adolescent learning john munro. why adolescent learning ? the need for teachers at the middle years...

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Adolescent learning John Munro

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Adolescent learning

John Munro

Why adolescent learning ?The need for teachers at the middle years to redefine their personal theories of adolescent learning is shown by the following •middle school students today, with their exposure to modern technology and media, think in ways that are different from those of students of the same age over ten years ago.

•teachers note that middle school students appear not as motivated or interested to learn and are more disengaged from learning.

•teachers find that students today are not as easy to understand as their peers 10 years ago.

•students today come to school with 'greater emotional baggage' than their peers.

Framework for examining adolescent learning

Major issues : • What we learn• How we learn• Why, when do we learn We need to look at each in relation to adolescents learning.

How we learn : What things affect how we learn?

What does learning mean ? Write down your own definition

Think of two things you learnt recently, something you learnt well and something you didn't learn as well. What things do you think made a difference between the two situations ? 

    

Situation in which you learnt well Situation in which you didn't learn well

What do you do to learn ?

Read the following and discover what a bof is, note why you made this decision, and what you did to learn more about bofs.

Peter knew enough about bofs to be aware of the danger he was in. He thought about his predicament . Bofs, he knew, were short-sighted, but had a very good sense of smell. They also had very sensitive hearing.  In the distance he could hear the roar of the river. Would that cover the noises that he was sure to make as he tried to escape ? Slowly and silently he turned and backed away from the clearing.  The bof couldn't see Peter, but knew that he was escaping; its sense of smell told it this. It padded along on its huge paws, claws sharp and extended. It moved its head from side to side, its nose pointing up and swinging like a radar scanner searching for its target.  Peter made his way to the waterfall. He stopped on the bank of the river, keeping as still as he could.. Then he saw the bof again. It was standing on a rise that ran along the bank. It was hungry. It was also angry because it had been deprived of its dinner. It padded up and down on the green grass carpet making a soft grunting noise as it moved, It furiously sucked in air through its dilated nostrils as it searched for Peter's scent. Its huge arms thrashed around as it groped for its quarry. Suddenly its pointed ears pointed in Peter's direction.

    

What you know : the starting point for learning

A person’s existing knowledge provides the starting point for learning. It provides the ‘platform’ for interpreting the teaching information at any time and for evaluating and using feedback received.

The term ‘knowledge’ here refers to all that an individual or a group (a community, etc.) knows about one’s self and one’s world.

    

Individuals know about a topic in multiple ways :

They have a bank of stored experiences and a distillation of these, their experiential or episodic knowledge. This is where ideas are defined in terms of specific situations or contexts. We recall these as images. They are personal and subjective and unique to the individual. People can also have virtual images. In each experience the ideas are linked in time and place and include the relevant feelings and the actions. From their experiential knowledge learners distil or draw out typical ideas, such as the stereotypic or prototypic images.

    

Individuals know about a topic in multiple ways :

They know about the topic in abstract, conceptual ways (Anderson,1982). Here the ideas are linked in more abstract, ‘decontexturalised’ ways. These allow the individual to talk about more general properties or features.  A concept is a set of items that share a property. Examples are ‘walk’, ‘electron’, ‘car’, ‘tomorrow and ‘yellow’. Every topic you teach comprising concepts. They are the building blocks of knowledge. Once you know that an entity is an example of a concept, you can attribute to that specific entity all the features you know about that concept. A symbol that can apply to a set of specific instances is a concept, for example, ‘cat’, +, H are concepts. Concepts are organised in hierarchies. Some contain others and are mutually exclusive.

    

Individuals know about a topic in multiple ways :

They know about the topic in abstract, conceptual ways (Anderson,1982). Here the ideas are linked in more abstract, ‘decontexturalised’ ways. These allow the individual to talk about more general properties or features.  A concept is a set of items that share a property. Examples are ‘walk’, ‘electron’, ‘car’, ‘tomorrow and ‘yellow’. Every topic you teach comprising concepts. They are the building blocks of knowledge. Once you know that an entity is an example of a concept, you can attribute to that specific entity all the features you know about that concept. A symbol that can apply to a set of specific instances is a concept, for example, ‘cat’, +, H are concepts. Concepts are organised in hierarchies. Some contain others and are mutually exclusive.

Each proposition links two or more concepts. This includes patterns, trends, academic vocabulary, more general definitions of words, general rules, formulae, propositions, cause-effect relationships, abstract symbolism, images and gestures that are used in general ways. Concepts and propositions are defined by a culture, often through its language/s.

    

Individuals know about a topic in multiple ways :

 They know through actions and skills. When you read the words padded, thrashed and pointed in the extract above, you may have involuntarily ‘done’ them in your mind. As well, you can interpret gestures in general ways. Each subject and topic you teach includes characteristic action sequences that permit you to understand it. This is your procedural or action knowledge.  As well, we use actions to •link ideas to form new knowledge (strategies and skills) •try out our understanding an any time to see how well it fits and to receive feedback•achieve outcomes, solve problems•we show what we know Features of this aspect of knowledge include:•These are both physical actions we do and actions we do in our heads (that is , thinking). •The actions have two features; they are both embedded within a context and linked directly with other contextual elements and decontextualized.

    

Individuals know about a topic in multiple ways :

 They link attitudes and dispositions with the topic or the phenomena; learners link values and feelings with a topic, for example, whether it interests them or is useful. Attitudes are beliefs we have or think about an idea, a person, a thing or an event. Examples of attitudes students have about learning; • History is interesting because it tells us about people lived.• Assignments are a waste of time; I never get them finished.• English is a bludge; it's just about how you talk. We can also have attitudes towards ourselves as learners;

• I will never be able to learn mathematics because I don't understand algebra.• I don't need to study hard in English because everyone passes it.

    

Individuals know about a topic in multiple ways :

  

    

taxonomy of attitudes attitudinal behaviours

are prepared to receive it or to attend to it they give time to listen to/ see the idea but are not prepared to pursue it, to seek it out for themselves.

are prepared to respond or to respond actively to the idea, doing something with or about the idea.

they are prepared to interact with the idea, to pursue it but will not seek it out.

value the idea; see it as having some worth. They show they value an idea, pursue it and seek it out independently and willingly, value it more than other ideas.

relate the idea to one's life; it is so valuable that it is related within the person's overall value system.

they show they relate the phenomena to their life and value it more than for other ideas

characterize the idea; use the idea to organize their values and to form their 'world view’.

they form a consistent world view around the idea and live their life through it.

What are attitudinal behaviours ? A systematic way of describing attitudes to ideas:

Each stage indicates a different level of commitment to an idea and a greater internalization of behaviour.

Where students are in their attitudes towards a phenomenon or idea is indicated by how far along the dimension they are, as shown in their behaviours.

extent of commitment

Individuals know about a topic in multiple ways :

 They form an identity or knowledge of themselves as learners, both in relation to what they are learning, how well they learn it and the context in which they are learning it. They learn about themselves as a learner of literacy, maths, etc., their identity as a learner (what they do as a learner, what teachers and other learners do) and how they are positioned in relation to others as a learner in their classes.  This includes knowing how to interact effectively with peers in the classroom, how to learn with others, how to engage socially in the classroom.

    

Individuals know about a topic in multiple ways :

They know how to think and learn (Pressley & Harris, 1990). This includes two types or ways of thinking: 1.how learners think about ideas and learn new ideas. These are the cognitive strategies. We can link and reorganize ideas by paraphrasing and/or visualizing them. We can categorize, generalize, look for shared properties, compare and evaluate, summarize, question our ideas, think creatively and critically, think about possibilities and to transfer and contextualize their knowledge. 

1.actions they use and how they manage and direct how they use the cognitive strategies and manage their learning activity. This is their metacognitive knowledge. It includes learners• planning how they will learn something, deciding when and why to use each cognitive strategy, • monitoring the ideas they are learning and fine-tuning them,• evaluating how effectively the learning is progressing, choosing,• taking further strategic action if necessary to change direction and• reflecting on what they learnt and what worked for them. It is our awareness of how we learn and think and what are useful learning strategies to use.

    

Individuals know about a topic in multiple ways :

They have emotional and motivational knowledge. They are motivated learn particular topics, know whether they can learn them successfully (their self efficacy; Nichols & Utesch,1998) and have self confidence as learners and thinkers. This is their knowledge of when to learn; motivational knowledge, self-efficacy (Bandura).

    

Individuals know about a topic in multiple ways :

They know (or believe they know) how the contexts in which they interact operate and what the cultures to which they belong think about the topic. Cultures differ in how they value a topic, the aspects they value/prioritise, etc. This tells them how they are positioned in relation to the cultures to which they belong. These include cultures determined by their family, their peer group\s, their school or work, their ethnicity and the communities in which they live, (that is, their social identities). They learn from their cultures to decide what knowledge is valued and useful to learn and how to learn them

    

Individuals know about a topic in multiple ways :

    

theories semantic knowledge episodic knowledge procedural knowledge

Wechsler verbal intelligence performance intelligence

Gardner verbal/linguistic logical/math thinking visual/spatial thinking body/kinaesthetic

Structure of Intellect symbolic and semantic aspects of contents

visual, auditory aspects of contents

behavioral aspects

Piaget abstract understanding used to reason logically, explain 'why' (operative knowledge)

copy of a person's reality represented in imagery (figurative knowledge).

cognitive style verbal-linguistic or abstract preference imagery or concrete preference

Dual coding theory verbal code using words, grammar, pragmatics

nonverbal code using images, emotions, episodes

nonverbal code using actions

Triarchic model of knowledge

componential or analytical aspect creative and practical aspects

theories semantic knowledge episodic knowledge procedural knowledge

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The left cortex

LH RH

corpus collosum

The left brain for language and tool use.

• Language Sounds : analyzing, sequencing and using sound patterns, linking them with meanings, (grammar= spatial sense of vocabulary), reading and spelling

• Body senses- touch, pain and limb position for the right side of the body.

• using symbols and symbolic relationships and patterns, right vs left, telling time

• Creativity by rearranging words, concepts, symbols, and memories in new ways, eg., linking ideas and words quickly, "intelligent" conversation, philosophizing with abstract concepts

• Inhibiting behaviour : not saying the wrong thing at the wrong time

• Reasoning about sequential patterns -- words, symbols, ideas, that come one after another, planning how to do things and tool tools (this controls the right hand).

• Telling the right side of the body how to move.

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The right cortex

LH RH

corpus collosum

• Processes the visual environment, both for food and danger; shape, color, motion perception, depth perception, etc.

• The spatial sense; see objects in your mind, manipulate an image, manipulate directions, use the spatial relationship.

• Processes music

• Body senses includes touch, pain, and limb position, use proprioceptive information

• visual memories and non-verbal sound memory, Face Memory

• creates new ideas and patterns from the raw material in memory and senses.

• Thinks about and plans how to use complex actions quickly

• controls the left side of the body

The role of the topic in integrating

 How does knowing the topic affect how you organise ideas ?

    

 How would knowing the topic of the bofs extract affect your

understanding of what a bof is.

    

 Peter’s adventures in Mr McGregor’s garden.

    

Peter’s adventures on Mars.

    

How to symbolize strategy

    

Peter’s adventures on LSD

    

Your understanding or interpretation : Your thinking space

 Your understanding or interpretation of it at any time is the ‘sum total’ of what the various aspects tell you. The integration or synthesis happens in your thinking space or short term working memory (STWM).

    

Conceptual aspects : the vocabulary / facts/propositions/ relationships/symbolism

Identity as a knower aspects : your identity as an knower of the topic

Attitudinal aspects : the attitudes you have to the topic

Experiential aspects: the experiences, imagery you know about the topic

Your understanding of the topic

Emotional aspects : The feelings, motivation you link with the topic

Procedural aspects: the action sequences you know that are part of the topic

Cultural aspects : How the cultures to which you belong value /prioritise the topic ?

Thinking aspects : how you think about/learn this topic

This is where learning actually occurs, where the learner thinks and can make new links between ideas.

Your thinking space has limited capacity; it can handle a limited amount of knowledge at a time.

You can think about more knowledge at a time if the knowledge is automatized. Ideas that are not automatized take up more thinking space and you are less able to make new links in this

case.

Balancing the various aspects These aspects of knowledge explain patterns in a person’s learning profile.

While you can potentially have all of the aspects of knowledge, some may be better developed. This can lead to imbalances in how students learn. These imbalances influence how the student learns.

    

Conceptual aspects : the vocabulary / facts/propositions/ relationships/symbolism

Identity as a knower aspects : your identity as an knower of the topic

Attitudinal aspects : the attitudes you have to the topic

Experiential aspects: the experiences, imagery you know about the topic

Your understanding of the topic

Emotional aspects : The feelings, motivation you link with the topic

Procedural aspects: the action sequences you know that are part of the topic

Cultural aspects : How the cultures to which you belong value /prioritise the topic ?

Thinking aspects : how you think about/learn this topic

What would each of these look like in your classroom ?.

Individual learning styles. Some students have largely experiential knowledge about a topic while others largely abstract conceptual knowledge

Negative emotional linking with a topic/subject

A negative identity as a knower

Poorly developed procedural knowledge

Immature thinking capacity about a topic

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What is self talk ?

Self talk is the means by which we

• Manage and direct our thinking• Initiate our actions• Tell ourselves about our interactions in our world• Self evaluate

Examples from classrooms :

Two students get a low outcome in an essay assignment or test

This shows I am hopeless at writing essays

I will never be able to write essays and that is dreadful

Anxiety

This shows I need to do different things when I write essays

I will find out what things I need to do to get a better result next time

Adaptive

Two VCE students can’t remember particular knowledge in an exam

Does recall If I do something else and think about when I last heard it, it might come to the ‘top of my mind’

I can’t remember this now. I won’t remember it

Doesn’t recall I must remember it or else I will fail and that is awful: I’m finished

I can’t remember this and I won’t remember it

Examples from classrooms :

Two Year 10 students can’t comprehend a science text they are reading

This doesn’t make sense

It is sh…. Why should I have to read this …..

Doesn’t understand

This doesn’t make sense. There are things I can do to help me understand it.

I will read each sentence again and try to say it in my own words.

Does understand

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Four -five years old engaged in an activity begin to tell themselves what they will do and talk to themselves about it- ‘egocentric speech’.

They begin to use what they know about language to direct their future learning and thinking.

They learn it in part through modelling by their parents and other significant people

How is self talk learnt ?

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After a period of time, they use the egocentric speech less and also show other changes their thinking

The egocentric speech disappears

learn to ‘go backwards and forwards’ in time.

become more reflective

conceptualise, categorise

integrate what they know with the context in which they find themselves

link ideas, for example, cause -effect

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They can do these things now because they have acquired the capacity for ‘inner speech’, a key aspect of their thinking. They use this ‘self-talk’ to focus their attention and their thinking resources at any time.

Ability to learn language experiences- later

They can do these things now because they have acquired the capacity for ‘inner speech’, a key aspect of their thinking.

As they listen to the story, they tell themselves to think about the ideas they are learning in multiple ways.

When beginning to listen to a story about an unfamiliar topic, they can tell themselves to plan how they will listen

at the end of a story, they tell themselves to review what they have heard, say the main ideas in different ways, link them with what they knew, say what they know now that they didn’t know earlier

18/04/23 29

Individuals learn ‘self-talk’ from participating with others to solve problems

Group talk becomes individual self dialogue

Individuals tell themselves to think about the ideas they are learning in multiple ways.

Group works together to solve a problem, for example, work out meaning of word, how to play winning shots in tennis or golf

Individual learns self talk

Individual learns self talk

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A parent is scared of spiders. The parent and children see a spider…

Group talk becomes individual self dialogue

The children learn to tell themselves to kill spiders so that they will be safe.

The parent and children shrink away from spider, parent says “We must kill it so that we can be safe”.

child learns self talk about spiders

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How well do your students learn/use self talk ?

You can observe how well students in your class use self talk in a range of ways.

Before they begin a task, for example, writing a book review, doing a maths task, using a hand saw, can they say what they will do ?

Do they use egocentric speech when they do a task ?

Some children take a lot longer to internatize the language they use socially.

Can they ‘think aloud’ as they work through a task ?

Individual differences in the self talk students learn

 The quality of the language the students use determines the quality of their self talk. Children internalize the language they are using to communicate and learn. Students who use elaborated, richer language will form a richer self talk.

Children differ in how they engage self talk : Passive learners . Some students learn to use their self talk spontaneously when engaging in thinking. Others, however, don’t do this. They can use a range of ways of thinking, but don’t cue themselves in to do this. They show a ‘passivity’ in their use of self talk.

Cultures differ in what they value and how they teach their members to think. Through what they say and give feedback for, cultures teach their members what are acceptable ways of thinking and what is seen as valuable and what is ‘taboo’. The dialogue used in interactions becomes the self talk of individuals. Teachers need to be aware of these and look for evidence of them in their teaching.

    

18/04/23 33

Getting ready or orienting phase 1

Student activity: students

Focus on possible topic of the text.

What is the likely topic ? How will I decide this?

Collate what the reader knows. What do I know about this topic ? What pictures do I see in my mind when I say the topic ? What might I see /hear in the context? In what directions might the talk / story go?

Say purpose of the talk, the questions it might answer.

What are some who / what/ how/ why/ when/ where questions it might answer?

Say how the ideas might be said in different ways in different situations

How might Peter tell his mother / his teacher he couldn’t go ?

18/04/23 34

Getting ready or orienting phase 2

Student activity: students

What words and language might be used ?

What words might I say or hear ?

What do the pictures tell me?

Say what the picture shows. Say the events in each picture in sentences.

What reading actions will I use ?

How will I say an idea to make it sound funny ? How will I work out the meanings of new words I hear?

Focus on reader’s self efficacy as a reader

Am I ready to read? What more do I need to know before I begin to read?

18/04/23 35

Using self talk to guide GKRBridge to the text

Living things are energy convertersWhen you think of energy converters, what comesto mind? The speaker in your IPod that allows you to hear your music by using electrical energy? The hot water heater in your house that makes hot water using gas or electricity ? The torch you use in the dark that makes light from the chemical energy in the batteries ? All of these convert energy from one type to another. But what about your body?

Your body is an energy converter! In fact, all living things are energy converters. As a living organism, your body needs energy to grow, move or think. It uses energy to breathe, to circulate blood, to carry messages through nerves, and to repair damaged tissues. It gets this energy by changing some of the chemical energy that is in the food you eat into other forms of energy, including kinetic energy the energy of movement.

Body heatWhenever your body converts energy into another form, some of it is released as heat. Some of the heat keeps your internal body temperature, called your core body temperature, close to the ideal 37 ー C. However, most of it is quickly lost to the surrounding air. When you exercise, you convert energy more quickly. Faster conversions produce heat more quickly, which raises your core body temperature. Your body responds by sweating. The moisture takes heat away from your body as it evaporates on the surface of your skin.Chemical energy is found in food. The heat created by energy conversions is used to keep the core body temperature constant and is also transferred to the surrounding environment. This energy is considered wasted because it can't be used by the body for growth and repair.Chemical energy is used for growth, repair and movement, or stored in body tissues as fat or glycogen for later use.

Read each subheading. Say it in other words.

Read each topic sentence. Say it in other words. What is the paragraph

likely to be about.

What will you do as you read ?What actions will you use as you read ?

What will you do if you come to a difficult part ?

Where will you pause and put together what you have read ?

18/04/23 36

Self Talk for building vocabulary

Useful vocabulary building self talk : students ask

• How will I say the word? • What other words look like or sound like this word? What

could /does the word mean?• What is happening in this part of the text ? What is it about ?• Are there smaller words within the word?• Can I think of synonyms? Do they fit/make sense?• Can I look at the words around it? Do I need to re-read or

read on?• What pictures does this word bring up in my head?

18/04/23 37

Self talk in VELS English

• Students talk about their reading or writing plans

• Students talk about the comprehending actions they use

• Students tell themselves to reflect on their understanding of a text• Students comment on how they feel about reading and how it

works for them• Students talk about the new comprehending actions they have

learnt.

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Beginning to differentiate thinking using developmental sequence at Year 7

Level Reasoning, processing & inquiry : students

4 develop their own questions for investigation,

collect relevant information from a range of sources and make judgments about its worth.

distinguish between fact and opinion.

use their information to develop concepts, solve problems or inform decision making.

develop reasoned arguments using supporting evidence.

4.25 identify the information appropriate for an investigation, analysis or report, with teacher direction and use a range of strategies and self-formulated questions

apply a range of methodologies with teacher direction and peer support, for example, in an investigation, analysis or report.

problem solve and make decision in activities with a few variables.

4.5 identify and synthesize relevant information from given sources, using appropriate strategies to evaluate evidence; for example, identify subjective or misleading information.

apply teacher-selected methodologies in a curriculum context.

complete activities focusing on problem solving and decision making which involve a few variables

All of these thinking skills are managed and implemented through effective self talk

18/04/23 39

Beginning to differentiate thinking using developmental sequence at Year 7

Level Creativity : students Reflection, evaluation and metacognition : students

4 use creative thinking strategies to generate imaginative solutions when solving problems.

show creativity in a range of contexts and test the possibilities of concrete and abstract ideas generated by themselves and others.

use a broad range of thinking processes and tools, and reflect on and evaluate their effectiveness.

articulate their thinking processes and document changes in their ideas and beliefs over time.

4.25 • with teacher guidance, use a range of creative thinking strategies to explore possibilities and respond appropriately to a challenge

are aware of the purpose of thinking tools in different applications such as brainstorming and analysis.

articulate their thinking processes during investigations, given teacher-prompting.

evaluate their thinking strategies using teacher-direction.

4.50 • with teacher support, use creative thinking strategies for a variety of purposes and problems, and in a range of contexts

use appropriately, in a variety of contexts, a range of thinking tools and strategies.

describe and reflect on their thinking and their thinking processes in different contexts.

evaluate and modify with justification their thinking strategies during investigations.

All of these thinking skills are managed and directed through self talk

18/04/23 40

How to teach a new self script

You model the self script through your scaffolding; you model what the students will say

Students say what they do while /after doing the action.

Students say what they will do before they begin a task; they ‘cue themselves in to the task.

Students say what they will do before they begin a task and what they will get when they do it.

Students say what they will do before they begin a task, what they will get when they do it and when they will do it.

Students say what they will do before they begin a task, what they will get when they do it and when they will do it.

18/04/23 41

Two students in your class get the same low mark for a maths test.

Their self talk …..

Identifying and teaching for useful self talk

I got 3/10 for the maths test.

I got 3/10 for the maths test.

This is awful ! People shouldn’t get 3/10.

This is awful ! People shouldn’t get 3/10.

It is not good to get 3/10. It is not good to get 3/10.

I’m hopeless at learning maths. I hate it. I’ll give it up

as soon as I can

I’m hopeless at learning maths. I hate it. I’ll give it up

as soon as I can

I need to see what I can learn to do to get 4/10 next time.

I need to see what I can learn to do to get 4/10 next time.

Self talk about the situation

Self talk that evaluates the situation

Self talk that initiates the action

18/04/23 42

Replace negative self scripts with useful self scripts

I made 9 errors while I was reading. I will try to make less errors next time.

I made 9 errors while I was reading. I knew I am a hopeless reader.

Become aware of students’ negative self talk

and replace it with useful positive self talk

18/04/23 43

Developing a schedule for teaching self talk

• What do you want your students to know about self talk by the end of the year / each term ?

• What problems /issues in your teaching will self talk target ?

• What types of self talk do you want your students to have learnt by the end of the term ?

• How will you teach your students new self talk each term ?

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Apply the knowledge framework to your teaching

Any teaching needs to make assumptions about how students learn and favours some aspects of learning. Successful learning is more likely when there is a match between the learning demands made by the teaching and a student’s learning preferences.  What demands does your teaching make about each aspect ? Examine a topic regularly taught in secondary school. What assumptions does the teaching make about students’ knowledge in each area ?

Conceptual aspects : What facts/ relationships comprise the topic ?

Identity as a knower aspects : What is your identity as an knower of the topic ?

Attitudinal aspects : What attitudes do you have to the topic ?

Experiential aspects: What experiences, imagery are part of the topic ?

Topic you describe /teach to the group

Emotional aspects : What feelings do you link with the topic ?

Procedural aspects: What actions are part of the topic ?

Cultural identity aspects : How do the different cultures to which you belong value /prioritise the topic ?

Thinking aspects : What ways of thinking characterize this topic ?

A microscope on what we know

•  You use this network to build your model of the information. You read you ‘map’ the sentence meanings in the information into your model.

•  • Your network tells you to expect particular ideas. This allows you to predict or to infer as you deal with

the information.•  • You can add to or modify this network if the information includes ideas or links not in your network.•  • The enhanced or changed network is what you use to interpret similar text in the future..

    

A microscope on what we know

The set of detectors that are stimulated at any time matches a topic or theme that you know. The network at any time links up ideas that we believe have something in common. It is what we use to make sense of information at any time; what patterns we can perceive and tells us what the idea is / isn't.  

A network of meanings can vary in the number of links it has; it can have a very rich, differentiated, set of meanings or very few links. In the first case, a person's knowledge could be gifted, in the second case it could be more like that of an intellectually disabled learner .

    

A microscope on what we know

The network of meanings can be linked in different ways: • they occur in the same place at the same time; when some of the meanings are activated or stimulated, a representation of an experience, an episode or a context is recalled. Some ideas are based, for example, when we hear a word, it may meanings that occur in the dame context. • they are linked in more abstract ways.