Draw out preconceptions of students to either reinforce or abolish them

Many teachers tend to forget the very important fact that students come into a classroom, and into a particular subject with prior knowledge and ideas. Even if a child has never been formally introduced to a topic, he or she will produce a theory to explain their observations. As an example, when told the earth is round, some children envision it as a pancake shape, because this allows them to continue in their preconceived idea that the earth is flat. Teachers who attempt to identify preconceptions before teaching a new subject can reinforce correct ideas, and pay close attention to specifically disproving incorrect ideas. When this is not done, children who harbor incorrect preconceptions may form a misunderstanding of the new material being taught, as in the pancake example.

Place information in the relevant conceptual framework of curriculum and existing knowledge

It has been shown that children can learn more efficiently when the concepts they are expected to master are connected in a meaningful way. This way, the students’ thinking can be more fluid and they are able to make connections more easily between different concepts they have learned. Also, unless learning is aligned with outside goals (from the school, the community, etc.) what students learn may not be valued by others. Using existing knowledge means utilizing lessons the students have previously been taught in school. If they are already aware of a concept or method, reintroducing it in the same way will be more effective than treating it as new material. Incorporating your materials into the school's curriculum and the state teaching standards can also help further student understanding.

Emphasize depth of learning rather than breadth

Traditional curriculum has stressed that children be educated on a wide variety of topics in each subject. The problem with this is, in the limited time available in most curriculums, children are often introduced to topics but there is no time for them to really understand them. New learning theory suggests that teaching for depth is more effective. In this way, children can take full advantage of the examples that are presented to them, and grow to really understand concepts rather than just glancing over them.

Stress understanding rather than memorization of knowledge

Along the same lines as emphasizing depth rather than breadth of learning, current learning theory is that memorization of facts and data is usually an ineffective method of teaching. When children memorize facts to pass a test, they often forget everything again as soon as the test is over. Instead, emphasizing understanding of underlying concepts and the reasons facts exist as they do is much more lasting and will create more opportunities for transfer. More information on teaching for understanding can be found on the Teaching for Understanding page.

Provide opportunities for development of metacognitive skills

Children learn most effectively when they are aware of how they are learning. To a certain extent, everyone has some metacognitive skills that allow this self-awareness. However, it can be cultivated in a student by a skillful teacher. Opportunities for self-assessment and explaining thought processes are some ways to develop these skills, as well as any kind of “active learning

Provide flexibility so that lessons can be reconfigured to meet specific goals

This suggestion is more for the convenience of the teacher than anything else. Lesson plans are time consuming to develop. Therefore, any time a lesson can be reused it saves a substantial amount of work. Also, since schedules in a classroom are often unpredictable, a lesson may need to be altered to fit into an allotted time or introduce an important topic quickly. It is useful to keep possible alterations in mind while creating a lesson plan.

Place lesson in appropriate nested learning environments

There are four types of learning environments recognized by current learning theory: learner-centered, knowledge-centered, assessment-centered, and community-centered. In fact, these are all different aspects of the environment that should be cultivated in a classroom. By keeping in mind that all of these features should be included in any lesson, your students will receive a more complete learning experience. More information on learning environments is available on the Vocabulary page.

Create opportunities for transfer of knowledge to other situations

One of the most difficult problems for teachers is finding ways to help students make connections between a concept and its applications in other situations. Often, children will learn and understand an idea, but be unable to apply it or even to realize that it could be applied in other situations other than the specific case in which it was learned. A lesson that helps children transfer knowledge will provide varied examples and connections to the outside world. More information on learning transfer can be found on the Vocabulary page.

Include both formative and summative assessments that are in line with teaching practices

Both during and after a lesson is taught and a set of concepts are learned, students’ understanding must be assessed. One of the most important details to remember about assessments is that to be effective, they must assess what the children were asked to learn in the lesson. This seems obvious, but often teachers create assessments that test only memorization when they teach for understanding, or test for understanding when the students have been memorizing facts. In depth information on assessments can be found on the Assessment Checklist.

Understanding versus memorization

The old style of teaching used to stress memorization. Today we know that while memorization still has its place in some subjects, a student’s understanding of the underlying concepts is often more important. Transfer, which is transferring learning from one situation to another, is facilitated by understanding. This means that for something taught in school to be useful outside of the classroom, the student must truly understand it. Children remember more of what they are taught when they understand the concepts and principles behind it. They also tend to use their knowledge for problem solving more effectively. These are just some of the reasons why teaching for understanding is stressed in modern schools. More information on learning transfer can be found on the Vocabulary page.

Time for learning

One of the major criticisms of teaching for understanding is that it takes a long time. It is often quicker to have students memorize facts than to teach for understanding. However, learning takes time. It has been shown that giving students time to process information allows them to learn and remember it better. The most important thing to remember is to be realistic about the amount of time it will take to teach a concept. Nothing goes quickly in K-12!

Learning motivation

In general, people are motivated to develop competence. This is what makes humans good learners. As a teacher, there are ways to capitalize on this tendency. Remember to keep challenges at the proper difficulty level. Too much difficulty will discourage students, while too little will quickly lose their interest. Rewards and punishments can also enhance motivation. One example of an interesting reward is social opportunity. It has been shown that students are more motivated when they can see the usefulness of what they are learning and how that knowledge can be used to impact others. Keeping students motivated will make every other part of teaching much easier.

Mirror good instruction

This means that students must be assessed in the same manner in which they are taught. The hope is that teaching methods will follow the principles of learning and understanding and assessments will mirror this. The most important thing to remember is to assess the same way you teach, no matter what method is used. More information on learning and understanding can be found on the Vocabulary page, the Learning and Memory Strategies page and the Teaching for Understanding page.

Stress understanding rather than memorization of information

While this point is contingent upon the one above, if teaching practices are in line with the principles of learning and understanding it should not be an issue. Memorization has been found to be ineffective as a learning method for most concepts, and most lessons are instead taught for understanding. Therefore, assessments should match these lessons and test for understanding. For a more in depth look at the reasons for teaching for understanding, consult the Lesson Plan Checklist and the Teaching for Understanding page.

Provide continuously, but not intrusively, as a part of instruction

Assessments must happen continuously because end of term assessments are not sufficient. As is detailed on the Vocabulary page, there are two types of assessment, formative and summative. Formative assessments take place throughout the course of learning, and their purpose is mostly to provide feedback for improvement, both for the teacher and the student. Summative assessments take place at the end of a unit of learning. Both are necessary to develop a good understanding of a student’s grasp of the material. For more thorough definitions of formative and summative assessments, consult the Vocabulary page.

Provide information (to teachers, students, and parents) about the levels of understanding that students are reaching

Assessments do not function only to provide a grade for students. For an assessment to be worthwhile, it must supply a reliable measure of student understanding. Then, teachers can form a plan of what next steps need to be taken to increase understanding, students have a starting place on which to base new knowledge, and parents have concrete proof of their child’s progress.

Attempt to align assessments with national and state achievement tests

The development of strategies

Children are not born knowing how to strategize for the improvement of their memory. As a child gains experiences, strategies are slowly developed that allow more effective learning. Current research shows that this process begins very early, perhaps in the first year of life. It is now known that discoveries of learning strategies most often occur in the framework of a successful learning experience, rather than a failure. In addition, a child will often need an intermediate step, such as an imperfect or half-formed strategy, before crystallizing a final strategy, and even once a strategy is finalized, generalization occurs slowly. This means that a student will not necessarily realize that a strategy that worked on one problem is capable of working on other problems or in other situations as well. While every student will be different, having this general knowledge should allow you to encourage the development of strategies inside your classroom.

Example strategy: clustering

The human brain can efficiently remember around 7 pieces of information at a time. After this, any more information is processed poorly. To get around this, people use the “chunking effect”, or clustering. Clustering is an organizational strategy that allows more information to be remembered by grouping together disparate elements into categories that makes sense to the person. Clustering is important because it has been shown to improve the performance of both children and adults who use it.

Example strategy: metacognition

Metacognition, as it is described on the Vocabulary page, means knowledge about learning, and knowledge about how one learns. However, metacognition is also important as a strategy because it includes self-regulation, or the ability to be in charge of one’s own learning, and the ability to reflect on one’s performance. Metacognition is the strategy that underlies all other learning and memory strategies, because it gives the learner the ability to plan and carry out strategies. Without some form of metacognition, a student would not even realize that a strategy was necessary.

Use of multiple strategies

For the purposes of this handbook, two of the most noted learning and memory strategies have been outlined. However, there are conceivably dozens of possible strategies that a student could use, ranging from a strategy that only works on arithmetic problems, to the more general strategies of clustering and metacognition. Strategies differ in their accuracy, in the amounts of time required for their use, in their difficulty level, and in the type of problems for which it is useful. Because of this, it is vital for a student to be capable of using a wide range of strategies, which can be chosen based on the situation.

Multiple intelligences

The theory of multiple intelligences describes the existence of seven different kinds of intelligence, all of which are relatively independent. These are: linguistic, logical, musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. While the full implications of this theory are still being discovered at many schools, it is important to remember that the children in your classroom will differ and may have a wide variety of talents and challenges. Students will learn and use strategies in different ways depending on what intelligences are their strengths and their weaknesses. Offering many different kinds of activities and assessments will allow all of your students to utilize their particular talents.

21st century learning

Although the term 21st century learning does not appear in How People Learn, the research and theory detailed in the book deal directly with 21st century learning. 21st century learning is a term used for all modern learning practices, and the ways they are different from traditional learning. In recent years, a great deal of learning research has been completed. As a result, the way we think about education has changed significantly. In traditional education, the goals were to teach reading, writing, and calculating. Now, critical and persuasive skills are also taught, and almost every subject involves a higher level of complexity. This is partially in response to the ever-increasing demands of the work force. Coming out of a modern classroom, a student should be prepared to be a fully-functioning member of a complex society. 21st century learning is just the term used to identify these new ideas and expectations.

Assessment

An assessment is a measure of student learning. Assessments benefit students, teachers and parents. They are used to find out how well a student has learned material, and to give direction to the student’s further learning efforts. Teachers can use this information to adjust lessons to fill in gaps in student knowledge. Parents sometimes do not see much of their child’s schoolwork, and assessments may be the most concrete way they have to monitor learning progress. It is important to remember that assessments must be in line with teaching style and learning goals. Students should be assessed on what they were expected to learn, and in a way that is similar to the format that was used for teaching. There are two kinds of assessments, formative and summative.

Formative Assessment
Formative assessments happen during the course of learning. They are mostly a form of feedback, both for the student and the teacher. Formative assessments are most effective when they are continuous but not intrusive. In this way, teachers are continually gaining a better understanding of their students’ thinking, and students eventually can learn to self-assess their work and peer-assess the work of other students. Formative assessment can be in the form of teacher comments on worksheets or draft papers, or quizzes during the course of instruction.

Summative Assessment
Summative assessments happen at the end of learning. They measure the results of learning after learning goals should have already been met. Due to this, they are less useful for feedback because students do not have an opportunity for revision. However, summative assessments are still necessary as a way of grading and quantifying student learning. Summative assessment usually happens in the form of a test.

Learning environments

A learning environment is the environment cultivated in a classroom to enhance learning. There are four types of learning environments, learner-centered, knowledge-centered, assessment-centered, and community-centered. To create the most conducive environment to learning, a teacher should include all of these facets in the classroom.

Learner-centered
In a learner-centered environment the teacher must be aware of the students’ attributes and ideas. This includes identifying preconceptions, as is discussed in the Lesson Plan Checklist, but also goes much deeper into an understanding of students’ backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses and ideas about learning. Cultural background can affect the learning styles to which a student will respond. This is mostly because the teaching styles a student is exposed to at home can vary cross-culturally. Also, the way a student views learning can have an effect. Some students are performance oriented and focus on achieving good grades, while others are learning oriented and focus on increasing their understanding. These and a variety of other outside factors can affect the way a student learns. A teacher who understands and can identify these factors will be more effective at reaching students.

Knowledge-centered
The knowledge-centered environment is a tool to achieve learning with understanding. The teacher must have a high awareness of what material is being taught, and why and how it is being presented. The focus is first on content that is appropriate and serves a clear educational purpose. But to create learning with understanding, the teacher must go deeper than this, and focus also on presentation of the content, and organizing information in a manner that will promote a deep understanding of concepts. Finally, a teacher must be aware of what mastery of content will look like when students have achieved learning with understanding.

Assessment-centered
Assessments are clearly a necessary part of any classroom. But having an assessment-centered learning environment means that these assessments are continuous and imbedded in the curriculum. Often, summative assessments are conducted for the purpose of creating grades while formative assessments are neglected. However, formative assessments are usually more useful to both the teacher and the student to increase learning. Formative assessments make the student’s thoughts transparent to the teacher. They give an indication of the student’s level of understanding, allowing the teacher to make adjustments to instruction accordingly. An assessment-centered environment takes full advantage of this, using formative assessments as a tool to enhance learning.

Community-centered
A community-centered environment is based on the understanding that learning is influenced by the context in which it takes place. This context includes several different levels, such as the classroom, the school, and the neighborhood, town or city in which the students live. Teachers must develop a classroom community that promotes learning and student support of each other. In this community, students will not be afraid to ask a question, or take an educated guess when they are not sure of an answer. Intellectual communities within a classroom where students can work together and feel safe to approach challenges have been shown to increase learning. Then, the intellectual community can be extended outside the classroom, making connections throughout the school and neighborhood, making learning more relevant to students’ lives.

Learning transfer

Learning transfer is the ability to use an idea or principle learned in one situation in a different situation. Learning can be transferred between situations within a classroom, from one year to another in school, or to a situation outside of the classroom. Transfer can involve something as simple as understanding that one can use the mathematical concept of addition to add apples and also to add cars. All learning involves some kind of transfer, even if it only comes from preconceptions. It is an active process in which a student learns to understand when, how, and why to use certain knowledge. Transfer is closely related to and can be improved by learning with understanding and metacognition.

Learning with understanding/Teaching for understanding

Learning with understanding is a relatively new idea in education. Traditionally, most curricula have emphasized memorization, which often leaves little time for students to really understand concepts presented to them. True understanding can help students remember concepts, rather than facts, long after they have been assessed on the information, and can facilitate learning transfer. While facts are still important in many disciplines, learning with understanding connects these facts in a meaningful way that makes the knowledge much more useful. Teaching for understanding is the methods used to facilitate learning with understanding, and a more detailed description of how this is accomplished can be found on the Teaching for Understanding page.

Metacognition

Metacognition is an awareness of how one learns. This awareness often takes the form of an internal conversation. A person with well developed metacognitive skills should be able to predict how well they will perform on a task, and monitor their progress as learning continues. This person can recognize their current limits, and what they do not know, and take steps to increase their knowledge and expand their limits. Initially, most students will need teacher prompting to fully develop these skills, but eventually metacognition should allow them to take more control of their own learning, and will facilitate learning transfer.

Principles of learning and understanding

The principles of learning and understanding are similar to 21st century learning. Due to the research that has been and is still being conducted on the ways people learn, researchers have developed this general set of principles that describe the processes of learning and understanding. All of the information provided on this website is part of these principles, plus much more that has not been included.

Art Center

Art Center Instructions

At this center you will learn about the life cycle of plants from the Northwestern United States and attempt an accurate scientific picture of various stages of one plant’s life. For scientists, it is often very useful to look at pictures of what they’re studying. It sometimes helps to not only look at a picture, but make your own to show yourself how much you understand.

Look at the pictures of plants at the center. Each plant is shown in four stages of its life cycle: flower, fruit, seedling, and adult plant. You should notice that while the life cycle stages are the same (flower, fruit, seedling and adult), they look different for each plant. While not every plant goes through exactly the same life cycle, these are examples of a common and successful life cycle.

Instructions:
1. Choose one of the plants for your art project.
2. With a pencil and ruler, divide your piece of paper into four equal sections.
3. Using the art supplies provided at the center, draw the four life stages of your plant, one in each section of your paper.
4. Color using colored pencils each of your four stages.
5. Label each stage as flower, seed, seedling, or adult plant.
6. Discuss your drawing with the members of your group.
7. Questions to consider when discussing your drawing:
        • Did you draw the life stages accurately?
        • What similarities do you see between you and your classmates’ drawings in each stage?
        • What differences do you see?
        • What do the similarities/differences tell you about plants in this area of the United States?
        • What characteristics could help you recognize this plant when hiking or riding your bike?

Food Web Center

Food Web Center Instructions

At this center you will learn about food webs in the ecosystem where you live. In any ecosystem, all of the organisms (living things) depend on one another to live. Every living being must get energy from somewhere else, this is called an energy cycle. For example; plants get energy from photosynthesis, animals eat plants or other animals to get energy (just like you!), and fungi and bacteria digest the bodies of dead animals and plants to get their energy. Without these relationships, no organism (living thing) would be able to live for very long.

In your field research on the Gallatin River, you and your classmates collected data on the organisms living in this ecosystem. Using this data, you can create a food web of the Gallatin River that illustrates how each organism (living thing) gets its energy.

Look at the sample food web provided for you at the center. Food webs are drawn to show the connections between all of the organisms in an ecosystem. Each organism is drawn or represented by a symbol, and then lines are drawn to connect organisms that eat or are eaten by other organisms. Producers like plants, fungi and bacteria are at the bottom of the food web. Consumers, such as elk, bears, and wolves are at the top or middle of the food web. Now point out to each other the following terms we just discussed.
      • Organism symbols
      • Connection/relationship lines
      • Consumer/Producer

Instructions:
Using the supplies provided at the center, create your own food web with your group. To do this:
1. Include all of the organisms observed during the class field trips to the Gallatin River.
2. Label each organism on your food web.
3. Connect each organism to other organisms that it has an energy relationship to. If you are unsure about how an organism should be connected to other organisms, use the guide books provided at the center to find out more about what animals eat.
4. Make your food web as detailed as possible.
      • Include and label ALL organisms that you gathered from your observations on the Gallatin River.
      • Include accurate connections using arrows to label the relationships.
      • Colored accurately.

Microscope Center

Microscope Center Instructions

STOP!!!! WARNING!!!!! If you are working at this center you should have already completed the Pond Observation Center.

In addition to the macro-organisms (living things big enough to see) you’ve been studying in the pond, water ecosystems also have microorganisms. These are living things that are too small to see with just your eye. At this center you will complete your experiment by observing microorganisms from the pond water with a microscope. The microscope is a tool that will let you see very small organisms that you could otherwise not see with your naked eye.

Instructions:

1. As a group, answer Question #1 on the experiment guide BEFORE YOU START YOUR OBSERVATIONS.
2. Find an adult in the room who is not working with others to assist you. If one is not available raise your hand and one will come to you.
3. WITH THE ADULT, collect a drop of water from the pond using a water dropper.
4. Carefully put the drop of water on a microscope slide and cover it with a cover slip.
5. When your slide is ready, you will begin observing the organisms just like in the Pond Observation Center; only this time you will do it through a microscope.
6. After close observation, be sure to fill out your data sheets completely and write down all observations.
7. To complete your experiment, use the scientific method to answer the questions on the experiment guide.

Pond Observation Center

Pond Observation Center Instructions

Water ecosystems can be very challenging. So many different organisms (living things) live in water environments, and they all interact with each other in different ways. The classroom pond is a model of a larger water ecosystem. In the pond, many different organisms live together, just like in a real pond. The organisms you can see in the pond are called macro-organisms. These are organisms that are big enough to see with the naked eye. There are also other organisms, called microorganisms that you cannot see. You will study these later.

In this center, you will work through an experiment using the scientific method.

Instructions:
1. Find your scientific method guide.
2. With your group, read the scientific method guide out loud. Discuss each step with your group.
3. Answer the questions on the experiment guide.
4. Observe the organisms in the pond. Look closely at how the organism moves, it’s body structure, and how it interacts with other organisms.
5. After close observation, be sure to fill out your data sheets completely and write down all observations.

Reading Center

Reading Center Instructions

At this center you will learn about watershed ecosystems. Try to find connections to the watershed that you live in as you read. Remember your critical reading skills!

Each day, you will read one of the 5 articles at the center.

Instructions:
1. Read the article together.
2. Discuss the article as a group.
3. Complete the reading guide for the article.