Dimensions of Learning Robert J. Marzano and Debra J. Pickering with Daisy E. Arredondo Guy J. Blackburn Ronald S. Brandt Cerylle A. Moffett Diane E. Paynter Jane E. Pollock Jo Sue Whisler
T r a i n e r ’s
M A N U A L nd 2 Edition
Dimensions Trainer TP
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Dimensions of Learning T r a i n e r ’s
nd 2 Edition
M A N U A L
Robert J. Marzano and Debra J. Pickering with Daisy E. Arredondo Guy J. Blackburn Ronald S. Brandt Cerylle A. Moffett Diane E. Paynter Jane E. Pollock Jo Sue Whisler
Alexandria, Virginia USA
Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory Aurora, Colorado USA
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Copyright © 1997 McREL (Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory), 2550 S. Parker Road, Suite 500, Aurora, Colorado 80014, (303) 337-0990, fax (303) 337-3005. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from McREL.
1703 N. Beauregard St. • Alexandria, VA 22311-1714 USA Telephone: 1-800-933-2723 or 703-578-9600 • Fax: 703-575-5400 Web site: http://www.ascd.org • E-mail:
[email protected] Author guidelines: www.ascd.org/write
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning 4601 DTC Boulevard Suite 500 Denver, Colorado 80237 Phone: 303-337-0990 Fax: 303-337-3005 Barbara B. Gaddy, Editor/Project Manager Jeanne Deak, Desktop Publisher
Printed in the United States of America. ASCD publications present a variety of viewpoints. The views expressed or implied in this book should not be interpreted as official positions of the Association.
197134 ASCD stock no. 197134
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Dimensions of Learning Trainer’s Manual Acknowledgements
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Introduction for Trainers
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How Dimensions of Learning Was Developed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How To Use This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modeling the Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suggested Training Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dimensions of Learning Study Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tips for Trainers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5 6 10 12 14 21
OVERVIEW
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Dimension 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dimension 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dimension 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dimension 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dimension 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wrap-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34 37 43 46 49 51
CHAPTER 1. DIMENSION 1: ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS To the Trainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Exploring Dimension 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Classroom Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Classroom Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Planning for Dimension 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
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CHAPTER 2. DIMENSION 2: ACQUIRE AND INTEGRATE KNOWLEDGE To the Trainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exploring Dimension 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Declarative Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Construct Meaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Planning for Dimension 2, Declarative Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71 72 78 78 85 89 94
Procedural Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Construct Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Internalize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Planning for Dimension 2, Procedural Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
100 104 104 106 108
CHAPTER 3. DIMENSION 3: EXTEND AND REFINE KNOWLEDGE To the Trainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exploring Dimension 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comparing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Classifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abstracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inductive Reasoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deductive Reasoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Constructing Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analyzing Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analyzing Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Planning for Dimension 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
111 113 115 119 125 130 134 144 149 153 158
CHAPTER 4. DIMENSION 4: USE KNOWLEDGE MEANINGFULLY To the Trainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exploring Dimension 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Problem Solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Invention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Experimental Inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Systems Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Planning for Dimension 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
163 165 168 174 179 183 188 192 197
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CHAPTER 5. DIMENSION 5: HABITS OF MIND To the Trainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Exploring Dimension 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 Planning for Dimension 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
CHAPTER 6. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER Handouts
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Appendix A: Other Examples of Modeling the Model Appendix B: Structured Problems
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References
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Acknowledgements We would like to express our sincere appreciation to those individuals from the following school districts who contributed ideas and suggestions to this second edition of the Dimensions of Learning Trainer’s Manual: Ashwaubenon School District, Green Bay, Wisconsin Berryessa Union School District, San Jose, California Brisbane Grammar School, Queensland, Australia Brockport Central School District, Brockport, New York Brooklyn School District, Brooklyn, Ohio Broome-Tioga Boces, Binghamton, New York Cherry Creek Public Schools, Aurora, Colorado Colegio International de Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela Douglas County Schools, Douglas County, Colorado George School District, George, Iowa Green Bay Area Public Schools, Green Bay, Wisconsin Ingham Intermediate School District, Mason, Michigan Kenosha Unified School District #1, Kenosha, Wisconsin Kingsport City Schools, Kingsport, Tennessee Lakeland Area Education Agency #3, Cylinder, Iowa Lakeview Public Schools, St. Clair Shores, Michigan Loess Hills AEA #13, Council Bluffs, Iowa Lonoke School District, Lonoke, Arkansas Love Elementary School, Houston, Texas Maccray School, Clara City, Minnesota Monroe County ISD, Monroe, Michigan Nicolet Area Consortium, Glendale, Wisconsin Northern Trails AEA #2, Clear Lake, Iowa North Syracuse Central School District, North Syracuse, New York Prince Alfred College, Kent Town, South Australia Redwood Elementary School, Avon Lake, Ohio Regional School District #13, Durham, Connecticut Richland School District, Richland, Washington St. Charles Parish Public Schools, Luling, Louisiana School District of Howard-Suamico, Green Bay, Wisconsin South Washington County Schools, Cottage Grove, Minnesota Webster City Schools, Webster City, Iowa West Morris Regional High School District, Chester, New Jersey
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The following members of the Dimensions of Learning Research and Development Consortium worked together from 1989 to 1991 to advise, consult, and pilot portions of the model as part of the development of Dimensions of Learning. ALABAMA Auburn University Terrance Rucinski CALIFORNIA Los Angeles County Office of Education Richard Sholseth Diane Watanabe Napa Valley Unified School District Mary Ellen Boyet Laurie Rucker Daniel Wolter COLORADO Aurora Public Schools Kent Epperson Phyllis A. Henning Lois Kellenbenz Lindy Lindner Rita Perron Janie Pollock Nora Redding Cherry Creek Public Schools Maria Foseid Patricia Lozier Nancy MacIsaacs Mark Rietema Deena Tarleton ILLINOIS Maine Township High School West Betty Duffey Mary Gienko Betty Heraty Paul Leathem Mary Kay Walsh
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IOWA Dike Community Schools Janice Albrecht Roberta Bodensteiner Ken Cutts Jean Richardson Stan Van Hauen Mason City Community Schools Dudley L. Humphrey MASSACHUSETTS Concord-Carlisle Regional School District Denis Cleary Diana MacLean Concord Public Schools Virginia Barker Laura Cooper Stephen Greene Joe Leone Susan Whitten MICHIGAN Farmington Public Schools Marilyn Carlsen Katherine Nyberg James Shaw Joyce Tomlinson Lakeview Public Schools Joette Kunse Oakland Schools Roxanne Reschke Waterford School District Linda Blust Julie Casteel Bill Gesaman Mary Lynn Kraft Al Monetta Theodora M. Sailer Dick Williams ix
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NEBRASKA Fremont Public Schools, District 001 Mike Aerni Trudy Jo Kluver Fred Robertson NEW MEXICO Gallup-McKinley County Schools Clara Esparza Ethyl Fox Martyn Stowe Linda Valentine Chantal Irvin NEW YORK Frontier Central Schools Janet Brooks Barbara Broomell PENNSYLVANIA Central Bucks School District Jeanann Kahley N. Robert Laws Holly Lomas Rosemarie Montgomery Cheryl Winn Royer Jim Williams
TEXAS Fort Worth Independent School District Carolyne Creel Sherry Harris Midge Rach Nancy Timmons UTAH Salt Lake City Schools Corrine Hill MEXICO ITESO University Ana Christina Amante Laura Figueroa Barba Antonio Ray Bazan Luis Felipe Gomez Patricia Rios de Lopez PROGRAM EVALUATOR Charles Fisher
Philadelphia School District Paul Adorno Shelly Berman Ronald Jenkins John Krause Judy Lechner Betty Richardson SOUTH CAROLINA School District of Greenville County Sharon Benston Dale Dicks Keith Russell Jane Satterfield Ellen Weinberg Mildred Young State Department of Education Susan Smith White
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Introduction for Trainers When the first edition of the Dimensions of Learning Teacher’s Manual was published in 1991, the authors, led by Dr. Robert Marzano of the Midcontinent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL), hoped that it would provide a tool that educators could use as they pursued restructuring and reform efforts in their schools and districts. Specifically, the Dimensions of Learning model was offered as a tool to help educators focus their efforts more on student learning than on the implementation of specific programs and strategies. Since 1991, Dimensions has been used by teachers and administrators in this way. The model has helped them to maintain this focus on learning both as they plan curriculum, instruction, and assessment and as they evaluate the impact of their efforts on student learning. One of the reasons that the vision for Dimensions is being realized is that districts and schools have taken ownership of the model by developing the capacity to offer training and support within their own systems. We hope that the Trainer’s Manual that accompanied the first edition contributed to this local approach to implementation. In order to continue to support this trend, we have revised and updated the Trainer’s Manual so that it is now aligned with the second edition of the Teacher’s Manual. The training scripts and overheads have been significantly modified, and new training activities and overheads have been added. We have maintained elements from the first edition that have been used successfully but also have enhanced the training with additions and modifications. This manual should continue to be a valuable resource for trainers and for other district and school leaders as they work with people who are interested in using the Dimensions of Learning model. Before you read the remainder of this section, we recommend that you turn to the Teacher’s Manual and read (or reread) the Introduction on pages 1-12. Reading this chapter should help to refresh your memory about some important points related to the assumptions from which the Dimensions of
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Learning model was developed, the resources available to you as you study the model, and the ways in which the model has been used in districts, schools, and classrooms. The second edition of the Teacher’s Manual incorporates much of what was contained in the first edition, but those familiar with the first edition will notice significant revisions, deletions, and additions that have been made. If you are providing training for people who are familiar with the first edition, you might want to review these changes with them, which are described briefly below. 1. “Systems analysis” has been added to the list of reasoning processes in Dimension 4. This addition provides a way of helping students use their understanding of systems (e.g., ecosystems, systems of government, and number systems) to engage in tasks that require them to analyze the interactions among parts of a system or to predict what might happen when the parts of a system are altered in some way. Like the other reasoning processes in Dimension 4 (i.e., decision making, problem solving, invention, investigation, and experimental inquiry), systems analysis can be applied across content areas and at any developmental level. 2. There is an increased emphasis on the importance of clearly identifying declarative and procedural knowledge during unit planning. The chapter covering Dimension 2, “Acquire and Integrate Knowledge,” provides direction for identifying and organizing declarative knowledge using common organizational patterns: descriptions (organizing very specific facts and organizing information important to identified vocabulary terms), time sequences, process/cause-effect relationships, episodes, generalizations/principles, and concepts. Although most of these patterns were identified in the first edition of the manual, in the second edition they are used to organize declarative knowledge in the unit planning process. In the planning section for procedural knowledge, we recommend that attention be given to making sure that knowledge is identified clearly during planning and that if very general processes (or macroprocesses) are targeted, that the specific skills that are components of that process be articulated. 3. In addition to the increased emphasis on clearly identifying and organizing knowledge, the planning process for Dimension 2 includes examples of planning both with and without standards and benchmarks. These examples are offered because most states and
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many districts are actively engaged in identifying standards and benchmarks, that is, the knowledge that all students should have an opportunity to learn. Thus, teachers should use these standards and benchmarks as they identify the declarative and procedural knowledge that students should be acquiring and integrating, extending and refining, and using meaningfully. 4. Those educators who have used Dimensions of Learning to plan curriculum have been fairly consistent in their feedback about the need for additional suggestions and recommendations for addressing Dimension 5, habits of mind. In the second edition, the chapter on this dimension has been reorganized and expanded. We offer very specific recommendations for • helping students understand the habits of mind, • helping students identify and develop strategies related to the habits of mind, • creating a culture in the classroom and school that encourages the development and use of the habits of mind, and • providing positive reinforcement to students who exhibit the habits of mind. An additional section has been added that serves as a resource for teachers who are using the specific habits of mind included in the Dimensions of Learning model. For each of the 15 habits, there is a brief explanation, examples of situations in which the habit could be important, and sample strategies used by people who exemplify the habit. 5. Those who use the Dimensions of Learning model have consistently requested additional resources for the reasoning processes in Dimensions 3 and 4. To this end, the new manual includes, for each reasoning process, an expanded explanation, key points to keep in mind when using the process in the classroom, and sample tasks that could be used in K-12 classrooms. 6. At the end of the manual, a chapter entitled “Putting It All Together” (similar to the section in the first edition bearing this title) reviews planning questions for each dimension, explains models for different planning sequences, and reviews the entire sample unit. In this edition there also is an additional assessment section in the chapter, which provides explanations and recommendations related to assessment.
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Instead of adding assessment forms at the end of each dimension, as was done in the first edition, this assessment section walks the reader through the decisions that need to be made about assessment during the planning process. Issues are discussed that are related to the use of conventional and performance assessments, and recommendations for the use of rubrics are provided. Also included is a sample page from a grade book, which has been filled in with grades for hypothetical students in a classroom implementing the sample unit that is developed throughout the manual. This assessment section should be more useful to the reader than the forms provided in the first edition. It synthesizes many of the issues related to assessment and provides a more comprehensive approach to assessment. 7. Although anyone familiar with the first edition of the Teacher’s Manual will notice a number of changes in the format of the second edition, the most obvious is the addition of marginalia, information provided in the outside margins of each page. When appropriate, the text of the manual is supplemented with various types of information in the margins, including • references for books, articles, additional readings, or classroom materials relevant to the topic; • quotes from teachers who have been using Dimensions of Learning in their classrooms; • brief descriptions of school-wide or district-wide efforts to implement various aspects of the model; • relevant “quotable quotes” from well-known people; and • visual representations of important information explained in the text. The second edition of the Dimensions of Learning Teacher’s Manual attempts to preserve everything that made the first edition useful and to provide additional strategies, ideas, and examples that will help the experienced user as well as the novice. As always, we appreciate feedback from educators in the field and look forward to hearing from those who are using this second generation of Dimensions of Learning materials to enhance student learning.
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How Dimensions of Learning Was Developed As stated in the Teacher’s Manual, Dimensions of Learning is an extension of the comprehensive research-based framework on cognition and learning described in Dimensions of Thinking: A Framework for Curriculum and Instruction (Marzano et al., 1988), published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Following the publication of Dimensions of Thinking, an initial team of Dimensions of Learning project developers (Robert J. Marzano, Daisy E. Arredondo, Guy J. Blackburn, Robert Ewy, Debra J. Pickering, and Deena Tarleton) began identifying and developing teaching and learning strategies based on the conceptual framework presented in that publication. As that team consciously used the thinking skills, processes, and dispositions described in Dimensions of Thinking in their work with teachers and students, they began to see how a focus on the overall learning process could provide a powerful, integrative model. An underlying premise of this early work was that all learning is thinking. For example, as students first read over a writing assignment or a list of vocabulary words, certain cognitive processes are called into play. The writing assignment may be similar to one that students completed last week or last year, and its similarity may prompt them to immediately begin recalling the procedures they used to generate ideas, find new information, or organize their ideas for that previous assignment. They may focus on planning, generating interest in the task, or even coming up with reasons to delay their work—all of which are types of thinking. This perspective of learning as thinking allowed the initial development team to operationally define the conceptual model first presented in Dimensions of Thinking so that it rigorously described the different types of thinking involved in the learning process and to then categorize the many research-based teaching strategies that foster these types of thinking. Willow Creek Elementary School in Englewood, Colorado, under the leadership of Principal Deena Tarleton agreed to begin developmental testing of the Dimensions of Learning model and strategies. At the same time, ASCD and McREL cosponsored a Dimensions of Learning Research and Development Consortium composed of nearly 90 members representing various schools, districts, institutions of higher education, and state departments of education across the United States and Mexico. (See pages ix-x for a complete list of consortium members.) During 1989 and 1990, consortium members learned the Dimensions of Learning strategies, field-tested them in classrooms, reported results, and suggested revisions to the author team.
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Charles Fisher, the project evaluator, then examined sample uses of the model and compiled formative evaluation data for the first year of the project. The descriptive data in his assessment report include general comments on the model as well as information about the effects of the strategies on teachers and students. Participants’ comments were overwhelmingly positive, with reports of improved student performance, motivation, interest in class work, social behavior, and use of thinking processes. Teacher participants reported that they noticed improvement in their own thinking, a need to slow down and teach “more in-depth,” a rebirth of excitement about teaching, improved interactions with students, and a shift in their role as teachers toward that of “facilitators of learning” and away from “transmitters of information.” During 1990 and 1991, consortium members continued to use the Dimensions of Learning strategies and met in subgroups to assist the author team with the final development of training materials by responding to proposed text, developing examples, writing vignettes, and suggesting various revisions. Dimensions of Learning is undoubtedly stronger and more “classroom friendly” because of the three years of intensive work with the many talented educators involved in the project. Since the introduction of the Dimensions of Learning Teacher’s Manual, the original authors plus the other members of the McREL training team— Diane Paynter, Janie Pollock, and Jo Sue Whisler—have worked with teachers and in classrooms using the Dimensions of Learning model and collecting feedback on ways to update and strengthen the materials. The result is this revision of the original manual. Again, its strength is the result of the contributions of the many dedicated and talented educators who have worked with the model.
How To Use This Manual This Dimensions of Learning Trainer’s Manual contains very detailed resources for anyone who is conducting training in the Dimensions of Learning model. Following this introduction you will find these resources: • seven, separate, detailed scripts, one containing a script for the Overview of the entire model plus six scripts that are aligned with the six chapters of the Teacher’s Manual for the training; • handouts to be used during the training (included in this section are blank planning guides for each dimension as well as a two-page Planning Reference Guide, which summarizes the key strategies and planning questions related to each dimension);
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• appendices that supplement information presented in this introduction; • bibliographic references; and • overhead transparency masters to use with each of the seven scripts. A brief explanation of certain aspects of the numbering of the overheads is in order. First, each of the chapters that cover Dimensions 1 through 5 has a section that deals with unit planning. The overheads for these sections are keyed with the letter P (e.g., the first planning overhead for Dimension 3 is 3.P1 (see page 158, where the trainer is cued to put up this overhead). Second, in Dimensions 3 and 4, the overheads are numbered to correspond to the order of the reasoning processes in each dimension; each overhead is then followed by a letter. For example, the first overhead introduced in the section on classifying (the second reasoning process covered in Dimension 3) is 3.2A. Similarly, the first overhead introduced in the section on investigation (the fifth reasoning process covered in Dimension 4) is 4.5A. The section of the manual that contains the training scripts has a number of characteristics that also might need some explanation. Before reading about these characteristics, keep in mind the following recommendations: • The training scripts are meant to provide a clear idea of what should take place in the training session. They are not meant to be read aloud word for word. We encourage you to assimilate the substance of the information and create personal scripts that maintain the integrity of the model. • Because the best trainers are those who have used the model, we encourage you to include your own examples and anecdotes so that workshop participants will understand that you have used the parts of the model in the classroom. • It should be noted that the scripts include suggestions for training for virtually all parts of the Teacher’s Manual, more than can be covered in an initial training. You will need to determine which sections of the manual to cover explicitly and which to simply mention during any specific training session. This is especially true for Dimensions 3 and 4. Some subset of the 14 complex reasoning processes should be selected to cover in-depth. We elected to provide in-depth scripts for all of the material in order to allow you to make your own decisions about what to include. With these suggestions in mind, turn to the scripts and leaf through a few pages to get a sense of the content and format. You will notice the following:
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Italicized Text. Interspersed throughout the script are notes to the trainer that are set in italicized type and enclosed in brackets like these: < >. These notes include cues, directions, and suggestions for activities. For instance, they may cue the trainer to use an overhead or explain how to set up a specific small group activity. Other cues appear in the outside margins of the script. These are explained below under “Sidebars.” Sidebars. The main body of the Trainer’s Manual is supported by cues to the trainer in the margin, or sidebar. These cues are designed to alert the trainer to a variety of important elements of the training. One primary sidebar is an icon (e.g., Overhead 5.3 ) that alerts the trainer to the use of a particular overhead. Specific cues for various training activities are explained below. We suggest that you become very familiar with them as you prepare to train. Individual Task. This cue indicates a brief assignment, such as a reading or writing task, at a strategic point in the training. Individual tasks can be used to set up a paired or small group activity or a large group discussion. Think/Pair/Share. This cue signals a quick technique designed to help participants reflect on the information they are receiving by thinking about various issues and then talking through their thoughts. The trainer first asks participants to think about a specified issue and then to share their thoughts on the issue with a partner. He or she might then ask participants to share with the entire group. Small Group Activity. This cue indicates a small group assignment in which two or more participants work together to discuss or clarify an issue or to engage in a structured or unstructured task. Often the results are shared in a large group discussion. Jigsaw. This is a specific type of small group technique borrowed from cooperative learning. Each group member is assigned a section of material and asked to be responsible for teaching it to the small group. The strategy can be strengthened by having participants from the different small groups who are responsible for the same section of material meet together to talk over the material and then go back to their original small groups. This is an efficient and effective way for participants to learn substantial amounts of material that cannot be covered in detail by the trainer. Large Group Discussion. This cue indicates a discussion that is led by the trainer, which is commonly preceded by a question posed by the trainer. You will notice that sometimes these questions are followed by
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notes to the trainer that either provide examples of answers that participants often give to this question or that include a “target answer.” This target answer cues the trainer to an important point that needs to be made during the discussion. Planning Activity. This cue appears at the end of the section on each dimension and signals an activity in which participants practice planning a unit. This activity can be done individually or in small groups. Closure. At the end of major training segments, the trainer is cued to select a method of closure for that segment. Closure gives participants an opportunity to reflect on what they have learned during the training activities. You will notice that in the script we suggest that the trainer select from three different styles of closure: table talk, pause and reflect, or learning logs. However, as with any portion of this training, we encourage the trainer to develop his or her own style. Each of the suggested styles of closure might be structured (by providing a specific question or assignment for participants) or unstructured (by giving participants the freedom to talk, think, or write about what they wish). Briefly, the three suggested styles are Table Talk. Encourage participants to verbalize to a partner, or within a small group, specific things that they have learned during the training segment and what those things mean to them. Pause and Reflect. Ask participants to sit quietly for a few minutes to reflect on their experiences in the training. They may want to skim over their notes, review pages of the Teacher’s Manual, or simply sit and think. Learning Logs. Ask participants to dedicate several pages of their notes to a learning log (or provide them with prepared forms). Provide time for them to write down their thoughts about the ideas in the training or about possible uses of the material. Trainers and other decision makers who are planning training should remember an important principle of staff development: Training should be delivered and supported over an extended period of time and not be treated as a one-shot workshop. There are unlimited variations to offering this training. We have provided a brief description of one format: the four-day initial training followed by study team support. Study teams will be explained further in the next section, but we want to highlight that even a four-day training is not sufficient for full implementation of the ideas in this model.
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Modeling the Model During training, it is important that the trainer’s behavior reflect the assumptions about learning and the instructional processes presented in the Dimensions of Learning Teacher’s Manual and in A Different Kind of Classroom: Teaching with Dimensions of Learning (Marzano, 1992). There are at least three reasons that modeling the model is important. First, by “practicing what they preach,” trainers demonstrate the very teaching techniques that they advocate. Teachers frequently report that they become disenchanted when trainers propose innovative teaching methods and then violate these methods by spending the majority of their time lecturing. In addition to avoiding negative participant attitudes, modeling the model provides participants with first-hand experiences that give them insight into using Dimensions of Learning strategies in the classroom. Dimensions of Learning is as valid a model for adult learning as it is for student learning. Thus, it follows that an effective adult learning experience must be structured around the five types of thinking inherent in the model. Although the scripts in this manual are designed to help the trainer model the model throughout the training, a number of experiences and practices that we recommend are not described in the scripts. We describe these below as options the trainer might consider while planning the training. (For additional examples of modeling the model, see Appendix A.) These experiences and practices should not be considered inclusive; there are many other things that can be included in a training that will model what is recommended. Of course, the sequencing, timing, and emphasis placed on these experiences may vary according to the disposition and preferences of the trainer. 1. Participants might be encouraged to reflect on their learning by keeping learning logs. Throughout the training, not just during closure, participants might periodically be asked to make entries in personal learning logs to encourage them to reflect on what they are learning. These entries might be both free responses and structured responses. Free responses are unrestricted and unguided comments related to any aspect of the training or the model. A trainer might cue a free response in the learning log by simply saying to participants, “Take a few moments now and write in your learning logs your reactions to what we just did or anything we have done.” Or she might ask, “What insights have you had so far that you would like to record in your learning logs?” Participants can be asked to generate free
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responses at any time during the training. Immediately before lunch or at the end of the day are good times for such summary activities. Structured responses are cued by probes, which are specific questions the trainer asks participants to answer in their learning logs. Throughout the training, the trainer might present at least three types of probes. Probes about content: These probes ask participants to comment on some aspect of the content they are currently experiencing or have experienced, for example, “What interests you most about what we just covered?” or “How could you use what we just did?” Content probes can be used after participants have completed any module. Probes about habits of mind: These probes ask participants to reflect on the extent to which they are using the 15 habits of mind as they learn the Dimensions of Learning model, for example, “What have you noticed about your ability to stay engaged in this training as you experience things that are difficult or as you experience things for which answers and solutions are not immediately apparent?” or “During this training, how have you tried to be accurate and seek accuracy?” Probes about habits of mind are best used after participants have experienced particularly difficult content. They also are fitting or appropriate when participants are solving structured problems (see suggestion 2 below). Probes about tasks requiring the meaningful use of knowledge (projects): These probes ask participants to reflect on the processes involved in the Dimension 4 tasks or the content used in those tasks, for example, “What makes the tasks here different from those in Dimension 2?” or “Which Dimension 4 processes would facilitate students’ meaningful use of the identified important knowledge?” Probes related to the meaningful use of knowledge might be used as participants engage in planning activities. They can also be used after participants have participated in one of the small group activities for Dimension 4. 2. Participants might engage in structured problem-solving activities periodically throughout the training. Throughout the training, participants could be given structured problems (e.g., after returning from a break or whenever participants’
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energy starts to wane). These activities can then be pointed to as models of how structured problem solving can be used to help develop the habits of creative thinking. (See Appendix B for samples of structured problems.) As participants work on these problems, notice and explicitly reinforce any demonstration of the habits of mind, such as persevering or generating new ways of viewing a situation that are outside the boundaries of standard conventions. 3. Participants should be acknowledged for their use of the habits of mind. Any time participants discuss difficult or complex issues, the trainer should note specific examples of participants’ use of the habits of mind. These illustrations can then be used as a practical demonstration of the many classroom situations that lend themselves to reinforcing these same mental habits in students. 4. Process observers could be appointed. When participants are engaged in any long-term small group activity, a process observer could be appointed for each group and directed to look for and report on examples of participants exhibiting habits of mind or any of the strategies from the model. The mental habits described in Dimension 5 might be explicitly targeted; for example, the trainer might say, “While working in your groups, I’d like you to look for examples of people trying to be accurate or seek accuracy, and then be prepared to share these examples with the large group.”
Suggested Training Formats Although there are several ways to organize the training for the Dimensions of Learning model, we strongly recommend that the initial training be intensive. We realize that local conditions and resources play an important part in decisions about scheduling. However, we urge those in charge of implementing Dimensions of Learning to carefully consider the long-range potential effects of the model and then to organize training to increase the likelihood that those effects will be realized.
The Four-Day-Plus-Study-Teams Format This format requires an initial four-day immersion training with extended follow-up in study team meetings and periodic reinforcement training
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sessions. The recommended sequence for the four-day training is described below. Ideally, these four days should be split into two 2-day segments. This provides opportunities for participants to reflect on the ideas presented and to try some things in their classrooms. Keep in mind that you may need to modify this recommended sequence, depending on the level of skill and experience present in your training groups and on your participants’ unique learning needs. Day 1 Participants are presented with an overview of the Dimensions of Learning model. Note that the script included in the Overview can be used either as a stand-alone one- to two-hour presentation or as a shorter introduction to extended training. Participants gain an understanding of and practice using • theoretical foundations for the entire Dimensions model, • teaching strategies and planning guidelines for Dimension 1, and • teaching strategies and planning guidelines for Dimension 5. Day 2 Participants gain an understanding of and practice using • important information in the introduction to Dimension 2, and • teaching strategies and planning guidelines for Dimension 2. Day 3 Participants gain an understanding of and practice using • several of the reasoning processes from Dimension 3 (processes selected will vary depending on the grade levels and content areas represented by participants), and • the planning guidelines for Dimension 3. Day 4 Participants gain an understanding of and/or practice using • several of the reasoning processes for Dimension 4 (processes selected will vary depending on the grade levels and content areas represented by participants), • the planning guidelines for Dimension 4, and • the information in Chapter 6, “Putting It All Together” (e.g., conferencing, assessment, record keeping, sequencing instruction).
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By this point, participants will have walked through the planning of a hypothetical unit on Colorado. They might, at this point, be ready to plan another unit on a topic they select. The trainer might model planning a unit with the participants’ input on a topic selected by the group.
Four One-Day Sessions In some situations, it is not possible to conduct an initial immersion training. In such cases, four full days of training spaced at fairly equal intervals might be used if participants have the teaching skills and experience to master the concepts and to practice unit planning independently between training sessions. No matter what format is used, the initial training is only the beginning. The following section discusses one way of providing follow-up experiences for participants in the training.
Dimensions of Learning Study Teams Research on staff development, reinforced by our experience in schools that are using Dimensions of Learning, tells us that the use of study teams is one of the most promising ways for teachers to assimilate Dimensions of Learning into their own practice. Dimensions of Learning study teams provide essential follow-up activities to Dimensions of Learning workshop training: collaborative planning of instructional units with peers, experimentation with new teaching strategies, feedback on teaching, and continued study and discussion of the Teacher’s Manual. Participation in study teams can provide the following benefits: • A place for teachers to assess the extent to which they are already addressing the five dimensions of learning in lesson and unit planning. • An opportunity for teachers to use the Dimensions of Learning model and unit planning guides to design new units of study or refine existing ones. • Structured peer support for teachers as they develop new instructional units and methods of assessment. • An opportunity to explore additional teaching strategies in the Teacher’s Manual and examine learning concepts in A Different Kind of Classroom.
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Educators often ask whether study teams are possible within the present structure of schools. They also wonder how study teams can possibly engage in substantive work, given the present structure of the school day. Although it’s true that in many schools the notion of study teams will run counter to the traditional norm of teachers working alone, in others this picture is slowly changing. The experiences of several schools reveal that the use of study teams can lead to mastery of skills learned in training, the development of a common professional language, the birth of norms of professional interaction, experimentation with new practices, reflection on classroom decisions, and creative problem solving about instruction. In addition, the collaborative work among teachers encouraged by study teams contributes to improved student performance. To help you visualize what a study team structure might look like in a Dimensions of Learning school, we have created a scenario drawn from experiences in several districts that have used study teams.
A Study Team Scenario The faculty of Hillsdale Elementary School participated in four days of intensive training. During the training, they explored the Dimensions of Learning model, looked at how to plan using unit planning guides, and reviewed guidelines for organizing study teams. Following the training, teachers volunteered to work in study teams of four to six individuals to extend and refine their understanding and use of the Dimensions of Learning model. They decided to meet for three hours once every other week during both semesters of the year. Some teams met during the school day on released time, and others met after contract hours. The principal became a member of one of the study teams and participated actively as a learner. He also arranged the school schedule to allow teachers with similar interests to meet during their planning periods. In addition, the district arranged for team members to receive recertification credit upon each member’s successful completion of a paper outlining what he or she had learned by the end of the semester. Team Organization Topics, meeting dates, times, and locations were selected in advance. A team leader was chosen to make sure the meetings began and ended on time; to arrange for meeting rooms, refreshments, and materials; and to complete a summary sheet at the end of each meeting outlining what had been discussed, the goals for the next meeting, and a roster of attendees. This summary sheet was given to the principal and forwarded to the district staff development office. The team leaders from each study group in the
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building had monthly meetings with the principal to exchange information and resources and to coordinate their efforts. The team leaders were teachers who had volunteered or had been selected by the group to handle logistical arrangements and accountability procedures. They were viewed first and foremost as peers, learning together with the team. The district paid the team leaders a stipend in return for the additional responsibilities they assumed. Although team leaders were responsible for logistics and for liaison work between the team and the district, they did not always act as individual meeting facilitators. The group decided in the beginning that the roles of facilitator, recorder, and timekeeper should rotate each meeting. All members received training in meeting management skills from the district staff developer, who had also been trained and done advanced work in the Dimensions of Learning model. The district staff developer analyzed each summary sheet that the team leaders produced, looking for common themes. She provided technical assistance and resource materials, and she sometimes taught demonstration lessons based on the information she read in the summary sheets regarding team members’ questions and concerns. In addition, she periodically met with the teams to present additional concepts from the Dimensions of Learning model and to facilitate the process of teachers’ becoming more familiar with all five dimensions and creating instructional units. Team Focus and Norms Most of the teams selected one or two of the dimensions for in-depth study over several sessions. One team spent four sessions looking at the habits of mind and then integrated the concepts into unit plans. Each team established a set of norms for its meetings that incorporated the habits of mind. For instance, the team members asked themselves, “Are we being clear and seeking clarity? Are we open-minded when considering new ideas? Are we responding appropriately to the feelings and level of knowledge of others?” Other team norms focused on active listening, open and supportive communication, beginning and ending meetings on time, staying focused on each meeting’s objectives, and completing assignments on schedule. Team Activities Teams were encouraged to begin experimenting with the unit planning guides immediately following the initial workshop. Members first tried developing a mock unit together and then began to work in smaller teams and individually following the steps outlined in the planning sections of each dimension. The process they followed included • writing a new curriculum unit or revising an existing one using the Dimensions of Learning unit planning guides; • implementing the unit plans in their classrooms;
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• evaluating as a team how each plan was working and identifying where changes were needed to meet students’ needs; • revising plans, or expanding them, using additional instructional strategies from the Teacher’s Manual; • implementing, reflecting on, evaluating, and revising lessons on a continuing basis; • assessing the effect of their work on students; and • celebrating successes. As the interest and need for a broader repertoire arose, teams also opted to learn additional teaching strategies from the Teacher’s Manual and A Different Kind of Classroom. As trust and rapport developed among the members of each study team, they invited one another to observe their classes. At the suggestion of the Dimensions of Learning trainers and the district staff developer, peer observations were not mandated by the district nor forced on team members by administrators or team leaders. Progress Evaluation Periodically and at the end of the year, each study team evaluated its progress in implementing various aspects of the Dimensions of Learning model. Benefits cited included the opportunity to learn and interact with peers, time to address common instructional problems, and the chance to identify common learning objectives and students’ needs across disciplines. A number of teachers said that their students were more engaged in learning and that discipline problems seemed to be decreasing. They also noted that having the principal involved in the learning process with the teams gave them the sense that their work had high priority and was valued. There were also comments about the downside of the experience. Teachers mentioned the frustration involved in “not being able to learn the Dimensions of Learning framework fast enough,” the extra time it took to consciously plan using the five dimensions, the competing demands on their time, the pressure to “cover the curriculum,” the sense of awkwardness they still felt with various parts of the Dimensions of Learning model, and a general feeling of frustration at “how long it takes to learn something new.” Despite these factors, most teachers believed the benefits of the experience outweighed the costs, and a sense of commitment to the process prevailed. Ten of the twelve teachers involved in study teams volunteered to continue in their study teams the next year. During the summer, they had an opportunity for three days of review and follow-up training that focused on clearing up confusions they had encountered during their study sessions, refining units of study, and developing classroom-based assessment tasks using the Dimensions of Learning model. The district staff developer also addressed
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the teams’ concerns about managing change. She provided time for teams to explore common instructional problems and offered strategies for overcoming some of the difficulties that they faced as they worked to integrate the dimensions of learning into their instructional practices.
Guidelines for Study Team Success In analyzing the experience of the study teams in the pilot school above, we have identified a set of guidelines that can help you form study teams. To function effectively, study teams need • autonomy and accountability; • attention to relationships and attention to task; • designated leadership and shared leadership; • a focus on the joint analysis by study team members of the effects of instructional decisions on students’ work; • group norms; • administrative support; • communication mechanisms within the group and between the group, the school, and the district at large; and • a way to transfer their learning to the classroom. Many staff developers responsible for working with study teams emphasize the importance of bringing classroom “artifacts” to study group meetings. They view artifacts as any form of data that captures the immediacy of the classroom moment—for instance, samples of student work, teacher journal entries describing actual classroom events, observation notes, case studies of individual students or critical incidents, and lesson plans. Artifacts help study team discussions stay focused on real events, rather than on vague generalizations or unsupported inferences about the effect of a planned lesson on students. Barrie Bennett and associates (Bennett, Rolheiser-Bennett, and Stevahn, 1991) have constructed a form that teachers can use to document and analyze the relationship between intended and actual effects of lesson plans on students (see Figure 1). By examining classroom artifacts and discussing the results of lesson plans, participants can turn study team meetings into a valuable forum for structured problem solving and what noted educators Art Costa and Robert Garmston (1991) call “cognitive coaching”—that is, enhancing metacognition and promoting the Dimension of Learning habits of mind.
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FIGURE 1 TEACHING FOLLOW-UP ANALYSIS Name: ____________________________
School: ______________________
Lesson/Subject: ______________________
Date: ______________________
1. Successes experienced
2. Problems encountered
3. Possible revisions
4. Critical or interesting incidents
5. I shared this lesson with . . .
Source: Bennett, Rolheiser-Bennett, and Stevahn (1991)
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Why Are Study Teams Essential? Research on training, as well as plain common sense, suggests that to fully master the information and skills learned in training, individuals must see how the information relates to real-life situations and must use the skills immediately in the workplace—with ongoing support and coaching—or the skills will be lost. Additional support for this perspective can be found in Chapter 2 of the Teacher’s Manual, which discusses Dimension 2 and describes how declarative knowledge is stored (see pages 73-80) and how procedural knowledge is internalized (see pages 101-103). We believe that the best way for teachers initially to practice the skills in the Dimensions of Learning model is to use them to develop instructional units in planning sessions with peers. Through interaction with peers in study teams, participants can extend and refine their declarative knowledge about Dimensions of Learning; construct models for, shape, and practice their skill of writing units; and use all of this knowledge in meaningful, self-directed ways, while further developing their skills in critical, creative, and selfregulated thinking. We recommend that school districts consider the guidelines for study team organization we have offered above and then adapt them to the general needs of their setting and to their specific objectives. We strongly believe that a study team structure bridges the gap between learning skills in the training session and actually implementing and integrating those skills into the classroom. It is also our conviction that any long-term staff development effort involving Dimensions of Learning must model the model; that is, if we want our students to become self-directed learners and critical, creative, and selfregulated thinkers and if we believe that the learning process is most powerful when learners are engaged in using knowledge meaningfully, then it is only reasonable to assume that teachers who are learning the Dimensions of Learning model should structure their own learning as they would their students’. Collegial, professional study teams provide the setting in which this type of adult learning can take place. In using study teams to extend and refine their knowledge of the Dimensions of Learning model and to create integrated units of instruction that stimulate students to use knowledge actively and meaningfully, educators can internalize for themselves the skills they hope will one day transform classrooms.
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Tips for Trainers The following suggestions are presented in the spirit of an ongoing dialogue among trainers. Although there is certainly no list of sure-fire or fail-safe tips or techniques to guarantee success in training, the following practices have been found to be successful in a variety of training situations.
Dealing with Compulsory vs. Volunteer Groups The attitude of participants is often affected by how they were selected to participate in the training. If a group is made up largely of teachers and administrators who are required to attend, there is often a high degree of skepticism about the value of what is being offered in the training. This is best dealt with in a nondefensive manner. We suggest that a trainer note the attitude of the group, perhaps by using humor (e.g., by lightly asking how many people are excited to be in the workshop and how many would rather be anywhere but in the workshop). Be sure to then move quickly into the substance of the training. We have found that the Dimensions of Learning model is sufficiently powerful and engaging to overcome mild skepticism and resistance. If a large segment of the group seems unyielding, however, we suggest that after the introduction to Dimension 1, the trainer use an activity that requires participants to examine their own and the group’s attitude toward the training. Candor and adult-to-adult discussions usually go over better than defensive or power-based statements. There is a delicate balance between overreacting and ignoring an attitude that might be a serious obstacle in a training session. Skilled Dimensions of Learning trainers artfully use the model to help participants overcome such obstacles.
Preparing for Training Sessions 1. Suggest to hosts of the training that they communicate pertinent information about the training in writing to each participant. Each participant should feel respected and welcome. The nature and details of the training times, dates, and places should be explained as should expectations of punctuality and participation. Possible workshop activities also should be communicated. 2. Plan activities to ensure variety. Trainer talk should be balanced with tasks for participants and opportunities for small group activities and large group discussions. 3. Content should be carefully selected and logically organized, and practical application activities should be structured into the training.
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Handling Logistics 1. Have starting times posted or communicated. If coffee or refreshments are to be served, have notice given that this occurs before the starting time. Model punctuality by starting on time. 2. Make sure you have sufficient materials available for participants. Whenever you conduct a training, participants should receive name tags and an agenda for the training sessions. If you are doing more than a brief overview of the model, participants might also need the following: • The second edition of the Dimensions of Learning Teacher’s Manual. • Handouts. In addition to the handouts provided in the back of this manual, these might include copies of selected overheads, at your discretion, and, if participants are going to engage in planning activities, a copy of selected pages from the Colorado Unit, which can be found in the back of the Teacher’s Manual. Collating materials beforehand saves time and models good materials management. You may want to color-code handouts to help people locate specific items more quickly. At various points in a training session that includes all dimensions, participants might also need the following: • • • • • •
8 1/2” x 11” paper Paper clips Rubber bands Transparent tape Markers Notepads or notebooks
In addition to the Dimensions of Learning Trainer’s Manual and Teacher’s Manual, the trainer will need the following: • • • •
Overhead transparencies Markers for overheads A large flipchart Copies of any handouts that will be given to participants (e.g., blank unit planning guides)
3. Carefully plan table and seating arrangements. If tables are long, seven or eight participants can be seated at each. If round tables are used, remove any chairs that are not facing the screen. The seating arrangement should make it possible for everyone to see the screen and the trainer. 4. Place paper and extra pencils for taking notes in the center of each table.
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5. Post a schedule of starting times, ending times, breaks, and lunch. Also list the agenda items, either on the schedule or separately. Many trainers have found that listing agenda items separately allows them to respond more flexibly to participants’ interests. 6. Check the overhead projector for clarity and intensity, and have materials organized for each segment of the presentation. 7. Large wall charts showing the major components of the training are helpful and provide a visual framework for the conceptual structure of the workshop.
Managing the Minutes Before Training Begins 1. Greet and chat with as many people as possible. Strive to establish interpersonal rapport and to associate names with faces. 2. Mentally take note of people’s attitudes toward being at the training session, but do not act prematurely on your inferences about individuals; some people appear negative early on and later become enthusiastic—or at least more open-minded. Having a sense of the group will help you determine the pace to set and which areas to emphasize first.
Creating a Professional Appearance 1. Clothing should be clean and attractive but not distractingly flashy. Of course, some trainers can get away with more extravagant styles because they feel most comfortable dressed that way. Don’t risk it unless it truly reflects your style. Even in informal settings, it is more effective for the trainer to be dressed professionally. A professional appearance sets the trainer a bit apart and subtly communicates that he or she is in charge. 2. Knowing your emotional tendencies and level of anxiety is the key to effectively controlling your behavior. Some important elements to monitor include tone of voice, pace of speech, eye contact, smoothness of hand gestures, and overall variety of presentation. The appropriate amount of anxiety will help keep you moving and energized. Too much will cause you to block your thoughts. Shaking hands and a trembling voice reduce participants’ confidence in the trainer. Talking to yourself and doing silent or oral cognitive rehearsals will help you control your behavior. If you are in the midst of a presentation and feel you are “losing it,” think of a question or a quick discussion activity that will engage the group and give you time to recoup.
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It is generally not a good idea to share your feelings of anxiety or nervousness with the group. Some groups may be very sympathetic, but if participants focus on concern for the trainer (either positively or negatively), they often will miss the point of the training segment. At times trainers just have to take a deep breath and go on. 3. It pays to help every person believe that he or she is an important part of the training. The trainer can accomplish this through informal personal contact, eye contact, use of names, references to participants’ ideas and comments, and by allowing time for verbal participation by everyone. 4. As a trainer, you should give yourself credit when you deserve it. If you have prepared and delivered a training segment to the best of your ability, you can leave the session with your integrity intact. Negative participants have the right to disagree with or reject the content, but they do not have the right to impugn your personal or professional integrity. 5. At the same time, you should engage in constructive self-criticism based on your sense of the effectiveness of a presentation, combined with formal and informal feedback from participants. 6. General deportment of oneself as a trainer is difficult to assess, but holding yourself up against the following list of descriptors of successful trainers may provide some insight. Successful trainers • are generally positive about and supportive of participants without being gushy; • are enthusiastic and energetic without being hyperactive; • are reasonably assertive without being overbearing or hostile; • acknowledge when they are expressing beliefs or biases as opposed to when they are communicating information; • use humor as an instrument, not as a detractor or filler; are able to laugh at themselves; avoid sarcasm and put-downs; • are genuine; • are well prepared; • listen to participants; • make eye contact with all participants; and • frequently assess participants’ nonverbal cues.
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7. Occasionally viewing your performance on videotape will help provide substantive feedback on your presence as a trainer. Most people’s first reaction to video playback is so overwhelming that they must view the tape several times before they can really see pertinent information. A note of caution, then, is not to overreact to the first self-viewing. Spend time analyzing not just how you looked and sounded but how the group responded and how effectively the content was presented. 8. Model the teaching skills you are presenting. Nothing is more disturbing to participants than watching trainers violate the very concepts they are advocating.
Dealing with Difficult Participant Behavior We preface this section with the statement that we have the highest regard for the thousands of teachers with whom we have worked over the years and that our goal is to have all participants leave Dimensions of Learning training sessions feeling renewed, refreshed, and respected. From time to time, however, a participant will exhibit untoward behavior, and you will have to find a way to deal with that behavior. Here are a few of the “problem participants” you may encounter and some solutions for dealing with them. The passive-aggressive resister is clearly not involved in the training. He is usually engaged in silent nontask behavior, such as reading outside material, checking papers, or writing for other purposes (doodling may or may not be an example). The message being sent is, “I’m not going to do this ‘stuff’, but you can’t ‘get’ me because I’m not doing anything wrong.” The solution? First, don’t overreact. Give the person a chance to get involved. This can be facilitated by a small group activity or discussion. If the passive resistance persists, you might try moving in the participant’s direction. At times, close proximity is enough to trigger attention and engagement. If the problem persists, a quick and quiet counseling session may be necessary and useful. For example, during a break you might say, “I noticed that you don’t seem involved in what we are doing. Is there a problem I should know about?” Conversely, it sometimes may be expedient, for the sake of the group, to ignore the passive-aggressive participant. Adults are responsible for their own behavior, and we do not encourage the trainer to take on the role of enforcer. The hostile resister is rare but is immediately recognizable when she is present. She usually translates her hostility into verbal challenges or overt refusals to participate in specific tasks. Sometimes there is more than one hostile participant, and they join together and conspire to undermine the training. Dealing with active aggression and hostility requires an ability to
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remain detached from the apparent attacks directed toward you and react to the situation in a reasonable manner. Often the simple act of not getting “hooked” by the hostile resister gradually defuses the situation. The dominator talks incessantly to the whole group. He often wants attention and has little sense of himself in a group context. If the dominator is impulsive and not mean spirited, a trainer can allow for the needed attention until it distracts from the presentation or overwhelms others in the group. Some techniques for dealing with the dominator include not calling on him or saying quickly after an assertion he has made, “Good point, but I have to move on,” or “Thank you. Now let’s hear from someone else.” If these suggestions don’t work, it may be time for quick counseling at the break. The I-know-more-than-you-do participant seems to want to take over the group. Actually, she is a type of dominator who needs recognition for what she knows. Giving a reasonable amount of recognition may be effective, but at times trainers must use some of the techniques suggested for dealing with dominators. Small group discussion is one way to let people have their say and get recognition without taking over the group. The I-gotcha questioner asks rhetorical questions or questions designed to “trap” the trainer. This participant often simply transforms statements into questions in an effort to undermine a point in the training. Obviously, genuine questions should be encouraged, but when someone asks, “Isn’t it true that. . . ?” he is actually saying, “I believe it is true that. . . .” One of the quickest ways to handle such challenges is to say, “It sounds like your question is really a statement of ______. Let’s talk about the issue you raised.” This response is effective because the trainer remains in control and demonstrates careful listening and responding. The bulldog with a tiny bone focuses on a minute point and won’t let go. A trainer can easily be drawn into a tedious debate with this one participant, while most of the group mentally withdraws. It is best to say something like, “I can see this is important to you, so perhaps we can discuss it during the break. Right now we really must move on.” Of course, be sure to follow up during the break. The joker uses wit or sarcasm to interrupt and to draw attention to herself. A playful joker can sometimes be a delightful addition to a group, even if she pokes fun at the trainer. Here again, it’s a matter of balance; it’s only a problem if the joking gets out of hand. Moving on quickly and ignoring jokes will often extinguish the behavior. If not, catch the person at break and ask her to restrain herself a bit.
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On the other hand, a sarcastic joker who throws many hurtful comments at either the trainer or others in the group should not be ignored. The trainer should either publicly or privately tell this person that her comments are not helpful and that she should keep her sarcasm to herself and let the group proceed. The trainer should be careful not to engage in sarcastic repartee in front of the whole group. Such behavior merely reinforces the participant’s sarcastic behavior. The chatterbox just can’t stop talking to his neighbors. All trainers have at times ignored such behavior, thinking it will go away, only to have other participants request that something be done. If moving closer to the talker doesn’t succeed in stopping the chatter, falling silent and looking in the direction of the talker usually will. If that doesn’t work, talk to the person during the break. Try to avoid a public reprimand, if possible. The I’m-with-you-200-percent participant is overly enthusiastic and distracts the trainer and the group with an excessive number of comments and examples. Obviously, it is not desirable to thwart genuine enthusiasm. Accepting such support and moving on is usually sufficient, but a trainer must be careful not to continually play to the one or two visibly supportive participants. Participants who support the concepts less obviously can be put off by what appears to be trainer favoritism. The late arriver-early leaver has so many “important” issues to deal with outside of the training that she is distracted and often distracts others with her comings and goings. Commonly, the late arriver-early leaver does not realize that her actions are disruptive. Again, the best way to handle this problem is one-to-one. The trainer’s first action should be to find out the facts. There may be a health problem or some other emergency for which allowances should be made. At other times, the trainer may need to insist that the person either go or stay but not continue the in-and-out behavior. Remember that administrators are frequently called out of sessions. The best way to solve this problem is to acknowledge to the group that some people may be called out of the session periodically and to request that this be done as unobtrusively as possible. There are no sure-fire or pat solutions that will take care of all of the difficulties listed above. One very general way of avoiding problems is to avoid compulsory participation. When compulsory participation is a problem, however, it should be dealt with in a direct manner. This can be done by announcing, “We are aware that all or some of you feel uncomfortable or upset about being required to be here. We are not responsible for the decisions that led to this workshop, but we are responsible for doing the best we can as we work with you. If anyone wishes to express feelings about this at this time, please do so; then we will move on.” Allow some discussion, and then move on to the next topic.
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Setting Up Groups Grouping for activities in Dimensions of Learning training sessions should be driven by the training objectives. Both quickly formed unstructured groups for brief discussions and carefully structured groups for more complex tasks should be used. The following advice is offered to assist trainers in forming groups. Unstructured Groups We suggest that the trainer periodically pause during the presentation of information to allow time for reflection and discussion. Discussion can be triggered by asking participants to simply turn to a neighbor and talk about a particular point or issue. Structured Groups Two types of relatively formal, structured groups are useful. The first is a group or team of people who came to the session together and who will be working together to implement Dimensions of Learning. The training experience can be seen as a team-building experience for them. Sometimes these groups are referred to as “home teams.” The second structured type of group is the “training task group,” which is formed to work on a specific small group activity. These groups encourage participants to share with others who are not part of their home team. By randomly selecting members for these groups, diversity is increased. Below are some suggestions for putting people into training task groups. Count off: Determine the size of the groups you want, and divide that number into the number of participants. Then count off repeatedly using that number. For instance, if there are 32 people in the large group and you want 4 people in each small group, start at one side of the room and number off through 8 until everyone has a number. Next, designate a spot for each numbered group to meet and work. This can also be done with letters. Another approach is to number name tags or handouts. The advantage to this approach is that the trainer can structure the composition of each group to represent a cross section of the workshop. The trainer can ensure gender, ethnic, and racial balance or even make sure there is a mix of administrators and teachers in each group, if that is desired. Self-selection: Another less-structured approach is to ask participants to find three or four people with whom they have not worked and form a small group. This takes a little more time but varies the forming of groups.
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Overview This section of the training is an overview of the Dimensions of Learning model. This Overview can be a stand-alone presentation or an introduction to an extended training. In either case, participants are gaining a familiarity with each of the five dimensions as they develop an initial understanding of the theoretical foundations of the model, examine sample classroom activities, and consider potential uses of Dimensions of Learning.
Before we get started on the specifics of the Dimensions of Learning model, let’s try a little warm-up activity. <Write the following question on a blank overhead: “If the day before the day before yesterday was Tuesday, what is the day after the day after tomorrow?” Or, you may use another problem or puzzle.>
Individual Task
Take a minute to see if you can come up with the answer to this puzzle.
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DB = day before DA = day after Tuesday DB DB Yesterday
Wednesday Thursday DB Yesterday
Yesterday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Today
Tomorrow
DA Tomorrow
DA DA Tomorrow
Given that Dimensions of Learning is about thinking, I wanted you to get into the proper mode for this workshop by engaging in a specific type of thinking that was needed to solve this little problem. Notice that as people shared how they got their answers, they used strategies. Some drew diagrams, some talked through their answers, some simply thought about their answers for a couple of minutes. The point is that when we engage in any particular type of thinking—problem solving, decision making, comprehending, etc.—we commonly use strategies. The ability to engage in such thinking is not magical or doled out randomly to people at birth. This ability results from developing strategies, some of which we are unaware that we use. As we explore the Dimensions of Learning model, you should gain an understanding of the type of thinking represented in each dimension and become familiar with strategies that people use who have developed the ability to engage in that type of thinking. How does Dimensions of Learning relate to thinking? Dimensions of Learning is a comprehensive model of learning, based on research in cognitive psychology, that identifies the kinds of thinking involved in the learning process. People sometimes ask if Dimensions is another thinking skills model. The answer is that any time we discuss learning, we must discuss thinking. All aspects of learning involve thinking. In this way, I suppose the answer to the question is that because Dimensions is about learning, it certainly is a thinking skills model. Small Group Activity
Before we look at the model, think for a minute about your students. Form groups of three or four with those immediately around you. In your groups, discuss these questions: What kind of thinking do you wish you would see evidence of more frequently in students? In other words, what thinking abilities do your students lack, and why does this concern you? Be ready to report back on some of the things that you have identified.
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We are going to be talking about teaching students strategies for the different types of thinking represented in the dimensions. Before we do, in your small groups consider another question that looks at the issue from the other side: “What are some good reasons for not teaching thinking?” After all, some would argue, “Nobody taught us how to think when we were in school, and we did just fine.” Consider for a few moments why we should not teach students various types of thinking. Be ready to report back to the large group.
Small Group Activity
<Participants’ answers usually include, “There really isn’t time to teach thinking,” “Standardized tests don’t evaluate thinking,” “Our job is not to teach students to think,” and “We need to teach content.”> The reason I asked you to discuss the first question—“What kind of thinking do you wish you would see evidence of more frequently in students?”—is to emphasize the broad range of needs in any student population. One motivation for the development of Dimensions of Learning was to help people clarify what they mean when they say, “We want our students to improve their thinking skills.” The diversity in your answers to the first question highlights the fact that when discussing “thinking skills,” different people refer to very different behaviors. Dimensions of Learning clearly puts the emphasis on thinking that facilitates learning. As we begin to better understand the relationship between thinking and learning, we can set clearer goals for improving both. The second question—“What are some good reasons for not teaching thinking?”—was designed to emphasize some important issues that will naturally arise as we get further into the model. The Dimensions of Learning model has strong implications for curriculum planning, instruction, teacherstudent interactions, classroom structures, and assessment. Many educators would agree that these areas can always be improved. Change comes with a price, however. Improving how we teach the types of thinking that are identified in this model might require changing how we use resources such as time, money, and people. If it becomes necessary to significantly change how we are presently using these resources, the challenges that come with trying to effect these changes will quickly provide us with additional reasons for not teaching these types of thinking. We have to ask ourselves if we are ready to commit to overcoming these challenges. Actually, it is an exciting time to be in education because there are many effective and useful innovations available to us. Some of these innovations are a result of using the research in cognition and learning and translating it into practical classroom strategies.
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Small Group Activity
In your small groups, identify some of the programs, techniques, and strategies that you have experienced as participants in training sessions or as workshop leaders. See how many innovations you can list in the next few minutes.
Large Group Discussion
Innovations like those you have listed make it exciting to be in education. But what is the downside of having so much available? <Elicit answers. Some common answers include, “There is too much to choose from” and “People jump on bandwagons; that is, they embrace an innovation, but before they implement that idea they are attracted to the next innovation that becomes available.”> The many diverse innovations and programs you have listed are often perceived as being quite separate and sometimes even pitted against one another. For example, teachers might say that they can’t implement cooperative learning because their schools are focused on standards. Or, teachers sometimes feel pressured to use specific strategies, even when those strategies do not fit well with their style of teaching or with what they are trying to accomplish. Although it is probably an unintentional outcome, sometimes teaching is evaluated as to whether particular instructional strategies and programs exist, rather than on the effect that these strategies and programs have on students’ thinking and learning. If we were to graphically depict education when it has this emphasis, it might look like this.
Overhead
O.1
Instructional Strategies and Programs
Students’ Thinking and Learning
Students’ Thinking and Learning
Students’ Thinking and Learning
Students’ Thinking and Learning
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In the center, or the target, of this graphic are instructional strategies and programs. Students’ thinking and learning sometimes gets lost or exists only on the periphery. Of course, the goal of the strategies and programs is to influence students’ thinking and learning, but sometimes students get lost or deemphasized. Ideally, instructional strategies and programs should not be in the center. They are not the end; they are the means to the end. The success of any strategy or program should be measured only in terms of the effect it has on students’ thinking and learning. When education is focused on students, we might depict it like this.
Overhead
O.2
Overhead
O.3
As stated earlier, the success of any innovation in education should be measured in terms of its influence on students’ learning. When a new innovation is explored, this should not mean that a successful technique is dropped. For example, teachers should not stop using cooperative learning when a district pursues the implementation of standards. In fact, many believe that using cooperative learning in the classroom will enhance students’ attitudes and, therefore, help more students achieve high standards. In order to achieve the goal of maintaining an emphasis on students’ learning, we recommend that educators in a school or district share a common understanding and language related to learning. As you will see, Dimensions of Learning is a model that can help provide this common understanding and language. Dimensions is a model of learning that identifies five interrelated types of thinking. As we examine this model, keep in mind that it is a model that was invented, not discovered. It is offered not as truth, but as a useful tool. Models are valuable because they help us to organize and study complex topics. Dimensions of Learning is way of organizing and studying the vast amount of information related to human learning. The five types of thinking—the five dimensions—identified in the Dimensions of Learning model are • • • • •
Attitudes and Perceptions Acquire and Integrate Knowledge Extend and Refine Knowledge Use Knowledge Meaningfully Habits of Mind
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Thus, if we are interested in promoting successful learning on the part of our students, it makes good sense to elicit, address, and teach to the thinking related to each of these five dimensions.
Overhead
O.3
The relationship among these five dimensions of learning is not linear and sequential. This is illustrated in the graphic representation shown on this overhead. As we discuss each of the dimensions, it should become clear that they interact and overlap. This model does not set up a hierarchy. Specifically, there is no implication that one dimension is on a higher level than another. It is also not a taxonomy, creating neat categories into which each part of the learning process fits. It is a model that represents the learning process. As we examine the dimensions, you will see that each of them has distinctive characteristics but that the boundaries among the dimensions are blurred. Again, although there really is not a sequence to the dimensions, they are numbered, primarily because it makes it easier to discuss them. Let’s begin our exploration, then, with Dimension 1, Attitudes and Perceptions.
Dimension 1 Overhead
O.4
Large Group Discussion
Dimension 1 is based on the principle that students’ attitudes and perceptions influence learning. This is not a surprise to anyone. What are some of the attitudes that affect students’ thinking and learning? In other words, what might students be saying to themselves that will influence how much they learn? <Elicit a few responses.> When you think about some of these attitudes, you might say that in any learning situation, learners are asking themselves a number of questions:
Overhead
O.5
• Do I feel accepted? • Am I comfortable? • Am I safe?
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• Is this information useful or interesting to me? • Can I do this? • Do I know what is expected? If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” students probably will turn much of their attention to the issue implied by the question. As a result, learning is interrupted because learners are now expending much of their mental energy trying to resolve the issue. Try to think of a situation when you were a learner and your attitudes and perceptions influenced your learning, either positively or negatively. Share your experience with a partner.
Think/Pair/Share
Overhead
O.6
Notice that this dimension has been divided into two general categories: attitudes and perceptions about classroom climate and attitudes and perceptions about classroom tasks. As we have seen, your personal anecdotes exemplify parts of this outline. If you were given enough time, you probably could think of personal anecdotes for each part of this outline. In other words, you could think of times that your learning was influenced by your positive or negative attitudes and perceptions related to teachers, peers, comfort and order, your interest in the topic, your belief in your ability, and how clear you were about what you were learning. Given that these attitudes and perceptions influence learning, what does this imply about instruction?
Large Group Discussion
Although teachers should help students to develop positive attitudes and perceptions, it is also important for students to take responsibility for their own attitudes and perceptions. The Dimensions of Learning Teacher’s Manual includes many strategies that will help teachers influence students’ thinking related to attitudes and perception. It also includes strategies to share with students so that they can increasingly take responsibility for their own attitudes and perceptions.
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You will notice as you explore the model that whenever possible and appropriate, there is an emphasis on students increasingly taking responsibility for the types of thinking related to each of the dimensions. Overhead
O.5
Think/Pair/Share
Before we move on, stop for a few moments and think about how you, as a participant in this training, would answer one or more of the questions related to Dimension 1. Then turn to someone near you and share your thoughts. Some people would say that the best way to influence attitudes and perceptions is to work on helping students acquire knowledge. Students become more confident and interested learners, these people would argue, if they are actually gaining knowledge. Although the Dimensions of Learning model does not contradict this perspective, it does imply that sometimes you have to do things that directly influence attitudes and perceptions. Other times, however, attitudes are dramatically affected by what happens in Dimension 2, Acquire and Integrate Knowledge.
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Dimension 2
Overhead
O.7
Dimension 2 focuses on the thinking needed to acquire and integrate knowledge. Before considering the processes involved in acquiring and integrating new knowledge, it is necessary to make an important distinction between the two primary types of knowledge. How many of you drive a car? How many of you hold a valid driver’s license? How many of you have never had a traffic ticket? Never mind. Just joking (although I have decided who I’m going to ask for a ride). What specific knowledge did you need in order to get your driver’s license?
Large Group Discussion
What are the attributes of the kinds of knowledge in each of the two columns that I created? You have identified the attributes of the two basic types of knowledge that we teach every day: declarative and procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge includes what we want students to know or understand: facts, concepts, and principles. Procedural knowledge is what we want students to be able to do: processes and skills.
Overhead
O.8
It is important to understand these two types of knowledge because we learn them differently. The process of acquiring and integrating declarative knowledge involves constructing meaning for, organizing, and storing the facts, concepts, and principles. Acquiring procedural knowledge requires learners to construct models for, shape, and internalize the skills and processes. Because we learn these two types of knowledge differently,
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educators should select different instructional strategies for each. Let’s look at these two types of knowledge a little more closely. As stated earlier, acquiring declarative knowledge involves constructing meaning, organizing, and storing. Although there is much more to each phase, briefly, constructing meaning involves linking new information with prior knowledge; organizing is seeing the patterns of relationships within information; and storing is a process of consciously and deliberately placing information into memory. Think/Pair/Share
Overhead
O.9
The first phase highlights the fact that learning declarative knowledge is a constructive process in that learners must “make meaning” from the information they are receiving. This is what you quite naturally do when you receive information—when you pick up the newspaper in the morning or even as you sit and attend to what I am saying right now. To illustrate, read this passage, and be ready to summarize it for your partner. Be aware of what you are doing to construct meaning. You probably notice that you are having trouble. Before you discuss the passage, I want you to read it again. This time, however, I am going to give it a title. Notice what is happening inside your head as you read this time.
Large Group Discussion
<Write “Doing Laundry” at the top of the passage, and allow time for participants to read it again. Ask a couple of people to describe the difference between reading it the first time and reading it the second time. Have them identify what exactly was going on inside their head each time.> This passage was written to highlight what happens when the process of constructing meaning breaks down. You could decode the passage—that is, you could read the words—but it was difficult for you to elicit any prior knowledge, and, therefore, it was difficult for you to understand. By providing a title for the passage, I was able to help you elicit the appropriate prior knowledge. As a result, you could understand the information. Good teachers, even if they are not familiar with this process of constructing meaning, use strategies to help students understand the information they are receiving. They know that if students don’t make connections in the information, they will not understand what they are reading or hearing. If
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students are reading a chapter in a biology book, for example, and they have an experience like the one you had as you read the “Doing Laundry” passage without the title, they might become frustrated and confused and might even give up trying to understand the information. Although textbooks are not written to intentionally break down the process of constructing meaning, students still might only decode the words and fail to construct meaning. Therefore, we should consciously and intentionally use strategies that help students to construct meaning. Has anyone used or seen someone use the strategy called K-W-L or a technique that requires students to create mental images? These are strategies that are particularly powerful in helping students to construct meaning. The Teacher’s Manual includes these strategies as well as a number of other suggested strategies for helping students to construct meaning for declarative knowledge.
Overhead
O.8
Another important phase in acquiring and integrating declarative knowledge is organizing information. This is the phase in which learners see patterns of relationships among pieces of information. It is critical that students see information in patterns, as opposed to seeing pieces of information in isolation, sometimes referred to as “infobits.” If students see the information in patterns, they are more likely to retain and use that information. Keep in mind, however, that different learners working with the same piece of information will organize or put ideas together very differently. This picture may help you better understand this idea.
Overhead O.10
Some of you probably can see the old lady very easily but have trouble seeing the young lady; others probably have the opposite problem. The same is true when learning information: Some students can clearly see certain key ideas and will therefore see different patterns of relationships than others will. It can be frustrating when students don’t see patterns that you think are obvious. For example, students might read a passage that you believe clearly explains the causes of the American Revolution. Some students however, do not see a cause-effect pattern at all. To your dismay, they simply see facts about Paul Revere. However, it does no good to become dismayed when students don’t see patterns that are clear to you. Remember, some of you can see the pattern of the old lady and the pattern of the young lady in this picture; some of you
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cannot see either of them. The message is that if we want students to see patterns in information, we should use strategies that help them. Many of you are familiar with strategies that help students organize information, strategies like graphic organizers or graphs and charts. Again, the Teacher’s Manual offers explanations of these and other strategies to help students in this critical phase of acquiring declarative knowledge. Overhead
O.8
Once you have constructed meaning for and organized your knowledge, you still have one more step to consider. Do you need to use storing strategies to ensure that you will remember any specific pieces of knowledge? Some educators become uncomfortable when this topic is raised. They might be thinking, “Surely, you are not emphasizing memorizing in this model. It is important for students to learn to access information, not memorize it.” The Dimensions of Learning model highlights the importance of remembering what you have learned. Certainly, accessing information is critical, but in classrooms and in the workplace it is also important to have a great deal of information “in your head” ready to use at any time. The good news is that by attending to constructing meaning for and organizing information, you have already influenced what will be remembered. However, there are times when there is a need to commit to memory very specific pieces of information. This is when storing strategies should be used. Prior to the invention of the printing press, the mark of scholars was their ability to recall information by chapter and verse (e.g., from The Iliad, The Odyssey, or the Bible). Current education practice sometimes does not make use of strategies that have been around for hundreds of years. As with the other phases, you can provide students with strategies that, when used efficiently, can reduce the amount of time needed for storing information. Let’s try one strategy right now.
Individual Task
Create a picture in your head of a Jersey cow (which is brown). Name this Jersey cow “Georgette.” See her standing up on one hind leg, balancing on top of the Empire State Building. She is wearing yellow underwear. She is singing Christmas carols. Hear them. Under what is now her right arm is a Virginia ham. Smell and taste it. In her left hand is a pen. With this pen she is connecting dots in the air.
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Now the picture formed by the dots is becoming clear. It’s a long winding road. On the road is Marilyn Monroe going to Mass, so see a big cathedral at the end of the road. Here is the situation. You are my fifth graders. We are studying the 13 original colonies. I want you to be able to list them, but I don’t want you to spend a lot of time memorizing them. What we just did was use a memory strategy to achieve this goal. Remember that with actual fifth graders, they would know what they are memorizing. I didn’t tell you at the beginning because it is kind of fun to find out after you have done it. The strategy I used is called the link strategy. You simply generate a symbol or substitute (a word that sounds like the target word) for each item you are memorizing and then link them together. Let’s check to see what symbols and substitutes I used. Some people might say that this is just a gimmick or a trick. Actually it is a very powerful strategy that is used effectively by students to remember lists. Because memory strategies are highly engaging, they can convince students that other kinds of thinking—such as comprehension and problem solving—also involve strategies that they can use. To see if I have been clear, before we move on, take a few minutes to jot down the key ideas we just covered in our discussion of acquiring and integrating declarative knowledge.
Individual Task
Based on what you wrote down, are there any questions you would like to ask? Is there any information that needs to be clarified before we move on?
Overhead
O.8
To review, acquiring and integrating declarative knowledge involves three phases: constructing meaning, organizing, and storing. Acquiring and
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integrating procedural knowledge also involves three phases: constructing models, shaping, and internalizing. Constructing a model means identifying the steps involved in the procedure. The learner should have a sense of each step and actually be able to perform each step, although the performance will be rough at this point. Shaping means identifying problem areas, changing steps to improve them, or analyzing how the steps are affected when the procedure is used in different contexts. This all helps to make the procedure more “your own.” Internalizing is achieved through practice. When the learner has internalized a skill or process, he or she is able to perform the procedure fluently and automatically. Think/Pair/Share
In order to begin to understand these three phases, let’s apply them to a learning experience we all have had. Try to recall learning the procedures involved in driving. How did you learn the steps? (Did your dad patiently give you instructions?) How did you shape the procedures? (Do you still drive with your hands at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock or drive only in that parking lot where you learned?) When did you know that you had internalized it? (When you were driving with your arm around your girlfriend?) Discuss your experiences with a partner. We are not going to review strategies at this time for each of these phases of acquiring procedural knowledge, but it is important to note that they are quite different from those used to help students acquire declarative knowledge. One of the purposes of the Dimensions training is to understand each type of knowledge well enough to select appropriate strategies for the type of knowledge students are acquiring. Further, as teachers understand these two types of knowledge, they are more likely to evaluate the success of any strategy by determining if, in fact, it enhanced students’ acquisition of the targeted knowledge. For example, the fact that K-W-L is a powerful, research-based strategy does not imply that teachers who use it are doing a good job. It should be used if the goal is to help students construct meaning for declarative knowledge, and its success should be measured in terms of the extent to which students construct meaning. Another reason for understanding the distinction between the process of learning declarative knowledge and the process of learning procedural knowledge is that classrooms focused on content areas containing a great deal of declarative knowledge will look very different from those focused on content areas containing a great deal of procedural knowledge. In classes in which declarative knowledge is emphasized, the greatest amount of time is spent constructing meaning, then organizing it; the least amount of time is spent storing it. In classes in which procedural knowledge dominates, even if
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just for a particular unit, the majority of time is spent practicing and shaping; the time required for the learner to construct models is relatively short. This illustrates that not all classrooms will look—nor should look—the same. In general, which subject areas are heavy in procedural knowledge? Which are heavy in declarative knowledge?
Large Group Discussion
Dimension 3
Overhead O.11
Learning, of course, involves more than just acquiring and integrating declarative and procedural knowledge. In truly effective situations, learners engage in mental processes that help them gain new insights about information, see new connections, and make new discoveries. In short, learners extend and refine their knowledge. Few would deny that teaching students to use processes that help them to extend and refine knowledge is a desirable educational goal. That goal, however, sometimes gets lost.
Overhead O.12
Consider the list on this overhead for a moment. Students need instruction in how to perform these processes, as well as specific opportunities to apply them to content. Keep in mind that the goal is not just to “do” these processes periodically or on a particular day of the week. (One school designated a thinking day, which was called “Thinking Thursdays.”) The goal is for students to use the processes to extend and refine their knowledge.
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Small Group Activity
To illustrate what is meant by using these processes to extend and refine knowledge, let’s use one of the processes: comparing. At your tables, I want you to compare two words that you know fairly well, that is, that you have already “acquired”: fun and enjoyment. <Write the following on a blank overhead. Fun and enjoyment are similar because they both ________________________. Fun and enjoyment are different because fun is _________ but enjoyment is _______. Ask participants to use these sentence stems to try to generate three similarities and three differences for the words “fun” and “enjoyment.” Give them time to work, and then elicit several examples from the groups.> As I walked around while you were working, I was trying to determine if this activity helped you to extend and refine your knowledge. I was looking to see if anyone seemed to be thinking hard in order to come up with examples of things that they enjoy and things that are fun. I was looking to see if anyone was saying anything like, “Hmm. Is everything that is fun also enjoyable?” or “That’s a good idea. I’ve never thought about it like that.” These are signs that tell a teacher that students are making connections, seeing new distinctions, experiencing an “aha.” These are signs that by using the process of comparing, students are extending and refining their understanding of the targeted knowledge. Each of the extending and refining processes can be used to achieve this goal with targeted content knowledge. <Examples of each extending and refining process are provided below. In general, it is not a good idea to cover all eight processes. If time permits, go over four or five. If time is short, go over two or three.>
Small Group Activity
In a moment, I will briefly go over the extending and refining processes identified in Dimension 3 and give you an example of how each process can be used by students to extend and refine knowledge. As I do, rate each process in terms of how frequently you use it. If you use the process a great deal, assign a 3 to it. If you use it very little, assign a 1. Assign a 2 if your use of the process is somewhere between a 1 and a 3. Comparing is the process of identifying and articulating similarities and differences among items. For example, during a vocabulary lesson, students compare words that they think they know well (e.g., invention and discovery; fun and enjoyment) and, as a result, discover connotations and distinctions that they had not previously considered.
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Classifying is the process of grouping things into definable categories on the basis of their attributes. For example, during a history unit, students classify all of the 20th-century wars by cause: (1) economics, (2) human rights issues, (3) expansionist motivations, and (4) other causes. Students often find that they had never considered how many wars were economically motivated. Abstracting is the process of identifying and articulating the underlying theme or general pattern of information. For example, during a unit on Romeo and Juliet, students abstract the general theme of forbidden love and teenage rebellion. They suddenly see Shakespeare as “a pretty cool guy.” Inductive reasoning is the process of inferring unknown generalizations or principles from information or observations. For example, after reading part of a story, students describe the physical appearance of the characters, even though the characters have not been described in the story. They then identify the specific information or observations they used to help them decide what the characters looked like. The students quickly realize how an author can develop characters through dialogue and events in the story. Deductive reasoning is the process of using generalizations and principles to infer unstated conclusions about specific information or situations. For example, students have previously learned that hot air rises. During a new experiment involving this concept, they successfully predict what must occur versus what might occur. They also explain the deductive reasoning that led them to conclude what must occur. Constructing support is the process of building systems of support for assertions. For example, during a unit on civil disobedience, students try to construct support for or against the claim that flag burning should be protected under the free speech clause of the First Amendment. As a result, they discover how complex many free speech issues can be. Analyzing errors is the process of identifying and articulating errors in thinking. For example, during a science unit, students analyze a proposal for establishing a nuclear power plant near a city. They discover errors in the logic supporting the proposal. They begin to rethink their own positions on the issue. Analyzing perspectives is the process of identifying multiple perspectives on an issue and examining the reasons or logic behind each. For example, during a unit on types of government, students identify reasons behind the perspective that democracy is the best form of government and reasons behind the perspective held by people in certain other countries that socialism is the best type of government. Students still think that democracy is better but understand why others sometimes choose socialism.
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Large Group Discussion
Which of the complex reasoning processes do you use a lot in the classroom? Which do you use sometimes? Which do you rarely, if ever, use? Which might you consider using, and how? <Elicit responses.>
Dimension 4 Overhead O.13
We are now going to shift our attention to Dimension 4. As we explore Dimension 4, you will see that Dimensions 3 and 4 have similarities and differences.
Overhead O.14 Large Group Discussion
Now, look at the processes included in Dimension 4. How do you think they are similar to and different from the processes in Dimension 3? If learning stopped at Dimension 3 (extending and refining knowledge), students might not get the opportunity to apply what they have learned in ways and contexts that are meaningful to them. When they have to use, or apply, knowledge, they not only demonstrate what they know but increase their knowledge as they are in the process of using it. For example, you use and increase your knowledge about stereos when you are making a decision about buying an expensive system; you learn a great
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deal about solar energy when you are inventing an energy-efficient house; you use and increase your knowledge about discipline when you are solving a problem like trying to raise your children without spanking them. As I go over the processes in this dimension, identify those that are most applicable to your class or classes, and be ready to explain why.
Individual Task
Decision making is the process of generating and applying criteria to select from among seemingly equal alternatives. For example, several students are in the process of selecting a musical to be produced by the drama department. They are using knowledge about all of the things they know must be considered: audience, resources, personnel, production capabilities, specific knowledge of each play being considered, and so on. Problem solving is the process of overcoming constraints or limiting conditions that are in the way of pursuing goals. For example, students decide to produce a play using only lighting effects for scenery. Invention is the process of developing unique products or processes that fulfill perceived needs. For example, students in a physical education class decide they are going to invent a new form of baseball that depends less on the skills of the pitcher. Experimental inquiry is the process of generating and testing explanations of observed phenomena. For example, a student studying the effects of exercise on health hypothesizes that many people do not exercise regularly because they do not understand its effects. He constructs a quiz and a survey to test his hypothesis. Investigation is the process of identifying and resolving issues about which there are confusions or contradictions. For example, a student is trying to explore all of the theories about where Columbus actually landed when he discovered the New World. She hopes to use what she is learning in order to construct the most likely scenario. Systems analysis is the process of analyzing the parts of a system and the manner in which they interact. For example, students studying ecosystems might select several specific ecosystems and try to determine what would happen if particular parts of each ecosystem were altered in some way as a result of human activity.
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Large Group Discussion
In the Dimensions of Learning Teacher’s Manual it is explained that the processes in Dimension 4 are used to design meaningful, long-term tasks that require students to use what they have learned. The reason for this emphasis on the reasoning processes is to ensure that students are focused on using their knowledge rather than on producing an attractive product. Too often students (or their parents!) spend a great deal of time making something that is bigger or prettier or that uses more technology than anyone else’s. Of course, using technology and making a quality product are positive goals, but the emphasis in this dimension is on the use of knowledge. Students who have limited access to art materials or technology might be able to show that they, in fact, did think rigorously about the knowledge as they completed their task. We must be careful not to let impressive products overshadow impressive thinking. In addition, many projects and products require students simply to reproduce knowledge. By structuring projects around Dimension 4 reasoning processes, we are requiring students to generate knowledge. In other words, we are requiring them to make decisions, to find solutions, and to offer clarifications. Tasks that involve using knowledge meaningfully frequently are long term in nature. It is unlikely that students could complete any of these tasks in one or two class periods. It might take days (or, for older students, weeks) to complete these complex tasks. This means that students must be provided with class time for these long-term projects and that the teacher’s role in the classroom must support these projects.
Overheads O.12 O.14 Think/Pair/Share
Take a look again at the list of reasoning processes in Dimensions 3 and 4. Remember that attending to these two dimensions means directly teaching these processes and holding students accountable for extending and refining knowledge or using knowledge meaningfully. Think about the extent to which processes like these are directly taught now in your classrooms. Turn to a partner and discuss the following questions: Should they be taught more frequently? When? By whom?
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Dimension 5
Overhead O.15
We have discussed the types of thinking required for establishing positive attitudes and perceptions (Dimension 1), for acquiring and integrating knowledge (Dimension 2), for extending and refining knowledge (Dimension 3), and for using knowledge meaningfully (Dimension 4). Now we’re going to discuss Dimension 5, Habits of Mind. The most effective learning is done when the learner is operating at a higher level of thinking. But what is “higher level thinking”? Some researchers assert that thinking and learning is “higher level” when learners are exhibiting certain habits of mind. This suggests that the phrase “higher level thinking” is not something that is demanded from specific types of tasks; it is a phrase that describes what a learner exhibits, or does not exhibit, when engaged in any type of task. For example, from a Dimensions of Learning perspective, it is not accurate to say that someone who is solving a problem is engaged in thinking that is “higher level” than a person who is trying to comprehend something; problem solving can be done rather mindlessly, whereas comprehending can demand rigorous concentration. Again, as defined in Dimensions of Learning, higher level thinking does not describe what a task demands; it describes what the learner brings to the task.
Overhead O.16
In the Dimensions of Learning model, the fifth dimension, Habits of Mind, offers a list of specific mental habits that characterize higher level thinking. Let’s examine this list with a technique frequently used by teachers to encourage students to self-assess their own use of these mental habits. Imagine a classroom of students working hard on a long-term Dimension 4 task. Periodically, the teacher asks them to stop their work and respond to one or more of the following questions. Consider what effect being presented with these questions might have on students.
Individual Task
Overhead O.17 O.18
O.19
Then put up Overhead O.16 again.> Overhead O.16
The sets of questions you just saw are simply these productive habits of mind turned into questions with a rating scale. No matter what the task, learners are engaged in higher level thinking to the extent to which they are
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exhibiting appropriate mental habits like those listed here under the three categories of habits of mind: critical thinking, creative thinking, and selfregulated thinking. Large Group Discussion
Some would argue that these habits, sometimes referred to as dispositions, are what students need to succeed in the 21st century. Assume that you agree. How can we communicate to students that these habits of mind are important? <Elicit responses. Examples: We help students learn how to develop the habits; we model them; we tell students that the habits of mind are important; we point out instances that demonstrate that such habits are integral to the success of some of their heroes.> Some would argue that although there are many ways of communicating the importance of mental habits, the message we give students is that what is graded is what’s important. I’m going to paint a scenario that asks you to explore this assertion and that also asks you to generate a new way of viewing a situation that is outside the boundaries of standard conventions.
Think/Pair/Share
Suppose there is a school in which the report card students take home includes only these 15 habits of mind. These are the only things for which students receive actual grades; the curriculum stays the same. Students are given assignments and feedback on how well they are doing, but grades are limited to these 15 habits of mind. Would you want to work at this school? Why or why not? Think about this, and then buddy up with someone and share your thoughts.
Large Group Discussion
You are highlighting the issues that consistently surround the habits of mind. Most people believe they are important. But they disagree about the role of the school and the possibility of assessing them. We are not suggesting that schools grade these habits. This activity simply highlights the issues that sometimes surface. It is important to not let disagreements related to these issues distract from addressing this dimension in the classroom. Remember that in the Dimensions of Learning model this dimension, habits of mind, is part of the backdrop of the graphic representation of the model. This implies that these habits influence the learning of the knowledge that is the focus in Dimensions 2, 3, and 4. These habits of mind are important
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because they can dramatically influence learning. Even if a school has a very “back-to-basics” curriculum, if students are also developing these mental habits, their learning will be enhanced. How, then, might you communicate to students that these habits are important, and how might you help students develop them? The Teacher’s Manual suggests a number of ways to do this, including suggestions for assessing these habits. However, the manual defines assessment very broadly. Student self-assessment, as modeled with the selfassessment questions we examined a few minutes ago on the overhead, is a useful and effective method for maintaining students’ awareness of the importance of mental habits.
Wrap-Up We have now examined all five of the dimensions of learning. Each represents a type of thinking distinct from the others, and yet, as the graphic implies, each interacts and overlaps with the others. For example, when students engage in activities that are designed to extend and refine their knowledge, they have not stopped acquiring and integrating knowledge. In fact, they continue to acquire and integrate knowledge as they work on tasks in which they use knowledge meaningfully. The Dimensions of Learning model can be used in a number of ways. There are four major ways described in the introduction to the Teacher’s Manual, pages 8-11. Turn to those pages now.
Overhead O.20
First, it has been used as a resource for instructional strategies that are keyed to the effect that those strategies should have on the learning process. Take a minute to read the section on page 8 that describes this use.
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Second, Dimensions of Learning is used to plan staff development. No one wants staff development opportunities to be perceived as one-shot inservice workshops focused on “hot topics” that are here today and gone tomorrow. The reason that schools and districts plan staff development opportunities is to help teachers learn so that they can help students learn. The Dimensions model can provide a way to focus staff development efforts so that it is clear how selected programs and strategies will affect students’ learning. Take a look at the matrix on page 10. Overhead O.21
Down the left-hand side of the matrix is an outline of the Dimensions of Learning model. This indicates that the person using this matrix has decided that Dimensions represents what he or she believes to be important in the learning process. The first step in using this matrix to plan staff development is to determine what part of the learning process you are trying to improve. This means that you should first identify your “learning goals.” Do you, for instance, want to improve students’ acquisition of procedural knowledge? Do you want to improve students’ attitudes toward learning? Perhaps you want to help students extend and refine knowledge through the use of specific reasoning processes. You might decide that you have several of these goals in mind. Once you have decided what part or parts of the learning process you would like to affect, you would move to the top of the matrix and begin to identify “resources for improvement,” that is, programs, strategies, techniques, experts, or any other type of resource that would help you to achieve the learning goal you have set. Notice that you do not have to identify only one resource; there are multiple resources that can help you to achieve your goals. As you identify resources, you also will discover that a resource identified for one specific learning goal will influence other parts of the learning process as well. Cooperative learning approaches, for example, might be selected as a resource for enhancing students’ attitudes toward each other. However, depending on how these approaches are used in the classroom, they also can potentially influence many aspects of the learning process.
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participants how one resource can influence multiple parts of the learning process and how a single part of the learning process can be influenced by multiple resources.> Of course, you do not have to use a matrix like this to use the Dimensions model as a framework for planning staff development. The point is that staff development opportunities should always be focused on a clear learning goal and that Dimensions provides a framework for setting these goals.
Overhead O.20
The third use of the model is as a structure for planning curriculum and assessment. The planning guide that accompanies each dimension provides a structure that encourages teachers to ask themselves key questions related to each dimension as they plan curriculum units. The practice of asking questions in each dimension is more important than filling out the planning guide itself. However, the guide provides a place for teachers to answer each of the questions. Using a model of learning to plan curriculum units communicates that students’ thinking and learning is more important than the activities that students experience or the strategies and techniques that will be used. As people use the model to plan curriculum, they also realize that their planning for assessment is influenced. They discover, for example, that the tasks generated in Dimensions 3 and 4 can be used for assessment as well as for instruction. Further, because the planning in Dimension 2 encourages them to clearly identify the declarative and procedural knowledge that students will be learning, teachers have found that it is easier to design conventional forced-choice assessments that clearly assess the knowledge that is important in the unit.
Overhead O.20
Finally, the most ambitious use of the model is as a focus for systemic reform. Some district administrators have concluded that so much is going on in schools and classrooms that at times the focus on students’ learning gets lost. They do not want to stop people from using diverse resources or stifle the enthusiasm people have for what they are doing, but they believe they must focus efforts and energies on ensuring that enhancing students’ learning is always the goal. As stated in the Teacher’s Manual (page 11), “Just as curriculum planners ask questions in reference to each dimension during planning, people in every part of the school system ask similar questions as they create schedules, select textbooks, create job descriptions, and evaluate the effectiveness of programs.”
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Think/Pair/Share
To conclude this overview, I’d like to see if you can briefly summarize some of the main points. Here’s how we will do it. Get a partner. One of you will be A, and one of you will be B. After you have had a little time to reflect, A’s, see if you can identify and briefly describe each of the five dimensions of learning. After each dimension, B’s, identify one thing that was clear, or validating, and one thing that was perhaps confusing, or of concern. I will ask several pairs to share to the whole group when you are finished.
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DIMENSION 1
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1 Dimension 1 Attitudes and Perceptions
To The Trainer This portion of the training covers Chapter 1 of the Dimensions of Learning Teacher’s Manual. The goal is to help participants understand the importance of attitudes and perceptions to the learning process, to reinforce what they already are doing in the classroom, and to introduce some strategies that can help teachers and students enhance attitudes and perceptions. Dimension 1 is divided into two major areas: I. Helping Students Develop Positive Attitudes and Perceptions About Classroom Climate • Feel accepted by teachers and peers • Experience a sense of comfort and order II. Helping Students Develop Positive Attitudes and Perceptions About Classroom Tasks • Perceive tasks as valuable and interesting • Believe they have the ability and resources to complete tasks • Understand and be clear about tasks
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During this training, participants will be in the process of learning •
that attitudes and perceptions influence learning,
•
that teachers can foster positive attitudes and perceptions through their own everyday behavior and through specific activities,
•
that students can learn how to take responsibility for establishing and maintaining positive attitudes and perceptions about learning,
•
how to use various strategies and techniques to help students establish and maintain positive attitudes and perceptions,
•
how to teach students to establish and maintain positive attitudes and perceptions, and
•
how to plan for this dimension of learning.
Exploring Dimension 1 Overhead
O.4
As we discussed in the Overview, attitudes and perceptions affect learning. In fact, they influence everything the learner does. Effective teachers are aware of how dramatically attitudes and perceptions affect learning and, therefore, continually monitor the class and use strategies to help themselves and students establish and maintain positive attitudes and perceptions. Consciously attending to attitudes and perceptions has positive effects on students’ learning of content as addressed in Dimensions 2, 3, and 4. Dimension 1 focuses on the specific things that effective teachers do to influence students’ attitudes and perceptions related to classroom climate and to classroom tasks.
Overhead
O.6
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Recall a time you were a student, and identify a teacher who you knew accepted and respected you. After you have that person in mind, identify how you knew he or she accepted and respected you and what difference that made in your learning. Then recall a time you were a student and a teacher did not accept or respect you. What effect did his or her feelings have on you as a learner? Share your examples with a neighbor.
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Now, recall a time you were a student and you consciously did something to improve your attitude in some way. For example, you may have done something to improve your relationship with your instructor or with your peers or to improve your attitude about your abilities. Determine how taking this action enhanced your learning. Share this example with a neighbor.
Think/Pair/Share
Both of these experiences illustrate that many teachers and students are aware of the influence that attitudes and perceptions have on the learning process. However, although a number of examples were just generated in this group, we also know that many times teachers, even master teachers, may be unaware of specific strategies that help students enhance or maintain positive attitudes and perceptions or may forget to use what they know works. Even when teachers use a variety of strategies, they cannot always meet the needs of all students. Therefore, the responsibility for establishing positive attitudes and perceptions should be shared; that is, students should be taught strategies to cultivate their own positive attitudes and perceptions about learning. Successful students may consciously or unconsciously use strategies to establish and maintain positive attitudes and perceptions, but too many students are not knowledgeable about how to take responsibility for this type of thinking. Although the role of positive attitudes and perceptions is widely known and acknowledged, viewing attitudes and perceptions as a type of thinking—in fact, a thinking skill—may be a different perspective for some people. This is a useful perspective because it emphasizes that we can have an impact on our own attitudes and perceptions; that is, we can change negative ones and cultivate positive ones. In addition, understanding that people can become skilled at enhancing and maintaining positive attitudes means that we as teachers can teach students how to develop this skill. This skill helps empower students as they learn important content knowledge. For example, a middle school student might learn to say to herself, “One of the reasons that I have been doing poorly in one class is that I know the teacher does not like me. That affects how well I do in her class. I don’t try as hard in that class as I do in others. I’ve decided to consciously go out of my way to interact with the teacher in a positive way and put forth the same—if not more—effort in her class as I do in others.” Many students do not realize that they can take responsibility for their thinking. However, as they begin to do so, they often discover just how strongly they can motivate themselves.
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Small Group Activity
Overhead
1.1
Working with one or two other people, look again at the two basic categories of attitudes and perceptions on page 14 of your Teacher’s Manual: those related to classroom climate and those related to classroom tasks. On this overhead is a list of teacher and student behaviors. For each behavior, try to determine if the goal is to affect attitudes and perceptions about classroom climate or about classroom tasks. Then go a little further, and identify the specific aspect of classroom climate or tasks that the behavior affects. For example, if you think a behavior affects students’ attitudes and perceptions about classroom tasks, determine if it influences their perceptions of the value and interest of the tasks, their attitudes and perceptions about their ability to complete the tasks, and/or their understanding of and clarity about the tasks. An activity like this illustrates how a simple behavior can influence students’ attitudes and perceptions about multiple aspects of climate and tasks. There are many strategies and activities that have been specifically designed for each part of Dimension 1. The Teacher’s Manual describes a number of these in some detail on pages 40-41.
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Classroom Climate Let’s spend some time now looking at a few of these more closely. Turn to page 15 in the Teacher’s Manual. Note that the first strategy describes how to help students understand that attitudes and perceptions related to classroom climate influence learning. Take a couple of minutes to read over this strategy and to think about why it might be important. Let’s address the second point under this strategy and create a hypothetical situation right now. How many of you had a negative experience today? Did anyone oversleep? Did anyone wake up to a car that would not start? Did anyone not want to come to the training this morning? Any of these situations could lead to someone in this workshop having a negative attitude. Working with one or two other people, create a hypothetical situation in which a participant could have a negative attitude. Then identify several things that he or she could do, given this hypothetical situation, to create a more positive attitude. Then, using the same situation, identify some things that an instructor could do to help this participant have a more positive attitude about the workshop.
Small Group Activity
The next section includes strategies (2-10, pages 16-22) for helping students feel accepted by teachers and peers. Let’s look at strategy 2: Establish a relationship with each student in the class. Please read this. The suggestions under strategy 2 are similar to the things you mentioned when you described the teacher from your past who you knew accepted and respected you. Think about how you feel when someone remembers your name. All of us perhaps would agree that when someone makes an effort to get to know us, it has a positive effect. For example, I might be so impressed that the manager at the dry cleaner calls me by name that I am motivated to keep giving him my business. Now remember, if you go out to lunch today and someone calls you by name, it is because you forgot to take off your nametag. <Just a joke.>
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Think/Pair/Share
For the next few minutes, try to remember a number of situations in which someone paid particular attention to you and it made a difference in your attitudes and perceptions. Then transfer that to your classroom or school. What could you do to make the same difference for your students? Share with a neighbor the situations that you remembered and your thoughts about how you might make this same difference with your students. Now let’s read strategy 3 about monitoring and attending to your own attitudes. A famous teacher/writer, Wallace Fowlie, wrote a book entitled Journal of Rehearsals: A Memoir in which he shares his strategy of “rehearsing” much of what he does as a teacher. He imagines his class, the discussions that he will engage in, and even how he will respond if he finds himself in certain situations. This is a powerful strategy for educators to use. Considering how you might respond to potentially negative situations before they happen can keep you from having a knee-jerk reaction that might damage your relationship with a student or create a negative classroom environment. With a partner, share a past experience in which you reacted too hastily, one that would have had an entirely different outcome had you rehearsed the situation. The next two strategies, 4 and 5, both deal with different aspects of personalizing instruction. Take a few minutes to read them before we discuss them.
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For strategy 4, I’d like you to work with one or two other people to consider a real-life situation in which the extent to which someone exhibits “equitable and positive” behavior can have an effect on those involved. Think about a waiter in an expensive restaurant, for example. Describe two different scenarios to your partner or partners. In one, the waiter is very attentive to each person at your table. In the second, he is attentive and interacts positively with everyone at the table except you. What kinds of specific behaviors might you see in each scenario? Discuss how you might feel as the patron. How might you react? Would you simply not go back to the restaurant, or would you react in a different way? Or, think of your own
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example in which “equitable and positive behavior” might have an effect on the people involved. Just like a waiter who attends personally to each of his customers, being aware of our attitudes and trying to engage in “equitable and positive behaviors” in a classroom is important. We probably all agree about that, but it’s easy to forget. None of these strategies in Dimension 1 is new. The challenge is to regularly use what we know to be effective instructional practices. The references in the margin next to strategy 4 are good resources for suggestions on meeting this challenge. They can be particularly useful on those frustrating days when you walk into the building and go straight to the calendar on the wall to count the number of days until your next vacation. Strategy 5 is similar to 4 because of the nature of individualizing or personalizing behaviors. This strategy addresses the multicultural and multifaceted nature of our society. There was a story in a newspaper about an international summit being conducted in a particular city. The article was a “how-to” on etiquette for “summit behavior.” Many of you have travelled widely and have had experiences with students from diverse cultures. Find a partner, and pretend for a moment that you are volunteering to host an international group of teachers this summer as part of a government summit. The two of you are in charge of part of the orientation. Make a list of five do’s and five don’ts that would help people to show respect for and sensitivity to people’s diverse customs, perspectives, and backgrounds. Then share your ideas with another pair.
Small Group Activity
Have you ever been in a situation in which someone did not recognize your individual or cultural needs? How did that feel to you? How might you transfer these ideas to your classroom teaching and learning? Every day, teachers host students from all kinds of backgrounds. What are some of the strategies that teachers might use in addition to those listed on page 18?
Individual Task
Strategy 6, “Respond positively to students’ incorrect responses or lack of response,” also emphasizes the importance of exhibiting respect for students. It takes time and practice to learn how to respond to students’ incorrect answers in a way that maintains the dignity of the students yet holds them accountable for correct responses. Even when the teacher tries to be kind— “Can someone help Johnny?”—students very quickly pick up on subtle cues
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from the teacher that their answers were wrong. They often react by giving up, tuning out, or acting out. There are, of course, many effective ways of responding to incorrect responses that communicate respect and help maintain students’ dignity. It is useful to build a repertoire of responses. A few are offered in the bulleted items on page 19. Take a minute to skim these. However, simply knowing these approaches is not enough. It takes practice to make sure that your body language and tone of voice communicate that you believe that students can correct or improve their responses. Let’s practice. Small Group Activity
Overhead
Overhead
1.4
1.5
Large Group Discussion
Get a partner. One of you turn your back to the screen. The person facing the screen is the “teacher.” The teacher is to begin asking the “student” some of the questions from the list on the screen. Think of it as playing “Trivial Pursuit” without the competition. The teacher should try to use a number of different ways of responding when the student fails to provide the correct answer. Did you notice that in general you were consciously looking for positive ways to help each other give the correct answer? What is difficult about responding positively to incorrect responses in the classroom? How do students react to different kinds of responses? There is nothing new about these strategies. The difficult part is to remember to use them, especially on a day when you are frustrated by students’ answers. Some faculties have made a commitment to play this little “Trivial Pursuit” game periodically at faculty meetings just to remind themselves to use these strategies.
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Now let’s look together at strategy 7, which recommends varying the positive reinforcement offered when students give a correct response. Sometimes certain types of positive reinforcement, such as praise, can have little or no effect on particular students. Take a couple of minutes to read through the bulleted items on page 20. Now let’s practice using these different ways of responding. Keep your partner from the last activity. Again, one of you be the “teacher,” and one be the “student.” I will put another set of questions on the overhead for the teacher to ask. These are more open ended and allow for many types of correct responses. The teacher in your pair should ask several of these questions to the student. The teacher should try to use a number of these different ways of responding to the student’s correct answer.
Small Group Activity
Overhead
1.6
Which ways of responding were comfortable and natural for you as the “teacher”? Which did you like as the “student”? The next two sections directly address how students can work with their peers in appropriate ways. Anyone who has taught knows that students love to work together; they just don’t always do it in appropriate ways! Also, some teachers have had the experience of assigning “group work” and afterwards vowing never to do it again. In fact, one teacher remarked that she loves to have her students use cooperative learning techniques but her only rule is NO TALKING! <Just a joke.> On a piece of paper, make a list of things you like to do.
Individual Task
Next to each example, indicate whether you like to do those things alone or with others. For several items that you enjoy doing alone, list next to them why you prefer doing them alone. Likewise, for some of the items that you enjoy doing with others, list some of the reasons that you prefer doing the activity with others.
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Small Group Activity
Now compare your list with several other people. Pay attention to the reasons given for liking to do things alone and with others. You probably discovered that people have different preferences in terms of the degree to which they like to do things alone or with others. You probably also discovered that people have different reasons for their preferences. Notice that strategy 8 suggests that teachers structure opportunities for students to work with peers. Keep in mind that this is suggested as a way of enhancing positive attitudes among peers. Just as participants in this workshop vary in the degree to which they like to interact with others, remember that students in your classroom will also differ greatly. To ensure that working together enhances attitudes towards peers, you need to make sure you understand how to make cooperation and collaboration work. Although some teachers feel less in control when students are working in groups, students can benefit from experiences that help them get along and work with others. There are some valuable suggestions offered in the bulleted items on page 20, but much more is needed to become skilled in this area. Many teachers have received extensive training in cooperative learning models and strategies. For those of you who would like to learn more about this area, some of the notable authors and researchers are listed in the margins of your Teacher’s Manual. Although students work, play, and interact with their peers, they may not have had opportunities to learn to work well together. For some of your students, it will come naturally, just as it does for some of you. For others, it will be important for you to be experienced at setting up and facilitating group interactions. One way of preparing students to work together is to use the suggestions listed under strategy 9 to help them get to know and accept each other. Take a couple of minutes to review these suggestions. The last strategy in this section—strategy 10, “Help students to develop their ability to use their own strategies for gaining acceptance”—highlights an important issue about students taking control of their own thinking and learning. An underlying theme throughout this manual is the importance of students taking more responsibility for the thinking addressed in each dimension. This means that students must increasingly use many of these strategies on their own and that they must develop their own strategies as they become independent learners. Strategy 10 describes how you can help students learn to accept increasing responsibility for gaining acceptance from teachers and peers.
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Read the suggested strategies for students to use in gaining acceptance from teachers and peers. Then make two lists. Entitle one, “What positive things do I do to be accepted by others?” Entitle the other, “What positive things do I see other people do to gain acceptance from others?” Tailor the lists to your particular grade level. Then try to create an activity that you might use in your classroom to help students generate their own lists of strategies for gaining acceptance. You might start with an event or a piece of literature to prompt the activity. How would you follow through and monitor whether students actually used one of their strategies in an attempt to gain acceptance?
Individual Task
Overhead
O.6
The second main subsection under classroom climate refers to attitudes and perceptions related to experiencing a sense of comfort and order. If students perceive the classroom as comfortable and orderly, they learn more efficiently because they do not have to put much effort into thinking about their discomfort or about creating a sense of order for themselves in what they perceive as a chaotic situation. The challenge is that different people have different criteria for what is comfortable and orderly. Therefore, it is important for teachers and students to work together to achieve positive results for everyone. You probably have noticed that we take regular breaks during this workshop. Why do you think we do that? Actually this is a rhetorical “why?”. We all know that it can be difficult to sit still for long periods of time. The first strategy on page 23—”Frequently and systematically use activities that involve physical movement”—addresses this reality. Many educators have noticed that the higher the grade level, the less physical movement there is in the classroom. What has been your experience? If you agree that there is less physical movement in classrooms as students get older and older, discuss why this is the case and whether you believe this is appropriate. Be ready to share aloud after you have discussed this with your partner.
Think/Pair/Share
The second strategy is pulled directly from the Tactics for Thinking program, which is referenced in the margin on page 24. Bracketing is a term used to describe what people do to help them focus their thinking on the task at
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hand, even when multiple things are going on in their mind. Take a minute to read the description of the strategy and the suggestions for introducing this to students. One suggestion is to identify for students examples of people who use bracketing successfully or who could benefit by using it. Let’s see if we can generate some examples together. Name some people or some fictional characters—people students relate to or admire—who are probably good at bracketing and have been successful, at least in part, because of this ability. The point is that if students understand that the uses of bracketing go far beyond paying attention in the classroom, they might be more interested in using it. The next two strategies for helping students to experience a sense of comfort and order are fairly common. Establishing rules and attending to malicious teasing are topics with which you are probably familiar. Think/Pair/Share
Just as in the previous section on helping students to feel accepted, suggestions are offered under strategy 15—“Have students develop their own standards for comfort and order”—for helping students take more responsibility for this aspect of classroom climate. Take a couple of minutes to read the first classroom example on page 27 in which Mrs. Frost is reminded of the benefits of involving students in establishing order. Share with a partner experiences in which, either as a learner or a teacher, you experienced the teacher and students working together to set and achieve standards of comfort and order.
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Classroom Tasks The next major section of Dimension 1 in the Teacher’s Manual offers powerful strategies for developing positive attitudes and perceptions toward classroom tasks.
Overhead
O.6
Notice that, as with each section of the manual, the first strategy (on page 29) suggests ways of helping students to understand the importance of maintaining positive attitudes toward classroom tasks. The remaining strategies address the goal of helping students to perceive tasks as valuable and interesting, to believe that they have the ability and resources to complete tasks, and to understand and be clear about tasks. To become more familiar with these strategies, as well as with the classroom examples provided at the end of this section, we’re going to use a jigsaw activity. Get into groups of three, and assign an A, a B, and a C. Each person will be assigned several strategies and a classroom example to read. That person will then share the key ideas with the other two members of the group. That way everyone does not need to read every section. The assignments are as follows:
Jigsaw
Overhead
1.7
A. Under the heading “Perceive Tasks as Valuable and Interesting,” read strategies 2-5 on pages 30-32. Then read the first classroom example on page 37 (the Mr. Snow example). B. Under the heading “Believe They Have the Ability and Resources to Complete Tasks,” read strategies 6-9 on pages 33-34. Then read the second classroom example on page 37 (the Mrs. Fitzsimmons example). C. Under the heading “Understand and Be Clear About Tasks,” read strategies 10-12 on pages 35-36. Then read the third classroom example on pages 37 and 38 (the Mr. Young example). As you read, highlight what you consider to be the most important suggestions. Be ready to share those ideas with the other members of your group. You do not need to discuss the strategies in detail when sharing. Your goal is to familiarize other participants with the strategies they may want to look at in greater depth at another time. To prepare for this sharing, after you finish reading, find another person with the same assignment and discuss your reactions.
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Think/Pair/Share
You are now familiar with the strategies included in the Teacher’s Manual and with the classroom examples that are offered to stimulate reflection on how to apply the ideas highlighted in Dimension 1 in your classroom. I’d like each of you to pick one of the classroom examples and identify the strategy that the teacher used to improve the learning situation. What other solutions might the teacher have tried? Share with your partner examples from your experiences of the ways that teachers help students improve their attitudes and perceptions about learning. Clearly, many of the strategies described in the manual are used regularly by classroom teachers. However, the suggestion here and throughout this training is to consciously plan which strategies, if any, you are going to use, considering each of the five dimensions of learning as you do so.
Large Group Discussion
Before we go on to planning for Dimension 1, does anyone have any questions, need anything clarified, or want to share an idea?
Planning for Dimension 1 <Participants should have a blank planning guide for Dimension 1 in the packet that we recommend you give them at the beginning of any workshop in which planning is being addressed. See Handouts section.> In the Teacher’s Manual, the discussion of each dimension concludes with a section on planning for that dimension. Included in these sections are specific suggestions that facilitate effective planning. By the end of this training, you will be familiar with the essential elements of planning for the inclusion of the five dimensions of learning in a unit of study. Let’s turn to pages 39-42 in the Teacher’s Manual. This section, which is called “Unit Planning: Dimension 1,” contains an example of a completed planning guide for Dimension 1. Planning may be something that you typically do “in your head” or, as some teachers have said, in a planning book that has a place to make notes about the activities for each day. Whether you do most of your planning in your head or write out your plans, the planning process recommended with Dimensions of Learning emphasizes the importance of asking yourself powerful questions as you plan. This process also emphasizes the importance of planning overtly for each of the dimensions of learning that the teacher
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determines is important to address in any particular unit of study. Predictably, there are planning questions associated with each dimension. The planning section at the end of each chapter is designed to walk you through each of these questions. The planning guide is offered as a place to write down your answers to these questions. Some people prefer not to write down as much detail as that shown on the sample in the Teacher’s Manual. However, we recommend that each step of the planning process be addressed. Further, our experience shows that when teachers write down their goals for student learning, it increases the likelihood that those goals will be achieved.
Overhead 1.P1
Planning for Dimension 1 requires asking and answering the following question: What will be done to help students develop positive attitudes and perceptions? There are two steps in the process of answering this question. The first step (see page 39) is to identify general or specific goals or concerns related to students’ attitudes and perceptions about learning. The second step is to identify the particular things that you plan to do to address these goals or concerns. There are two parts to this second step: (a) specifying what aspect of Dimension 1 will be used to address the goals and concerns and (b) describing, in a brief narrative, what exactly will be done. As an aid to completing this step, the strategies suggested earlier in the chapter are summarized on pages 40 and 41.
Overhead 1.P2
As you examine the sample planning guide on page 42, keep in mind that your responses to the key questions in this dimension will vary greatly as a function of a number of things including the specific unit you are planning, the time of year, and your own observations in the classroom. You may decide, for example, to try a new strategy, to simply remind yourself to do things you have been forgetting, or even to do nothing specific in the unit you are planning. Look at the planner that is completed (see page 42). Share your observations with a partner.
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Large Group Discussion
Although some people might infer that they should begin their planning with Dimension 1 because it is the first dimension, remember that there is no sequence implied by the numbers of the dimensions. Many people plan for Dimension 1 after they have planned for Dimensions 2, 3, and 4. Why do you suppose they do this?
Planning Activity
Now I want you to operate as if you are planning a unit of study, perhaps one you have taught recently. Consider your students (real or hypothetical) and decide what you might plan to do for Dimension 1. You might just want to jot down a reminder to do something on a more regular basis (e.g., “Greet students at the door.”) or to engage in a specific activity (e.g., “When introducing this unit, spend time explaining the value of the content.”).
Closure
70
<Use your preferred format for closure—table talk, pause and reflect, or learning logs—to allow participants time to think about the information that has been presented about Dimension 1. See page 9 for explanations of each of these formats for completing this portion of the training.>
Planning
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2 Dimension 2 Acquire and Integrate Knowledge
To the Trainer This portion of the training covers Chapter 2 of the Dimensions of Learning Teacher’s Manual, “Acquire and Integrate Knowledge,” pages 43 to 112. The goal is to help participants understand declarative and procedural knowledge and the three phases involved in acquiring and integrating each type of knowledge. Participants should recognize that they already use many effective strategies but that an increased understanding of how knowledge is acquired and integrated will help them to make more conscious, informed decisions about what to continue using and what kinds of additional strategies might be used to improve students’ learning. During this training, participants will be in the process of learning •
that students acquire and integrate two types of knowledge: declarative and procedural;
•
that declarative knowledge refers to the information that students know or understand, and procedural knowledge refers to the skills and processes that students know how to use;
•
that declarative and procedural knowledge each have distinctive characteristics yet are interdependent;
•
that acquiring declarative knowledge requires students to construct meaning for, organize, and store information, whereas procedural knowledge requires students to construct models for, shape, and internalize the skills and processes;
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•
how to help students acquire and integrate both declarative and procedural knowledge; and
•
how to plan a unit by clearly identifying and organizing the declarative and procedural knowledge and by specifying strategies for ensuring that students acquire and integrate this identified knowledge.
Exploring Dimension 2 Overhead
O.7
A key word in the title of this dimension, as well as in the titles of Dimensions 3 and 4, is knowledge. It is important, as we proceed with this training, to share an understanding of the characteristics of two types of knowledge: declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge. Understanding these types of knowledge will influence the decisions you make related to Dimensions 2, 3, and 4. The introduction to Dimension 2 (beginning on page 43 of your manual) provides an explanation of some of the characteristics of these two types of knowledge.
Overhead
O.8
Take a look at the two lists on page 43. In the paragraphs following the lists are definitions of procedural and declarative knowledge. Take a couple of minutes to read these definitions.
Small Group Activity
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Here’s a test that will require you to use what you just read. Many learning situations necessitate the acquisition of both declarative and procedural knowledge. For example, any time you are learning something related to technology—how to use a new software program, how to use your new lawn mower, or how to access the Internet—you must acquire both declarative and procedural knowledge. You must develop an understanding of information, such as terms, names of pieces of equipment, and uses of the technology; and you probably need to learn a skill, such as turning on a machine, activating a program, and searching for information. At your tables, identify a learning
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situation related to the use of technology, either in the home or on the job. Then generate a list of declarative knowledge (what you must know or understand) and procedural knowledge (what skills or abilities you must develop). Be ready to share your lists. In many learning situations you could do this same thing, that is, you could identify what you need to know or understand and what skills you need to develop. We will soon see that people learn these two types of knowledge differently and, therefore, that we must teach them differently. However, first let’s look in more depth at declarative and procedural knowledge. Please read about the relationships between declarative and procedural knowledge on page 45. Now, here’s a mini-quiz I’d like you to take. With a partner, answer the following questions.
Small Group Activity
Overhead
2.1
Target answers: 1. Think about the field of science. If you listed the declarative knowledge and the procedural knowledge in science, which list would be longer? Answer: The list of declarative knowledge would be longer. There are many concepts and principles in all of the fields of science. Almost all of the procedural knowledge is related to skills required to engage in scientific inquiry. This procedural knowledge might be very important, and it might be used every day in the science lab, but the quantity of declarative knowledge is greater. 2. If you were trying to determine how well I understand music, why might I justifiably object to your assessing my understanding by asking me to sing? Answer: If you ask me to sing, you are also assessing my procedural knowledge related to being able to sing. I might not want you to draw conclusions about my understanding of music from your assessment of my singing ability. If I sing well, you might correctly conclude that I understand music. However, if I can’t sing, I would not want you to conclude that I don’t understand music. I may understand a great deal.
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3. A graduate student complained, “I received an A in my statistics course. In fact, I think I could pass some of those same tests right now. However, when I started to plan the data analysis for my dissertation, I had no idea how to set up my statistical study; that is, I didn’t know which of the formulas to use.” What type of knowledge did the student lack? How could this happen, given that the student received an A in the course? Answer: The student must have taken a course in which procedural knowledge related to formulas was emphasized. It is possible that all of the tests assessed this procedural knowledge; thus, the student scored well. If, however, the student did not understand the concepts related to the formula (the declarative knowledge), then that would explain why he or she did not know when to use the formulas.> Hopefully, it is evident that both declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge are important. We are now going to look at each type of knowledge in more depth. Declarative knowledge, as we have seen, includes the information that we want students to know or understand. This does not imply that students simply should know long lists of facts. Declarative knowledge includes facts, but it also refers to concepts, generalizations, and principles. It might be useful at this point to understand how to organize information in ways that highlight the distinctions among facts, concepts, and generalizations and principles. Turn to page 46 in your manual. Overhead
2.2
This section, entitled “Levels of Generality and the Organization of Knowledge,” identifies and describes six common organizational patterns. Take a few minutes to read the descriptions. If you are more of a visual learner, after reading these descriptions turn to pages 63-65 and examine the graphic organizer associated with each pattern.
Overheads
2.3
2.4
These common organizational patterns help us to make sense of large amounts of information. For example, think of something about which you know a great deal: something you enjoy doing, such as cooking, sewing, or playing golf; or a topic you love to learn about, such as stamps or birds. Now, pretend that you are selecting some information about this topic to teach to students. In a few minutes, I am going to ask you to use the organizational patterns to help you decide which information to include and which patterns you would want your students to see. But first, I will model this for you. Suppose I want to teach students information about quilting.
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Overhead
2.2
I might start by asking myself if there are any terms or descriptions of specific things related to quilting that might be important for students to know. I might decide that there are several names of quilting patterns that I want them to know, such as the “double wedding ring” and the “log cabin” design. Would there be any time sequences? Probably not. How about process/cause-effect relationships? Yes. I might want them to be familiar with the major steps of the process of making a patchwork quilt, from designing the pattern to finishing the edges. My list might end up looking something like this. <Write these examples, or the examples from your selected topic, on Overhead 2.2. 1. Descriptions Vocabulary Terms Facts
Patterns: Double Wedding Ring, Log Cabin
2. Time Sequences 3. Process/Cause-Effect Relationships
Process of making a patchwork quilt
4. Episodes 5. Generalizations/Principles
Many crafts developed as a result of scarcity. The arts and crafts of an era reflect the culture of the time.
6. Concepts
Scarcity, arts, crafts>
Notice the examples of concepts and generalizations/principles on my list. Sometimes people are somewhat confused about the difference between a concept and a generalization/principle. This is because the word concept is often used loosely in everyday language to refer to any general idea. Here you can see, however, that we are referring to a concept as a word (or sometimes two words like artificial intelligence) that represents a general class or category of things or ideas. A generalization or principle is a statement about a general class or category.
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Individual Task
Now I’d like you to try using these organizational patterns to plan for teaching information to someone. At first, I’d like you to work alone on this assignment. You will be sharing your work later. Select a topic that is of interest to you, and use these organizational patterns to identify and organize the information that you might teach to someone. Keep in mind that you are using the patterns to organize a list of information—declarative knowledge—that you might teach someone. At this point you are not making final decisions about what you would actually teach. Now turn back to page 48 in your manual. The last paragraph on that page explains that these organizational patterns represent a hierarchy, from the most specific to the most general. As explained, it is important to understand that both concept patterns and generalization/principle patterns contain information that is at a higher level of generality than the information in the other patterns. As the first example in the paragraph on page 48 explains, learning about the concept of culture will be much more useful to someone than simply learning about the culture of a specific country. Using my quilting example, I might learn about specific quilting patterns and understand how these patterns symbolize aspects of the lives of pioneers. Although this is interesting specific information, it would be more useful if I learned the generalization “Arts and crafts of any era reflect the culture of that era.” This generalization is at a higher level of generality and thus could be applied to many different situations.
Overhead
2.5
Examine for a minute the examples on this overhead of potential goals for units or study. Notice that the specific information is paired with more general concepts and generalizations/principles.
Small Group Activity
Now look at the list of information you generated earlier about your topic of interest. Did you identify any generalizations/principles or concepts that would transfer to other topics? If not, could you? Reexamine your list, and share the results at your tables. To review, declarative knowledge can be organized into patterns so that students see the relationships among the pieces of information. There are six common organizational patterns that can be used to organize the information. Some of these patterns organize very specific factual information; others
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organize information that is more general. We will revisit these patterns when we explore how to help students organize and see patterns and when we practice planning. Procedural knowledge is somewhat easier to organize. Take a minute to read the section about procedural knowledge on page 49 of your manual. Procedural knowledge, then, is not organized into patterns. It can be organized as a continuum, from very specific skills to more general processes. Go back to page 43, and look at the list of procedural knowledge. Notice that some of the procedural knowledge identified is at the very general process level. Some items on the list are more specific skills. With one or two other people, try to identify some specific skills that would need to be taught in order for students to learn the items that are more general processes. Be ready to share.
Small Group Activity
<Participants should be able to identify a variety of skills. For example, the process of setting up an experiment would include skills like controlling variables and analyzing data. You might find that some of the skills identified by participants are actually examples of the declarative knowledge that is needed to use a skill or process. For example, if someone states that in order to read music a person must understand what the musical symbols represent, point out that recognizing symbols is an example of declarative knowledge. This is a good time to reiterate the following point.> You probably noticed once again that for all procedural knowledge, you can identify important declarative knowledge that is associated with it. For example, setting up an experiment is included on the list of procedural knowledge on page 43. You would not be able to set up an experiment if you did not know what a variable was or if you did not understand the concepts related to the subject of your experiment. As we study the remainder of Dimension 2, we will see that when teaching skills and processes, it is important to make sure that students understand the related declarative knowledge. At this point, some of you may be wondering why we are spending this time trying to understand the distinctive characteristics of declarative and procedural knowledge. A primary reason for pursuing this understanding is that people learn these two types of knowledge differently. Let’s look at the phases of learning both declarative and procedural knowledge. These are explained briefly on pages 49-50.
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Overhead
2.6
Take a look at the two figures on page 50. Notice that to learn declarative knowledge, the learner needs to construct meaning, organize, and store. Learning procedural knowledge requires the learner to construct models, shape, and internalize. These figures highlight that the relationship among the phases is different for each type of knowledge. For declarative knowledge we will see, for example, that when we are constructing meaning for information, we might already be organizing it and that when we are constructing meaning for and organizing information, we are more likely to store, or retain, that information. However, for procedural knowledge, we tend to move through the phases in a more linear fashion, although we may move back and forth among the phases, as needed. For example, if we begin to practice the procedural knowledge in order to internalize it, we may discover that we need to go back and do some work on shaping it. The relationships among the phases for each type of knowledge will be clearer to you as we study each. We will now look more closely at declarative knowledge.
Declarative Knowledge There is a great deal of declarative knowledge that students are expected to acquire and integrate in school. Although some educators and noneducators alike resist emphasizing the acquisition of information in an age of technology, others suggest that we cannot function and progress as a society unless we share a common body of knowledge that includes information that we all know and understand. As the debate rages on, it continues to be our responsibility as educators to identify important declarative knowledge and to make every effort to provide students with multiple opportunities to acquire and integrate that knowledge. This section of the Teacher’s Manual provides suggestions for helping to achieve that goal. Overhead
2.7
Construct Meaning As explained in the introduction to Chapter 2 (pages 49-50), acquiring declarative knowledge requires three overlapping phases. The first phase we will consider in learning declarative knowledge is constructing meaning. This is facilitated when learners are able to connect new knowledge to what they already know. During any learning situation, however, students may not consciously and explicitly make these connections. The result may be similar to your experience of reading the “Doing Laundry” passage during the Overview.
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There are a number of strategies and approaches that teachers can use, and that they can teach to students, to ensure that students are constructing meaning as they are learning declarative knowledge. The first strategy, described in your manual on page 52, provides suggestions for helping students understand the process of constructing meaning. The “Doing Laundry” passage is included in this section as an example to use with students just as it was used with you during the overview of the Dimensions of Learning model. The reason this is the first suggestion under constructing meaning is that students have a greater chance of successfully using all of the other strategies for constructing meaning if they understand the purpose of the strategies. Take a minute to read the suggestions for building this understanding. The next strategy, strategy 2, describes the use of the three-minute pause. Please read this section in your manual. We just used the three-minute pause while you were reading. This is one of the simplest strategies for constructing meaning. As students are exposed to new information when, for example, reading a book, watching a film, or listening to someone presenting information, they periodically are asked to pause and turn to a partner to summarize, discuss interesting ideas, and identify and resolve any areas of confusion. This pause may last three minutes, or it may be shorter. Students are then asked to turn their attention back to the learning experience. Why would this strategy help students to construct meaning? How can it provide you with an indication of how well students are constructing meaning?
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A very different strategy for constructing meaning is for learners to use all of their senses as they are exposed to information. This strategy (strategy 3) is described on pages 53 and 54 of the Teacher’s Manual. Please read this section. Although many of you probably have used this strategy in the classroom, it is worth reviewing. Teachers have reported that when students become proficient at using this strategy, their understanding and retention of information is positively affected. However, to get these results, students must practice generating mental images. It is relatively easy to do this when a passage of information contains rich language that helps them to create images, but it is much more difficult when the information is presented in a traditional academic style. Let me illustrate. Individual Task
Overhead
2.8
In a moment I’m going to put up a passage taken from National Geographic. I’d like you to read this passage. As you read, consciously try to create a mental image, using all of your senses. Be ready to share your images, to describe what was going on in your mind. In other words, be ready to describe what it was like to think about the information. When we are stimulated by writing that is rich with images, it is relatively easy to engage all of our senses. We construct pictures almost unconsciously and, as you just experienced, use our senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. As a result, we understand and retain the information fairly well. Content knowledge presented in textbooks or lectures, however, sometimes does not have the rich language you just experienced. In such cases, learners have to consciously work to engage all of their senses in order to help themselves construct meaning. The more abstract the information, the more challenging it is to create mental images and the more teachers must help students to create them.
Overhead
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Now I want you to read this passage. Be prepared to answer: What can you see? Hear? Smell? Taste? Touch? What mental pictures and sensations did you create?
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This passage is written in “textbook style” and describes a process. Both of these characteristics make it more challenging for readers to engage all of their senses because the language is straightforward, dry, and abstract. How might you help students to engage all of their senses when they are presented with passages like this? <Make the point that you were demonstrating several techniques as you tried to elicit more and more details about their mental pictures. Discuss other ways for helping students to refine this skill, such as describing your own mental pictures and sensations to students, asking students to describe their pictures and sensations to each other, and using a think-aloud to model the strategy.> Turn to page 81, and read the second classroom example, the Mrs. Garron example. It shows how a teacher might use the mental imagery strategy to engage students in the process of learning specific declarative knowledge in the classroom, in this case a fifth-grade classroom. Even if you don’t teach at this level, the example might help you think of ways to use this strategy with your students. Strategy 4 (Help students to construct meaning for vocabulary terms) also encourages the development of the ability to create images, but it applies the strategy specifically to vocabulary development. You will recall that when identifying the declarative knowledge that is important in a unit of study, you might identify key vocabulary terms. The section in the Teacher’s Manual that deals with Strategy 4 highlights the point that if students are simply memorizing definitions of vocabulary terms, especially when they don’t really understand the definitions, they are not constructing meaning. As a result, the memorized definitions are virtually useless. The five-step process described under Strategy 4 (see page 55) emphasizes the importance of students developing an understanding of the terms they are learning. With this approach, students do not memorize definitions from the dictionary but, instead, use them as a resource for information that helps them to understand the words well enough to create mental images. If they are unable to create images, students learn that they must seek out other resources—another dictionary, a dictionary on software, a parent, a teacher—
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to get the information necessary to understand the terms well enough to create images of them. Helping students to construct meaning can also be facilitated with a strategy called K-W-L, which was developed by educator/researcher Donna Ogle. It is described on page 55 of the Teacher’s Manual. Overhead 2.10
The first step in the K-W-L strategy is to ask students what they already know (K) about the topic of the lesson. As students give their ideas (whether right or wrong), write them in the first column of a K-W-L chart. The second step is to ask students what they want (W) to know about the topic. Write their responses in the second column. The third step is to present the information so that students can read, hear, or experience it in some other way. It is important to remind students to keep in mind what was recorded in the K and W columns. Finally, after you have presented the information to students, ask them what they learned (L). As you record their responses, draw arrows to make explicit connections to items listed under K and W. Some of what students learned may validate or correct information listed under K or answer questions under W. As explained on page 56, there are some additional things you can do to make this strategy work for your students: • Under K (what I know) it is sometimes helpful to ask, “What do you think you know?” Then it’s okay if students find out later that they were wrong. • Under W (what I want to know) a related question might be, “What do I think I’m going to find out?” Model for students how scanning materials before they read can help them in this step. • Some teachers add another W (what I want to know now) to reinforce the idea that learning is ongoing; it does not stop at the end of the lesson. Teachers who have used the K-W-L strategy report that they see evidence that students are constructing meaning when they use this strategy. They also report some predictable glitches: When students are asked, “What do you want to know?”, they sometimes reply, “Nothing” or “I don’t know enough to know what I want to know.” It helps to model strategies— scanning materials, predicting from pictures, talking to others—that help them to anticipate the information that they will receive.
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Many teachers feel that it is best for students to discover or figure out the meaning of information. This approach, sometimes referred to as an “inductive” or “inquiry” model, can be used very successfully to help students construct meaning. There are many specific instructional strategies that fall into this category; the Teacher’s Manual provides a step-by-step description of one such strategy: concept attainment. This strategy takes students through a process that helps them discover the important attributes of a concept they are learning. In this process of discovery, students construct meaning for the concept by using the clues provided to them. Let’s walk through the version of the concept attainment strategy that is described in the Teacher’s Manual. The first step in this strategy is to present students with several examples and nonexamples of the concept they are learning. Students then try to identify what the examples have in common (and, conversely, what the nonexamples lack); that is, they try to identify the attributes of the concept. Usually, the teacher does not give the name of the concept at first. Instead, he provides more and more examples and nonexamples as students try to figure out the important attributes of the concept by identifying what the examples have in common. When students think they know the important attributes, they do not give these answers aloud because that would immediately cut off the critical thinking processes of the other students. Instead, if they think they know the attributes, students simply give other examples and nonexamples. In this way, they can test their own ideas and provide additional examples for other students to consider. Now I want you to try to figure out the attributes of the concept illustrated by these examples and nonexamples.
Large Group Discussion
Overhead 2.11
I’m sure you will quickly recognize that the concept is compound word. However, pretend that you do not know. What do you think are the major attributes of the examples? Can anyone think of any additional examples and nonexamples to add to the lists?
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Let’s try another example of this concept attainment strategy. Overhead 2.12
<Use Overhead 2.12 to take participants through the process for the concept “rhombus.” Attributes: figure with four equal sides; opposite sides must be parallel. Show examples and nonexamples one at a time. Ask participants to list attributes.> Presenting new concepts in this way is a very powerful technique because it requires students to construct the defining attributes of a concept. Students must retrieve their prior knowledge about the examples and nonexamples in order to try to identify characteristics that the examples share and that the nonexamples lack. When using the strategy, it is important to reinforce students’ thinking, and not just the right answers, as they try to figure out the attributes of the concept.
Individual Task
Take a look now at the italicized lists of examples and nonexamples in the middle of page 58 of the Teacher’s Manual. Quickly put your hand over the paragraph under the two lists so that you cannot see the answer. As you try to identify the attributes of this slightly more complex concept, notice how much prior information you must use to construct the meaning of the concept. Finally, Strategy 7 suggests that teachers use instructional techniques that provide students with strategies to use before, during, and after they receive information. These strategies can be used by learners during the entire reading process. Two instructional techniques that follow the before, during, and after structure are described in the Teacher’s Manual: Reciprocal teaching and SQ3R.
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Read through the description of reciprocal teaching on pages 59 and 60, and then read the information in the margin on page 59. Explain to a partner why you think this technique produces such dramatic results with students.
Think/Pair/Share
The strategies included in this section of the manual are all examples of things that teachers and students can do to ensure that information is being learned, not just taught. No matter how rich the activity, learners will successfully acquire knowledge to the degree to which they actively engage in constructing meaning, whether they are reading, listening to, observing, or doing something with the information.
Organize I am going to show you a picture of something fairly familiar to you. Although this is a simple task, don’t say aloud what you see. People will recognize it at different times.
Overhead 2.13
The point of doing this is to help you experience what it is like when something that is clear to some people is, at best, fuzzy to others. For those who had trouble seeing the dog, how did it feel when others could see it? For those who saw it before it was outlined, what feelings did you have when you knew you could see it and others couldn’t? For those who quite clearly saw something other than a dog, how did you feel when you found out you were wrong? As information is being presented in the classroom, students may or may not recognize the patterns of ideas in that information, just as many of you had trouble recognizing the pattern of the dog. Of course, patterns in information are not intentionally distorted as the picture of the dog was, but what students see in even well-organized blocks of information still will vary. The key to seeing the dog was being able to organize all of the lines and shadows in order to recognize the pattern of a dog embedded in the picture. Likewise, when trying to acquire information, the key is to organize the ideas in order to recognize the patterns of relationships embedded in the
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block of information. Just as there were distracting lines hiding the picture of the dog, there are often words and ideas that, for many students, seem to distract them from the organizational patterns in the information. Overhead
2.7
Organizing declarative information is a critical part of acquiring declarative knowledge. The strategies on pages 61-72 describe a variety of methods for helping students to see patterns in the information they see and hear. Perhaps the most common strategy used to organize information is the formal outline. For some people, outlining is an effective way of understanding the relationships among key ideas; for others, it is difficult and not very helpful. However, there are many other strategies for helping students to see the patterns of relationships in information. The first strategy on page 61 reminds us that it often helps for students to understand the purpose of the strategies in this section: to organize declarative knowledge. The activities at the bottom of page 61 and the top of page 62 suggest a sequence of experiences that might help students to become aware of their ability to see patterns all around them and then to use this ability to recognize patterns in information. In the introduction to Dimension 2 we examined the most common organizational patterns in information. You’ll recall that these patterns were concepts, generalizations/principles, episodes, processes/cause-effect relationships, time sequences, and descriptions. Students who are familiar with these commonly used patterns can become skilled at using them to organize information that they read or hear. To see and understand these patterns more clearly, students can learn to use graphic organizers. Read the sections on pages 62-65, which again describe the most common organizational patterns and provide a graphic organizer for each.
Overheads 2.14
2.15
2.3
2.4
Overheads
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Let’s use these patterns. Take a few minutes to read the passage on page 66 entitled “Dictators Rise to Power.” When you finish, do not look ahead to page 67.
Individual Task
Now, use one of the graphic organizers you just read about to organize important information into one of the six common organizational patterns. Go ahead and draw the organizer, and begin to put in the key information. For this first part of the activity, work alone. Now, compare what you have done with at least two other people. Look at pages 67 and 68, and compare what you created with the organizers you find there. As you look them over, notice that as each organizational pattern is used, different information from the passage is highlighted. Although many teachers have used graphic organizers with students, they commonly use a web-like organizer similar to that used here under descriptive pattern. However, it is important to remember that the graphic organizer that is used should visually depict the relationship you want students to see. The use of patterns to organize the information can be either teacher directed or student directed. The teacher may decide that there are specific ideas and relationships among ideas that students must clearly see; in this case, he or she should select the patterns to organize information. The other option is to ask students to organize information on their own. Of course, this approach makes students more active learners. If pattern recognition is truly student directed, the teacher needs to accept what students see, as long as the information is well organized. Another method of communicating specific organizational patterns is to provide students with questions to help them use a specific pattern and to see the relationships among the ideas being organized. As you can see from the examples on pages 68 and 69, there are specific questions to ask when you want to emphasize a particular organizational pattern.
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Once students become familiar with the common organizational patterns, you can encourage them to take notes using graphic representations. Examine Figure 2.8 on page 70, which shows one way of organizing notes using graphic representations. One teacher explains that she periodically requires students to use this method. Her students prepare their note-taking paper with two columns. Then periodically during the learning experience, she cues them to pause and construct a graphic organizer for their written notes. She also encourages them to use pictographic representations. Look at page 71 for an explanation and an example of a pictograph. Small Group Activity
Working with a couple of other people, select one of the graphic organizers for the dictator passage that you were working on a few minutes ago, and create a pictographic representation instead. You do not have to be an artist to make this work. Think of it as playing the game of “Pictionary” in which you use stick figures and crude drawings to communicate meaning. Building pictographs engages students in representing linguistic information nonlinguistically. As suggested, physical models also might be used. Both of these types of representations require students to select important information that should be included in their pictographs or models. Thus, the strategy encourages students to focus on key ideas and the relationships among them.
Small Group Activity
In groups of three, select a current event with which you are fairly familiar. Represent the key ideas and the relationships among those ideas using a pictograph. When you are finished, I will ask you to share your product. As you share your pictographs, describe how you decided what to include and why you represented it the way you did. <Sharing can be with the whole group, among small groups, or both.>
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Think about the explanations just given for the pictographs. What evidence is there that creating these representations helps students to organize information? Teachers who have taught students to take notes using pictures and graphic organizers have reported that many students get excited about the possibilities. “You mean we can draw what we are learning?,” they ask. Of course, many students still need guidance in building useful pictographs and organizers, but for some students note taking begins to mean more than the busy work of copying what’s on the blackboard or writing down every word the teacher says. Finally, it is recommended that you use graphs or charts to organize information. This approach is commonly used to organize quantitative information, but the example on page 72 shows a way of depicting conceptual ideas as well. There are, of course, variations of all of these strategies. Turn to page 82, and read the classroom example in the middle of the page. It begins, “A team of health education. . . .” This example does not include a pictograph or a graphic organizer as described in the manual, but you will see the graphic as a variation designed to help students organize information.
Store
Overhead
2.7
When students use strategies that help them to construct meaning and organize information, they are more likely to remember that information. However, there are times when specific memorization techniques are necessary. Discussing memory makes some people uncomfortable. How many of you think you have a good memory? A bad memory? A so-so memory? How many of you have already forgotten the question? The characterizations associated with the labels “good memory,” “poor memory,” and so on are one reason people feel uncomfortable with the topic. Another is that many people believe memorization has no place in schools. The reality, however, is that sometimes there is information that students are expected to memorize. As explained in the introduction to the section on
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storing declarative knowledge (page 73 in the Teacher’s Manual), we as educators need to make good decisions about what students should memorize. We then should provide them with effective strategies so that it will not take them long to memorize necessary information. The most common method of memorizing is mental rehearsal, repeatedly going over information. This is also the least efficient way of storing new knowledge. There are better strategies for enhancing long-term memory. How many people have used mnemonic devices to help students memorize information (for example, ROY G. BIV to remember the colors of the rainbow or HOMES to remember the Great Lakes)? <Elicit other examples.> Creating mnemonic devices can be a very efficient way of storing specific content knowledge. Unfortunately, they are somewhat limited in their use. It is difficult to generate mnemonics for everything we want to memorize. There are, however, a number of other strategies students can use. First, help students understand that storing information can be facilitated by using strategies for constructing meaning and organizing. There are several suggestions on page 74 for helping to build this understanding with students. Next, introduce students to one of the most common principles related to how human beings store and recall information: Memorizing often relies on creating mental images, and these images rely on our ability to use symbols and substitutions. Think/Pair/Share
To illustrate this principle, think about something significant that has happened to you within the last year (such as a wedding or graduation you attended or a hike you took in the Grand Canyon). Try to recall that incident in detail. Turn and tell your neighbor about it. Now, describe what was happening in your head as you recalled and described the event. Were you seeing things? Smelling? Tasting? Hearing? Touching? When we remember something really well, like the event you just recalled, our senses are usually involved. In the section of this model on constructing meaning, one strategy was to have students use all of their senses. The suggestion was to help students create mental pictures and physical sensations so that they can attach what they know to what they are
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experiencing. When the instructional goal is to store information, images that include both mental pictures and physical sensations are used in a more systematic and structured way. Take a moment to read the second strategy for helping students to store declarative knowledge (pages 74 and 75). This section suggests helping students use symbols and substitutes to create mental pictures and physical sensations for information. A symbol is a concrete image that stands for or represents abstract information. The clenched fist is a symbol for power. The dollar is a symbol for money. If I were trying to remember the phrase “Money is power,” I might use these symbols. I would create a mental picture of a clenched fist and a dollar sign. I would also try to put touch, taste, smell, and so on in the picture. A substitute is a word that sounds like or looks like abstract content but is familiar and concrete enough to picture mentally. For example, if I were trying to remember that Topeka is the capital of Kansas, I might picture a top (Topeka) spinning on a can (Kansas). Note the example on page 75 that shows a picture that might be created to remember that water is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Turn to page 82, and read the last classroom example. It explains the creative result of a group of students using substitutions to recall information.
Overhead 2.16
In small groups, see if you can generate a symbol or a substitute for the seven continents. Form these groups with the people around you in whatever way feels comfortable.
Small Group Activity
Becoming skilled at creating mental pictures and physical sensations for all types of concrete or abstract information will allow students to use a number of memory strategies. One of the most widely used strategies is the link strategy, which is described on page 75. It involves telling yourself a little story that “links” together the mental pictures and physical sensations you have created for the information. “Georgette, the Jersey Cow,” the system you learned in the Overview session, is an example of the link method. The mental pictures in this system were combinations of symbols and substitutes.
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Small Group Activity
See if you can remember the pictures that were linked (during the Georgette, the Jersey Cow/thirteen original colonies example) and then determine which ones are symbols and which are substitutes. Now, with a partner take the symbols and substitutes you generated for the seven continents and try to link them together into a story or picture. There are a number of other highly structured systems that use mental pictures. Four of these systems are described on pages 76-80. I just demonstrated the rhyming pegword system. It is relatively simple to use. Now I’ll teach you how to use it.
Overhead 2.17
Repeat this list of words to yourself. One is a bun, two is a shoe. Get a distinct mental picture of the items (bun, shoe, tree, etc.). Now I will give you a grocery list, and you will be able to list the items in the order I give them to you. Recall the pegword for the number I give you. I’ll start with the number one. Get a picture of the bun. Now put into that slot a carton of milk. Make sure the picture of the pegword (i.e., bun) and the picture of the grocery item (i.e., milk) interact in some way (e.g., milk is pouring over the hot dog bun making it soggy. Ick!). Also remember to try to hear, smell, taste, and touch something. Focus on the picture of the two items (the pegword and the grocery item), then let the picture go.
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Many students can use the rhyming pegword system the first time they are exposed to it or after a little practice. Whether they use it for content is not necessarily important. They can just have fun with it. Often students will discover that memorization, just like other thinking skills, is not a “gift” that you have or that you lack. Anyone can get better at any type of thinking when he or she has strategies for doing so. Take a moment to read a more content-related use of the rhyming pegword system on pages 76 and 77. Then read about the number/key word, the number/picture, and the familiar place systems, which are variations of the pegword system. Now, with a partner, try to think of content that you teach that requires students to memorize. Discuss whether you think any of these strategies would help students to be successful.
Think/Pair/Share
The final strategy for helping students to store declarative knowledge, strategy 5, reminds us that mnemonic devices are also very powerful ways of helping students to recall information. As we have seen, there are many strategies that can be presented to students to help them store important information. However, once again, please remember that when students spend time constructing meaning and organizing, they will be more likely to retain the information.
Overhead
2.7
We have examined strategies for helping students to construct meaning for, organize, and store declarative knowledge. There is no guarantee that these strategies will work, but they all have been used effectively with students who are acquiring declarative knowledge. We will see that when planning for declarative knowledge, it is important to identify which strategies will be used during the unit to ensure that as students engage in various activities, they are constructing meaning for, organizing, and storing the information.
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Closure
<Use your preferred format for closure—table talk, pause and reflect, or learning logs—to allow participants time to think about the information that has been presented related to this section of Dimension 2. See page 9 for explanations of each of these formats for completing this portion of the training.>
Planning for Dimension 2, Declarative Knowledge <Participants should have a blank planning guide for declarative knowledge in the packet that we recommend you give them at the beginning of any workshop in which planning is being addressed. See Handouts section.> We have been discussing the types of thinking needed to efficiently acquire and integrate declarative knowledge and have examined strategies that will stimulate these thinking processes. It is important to carefully plan instruction related to Dimension 2. Like each of the dimensions, planning for Dimension 2 requires a process that includes steps designed to answer a primary question, in this case, “What will be done to help students acquire and integrate declarative knowledge?” This process is described on page 83 of your manual. Overhead 2.P1
As you follow these steps and make decisions, record your ideas and plans on a planning guide, as shown on page 92.
Overhead 2.P2
The planning process for Dimension 2 is perhaps the most difficult and time consuming of any of the dimensions. This is because in Dimension 2 you are identifying the knowledge that you want students to acquire and integrate, extend and refine, and use meaningfully. Notice that Step 1 asks the question, “What declarative knowledge will students be in the process of acquiring and integrating?” Accompanying this question, a sentence stem begins the answer, “As a result of this unit, students will know or understand . . .”. This part of the planning process is covered beginning on page 84. There are several steps within Step 1. These steps vary depending on the extent to which you use standards and benchmarks.
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focuses them on the examples that most closely match their school, district, or state requirements for curriculum design. In other words, if they use standards and benchmarks, emphasize those examples that use benchmarks. If they do not, focus them on the “without standards and benchmarks” examples.> Frequently, unit planning begins with developing a title for the unit. As described in Step 1a, that title might be a topic, a theme, a concept, a generalization, or any other unifying idea that brings meaning to the unit. A unit title simply gives us a way of talking about the unit. The title of the example in the Teacher’s Manual is the Colorado Unit. Step 1b suggests brainstorming a list of information that should be included in the unit. This is just a way of getting started. A list from this part of planning the Colorado Unit might have looked something like this.
Overhead 2.P3
Step 1c asks you to start making some decisions. You can’t teach everything there is to know about Colorado or about any topic. To help you make decisions about what to teach, it is suggested that you use the organizational patterns identified in the introduction to Dimension 2 and reinforced in the section of the manual on organizing declarative knowledge. If, in addition, you use standards and benchmarks, at this point you should let the benchmarks for your grade level drive your decisions. With or without benchmarks, you need to spend some concentrated time identifying and organizing the declarative knowledge that it is important for students to learn. Take a couple of minutes to read through the identification process explained on page 85. (This includes a process to use with and without standards and benchmarks.) Then examine the accompanying sample worksheets and unit planning graphics on the following pages.
Overheads 2.P4 2.P5 2.P6 2.P7
Notice that not all of the information on the brainstormed list was identified as important. Notice also that much of the specific factual information was selected because it supports the more general concept patterns and generalization/principle patterns. Let’s look at these two patterns more closely.
Overhead 2.P3
When you are identifying concepts and generalizations/principles, you are identifying knowledge that will help students understand information other
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than that included in this unit. Both factual information (which is more specific) and concepts or generalizations/principles (which are more general) are important. However, factual information is what students should know, whereas concepts and generalizations/principles are information that students should understand. We will see in other dimensions that general knowledge (that is, concepts and generalizations/principles that students need to understand) is the knowledge that is worth extending, refining, and using meaningfully. If only factual information is identified, we suggest that you ask yourself if there is also general knowledge that students should be acquiring and integrating during the unit. During planning, then, you are identifying the important declarative knowledge and organizing it into patterns. The worksheets on pages 86 and 88 are only samples that represent the process of making these decisions. The unit planning graphics on pages 87 and 89 represent the final decisions for this unit. As explained in the manual, the graphic format is shown as an alternative way of depicting the final decisions; this is a visual and less linear way of showing your planning decisions than the ideas roughed out on the sample worksheets. Either the worksheet, the graphic format, or both may be used to identify the declarative knowledge that will be the focus of the unit. Planning Activity
Before going any further with the planning process, let’s practice this very important step of identifying the declarative knowledge for the unit. You may work alone or with others. Start by selecting a unit that you are going to plan. It makes sense to select a unit that you actually teach. If you are not presently a teacher in the classroom, select a unit that you have taught or that you know is taught. First, brainstorm a list of the declarative knowledge that you want students to acquire and integrate. It might be useful to think of the accompanying sentence stem that begins the answer to the question in Step 1, “As a result of this unit, students will know or understand….”
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If you are using benchmarks, this is a good time to specify which benchmarks will be addressed in this unit. Depending on where you begin in your planning, the brainstormed list of declarative knowledge might lead you to the identification of appropriate benchmarks, or your selected benchmarks might suggest appropriate declarative knowledge that should be included in your brainstormed list. <Model this for participants, and give them time to generate their lists.> Next, set up a worksheet format (as shown on pages 86 and 88) or a unit graphic format (as shown on pages 87 and 89), and begin identifying and organizing the important declarative knowledge. If you plan using benchmarks, organize the information under each benchmark that is being taught, as shown in the Colorado Unit examples. Identify any concepts, generalizations/principles, etc., that are important in the unit, and write the pattern in the first column. Identify the knowledge that is organized into those patterns in the second column. If there are concept patterns and generalization/principle patterns in the unit, consider if you need to identify any important specific facts that will support these more general patterns. You can see how these are identified in the Colorado Unit worksheets and unit graphics. <Model this step for participants, and/or refer again to the Colorado Unit examples.> Keep in mind that planning rarely is a linear process. Although we are identifying the declarative knowledge in Dimension 2 before we look at Dimensions 3 and 4, the knowledge we identify may be revised after decisions are made in the other dimensions. In fact, some people plan by beginning with Dimension 4 and then identifying the declarative knowledge for the unit. We will look more closely at these different planning sequences in Chapter 6, “Putting It All Together.” Now that you have identified the declarative knowledge that you want students to acquire, you need to move on to Step 2 and answer the next question, “What experiences or activities will be used to help students acquire and integrate this knowledge?”
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These experiences may include direct, active experiences or indirect experiences such as reading, listening, or viewing. Look at the sample list of experiences and activities on page 90. The sample page from the planning guide for the Colorado Unit, page 92, includes both direct and indirect experiences. For many teachers, identifying experiences and activities has been the focus of their planning efforts. Rich, engaging activities are, of course, important, but you will notice that when planning with the Dimensions of Learning model, the emphasis is on first identifying important knowledge and then designing experiences and activities that will provide students with opportunities to acquire that knowledge. The activities and experiences are not the end; they are the means to the end. When selecting and designing activities and experiences, the planner must consider the diversity that exists in the classroom. Some learners are most comfortable with active, hands-on activities; others prefer quiet, reflective experiences. Some students learn best when they hear the information; others will want to hear and see the information. The key is to vary the types of activities and experiences so that all students at times will be learning in the mode that is most comfortable for them. Step 3 of the planning process asks you to now answer, “What strategies will be used to help students construct meaning for, organize, and/or store this knowledge?” As explained, we know that even wonderful activities and experiences do not guarantee that students will acquire the identified knowledge. During planning, it is important to identify the strategies that you might use to increase the likelihood that students will learn from the activities and experiences that you have planned. The strategies reviewed in this chapter are listed together on page 91 as a handy reference to use as you are planning. As just explained in Step 2, all classrooms have students with diverse styles of learning. In addition to varying the types of activities and experiences that you select, you need to vary the strategies that you use in conjunction with these activities and experiences. Some students will prefer discovery or inquiry strategies; others will find that they learn best when information is presented using a didactic strategy such as K-W-L. Again, the key is to vary your choices in order to appeal to diverse styles of learning. Finally, Step 4 asks you to describe what will be done. This part of the planning guide for the Colorado unit, as seen on page 92, shows a brief description, written by the teacher planning the unit, of what will happen in the classroom. This space does not have to be filled out as it is in this
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example; that’s up to you. Use the space in any way that will help you, or others reading your unit, to understand exactly what you plan to do. The entire unit plan for the Colorado Unit is included in the back of your manual (pages 329-339). You will quickly notice that there are multiple pages for the planning of declarative knowledge in this unit. There are three reasons for this: 1. We wanted to provide you with a number of different examples during this training. 2. This is a long unit (four weeks) with a heavy emphasis on declarative knowledge. 3. The planning guides have been filled out in the kind of detail that is needed if the unit is to make sense to others who may want to use it. Units can be planned with much less detail, especially if they are only for your personal use, or they can be planned with much more detail if you include individual lesson plans. The amount of detail included, again, depends on who will be using the unit plan. It is important to remember that in addition to planning units of study, there are other uses of the Dimensions of Learning model. For example, it might be used to better understand the learning process or to increase your repertoire of strategies for the classroom. Understanding this section, and the next one on procedural knowledge, is critical to using the Dimensions of Learning model for any of these purposes. <Use your preferred format for closure—table talk, pause and reflect, or learning logs—to allow participants time to think about the information that has been presented related to this section of Dimension 2. See page 9 for explanations of each of these formats for completing this portion of the training.>
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Procedural Knowledge Overhead
O.8
Overhead 2.18
One difference between learning declarative knowledge and learning procedural knowledge is the amount of time spent on each of these phases. When we list the phases sequentially, we can see on this overhead that the amount of time spent in each phase for procedural knowledge is inversely proportional to the amount of time spent on the phases for declarative knowledge. It is relatively time consuming to construct meaning and to organize declarative knowledge. Not much time is spent storing because the phases of constructing meaning and organizing enhance retention, and there is not a great deal of knowledge that needs to be memorized. However, when students are learning procedural knowledge, the opposite is true. That is, the first phase, constructing models, does not take much time; shaping takes more time; and, internalizing, which requires students to practice over an extended period, is the most time-consuming phase. This will make more sense to you as we explore each phase of learning procedural knowledge.
Overhead
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Listing these phases sequentially to show this inverse relationship is actually a little misleading. We have seen that the three phases of learning declarative knowledge overlap. We will see that the three phases of learning procedural knowledge are more sequential in nature, but also interactive. Let’s explore each phase now.
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<Even if some participants already are able to use chopsticks, they can take part in the learning experience by learning to use chopsticks with their nondominant hand. Overheads are provided (Overheads 2.20 and 2.21), and you can purchase inexpensive sets of chopsticks from import stores or from Chinese restaurants. If you do not have chopsticks, you can use pencils. To create the chopstick experience for participants, use the script that follows. If you are teaching them a different skill, use this script as an example that you can adapt.> So that we can refer to a common experience as we study procedural knowledge, I am going to teach you to use chopsticks. Let’s pretend that you are planning to visit China and that you must learn this skill in order to avoid insulting your host. If you are already proficient at using chopsticks, use your other hand (your nondominant hand).
Overhead 2.19
First, I am going to help you construct a model for this skill; that is, I am going to teach you a set of steps for using chopsticks. This is a critical phase any time you are learning to do something. Think of another time you learned a skill of some sort, such as how to swing a golf club or how to log-on to the Internet. Try to remember how you learned the steps involved. Did someone demonstrate them? Did you read them in an instruction manual? Did you figure them out on your own? As you recall how you “constructed the model” for the skill, share your experience with your partner.
Think/Pair/Share
One way of helping learners to construct a model is to provide them with a set of written steps. I am going to use this approach now.
Overhead 2.20
As you read through these steps, I will demonstrate each step and talk through what I am thinking as I do each step. Now, pick up your chopsticks, and try to perform each step. Let me stop you for a minute. Some people around you who already use chopsticks may use a different method, such as holding the first chopstick
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between the second and third fingers. Feel free to adjust your style of holding chopsticks to use any suggestions your experienced colleagues might offer. Also, try to pick up various things on your table and notice how your grip needs to change as a function of the size and shape of the object. Go ahead now and try to figure out the best way to alter or change the steps you have been given so that you begin to become comfortable using the chopsticks. This phase of learning a skill is called shaping. Overhead 2.19
Now I’d like you to increase your skill level so that you might eventually use chopsticks to eat yet still be able to have a dinner conversation with your friends. In general, what must you do in order to get better at something?
Overhead 2.19
I am going to help you begin to internalize this skill by having you practice for a few minutes. I’d like you to see how many items you can pick up, move about a foot, and then set back down in 30 seconds. I’ll then give you several additional 30-second periods to see if you can improve. You could record your progress on a sheet like this one.
Overhead 2.21
Ready? Begin.
Overhead 2.19
You have now experienced the three phases of learning procedural knowledge. To review, in the first phase learners construct a model, or learn a set of steps, for performing the skill. They are able to perform the skill, but their performance is usually a bit rough. Remember when you first
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learned to drive a car? If you were driving a stick shift, the step that required you to push down the accelerator pedal and release the clutch at the same time was probably a bit rough the first time. Shaping is the phase during which you “make the procedure your own.” You learn how to use it in different situations and you change, add, or delete steps, as needed. You probably remember that when you learned to drive a car you began to realize that you really did not have to hold your hands on the steering wheel exactly as your instructor advised. You could drive the car with your hands in a number of different positions. You also learned that driving is a bit different on wet pavement than on dry pavement. Each time you changed the process of driving or performed variations of the process, you were shaping your procedural knowledge. The final step of learning procedural knowledge is to internalize the procedure. The term internalize is used in everyday language to mean many different things. Here we use the term only to refer to the phase of learning that is characterized by being able to use the procedural knowledge without having to think about the steps. (For example, you can now drive a car from point A to point B without much conscious thought about driving, perhaps without enough conscious thought. Have you ever driven from point A to point B and, upon arriving, realized that you could not remember anything that happened between the two points?) We are now going to look at each phase more carefully. To prepare for this, form groups of three with those around you. Assign each person a letter: A, B, or C.
Small Group Activity
Now, I’d like each of you to study the strategies associated with each phase. As we proceed through these phases together, you each will be the leader of the group when we discuss the phase you have been assigned. For now, read your assigned section and think about the strategies. Try to determine which, if any, of those strategies I used when I taught you to use chopsticks.
Overhead 2.22
As we discuss each phase, you will be the leader when we focus on the strategies you were assigned.
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Construct Models Overhead 2.19
The first step in learning a procedure is to construct a model, that is, to know the set of steps involved in performing the skill or process. Sometimes all a teacher has to do is demonstrate, or model, a skill or process to help students clearly envision the steps that are involved. However, it is important to understand that sometimes it is necessary to do more than demonstrate the steps. Some students, because of the way they learn, consistently need more than the experience of watching someone else use the skill or process. In addition, some procedures have such a complex set of steps that all students need to do more than watch a demonstration. There are a number of techniques that can be used to help students construct models for procedural knowledge. Several are described in the Teacher’s Manual.
Overhead 2.23 Small Group Activity
The person in each group of three who was assigned to read this section (the construct models section) should now briefly describe these strategies to the group. When you describe each strategy, indicate which, if any, were used during our shared learning experience with the chopsticks. In addition, in your groups describe what exactly I would have done if I had used the strategy.
Large Group Discussion
Keeping in mind what you’ve learned so far and how you teach procedures, what additional strategies might you use to help students construct models?
Shape Overhead 2.19
The next step in effectively learning a procedure is to shape it. Once you start to use a skill or process, you usually begin to modify or alter it in some way. Thus, shaping can involve modifications like adjusting your approach, adding some steps and dropping others, becoming aware of variations in using the process, discovering potential problem areas, and using the process in different contexts. This step is often left out of the learning process and yet is critical to learning the procedure and using it effectively. If students begin to make errors early in the learning process and then practice and internalize the procedure while still making these errors, it is difficult for them to correct the errors later.
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Shaping also includes helping students to develop the conceptual understanding that is necessary to becoming competent in the use and application of the skill or process. Many students cannot use mathematical computations to solve word problems, for example, because they do not understand the mathematical processes nor the circumstances under which one is used as opposed to another. As stated earlier, although we know that shaping is critical, it is the phase that is often left out of the teaching process. What are some reasons that this phase is often left out?
Large Group Discussion
The Teacher’s Manual suggests four strategies for helping students to shape procedures.
Overhead 2.24
At this time, have the person in your group who was assigned this section (the shaping section) briefly explain these four strategies, which are used to help students shape procedural knowledge. Remember to identify the strategies I used when I taught you to use chopsticks and, for the strategies that I did not use, to describe what it might have looked like if I had.
Small Group Activity
Let’s take a few minutes to study in more depth the four strategies for helping students shape procedural knowledge. Specifically, let’s see if we can describe how these strategies might be used to help shape a specific procedure: long division with whole numbers. Just to review, long division refers to the process signified by the following <write on chart or overhead>: 3794 divided by 27. In your groups see if you can identify
Small Group Activity
1. the variations in the process of long division that you might want to make students aware of, 2. the common errors or pitfalls that you might want to make students aware of, 3. various situations in which long division can be used that you might want to make students aware of, and 4. important concepts or principles related to the process of long division.
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Internalize Overhead 2.19
The last phase in learning a procedure is internalizing. Through practice, we learn a process or skill well enough to perform it proficiently and accurately without consciously thinking about every step. The procedure becomes a means to an end.
Overhead 2.25
Last, but not least, the person assigned to this phase of learning procedural knowledge should now briefly explain these strategies to the group. Be sure to identify the strategies I used and, for each strategy that I did not use, describe what it might have looked like if I had. Practice is time consuming, but if students are going to be expected to use a process or skill, opportunities to practice must be provided. Thus it is important to ask yourself whether the skill is one that is critical to internalize. In other words, is it one that students will still need to be able to perform in a month, a semester, or a year? It is sometimes appropriate to simply introduce a skill and give students time to practice it a little but not to internalize it. However, for skills that are to be internalized, massed practice, or frequent trials, should occur first. Then, over time, students should engage in distributed practice, that is, periodic practice sessions at
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increasing intervals (for example, once a day, then once a month, then once every three months). Remember that the Teacher’s Manual suggests that students keep a chart or some other record of their speed or accuracy as they seek to master a procedure. As educators begin to better understand the process of acquiring and integrating procedural knowledge, they begin to see why teachers sometimes accuse their students’ previous teachers of not doing their jobs. You may have heard accusations like, “Didn’t they teach them anything in_____?” Often the reason that students cannot do what they have been taught to do is that they learned it only well only enough to pass a test. If educators expect students to perform a procedure proficiently and accurately, they must set aside time for students to practice so that they internalize the procedure. On pages 104-105, you will find some classroom examples that deal with acquiring and integrating procedural knowledge. With a partner, read and discuss the examples provided. As you discuss these examples, answer the following questions: What do you think of how the teacher in your example responded in the situation portrayed? What might you do or recommend that someone do in that situation? Then identify a process or skill that your students have had difficulty learning. How might you strengthen how you teach that process, given what you now know about acquiring and integrating procedural knowledge?
Think/Pair/Share
<Use your preferred format for closure—table talk, pause and reflect, or learning logs—to allow participants time to think about the information that has been presented related to this section of Dimension 2. See page 9 for explanations of each of these formats for completing this portion of the training.>
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Planning for Dimension 2, Procedural Knowledge <Participants should have a blank planning guide for procedural knowledge in the packet that we recommend you give them at the beginning of any workshop in which planning is being addressed. See Handouts section.> Overhead 2.P8
Planning for the acquisition and integration of procedural knowledge involves asking and answering the following question: What will be done to help students acquire and integrate procedural knowledge? If you look at page 106, you will find that there are three basic steps involved in answering this question. The three columns on the planning guide (page 112) correspond to the three steps for planning for procedural knowledge.
Overhead 2.P9
Step 1: What procedural knowledge will students be in the process of acquiring and integrating? As a result of this unit, students will be able to…. Step 2: What strategies will be used to help students construct models for, shape, and/or internalize this knowledge? Step 3: Describe what will be done. Now let’s look at the sample Colorado Unit to see how each of the steps is addressed on the planning guide and accompanying worksheets. Step 1, again, asks what procedural knowledge students will be in the process of acquiring and integrating. The answers to this question will vary depending on the specific school or district. Some teachers have a great deal of latitude in determining what knowledge students should acquire. Others are in schools or districts that have identified standards and benchmarks, which articulate what students should learn. Examples and worksheets are provided in the Teacher’s Manual for each of these situations.
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Take a few minutes to examine the two worksheets with their accompanying planning graphics on pages 109 and 110 in the Teachers’ Manual. One is for planning without standards and benchmarks.
Overhead 2.P10
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The other is for planning with standards and benchmarks.
Overhead 2.P11
How are they alike? How are they different? Identify any questions you have about these worksheets, and then talk these questions over with a partner. When identifying the procedural knowledge that students will learn in the unit, it is important to identify specific skills or processes, not general macroprocesses (which are discussed in the introduction to Dimension 2 on page 49). When procedural knowledge is too general, such as “students will be able to read well,” it is difficult to generate a single set of steps and then to help students shape and internalize the process. During planning, it is important to specify exactly what skill or process students will be learning to do.>
Overhead 2.P9
Let’s look at the planning guide again. Step 2 (column 2) asks, “What strategies will be used to help students construct models for, shape, and internalize the procedural knowledge?” Step 3 (column 3) asks you to describe what will be done. In order to complete the second step, you must decide whether the skill needs to be internalized; in other words, should students learn it well enough to use it with relative ease and then practice it enough to be able to use it in six months or a year? Some skills may simply need to be introduced so that students construct a model, do some shaping, and then perhaps practice the skill to a very limited extent. This somewhat cursory introduction to a skill would result in students knowing about the skill. However, in six months or a year students would need to extensively review the skill before they could use it. On the other hand, when the knowledge is to be internalized, students must spend more time in each phase of the learning process. They must construct a model, spend concentrated time shaping the procedure, and have many opportunities for massed and distributed practice. Refer to the planning guide for the Colorado Unit (page 112), specifically steps 2 and 3. In your groups, discuss the following questions: What do you think of the strategies the teacher selected to help students acquire the map reading and interpreting skills? What other strategy or strategies might she have selected?
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What other procedural knowledge might be taught as part of this unit? Planning Activity
Let’s practice using these steps with the planning guide. Identify a procedure you have taught or would teach as part of a unit you are planning. Once you have identified a process or skill, select the strategy or strategies you would use to help students construct models. For example, would you use a thinkaloud demonstration? Would you provide students with a written set of steps? Next, identify the strategy or strategies you would use to help students shape the process. Would you focus on variations in the procedure? If so, what variations? Would you point out common errors in the procedure? If so, what errors? What conceptual understandings would be important for students to achieve competency with the process? Finally, if the skill is to be internalized, identify the practice schedule that you would set up. As you look at the pages of the Dimension 2 planning guides for acquiring and integrating declarative and procedural knowledge, it should be clear that they guide you through the process of making decisions related to the essential knowledge in a unit. Of course, students will be exposed to a great deal of information in any unit you plan, but it is futile to expect them to acquire and integrate everything that might be important. The important knowledge that you identify on these planning guides is actually only a portion of the knowledge to which students will be exposed during the activities and experiences—films, field trips, readings—in the unit.
Overhead 2.P12
Illustrating this point graphically, the large circle represents the total body of content knowledge to which students will be exposed during a unit; the small circle represents the portion that is planned for, taught, and assessed. We will soon see that during the planning process for Dimensions 3 and 4, it is this knowledge, represented in the small circle, that will be considered when we are identifying what knowledge will be extended, refined, and used meaningfully.
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110
<Use your preferred format for closure—table talk, pause and reflect, or learning logs—to allow participants time to think about the information that has been presented related to this section of Dimension 2. See page 9 for explanations of each of these formats for completing this portion of the training.>
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3 Dimension 3 Extend and Refine Knowledge
To the Trainer This portion of the training covers Chapter 3 of the Teacher’s Manual, which addresses the eight complex reasoning processes in Dimension 3. It is important for participants to understand that acquiring and integrating knowledge is not the end of learning. The most effective learning takes place when students extend and refine the knowledge they acquire in order to develop an in-depth understanding of that knowledge. By making new connections, restructuring the knowledge, experiencing new insights, and correcting misconceptions, students understand the knowledge they are learning at a deeper level and thereby extend and refine that knowledge. To this end, teachers should plan and explicitly teach processes that, when applied to knowledge, cause such connections and insights to happen. These processes include the eight highlighted in Dimension 3: •
Comparing: Identifying and articulating similarities and differences among items.
•
Classifying: Grouping things into definable categories on the basis of their attributes.
•
Abstracting: Identifying and articulating the underlying theme or general pattern of information.
•
Inductive reasoning: Inferring unknown generalizations or principles from information or observations.
•
Deductive reasoning: Using generalizations and principles to infer unstated conclusions about specific information or situations.
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•
Constructing support: Building systems of support for assertions.
•
Analyzing errors: Identifying and articulating errors in thinking.
•
Analyzing perspectives: Identifying multiple perspectives on an issue and examining the reasons or logic behind each.
During this training, participants will be in the process of learning •
that the process of learning should go beyond acquiring and integrating knowledge to include extending and refining important knowledge;
•
that students can learn specific complex reasoning processes that extend and refine knowledge. As a result of using these processes, students should see knowledge in new ways and be able to express insights, understandings, ideas, or discoveries related to that knowledge;
•
that these processes must be taught explicitly so that they can be rigorously applied to important content;
•
how to use the eight complex reasoning processes to help students extend and refine knowledge;
•
how to teach students to use each of the eight processes to extend and refine knowledge; and
•
how to plan for this dimension of learning.
When you cover the Dimension 3 complex reasoning processes, it is sometimes helpful to cluster them into groups and then show how the processes within each cluster are interrelated. Specifically, we recommend presenting comparing, classifying, and abstracting together because they all focus on similarities and differences; inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning can be presented together because although there are other important differences between these two processes, inductive reasoning is essentially the inverse of deductive reasoning; the processes in the third cluster—constructing support, analyzing errors, and analyzing perspectives—all deal with examining issues and their related claims and supporting arguments.
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Exploring Dimension 3
Overhead O.11
A basic principle of learning is that once acquired, knowledge changes. When we encounter new information, we may learn something about it and achieve a certain level of understanding. But then as a result of having additional experiences that encourage us to think again about the information, we may change our understanding because we learn more, clear up misconceptions, make new connections, and so on. In Dimension 3, these changes in knowledge are referred to as “extending and refining” the knowledge. As a result of the experiences we have every day, we are constantly extending and refining knowledge. This is fortunate because another principle of learning suggests that when we first learn something, we usually learn it at a surface level, and we sometimes learn it inaccurately; thus, we may unknowingly walk away from a learning experience with incomplete understandings, misconceptions, or misunderstandings. For this reason, whether it happens naturally or is carefully planned as part of students’ learning experiences, knowledge should be constantly extended and refined. Symbolically, the process of extending and refining knowledge might be represented in this way.
Overhead 3.0A
• This top graphic represents the knowledge students might have about the Civil War after an initial period of study. • As a result of reexamining that knowledge by explicitly applying one of the complex reasoning processes, that knowledge might look like this bottom graphic. It is expanded and reorganized, and new connections are made. As we explore the eight complex reasoning processes in this dimension, keep in mind that the purpose of engaging students in these types of thinking is to help them extend and refine their knowledge: to make new connections, to have insights, to restructure their knowledge, and to clarify misunderstandings. It is important for students to understand this so that they not only deepen their understanding of content but also increase their understanding of learning as a process.
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Overhead 3.0B
John Dewey reminds us, “We learn by doing, if we reflect on what we have done.” This quote reminds us that it is important to build enough time into instruction for students to learn how to use a reasoning process, for them to apply it to important content in order to extend and refine their knowledge of that content, and for them to reflect on what they have learned as a result.
Overhead O.12
Read over the list and description of the eight reasoning processes included in Dimension 3, which can be found on page 114 of your manual. Some of these reasoning processes are probably very familiar to you, and some may be fairly new to you. We will look at several of them in-depth as we proceed through this part of the training. It is important to note that many teachers use questioning techniques to engage students in the types of thinking listed in Dimension 3. Teachers might already be asking questions such as, “How are these items alike?” or “How could you group these items?” These types of questions are especially common in classrooms in which the teacher uses Bloom’s Taxonomy to construct questions. Although such questions can potentially stimulate students to engage in “higher level” thinking, frequently they do not have this effect. Instead, students give answers that reflect lower-order, or surfacelevel, understanding. This might be because although students may have a sense of what it means to synthesize or to analyze, they often don’t know exactly how to do these types of thinking. The bias here, therefore, is to explicitly teach the reasoning processes and to have students rigorously apply them to important content. Students must know how to use the processes if they are to adequately perform the kinds of analyses the processes require. It is unfair to students, and presumptuous on the part of teachers, to assume that students understand what they are supposed to do when asked to use comparing or inductive reasoning, for example. Remember, these processes are procedural knowledge and, therefore, take quite a lot of practice before they become internalized. And because the processes are procedural knowledge, they should be taught as any other skill or process, by helping students construct models for, shape, and internalize them.
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There are some general principles of implementation that are useful to consider as teachers, schools, and districts plan for teaching the Dimension 3 processes. Get into groups of three with those around you. I’d like each person in the group to read one of the bulleted items on pages 114-115.
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Then share the general principle of implementation with your group, and discuss each point briefly. Before we explore the individual reasoning processes in Dimension 3, it might help you to understand that a similar organizational format is used for each reasoning process.
Overhead 3.0C
In addition, on pages 115-116, there is a brief explanation of the five sections that have suggestions for teaching each process. I’d like to point out that section 2 under each reasoning process includes a set of steps (which we sometimes refer to as “regular” or “original” steps) as well as a set of steps in simplified language, which is often used with younger students or with students who are just beginning to learn the process.
Comparing Comparing is the process of identifying similarities and differences among items. We all regularly compare things in daily life: We might compare books written by a favorite author, we might compare with our spouse or a friend how we spend our time at work, and so on. As a result of comparing things in this way, we gain new insights or change our perceptions about them. These benefits of the process of comparing are also available to us as we are exposed to comparisons made by others, for example, through the media or in conversation. For example, Consumer Reports organizes much of its
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information about products into comparison matrices that influence buyers’ perceptions of these products. Similarly, television news-magazine programs often compare current and historical events to help us understand both. Large Group Discussion
What other kinds of comparisons are we regularly exposed to in life? In what other instances do we regularly use the process of comparing? Try to think of a time you compared two or more things that you thought you knew well but about which you discovered something new as a result of the comparison. Or, try to think of a time you were influenced by a comparison made by someone else. In other words, think about a comparison that extended and refined your knowledge. <Elicit several examples. Emphasize how comparing extended and refined participants’ knowledge. Allow participants to discuss and then to share some examples.> It is important to communicate to students that comparing—and all of the other complex reasoning processes that are part of Dimensions 3 and 4—are used frequently in everyday life. To this end, the first strategy for teaching comparing—in fact, the first strategy for teaching all eight of the extending and refining processes—provides suggestions for helping students understand the process so that they see its importance and usefulness in many places besides the classroom. Considering that most people compare things many times each day, it is somewhat surprising that students often perform poorly on tests that require them to do comparison tasks. For example, a number of years ago, the National Association of Educational Progress (NAEP) included in its national assessment a comparison task that asked students to compare the diet of the pioneers with the typical diet of today (see Mullis et al., 1990). Even though a description of the diet of the pioneers was provided, only 27% of all 17-year-olds completing the task received a score indicating adequate or better performance. This is a perplexing result because teachers report that students are frequently asked to engage in comparison tasks in the classroom. Why did students perform so poorly on this test? One possible explanation is that although students are frequently asked to compare, they may not have been taught how to compare. Another possible explanation is that students may have learned how to compare in one or two classes during their schooling but never internalized the process. Remember, learning how to compare—in fact, learning how to engage in each of the reasoning processes that are part of Dimensions 3 and 4—requires students to learn a skill, that is, to learn procedural knowledge. To truly learn a skill, students need to construct a model for, shape, and internalize the procedure. Thus, to become proficient at using the process of comparing, students need to
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learn the steps and have opportunities to practice using the steps over a fairly extended period of time. If, instead, students simply are asked from time to time to compare and are not taught the steps in a careful manner or given a chance to practice using them, they will not really learn to use the process. This might help explain students’ poor performance on the NAEP task. To provide support for directly teaching complex reasoning, the Dimensions of Learning Teacher’s Manual includes a step-by-step model for using each of the eight processes. Let’s look at the steps for the process of comparing.
Overheads 3.1A 3.1B
If I were introducing these steps to students using a think-aloud process, I might say, “Let’s see. I want to compare pizza, fried chicken, and tossed salads. Now, what specific characteristics should I use in my comparison? How about nutritional value, calories, price, and the amount of fun you can have eating them?”
Overhead 3.1C
I might construct a matrix using the items and characteristics I have identified and then fill out the information in each cell. Now, how are the items similar and different in terms of each characteristic? Looking at this information, what have I learned? It seems that the more fun things are, the more expensive and the less nutritional they are. That figures. Strategy 3 for each of the eight complex reasoning processes identifies the critical steps and difficult aspects of the reasoning process and gives suggestions for dealing with them. Teaching the process of comparing can seem deceptively simple. There are several key points offered to help you avoid possible pitfalls. Take a minute or two to read the key points on page 119.
Overhead 3.1D
As emphasized in these key points, it is important to ask yourself what knowledge students are extending and refining as they engage in comparison tasks. Careful thought needs to be given to the items that students are comparing and, especially, to the quality of the characteristics that are being used in the comparison. Selecting characteristics is a critical step if meaningful conclusions are to be drawn from the comparison.
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Notice the difference in the kinds of conclusions that can be drawn when characteristics are changed. Different characteristics require the learner to examine very different attributes of each item. Notice in Key Point 2 that although there are a couple of suggestions for helping students generate meaningful characteristics (i.e., brainstorm ideas as a class and use an expanded comparison), we recommend that teachers model the process of generating good characteristics and give students extensive feedback as they are learning to compare. Let’s practice.
Small Group Activity
Suppose you were asked to compare these cities: New York, Denver, Houston, and ____. With a partner, generate characteristics on which to compare the cities that might produce interesting insights or conclusions.
Small Group Activity
Identify one or two comparison tasks you have used in your classroom. With a partner or with those around you, discuss the purposes of these tasks. What knowledge did you expect students to extend and refine—that is, to understand better—by engaging in these tasks? How could you use the information in the key points from the Teacher’s Manual to strengthen or alter what you have done?
Large Group Discussion
Overhead 3.1F
Now take a minute to look at the graphic organizers presented in strategy 4. (See pages 120-121.) These are organizers that you can use to help students understand and use the process of comparing. Consider the steps in the comparing process as you look at the Venn diagram organizers. Sometimes teachers use a single diagram in which similarities are written in the overlapping portions of the circles and differences are written in the respective outer portions of the circles. How is this use of Venn diagrams different from the way Venn diagrams are used in the graphic on page 120 (or on this overhead)? How does it reflect the steps of the process?
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As explained in the introduction to Dimension 3, strategy 5 offers suggestions for using both teacher-structured and student-structured tasks. Please take a minute to read strategy 5 on page 121. The degree to which the teacher or students structure tasks is a function of the purpose of the task. Generally, however, the goal is to increase the amount of input that students have in structuring tasks. Turn to page 122, and read the third classroom example. This is a task that is fairly teacher structured. After you read it, be ready to describe how you could make it more student structured. Remember that comparing is a reasoning process that we all use. During any learning experience, it can be helpful to consciously compare things—cities, food, books, movies, etc.—to understand them more in-depth or in new ways. When asking students to compare, we must teach them how to compare and then encourage them to reflect on the results. <Use your preferred format for closure—table talk, pause and reflect, or learning logs—to allow participants time to think about the information that has been presented related to the process of comparing. See page 9 for explanations of each of these formats for completing this portion of the training.>
Closure
Classifying
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Classifying is the mental process of grouping items according to common characteristics. Because it often requires a careful analysis of the items being classified, it helps us to extend and refine knowledge. People make sense of their world by classifying information and using classification systems that they take for granted. The way we classify things and the ways things are classified by others influences our perceptions and our behaviors. It can be fun to make this point with students by asking them to consider what might happen if certain classification systems changed. For example: • What might be different if items in a grocery store were classified into three price ranges: 1¢ to $1.00, $1.01 to $5.00, and $5.00 and higher? • What might be the consequences of classifying middle school students by their height? Large Group Discussion
What other classification systems might be fun to change? 