Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Journal Entry #3, chapter 6

Chapter six covers information processing and cognitive theories of learning. The information-processing theory "describes the processing, storage, and retrieval of knowledge in the mind" and is a "dominant theory of learning and memory" (Slavin, 2011, p. 144). The levels of processing theory and dual code theory were also explained. The chapter describes short-term and long term memory, the latest research on the brain, the implications and applications that research has in education, the factors involved in forgetting and remembering, and how to help students learn using the information we have about working and long-term memory. 

This chapter was very interesting, and reminded me of a psychology class I took during my undergraduate studies. I really enjoy learning information about the brain, our schemata, and strategies for making our mind more efficient. Some parts of this chapter confirmed what I already know, such as having students generate something based on the new information or by applying the information to a new situation is an incredibly effective and aids in retention. It also confirmed what I know about activating prior knowledge to help students organize the new information into a preexisting schema and provide context for what they’re learning. The chapter also discussed the effectiveness of advanced organizers, which I use often during social studies and science lessons to help students visualize the outline of what we're learning and activate prior knowledge they have on the topic. 

This chapter also included some new information that I found really intriguing. Prior to reading this, I did not know that the working memory can only focus on 5 to 9 things at a time, but if we organize that information we can focus on much more. The example about organizing the grocery list into three categories was really interesting and made me think about how I present information to the students. I also learned that I won’t live long enough to fill up my long-term memory, and as I gain more knowledge my brain becomes more efficient. The explanation about an emergent reader’s brain versus a skilled reader’s brain was also very intriguing. It really helped me understand what is going on in struggling student's mind, and explains why they struggle more with comprehension compared to students who decode with automaticity.

I really appreciated the content in this chapter and took away multiple pieces of information that I would like to implement in my classroom next year. The chapter reviewed many different strategies to help students remember and review what I’m teaching. I currently use the initial-letter strategies frequently in my classroom, and I would like to mix in the Loci and Pegword methods to help students that struggle with memorizing information in a certain order. I also want to do a better job of helping students apply information/skills while problem solving by connecting it to real-world situations so they know how and when to use their knowledge.
I was familiar with most of the study strategies in the chapter (underlining, summarizing, note-taking, etc.) but hadn't heard of the PQ4R (preview, question, read, reflect, recite and review) strategy before. I would like to keep that in mind as I plan lessons and provide opportunities for the students to rehearse new information. The final thing I want to use next year to help improve my teaching is to use the questioning techniques more often. Currently, I have students answer certain questions while reading to help them comprehend, but I would like to consistent with those and implement the strategy into creative writing.


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