Module 5: Enhancing Learning

After reading Ormrod's chapter 13 "Transfer and Problem Solving" the most significant knowledge that I found imperative to teaching and learning is when Ormrod says "meaningful learning promotes better transfer that rote learning; the more thoroughly something is learned the more likely it is to be transferred to a new situation; the more similar two situations are the more likely it is that something learned in one situation will be applied to the other situation" (399-400). After reading the above factors that affect transfer, it became apparent that if a teacher is aware of the different ways that students learn they would take this into consideration when planning lessons. This means planning for building the knowledge that the students already have or increasing the knowledge they may have about a particular subject. Effective strategies a teacher can use are K-W-L organizers, entrance and exit tickets, concept mapping, and web building. All strategies ask for students to share their knowledge of what they know, others ask for students to make connections about what they know to what they learned. Once a teacher is aware of what they know, it is easier to make the situation similar or meaningful. Once the meaning and background is acknowledged then the new learning is easier to transfer. As an administrator is it imperative that these questions are asked of teachers to ensure they truly understand how their students learn best and enhance the learning for each and every student.

http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/concept_maps/
http://www.edrawsoft.com/ConceptMap.php
https://www.msu.edu/course/cep/886/Reading%20Comprehension/7Learn_Serv_Proj_KWL.html
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/kwl/
http://www.litandlearn.lpb.org/strategies/strat_kwl.pdf

Organizing Schemes is the Key to Learning by: Christie Robinson

"Jean Piaget proposed that through interacting with and reflecting on their physical and social worlds, children self-construct increasingly complex understandings and reasoning abilities with age" (Ormrod, 308). Although Piaget's research is correct and natural, it is important that teachers aid in the natural development and provide different way to increase the complex understanding and reasoning as they teach. Even though children create schemes of their own naturally, it is vital that teachers help students reflect their schemes in order to reorganize and return to equilibrium. One important key idea to Piaget's theory is "the process of equilibration promotes progression toward increasingly complex forms of thought" (Ormrod, 312). This key part of the theory is vital to develop in school. "Piaget suggested that children are sometimes in a state of equilibrium: they can comfortably interpret and respond to new events using existing schemes. But this equilibrium doesn't continue indefinitely. As children grow they frequently encounter situations for which their current knowledge and skills are inadequate. Such situations create disequilibrium, a sort of mental "discomfort" that spurs them to try and makes sense of what they observe. By replacing, reorganizing, or better integrating their schemes (in other words, through accommodation), children eventually are able to understand and address previously puzzling events" (Ormrod, 312). As a teacher it is important to build background knowledge through having the students think about what they already know about the topic presented. Pre-thinking must be brought to their attention in order for the students to understand that they do have a scheme(s) about the specific topic. Just as important is returning to the pre- thinking and comparing to the post- thinking. Some of the the most effective ways to do this are to use techniques such as: K-W-L, entrance/exit tickets, anticipation guides, concept maps, graphic organizers (Venn, T-chart, triangular, sequence, picture notes, concept of definition map), and pre- and post- reading entries. The above strategies are scientifically research based strategies from CRISS or SIOP and they enable the learner to build on their schemes in order to "makes sense of what they observe"(312). In addition the strategies help students go through the process of "replacing, reorganizing, or better integrating their schemes (in other words, through accommodation), children eventually are able to understand and address previously puzzling events" (312). It is vital that teachers aid the disequilibrium to move back to equilibrium by providing the structure through the examples mentioned above. Organizing the students thinking helps for a more comprehensive understanding of complex ideas and reasoning. 

ATTENTION AND SIGNIFICANCE IS VITAL TO LEARNING!

Grabbing the attention and bring significance to your lesson is the most important part of a helping your students understand the content and move the content into their working memory. Administrator's expect/hope to see scientifically research based instruction during an observation to help create the meaning of the lesson and to keep their attention on the lesson. Ormrod states "information that an individual pays attention to moves on to working memory whereas information that is not attended may be lost from the memory system". With that being stated, it is vital an observation has a meaningful initiation in the lesson. How does the teacher activate the class' attention in regards to the lesson? It is important that one of the eight factors that Ormrod mentions that influence attention should be considered when creating the initiation for a lesson (motion, size, intensity, novelty, incongruity, emotion, personal significance, and social cues). What exactly does this mean for you as a teacher? This means being creative. For example, any vocabulary can be brought to life through motion or action. Asking the students to create a motion with the meaning of a word will definitely bring attention to the lesson and bring significance and help the students move the meaning of the word into working memory. In addition a teacher sharing their emotion of a lesson will make or break a lesson. If a teacher models positive passion about a lesson then that passion will transferred to the students. 

Besides having a great initiation that captures meaning to the students, the instructional practices that administrators should see during formal or informal observations would be one of the working memory or "thinking" that Ormrod refers to (176). Any instructional practices that enables the students to think about the lesson is working memory. Effective strategies that I have used in my own classroom and I have seen other teachers use to move the content into working memory would be "think-pair-share", "everybody writes" , "think-write-pair-share", "read and retell", "exit/entrance tickets", "nonliguistic representations", "summarizing and note taking", "identifying similarities and differences" and "higher order thinking questions". All of the strategies listed above have been proven by SIOP, CRISS, and Marzano's research. These strategies get the learner to think about the lesson and bring meaning to the lesson. 


To be an effective teacher it is important to consider using research based instructional strategies to help students to "think", grab and keep their attention and are meaningful to move the new knowledge into working memory. As an administrator it is our job to provide the professional development for teachers to ensure that teachers are aware of the best strategies to help their students succeed and learn.