activate learning

July 1, 2011

Sorry for the delay in posting this blog. I left the book on an airplane and had to reorder!  I promise to blog more frequently and besides I truly like this book and all the very practical classroom applications Norris shares with her readers. She cites many other authors and their books and I will include those in my post whenever possible.  Chapter 3 covers how to activating prior learning in your students. The author states that we (educators) have to help students create brain addresses for new learning. I like this concept because I deal with dev-ed students and they often do not have good retention skills so I was interested to learn more.

Norris believes teachers need to activate prior learning regularly with students. She likes to use warm-ups that bring the students into the subject to be taught. Here is an example: Teaching nursing ethics, the instructor can ask students to turn to a partner (she is big on sharing with a partner) and describe a time the student was stuck between a rock and a hard place, what did the student do and why? How did he/she feel? Right away a simple conversation has anchored the topic of an ethical dilemma in the student’s mind. Here are some other techniques she recommends to help students activate prior learning in warm-ups:

·         KWL chart- with colored post it notes

·         Multiple Intelligence bingo-can substitute other topics

·         Passion posters-teacher places quotes around the room (in this case about stress) and ask students to stand near the one that speaks to them.

I plan on giving all of these a try this fall but already I am wracking my brain on how to integrate this into an English class. Final thought for you all...60% of us learn by seeing, 25% learn by doing, and 15% learn by hearing. It is important to use all three components when you teach. There lies the challenge.