Five at more than twenty

Read time is 3 ½ minutes

In keeping with the summarizing theme, this post is a summary of five of Robert Marzano’s top Return on Investment learning strategies: Homework and Practice; Nonlinguistic Representations;  Cooperative Learning; Generating and Testing Hypothesis;  and Questions, Cues, and Advance Organizers.

• Homework and Practice: (28 percentile gain) The single most important information about Homework and Practice is to let the learner (and the learner’s parents) know the objective of the practice at home. If the objective of the practice is not clear, learners should respectfully ask what the purpose of the practice is. That way everyone knows the importance.  

• Nonlinguistic Representations: (27 percentile gain) These maps, graphs, timelines, or drawings rely only secondarily on words. For instance, when acquiring new vocabulary, drawing a sketch that depicts the meaning of the new term cements the meaning of the new word for the learner.  One of the most powerful uses of nonlinguistic representations is formative assessment. Both the learner and the teacher can see at a quick glance what information is unclear or has not been mastered. The learner then knows what s/he needs to work on more. Nonlinguistic representation builds on the Identifying Similarities and Differences strategy. Resources can be found at http://freeology.com/graphicorgs/. 

• Cooperative Learning: (23 percentile gain) The most important information about cooperative learning is to use affinity grouping. In other words, design groups with learners who are similar rather than learners with highest and lowest ability. We learn better from someone who is right next to us in knowledge or ability rather than someone who is far more advanced. When creating your own study group, find partners who are just a bit ahead of or below your understanding. Find specific techniques for using Cooperative Learning at http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/cooperative/techniques.html

• Generating and Testing Hypothesis: (23 percentile gain) This strategy is not just for science, but for any content area that involves investigating and making a decision. Isn’t that any content area? Notice the strategy is called generating and TESTING hypothesis. The key component of Generating and Testing Hypothesis is going beyond testing to defending the conclusion that the hypothesis led to. Specific techniques for using Generating and Testing Hypothesis can be found at http://techtraining.brevard.k12.fl.us/hooverj/InstructionalStrategies/Generating&TestingHypotheses.htm

• Questions, Cues, and Advance Organizers: (22 percentile gain) The most important aspect of this strategy is questions. Learners, of course, need to ask questions about what is unclear. Teachers need to pose only questions that are not “googleable.” Replace questions that can be answered with facts with more rigorous questions that start with such phrases as, “How would you compare…with…?” or “What is meant by…?” or “What facts would you select to show…?” or “What would be your original way to…?” Other rigorous question starters can be found at http://svesd.net/files/DOK_Question_Stems.pdf  or http://doe.sd.gov/octe/documents/WebbLevel.pdf. Additional techniques for using Questions, Cues, and Advance Organizers can be found at http://effectiveinstructionalstrategies.weebly.com/cues-questions-and-advance-organizers.html

Whew…this post was taxing for me—there is so much important information, I had to constantly remind myself that  summarizing is not only writing down key information, but it is also dismissing less important information. 

There are plenty of weeks left of the school year. Try one of the strategies each week. Repeat the strategies that are particularly helpful. Consider adding a comment about which works well for you.

In the next post, I’ll discuss another top learning strategy—Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition.

Think Twitter

Read time is 1 ½ minutes

How are you doing with your anchor word? Consider posting your word in the comments and a short message about how you are doing. For more information about anchor words, see Gretchen Rubin’s blog.

Grit, my word for 2016, takes perseverance and energy--just like developing a habit of new learning strategies does. 

Over the last year I have posted tools for using the highest Return On Investment strategy, identifying similarities and differences. Today let’s look at the second highest ROI strategy, summarizing and notetaking, which still has great results. According to Marzano’s meta-analysis, summarizing and note taking yields a thirty-four percentile gain for learners. 

Summarizing is not only writing down key information, but it is also dismissing less important information. This slight twist of thinking could be a component that learners are missing. When summarizing, think of choosing what is most important and leaving out the rest.

Notice it is important to leave out the rest. The biggest mistake learners make is to keep too much information in the summary. Sorting through what is important and what should be eliminated is the challenge of writing a summary. This skill is more important today than ever before in this abundant information age. Eliminate all but the most important information—think Twitter writing. 

One way to insure eliminating all but the most important is the Three Little Words tool explained in the Dec. 3, 2014 post. Graphic organizers (discussed in the Feb. 15 and Nov. 2015 posts) are other good ways to summarize.

Writing a summary can be a paragraph, an outline, or a graphic organizer—include only the most important information and use your own words for that information. Develop the habit of writing formal or informal summaries to increase learning.

I invite you to summarize this post in the comments section. Challenge yourself to write as few words as possible while keeping the important information.

In the next post, I’ll summarize other top learning strategies that provide more than a twenty percentile gain.

Year of the grit

Read time is less than 2 minutes 

Like many others, I cannot start out the New Year without taking a turn at emphasizing the importance of personal reflection and setting a plan for improvement. Let me suggest something that will have more lasting effect than a New Year’s resolution. 

I no longer set resolutions for myself, but rather I choose a single word for myself each year. I start by taking some time to reflect upon my strengths and weaknesses. Then I choose an anchor word to help me build on those strengths and diminish my weaknesses. 2016 is the year of GRIT for me.

 Sarah Brown Wessling, the 2010 National Teacher of the Year, blogged about what makes great teachers and learners. She suggests great teachers have passion, empathy, and grit; and great learners are risk-takers, gritty, and curious. Notice both lists include grit. Grit can be described as motivation to achieve a long term goal. Grit isn’t easily burned up or used up in the short term—think learning versus getting a good grade on a single exam.

Both successful learners and teachers have grit. It doesn’t come easily but there are ways to gain grit. To  gain grit, Mark McCatty  builds on others' work and suggests ideas such as resolve, endurance, and engage. 

Angela Duckworth also offers some tips. She writes that people who have grit are “comfortable being uncomfortable. They’re falling down a lot. They’re playing things that are too hard. They’re attempting challenges that are too high. They’re getting feedback.” Developing grit sounds a lot like good learning and teaching.

The Examined Existence website suggests steps such as delaying gratification and embracing challenges.

Join me. How about it? Are you willing to set out for the bigger, gritter picture?

If it isn’t grit you want to develop, spend some time reflecting on what would be beneficial to you in 2016. Choose your own anchor word.

In the next post we will go back to powerful learning strategies, since no one can develop grit or any other attribute without learning. 

Metaphors and analogies; fuel and fire

Read time is 4 minutes. 

This second week of December seems the perfect time to look at the most complex strategy for identifying similarities and differences--Metaphors and analogies.

 With a winter break looming, this is the time to challenge yourself to try a complex and sometimes difficult strategy. You know you only have a short time before break, so challenge yourself to try something complex in the short time.

A metaphor is a direct comparison of two unlike things. For instance, a book is food for thought. Books and food are not alike, but yet both can feed thoughts. An analogy is a comparison of one set of two things with another set of two other things.  An example of an analogy is the sun is to day what the moon is to night.  More information on the difference can be found at the Difference Between website.

Remember, any age learner can engage in constructing metaphors andanalogies. The learner builds upon what s/he knows to make the unknown understandable. Metaphors and analogies connect concrete knowledge to concepts. The first step is identifying metaphors and analogies. Creating a metaphor or analogy becomes a second step and forces the learner to think clearly about information, concepts, and his or her own current knowledge. Later take the next step by explaining the similarities within the metaphor or analogy.  The final step is explaining where the similarities may break down.

Metaphors and analogies can be used in any discipline.

One example is the often used science analogy of comparing a water system to electricity. Challenge yourself to take that metaphor one step further and explain how the water system and electricity are alike and how they are not alike. Come up with another metaphor or analogy that helps make electricity understandable for yourself. 

Writing and all language arts topics are full of metaphors and analogies. Beginning writers can start by identifying metaphors and analogies and later learn to use them in their own writing.

To become aware of metaphors and analogies, think about them in categories: 

Body Vocabulary 

• the heart of the city 
• the foot of the mountains/bed/stairs 
• to give a hand 
• to break somebody’s heart 

Weather Vocabulary

• a warm welcome
• to freeze somebody out 
• to be snowed under 
• to storm out 
• a hail of abuse 

See more starters for learners at Teaching English.  Spaghetti Box Kids even suggests competitions.

Metaphors and analogies also make math clearer. The operation of unpacking the terms in parenthesis is a metaphor. Unpacking and solving do not at first seem alike, yet taking the symbols out of the parenthesis just as you would unpack a box—one item at a time before  going on to the next is a metaphor. Look at other math operations to see how they are like real world tasks.

Social studies constantly shows comparisons within history and geography and students make sense of their world. For instance, metaphors can show the comparison of trade agreements with building a house.

Anthony Vecchioni sums up the importance of incorporating metaphors and analogies into learning. “Using metaphors pushes the speaker to sift through experience and memory in search of a fitting comparison. What is it like to start your day without coffee, for example? There is no right answer, but the process of finding the right comparison promotes robust reflection.”

While I was writing this post, I was reflecting on an analogy for learning and teaching. “A learner is to fuel what a teacher is to a fire.” How are the two sets alike? Where does the analogy break down?  What other analogy or metaphor describes learning or teaching for you?

In the next post, we will talk more about the importance of personal reflection on learning and teaching. 

Fact, opinion, rule, practice, concept, cause, effect…oh my

Read time is two and a half minutes. 

It is not new that the learning category of identifying similarities and differences has the highest Return On Investment category, a 45 percentile gain.* In the last post we reviewed the simplest strategies for identifying similarities and differences. A more complex strategy for using similarities and differences is  CATEGORIZING.

CATEGORIZING has long been established as an assessment tool; for a selfish learner (see Oct 6, 2015 post) it can also be a powerful learning tool. An assessment might ask the learner to categorize animals into mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, or amphibians. Other examples of categorizing as assessment might be types of math equations, types of literary characters, types of foreign words--you get the idea. 

Let's turn our perspective of CATEGORIZING to learning rather than showing what we have already learned. To make learning deep, categorize the information into something meaningful for yourself. 

Start with just two categories. Take the information you are learning and place it into each category. Do not allow a category called Other. Use broad or narrow categories.

• What I Know, What Is Unknown
• Tangible, Intangible
• Fact, Opinion

Later, add more categories.

• Known, Unknown, Perceived, Imagined, Tested by Hypothesis
• Tangible, Intangible, Noticeable, Detectable, Simulation 
• Fact, Opinion, Rule, Practice, Concept, Cause, Effect

Other categories can be much simpler.

• Color, Size, Shape, Characteristics

Even later, describe why the information fits into the category.

This last step takes the learning deeper.

Categorizing can be done individually, with partners, or in groups. The deepest learning is when partners or group members agree on the categorization and why elements fit in the selected category.

Categorizing materials for K-6 learners can be found at http://www.readworks.org/lessons/concepts/classify-and-categorize  or http://www.education.com/worksheets/sorting-categorizing/

A quick search on Bing, brought up over a hundred graphic organizers for categorizing for learners of any age.

           

  

In the next blog post, we’ll look at the most complex strategy for identifying similarities and differences--Metaphors and Analogies. Any age learner can engage in constructing metaphors and analogies.

*Robert Marzano’s meta-analysis online at  http://www.marzanoresearch.com/  or in print What Works in Schools (2003).

Better than a selfie…be selfish

Read time is less than three minutes.

As promised in the last post, this post begins to discuss efficient learning strategies. Yes, the newness of the school year has probably worn off, but the curiosity of learning never wears off. 

Curious learners are like those annoying selfie takers—they never get tired of taking selfies.  Curiosity never goes away, either. Whether you are a learner or a teacher (parents are teachers), emphasize the curiosity of learning.

One way to become a more curious (and more efficient) learner is to become a selfish learner. Being selfish as a learner is not bad, but actually good. A selfish learner is one who asks herself/himself, “What does this information mean for me?” or “How can I use this information?” This slight turn of perspective makes a huge difference in learning.

As soon as learners are able to see how the content or process or main idea is useful, they are likely to find ways to learn and use the information.

• If you are learner, simply ask yourself how the information is useful NOW to you—and not just so you can pass the class, but what actual way does it help? Does the information expand your communication skills, help you figure a budget, assist you in building a work bench in the garage, aid you in keeping track of a fitness routine, provide a topic of  conversation with your in-laws, help you make wise picks for your fantasy football team? How can it really help now?
• If you are a teacher or parent, ask the learner how the information is useful NOW to him or her—and not just to pass the test or class, but what actual way does it help? Does the information clarify other information, prepare a basis for future information, compare with a video game or YouTube video? How can it really help now?

Let me repeat, the slight turn of perspective makes a huge difference in learning. Become a selfish learner.

Now let’s talk about how to attain that learning. Robert Marzano’s research continues to show that identifying similarities and differences has the highest yield of learning. The Feb. 28, 2015 post provided some simple specifics about using the comparison/contrast strategy. Click here to review that post.

The comparison/contrast is only one strategy of identifying similarities and differences. My next post will discuss other strategies in identifying similarities and differences, the highest Return On Investment learning category.

The first step is to become a selfish learner; the second step is to compare the new material you will learn to something you already know. 

Choosing a color helps save time? Really?

Read time is less than two minutes.
Although, this tip may require a few new purchases, the purchases can be as simple or elaborate as you choose.

Purchase office or school supplies (folders, markers, highlighters, post-it notes, and flags or labels) in as many different colors as there are members in your household.

Have each member choose a color—it could be the same color as the washcloth s/he chose in the suggestion in my last post.

You can see where today’s blog post is headed:

• Put all papers of each household member into her/his folder. Papers that need to be signed and returned, assignments to turn in, RSVP’s, and anything else that needs action.
• Use a flag or a label of each person’s chosen color to mark appointments, games, and practices on the calendar. In a glance, each household member can see if s/he has anything coming up.
• Use corresponding colored post-it notes to post messages on the refrigerator or other central location for each household member. The messages may include to-do items, lists of chores, reminders, and “attaboy” notes. “Attaboy” notes are crucial to encouraging household members to read the messages.

If your school supply budget has already been spent, use supplies that you already have.

• Instead of using a colored folder, simply color the tab on a manila folder with a different colored marker for each person. Each person still has her/his own folder. 
• Instead of putting labels on the calendar, write the appointment with the colored marker for each person or write with pen and highlight the reminders with different colors. 
• Instead of writing the messages on post-it notes to personalize the list, write the messages on one piece of white paper in the central location, using different colors for each member or highlighting the messages for each person.

A tip to save time AND money—my kind of tip.  Next time tune in for study strategies to help during this the-newness-of-school-has-worn-off time.