Instruction
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It boosts learning by pulling information out of students’ heads (e.g. quizzes/flashcards)
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It works by enabling students to practice bringing information forward to remember it better.
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Helps students remember what to transfer
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Learning strategy, not assessment strategy
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Retrieval practice boosts transfer learning
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Students do better when they are quizzed versus not quizzed, as much as 13% more.
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Provide a mix of fact-based and HOTS retrieval
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Multiple choice questions are as, or more effective than short answer questions
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Writing down works better than concept mapping for retrieval practice
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Pause lesson, lecture
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Write down everything you can remember
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Continue lesson
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Ask students to swap Brain Dump with a peer.
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Is there eanything in common that both of us wrote down?
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Anything new that neither of us wrote down?
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Any misinformation?
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Why do you think you remembered what you did?
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Pause lesson
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Ask, “What are two things you learned yesterday? Today?”
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Ask, “What are two things you’d like to learn more about?”
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Pause lesson
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Students write down what they want to study
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Give feedback on what they wrote
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Continue with lesson
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Formulate questions
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Put clues on slips of paper
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Students write down answers
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Collect clues
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Analayze Mini-Quizzes
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Label cards with “A” “B” “C” “D”
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Have students hold cards up in response to questions
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Provide students with an outline of your lesson
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Read text aloud
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Retrieve and write down information in Retrieval Guide
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Think-Pair-Share
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Provides student opportunity to know what they know, and know what they don’t know
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This increases students’ meta-cognition or understanding their learning progress.
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Helps students apply knowledge correctly
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Enhance higher order thinking skills and knowledge transfer
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Raise student achievement by a letter grade or two
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Boosts learning for diverse students and subject areas
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Increases use of effective study of strategies out of class
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Improves mental organization of knowledge
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Increases student engagement and attention
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Blocks interfering information
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Improves learning of related information
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Increases HOTS and transfer learning
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Identifies gaps in students’ knowledge
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Increases meta-cognition and awareness of learning
- Investigates how we interact with the world around us, or what happens outside our heads.
- Behind the scene behavior in our heads or invisible behavior
- What kind of graph is being used to represent data?
- Is that graph type the right one for the data? Why or why not?
- What colors did the graph designer use and do they mean anything?
- Why was this data chosen to present? What makes it special?
- What are some reasons for the differences in the data?
- What do I need to learn or understand better to see how and why this graph is important?
- How do I know this data is valid and reliable?
- What’s the proof or evidence?
- What is meant by this data?
- What does it symbolize?
- What does it mean for me? For others?
Five Tips for New School Principals
Are you new to school leadership this year? Start here with access to five tips, resources, and suggestions for new principals!
Eight Great #Science Resources to Explore #tcea #tceajmg
Grab your notebook and explore these eight, great science sites, amazing video content and lessons you can share with young learners.
Exploring Extreme Heat Science: Five Resources for Educators on #ClimateChange #tcea #tceajmg
Are you a secondary science teacher? Explore extreme heat and climate change with students using these eye-opening educational resources.
MyNotes: Powerful Teaching #book #RetrievalPractice
These are my notes on Powerful Teaching. I’d like to say I finished the book, but I only made it 3/4ths of the way through before I ran out of time. I may add more content below, but these are my big take-aways.
This was a great book on four powerful teaching strategies. It’s well worth it to master their usage in K-Adult classrooms. Be sure to view the companion website to the book.
Four Powerful Teaching Strategies
There are four powerful strategies that boost student learning. These include the following:
1-Retrieval Practice
This strategy occurs when learners recall and apply multiple examples of previously learned knowledge or skills after a period of forgetting.
Retrieval Practice Activities
Brain Dumps/Free Recall
Then, do a Think-Pair-Share:
Two Things
Retrieve-Taking
Daily MiniQuizzes
Retrieval Routines
Colored index cards
Bell work/exit tickets
Retrieval Guides
2-Spaced Practice or spacing
Boosts learning by spreading lessons and retrieval opportunities over time so learning isn’t crammed all at once.
3-Interleaving
Mixes up related topics and encourages discrimination.
4-Feedback
Benefits of Strategies
Research shows that there are various benefits. These include
Stages of Learning
There are several stages of learning. These include the following:
1-Encoding
When we meet information for the first time, or initially learn something.
2-Storage
Keeping encoded information and how long it is retained.
3-Retrieval
When we reach back and bring out of our minds the information we previously learned. When we access information and bring it to mind.
Connections
Social-Emotional Learning
Cognitive Science/Psychology
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) #tcea #tceajmg
Get suggestions from TCEA and others on how to strengthen your multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), especially Tier 1!
Engaging English Language Learners with Guided Notes
Take advantage of guided notes for engaging emerging language learners! Get access to digital tools that make guided note creation easier.
CER Resources for the Science Classroom #tcea #tceajmg
What if, in six sentences, you could empower students to create amazing work? It’s a preoccupation many science teachers have. Let’s take a moment and spend some time on CER: claim, evidence, and reasoning. Think of CER as a tool for student empowerment. You’ll see some specific examples with the help of AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, and an AI Lesson Plan Generator.
#tcea #tceajmg
Resources for Teaching Graph Making and Analysis Skills #tcea #tceajmg
How can you better develop graph and chart analytical skills with your students? One way is to have them explore and analyze graphs, then discuss what they have learned and think. Another is to create graphs. Let’s take a look at some ways you can do that.
#tcea #tceajmg
Seven US Military History Teaching Resources #tcea #tceajmg
Looking for some great resources to teach US military history and give insight into the lives, work, and sacrifice of our Veterans and to honor their service? Let’s explore seven resources on US military history that cover everything from maps and battlefields to museums, memorials, Veterans, and more.
#tcea #tceajmg
Five Video Sources for Science Teachers #tcea #tceajmg
Are you looking for short videos to use as bell ringer activities in science class? Or maybe you’re wanting to integrate videos into your lessons? Discover a roundup of video sources you won’t want to miss. But before I introduce those, let’s look at some strategies you can pair with videos to get students thinking.
#tcea #tceajmg
Resources for Teaching Graph Making and Analysis Skills #tcea #tceajmg
How can you better develop graph and chart analytical skills with your students? One way is to have them explore and analyze graphs, then discuss what they have learned and think. Another is to create graphs. Let’s take a look at some ways you can do that.
My favorite part of this blog entry? The Guiding Questions for Graph Analysis Skills:
20+ Science Books for Middle and High School Girls #tcea #tceajmg
Looking for science books for your daughter? Want to encourage critical thinking and thinking like a scientist? If so, let’s look at some recommendations from middle school science teachers. I’ll also add a few of my own selections from what I read with my daughter and, looking back, what I might add to the list.
Two Digital Tools to Support Inquiry Learning #tcea #tceajmg
Dig into inquiry learning research and get two exciting digital tools with a variety of resources and tools for scaffolding in your classroom.
Online Reading Programs and Digital Apps #tcea #tceajmg
Looking for some ways to supplement your reading interventions? Here are a few AI-recommended solutions with reflections about each one. We’ll explore 21 supplemental online reading programs and a list of 6 iOS apps, including reading titles and content. Ready to dive in?
#Science Activities for Critical Thinking #tcea #tceajmg #education
Are you ready for exciting science activities? Science and engineering are puzzles. They’re like adventures. You need curiosity to dive into details. As NGSS says, it’s all about getting into the heart of things.
…students cannot fully understand scientific and engineering ideas without engaging in the practices of inquiry and the discourses by which such ideas are developed and refined. At the same time, they cannot learn or show competence in practices except in the context of specific content. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 218)
To understand science, you need to dive in. Roll up your sleeves! Get your hands dirty with activities. So, let’s start now! Here are some of my favorite science activities for critical thinking.
A SIFT Lesson Plan: Critical Skills for Navigating Media
A SIFT Lesson Plan: Critical Skills for Navigating Media
“Oh my goodness, have you seen all the political ads on the television recently?” said a colleague earlier this month. It’s an election year, but how are you making sense of what’s true and false? Many of us have to learn how to deal with persuasive text, which may include political propaganda. And many adults and students are dealing with media overwhelm.
The middle school Texas ELA TEKS emphasize critical thinking skills. But how do you teach that? Let’s take a look at one approach you might consider.
Micro-Reflections: Crafting Reflections in the Moment #tcea #tceajmg
Micro-Reflections: Crafting Reflections in the Moment
Want to get the most out of what you learn? You may be missing out on an important step – reflection! Here’s a heuristic to make it easier. Read more
Engage Students with Virtual Reality (VR) and Project-Based Learning (PBL)
Engage Students with Virtual Reality (VR) and Project-Based Learning (PBL)
A combination you seldom find in classrooms brings two popular areas together: virtual reality (VR) and project-based learning (PBL). Combining these two approaches to teaching and learning can deepen students’ understanding. VR within PBL can drop students into an immersive learning experience. But how does that work? VR is increasingly creating interactive opportunities in the immersive internet. See how VR is moving beyond entertainment.
Examples for #Teaching with Fake News and #Pseudoscience #tcea #tceajmg
Examples for Teaching with Fake News and Pseudoscience
Are you watching students and colleagues make claims based on potentially unverified information they’ve encountered? How can we balance all the information we receive from various outlets with a solid, decision-making process? Let’s explore some sources you can use to teach middle school students the importance of fact-checking and critical thinking. You’ll also discover an exciting new product, The Silph Booster, guaranteed to solve any child’s school cognition problems.
Five Stages of K-12 Ed Tech Adoption: Part 1 #tceajmg #tcea #edtech
Five Stages of K-12 Ed Tech Adoption: Part 1
Feeling tired and burned out by all the ed tech and AI-based news finding its way into your life? Take a moment to step back from all the chaos and reflect on the big picture. The Five Stages of K-12 Ed Tech Adoption will give you some context for understanding what you are going through. You will also get practical tips to help you harness the power of technology to create an engaging, effective student learning environment.