Ring, riinnnggg…are the sounds of the all familiar bells that indicate school is back in session following summer break. Each fall the students and I engage in a sort of “show and tell” activity that acts as an ice breaker that is attention-grabbing, involved, interactive all while meeting many required standards. We all leave for adventure through a multitude of “field trips” without even leaving the classroom!
Dr. Michael Orey discusses the importance of presenting material in such a way that the content makes a lasting impression for future retrieval. One such measure to help student’s love learning and to create retrievable memory is using the Palvio’s dual coding hypothesis of using pictures along with text for better connection with material to imprint the brain or use lots of images in Power Point, but must be associated with lesson (Orey 2009). Another such method is through elaboration. Each of these methods is fulfilled through our virtual lessons.
During the first week back in school each student discusses locations they visited during the summer break with classmembers. They are then given a time frame and list of tasks to complete becoming an expert on their vacation spot so they can be the travel guide and promoter for future class discussions. In the modeling portion of my lesson, I take the class on a virtual field trip to Ellis Island, New York. They are led through the lesson by following a conceptual map housed in SpiderScribe.net. The map is easy to use and interactive with all the necessary tools for completing their beginner level assignment showing their understanding of the internet example.
The example I used is elementary in its necessity for additional resources, but its primary intention is that of an overview. They are given a great deal more instructional time for their projects, as well as group and a multitude of other resources. I chose to use a concept map for its simplicity and its organization. SpiderScribe.net is uncomplicated, even for elementary aged students. I was able to easily add all necessary information. By adding arrows the students can see how each item is related, which creates an imprint for long term memory.
Virtual field trips are wonderful ideas to get students out of the classrooms. Regardless of budgetary constraints, students in Georgia, USA, most likely aren’t going to dive the depths of the Great Barrier Reef any time soon, but with resources available today, the ocean’s the limit! Intimidated at first with this assignment, I am happy now and my students will live with their bags packed, even if it's just in their minds.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tour/index.htm
Finding information that students will see as meaningful and then making a place for it so they will retain the information I believe is one of the hardest part of teaching.
ReplyDeleteTeaching a project based curriculum like Project Lead the Way is a great way to get students to see the relevance and importance of allot of information. This will allow them to have easy retrieval of information in the future. If the brain doesn't see the importance it will not retain the information.
Dave Pavlick