Using cues, questions, and advance organizers helps students use the information they learn about a topic and make sense of the information. They will be able to focus more on the topic when they information is well organized and easy to grasp. As teacher we need to focus on what is important and get this information across to our students. When trying to get students to focus in on a topic we need to make sure we are asking challenging and thought provoking questions. This will elicit deeper learning on a topic. I particularly liked the idea of bringing in the challenging questions to the classroom and see the difference between questions that encourage student critical thinking skills and those that do not. Note taking is a skill that all students need to develop and it is obvious that it is a work in progress. Teaching students multiple ways of note taking and preparing them with different avenues will help student performance. At our school we try and implement Cornell Notes as the main form of note taking. It has a structured format and allows for summary and reflection portions. However, implementing or discussing different ways of note taking will encourage students to discover what way works best for them and can use guidelines for their selection. Students should focus on notes quality and realize that taking verbatim notes is very ineffective. The more notes students can take the better they will be prepared for future assignments on those particular notes. Reviewing notes will ensure students have a grasp of the lesson’s content.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
Note taking is truly an art. Students in college even struggle with this trying to write down every single word the instructor says or not writing down enough so they cannot remember what it means when they go back to study their notes. Using technology to help create an outline for students to take notes is a good step in the right direction and maybe as they get more practice with it the teacher can then slowing remove some of the outline for them and let the students create it as they go.
ReplyDeleteCorey,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that teachers should in fact ask their students challenging questions. Often times teachers are afraid to do this becuase they don't want their children to feel like they have failed if they are unable to answer the question. I find though that if the material is presented in a well-organized fashion, students enjoy the challenge of a difficult question. You mentioned note taking, and I find that this is a very difficult skill to teach. My elemnetary students usually end up highlighting the entire passage rather then the important elements within the text. Teachers must be consitent and determine the best strategy for note taking depending upon their students strengths and weaknesses.