Why is Active Learning Important?
“People not only gain understanding through reflection, they
evaluate and alter their own thinking." Albert Bandura
"Education is a social process. Education is growth.
Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself." John Dewey
Research describes engaged readers as those who (a) are motivated by the material, (b) use multiple strategies to ensure comprehension, (c) are able to construct new knowledge as a result of the interaction with the text, and (d) draw on social interactions to mediate these literate processes (Guthrie, McGough, Bennett, & Rice, 1996).
**Engaged readers use cognitive strategies for integrating information, and communicating and representing their understanding.
**Students are not attentive to what is being said in a lecture 40% of the time.
**Students retain 70% of the first 10 minutes and 20% of the last 10 minutes of a lecture.
What encourages engagement in learning?
1. Level of academic challenge
2. Active and collaborative learning
3. Student-teacher interaction
4. Time to practice
5.Supportive environment
6. Immersion
ACTIVE STRATEGIES TO EXTEND THINKING
· Remember Wait Time- Provide at least five seconds of thinking time after a question and after a response.
· Ask "follow-ups'- Why? How do you know? Do you agree? Will you give an example? Can you tell me more?
· Cue responses to "open ended" questions - There is not a single correct answer to this question. I want you to consider alternatives.
· Use "think-pair-share/talk to shoulder buddy-Allow individual thinking time, discussion with a partner, and then open up for class discussion.
· Use Cold Call-avoid the pattern of only calling on those students with raised hands-NO one raises their hand!
· Ask students to "unpack their thinking"-clarify your thinking or explain how you arrived at your answer
· Ask for summary to promote active listening-"Could you please summarize our discussion thus far?
· Play devil's advocate-Require students to defend their reasoning against different points of view.
· Survey the class-How many people agree with the authors point of view?" (thumbs up, thumbs down or some type of signal)
· Encourage student questioning-Provide opportunities for students to generate their own questions.
10:2 Theory
To reduce information loss, pause for two minutes at about ten minute intervals.
For every ten minutes or so of meaningful chunks of new information, students should be provided with two or so minutes to process the information by discussion, a signal, or a written response.
Tools for Formative Assessment
Techniques to Check for Understanding
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One Minute Essay
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One Minute Paper
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Word Count
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Three Strongest Words
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Strongest Verb
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Goal
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Total Word Count for the next 1 minute write _________
Improvement________________words
What Strategy did you use?____________
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Analogy Prompt
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Periodically, present students with an analogy prompt: (A designated concept, principle, or process) is like _________________ because ______________________.
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Web or Concept Map
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Any of several forms of graphical organizers which allow learners to perceive relationships between concepts through diagramming key words representing those concepts.
http://www.graphic.org/concept.html
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Student Conference
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One on one conversation with students to check their level of understanding.
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3-Minute Pause
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The Three-Minute Pause provides a chance for students to stop, reflect on the concepts and ideas that have just been introduced, make connections to prior knowledge or experience, and seek clarification.
• I changed my attitude about… • I was surprised about… • I felt… • I related to… • I connected to
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Exit Card
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Exit cards are written student responses to questions posed at the end of a class or learning activity or at the end of a day.
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Journal Entry
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Students record in a journal their understanding of the topic, concept or lesson taught. The teacher reviews the entry to see if the student has gained an understanding of the topic, lesson or concept that was taught.
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Choral Response
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In response t o a cue, all students respond verbally at the same time. The response can be either to answer a question or to repeat something the teacher has said.
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A-B-C Summaries
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Each student in the class is assigned a different letter of the alphabet and they must select a word starting with that letter that is related to the topic being studied.
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Debriefing
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A form of reflection immediately following an activity.
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Idea Spinner
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The teacher creates a spinner using an OLD CD-labeled “Predict, Explain, Summarize, Evaluate.” or whatever questions that relate to your lesson. Students spin the CD, stopping it with a pinch--Then the students answer the question based on what they "pinched" to a stop!
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Inside-Outside Circle
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Inside and outside circles of students face each other. Within each pair of facing students, students quiz each other with questions they have written. Outside circle moves to create new pairs. Repeat.
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Numbered Heads Together
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Each student is assigned a number. Members of a group work together to agree on an answer. The teacher randomly selects one number. Student with that number answers for the group.
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One Sentence Summary
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Students are asked to write a summary sentence that answers the “who, what where, when, why, how” questions about the topic.
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One Word Summary
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Select (or invent) one word which best summarizes a topic.
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Ticket to Leave
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Closing activity where students respond in writing or verbally to short assignments.
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Look, Lean Whisper
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• Look: Make eye contact with your partner so you know you have his/her attention.
• Lean: Move heads close together so you can be heard.
• Whisper: Speak in a soft tone so others can be heard.
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Tell-Help-Check
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• Tell: Partner 1 turns to partner 2 and recall information without using notes.
• Help: Partner 2 listens carefully and asks questions and gives hints about missing or incorrect information.
• Check: Both partners consult notes to confirm accuracy.
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RESOURCES
Corrective Feedback is Crucial
**One of the chief benefits of active engagement is that it allows us to give corrective feedback.
Characteristics of effective feedback:
• Highly specific
• Descriptive
• Timely
• Ongoing
**Feedback is not praise, blame, approval, or disapproval. That is what evaluation is – placing value. Feedback is value neutral. It describes what you did and did not do in terms of your goal. (intent vs. effect).
**Teachers need to analyze to whom they are giving feedback and the quality of the feedback. All students need specific feedback about their academic work. According to Opitz (1998), “American white, middle-class males receive feedback that is more concrete, specific, and directed toward academic learning than that given to other population groups or to females” .
What are some effective feedback techniques?
Comment on a positive aspect of the student’s work
o Your answer to the question shows that you are making connections to your own experiences while you are reading. Connections help readers to better understand what they are reading.
Be specific about the feedback and relate the feedback to the student’s work.
o Your description of the character shows that you really visualized what the main character looked like. Visualizing what you are reading is a helpful comprehension strategy.
Provide specific comments about how the student can improve his/her work.
o One thing you can do to further increase your comprehension is to question as you read. Ask such questions as “I wonder…?” or “How come…?” and “Why…?”
RESOURCES on Feedback
http://www.siue.edu/education/readready/3_Feedback_Strategies/3_landing.htm
http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/motivate.html
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/motiv.htm