SECONDARY CONTENT AREA TEACHING METHODS

September 3, 2009SNC

Mary Hochstetler

Connecting/ReconnectingFOUR CORNERS

Gather in groups of 4

Create the chart shown

OUTSIDE OF THE CIRCLE

INSIDE OF THE CIRCLE

Introductions

Learning . . .

“ . . . a relatively permanent change, due to experience, either in behavior or in mental representations or associations”. Ormrod (2006)

Theorists

Behaviorists: Pavlov, Skinner

Cognitivists: Piaget, Vygotsky

Teaching’s main goal is to promote student achievement

Preconceptions

Misconceptions

Private Universe

As you watch the DVD note preconceptions, misconceptions, teacher methodology, results

Now for your content area

Think of potential misconceptions students may arrive in YOUR future classroom with

List 2 or 3 on a sticky, leave space and begin to think about how you would reverse these “private theories”

Groups of 4

Metacognition

Becoming aware of the process of learning

Thinking about one’s own thinking

BENEFIT: shown to help learners SOLIDIFY LEARNING

Two basic processes occurring simultaneously: monitoring your progress as you learn and making changes and adapting your strategies if you perceive you are not doing so well. (Winn & Snyder, 1998)

Novice Learner vs Expert Learner

Novice Learners: Don’t stop and evaluate their comprehension of the material, don’t examine the quality of their work or stop to make revisions. GENERALLY they don’t attempt to examine a problem in depth, attempt to make connections or see the relevance to their lives.

Expert Learners: DO all the above.

For your content area

You assign a chapter of reading in your content area. How would the novice learner approach the assignment versus an expert learner?

Successful learners use metacognitive strategies

Awareness

Planning

Monitoring & Reflecting

Awareness

Consciously identify what you know

Define the learning goal

Consider personal resources

Consider the task requirements

Determine how performance will be evaluated

Consider motivation level

Determine anxiety level

Planning

Estimate time required to complete the task

Plan study time into schedule

Set priorities

Make a checklist

Organize materials

Use strategies to learn such as outlining, diagramming, mnemonics, etc

Monitoring and Reflecting

Reflect by keeping track of what works and what does not work for you

Monitor learning by questioning and testing yourself

Provide feedback to yourself

Keep concentration and motivation at a high level

Assignment from last week

Small groups with presenters taking turns and listeners giving feedback using index cards.

Next week’s homework

Read Chapter 2 in our text

Page 59: Find your content area’s professional website and explore it. Write a one page summary. Think about what you found helpful, what else you “wish” would have been included on the website and any other thoughts about the website and it’s potential application to your teaching.