very interesting chapter and a relief to read. That’s because I didn’t finish it feeling that there were many ideas I need to remember and integrate into class- instead, I felt pretty confident about already using these strategies to help my students learn.
I’m a fan of the narrative advance organizers. Telling a story really draws students in and perks up their interest. However, you don’t want to go too far- which I was reminded of. I once told my class that my university was clothing optional -which it really was, and I really saw the occasional person walking around campus or even to class naked. Now, I have long since forgotten what the context was for telling them this, but I know there was a reason- a discussion about personal freedom perhaps? Making wise decisions? Anyways, guess which part of the discussion stuck in their minds too! Years later kids were still asking me to tell about the naked college, much to my chagrin. I cringe to imagine them telling their parents about that one at home. Well, we are all lifelong learners, right? I learned from that!
One thing that caught my attention here was the assertion that teachers often emphasize the interesting or unusual facts instead of the important ones. This ties in with the story I just told above, I guess. I know I have been guilty of doing that, and it’s a good reminder to focus on the big ideas and not the weird factoids.
I appreciated how the types of advance organizers and questions were broken down by category.
Like Marika, I also love the variety and utility of what I can find on the internet to help my students. I think using a variety of approaches to any topic is crucial to trying to help all students learn the material. Of course, it fits right in with the brain research as well.
Like many topics in this book, I feel that the main way I will include them is just to be more mindful about using them in the future. Though I use many cueing strategies, this chapter helped me remember other situations or ways that I can change my timing when using them.
Now that I have finished the book, I plan to go back chapter-by-chapter and make myself a "cheat sheet" of specific items I want to be sure and integrate into my teaching practice this coming year. It's easy to say, "Yeah, more dollops of feedback," but unless I write myself a list, I fear that habit will take over. The problem is that I already use most of these concepts in some capacity, so it's more a matter of tweaking than adding something completely new. When you're tweaking, it's easy to fall back into a rut.
Overall, this as a very useful course and I know I will be referring to the text in the future!
Amber Young, Assignment #10
I would tell a teacher who didn’t have time that creating advance organizers doesn’t just benefit the kids. The process of thinking about how you want the students to think really “tightens up” my teaching, and I have concretely identified what’s important, not just unusual. Isn’t it a great class always like a football game, 99% set up and 1% action? It’s my 11th year, and I’ve figured a few things out, like the more time I spend alone in my room thinking, the better my lessons go. It sucks sometimes on a sunny Sunday afternoon, but it pays off. I thought this chapter was useful, but I wished they had addressed a bit more about how to know when it’s ok to move on from a question with a whole group. I also need to remind myself about higher Blooms levels and wait time, but if I ask a question, a few students answer and elaborate, a thumbs up or down from the rest or turn to your neighbor and explain it can get pretty humdrum. This coming year, I’m going to work on different ways to call on all students after wait time. I’m sure we all fall into letting the same 10-15 lead because they want to, you want to get on with the discussion, and frankly, the followers are happy to follow! These are some things I really need a good book on-anyone have one!?! As a learner, I appreciated advance graphic organizers the most. I have enjoyed this class and reading about all of your experiences. Have a great year!
Amy, I totally agree with you! I need to make a down-and-dirty recap from this book, too! Maybe you could post yours and I'll post mine?
No, I am not planning on getting a teaching position at this time. I plan on subbing again once both of my kids are in school and I never know if things may change down the road as far as needing to work full-time. I would love to sub but also still be flexible to be home and volunteer in my kids classrooms.
Assignment #10: Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers
This chapter was a great reminder to me about the importance of cues, questions, and advance organizers. I use these teaching strategies all of the time, but I appreciate the tips to refine these practices to be the most effective.
I can monitor the effects of cues, questions, and advance organizers in several ways. The simplest way is through observation, discussion, and student engagement. Tying lessons into prior knowledge and giving students a purpose for the lesson is one of the most important and effective teaching strategies from my experience. I have and can continue to create KWL charts with the class and return to the charts as we progress through the unit of study.
Though I use cues and questions on a daily basis, I’d like to improve their effectiveness by using more advance preparation. Sometimes I “fly by the seat of my pants” instead of thinking of a quality cue or question to elicit thoughtful responses from the students. I’d also like to be more conscious of asking higher-level thinking questions so the students can get the most from the lesson instead of just checking for general comprehension. I am going to try to remind myself (maybe use a visual cue!) to give the students the “wait time” they need to form their thoughts. And, I will try to stick to what’s important instead of what is unique because I definitely error in this area somewhat regularly!
After reading this chapter I would have a few suggestions for a teacher who complains about not having enough time to create advance organizers: (1) A narrative advance organizer is not in written form so it doesn’t take any time at all other than thinking in advance about how you would like to engage your students. (2) Explicit teaching requires teachers to know in advance what the learning objectives are, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to write them down for student use (and they can be saved to your computer for future use!) (3) They are not necessary for every lesson; perhaps just use them to support students with information that is not well organized. (4) Quality instruction takes time!
Assignment#10
Jennifer Flagel
PS Thank you Jackie and Mary for a great learning experience. This class has been full of research-based strategies and refreshers and I plan on using a lot of what I’ve learned this fall. Many, many thanks!
Lynn, Amy, Amber, and Jennifer – Thanks so much for participating in our course. We have received all of you assignments and have let TINT know that each of you will be receiving As for the course. Grades will be posted on 9/1.
Lynn – I laughed at you comment about “math language” and “English language” ….it does feel as though math can be a completely different language for many of us ! Best of luck as you try and really allow for some wait time during your class discussions. I think you will be very happy with the different students you will hear from, as well as the quality of thinking they’ll share since they will have had more time to be thoughtful!
Amy – It’s so wonderful when we receive confirmation for our hard work isn’t it…especially when it’s research based ! OK…and I have to ask…what university to you attend? I have to admit I got some funny visuals with this one :) Kids love learning personal tidbits from their teachers’ lives and this was a good one. It’s a great idea to make a “to do “ list for yourself as a reminder of your goals for this coming year…best of luck this coming year!
Amber – You are completely right…taking the time to really think about how you will present new learning, will definitely help you be more effective when you are in front of your students. Many of our teachers use popsicle sticks or “fairness” sticks. There is one stick in a cup with each of your students’ names on it, and when you are asking questions (or picking random partners) you just pick sticks from the cup. Kids become use to having to think about everyone of the questions you pose, because they don’t know when they’ll be called on.
Jennifer – Making the connection between old and new learning IS one of the most effective strategies for every learner. There is such interesting brain research out there that supports this strategy. I do believe that when you put a bit of time into planning effective instruction, you will reap the benefits. This is time consuming, so I think we all need to learn how to let go of things we do that that have NO PURPOSE, yet take up so much of our time. Best of luck this coming year using some of these strategies in your classroom!
Lynn, Amy, Amber, and Jennifer – Thanks so much for participating in our course. We have received all of you assignments and have let TINT know that each of you will be receiving As for the course. Grades will be posted on 9/1.
Lynn – I laughed at you comment about “math language” and “English language” ….it does feel as though math can be a completely different language for many of us ! Best of luck as you try and really allow for some wait time during your class discussions. I think you will be very happy with the different students you will hear from, as well as the quality of thinking they’ll share since they will have had more time to be thoughtful!
Amy – It’s so wonderful when we receive confirmation for our hard work isn’t it…especially when it’s research based ! OK…and I have to ask…what university to you attend? I have to admit I got some funny visuals with this one :) Kids love learning personal tidbits from their teachers’ lives and this was a good one. It’s a great idea to make a “to do “ list for yourself as a reminder of your goals for this coming year…best of luck this coming year!
Amber – You are completely right…taking the time to really think about how you will present new learning, will definitely help you be more effective when you are in front of your students. Many of our teachers use popsicle sticks or “fairness” sticks. There is one stick in a cup with each of your students’ names on it, and when you are asking questions (or picking random partners) you just pick sticks from the cup. Kids become use to having to think about everyone of the questions you pose, because they don’t know when they’ll be called on.
Jennifer – Making the connection between old and new learning IS one of the most effective strategies for every learner. There is such interesting brain research out there that supports this strategy. I do believe that when you put a bit of time into planning effective instruction, you will reap the benefits. This is time consuming, so I think we all need to learn how to let go of things we do that that have NO PURPOSE, yet take up so much of our time. Best of luck this coming year using some of these strategies in your classroom!
Jackie and Mary- I went to college at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Go Banana Slugs!
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