ED 557 August 6, 2011

The brain seeks patterns, connections, & relationships between & among prior & new learning. (Gregory & Chatman,2001) The ability to break a concept into its similar and dissimilar characteristics allows students to understand (and often solve) complex problems by analyzing them in a more simple way. Teachers can either directly present similarities and differences, accompanied by deep discussion and inquiry, or simply ask students to identify similarities and differences on their own. While teacher-directed activities focus on identifying specific items, student-directed activities encourage variation and broaden understanding, research shows. Research also notes that graphic forms are a good way to represent similarities and differences. Applications: * Use Venn diagrams or charts to compare and classify items. * Engage students in comparing, classifying, and creating metaphors and analogies

Key Points To effectively summarize, students must delete some information, and keep some (Marzano pg. 30.) To effectively delete, substitute, and keep information, students must analyze the information at a fairly deep level (Marzano pg. 31). Being aware of the explicit structure of information is an aid to summarizing information (Marzano pg. 32.) Summarizing involves analyzing information, identifying the essential elements, and communicating these elements in a personal, meaningful way. Note taking is the process of organizing and writing pieces of information that can be used later. Effective summarizing leads to an increase in student learning. Helping students recognize how information is structured will help them summarize what they read or hear. Summarizing and taking notes are important activities through the inquiry process. Research Based Strategies Based on Brown, Campione, and Day (1981) Delete trivial material that is unnecessary to understanding. Delete redundant material. Substitute subordinate terms: “cars” for “Fords, Chevrolets, etc.” Select a topic sentence, or invent one.

Learning needs to be just above a students perceived level of competency for the student to truly understand that he/she can do it. If learning is too difficult, most shut down. If learning is to easy, most get bored. Learning needs to be at the correct level of difficulty with the learner feeling the correct level of concern- just on the edge of mental set. Belief that one can do the task with appropriate effort toward the targeted task is a powerful tool for learning. Rewards do not have to have a negative effect on intrinsic motivation. Rewards are most effective when they are contingent on the attainment of some standard performance. Key Research Findings Not all students know the connection between effort and achievement (Sellwegy, Urdan, Migley and Alderman, 1998) Student achievement can increase when teachers show the relationship between an increase in effort to an increase in success (Craske, Van Overwaille and DeMetsheur, 1990.) A critical decision for teachers is how to provide recognition. Abstract or symbolic recognition has more impact than tangible things, such as gum, movie tickets, or prizes (Cameron and Pierce, 1994.)

Amount of homework should increase as students get older. Minimal parent involvement. Identify purpose of homework Provide feedback for assignments 4 Types of Homework: Practice - work done repeatedly to increase memorization Preparation - introduces new topics Extension - helps connect separate topics Creative - uses different skills to show what students have learned

Representation through mental pictures and physical sensations Marzano's recommendations for classroom practice: Create graphic representations through organizers Make physical models Generate mental pictures Drawing pictures and pictographs Engage in kinesthetic activities

Cooperative Learning is structuring a classroom in small groups that work together making each group member's success dependent on the group's success  Reasons from research why this method is so effective: Students learn significantly more, remember it longer, and develop better critical-thinking skills than in traditional lecture classes. Students enjoy cooperative learning more than traditional lecture classes, so they are more likely to attend class and participate. Students going to jobs that require teamwork have an advantage if they have took part in cooperative learning because they have developed the skills necessary to work on projects that need to be done in groups because they are too difficult and complex for any one person to do in a reasonable amount of time. Students learn how to work with a diverse group  Techniques for effective grouping:  Use a variety of criteria for grouping students  Groups should not be organized often by ability  Groups should be small and used on a regular basis

Positive outcomes for setting objectives  Helps students to focus their attention on information directly related to the objective throughout the lesson.  Encourages students to personalize the learning goals identified for them (Hill & Flynn, 2006, p. 27).  Helps the teacher to focus on what they want the learner outcome to be and helps the students to focus on what to study for the assessment later. Guidelines for feedback  “Feedback should be corrective” and specific.  “Feedback should be timely.”  “Feedback should be criterion-referenced.”  “Students can Effectively provide some of their own feedback through self- evaluation” (Hill & Flynn, 2006, p. 32).

Across content areas and grade levels, Inquiry in the classroom turns native curiosity to the learner's advantage. Effective teachers: create these opportunities to guide students through the process of: Asking good questions Generating hypotheses and predictions Investigating through testing or research Making observations Analyzing and Communicating results. Through active learning experiences, students deepen their understanding of key concepts.

Giving students a preview of what they are about to learn or experience helps them activate prior knowledge. This strategy gives students the opportunity to connect what they already know to what they need to know. Questions should focus on what is central and most important, not what you think will interest your students. Advance organizers are most useful for information that is not easily presented in a well-organized manner. Graphic organizers show how new ideas or concepts relate, providing students with a visual framework for acquiring and organizing new information.

Brown, A., Campione J., Day D. (1981). Learning To Learn: On Training Students To Learn From Texts. Educational Research. Gregory, G. H., & Chapman, C. (2007). Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn’t Fit All. Corwin Press. Hill, Jane D., & Flynn, Kathleen M. (2006). Classroom Instruction that works with English Language Learners. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Marzano, R. (2001). Classroom Instruction That Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. New Faculty Resource Guide(2009). Virginia Commonwealth University. Retrieved from Northwest Educational Technology Consortium. (2005). Research-Based Strategies. In Focus on Effectiveness. Retrieved August 4, 2011, from Learn about the four types of homework students may have. (2011). Retrieved from types-of-homework-students-may-have. types-of-homework-students-may-have

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