If you remember in my last post, we discussed the concept of cognitive load,
which refers to the way that information online either aids or impairs
understanding, interpreting, and/or learning. I really liked the idea of discussing cognitive load with students - and had never thought of that before. More succinctly, it had crossed my mind but I couldn't stretch the realms of my mind far enough to figure out how that would look in action, until I read this chapter. I picture myself standing before my science students, before a huge focus area, discussing the first part of their assignment - research (the ending part of the lesson would be a project, where the students initially discuss their ideas together to help each other expand on their plans and application, and then perform their individual tasks together, with a rough outline including their original ideas and plans, a revised outline with two classmates' revisions/ideas, and their final project presented.) Before they can begin any of this, though, they have to determine their topic, and research the information they need for it. This area is where I would discuss cognitive load with [my] students. For instance, how would the students' recognize information overload? What does it feel like? What should they look like? What are their thoughts on graphics, is more better, less better, or does it depend? Why? Are there too many media techniques employed, or is there a seamless transition? Or, are there too few? Would it be better if they included one, such as a video (i.e. step-by-step directions) vs. images, or both?
There are a lot of questions we can ask, under the six (6) ideas mentioned, but I finally thought about this in application - and I hope that I recall this when I am nervously teaching my first classes. By the way, what are your thoughts on first classes? What are the worst and best things that happen in those first years? What are the tools that were best used or left alone (or will be, for when you practice)?
As an additional thought, and as part of cognitive load discussions with students, fact-checking Wikipedia entries is quite important. This is really important, because, whether or not students' (young or old) are told to avoid Wikipedia, it is almost always one of the first hits in a search, and usually perused to at least come up with ideas for a person to think about. For me, I was thoroughly excited when I first discovered Wikipedia years ago, until I realized it was not an online encyclopedia. It is, but it must be used with discretion, and must be fact-checked. Therefore, I now skim it for general information, take it with a grain of salt, peruse the sources, and follow the links to the sources to read the identified information, as applicable. This is not the end, however. I also scour the internet for opposing ideas or viewpoints, which almost always exist. I do love Wikipedia's wealth of information, and do find that it is fact-checked by their own staff/volunteers. I have thought about submitting corrections to the site, but have found the task daunting - perhaps asking our students to participate in that way would not only help Wikipedia, but would help the students' see the application of their research, and provide them with feedback for good citizenry. Additionally, I did like the ideas for role-playing encyclopedia development, and discussions about other online encyclopedias. I think, though, that those points would be better addressed in an inter-disciplinary fashion, through their Language Arts or Reading courses (at the same time we discuss those ideas very briefly).
Lastly - but not least - I will discuss the concept of using lesson plan sites selectively.
I discovered the idea of this concept through my own experiences when reviewing State and Federal Standards for learning, and how to apply them. Some sites did not fit the ever-changing Standards at all, and some did, but had issues where they didn't go in depth enough, or went too far into a particular subject or idea. I learned how difficult it can be to develop your own lesson plan from scratch, and figured out that it takes a lot of time to review the standards, review several lesson plan ideas, and concepts, and draw-up your own tailored lesson plans. I am weary of commercial sites, and so far, the best I have found is the PBS site, which I will also be using for my other project, Website Evaluation and Rubric. I first reviewed this site for a previous class discussion, and was totally blown away by all of the learning tools they had available, including their science area. I also have discovered some extremely interesting apps, such as Atoms, and I would love the opportunity to explore these with students! I can't stress enough how time-consuming lesson plans are to develop - even using ideas and plans of other teachers, educational, governmental, or commercial sources. We really must tailor these things to our students' needs and to current standards, which change often even within the year, as I have experienced during observation in some of Central Florida and Northwest Indiana's top classrooms.
Resources
There are a lot of questions we can ask, under the six (6) ideas mentioned, but I finally thought about this in application - and I hope that I recall this when I am nervously teaching my first classes. By the way, what are your thoughts on first classes? What are the worst and best things that happen in those first years? What are the tools that were best used or left alone (or will be, for when you practice)?
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| Created by HtNelson via Bitstrips For Schools |
As an additional thought, and as part of cognitive load discussions with students, fact-checking Wikipedia entries is quite important. This is really important, because, whether or not students' (young or old) are told to avoid Wikipedia, it is almost always one of the first hits in a search, and usually perused to at least come up with ideas for a person to think about. For me, I was thoroughly excited when I first discovered Wikipedia years ago, until I realized it was not an online encyclopedia. It is, but it must be used with discretion, and must be fact-checked. Therefore, I now skim it for general information, take it with a grain of salt, peruse the sources, and follow the links to the sources to read the identified information, as applicable. This is not the end, however. I also scour the internet for opposing ideas or viewpoints, which almost always exist. I do love Wikipedia's wealth of information, and do find that it is fact-checked by their own staff/volunteers. I have thought about submitting corrections to the site, but have found the task daunting - perhaps asking our students to participate in that way would not only help Wikipedia, but would help the students' see the application of their research, and provide them with feedback for good citizenry. Additionally, I did like the ideas for role-playing encyclopedia development, and discussions about other online encyclopedias. I think, though, that those points would be better addressed in an inter-disciplinary fashion, through their Language Arts or Reading courses (at the same time we discuss those ideas very briefly).
Lastly - but not least - I will discuss the concept of using lesson plan sites selectively.
I discovered the idea of this concept through my own experiences when reviewing State and Federal Standards for learning, and how to apply them. Some sites did not fit the ever-changing Standards at all, and some did, but had issues where they didn't go in depth enough, or went too far into a particular subject or idea. I learned how difficult it can be to develop your own lesson plan from scratch, and figured out that it takes a lot of time to review the standards, review several lesson plan ideas, and concepts, and draw-up your own tailored lesson plans. I am weary of commercial sites, and so far, the best I have found is the PBS site, which I will also be using for my other project, Website Evaluation and Rubric. I first reviewed this site for a previous class discussion, and was totally blown away by all of the learning tools they had available, including their science area. I also have discovered some extremely interesting apps, such as Atoms, and I would love the opportunity to explore these with students! I can't stress enough how time-consuming lesson plans are to develop - even using ideas and plans of other teachers, educational, governmental, or commercial sources. We really must tailor these things to our students' needs and to current standards, which change often even within the year, as I have experienced during observation in some of Central Florida and Northwest Indiana's top classrooms.
Resources
Bitstrips For Schools in action. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.bitstripsforschools.com/
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Great thought process about cognitive load in a future lesson plan. There are so many things to consider when thinking about learning environments for students. The initial year is usually a blur as there are so many other considerations (and time-suckers), including meeting with mentor teachers, special meetings for new teachers, etc. There is no silver bullet for what works and what doesn't but I always suggest staying focused on the 'basics' and what might come natural - other enhancements can be added once a level of comfort occurs after the first year.
ReplyDeleteLike your BitStrips cartoon strip :) (be sure to give yourself credit in the resources for future digital tool creations. Though Wikipedia does have a 'negative' reputation in academia, the popularity certainly makes it worth a look...and frankly, it has been mis-interpreted by many in the negative connotation. Like so many other things, it has its place and we just need to keep an 'evaluative' perspective and do some critical thinking instead of taking all for granted.