Learning How to Learn

A. How People Learn, Bransford, et. al.

John Bransford (Ed.), How People Learn, Brain, Mind, Experience and School, Commission on Behavioral andSocial Sciences and Education, 2000

National Academies (Science, Engineering, Medicine, Research Council.

3 Key Findings:

1 Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp thenfew concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside of the classroom.

2 To develop competence in an area of inquiry, students must (a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and (c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

3 A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.

B. Making Thinking Visible

http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/strategies/topics/thinking-skills/visible/index.html

Johns Hopkins School of Education

Copied from web 2/12/12

Making Thinking Visible by David Perkins (The Language of Thinking)

There are many ways to make thinking visible. One of the simplest is for teachers to use the language of thinking (Tishman & Perkins, 1997). English and all other natural languages have a rich vocabulary of thinking consider terms like hypothesis, reason, evidence, possibility, imagination, perspective and routine use of such words in a natural intuitive way helps students catch on to the nuances of thinking and thoughtfulness that such terms represent.

Using the language of thinking is one element of something even more important: being a model of thoughtfulness for one's students....

One thinking routine that we have found to be useful in many settings involves two key questions: "What's going on here?" and "What do you see that makes you say so?" (Tishman, 2002). (Referring to a storm over Florida." The teacher asks, "What do you see that makes you say so?" The student points out the distinctive profile of Florida, visible through the clouds. Another student says, "It's a hurricane." The teacher: "What you see that makes you say hurricane?" The student mentions the size of the cloud structure and its spiral0 formation. Another student adds by identifying the eye in the middle.

To generalize, this pair of questions asks students in informal language for interpretations and supporting reasons. As students respond, one can easily label their suggestions as hypotheses and support for their hypotheses as reasons, bringing the language of thinking into play. One can foreground disagreements and call for evidence on both sides.....

C. Executive Functioning in Education: From Theory to Practice, Edited by Lynn Meltzer, Guidford Press, 2018

D. Executive Functioning in the Classroom: Practice Suggestions for Improving Performance and Enhancing Skills for All Students, Brooks Publishing, 2010, Christopher Kaufman

E. Boosting Executive Skills in the Classroom: A Practical Guide for Educators, Jossey-Bass, 2013, Joyce Cooper-Kahn and Margaret Foster

F. Promoting Executive Function in the Classroom. Guilford Press, New York.  2010, Lynn Meltzer

G. http://www.miottawa.org/health/cmh/pdf/brains/Attention%20and%20Executive%20Function/Executive%20Function%20Articles%20and%20Information/Executive%20Function%20in%20the%20Classroom.pdf

H. https://dyslexiaida.org/executive-function-strategies-the-building-blocks-for-reading-to-learn/

Learning Story Pixs