August 24, 2009 Sarah Thomason

What’s in it for you? Teach active, independent learners Reach more of your students Experience a teacher’s high

continued Have more of those “light bulb” moments Grow in your profession Participate in a big experiment

What’s in it for your students? A more disciplined way to learn Greater understanding of your material Better performance on tests Reduction of test anxiety Higher grades

Students, Cont. More course completers More degree completers Fewer tears Progress toward goals Happiness ripples

“deliberate actions that learners select and control to achieve desired goals or objectives”

Definition 2 “behaviors and thoughts that a learner engages in during learning and that are intended to influence the learner’s encoding process”

Definition 3 “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferrable to new situations”

Research Tidbits Research in the 60’s and into the early 80’s focused on trying to identify one specific study system that was superior.

Research focus shifted toward a general investigation of “whether the performance of college students could be altered if they received an instructional intervention”.

“Important generalizations about studying and active learning have emerged.”

Students need to know how to use the strategy and why using the strategy will help them. Strategy instruction needs to be modeled. Students need to apply the strategy to authentic tasks.

Students need practice in using the strategy. Students need feedback. It “is best to teach students a limited number of validated strategies.”

Six Learning Strategies Two for read to understand 1. Generating Questions 2. Graphic Representations

Two for listen actively 1. ?? 2. ?? Two for organize for effectiveness 1. ?? 2. ??

What will you do? 1. Choose one of the 3 areas 2. Choose one of the 2 strategies 3. Receive training in how and why to use the strategy 4. Directly teach the strategy via modeling

5. Embed the strategy 6. Use the rubric to assess a minimum of two tasks or assignments 7. Provide feedback to students and “scaffold” as appropriate 8. Submit composite scores

Read to Understand Rubric Generating Questions Evaluates student’s ability to: Identify the main idea and key supporting details Understand key vocabulary in the text Draw appropriate conclusions based upon the nature of the text (assess reading)

Evaluates student’s ability to: Generate Questions (assess work product)

Example Passage by Bill McCarty The Knoxville News Sentinel October 10, 1992

Generate Questions After reading “Mr. Junes,” create some questions that relate to the story. Consider using the following words to start your questions. Be sure to include “why” and/or “how” questions. WhoWhat When Where Why How Write both your questions and your answers.

Who is Mr. Junes? Mr. Junes is a man of modest means who has lived a life of self-sacrifice. He was happy as a child, enjoying life on a farm, until his father died and he had to go to work in the city to help support his family. From age 14 until he retired, he continued to work in the “grimy” city.

Why does Mr. Junes run the ad about the dog? He is a man with principles, honest and filled with a sense of right and wrong. He dearly wants to keep the dog, but he knows the dog’s rightful owner would want him back. Just as he did his duty to support his family by working a job he did not enjoy, he will do his duty to the dog’s owner, too.

Feedback: My Questions Why does the writer refer to the man as “the stranger”? To depersonalize him. Make us identify with Mr. Junes as the “good guy.”

What was the dog’s dilemma? The dog recognized two owners and did not know which one to go to.

Why does the writer tell us the stranger looks at the dog and at Mr. Junes? He wants us to recognize the stranger recognizes the emotions of both the dog and of Mr. Junes.

Why does the stranger say, “Here, Chief; here Chief” quietly? By using a fake name and a non- authoritative tone to make it as easy as possible for the dog to pick Mr. Junes.

What does “Try Tennessee “ mean? Tennessee is the dog’s name. The stranger is communicating this important information to Mr. Junes in a way that leaves no way for Mr. Junes to return the dog.

What does the word “his” in the last sentence add to the essay? “His” recognizes the final resolution of the conflict. The dog belongs to Mr. Junes, and Mr. Junes and the dog stand on “their” porch.