Blog Entry Week Three
Description
This
week in EDAT 6114 we read about cognitive learning theories and how the brain
works. The chapter covered different strategies and how to make instruction
meaningful for all students. After reading chapter six, I understood a lot more
about how students learn and why using different strategies is so important in
order to maximize learning.
Analysis
Slavin
(2018) starts the chapter by describing information processing and how it
works. There are three components in the information processing models: sensory
register, working memory or short-term memory, and long-term memory, (Slavin, 2018). Sensory register is the first stage of
memory, and receives stimuli from all five senses before most of them are
forgotten (Slavin, 2018). The things that matter move into working memory,
where we think about the stimuli and try to make connections between the new
stimuli and the memories that already exist (Slavin, 2018). Finally, if we
decide the new information is useful or important, it gets moved on to our
long-term memory (Slavin, 2018).
Since
the sensory register takes in tons of information, there are two things that
need to be present for a person to move the information into working memory.
The first thing is that people need to be paying attention to something in
order to hold onto information, and the second thing needed is time to “bring
all the information seen in a moment into consciousness” (Slavin, 2018, p.
124). Slavin (2018) discusses several strategies that teachers can use in order
to help their students retain as much information as possible. These strategies
include raising or lowering ones voice to indicate importance, using gestures,
surprising students, or telling them what is going to happen next (Slavin,
2018). All of these strategies are meant to catch students’ attention and alert
them that this is something that needs to become a part of their working
memory.
According
to Slavin, “Working memory is so important that many researchers consider
working memory capacity to be essentially the same as intelligence” (p. 125).
After information is moved into the working memory, the process is not over.
There are strategies we need to use to help information move into long-term memory.
Slavin (2018) recommends writing or saying something over and over in a
strategy called rehearsal (p. 125). This is a successful strategy because the
longer information stays in the working memory, the more likely it is to be
transferred to long-term memory (Slavin, 2018). The working memory is unable to
hold many pieces of information, so the teacher needs to be sure not to throw
too much information at their students. If they take in too much, nothing will
be retained. On the other hand, long-term memory is thought to hold a lot of
information for a very extended period of time (Slavin, 2018). Long-term memory
can be strengthened especially by strategies that “actively involve students in
lessons” (Slavin, 2018, p. 130).
There is
still a lot we do not know about the brain and how it works, but Slavin gives
three guidelines that teachers should follow in order to best help our students
learn. The first is making sure our students have ample opportunities to
rehearse and discuss new information with their peers (Slavin, 2018). The
second is using visuals to reinforce learning and illustrate important points
(Slavin, 2018). Slavin’s (2018) last guideline is to let students act out
concepts in order to solidify them.
Slavin
(2018) explains that we need to teach students study skills and strategies to
improve their memory and avoid forgetting material learned in the classroom.
Some of these strategies include note taking, practice tests, underlining,
summarizing, writing about what they have learned, and concept mapping. Another
strategy is the PQ4R, which follows the following process: preview, question,
read, reflect, recite, and review (Slavin, 2018, p. 149). This method is most
effective for older children, and is proven to help them organize information
and submit it to their long-term memory.
Throughout
the chapter, Slavin discusses drawing on schema and prior knowledge as well as
questioning as effective techniques for helping students learn. In order to be
an intentional teacher, one should incorporate these things as well as teaching
students explicit strategies to hold on to information long-term. There are a
lot of things that we know help our students, and it is the teacher’s job to
use them appropriately to meet their students’ needs.
Reflection
Reading
through this chapter was very interesting to me. I have taken classes on
development in the past, but it’s been awhile since I had read so much about
the brain and how it works. The thing that stuck with me the most after reading
this chapter was the section on neuromyths. This section “debunked” some of the beliefs
about the brain and talked about what is true and what is not. I was surprised
to read that “the possibility that students will learn better if taught in their
preferred learning style (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) has been tested in
hundreds of experiments, and high-quality research fails to support it”
(Slavin, 2018, p. 137). I learned that it is important for us to teach all
learning styles in case our students would benefit from more than one. We also
don’t want our students to feel as though there is only one way that they can
learn.
As
far as the recommended strategies go, I use most of these in my classroom and
have found that they are helpful for my students. One of the most useful is
having students discuss new information with their peers. They are able to take
their experiences and prior knowledge and make new connections through
conversation. My students almost always remember the things that we discuss
during these times and I find that the conversations are very memorable.
After
reading this chapter, I have a better understanding of how information is
passed along to long-term memory, and I will be using these strategies in my
classroom in order to help my students learn as much as they can. I did not
know that information in the sensory register was so fleeting, but repetition
and attention grabbers are helpful in retention. In lesson planning, it is
important for teachers to be intentional and thoughtful. Not all students learn
the same, and it is our job to think about our students on an individual basis.
It is important to think about our students’ background, strengths, and
struggles when we are designing our lessons.
Reference
Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational psychology:
Theory and practice (12th ed.). Boston,
MA: Pearson Education.
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