In my CEP 810 class this week, I have been asked to write an essay that explores learning, understanding, and conceptual change. Reading the first three chapters of Bransford, Brown & Cocking’s (2000) How People Learn provided me with some time to sit back and reflect on what I am doing well as a teacher and also how I can improve my own teaching. I have written about the importance of understanding your students’ background knowledge. Also featured is the importance of designing learning experiences that set students up for future transfer of learning. I also discuss a few teaching methods that can improve student learning. Click here to see the essay.
- Comment
- Reblog
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Tech In Lower El 
I enjoyed reading your essay and agree that understanding the importance of background knowledge is critical in teaching our students. I liked your “hands-on, minds on” idea for your district in respect to revamping the social studies curriculum; perhaps this course can spark some ideas you can take back to your school! I also plan on checking out the book you mentioned on formative assessments, Cultures of Thinking.
LikeLike
I appreciate your feedback. I highly recommend looking into Visible Thinking. Here’s a link to a few great thinking routines to get you started: http://www.visiblethinkingpz.org/VisibleThinking_html_files/03_ThinkingRoutines/03c_CoreRoutines.html I started with asking “What makes you say that?” to encourage deeper thinking and to get students explaining their thinking. Zoom-In is a fun one that students really enjoy and can get great conversations going. Let me know if you have questions!
LikeLike