Today's Activities:
1. Watch this video:
*This video shows a lesson where students discuss the strategies they employ when they encounter unknown words. Start thinking about other possible discussions that could be prompted in a classroom where students could also share their strategies for thinking and solving problems.
2. Read page 9 of this article:
*You can find the full article here: Thinking about Thinking: Developing Metacognition in Children.
(page 15)
For Today's discussion:
1. Describe an metacognitive strategy that you could/would like to use during a mini lesson. Give an specific example (it could be for any subject).
I am delighted with how this week's discussion is evolving in this blog format! It is clearly evident that our group presenters thought deeply about how to structure our week to showcase our own metacognitive strategies and ensure that we reflect on how we think and problem-solve! I love the application of the theoretical framework in each component of the presentation and the discussion activities.
ReplyDeleteWell done!
Thank you!
DeleteI must say I agree with Dr. Lewis, this blog format is great! It keeps things organized and helps us keep track. It was a great idea.
ReplyDeleteNow back to the question for discussion, I never really thought about what meta-cognitive strategies I have used. The video and the article allowed me to think back.
Many meta-cognitive strategies are used during a Reading lesson. I use a song or a poem to introduce my lesson then I ask my students "what do you think we will be talking about today? " They have to think about it. Also when they are predicting during our "picture walk" of the story of the week. They are using their thoughts to think about what the story will be about. There are definitely prompting questions I can use and now that I know more about meta-cognition I will be sure to use them.
Thank you for the positive feedback B. Valdez, You are right, we use metacognitive strategies during reading lessons a lot when we ask children to reflect at the beginning, during and after the reading sessions. Other questions that help reach metacognitive reflections are: What kind of thinking were you doing? How did that thinking help you find the story's problem/solution? Thank you for sharing!
Delete1. Describe an metacognitive strategy that you could/would like to use during a mini lesson. Give an specific example (it could be for any subject).
ReplyDeleteWhen doing a mini lesson, the students learn about the objective they will be learning. Sometimes I use the KWL chart (What do you know about....What would you like to know.....and What did you learn about......). The students watch a video clip and are asked about the word for example area, and are asked to elaborate how area will be used in "math" world and how can we apply area in the "real" world. Students have access to cognate/word wall, Frayer Model notebooks, bilingual dictionaries, and their study buddy (partner native English speaker).
Arely,
DeleteI think that the use of cognates is very crucial and beneficial for our students. The use of cognates is a resource that many do not use. I am glad to hear that you have found a way to incorporate it in your class.
-Angelica
Arely,
DeleteI think that KWL is one of the best strategies to get an initial idea of what they know before you begin with your lesson. Like Angelika said the used of cognates is essential for our emergent bilingual.
During summer writing camp, my group is from pre-k through 2nd graders from TWDLC, and I'm using both strategies with them, firth week they were not getting the cognates this last Wednesday two of them told me cognates by themselves. We had a small screaming party celebration :)
1. Describe a metacognitive strategy that you could/would like to use during a mini lesson. Give a specific example (it could be for any subject).
ReplyDeleteA mini-lesson on math-dividing a whole into 2 equal parts. (Doughnuts)
I would start with reading a book in relation to the topic. (There is a lot of literature to activate prior knowledge), then I would create a word bank with important vocabulary and illustrations for the lesson.
Students can then participate in cutting out snacks and food from magazines—divide then in half and posting them on a chart designated as the sharing halfs chart (for guided practice) think alouds will be done too.
Then I would tell the students that I have a dozen doughnuts for the class but we have to share them in order for everyone to get a piece. I would have students brainstorm solutions until they say sharing 1 doughnut with every two students.
Students then have to decide how they will divide their doughnut in order for each to get an equal part. They will have to illustrate and write/share aloud their solutions. Students can refer to the story, the word bank, and sharing chart to help them. Think-alouds will help students process the information and help them come up with solutions (multiple ways). Students then enjoy their snack when they have agreed on a solution. They have strategies to use to think about what they are doing and coming up with solutions.
Maria,
DeleteI LOVE you integration of literature in math. That's a perfect integration of metacognition, problem solving and Flow theory. They are excited about getting a doughnut, they have to thing about their our thinking while solving a math problem.
1. Describe an metacognitive strategy that you could/would like to use during a mini lesson. Give an specific example (it could be for any subject).
ReplyDeleteThis video really showed a great lesson on having students think about their thinking. I love to teach reading for my little kindergarten students. Your question is give an example of a mini-lesson using a meta-congntive strategy.
I would probably start with a big book. Then I would have the students picture walk through the book first just to see what they can already tell me about the book. I will look into their prior knowledge. I believe in engaging students at all times so next I would target on one page at a time. I tell them okay boys and girls lets jump into the story. Slowly we will target one page at a time very carefully explaining the who what when where questions as we go. Then I would take a little break and have them go color and draw or write what they remember what we read. We would do this after each page until we get a big book done. The students will be engaging and sharing
all the ideas and steps of what they are thinking as they create their own big book together.
I love using discovery learning in my classes! One of the ways I had used discovery learning was with teaching test-taking strategies. When I was in the classroom, I had a lot of students not taking the district and/or state assessments seriously (who could blame them? But this is another issue). They either fall asleep or just put whatever they can for their answers. While a very few probably do not care, I believe that many simply need guidance and test-taking strategies; and they get frustrated not knowing what to do. To address this concern, I made a little experiment with them:
ReplyDeleteAs we were about to take a practice test, I made the students fold their answer sheet into two columns and label them I and II for each column, Then, they number the first column based how many multiple choice questions there are on the practice test. I told them to read the passage once only, without annotating and/or marking the text. Also, they cannot go back to the text if they needed to clarify anything. (A few who really bother complained about it – and that was the good part!)
After this, I teach them annotation and marking/highlighting important ideas (they need this since they could go “highlighter happy”) as we re-read the same text they read earlier. Also, we do shared, guided, and paired reading, as we chunk each paragraph and annotate and highlight; and then they do independent reading of the rest of the paragraphs. All along these steps, I tell the students to put their answer sheets away and not look at it.
As the next step, I tell them to pull-up their answer sheet and number the second column without looking at the first – honesty system (I tell them to just trust the process)! They answer the same questions now but they are allowed to go back to the text and apply the annotation and highlighting strategies we discussed.
After students answer, I give them the key and they grade both columns. As I have experienced, their scores improved by a few points that could make the difference between passing or failing the test. There were very few scores that went down or did not go up (they were more exceptions than rules). Yes, they had already seen/read the text earlier but that is exactly one of the points – to re-read for information. I then ask them about the point of the activity.
This activity creates the realization that it is important to employ test-taking strategies – from re-reading and locating information, to annotating the text. I took some time to carry it out but it was an investment I made because my students discovered (or rediscovered) the value of applying test-taking strategies and taking the time to finish their test.
(I hope I was able to describe the steps clearly.)
I really like this strategy, I wish you would have shared it earlier as I could have shared it with my 5th graders I currently teach during summer school. I think it would help them see how important it is to go back to the text and to really think about their thinking. I think I can try it with my math students, show them the questions and then have them answer then reanswer with strategies such as underlining the question, circling key words and numbers and evaluating their answers.
DeleteVir,
DeleteI really liked your strategy. This helps students reflect on the problem by first experiencing both realities (answering with a strategy and answering without a strategy), then going back to compare, analyze the results, discuss as a class the results, collaborate on possible reasons for it working (here students can go deep, analyzing some of the questions in detail and thinking about why they chose that first answer on Part I and what thinking made them choose another answer on Part II), collaborate on possible reasons on why it did not result in a better grade for some, etc. This is kind of what we tried to do with the problem solving experience yesterday. We wanted you to experience problem solving using your metacognitive skills, share the thinking process you used when solving, and then reflect and collaborate on what our students would need in order to get a similar level of metacognitive skills when solving a problem. Thank you for sharing this strategy, I think several of us will benefit from using it with our students!
@Dulce: I'm sorry for not sharing it earlier because I didn't know how other people will respond to it since it can be time and effort consuming at first-and it is just my own little experiment with no scientific foundation and is not really research-based…I tried this during my last year of being in the classroom because I was already getting frustrated wracking my brains out on how to make students realize the value of actually "interacting" with the text better and that it is an investment to do so; so I thought of this as an experiment at first and when it worked with one class, I continued with my other classes and (modesty aside), my administrators told me I got the highest HS ELA EOC scores in the ISD that year. (Of course there might have been some other factors, as well.) :-)
DeleteAnd by the way, yes, this may be effective in tackling word problems as I actually use it in dissecting students' essay prompts also.
@Maria: Yes, in my opinion, it did not only teach them the strategy but, as you said, made them reflect on their own efforts towards their own learning. Thank you for the question that made me think of sharing this strategy, as well. Like Dr. Lewis had expressed, your blog idea is really awesome and well thought-out! :-)
In response to the group's question, I like to post anchor charts and word walls together on the walls. The students in the video knew exactly where to turn to in case they needed help, as they proceeded their thinking they were aware of how their environment enhanced their learning. As I conduct my lesson, I make anchor charts, students create those same anchor charts in their journals. as we go through the lesson those anchor charts are placed at the front of the room, surround with the words associated with the unit. Once we have completed that concept, the anchor charts and words are moved to a more permanent position along the walls. I try to keep similar concepts together. Multiplication and division are placed somewhat together because of the relationship the two concepts have with each other. When students are stuck, they are reminded to look at the charts and then seek clarification if they still do not understand.
ReplyDeleteDulce,
DeleteI used to do the same as you. We did anchor charts together I wrote them in Butcher paper and my kids wrote them in their journals. They also were in charge of writing words in the different word walls around the room and in their journals. They know they could take their journals home to review any concept as needed it.
A metacognitive strategy I could teach would be using context clues in order to determine the meaning of an unknown word. One way I could do this would be to model my thought process through a think aloud. The first step would be to acknowledge the difficult word by saying something such as, “Hmmm, this is a tricky word and I don’t know what it means.” I think that part in itself is powerful for students because it encourages them not to give up in the face of struggle. Next, I would model reading the surrounding text and asking myself questions about it. I could even test out different meanings of the word to see if they make sense in context. This would be a way to infuse the "language of thinking" into my classroom dialogue.
ReplyDeleteA metacognition strategy that I use constantly in my class are the anchor charts. As a class we develop them and then add them to our notes. They help the students cement their understanding about a certain concept.
ReplyDeleteAnother metacognitive strategy I have used (3rd) was using a small rope and creating a knot as we went through the plot structure of a fiction text. When we got to the climax, I made sure I had made a knot to symbolize that the story had reached its peak. Then as we continued with the plot structure I would undo the knot and straighten out the rope to show that the story was at its end.
I also use various mental models that help the students connect with a concept; for example, determining importance... a colander, water and noodles. At the beginning when we read through NF text for the 1st time we must take in all text in (water and noodles) but when we go back to re read to determine importance...we drain out the water using the colander and just use "our noodles" to determine what is important and not just interesting.
I try to find ways others have captured students thinking and use it in my class. I get a lot of ideas from the Tanny McGregor books.
-Angelica
Angelika,
DeleteI also used anchor charts and find them to be critical and super useful. I love to see my students during STAAR, turning their heads to the covered anchor chart. What interesting idea for determining importance, I'm going to find that Tanny McGregor Book.
Thanks for always sharing your wonderful ideas.
I really liked watching the students in the video expressing themselves about the strategies they use to facilitate their learning! It just makes me think/reflect on how what they are learning about metacognition in their early years, will definitely help them in the future. That's great!! It seems like they understand how the strategy can help them and when to use it, and that they've had plenty of practice with the strategies mentioned. It takes modeling done by the teacher and practice from the students. Well, some of the strategies mentioned in the video and the posts, are some of the ones I use in my fourth grade classroom. For example, I use the word wall and not to mention the cognates wall that we have for my bilingual students. Also, because I teach writing, I model how to write a narrative story and showing them how I think while I'm doing that helps them a lot. I have anchor charts and posters that they can refer to when they are having trouble in one of the writing process steps. I also like to tie literature into writing and show them how authors write. We read books that tie with the topic that they will be writing about and as we read, we think about the author and the strategies that he/she used to write their story. It's engaging once the students start thinking of how they can use the author's ideas in their own writing. After a while, some start thinking like authors and writing like that.
ReplyDeleteFor students to reflect on their learning process, graphic organizers such as a KWL chart are effective tools to help students think about what they know, versus what they don’t know. Prior to delving into a new topic/concept, a KWL chart helps students focus their attention. What do I already know about this topic? What do I want to learn? At the end of the lesson/unit, students return to their KWLs and evaluate their learning. What did I learn after studying about this topic? What other questions do I still have about this topic? New and unanswered questions follow. What do I want to know about this topic? Students access classroom internet to conduct further research.
ReplyDeleteBetty, KWL is a great strategy to activate prior knowledge. Like you say, this starts the metacognitive process of thinking about what you know versus what you don't. It is important that teachers explicitly explain students that this is a strategy they can use at home or when working independently in their desks, as it is the beginning of the metacognitive learning process, this will help them establish the task and determine the strategies they will need to achieve their learning goals.
Delete1. Describe an metacognitive strategy that you could/would like to use during a mini lesson. Give an specific example (it could be for any subject).
ReplyDeleteAs an engagement, I usually start with a short ppt, song, or any kind of visual and let them inference, think about what they think the lesson will be about. For example, to introduce the term stereotype and its meaning, I showed them some commercials where stereotyping was clearly seen. They had to then infer and share with the class their thoughts.
1. Describe an metacognitive strategy that you could/would like to use during a mini lesson. Give an specific example (it could be for any subject).
ReplyDeleteWhen I teach vocabulary I make sure first and foremost that my students know how to pronounce it. So to start I say it several times and I give them the meaning (verbally aloud) and they I have them repeat after me three consecutive times. This is done before I actually give them the flashcards with the word and definition and they ask them to work on the fryer model. They also have the use of the cognates wall and word wall. The word wall is for visual learners and the process of asking them to repeat after me is for the auditory learners and for the emergent bilinguals I use ExC-ELL power points.
I like that you help students with the pronunciation of the words. I think that is so important because if they are pronouncing it incorrectly, they may not realize it's the same word when they hear someone else say it and then they don't know that they actually know that word!
DeleteThat happens a lot in TWDL, I used to get a lot of questions of how do I write this word. I remember one time I said how about a synonym, and the little girl said that's not how you write the word, is like this and she spelled the word correctly, and said see you know how to spell the word by yourself and we both laughed.
Delete"Kudos to the bloggers" I really like how you ladies organized the discussions by daily tabs. It was nice and simple to follow along. Great job :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great teacher, I love how she allows all of her students to participate, she's so patient. After watching the video I was able to reflect on my own strategies.
One strategy that I like to use are group charts. Students work in a small group, within the group they collaborate and help each other. This allows me to see what they know, their prior knowledge, and what additional information they need.
Thank you for the kudos Sandra :). Collaboration is definitely a strategy that allows for metacognition strategies. Children reflecting and sharing their 'thinking on their thinking' allows them to reflect deeper (in order to be able to express it) and for others to listen to different kinds of thinking process and broaden their own. Thank you for sharing!
DeleteThank you so much for sharing your wonderful metacognitive strategies. The article we shared with you today has really good sample strategies, a list of words in teaching thinking and learning (p. 9), and a list of metacognitive questioning to raise levels of awareness (p. 10). One final tool I find really helpful (for those of you eager to use metacognitive teaching next school year :)) is a "Meta-teaching lesson Format":
ReplyDelete1. FOCUS, introducing the theme of the lesson
2. OBJECTIVE, discussing the THINKING and learning objectives
3. INPUT, providing information and stimulus to learning
4. STRUCTURED ACTIVITY, engaging in active learning task (think about FLOW)
5. METACOGNITIVE REVIEW, discussing as a group what they have thought and learned, reviewing objectives, setting targets, closure (I would also add a conversation on making accommodations or change learning strategies that did not work).
Have a great night!
Describe a metacognitive strategy that you could/would like to use during a mini lesson. Give a specific example (it could be for any subject).
ReplyDeleteAsking probing, open-ended questions that make students really reflect on their thinking processes is beneficial. Questions that go further than: Why do you think that? Here are a few examples:
Can you tell me about this?
What else feels (tastes, looks) like this?
What did you do that was different from what she did?
What would happen if . . . ?
Can you think of another way to do that?
Can you identify when you started getting confused?
Describe a metacognitive strategy that you could/would like to use during a mini lesson. Give a specific example (it could be for any subject).
ReplyDeleteA metacognitive strategy I have used during science lessons is showing a short video about the topic that is going to be covered and then asking the students, “What do you think we are going to learn today?” “Where there any words that were unfamiliar and you still don’t know what they mean?” After a brief discussion about the new words and what they think that they will learn, I would introduce the vocabulary words, practice the pronunciation with the students and explain its meaning. Then, we would write the vocabulary words and their definition in the science journal and next to it students had to draw a picture so they could remember the meaning.
A metacognitive strategy that I have used in my class is the use of songs to teach poems. I always try to use a video that goes with the song because it helps my students internalize more the concept. And as we sing along, they all each have a paper copy of the song/poem to refer in case they don’t remember the song.
ReplyDeleteBlanca,
DeleteI always started poetry with songs as well, they loved it and it was sooo easy to keep them engaged and to introduce some of the elements of poetry.
Later when is time to go deep into poetry the kids go back to what they learn from the songs and realize that they see some of the same elements.
Describe an metacognitive strategy that you could/would like to use during a mini lesson. Give an specific example (it could be for any subject).
ReplyDeleteThere is no better way to teach metacognition to students than modeling. Modeling through think aloud practices during our daily instruction. The teacher could give students the definition and an example about it, but that will not make them “use” or “implement” the strategy. Students need to consume a lot of intended metacognitive practices so they can later produce them. In my classes I tend to think aloud a lot, when I am reading aloud, I stop, pretend I don’t know a word and ask myself what can I do?, then I choose one strategy and do it. Next time I would do the same and use another strategy, and so on. The same happens in Math, I pretend I do not know how to solve a problem and start “thinking” on what I should do. Students are very attentive when the teacher does not know what to do, besides paying more attention to what I am doing, they start giving possible options to help me out. :)
I am impressed with what these students in the video know about metacognition. Like the teacher in the video says, it is important that students know the purpose of their learning. I think back to this past school year and I do recall letting students know why they are doing something. For example, I did several mini lessons on dictionary use and I explained to them that since they had the use of a dictionary on the STAAR test, they needed to know how to look up words. That would make the mini lessons more meaningful to them.
ReplyDeleteI use a lot of the strategies mentioned in the video in the classroom with my students, and one of my favorites is "think aloud". I think aloud to model to my students how I "think". Really, I am modeling what I want them to do. They think that I am really thinking aloud and they find it interesting to see that I, being the teacher, still have to think my way through things, like word problems or reading an unfamiliar word.
PS- I agree with Dr. Lewis! This blog format is so neat and I feel so organized when I post a comment. Thank you for that, ladies! You did an amazing job!