improving lessons through context and questioning...improving lessons through context and...
TRANSCRIPT
Improving Lessons
Through Context and
Questioning
Travis Hardin
@hardinedthought
STEM Master Teacher
Calcasieu Parish
Traditional Textbooks and Lessons• Examples are usually arranged from easy, to medium, to
difficult.
• Examples generally focus on procedural steps then an application word problem.
• Practice sections are the same: Easy to difficult, procedural then context based application problems.
Procedural vs. Contextual ProblemsAlg. 1 Algebra 2 Geometry
Examples Practice Examples Practice Examples Practice
Proc. Context Proc. Context Proc. Context Proc. Context Proc. Context Proc. Context
A # 4 1 22 9 5 0 36 9 3 2 22 5
% 80 20 71 29 100 0 80 20 60 40 81 19
B # 2 1 37 9 5 1 26 5 3 1 18 10
% 67 33 80 20 83 17 84 16 75 25 64 36
C # 3 1 33 8 4 1 33 8 4 1 30 4
% 75 25 80 20 80 20 80 20 80 20 88 12
Traditional Lessons
Application problems
Moderate and Difficult Procedural
Practice
Basic Procedural Examples/Practice
Our purpose as teachers
Knowledge Transfer
• “Knowledge transfer is the ability to extend what has been learned in one context to new contexts.” (NRC, 2000)
• Traditional texts often “over-contextualize” knowledge (NRC, 2000)
• Information is stored and schemas built based on how information will be used.
Albert Einstein
“The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts,
but the training of the mind to THINK.”
Common Student Questions
•When am I ever going to use this?
• The homework was nothing like what we did in class!!
• I forgot, can you teach that to me again?
• This is dumb, why do we have to learn this?
Context Increases Knowledge Transfer
•Reasoning can be improved when abstract logical arguments are embodied in concrete contexts (Wasonand Johnson-Laird, 1972)
• The more students are taught using conceptual understanding in context, rather than memorizing steps and procedures, the higher the transfer rate will be. (NRC, 2000)
Winston
Context Based Lessons
Application Problems for Conceptual Development
Exploration and Metacognitive Questioning
Procedural Fluency Practice
Systems of EquationsAnthony is planning on getting a satellite dish for his home and is choosing between Dish and Direct TV. Each company charges a setup fee as well as a fee per month. Dish has a startup fee of $30 and costs $60 per month. Direct TV costs $40 per month and has a startup fee of $110. Write equations for the cost, C, of each company over m months and show graphically which company is better in the long run for Anthony. After how many months does it become a better deal?
Metacognitive Questions
•What thoughts went through your head when reading and thinking about this problem?
•What questions did you ask yourself (or answer subconsciously)?
Metacognitive QuestionsMetacognition is “thinking about thinking.”
Metacognitive Questions are asked by students about their own thinking OR about what they just read.
• Research has found that metacognitive skills: • do not develop naturally for most students • must be taught “explicitly” in order for students to
develop metacognitive knowledge (desoete, 2007 and Carr et al, 1994)
Possible Questions• How many companies are we comparing?
• How many equations will there be? How do you know?
• How is this similar to things we have already done?
• In the long run, who do you think will cost more money? Why?
• Is there a one time cost for each company?
• Which value will be multiplied by the variable? How do you know?
• What equation can we write for Dish? For Directtv?
• Which variable will be on the x-axis? Y-axis? How do you know?
• How should we scale each axis?
• When the wto lines intersect, what does that point represent in the context of this question?
Two Critical Errors
Assuming that critical thinking can be developed through procedural practice.
Assuming that metacognitive questioning happens naturally in all people.
Sample LessonCreating a context based, question driven lesson
1. Choose a topic from your subject.
2. Come up with a word problem or scenario to begin the lesson (books often have great problems at the end of lessons!).
3. Brainstorm possible metacognitive questions for students.
4. Come up with a second word problem or scenario (use less metacognitive questions)
5. Find a third word problem for students to try on their own.
6. Procedural practice
Questions and Feedback
Last minute questions?
Please use the mobile app to rate the session.
Travis Hardin