Angela Maiers Educational Services

A Synthesizing Heart: Tell and Show

Do you find your students often learn a concept only to forget much of it a week after the test?

To help your students develop concept mastery, it is important that they SHOW what they know and understand rather than simply test us what they we want them to know. Why Telling AND Showing is better than just Telling:

1. Performance tasks are engaging. They not only require students to demonstrate proficiently- they are much more fun than answering questions or filling in the blanks of a worksheet.
2. Performance tasks require students to think at a high level and employ a variety of skills. Rather than simply memorizing facts, students will analyze, apply, and synthesize what they learn.
3. Invite Creativity: Students have a chance here to show their multiple intelligences. They can sing, dance, draw, or perform their understanding. In such demonstrations will have a chance to communicate through their best language modes. The more creative the better- we ant students to demonstrate understandings across wide and varied mediums and modes through speech, exhibit, video, presentation, recital, dramatic reading, or role-play, they will gain critical skills.
4. Provide more authentic forms of assessment: We are not saying that traditional means of assessment don’t have a place, but it is hard to differentiate a percentile score or find ways to help a student succeed when all we have in hand is knowledge that they looked up definitions in the dictionary. As you ask student to show more and more, you and your students will gain skill and expertise with this 21st century assessment tool.

The following activities, exercises, and tasks cover a wide range of academic areas and social skills. Use them to spark your own ideas.

• Design a song or rap
• Produce a video reflection
• Act out words or ideas using creative drama techniques like Tableaux and Hot Seat
• Create a metaphor or simile summarizing the key ideas

New assessment of understanding are needed to measure 21st Century skills and passion driven learning objectives. We have found the showing or performance is the key. These performance-oriented tasks require students to beyond the literal meanings and interpretation by taking action on that meaning in artistic, creative, and critical ways. 

One of my favorite people in this space is Silvia Tolisano (aka Langwitches), and she has just released Digital Storytelling: Tools for Educators, a super how-to guide with tips and tools for our classrooms and our own professional development. Highly recommend it to all.

Related:

 - 7 Power Tools: Synthesis

Together We Are Smarter. What's Your Take? Comment Here.

The Heart of the Matter: Skills Are the Same

The skills at the core of comprehension are the same ones at the core of composition.

The pulse on this thought is just getting started...

Together We Are Smarter. What's Your Take? Comment Here.

Strong Readers Don't Quit

Strong readers won't quit until they "get it" - and the "it" is not as much about the book as it is about the reader. 

In this week's mini-lesson video, we visit with a classroom of elementary students to discuss the strengths of a great reader. As one classmate put it: Crazy Good!

Together We Are Smarter. What's Your Take? Comment Here.

The Strategy of Sensory Imaging: A Conversation over Skype

This is a partial and edited transcription of a Skype video conference I did with a rural school district. By using Skype, the staff was able to see and hear me, and I them. It was almost like being there and is becoming an great asset in terms of professional development. 

Also, think of the great possibilities of your school or class with others around the world! Businesses are also tapping into this powerful resource, as shown by Daniel Pink's upcoming video-visit to Des Moines to talk about his new book, Drive.

Our conversation was centered around the thinking tool of Sensory Image. Let's pick it up near the beginning of the conversation:

"So when I think of how the brain uses images or their senses to construct meaning, what comes to mind is a camera.  When we look at a camera, just an image of a photograph, it’s so one-dimensional.  It doesn’t get us very deep past the surface; we see something and we can describe it, but it doesn’t get us very deep.  What the camera in our brain allows us to do is take the focus lens and go deep, but also every time we are looking through a different lens at an imagine or an idea, what happens is it tags that in our memory differently.

Let's think of the click of a camera as each one of your senses.  If kids look at a photograph of a car, they only are able to get into that idea with one sense. They can see it. But in my mind... if I can get a picture or an image of a car in my mind, here’s what the mental 'camera' does:  I can see it, click, click; oh, now I can see it and hear it.  Now my brain's 'camera' has helped me zoom in a little bit deeper, notice that?

I can see it and hear it and, with my brain continuing on, now I can smell the exhaust coming from the car. Now I can see it, hear it, feel it, smell it, I can almost sometimes taste it.  You know what I’m saying?  

So every time you "click the lens" of the image in your brain you are solidifying that image or idea so deeply and literally, in terms of brain research, the more lenses that you look through, the deeper it’s embedded in your memory.

Each one of those clicks or each one of those senses is a memory tag holding that image in your brain or holds that idea in your brain.  And the two most powerful lenses are smell and emotion, believe it or not. Smell and emotion.  Smell will get you back to an idea or a concept immediately and it’s even – if you look at the neurology behind that, the neurons that go from your nose, it literally goes straight to your brain. That’s why a smell can get you back to a moment absolutely quick and we know the power of emotion.

The power in knowing the function of how your brain uses images, not only to understand an idea, but to remember it and to access it, is incredibly important that when kids see they’re not just thinking of a flower in their mind, but if they really work at being a good photographer in their mind, the idea of sensory image is like this million dollar camera that you have in your brain.

The tool is the tool; a hammer has the exact same function for a three-year old as it does for somebody building a million dollar skyscraper.  These are non-negotiable.  What I’m sharing with you is a way to describe in a consistent language what a hammer does, or what saw does.

Now the nuances of using it are contextual.  You’ve got the basics; these seven are the basics.  The key is watching a skyscraper maker use the hammer and then going and watching somebody building a birdhouse use the hammer.  The application of the strategy comes after understanding what is a hammer, that thing is called a hammer, so when I see it I recognize it and then why do I use it, when does I use and how does it work.  That’s all we’re doing right now; we’re not getting into the depths of what it looks like in a book or what they do.  We’re just simply describing the toolbox.

We’re just building sort of a protocol, if you will, for all of the strategies. The lessons and the conversations that you’ve already had with students have absolutely been valuable in their learning. They brought in awareness that describing images and getting yourself into an experience through your senses is powerful."

This was just part of our conversation. We had some great questions, discussions, and even some grappling as to what has already been taught in their classrooms and where or how this type of lesson was to be implemented. Great conversations!

Our goal is putting students in a position to being a fully in control, mindful, strategic learner.  Being able to, at any point in time, when they’re in trouble or when they get off track or when they need to really be sophisticated in their competencies, grab their learning toolbox and say, “I need this and I’m going to use this and I’m going to use this.” 

My own goal in this type of conversation, is making sure teachers leave with having such an anchor lesson solid or at least get a sense of how they might get started with this kind of "toolbox" learning so kids can make meaning

Because that’s really what learning is about. It’s our ability to get to meaning. I don’t care if it’s math or science, you want to get to the point where you go, “I get this. I so get this.”

There was so much more to this call besides the conversation above, and in addition to the questions and answer period. We were able to model an actual lesson, discuss and develop additional ways to implement some of the strategy spread throughout the school day, and plan for our next call.

I have a feeling that, in 2010, I'll be doing a lot more of these types of professional development calls using Skype or Elluminate. I'd love to hear from others doing so, or even have a discussion with your team on how we can put such a call to work in your schools.

Together We Are Smarter. What's Your Take? Comment Here.

Real Readers are Driven By Real Life Meaning

I picked up the drivers manual book and found it extremely difficult.

It is a procedural text, it’s technical, the vocabulary is incredibly advanced, it’s sophisticate and is at times, inconsiderate writing. It is not organized and it’s a thick book.

My son recently began preparing for driving by reading this text. On his own, he got a team of kids together. Created a study group, created methodologies, employed advanced skill sets, devices, and techniques to get that content without any of my help. Do you know why? Because of the urgency, and gravity and privilege -- the life-changing implications of what it means to be a driver in the world.

He was willing to do the most minuscule task and the most boring work and the most repetitive actions. Because the privilege and the responsibility and the excitement and possibility of what it means to be a part of the driving club is so grand that he will do anything.

(Note: Though this might be the only time I would have been okay with his flunking a test, he passed -- with flying colors -- on his first attempt. Proud of you, little man. I love you!)

I think that we are missing a lot of opportunity to set up what a privilege it is and how your life will change if you’re a member of the literacy club.

Reading infiltrates peoples’ lives, they can’t get food without it they can’t fill out a bill they cannot connect with people they love and they can’t get information to help in their lives. For important purposes and even trivial purposes. Life is less enjoyable if one can’t read.

I believe that we must speak of literacy with that sense of urgency and gravity.

Are we, in and out of our own classrooms, creating real readers with real life meaning?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Great Readers Have Strategies (angelamaiers.com)
• What Real Readers Do (slideshare.net)

Together We Are Smarter. What's Your Take? Comment Here.

Great Readers Have Strategies

"The process of reading is not a half-sleep process.  It is in the highest sense an exercise; a gymnastic struggle that requires the reader to do something for himself." - Walt Whitman

There is no ONE way to define comprehension (unless it's that comprehension is NOT a commodity), but the past two decades have produced for us a very substantial body of research on the habits and behaviors that exist inside the mind of a proficient reader.(Pressley) 

We can with great confidence and conviction state that great readers have very identifiable and definable behaviors. Successful readers have positive attitudes and perceptions about themselves. They choose to read, and choose a variety of material. They understand that reading can and does serve multiple purposes in their lives. 

Great readers will employ a variety of effective strategies to plan, manage and attain understanding. These strategies are flexible and consciously applied as they navigate different text. (Pearson, Roehler, Dole, & Duffy, 1992).  The following seven, have received the strongest scientific support in promoting and sustaining comprehension. (Keene & Zimmerman, 1997; Pearson, 1992, Pressley, 1999, National Reading Panel)     

Proficient readers have the ability to:

• Use Schema to make connections across and within text
• Create Sensory Images
• Determine Importance in Text
• Monitor and Fix Up Understanding
• Infer beyond literal meanings in text
• Actively Question before, during, and after reading
• Summarize and Synthesize Information

Pressley and Aferblack have demonstrated in their research that these strategies can and should be explicitly taught to support all readers to become more successful, thoughtful information processors.  Because there is no teacher manual describing for us exactly how we should go about teaching these strategies well, our instructional information must stem from our own practice and thinking.

As we interactively explore each of these habits in proficient thinking, we will create our own teachers guide to help support and guide us in the decision making for strategy work with students. The key factor in successful strategy instruction, is a willingness to open your own mind (literally), and articulate what goes on inside.  The more we are able to understand and articulate these intricate processes involved in thinking, the more successful cognitive teachers we become.

Still, we must teach the reader, not the strategies

Some questions we should explore together:

• What exactly is comprehension?
• How do readers understand text?
• Why is some text earlier for me to read and understand?
• How does synthesis happen?
• How do we know when the main idea becomes the main idea?
• What are the difference between and inference and a prediction?
• How is summary like synthesis?
• Is schema the same as background knowledge?
• Who decides what is important in text-the reader or the author?

 Related Post:

-  7 Power Thinking Tools

 

   

 

Together We Are Smarter. What's Your Take? Comment Here.

Who has the Acronym pedia?

They help me learn, they assist me in teaching. I know some teachers have a love/hate relationship with acronyms.  Truth be told -- I love, love, love acronyms.

How do you use acronyms, particularly acronym creating in your classrooms?  And does anyone have an Acronym-pedia?  An Acronymtionary?  Wouldn't that be a fun project?

Here's a recent acronym I used to help explain how to G.R.O.W. learners (more on how I used it in a different piece):

GROW

View more presentations from angelamaiers.

What's your favorite acronym and how do you use it?

Together We Are Smarter. What's Your Take? Comment Here.

Training like Champions

To Be a Champion, You Must Train Like a Champion"
-Author Unknown-

Every successful learner knows that if you want to be good at something, find someone who is better and learn from them. This timeless model of apprentice has been a successful training secret of all who have reached greatness. Even our wisest recognize the power of effective modeling; Aristotle kept a picture of Plato on his wall for guidance and inspiration.

I have studied winning champions and heroes from every field. Great philosophers and world leaders, professional athletes and top business executives, parents and teachers to reveal the secrets to their great success and achievements. You may be asking what an Olympic athletes gold medal or a scientist’s discovery has to do with teaching reading comprehension strategies, and my response is everything!

Success in reading is made of the same principles and ideals that success in all walks of life entails. With the breakthroughs in medical science, these invaluable pieces of wisdom have been confirmed through hard science. We are training the next generation of champions who will seek out positions of leadership and expertise. Whether their path leads them to world greatness or personal contentment, these traits of success are ageless and timeless and offer for our students hope and support in all they seek to accomplish. As teachers we seek personal, social, spiritual, and academic championship for our students. Learning how champions operate can guide us in supporting our student’s abilities to get there.

The difference between a successful learner and a learner who struggles does not lie in a score or percentile, but within the habits and attitudes -- Habitudes -- each learner possesses. Information that can guide you and the students in your classroom to true learning success may be found within the answers to the following questions. Take a few minutes to reflect upon them from both a teacher and a learners’ perspective. 

How would you respond to the following as a reader and a learner?

• How do successful learners define success?
• What is the most important thing you do to grow yourself as a learner?
• What do successful learners do that make them successful?
• What do successful learners do to maximize their efficiency?
• What hinders your success as a learner?
• What do you do to get over that obstacle?
• What do successful learners do when they are not motivated?
• What do successful learners do when they do not know the subject well?
• How does your attitude affect you as a learner?
• What do you attribute for your learning success?

Which question(s) strike home for your learning and teaching?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Reading WITHOUT Meaning - The Conversation Continues (angelamaiers.com)
• Recipe for Learning Success: I DO, YOU DO, WE DO (angelamaiers.com)

Together We Are Smarter. What's Your Take? Comment Here.

International Literacy Day: A Celelebration of Literacy

Literacy always gives cause for celebration, but today on International Literacy Day, we acknowledge the importance and power of literacy at a personal, national, and  global level.  This year, International Literacy Day will put the spotlight on the empowering role of literacy and its importance for participation, citizenship and social development.

Despite many and varied efforts, literacy remains an elusive target: some 776 million adults lack minimum literacy skills which means that one in five adults is still not literate; 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. (UNESCO, 2009)

It is important to take this into consideration as we engage in literacy work and discussions with students. Our conversations need to encompass more than the skills and strategies of the process, and move toward helping students realize that literacy is a privilege that affords individuals, organizations, and communities power.

Imagine the difference we would see in the conversations, levels of engagement, and yes, even test scores if our students viewed literacy from this lens rather than from a narrow checklist of isolated skills seeking to be covered. Imagine what would happen if ALL students saw literacy as a gift, a privledge, and a fundamental human right.

On this International Literacy Day, I urge all teachers, parents, and students to make that difference. We can strengthen our commitment to promoting global literacy by starting a new conversation. I have jotted down a few ways to begin:   

• Literacy as a Privilege:  We often fail to understand the gifts and privileges we have been afforded until we can see our what our lives would be like without that opportunity. Helping students understand what life is like without literacy gives them a greater appreciation and understanding of how blessed their lives are because they are literate. One of my favorite books to help put "students in the shoes of illiteracy"  is Marie Bradby's book, More Than Anything Else, the heartfelt story of a young man yearning to be literate in a time where only few were given that privilege. Not only are readers moved and inspired by this young learners quest for literacy, they leave the story even more amazed after learning that the amazing young man was Booker T. Washington.
• Literacy as Empowerment: Dr. Lalage Bown will give this year’s International Literacy Day Lecture. In his speech he reminds the world that “even the simplest acquisition of literacy can have a profoundly empowering effect personally, socially and politically”. With that in mind, we can focus our instruction on the empowering role literacy plays in our own lives. It is important that we model and demonstrate for students the ways in which literacy gives them the tools to improve their study, participate in discussions, gain access to information they wonder and care about, and enable each one of them to have and share their voice with the world.
• Literacy - Past, Present, and Future: The understanding of who is literate and who is illiterate has evolved considerably over the years. Being literate today is not just about the ability to read a story and enjoy good books, it is about being empowered.  United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said it best:  “Literacy is not just about reading and writing; it is about respect, opportunity and development”. The following interview questions can be sent home or shared during a classroom discussion, and are crafted to help students make sense of the changing nature of literacy:

• How has your reading and writing changed in the last five years?
• Describe the ways communication with your friends and family have changed?
• What specific literacy skills are required for your_______ to do their job? Have those requirements changed? If so how, why?
• What is involved in "being literate" in the 21st Century? What is different? What is the same when you compare this to the literacy competencies of the 20th Century?
• What do you see as the most important literacy skills for the 22nd Century?
• What do you feel most excited about? Most challenged by?
• What do you understand and know about literacy in other countries? How would you compare that to the literacy skills and strategies you have been taught?

These conversations have the potential to make an enormous difference - in fact, they can make a world of difference. Take a moment to enjoy and celebrate all the gifts we have and can give because of the amazing power of literacy! Happy Literacy Day, my friends!

Related articles by Zemanta

• A 'Literacy Day' True Story (prathambooks.org)
• Canadian literacy levels mapped online (cbc.ca)
• Books for Kids (digitalphilanthropy.blogspot.com)
• Room to Read (digitalphilanthropy.blogspot.com)
• /R E P E A T -- Literacy Foundation's 20th anniversary: we need your words of hope more than ever/ (newswire.ca)

Together We Are Smarter. What's Your Take? Comment Here.

Lesson Planning Workshop - Part 1

In my teaching and consulting career, I've planned hundreds of lessons. My training had always been approach the lesson as the teacher. But there's a better way, especially when working in groups and teams. Come to the table a reader and a writer. As a learner.

This video is a demonstration of how a planning conversation might begin. This lesson planning session was part of our Omaha Institute and will be continued next week.

This one-hour workshop will be presented in three parts. This is the first of three.

Together We Are Smarter. What's Your Take? Comment Here.