The Brain is for ActionPsychology for Classroom Gains

Brock DubbelsThe Center for Cognitive Sciences

The University of Minnesota

ComprehensionWhat is it?It must be guided with socio-cognitive experience.

IP & Working Memory

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Clapping

Comprehension Analysis

Event Indexing Situation Model

Causal network analysis

Epaminondas Story Epaminondas Story

Van den Broek,P., Kendou, P., Kremer, K., Lynch, J. Butler, J., White, M., and Pugzles Lorch, E. (2005, p. 112-13)

How do we build a comprehension model?

Comprehension Model• A spatial-temporal framework

– spatial locations, time frames

• Entities – people, objects, ideas,

• Properties of entities – color, emotions, goals, shape,

etc.

• Relational information– spatial, temporal, causal,

ownership, kinship, social, etc.

Literary Elements• Character/ Characterization• diction• Plot• Setting• Point of View• Theme• Tone• Voice• Word choice

Reading & Classroom Assessment1. Literacy Coaching

a) Use rubric and fluency scale for literacy coaching.

2. Oral Interpretationa) Use Girl Assignment

Comprehension measures for reflect aloud using the event indexing model --Student

Book

Fl Decode

Prop

Sit Plot Set Char Theme

POV

Tone WC

Voice/Diction

Genre

Author

Scoring 4 3 2 1 0Defined Meaning in

contextDetailedDescription

MentionedExplained

Cued/RecognizeTermExplained

Cued/Recognize term

Absent

Modified fluency with play and agency1 I have chosen a challenging book. I read with hesitation with emphasis on single words—I am trying to learn them

in isolation from one another. The "flow" in my reading is a little clunky like a telegraph with word-by-word reading.

2 I just read with two to three word phrasing.My reading seems very hesitant, like I might be unsure, with considerable pausing. I am blending and decoding the words. I am naming the words rather than letting them flow.

3 I am pausing for ending punctuation, but am not making inflection changes from sentence to sentence. I read in phrases but I am lacking in tone necessary in fluent understandable reading.

4 Most of the time, I have, "flow" and phrasing. It is like telling a story to my friends, with vocal intonation and prosody that indicates awareness of punctuation for pausing and breath, and appropriate inflection (i.e., happy voice).

5 I should be doing Shakespeare! My performance is characterized by reading that generally "flows."My voice changes to reflect meaning changes in the passage. My inflections are consistently appropriate, and my reading is fluent and smooth, generally easy to listen to and understood.

Adapted from Table 1. from Marston, Mansfield, cited in (pg. 81 Heineman, in Fountas and Pinnell, 1996) by Dubbels (2005).

Video games as Learning ToolsDeveloped a curriculum for teachers after using them with success at Northeast Middle School

Characteristics of readers

High compHigh fluency

Low compHigh fluency

Low compLow fluency

High compLow fluency

LEVEL

of FLUENCY

ability to comprehend in dialogic method /create a model

Comparison of student performance

Ex-ceed

Meets Partial Does not

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

21

24

16

38

Grade 7 (05-06)Grade 8 (05-06)Grade 8 (06-07)

The categories for 05-06 performance was based upon the Minnesota Basic Skills Test

The 06-07 scores were based upon the MCA2

All students were taught by one teacher each year.

I taught the 06-07 year using a much harder test with an emphasis on games and play.

Specifically: Games unit, multimedia units, sketch up, Etc.

Research Questions• Will a video game that emphasizes sensorimotor

experience provide greater recall and problem solving as compared to viewing a video, or reading a printed text?

• Will performance in the reading condition improve if it follows the game or the viewing condition?

• How does the identification of causation predict building a mental representation and problem solving?

Knowledge

Perceptual Conceptual

Mental SimulationsModality-specific states are partially captured in online experience

Simulations – Reenactments underlie imagery

INSTRUCTION AND PURPOSETexts and Multimodal Narratives

Redescription the AAA Way

• Average

• 1 + 1 + 1 = 3/3= 1

• Mean

• Symbolic shorthand

The brain is for action

A successful theory of cognition and its application will require recognition of that fact.

M. Montessori (1967),

Research on instruction that emphasizes congruent sensorimotor experience and visualization has been found to improve the ability to comprehend, read fluently, and solve problems.

(Glenberg, Brown & Levin, 2007; Glenberg, Gutierrez, Levin, & Japuntich, 2004).

Embodiment & Developmental Research Suggests

Perceptual knowledge is transformed to conceptual knowledge and schema construction through identification affordances of action, and potential action which we use to construct situation models to relate to context, for, and usage.

Research & Practice