With cognitive learning theory, a student makes an effort to organize, store and find relationships between old and new information, scripts and schema. Basically it is how information is processed by the mind.
Two instructional strategies that help students organize information are "Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers", and "Summarizing and Note Taking"
Cues, Questions and Advance Organizers focuses on the students' ability to retrieve, use, and organize information. Technology tools can be used to create well-organized, visually appealing organizers. Some example technology tools are word processing applications, spreadsheet applications, organizing and brainstorming software, and multimedia applications.
Word processing programs can be used to create brochures, rubrics, stories, articles, artistic works, tables, and charts. Rubrics can also be created in spreadsheet software. Inspiration is an ideal tool for creating advance and graphic organizers. It allows learners to add and organize information as it is being introduced. Multimedia is a way for students to activate prior knowledge and develop a mental model to process new information.
Summarizing and Note Taking focuses on synthesizing information. Students take new information and place it into their own words. Some of the same technology tools can be used with the addition of communication software. Wikis and blogs allow groups to share resources.
All of these tools help students take information that is stored in their short term memory, link it to an experience to embed it in their long term memory. One tool we investigating was concept mapping. and virtual field trips. While I see the usefulness of virtual field trips in science and history, I found it difficult to find a virtual tool linked to mathematics. Concept mapping is an ideal way for students to link concepts together. I tried to create a concept map for Statistic. this could be used an introduction to the subject and what topics will be covered in the class. It can also be used as a review sheet. Since I allow open notebooks for the final, students could fill in the formulas and definitions as we cover the material. My Statistics concept map is shown above. This is just the beginning.
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Teresa,
ReplyDeleteI think your concept map came out great! I actually think it is a great idea to incorporate a concept map into mathematics. My best friend teaches High school math and I think she would love this idea. I think it is a way to keep students attention if they are required to fill it in as you go along. It is a great resource to look back on, like you said for use on the final. If you don’t mind I would love to show her yours and will ask her if she has come across any virtual field trips for math!! I know I have seen some forms of advanced organizers used in high school math, on the smart board. I’m not sure if your school has access to one, but it would be a great large visual aid that your students could help to fill in as you go through the topic. I imagine it must be just as difficult to keep the attention of high schoolers as it is for me to keep my 3rd graders attention. Do you find that note taking in math is difficult for them?? I know for my students note taking is difficult and concept maps helps them to begin to know how to organize their thoughts and learn to pick out what is important instead of trying to write verbatim what I say!
Thank you...the map really is a work in progress. I just saw one when I was searching for images on polynomials. The virtual field trip I found to be difficult to find on map topics. Please feel free to share..this is actually the map for our textbook Bluman Elementary Statistics. And I use a Promethean board...much like the Smart Board.
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