Reflection and Curiosity

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE CO-REQUISITE INSTRUCTOR

Reflection and Curiosity Building a Conceptual Framework

DAN KESTERSON HTTP://ISSUU.COM/TDKEST1/DOCS/CONCEPTUALFRAMEWORKREADING

I NTRODUCTION

For Instructor and Student

This reading course is about “igniting curiosity” in the learning process while reading.

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry." -- Albert Einstein This course will focus on developing curiosity by learning how to step back in one’s mind and reflect on the meaning of that being read. Reflection is the key to developing curiosity. Reflection is the stepping back in the mind and and making meaning by mentally interconnecting what is being read with what is already known by the reader that moves a reader from one idea into the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections to other ideas. “It is the thread that makes “continuity” of learning possible.” (Dewey)

“A source of motivation is curiosity, without which there is little energy for the hard work of reflection: “until we understand, we are, if we have curiosity, troubled, baffled, and hence moved to inquire” (Dewey, 1933).) The trick is once stymied, caring or wanting to take the time to explore why one is stymied. “Curiosity, in contrast, bespeaks of a positive, wide-eyed attitude toward both one’s own learning and other’s learning” (Rodgers).

For many readers, the recognizing, and caring or wanting to take the time to explore why one is stymied is not built into their learning while reading mental processes. That is the focus of this reading course, learning mental strategies and habits of mind that shifts uncaring or not wanting to take the time to explore why one is stuck to one of mental arousal to want to know.

Think of reflection this way; stop and mentally ask yourself, “What did I just read?”; “Do I understand what I just read?”; “What do I already know about what I just read?”; “Have I done anything to help ensure that I will remember what I have read?” It is in those moments of mentally stepping back and observing one’s thinking (reflection) that builds curiosity.

To the extent that the reader feels a twinge of conflict and is aroused to end the unease of not knowing by finding meaning is the beginning of curiosity, which begins with reflection. In this reading course, reflec1

tion (inquiry) will move to deeper questions the reader will want to ask and to learning mental strategies for answering those questions.

This reading course is an ongoing series of reflections while reading and mental strategies for dealing with the conflict that emerges during these moments of reflection in an effort to build curiosity for wanting to resolve the conflict that move meaninglessness to meaningfulness.

“As Dewey defines it, reflection is a particular way of thinking and cannot be equated with mere haphazard “mulling over” something. Such thinking in contrast to reflection, is, in a word, undisciplined” It is the bridge of meaning that connects one experience to the next that gives direction and impetus to growth.

The process of refection, Dewey claims, moves the learner from a disturbing state of perplexity (also referred by him as disequilibrium) to a harmonious state of settledness (equilibrium). Perplexity is created when an individual encounters a situation whose “whole character is not yet determined.) That is the meaning is not yet established. The internal experience for the learner is one of disequilibrium an unsettledness. It is the yearning for balance that in turn drives the learner to something to resolve it namely, to start the process of inquiry, or reflection” (Rodgers).

Education and competence learning are the same thing. Today we define learning as growing new dendrites when the learner’s new information interconnects with the learner’s prior knowledge. Let’s take a look at John Dewey’s definition of “education”, “that reconstruction and reorganization of experience which adds to the meaning of experience, and which increases [one’s] ability to direct the course of subsequent experience.” Dewey’s definition of education is no different than the modern work of John Bransford’s on developing competence in an area of inquiry.

Dewey goes past passive learning when he insists that that learned is a “reconstruction or reorganization of experience which adds to the meaning of experience.” Dewey anticipated the conformation of the physical nature of leaning in the brain a hundred years before MRIs - an external reflection of an internal process. What make his definition of education (learning) even more prophetic is the anticipation of the works of researchers such as John Bransford on human learning. The second part of Dewey’s definition of education (learning), “and which increases [one’s] ability to direct the course of subsequent experience”, even predates Flavell’s insights into metacognition and is actually a definition of metacognition.

John Bransford’s research on human learning concluded in “On Human Learning” that in order to de2

velop competence in an area of inquiry, the learner needs to (parenthesis below show parallel with Dewey’s definition of education): • Develop a deep foundation of factual knowledge (the need for a vast and deep reservoir of factual knowledge in which “reconstruction and reorganization of experience adds meaning to experience”) • Understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework ( this “increases on’s ability to direct the course of subsequent experience”) • Organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application (“that reorganization of experience which increases [one’s] ability to direct the course of subsequent experience”) Today, the learner needs more than to be able to memorize or stop at mere procedural learning. Today the learner needs to be able to develop competence in an area of inquiry as they pursue programs of study. The learner must develop the skills that allow for “increasing their ability to direct the course of subsequent experience” by learning reflection strategies and mental strategies for developing competence in the content of their program of study. Reflection is the core of deeper learning and is the foundation and springboard for the mental strategies and habits of mind that will be learned in this reading course.

Carol Rodgers in “Defining Reflection: Another Look at John Dewey and Reflective Thinking” looks at four distinct criteria that characterize Dewey’s view of reflective thought (a mode of thought which can be equated with inquiry) and offers them as a starting place for talking about reflection so that it might be taught, learned, assessed, discussed, and researched.

We will look at the first of these four criteria is the following: 1. Reflection is a meaning-making process that moves a learner from one experience into the next with deeper understanding og its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas. It is the thread that makes “continuity” of learning possible.

Continuity: “What [an individual] has learned in the way of knowledge and skill in one situation becomes an instrument of understanding and dealing effectively with the situation which follow. The process goes on as long as life and learning continue.

“Without continuity learning is random and disconnected, building toward nothing within the learner or in the world” (Rodgers).

The ability to ‘transfer” from one situation to another (continuity) is the essence of John Bransford’s research and will underlie all reflection (inquiry) while reading to learn.

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“A key finding in the learning and transfer literature is that organizing information into a conceptual framework allows for greater “transfer”; that is, it allows the student to apply what was learned in new situations and to learn related information more quickly…. Transfer is affected by the degree to which people learn with understanding rather than merely memorize sets of facts or follow a fixed set of procedures; the research also shows clearly that “usable knowledge” is not the same as a mere list of disconnected facts.” Also transfer not only requires organizing information into a conceptual framework, but also understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework. (Bransford, 2002)

Table of Contents Chapter 1 - What You Need to Know About This Course 6 Chapter 2 - Willingness to Stay on Task 9 Section 1 - Getting Unstuck: Yearning for Balance 10 Chapter 3 - Reflection Mindfulness 12 Section 1 - Reflection 13 Chapter 4 - What Goes on in the Brain When I Am Learning? 29 Section 1 - Learning and the Brain 30 Section 2 - The Stage Metaphor 32 Section 3 - Deep Learning 33 Section 4 - Sociology for Example 34 Chapter 5 - Building a Conceptual Framework 43 Section 1 - Strategy Set 1 44 Section 2 - Strategy Set 2 47 Section 3 - Strategy Set 3 49

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Section 4 - Strategy Set 4 51

Section 5 - Strategy Set 5 53 Section 6 - Expanding the Conceptual Framework 55 Section 7 - Other Strategies to Consider 57 Chapter 6 - Developing Competence 65 Section 1 - Sociology 66 Section 2 - Biology 76 Section 3 - Business 80 Section 4 - History 86 Section 5 - Psychology 89 Section 6 - Anatomy and Physiology 91 Section 7 - Math 93

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C HAPTER 1 What You Need to Know About This Course

It is about Reflection “Reflection is a meaning-making process that moves a learner from one experience (in this case reading) into the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas. It is the thread that makes continuity of learning possible�

(Carol on Dewey, 2012).

S ECTION 1

Introduction to Reflection

The course is about those moments of reflection while reading in which you will be asked inquire (ask questions) about your understanding of what you have just read and apply mental processes that enable you to reach the goal above. The goal of “being able (1) to use mental processes that enable you to use what you read in later reasoning in new situations and (2) to make later related learning easier” will call upon you to learn mental processes (thinking about your thinking) that fall under three categories.

- Developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge.

Other Information You Need to Know About This Reading Course

- Understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.

The Goals

- Organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

The goal of the course is about more than understanding what you read. The overarching goals are to be able to (1) use mental processes that enable you to use what you read in later reasoning in new situations and to (2) make later related learning easier.

Mental Processes The primary mental processes used in this course will be reflection - slowing down while reading, thinking about what you are reading, and applying mental processes in those moments of reflection that enable you to reach the goal stated above.

A Few Notes About Reflection “Reflection is a meaning-making process that moves a learner from one experience (in this case reading) into the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas. It is the thread that makes continuity of learning possible” (Carol on Dewey, 2012).

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Reflecting on what you are reading is the core mental process of this reading course.

The first thing you should know is that stopping and reflecting as you read is essential for the information you are learning while reading to move to that part of your brain which enables you to meet the overarching goals of this course, that is the goals of “being able (1) to use what you read in later reasoning in new situations and (2) to make later related learning easier.” That part of the brain is called the prefrontal cortex and it is where you make decisions. The prefrontal cortex, the part of the frontal lobes lying just behind the forehead, is often referred to as the “CEO of the brain.”

• Focusing attention • Organizing thoughts and problem solving

• Ability to balance short-term rewards with long term goals • Shifting/adjusting behavior when situations change • Impulse control and delaying gratification • Modulation of intense emotions • Inhibiting inappropriate behavior and initiating appropriate behavior • Simultaneously considering multiple streams of information when faced with complex and challenging information (Wikipedia)

You can see why this is so important. Memorizing definitions, for instance, does not move that being memorized to the prefrontal cortex unless the learner understands the meaning of the definition; that is where reflection or reflecting on that being learned comes in.

• Foreseeing and weighing possible consequences of behavior • Considering the future and making predictions • Forming strategies and planning 8

C HAPTER 2

Willingness to Stay on Task Perplexity is created when an individual encounters a situation whose “whole character is not yet determined.) That is the meaning is not yet established. The internal experience for the learner is one of disequilibrium an unsettledness. It is the yearning for balance that in turn drives the learner to something to resolve it namely, to start the process of inquiry, or reflection� (Rodgers).

S ECTION 1

Getting Unstuck: Yearning for Balance

One of the major part of this reading course is (1) simply learning to stop, mentally step back, and think about ones level of understanding of what is being read (reflection), and (2) being willing to learning in those moments how to become curious.

Curiosity

Key: Recognizing When We are Stuck and Sticking with it Until We are Unstuck Stuck “Perplexity is created when an individual encounters a situation whose “whole (understanding) is not yet determined.That is the meaning is not yet established. The internal experience for the learner is one of disequilibrium an unsettledness. It is the yearning for balance that in turn drives the learner to something to resolve it - namely, to start the process of inquiry, or reflection” (Rodgers).

Getting Unstuck: Caring and Wanting to Take the Time to Explore Why One is Stuck “A source of motivation is curiosity, without which there is little energy for the hard work of reflection: “until we understand, we are, if we have curiosity, troubled, baffled, and hence moved to inquire” (Dewey, 1933).) The trick is once stymied, caring or wanting to take the time to explore why one is stymied. “Curiosity, in contrast, bespeaks of a positive, wideeyed attitude toward both one’s own learning and other’s learning” (Rodgers).

Curiosity-drive model The curiosity-drive model states that experiences (reading) that are novel and complex create a sensation of uncertainty in the brain, a sensation perceived to be unpleasant. Curiosity acts as a means in which to dispel this uncertainty. By exhibiting curious and exploratory behavior, (learners) are able to learn more about the novel stimulus and thus reduce the state of uncertainty in the brain.

Optimal arousal model The optimal-arousal model of curiosity posits that the brain aims to maintain an optimal level of arousal. If the stimulus is too intensely arousing, a “back-away” type behavior is engaged. In contrast, if the environment is boring and lacks exciting stimuli, exploratory behavior will be engaged until something optimally arousing is encountered. In essence, the brain is searching for the perfect balance of arousal states.

Back-away Behavior and Exploratory Behavior It is not unusual to find that some of us have developed “backaway” behaviors when we are reading and find ourselves not understanding. It has become a habit of mind. In this course, 10

we will replace this habit of mind to back-away and replace it with with reflection behaviors, which drive curiosity. We will learn mental strategies that make “exploratory behaviors” more likely and more productive. We will be learning to care and wanting to construct meaning where just moments before we recognized we were stuck.

Important: In order to learn how to do these things, we have to be willing to first, stop and reflect on what we have just read and train our minds to become curious enough to stick with those moments when we are stuck about any place we have become stuck. Curiosity has to be relearned.

Beyond Being Stuck An essential part of this course is how to learn (what to do mentally) that ensures that what we are learning is useful in the future. What we do mentally when learning affects where what we are learning is stored in the brain and where what we are learning is stored affects dramatically our ability to use the information being learned in the future. This is called “competence learning” (transfer learning - useful in new situations).

“A key finding in the learning and transfer literature is that organizing information into a conceptual framework allows for greater “transfer”; that is, it allows the student to apply what was learned in new situations and to learn related information more quickly.” (Bransford) We will learn how to : • Develop a deef foundation of factual knowledge.

• Understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.

• Organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

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C HAPTER 3

Reflection: Mindfulness In accelerated learning courses, there is no time for isolated units of reading instruction. It is important that cognitive strategies and habits of mind are taught in the context of the content of the of the paired content course. A form of metacognition, reflection, is seldom actually taught, but is the essence of active learning. In this chapter the skill of reflecting and applying cognitive strategies is discussed. The very foundation of developing competence in an area of inquiry rests on the ability to observe ones own thinking and apply learning strategies that consolidate that being learned.

S ECTION 1

Reflection At the 2012 Kentucky Association of Developmental Education Conference, Joe Cuseo projected onto the screen an image of the brain. He explained that just understanding something did not move that information into long term memory.

He pointed out that MRIs have now shown that reflection on that which was understood moved the information to longterm memory.

This chapter is about what learners can do during those moments of reflection when the brain is focused on what the reader needs to do while reading to consolidate newly learned information into long-term memory - reflection. John Medina has pulled the findings on the most important mental processes that a learner should engage in during moments of reflection. Daniel Coyle has illustrated how the brain increases mental processing and transmission, as well as recall when core mental processes are applied during those moments of reflection. David Rock has created a metaphor that illustrates mindfulness (metacognition or thinking about thinking) in working memory. This chapter will offer practical strategies and habits of mind that readers have to learn - they have to be learned.

Ken Bain has discovered what successful college students do in those moments of reflection while learning. All of these contributions help us move closer to understanding the strategies (decision-making processes) that are essential to deep learning in those temporal spaces between understanding and making new learning useful.

It is the stepping back and observing one thinking (reflection) that is the foundation upon which deep learning builds.

Stepping back and reflecting is about taking control of learning while reading. Reflection gives us the space of mind in which we can consider various options for learning and then choose the most appropriate ones. This process of awareness is referred to by many names - metacognition, reflection, mindfulness; however, they all refer to actively taking control of ones thinking while learning.

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Where We Are Headed Below is a reading selection from an introduction to psychology textbook on anxiety disorders in a chapter on abnormal behavior. Psychology has already been defined as “the study of how the mind or brain affects behavior.” Abnormal behavior already has been defined as “a mental illness that affects behavior, thinking, or group interaction.” Taking the short reading selection below on anxiety disorders and general anxiety, stop and observe your thinking about what you are learning when you encounter th double orange parentheses (). We know that good readers reading to learn not only stop and observe their thinking (reflection), they also incorporate cognitive strategies for consolidating the information in long-term memory, as well as trying to understand the information in the context of a conceptual framework (purpose of psychology and the meaning of abnormal behavior).

Anxiety Disorders () Think about how you felt before a make-or-break exam or a big presentation ()– or perhaps as you noticed police lights flashing behind your speeding car. () Did you feel jittery and nervous and experience tightness in your stomach? () These are the feelings of a normal anxiety, an unpleasant feeling of fear and dread. ()

person might be in, () and disruptive of ordinary life. () They feature motor tension (jumpiness, trembling), () hyperactivity (dizziness, a racing heart), () and apprehensive expectations and thoughts. () In this section we survey five types of anxiety disorders: () •

Generalized anxiety disorders ()

•

Panic disorders ()

•

Phobic disorders ()

•

Obsessive-compulsive disorders ()

•

Post-traumatic disorders ()

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ()

When you are worrying about getting a speeding ticket, you know why you are anxious; there is a specific cause. () Generalized Anxiety disorder is different from such everyday feelings of anxiety in that suffers experience persistent anxiety for at least 6 months () and are unable to specify the reasons for the anxiety () (Kendler & Others, 2007). People with generalized anxiety disorder are nervous most of the time. () They may worry about their work relationships, or health. () That worry can take on a physical tool and cause fatigue, muscle tension, stomach problems, and difficulty sleeping. ()

In contrast, () anxiety disorders involve fears that are uncontrollable, () disproportionate to the actual danger the 14

The rest of this paper focuses on why students need to reflect and what they need to do mentally while reflecting.

If the end buds find other dendrites of related knowledge, a new dendrite grows. That new dendrite is learning.

Dendrites Axon

Dendrites are Learning The neuron (brain cell) is the first of two illustrations you will learn that will help you understand how learning occurs in the brain. In later chapters when you see the illustration that on the following page; it will remind you about how the brain learns and that you have control over what is happening when you read to learn.

The first drawing on the opposite page is of a neuron (brain cell). Looking from left to right at the first drawing, the filament-like structures are dendrites. New information enter the brain cell through these dendrites and travel through the cell body and down the axon to the end buds. If the signal finds information in other brain cells (their dendrites are prior learning) that is related to the new information, then a dendrite grows (learning) on the dendrite of related information (prior knowledge). See second drawing at the bottom of the opposite page.

No learning occurs unless new information being learned interconnects with the learner’s prior knowledge. This fact will be the foundation for understanding how learning occurs when one uses learning strategies to learn when reading.

Neuron Ends Cell Body

Rule 1: New dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.

However, understanding is not enough. Dendrites begin to be reabsorbed in the brain almost immediately. During the reading process, the reader has to be able to step back and think about what they are learning as they are learning. This is called reflection, mindfulness, or metacognition. It is an internal dialogue (mental conversation) about the meaning being constructed as the brain looks for prior knowledge (previously constructed dendrites). There are a number of cognitive strategies that the reader can employ during reflection to move newly learned information to long-term memory. If the learner deliberately practices these cognitive strategies, the strategies themselves move to long-term memory and become automatic. When this happens, the strategies are referred to as metacognitive strategies. The ultimate goal is learn how to 15

use cognitive strategies during reflection (those moments of reflection during reading when the reader momentarily observes their own thinking) often enough for these strategies to become automatic. If they do not become automatic, working memory does not have enough capacity to store and manipulate what the reader is learning and it is forgotten or not stored deeply enough to be recalled easily.

Reflection Let’s take a look at an example of using a cognitive strategy while reflecting while reading. (Words in parentheses and italics) are the internal dialogue that is occurring during this example of reading about a type of business in an introduction to business textbook.

The reader is reading the following sentence: Sole proprietorships are businesses owned by one person and are the most prevalent type of business in the United States.

The reader see that Sole proprietorships is in bold print indicating that it is important and that a sole proprietorship is a one owner business. At this point, the reader should be stepping back in their minds and reflecting on what they know about sole proprietorships. (I know a number of people who have their own business. Jenny makes jewelry and sells the jewelry at a booth on the main floor of the shopping mall.

She complains about how much the booth costs her every month, but does not have another way of getting her jewelry

in front of the customer) The reflection in which the reader attempts to consciously make connections with what they already know is the use of a cognitive strategy the reader is applying deliberately to make numerous interconnection with prior knowledge, thus creating a neural network for the concept of sole proprietorships. The reader is also re-exposing themselves to the concept and having an internal dialogue.

This internal ideologue the reader is having is referred to as elaboration, a deliberate attempt by the reader to mentally make connections between what is being learned and prior knowledge.

As the mature reader continues to read, they will step back and reflect on what they are learning - what they already know about what they are reading and/or how they might be able to use this information. Reflection is an ongoing process while reading; it is not just reflecting after reading; that is key to metacognition - thinking about ones own thinking as one are learning.

What is the Key Cognitive Strategy?

The key cognitive strategy around which all other cognitive strategies are built is re-exposure to the new information with elaboration. This is what the reader above was doing in a moment of reflection about sole proprietorships.

The learner must re-expose themselves to the new information frequently and with internal dialogue on what they are learning. (Medina)

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Six internal dialogue questions that readers need to learn to use as part of their internal dialogue for establishing a metacognitive approach to learning while reading are: 1. What do I already know about what I am reading? (learning – constructing meaning) 2. How is what I am reading reinforce or contradict what I already know (compare and contrast)?

3. What do concepts (terminology) introduced in textbooks have in common? (analyzing) 4. How are concepts (terminology) introduced in the text different? (analyzing) 5. Are the new concepts (terminology) part of a larger concept (ex. folkways and mores are types of norms)? (classifying – inductive reasoning) 6. How are all the concepts in a reading related? (mind mapping – systematically organizing – deductive reasoning - synthesizing) What Has Happened in the Brain?

Before we continue lets’ take a look at what is happening in the brain in order to have a deeper understanding about why the reader needs to be reflecting and applying cognitive strategies when reading.

The reader must be paying attention to what is being read as paying attention to what is being read is what is in the reader’s working memory. Working memory is those areas of the brain that stores and manipulates new information that the reader is holding in awareness at any moment. It is where cognitive strategies are applied to move new information to long-term memory where it can be later retrieved to be used in new situations. David Rock uses the Stage Metaphor to help one visually grasp what is happening.

Let’s look at what the Stage Metaphor represents (see picture on opposite page). First the Stage Metaphor has a stage and the stage represents working memory. Working memory is where information you are reading is stored temporarily (20 to 30 seconds) before it is forgotten. Even more limiting, working memory can only hold about 4 unrelated items of information before new information starts to replace those items.

In the stage metaphor there are actors, who represent new information the reader is encountering. Also in the Stage Metaphor is the audience, which represents prior knowledge. The Stage Metaphor also has stage hands, who represent learning strategies that the reader will need to manipulate the actors and audience once they are on the stage.

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The Observer in Metacognition The$Stage:$metaphor$for$prefrontal$cortex$ Actor:$New$ informa,on$ Stage:$ Prefrontal$ Cortex$–$ where$ decisions$ are$made$

Prior$ Knowledge$

ReCexpose$ 20<30$ seconds$to$do$ something:$ think$about$ thinking$

THE$STAGE$ Working$Memory$

QuesJon$

Learning$ StrategiesThe$ Stage$Metaphor$

Elaborate$

Internal$ Dialogue$

Time$ Interval$ Recite$

Audience:$Prior$Knowledge$C$ dendrites$

We$learned$in$SecJon$1$is$that$no$learning$occurs$unless$new$ informaJon$is$Jed$to$what$the$reader$already$knows.$What$ the$reader$already$knows$is$referred$to$as$prior%knowledge.$

The Point The point of the Stage Metaphor is to remind the reader when they are reading to learn that they have very little time to store and manipulate new information you are reading before it disappears. It reminds them that reading just hoping to remember what they are reading just because it was read just doesn’t work. It reminds them that they must try and connect new information to prior knowledge before learning occurs. It reminds them that they must do something mentally if they want learn in a way that makes the information useful to them later. For example, asking oneself what you already know about what you are learning.

“In the stage metaphor, the actors represent conscious information. The audience members represent information in your brain just below conscious awareness, such as memories and habits (prior knowledge). Then there is the director. The director is a metaphor for the part of your awareness that stands outside of experience. This director can watch the show that is your life, make decisions about how your brain will respond, and even sometimes alter the script.

This self-awareness is our ability to pause before we react, Seigel explains. “It gives us the space of mind in which we can consider various options and then choose the most appropriate ones.”

Knowledge of your brain is one thing, but you also need to be aware of what your brain is doing at any moment for any knowledge to be useful. People who score high on a mindfulness scale are more aware of their unconscious processes. Additionally these people have more cognitive control, and a greater ability to shape what they do and what they say than do people lower on the mindfulness scale.

Activating your director (the part of ones mind that observes what ones brain is doing) is hard to do when there is a lot going on or when you feel under pressure. Teasdale explains, “Mindfulness is a habit, it’s something the more one does the more likely one is to be in that mode with less and less effort…. It’s a skill that can be learned. It’s assessing something 18

we already have. Mindfulness isn’t difficult. What’s difficult is to remember to be mindful”

own thinking process itself was central to knowing and changing your brain” (Rock).

How do you remember to be mindful easily? It should be primed in your brain, something that’s at the top of your mind because it was a recent experience. One of the best ways of having your director handy is practicing using your director regularly. A number of studies now show that people who practice activating their director do change the structure of their brains. They thicken specific regions of the cortex involved in cognitive control and switching attention.” (Rock)

Awareness and control occur in working memory where new information being learned is temporarily stored and manipulated. The learner must bring to their conscious awareness (focus on) the new information being learned and at the same time the learner must bring into conscious awareness relevant background information and then deploy cognitive strategies to manipulate what is being learned. Until that happens, new information being learned is quickly forgotten. If the learner is successful in holding new information in conscious awareness and at the same time bringing to that awareness relevant prior knowledge, and deploys cognitive strategies to manipulate what is being learned, then new learning will move to long-term memory.

“You need to keep the director right on the front of the audience, so he can jump right on stage fast when needed. Having a director close to the stage helps keep your actors in line. A your director notices your brain’s quirks in real time, you get better at putting words to experiences, which makes you faster at identifying subtle patterns as they occur. This skill increases your ability to make subtle changes. Ax your mind makes changes in brain functioning in real time, you become more adaptive, responding in the most helpful way to every challenge that comes along” (Rock).

“About the Director – we’ve learned that being able to step outside your experience and observe your mental function, which comes from an ability to focus attention in the moment, openly. It is clear that the ability to notice your own mental process in this way has a dramatic impact on your capacity to stop and separate yourself from an automatic train of thought.

In other words, you discovered that being able to notice your

Note, that to succeed the learner has to be able to mentally step back and observe the learning process as it is occurring in the brain. This is metacognition and it has to be taught.

Reflection is Ongoing Let’s look at the example of sole proprietorships again.

Sole proprietorships () are businesses owned by one person () and are the most prevalent type of business in the United States.() The mature reader seeking sole proprietorships in bold print would mentally step back and reflect on what t know about 19

sole proprietorships immediately; as they continued reading, they would step back and reflect on what they now about people who own their own businesses or business that have own owner; as they continued reading they would mentally step back and reflect on what main types of businesses are in other countries. Learning how to do this takes deliberate practice before it becomes automatic and there are a number of mental activities that the readier can use during reflection, which we will look at later.

Let’s look at why in any reading course most of the time should be spent learning how to reflect and why it take deliberate practice to become efficient at reflecting and applying cognitive strategies when learning.

Dendrites Myelin Sheath

Axon

Neuron Ends Cell Body “Myelin’s vital role is to wrap those nerve fibers the same way that rubber insulation wraps a copper wire, making the signal stronger and faster by preventing the electrical impulses from leaking out. When we fire our circuits in the right way – when we practice cognitive strategies when reading– our myelin responds by wrapping layers around the that neural circuit, each new layer adding a bit more skill and speed. The thicker the myelin gets, the better it insulates, and the faster and more accurate our movements and thoughts become.” (Coyle, 2010)

The Myelin Sheath Recall that the key cognitive strategy around which all other cognitive strategies are built is re-exposure to the new information with elaboration. This is what the reader above was doing in a moment of reflection about sole proprietorships. The learner must re-expose themselves to the new information frequently and with internal dialogue on what they are learning.

(Medina) Here is what happens in the brain when the learner reexposes themselves to the new information, especially with elaboration (ex. internal dialogue). See drawing below to follow the explanation to follow:

The Myelin Sheath The Myelin Sheath of a neuron consists of fat-containing cells that insulate the axon from electrical activity. This insulation acts to increase the rate of transmission of signals.

Think of the myelin sheath as an insulator, which promotes electrical transmission and as a result strengthens neural pathway.

The more myelin the circuit attracts, the stronger and faster its signal strength becomes. It turns out that myelin, not the nerves, is what builds the speed, precision and timing that creates great learners.

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The Point 1. All strong learning strategies help the learner interconnect new information to the learner’s prior knowledge, which results in growing new dendrites (learning).

2. New dendrites formed by new learning start to be reabsorbed by the brain (forgetting) if they are not strengthened. The most powerful learning strategies increase the size of the myelin sheath (by re-exposure with elaboration) around the axons in the neural pathways leading to the new learning (dendrites). These strategies always involve reexposing the learner to the newly learned information with elaboration. Elaboration means that the learner attempts with every re-exposure to the new learning to in some way have an dialogue about what they are learning that ties what they are learning to what they already know. For example, saying what is being learned in the learner’s own words.

The Reflection Strategies The following is going to rely heavily on the strategies that Ken Bain found when researching what the best college students do.

In order to set the stage for what these students do and how reading instruction must step away from teaching isolated skill units, let’s look at how learning works in the real world.

Ken observed that “Our best students engage in all the cognitive strategies at the same time, They remember, understand, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate as they read. many college professors; however, organize their courses as if that list of mental activities has to be conquered in order rather than in an integrated fashion. They insist that students memorize large bodies of information before thinking about the data.

But the human brain doesn’t work that way” (Bain, 2012).

Reading instruction is often taught as if these mental activities are isolated separate; they are not and readers need to learn to engage in all the cognitive strategies at the same time as they are needed.

Bain’s research support john Medina, Daniel Coyle, David Rocks finding about learning that we have just explored. and he put it in a nutshell as follows: “What does the research tell us about how best to review material? Elaborate, elaborate, elaborate, Associate, associate, associate. Make connections, Ask questions, Evaluate. Play with words (new concepts) in your own mind. Have fun.

Develop an understanding before trying to remember.

Understanding requires a deep network of associations, and it is those intricate strands of connection that make recall even possible” (Bain, 2012).

While reading, “Repeat, repeat, repeat” (Bain, 2012).

“Consider how the brain works. When you encounter something new - let’s say a new work - you will begin to forget it im21

mediately, and a day later you might not recall it at all. but a second exposure will extend the time you can remember” (Bain, 2012). Think of reflection while reading as enhancing the chances of recalling what is being learned as you are reading by reflecting and applying cognitive strategies. “Repetition will pay the greatest rewards if done in the midst of meaningful and elaborated work” (Bain, 2012).

“Testing is better than rehearsing.” (Bain, 2012). A cognitive strategy during reflection is asking yourself if you really understood the information and can say explain the information in your own words. Self-testing understanding while reading and immediately following the introduction of a new concept is very powerful and necessary. This needs to be practiced until it is automatic.

Guessing and Predicting Guessing and predicting before and as one is reading during moments of reflection is a powerful strategy. It is counterintuitive, but effective. Let’s look at some research Ken Bain reported, “Suppose you begin by just guessing and getting something wrong. Will that help as much as trying to recall the correct answers? Shouldn’t you at least study first before attempting to remember something? If you just guess wildly before someone tells you the right answer (or read the right answer), you will undoubtedly get it wring, and wouldn’t that practice of incorrect information diminish your learning?

Quite the contrary, argues some recent research. IN experiments at the University of California at LosAngeles. Students

were asked guess at a response first before seeing the correct one. The others studies first. THose who had generated possible answers, even though they were all wrong, scored significantly higher than those who had spent their time reviewing the material first.

Other studies got the same results, even when those who read first had “copies of the article that highlighted and italicized all the material that would be on the exam.. Those who speculated first didn’t get the paper and they did significantly better on the final exam” (Bain, 2012).

Guessing and predicting before reading and while reading prime those neural pathways of related information makes the construction of meaning more likely.

Being wrong and making mistakes alerts the brain to pay attention and that attention is shifted to the correct answer.

Bain recommends, “Speculate, sometimes wildly, about possible solutions and connections Related to this ideas is contrast.

Contrasts: Comparing and Contrasting During Reflection Contrast - the brain sends signals down well worn pathways when learning; however, the brain learns by contrast Brain, Comparing/Contrasting, and Learning The Brain is a Natural Pattern Recognizer 22

When one looks at what the brain does with new information and prior knowledge, it becomes apparent that the brain is always comparing new and prior knowledge. A metacognitive approach to reading to learn would take advantage of that fact.

“When students encounter something new, they try to match it or compare it with something that is already in their memory. Schank puts it this way: "When you learn new things, as you are all the time, the new knowledge must perturb the system in order to find its place in memory in relation to what is already there. Does it amplify old knowledge, or contradict it? The mind needs to resolve these questions as new knowledge appears, getting reminded of what it already knows or believes each time some new experience occurs. This process of reminding and comparison is a critical part of learning.” (Bain, How We Learn).

In the 1990s a committee of the National Research Council, led by John Bransford, Ann Brown, and Rodney Cocking concluded that metacognition is a key factor in learning that should be deliberately cultivated. They emphasized the particularly important role that metacognition plays in promoting transfer learning. That is, students can more readily apply knowledge acquired in one context to another context if they have more awareness of themselves as learners, if they monitor their strategies and resources, and if they assess their readiness for tests and other performances” (Linda Baker).

Think about what the following processes have in common: Consider the following processes that are often taught in isolation; however, following the pattern seeking nature of the brain, understanding and then using the the power of seeking contrasts as a cognitive strategy during reflection while reading can amp up learning.

Categorizing – commonality under a category title Classifying – defining boundaries – comparison/contrast Analyzing – separating wholes into parts by distinguishing boundaries Synthesizing – combining new ideas into a complex whole Prediction – matches between sensory input and prior knowledge Figurative Language - comparison between two different things in order to highlight some point of similarity.

Analogy - comparison of two or more objects Metaphor – implied comparison between two unlike things Simile - comparison of two unlike things that are alike in one way They all compare and contrast.

Then think about what elaborative strategies have in common when reflecting; here are a few: 23

Reciting – comparing and contrasting new information with prior knowledge expressing new learning in the language of new and prior knowledge.

Writing to Learn -(clarifying and organizing) by comparison Questioning (Inquiry) - triggers prior knowledge in preparation for comparing new and prior knowledge Metacognition and Developing Internal Dialogue& Compare and Contrast Handelsman etal (2006) refers to metacognition as "the internal dialogue about what is being learned", and state that it includes "the process of setting challenging goals, identifying strategies to meet them, and monitoring progress toward them". (Lovett, 2008). (Appalachia Educational Laboratory, 2005) Donovan, Bransford, and Pellegrino (1999) describe metacognition as an internal dialogue that individuals develop in order to build skills for predicting learning outcomes and monitoring comprehension. (Gorsky, 2004) Internal Dialogue (Comparing and Contrasting) Below are six internal compare and contrast dialogue questions that readers need to learn to use as part of their internal dialogue for establishing a metacognitive approach to learning while reading.

1. What do I already know about what I am reading? (learning – constructing meaning) 2. How is what I am reading reinforce or contradict what I already know (compare and contrast)?

3. What do concepts (terminology) introduced in textbooks have in common? (analyzing) 4. How are concepts (terminology) introduced in the text different? (analyzing) 5. Are the new concepts (terminology) part of a larger concept (ex. folkways and mores are types of norms)? (classifying – inductive reasoning) 6. How are all the concepts in a reading related? (mentally mind mapping – systematically organizing – deductive reasoning - synthesizing) Helping Novice learners to Take Actively Control of Their Thinking - Reciprocal Teaching Reciprocal teaching can take many forms but at its essence it refers to an instructional activity that takes place in the form of a dialogue between teachers and students regarding segments of text. In its initial form the purpose of reciprocal teaching is to facilitate a group effort between teacher and students as well as among students in the task of bringing meaning to the text. Within the context of developing in an area of inquiry, the purpose goes beyond constructing meaning to also to including incorporating mental processes within those 24

moments of reflection that foster developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge, understanding facts and ideas i the context of a conceptual framework, while organizing knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.

Effective reciprocal teaching lessons include scaffolding, in which the instructor models reflection while reading aloud (explaining the thinking about thinking that is going on as the instructor reads and then gradually increasing having the student model reflective thinking aloud until the instructor is out of the process.

Many students are unaware or are only vaguely aware that they can observe their own thinking and that old habits of reading through sentence after sentence through a reading selection are very inefficient. Reflection has to be taught and deliberately practiced until the neural networks are fully developed and the myelin sheath on neuron axons make the process automatic at which time the cognitive strategies become metacognitive strategies.

Example Revisited Reflection Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take a look at an example of using a cognitive strategy while reflecting while reading. (Words in parentheses and italics) are the internal dialogue that is occurring during this example of reading about a type of business in an introduction to business textbook.

The reader (instructor or students) is reading the following sentence: Sole proprietorships are businesses owned by one person and are the most prevalent type of business in the United States.

The reader sees that Sole proprietorships is in bold print indicating that it is important and that a sole proprietorship is a one owner business. At this point, the reader should be stepping back in their minds and reflecting on what they know about sole proprietorships. (I know a number of people who have their own business. Jenny makes jewelry and sells the jewelry at a booth on the main floor of the shopping mall.

She complains about how much the booth costs her every month, but does not have another way of getting her jewelry in front of the customer) The reflection in which the reader attempts to consciously make connections with what the reader knows is the use of a cognitive strategy the reader is applying deliberately to make numerous interconnection with prior knowledge, thus creating a neural network for the concept of sole proprietorships. The reader is also also re-exposing themselves to the concept and having an internal dialogue. This internal ideologue the reader is having is referred to as elaboration, a deliberate attempt by the reader to mentally makes connections between what is being learned and prior knowledge.

25

As the mature reader continues to read, they will step back and reflect on what they are learning - what they already know about what they are reading and/or how they might be able to use this information. Reflection is an ongoing process while reading; it is not just reflecting after reading; that is key to metacognition - thinking about ones own thinking as they are learning.

Scaffolding Process In the scaffolding process, the instructor points out aloud all the reflective thinking going on while reading; however, the instructor can focus specifically on (draw attention to) any one of the cognitive strategies he or she is employing in the reading process to emphasize and have the student model.

For example, if the focus is on inquiry such as how is what I am reading like or different than what I already know the instructor will pay particular attention to passages that compare and contrast. For example if the reading passages are comparing normal and abnormal behavior in a psychology text, the instructor will model the active reflection of noting the comparison. The instructor will note any of the following comparison pattern of organization as he or she model reflecting.

Synthesizing – combining new ideas into a complex whole Prediction – matches between sensory input and prior knowledge Figurative Language - comparison between two different things in order to highlight some point of similarity.

Analogy - comparison of two or more objects Metaphor – implied comparison between two unlike things Simile - comparison of two unlike things that are alike in one way TRY EXERCISE AGAIN: Taking the short reading selection below on anxiety disorders and general anxiety, stop and observe your thinking about what you are learning when you encounter the double orange parentheses ().

Anxiety Disorders ()

Classifying – defining boundaries – comparison/contrast

Think about how you felt before a make-or-break exam or a big presentation ()– or perhaps as you noticed police lights flashing behind your speeding car. () Did you feel jittery and nervous and experience tightness in your stomach? () These are the feelings of a normal anxiety, an unpleasant feeling of fear and dread. ()

Analyzing – separating wholes into parts by distinguishing boundaries

In contrast, () anxiety disorders involve fears that are uncontrollable, () disproportionate to the actual danger the

Categorizing – commonality under a category title

26

person might be in, () and disruptive of ordinary life. () They feature motor tension (jumpiness, trembling), () hyperactivity (dizziness, a racing heart), () and apprehensive expectations and thoughts. () In this section we survey five types of anxiety disorders: () •

Generalized anxiety disorders ()

•

Panic disorders ()

•

Phobic disorders ()

•

Obsessive-compulsive disorders ()

•

Post-traumatic disorders ()

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ()

When you are worrying about getting a speeding ticket, you know why you are anxious; there is a specific cause. () Generalized Anxiety disorder is different from such everyday feelings of anxiety in that suffers experience persistent anxiety for at least 6 months () and are unable to specify the reasons for the anxiety () (Kendler & Others, 2007). People with generalized anxiety disorder are nervous most of the time. () They may worry about their work relationships, or health. () That worry can take on a physical tool and cause fatigue, muscle tension, stomach problems, and difficulty sleeping. ()

Try Another Exercise: Taking the short reading selection below on the nature of business, stop and observe your thinking about what you are learning when you encounter the double orange parentheses (), then consider what you might do mentally (cognitive strategies) or physically to ensure that the information get consolidated in long term memory at each ().

The Nature of Business () A business () tries to earn a profit () by providing products () that satisfy people’s needs (). The outcomes of its efforts are products that have both tangible and intangible characteristics () that provide satisfaction and benefits. When you purchase a product, you are buying the benefits and satisfaction you think the product will provide. () A Subway sandwich, for example, may be purchased to satisfy hunger (); a Porsche Cayenne sport utility vehicle, to satisfy the need for transportation and the desire to present a certain image ().

Most people associate the word product with tangible goodsan automobile, computer, loaf of bread, coat, or some other tangible item (). However, a product can also be a service (), which results when people or machines provide or process something of value to customers (). Dry cleaning, photo processing, a checkup by doctor, a performance by a movie star or basketball player------these are examples of services. A product can also be an idea (). Consultants and attorneys, for example, generate ideas for solving problems. ()

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The Goal of Business The primary goal of all businesses is to earn a Profit (), the difference between what it costs to make and sell a product and what a customer pays for it (). If a company spends $2.00 to manufacture, finance, promote, and distribute a product that it sells for $2.75, the business earns a profit of 75 cents on each product sold (). Businesses have the right to keep and use their profits as they choose-----within legal limits----because profit is the reward for the risks they take in providing products. Not all organizations are businesses.

Nonprofit organizations (), such as Greenpeace, Special Olympics, and other charities and social causes, do not have the fundamental purpose of earning profits, although they may provide goods or services ().

gage in management, marketing, and finance activities to help reach their goals. ()

To earn profit (), a person or organization needs management skills to plan (), organize (), and control the activities of the business () and to find and develop employees () so that it can make products consumers will buy. A business also needs marketing expertise to learn what products consumers need and want and to develop (), manufacture (), price (), promote (), and distribute () those products. Additionally, a business needs financial resources () and skills to fund, maintain, and expand () its operations. Other challenges for businesspeople include abiding by laws and government regulations (); acting in an ethical and socially responsible manner (); and adapting to economic, technological, and social changes (). Even nonprofit organizations en28

C HAPTER 4

What Goes on in the Brain When I am Learning?

Why Am I Using This Learning Strategy?

When you are asked to apply a learning strategy when you are reading, it is extremely helpful to know what is going on in the brain and what the purpose of the learning strategy is. Why does the strategy make a difference? Knowing this empowers the learner in ways that enable the learner to take control of the mental processes during the learning setting. With an understanding of the learning processes, the learner can move toward thinking about their own thinking - very powerful. It is a skill that we all have to learn; we are not born knowing how to have an internal dialogue while learning that gives us control over the learning process.

S ECTION 1

Learning and the Brain

When%the%message%(new%informa1on%the%reader%is%reading)%reaches%the%neuron%ends% (end%buds),%the%end%buds%look%for%other%dendrites%on%other%neurons%that%have%related% informa1on% (prior% knowledge).% Remember,% learning% only% occurs% when% the% reader% interconnects%new%informa1on%with%what%they%already%knows%(prior%knowledge).%

Dendrites are Learning The neuron (brain cell) is the first of two illustrations you will learn that will help you understand how learning occurs in the brain. In later chapters when you see the illustration that on the following page; it will remind you about how the brain learns and that you have control over what is happening when you read to learn.

Cell Body axon synapse neurotransmitters dendrite

The first drawing on the opposite page is of a neuron (brain cell). Looking from left to right at the first drawing, the filament-like structures are dendrites. New information enter the brain cell through these dendrites and travel through the cell body and down the axon to the end buds. If the signal finds information in other brain cells (their dendrites are prior learning) that is related to the new information, then a dendrite grows (learning) on the dendrite of related information (prior knowledge). See second drawing at the bottom of the opposite page.

No learning occurs unless new information being learned interconnects with the learnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prior knowledge. This fact will be the foundation for understanding how learning occurs when one uses learning strategies to learn when reading.

End Buds â&#x20AC;&#x201C; dendritelike fibers that connect to other neuron dendrites (looking for related information)

receptors

If the end buds find other dendrites of related knowledge, a new dendrite grows. That new dendrite is learning.

Dendrites Axon

Neuron Ends Cell Body

Rule 1: New dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.

30

The Myelin Sheath The Myelin Sheath of a neuron consists of fat-containing cells that insulate the axon from electrical activity. This insulation acts to increase the rate of transmission of signals.

Think of the myelin sheath as an insulator, which promotes electrical transmission and as a result strengthens neural pathway.

The more myelin the circuit attracts, the stronger and faster its signal strength becomes. It turns out that myelin, not the nerves, is what builds the speed, precision and timing that creates great learners.

neural pathways leading to the new learning (dendrites). These strategies always involve re-exposing the learner to the newly learned information with elaboration. Elaboration means that the learner attempts with every re-exposure to the new learning to in some way have an dialogue about what they are learning that ties what they are learning to what they already know. For example, saying what is being learned in the learnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own words.

The Point 1. All strong learning strategies help the learner interconnect new information to the learnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prior knowledge, which results in growing new dendrites (learning).

2. New dendrites formed by new learning start to be reabsorbed by the brain (forgetting) if they are not strengthened. The most powerful learning strategies increase the size of the myelin sheath (by reexposure with elaboration) around the axons in the 31

S ECTION 2

The Stage Metaphor The Stage Metaphor The Stage Metaphor is the second of two illustrations you will learn that will help you understand how working memory limits ones ability to learn unless one uses mental strategies to override those limitations. In later chapters when you see the illustration on the following page, it will remind you about the learning limitations you have to overcome and will overcome by using learning strategies.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at what the Stage Metaphor represents (see picture on opposite page). First the Stage Metaphor has a stage and the stage represents working memory. Working memory is where information you are reading is stored temporarily (20 to 30 seconds) before it is forgotten. Even more limiting, working memory can only hold about 4 unrelated items of information before new information starts to replace those items.

In the stage metaphor there are actors, who represent new information the reader is encountering. Also in the Stage Metaphor is the audience, which represents prior knowledge. The Stage Metaphor also has stage hands, who represent learning strategies that the reader will need to manipulate the actors and audience once they are on the stage.

The$Stage:$metaphor$for$prefrontal$cortex$ Actor:$New$ informa,on$ Stage:$ Prefrontal$ Cortex$â&#x20AC;&#x201C;$ where$ decisions$ are$made$

Prior$ Knowledge$

ReCexpose$ 20<30$ seconds$to$do$ something:$ think$about$ thinking$

THE$STAGE$ Working$Memory$

QuesJon$

Learning$ StrategiesThe$ Stage$Metaphor$

Elaborate$

Internal$ Dialogue$

Time$ Interval$ Recite$

Audience:$Prior$Knowledge$C$ dendrites$

We$learned$in$SecJon$1$is$that$no$learning$occurs$unless$new$ informaJon$is$Jed$to$what$the$reader$already$knows.$What$ the$reader$already$knows$is$referred$to$as$prior%knowledge.$

The Point The point of the Stage Metaphor is to remind you when you are reading to learn that you have very little time to store and manipulate new information you are reading before it disappears. It reminds you that reading just hoping to remember what you are reading just because you read it just doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work. It reminds you that you must try and connect new information to prior knowledge before learning occurs. It reminds you that you must do something mentally if you want learn in a way that makes the information useful to you later. For example, asking oneself what you already know about what you are learning.

32

S ECTION 3

Deep Learning The research on learning is clear. And the research on how to learn in ways that result in the learner being able to use the newly learned information in new situations (transfer learning) is also clear. Let’s look at what a learner has to accomplish in order to learn deeply.

First, the learner needs to understand what they are learning in the context of a conceptual framework. For example, psychology is about how the mind influences behavior and the reader is reading about “abnormal behavior’ in the psychology textbook; it is important that the reader makes an attempt to make a connection between the concept of abnormal behavior and the purpose of psychology - what does the mind have to do with abnormal behaviors? Seems like a small point, but it is the key to deep learning, which will later be usable in new situations.

Second, when new learning has occurred, it is important that new learning becomes strongly anchored in the brain. This results in developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge, which will be necessary for maximizing the amount of prior knowledge available for future learning. For example, reexposure to the information being learned builds myelin on the axon of neural pathways of that learning, anchoring it as part of the learner’s deep foundation of factual knowledge.

Third, the brain is a pattern seeker. It attempts to organize information into neural networks even when we are not consciously trying to organize it. It is the organization of information that make it easier to retrieve and to apply what is learned to new situations. For example, any attempt to recognize how information is organized or to organize information makes it more readily available for use by the learner.

A key finding in the learning and transfer literature is that organizing information into a conceptual framework allows for greater “transfer”; that is, it allows the student to apply what was learned in new situations and to learn related information more quickly” (Bransford).

33

S ECTION 4

Sociology for Example In this section we will get an overview of how learning strategies influence the brain (learning) and how the reader can take control of learning when they know what is happening when they are learning.

What is Sociology?

Sociology is the study of how groups interact and how individuals act with those groups.

Sociologists observe our everyday interactions and when they see a pattern they give it a label (a name). Much of what you learn about in an introductory sociology textbook you already know about or have experienced.

For the reader of a sociology textbook, the goal is to learn about and organize the patterns sociologist have observed as well as the labels those patterns have been given.

However, if we want to be able to use the information being learned while reading, we have to always relate what we are learning to the larger pattern of what the study of sociology is all about - how does what we are reading relate to “how groups interact”? All reading to learn strategies revolve around that thought - understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework - “Sociology is about how groups interact and how individuals in those groups interact”.

The Basics Let’s say we are reading a chapter in a sociology textbook on”The Family.”

Before Reading (Priming the Brain to Learn)

The$Stage:$metaphor$for$prefrontal$cortex$ Actor:$New$ informa,on$ Stage:$ Prefrontal$ Cortex$–$ where$ decisions$ are$made$

Prior$ Knowledge$

ReCexpose$ 20<30$ seconds$to$do$ something:$ think$about$ thinking$

THE$STAGE$ Working$Memory$

QuesJon$

Learning$ StrategiesThe$ Stage$Metaphor$

Elaborate$

Internal$ Dialogue$

Time$ Interval$ Recite$

Audience:$Prior$Knowledge$C$ dendrites$

We$learned$in$SecJon$1$is$that$no$learning$occurs$unless$new$ informaJon$is$Jed$to$what$the$reader$already$knows.$What$ the$reader$already$knows$is$referred$to$as$prior%knowledge.$

First Question: We will start by getting new information and prior knowledge in working memory (on the stage) so that we can start applying learning strategies. The first thing the reader should do is ask themselves what sociology is about. It is extremely important that some kind of conceptual framework (the big picture, what is sociology about) be established and the purpose of sociology will provide that framework. Conceptual Framework for Sociology: “how groups interact and how individuals in those groups interact.”

Second Question: It is important to stop and reflect: what does the reader know about “how groups interact”? There are no right or wrong answers. The purpose is to make connections between how groups interact and what the reader already knows. It is the understanding of facts and ideas that 34

will be encountered in the reading. The context of “how groups interact” will result in storing the information in organized patterns that make the learning deep and useful.

Third Question: The reader is now ready for the second question. What does the family have to do with group interaction? The answer is not important, but the mental process of asking and seeking in ones own brain the answer is invaluable.

- Get an overview of what the chapter is about.

Deep Surveying – Adaptive Reading (reading to learn): Goal: Deep surveying engages the reader in a much deeper level of thinking. Deep surveying’s main goal is to grasp the author’s concep If the end buds find other dendrites of related knowledge, a new dendrite grows. That new dendrite is learning.

Dendrites Axon

Neuron Ends

Moving from Surface Surveying and Deep Surveying: Cell Body

The first thing a reader wants to do is begin to develop a conceptual framework by getting an overview of the concepts in the chapter within which to later understand the facts and ideas (concepts) of the text’s chapter. Note below the distinction between surface surveying and deep surveying.

Surface Surveying: Goal: The reader skims and scans the chapter to get a general idea of the content, structure, and organization of the chapter or reading selection. Surveying the chapter helps the student prepare for “understanding the ideas”by tapping prior knowledge.

To Surface Survey: - What text clues are included in the text?

- Read all the titles and subtitles.

- Read captions under pictures, charts, graphs, or maps.

- Read the questions at the end of the chapter.

- If there is a summary read it.

Rule 1: New dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.

tual framework within which the reader later makes an effort to construct meaning within that framework. Deep surveying asks the reader to take advantage of how the brain learns naturally by tapping their own prior knowledge as they come to titles, questions, heading, subheadings, pictures, and summaries.

Deep Surveying involves the Rules of Consolidation, Core Cognitive Strategies, Internal Dialogue Inquiry, and organizing by mentally organizing new inforamtion ex. mind mapping the “conceptual framework” (big picture), within which to hold the details and facts (concepts, terminology, vocabulary) together.

To Deep Survey: Brain Rule: Always apply Rule #1 for how the brain learns naturally: “Connect new information to prior knowledge. Dendrites, synapses, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.” The first time we experience a new subject, our brains must build a den35

drite on a cell body for that topic or must connect to an existing idea.

Only after that dendrite is in place or the related idea identified can we begin to know, remember, and understand a topic.

During Reading (Making Connections, Organizing and Strengthening Neural Pathways) Anytime the reader encounters any text clue (headings, subheading, bold print, pictures, etc.) the reader should ask how does this heading relate to the family and group interaction.

The Big Picture Fourth Question: The first main heading is “Composition of the Family” in the chapter named “The Family.” It is important that the heading is made into a question; however, the question should go beyond “What is the composition of the family? The reader wants to know that answer, but for real depth the question should include “How does the composition of the family have anything to do with interaction in groups?”

It is the understanding of the facts and ideas in the context of this larger question that is often skipped; however, it is connecting whatever is to be learned to the context of the conceptual framework (big picture - sociology is about group interaction) that increases the potential of being able to learn deeply and make the new learning useful.

Note: Information learned in isolation (ex. memorizing or highlighting and coming back to memorize) does not result in easy retrieval or usability of the information.

Reading and Learning Remember that learning (growing new dendrites) is about making connections between what is being learned and prior knowledge. To ensure that the reader slows down and reflects on what they already know about the “composition of the family, the reader should also ask, “What do I already know abut the “composition of the family?” Keep in mind that sociologist observe the same things you observe; however, they have spotted patterns and given these patterns names. In this instance, you will know about most of the information you will encounter; however, you may not have noticed the pattern of group interaction and may not know the label that sociologists have given to the pattern.

For example, you now that some families are composed of a married couple and two unmarried children (old knowledge, but you may not know that sociologist have labeled this pattern of group interaction as a “nuclear family.”

That a family that has a married couple and unmarried children is called a “Nuclear family” may be new information.

When the reader encounters new information, it is important that it be learned before going on. Rule: If it is important to learn, learn it now while examples, explanations and illustrations are close by in time to reinforce any prior knowledge in those clarifications.

36

5. How has the author organized the information in this reading selection and how does it relate to prior readings?

Dendrites Myelin Sheath

Axon

Neuron Ends Cell Body “Myelin’s vital role is to wrap those nerve fibers the same way that rubber insulation wraps a copper wire, making the signal stronger and faster by preventing the electrical impulses from leaking out. When we fire our circuits in the right way – when we practice cognitive strategies when reading– our myelin responds by wrapping layers around the that neural circuit, each new layer adding a bit more skill and speed. The thicker the myelin gets, the better it insulates, and the faster and more accurate our movements and thoughts become.” (Coyle, 2010)

Strengthening Neural Pathways It is important to develop a deep foundation of factual knowledge. To strengthen neural pathways, the first rule is to reexpose oneself to the information with elaboration. Examples of elaboration is writing about what was learned (not copying), or saying what one learned in ones own words. Any internal dialogue (mental conversation) in which the learner makes connections with prior knowledge works; it build myelin on the axon, which builds speed, precision and timing.

Internal Dialogue Questions: 1. What do I already know?

2. Are there examples in the book and do I know any examples of the concept being considered?

3. How is what I am reading like or different than what I already know?

Organizing in Ways That Facilitate Retrieval and Application Mind mapping is a very powerful tool for learning how to organize and learn new information. However, it is an intermediate tool. Creating mind maps are not effective where time is in short supply. Readers can learn how to use mind maps to organize and learn new information, but if the reader is not taught how to create and learn using mind maps mentally the learning how to use this strategy is not complete. The goal is to be able to organize and learn mentally without the crutch of a mind map.

4. Can I predict where this is going?

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Mind Mapping Mind mapping is a visual thinking tool that helps the learner organize information within the context of a conceptual framework. Mind mapping uses almost everything we know about how the brain learns, stores and retrieves information. Mind mapping is a powerful tool for preparing the learner for analyzing, comprehending, synthesizing, recalling and generating new ideas.

Mind maps literally reflect how the brain organizes new information.

When the reader uses the â&#x20AC;&#x153;rules of consolidationâ&#x20AC;? for converting working memory into long-term memory, and the core cognitive strategies for understanding and retention of information in conjunction with mind mapping to visually represent relationships among concepts, thoughts, and ideas, information becomes much more useful in future applications. Using the internal dialogue inquiry questions along with mind mapping enables the reader clarify their understanding and move beyond surface learning to deep learn.

2. A mind-map is open-ended and open-minded, so mistakes are accommodated easily.

3. When you get new "ahas" or ideas, you can just add a new branch with new key words.

4.Make abstract ideas visible and concrete 5. Connect prior knowledge and new concepts Think of a conceptual framework as a mind map that overviews the concepts being learned in a textbook reading selection within which related facts and ideas can be organized. This mind map would have grouped (organized) the chapterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conceptual framework.

There are a couple of reasons why visuals (mind mapping and pictures) are so useful. First, they are highly information-efficient constructs. If you picture your bedroom, when you hold the image in mind, that image contains a huge amount of information involving complex relationships among dozens of objects, their sizes and shapes, their relative positions, and so on. Putting all that information into words would take significantly more energy than visualizing it. (A picture can put a lot of information in working memory without crowding it where one could only put a few pieces of information using words.) (Rock, Your Brain at Work) Why Mind Mapping over Outlining for Understanding Within A Conceptual Framework: 1. The learner is not trapped by the limited linear format of 1, 2, and 3.

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A Few Mind Mapping Rules 1. Never move information from the textbook to the mind map until you can express what you are learning in your own words.

2. Never go to the next concept in the text (major branch on a mind map) until you can visualize and explain the that branch on the map.

3. As you add major branches always go back and visualize and explain all the previous branches you have created on the mind map. (this ensure that re-exposure to the information with elaboration has occurred).

What is a Conceptual Framework?

A conceptual framework is a group of concepts that are broadly defined and systematically organized to provide a focus, a rationale, and a tool for integrating and interpreting information. Think of a conceptual framework as a mind map that put together all the centers of the mind maps you created for a chapter in a textbook. This new mind map will have grouped (organized) the chapters concepts.

Continuing Strengthening Neural Pathways Two Levels of Deliberate Practice 1. Rules of Consolidation: Moving New Information from Working-Memory to Long-Term Memory 2. Mylenation and Deliberate Practice: the Key to Developing Skills 1. Rules of Consolidation: Moving New Information from Working-Memory to Long-Term Memory 39

Dendrites Myelin Sheath

Axon

Neuron Ends Cell Body “Myelin’s vital role is to wrap those nerve fibers the same way that rubber insulation wraps a copper wire, making the signal stronger and faster by preventing the electrical impulses from leaking out. When we fire our circuits in the right way – when we practice cognitive strategies when reading– our myelin responds by wrapping layers around the that neural circuit, each new layer adding a bit more skill and speed. The thicker the myelin gets, the better it insulates, and the faster and more accurate our movements and thoughts become.” (Coyle, 2010)

From the Research

The First Rule: Deliberately re-expose yourself to the information if you want to retrieve it later.

It is a simple fact, the more exposure a learner has to new information they want to learn the greater the likelihood that the new information will move from short-term memory (working memory) to long-term memory.

“The typical human brain can hold about 4 pieces of information for less than 30 seconds. If something does not happen in that short stretch of time, the information becomes lost. If you want to extend the 30 seconds to, say, a few minutes, or even an hour or two, you will need to consistently re-expose yourself to the information. This type of repetition is sometimes called maintenance rehearsal. We know that “maintenance rehearsal” is mostly good for keeping things in working memory – that is for short periods of time” (Medina, 2008).

If the reader wants to hold on to the new information long enough for the brain to store and manipulate that information the reader needs to do something to give the working memory time to do its job. Deliberately re-expose yourself to the information if you want to retrieve it later is the first “rule of consolidation.” Highlighting the information in the textbook in order to come back to learn it later is just simply a mistaken strategy for learning. It is an example of trying to hold the information outside the brain – the trick is to re-expose yourself 40

to the information in order for your own brain to store and manipulate the information if you want to learn most effectively.

The Second Rule: Deliberately re-expose yourself to the information more elaborately if you want the retrieval to be of higher quality.

“More elaborately” means thinking, talking or writing about what was just read. Any mental activity in which the reader slows down and mentally tries to connect what they are reading to what they already know is elaboration.

This means for the reader that he or she must slow down and have a conversation (reading, writing or talking) about what they are reading and wanting to learn in order for that information to be of a high quality. “High quality” means the information will be useable in the future for thinking reasoning or apply to new situations.

From the Research “We know that there is a better way to push information into long-term memory. That way is called “elaborative rehearsal” and it’s the type of repetition shown to be most effective for the most robust retrieval. A great deal of research shows that “thinking or talking” about an event immediately after it has occurred enhances memory for the event.” (Medina, 2008).

The same is true for the information you are reading in a textbook.

The Third Rule: Deliberately re-expose yourself to the information more elaborately, and in fixed intervals, if you want the retrieval to be the most vivid it can be.

Forgetting occurs very rapidly if something is not done to strengthen new dendrites (learning). Research show us that a learner (reader) must not only re-expose themselves to new information they want to learn, but that they also must think or talk about that information if they want to remember the information. Research further shows that there are specific times for re-exposing ourselves to the information and elaborating on the information. We will go over the most important ones now: Fixed Time Intervals for Re-exposing and Elaborating 1. As the reader identifies what is important while reading, stop re-expose yourself to the information and elaborate on the it (have an internal dialogue, what do you already know about what you are reading, write about it (take notes in your own words), explain it to yourself out loud.

Note: This time interval is specifically for holding and expanding the time new information has in working memory, which gives you and your brain more time to manipulate the information before it can be forgotten.

2. When you have read a new topic or paragraph, explain to yourself what you have just read; this is re-exposure to the information.

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Note: This time interval and the remaining time intervals take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen newly grown dendrites.

3.

When you finish studying, take a few minutes to reexpose yourself to the information and elaborate.

ble of adding to the knowledge base, rather then interfering with existing knowledge base” (Medina, 2008).

2. Mylenation and Deliberate Practice: the Key to Developing Skills Dendrites

4.

Within 90 minutes to 2 hours, re-expose yourself to the information and elaborate.

Myelin Sheath

Axon

Neuron Ends

5.

Review again the next day as soon as you can.

From the Research “When a reader reads nonstop, new information is subject to being confused with other information. “The probability of confusion is increased when content is delivered in unstoppable, unrepeated waves. This causes newly encoded information to reshape (interference) and wear away previously existing traces. Such interference does not occur if the information is delivered in deliberately spaced repetition cycles. (This is where the reader can take control of learning.) Repeated exposure to information in specifically timed intervals provides the most powerful way to fix memory into the brain. When the electrical representations of information to be learned are built up slowly over many repetitions, the neural networks recruited for storage gradually remodel the overall representation and do not interfere with neural networks previously recruited to store similarly learned information. This idea suggests that continuous repetition cycles create experiences capa-

Cell Body “Myelin’s vital role is to wrap those nerve fibers the same way that rubber insulation wraps a copper wire, making the signal stronger and faster by preventing the electrical impulses from leaking out. When we fire our circuits in the right way – when we practice cognitive strategies when reading– our myelin responds by wrapping layers around the that neural circuit, each new layer adding a bit more skill and speed. The thicker the myelin gets, the better it insulates, and the faster and more accurate our movements and thoughts become.” (Coyle, 2010)

Every human skill is created by chains of nerve fibers carrying a tiny electrical impulse – basically a signal traveling through a circuit. Myelin’s vital role is to wrap those nerve fibers in a fatty insulation the same way that rubber insulation wraps a copper wire, making the signal stronger and faster by preventing the electrical impulses from leaking out. When we fire our circuits in the right way our myelin responds by wrapping layers of insulation around the neural circuit, each new layer adding a bit more skill and speed. The thicker the myelin gets, the better it insulates, and the faster and more accurate our thoughts become. (Coyle, 2009)

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C HAPTER 5

Building a Conceptual Framework The purpose of this chapter is provide learners with strategies and a rationale for helping readers build a conceptual framework within which to understand facts and ideas in the context of that conceptual framework when reading entrylevel college content textbook reading assignments.

S ECTION 1

Strategy Set 1

Modeling Building a Conceptual Framework When a student reads for conceptual understanding, the student should seek out the larger conceptual framework of the reading content of the textbook or chapter to provide a neural network of future prior knowledge for understanding facts and ideas in the context of that conceptual framework. This is key to developing competence when reading in a discipline. It not only is essential for later transfer to new situations, but is essential for making later learning of related information easier.

Typical highlighting strategies go something like this; By practicing highlighting (or underlining with a pen or pencil) students can identify and mark important information within a written passage.

Another way to focus your attention while reading expository anthropology texts is highlighting and summarizing or annotating or mind mapping. Highlighting (or underlining with a pen or pencil) helps readers to focus on the details presented in a chapter.

In contrast, the Nosretsek Highlighting Technique does not exclude summarizing, annotating or mind mapping, but rather emphasizes the readers mental processes that will be necessary for understanding conceptually before using these other techniques. The Nosretsek Highlighting Technique focuses on the mental processes of learning between highlighting and summarizing, annotating, or mind mapping. In this writing, the focus is on developing a conceptual framework within which to later expand the concept of â&#x20AC;&#x153;the goal of businessâ&#x20AC;? below in an introduction to business textbook. A conceptual framework is the systematically organized concepts that make up the purpose of the discipline. By developing a conceptual framework (what is the purpose of the reading or discipline text?) the reader is building a foundation of future prior knowledge within which to learning more deeply other related new information.

The shift is from focusing on main ideas and facts to focusing on developing a conceptual understanding or the content of the discipline or subject in a course.

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Strategy 1 – Constructing a Conceptual Framework of the Purpose Let’s use the first paragraph of the introductory chapter in a business textbook and walk through how the reader/learner could move beyond identifying and marking what is important to developing a deep foundation of factual knowledge, while understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework in which knowledge was being organize in ways that facilitate retrieval and application. Below (The Nature of Business) is the first paragraph; let’s take the first sentence, which is often highlighted by the reader because it has a word in bold print (a very important context clue); in this case business. However, because we are trying to build a strong conceptual framework within which to later learn new facts and ideas, the Nosretsek Technique focuses on the mental processes of constructing meaning, which is what the brain stores. The brain stores meaning not sentences. Instead of highlighting the sentence or the word “business”, the reader will highlight that which has the most meaning for understanding concept in bold print (Business).

The Nature of Business “The goal of a business is to earn a profit by providing products that satisfy people’s needs.”

As the reader reads the sentence, they should be looking for the words (in this case, the words that build (broadly define) the concept of “business”. Ex. “A business tries to earn a profit by providing products that satisfy people’s needs.” Here we

see that the goal of a business has three concepts that the whole rest of the business textbook will be expanding upon.

Here is where the reader takes advantage of how the brain learns and neural pathways get strengthened so that signal transmission is faster thereby increasing speed of mental processing in a neural network for later retrieval of concepts being learned.

The conceptual framework (neural network) we are trying to develop would look something like the mind map on page 5 below if we tried to express the conceptual framework visually.

This is a broadly defined conceptual framework of business as it is made up of the core meanings of the purpose of business (make a profit, provide product(s), and satisfy needs). Everything the reader will later read in the introduction to business will further explain these meanings and further expand the conceptual framework for the purpose of business. That is what the reader should be reading for – adding new meanings that further expand the conceptual framework for business.

This broad conceptual framework or big question is what a corequisite instruction reader would look of regardless of the entry-level discipline biology, sociology, psychology, anatomy and physiology, or business. Sociology would focus on social interaction in groups or by individuals in a group; psychology would focus on how the mind or brain affects behavior or thinking and even group interaction, and anatomy and physiology would focus on structure and ? of the human body.

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Strategy 1.1 – Reflect/Re-expose with Elaboration Always: once the reader has identified the concept to be learned (usually in boldface) and has identified the key words

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Strategy 1.2 Mind Map or Summarize or Both The brain organizes new information into organized patterns if it can recognize the pattern. Mind mapping is a very powerful visual graphic representation of broadly defined and systematically organized concepts. This helps the brain create neural networks of interconnected meanings.

t(

Purpose(( Of( (Business(

fulness. This should be done every time a new concept has been discovered and the meanings highlighted (key words).

Strategy 1.3 – Summarize the Mind Map products(

Map(1(

Summarizing helps the brain clarify and organize the newly learned information. For example, a summary looks something line the following, which can be continued as the reading continues, “The goal of business is to make money called a profit by providing products (things to sell) that the buyer thinks they need, for example the next new style in clothes.”

with the most meaning, STOP and move the meanings more solidly into long-term memory by re-exposing oneself to the information by having an internal mental dialogue such as explaining the meanings in ones own words or thinking about what one knows about the meanings. This builds the myelin sheath thicker on the brain cell axon so that future speed of transmission is faster, thus facilitating later retrieval and use-

Writing again a quick summary after reading a selection in a chapter is a very good idea as it further reinforces learning and recall.

46

S ECTION 2

Strategy Set 2

business. As the reader reads further, they will discover that products can be either tangible or intangible, which adds to the meaning of products. Mentally and visually (or graphi-

Strategy 2 – Continue to develop the conceptual framework of Business ofi pr

Let’s read the second sentence in the reading selection under The Nature of Business and focus on how it expand one of the concepts making up the conceptual framework for the purpose of business. Refer to map 1 in the process of doing this for it is a mental construct for guiding thinking (metacognition) as the conceptual framework is being expanded.

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Map(1(

The Nature of Business The goal of a business is to earn a profit by providing products that satisfy people’s needs. (2) The outcomes of its efforts are products that have both tangible and intangible characteristics that provide satisfaction and benefits.

As the reader reads the second sentence, the reader should be asking himself or herself, “Is there new information that expands the conceptual framework or is this just a repeat of the concepts in the mind map?”

As the second sentence is read, the reader discovers that products is in bold print and therefore, will probably expand that concept under the conceptual framework for the purpose of

cally) the reader can immediately see (Map 2 below) that tangible and intangible develop further the concept of products and that the new concepts of tangible and intangible that will extend the meaning of products.

Strategy 2.1 – Repeat Strategies 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 Above •

Strategy 1.1 – Reflect/Re-expose with Elaboration

•

Strategy 1.2 Mind Map or Summarize or Both

•

Strategy 1.3 – Summarize the Mind Map 47

Strategy 2.2 -Build in the Following Internal Dialogue Questions 1. What do I already know?

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2. Are there examples in the book and do I know any examples of the concept being considered?

3. How is what I am reading like or different than what I already know?

4. Can I predict where this is going?

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5. How has the author organized the information in this reading selection and how does it relate to prior readings?

Strategy 2.3 Mind Map or Summarize or Both Mind Mapping: As the reader continues to expand the conceptual framework with new related information, he or she will want to add it to their mind map. Rule: Never add additional information to the mind map without always mentally going over all concepts previously placed on the mind map.

This is essential helping the brain develop a deep foundation of factual knowledge, understand the facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, as well as organize knowledge in ways that later facilitate retrieval and application. See Mind Map 2.

Summarizing: Summarizing helps the brain clarify and organize the newly learned information. For example, a summary looks something like the following, which can be continued as the reading continues. Always feel free to add examples from the reading selection or from ones own prior knowledge.

“The goal of business is to make money called a profit by providing products (things to sell) that the buyer thinks they need. Products can be tangible and intangible.”

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S ECTION 3

Strategy Set 3

see if it looks like the concepts will be further explained. In this case they are. Another strategy is to look at the glossary in the back of the chapter or textbook. In this case actually having stopped and looked up tangible in the dictionary would give the reader valuable clues with the definition that tangible means something that can be touched and intangible means something that can not be touched (capable of being touched; real or actual. (see Map 3 below)

Strategy 3 – New Concepts that are Undefined.

Strategy 3.1 Repeat Previous Strategies

When the reader encounters new concepts that expand any of the concepts in the conceptual framework (see the mind map (Map 2), they should ask themselves, “Has the author defined, given sufficient examples, or clearly explained the meaning of the new concept(s)?” If the author has, highlight the key words of the meaning of the concept or example or explanation. Notice that in sentence 2, the author only introduces the new concepts (tangible and intangible) without further explanation.

Taking the time to repeat previous strategies used during the learning to use these strategies builds neural networks and makes future processing on information faster buy building myelin on the myelin sheath. Remember: the goal is to deliberately practice these strategies until they are automatic and the reader does not have to use valuable working memory just to mentally perform the strategies. The valuable working memory can be devoted to storing and building new concepts in the conceptual framework.

The Nature of Business

•

Strategy 1.1 – Repeat Strategies 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3

The goal of a business is to earn a profit by providing products that satisfy people’s needs. (2) The outcomes of its efforts are products that have both tangible and intangible characteristics that provide satisfaction and benefits.

•

Strategy 1.1 and 2.2– Reflect/Re-expose with Elaboration

•

Strategy 1.2 and 2.3 - Mind Map or Summarize or Both

•

Strategy 1.3 – Summarize the Mind Map

At this point, the reader should ask themselves, if they already know the meaning, if not the should quickly scan the page to 49

Strategy 3.2 –Writing to Learn Writing in the “writing to learn strategy” is very informal. It is for the reader and not meant to be a form of communication.

It is a form of summarizing in which the writer plays with clarifying (checking their own understanding) and playing with organizing the information. For example, “I am learning about the goal of business. So far there are three things powerful concepts that I will need to consider as I continue reading – the concept of profit, products, and satisfying needs.

Profit is making money, Products I guess are what is made or provided for the buyer to buy and satisfying need is like needing to eat.”

Remember: punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc. are not he focus of writing to learn activities. This is mental playtime.

$( profit( needs(

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products( tan gib touched( l

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Strategy 3.3 – Mind Map and/or Summarize with Visuals or Descriptive Language Pictures are worth a thousand (hundreds of thousands) as they provide such rich and vast interconnections to so many areas of the brain making retrieval and application easier. For example, a dollar sign ($) on the map beside profit creates rich interconnections with the reader’s prior knowledge.

Summarizing with Descriptive Language Many students find the adding descriptive language to their summaries helps build richer neural networks that helps later retrieval and usefulness of the concepts they are learning. For example, take the “writing to learn” summary created above and add from ones own prior knowledge a description of the concept. Not examples in the following summary in boldface and parentheses: “I am learning about the goal of business (Ford Motor Company). So far there are three things powerful concepts that I will need to consider as I continue reading – the concept of profit (making lots of green dollars), products (Ford F-150 truck), and satisfying needs (haul furniture). Profit is making money, Products I guess are what is made or provided for the buyer to buy and satisfying need is like needing to eat, which satisfies a need (Ford Truck Dealership).”

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S ECTION 4

Stretegy Set 4

Strategy 4 – Always Relate Back to the Conceptual Framework The reader should always be relating everything they are reading to the conceptual framework they have been constructing to determine if new terminology (concepts) is being introduced or further clarification is being presented.

Let’s look at sentences 2, 3, and 4 in the business reading selection.

vehicle, to satisfy the need for transportation and the desire to present a certain image.

In sentence 2, new information about products was presented (tangible and intangible). The new information also connected the concepts of products (tangible and intangible) with satisfying needs. In sentences 3 and 4, products and needs were pulled together under buying a product. See mind map 4.

Note in mind map 4, the reader has added “touch” to the map branching off tangible. The reader had looked up ”tangible” to get a better idea of what the word meant, which was fortunate as the author did not. Dictionary: the word “tangible” means “can be touched or is real or actual.” Therefore, the reader added “touched” to the mind map branching off “tangible” and also drew an arrow from the concepts of “products” to the concept of meeting “needs” to represent the connection be-

The Nature of Business The goal of a business is to earn a profit by providing products that satisfy people’s needs. (2) The outcomes of its efforts are products that have both tangible and intangible characteristics that provide satisfaction and benefits. (3) When you purchase a product, you are buying the benefits and satisfaction you think the product will provide. (4) A Subway sandwich, for example, may be purchased to satisfy hunger; a Porsche Cayenne sport utility

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Map(4(

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Purpose(( Of( (Business(

products( tan gib touched( l

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51

tween â&#x20AC;&#x153;products and satisfying needs.â&#x20AC;? This will be valuable later as the concept of intangible products is introduced.

Keep in Mind: the reader never adds anything to the mind map without first having mentally reviewed (take seconds) all information already on the mind map.

52

S ECTION 5

Strategy Set 5 $( fit( o pr

Strategy 5 – Incorporate Image Laden Examples into the Mind Map The Nature of Business A business tries to earn a profit by providing products that satisfy people’s needs. The outcomes of its efforts are products that have both tangible and intangible characteristics that provide satisfaction and benefits.

When you purchase a product, you are buying the benefits and satisfaction you think the product will provide. A Subway sandwich, for example, may be purchased to satisfy hunger; a Porsche Cayenne sport utility vehicle, to satisfy the need for transportation and the desire to present a certain image.

Because the last sentence of the paragraph provided examples of Subway sandwich, and buying a Porsche Cayenne, drawing a Subway sandwich or a Porsche beside “needs” on the mind map is another form of connecting what the reader knows to their prior knowledge making the connections in the brain richer.

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Map(5(

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John Bransford, a gifted education researcher who edited the well-received How People Learn, one day asked a simple question: In a given academic discipline, what separates novices from experts? Bransford eventually discovered six characteristics, one of which is relevant to our discussion: “[Experts’] knowledge is not simply a list of facts and formulas that are relevant to their domain; instead their knowledge is organized around core concepts or ‘big ideas’ that guide their thinking about their domains.

53

Whether you are a waiter or a brain scientist, if you want to get the particulars correct, in a hierarchical fashion, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t start with the details. Start with the key ideas and, in a hierarchical fashion, form the details around these larger notions.

54

S ECTION 6

The Nature of Business

Expanding the Conceptual Framework

(First Paragraph): A business tries to earn a profit by providing products that satisfy peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs. The outcomes of its efforts are products that have both tangible and intangible characteristics that provide satisfaction and benefits. When you purchase a product, you are buying the benefits and satisfaction you think the product will provide. A Subway sandwich, for example, may be purchased to satisfy hunger; a Porsche Cayenne sport utility vehicle, to satisfy the need for transportation and the desire to present a certain image.

A Quick Little Exercise If you have followed the thinking above and can explain the goal of business by explaining the mind maps that were created, then give yourself a little practice by redrawing the mind map and then read the second paragraph in the introduction to business reading selection. Continue developing the mind map below reflecting the conceptual framework.

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Map(5(

( ďŹ t

Purpose(( Of( (Business(

products( tan gib touched( l

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Quick Start: In paragraph 2, start by identifying those concepts that further expand the meaning of the concepts making up the conceptual framework thus far, then highlight those meanings.

(Second Paragraph): Most people associate the word product with tangible goods-an automobile, computer, loaf of bread, coat, or some other tangible item. However, a product can also be a service, which results when people or machines provide or process something of value to customers. Dry cleaning, photo processing, a checkup by doctor, a performance by a movie star or basketball player------these are examples of services. A product can also be an idea. Consultants and attorneys, for example, generate ideas for solving problems.

55

Extra Exercise Continue expanding the conceptual framework above with the following paragraphs from the introduction to business textbook: The Goal of Business

fund, maintain, and expand its operations. Other challenges for businesspeople include abiding by laws and government regulations; acting in an ethical and socially responsible manner; and adapting to economic, technological, and social changes. Even nonprofit organizations engage in management, marketing, and finance activities to help reach their goals.

The primary goal of all businesses is to earn a Profit, the difference between what it costs to make and sell a product and what a customer pays for it. If a company spends $2.00 to manufacture, finance, promote, and distribute a product that it sells for $2.75, the business earns a profit of 75 cents on each product sold. Businesses have the right to keep and use their profits as they choose----within legal limits----because profit is the reward for the risks they take in providing products. Not all organizations are businesses. Nonprofit organizations, such as Greenpeace, Special Olympics, and other charities and social causes, do not have the fundamental purpose of earning profits, although they may provide goods or services.

To earn profit, a person or organization needs management skills to plan, organize, and control the activities of the business and to find and develop employees so that it can make products consumers will buy. A business also needs marketing expertise to learn what products consumers need and want and to develop, manufacture, price, promote, and distribute those products. Additionally, a business needs financial resources and skills to 56

S ECTION 7

Other Strategies to Consider What is a conceptual framework?

A conceptual framework is a group of concepts that are broadly defined and systematically organized to provide a focus, a rationale, and a tool for integrating and interpreting information. Think of a conceptual framework as a mind map that put together all the centers of the mind maps you created for a chapter in a textbook. This new mind map will have grouped (organized) the chapters concepts, which you have defined the during the earlier mind mapping processes.

“College textbooks have organization that reflects the logic of the discipline represented or patterns that dominate thinking in the field.” (Caverly, 1999) There’s Vocabulary and then There’s Terminology 1. All the words of a language.

2. The sum of words used by, understood by, or at the command of a particular person or group.

Conceptual frameworks are made up of concepts. A concept is general idea derived or inferred from specific instances or occurrences. A concept is an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct.

Why the Focus on Concepts (terminology rather than vocabulary? What is the difference?

What is Terminology?

A specialized vocabulary of a field, the nomenclature.

Terms in terminology have specific definitions within the field, which is not necessarily the same as their meaning in common use.

57

Traditional Vocabulary Development College reading textbooks often approach vocabulary with discrete exercises for developing, improving, or expanding vocabulary by using discrete skills, such as content clues, wordstructure clues, or using an outside authority – dictionary.

This isolated approach, used alone, neglects what we know about learning – primarily if we want transfer and ease of learning newer related information, facts, words, and ideas must be understood within the context of a conceptual framework.

The Future is Moving Toward Conceptual Understanding Before we begin exploring developing college-level vocabulary in our reading classes, we need to make a decision about the goal of reading in these courses. From an adaptive reading point of view, the goal of exit-level college reading courses is to develop cognitive skills and habits of mind within a field of inquiry that result in developing competence in the given area. Research on brain learning tells us that it is essential to understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework if competence is to be developed in an area of inquiry. This provides us with significant clues for developing concepts instead of just expanding expanding vocabulary.

Let’s Start with What We Know about Learning that Leads to Transfer: We Know: The question of transfer is the fundamental educational question.

We Know: “A key finding in the learning and transfer literature is that organizing information into a conceptual framework allows for greater transfer; that is, it allows the student to apply what was learned in new situations and to learn related information more quickly” (Bransford, How People learn).

We Know: The research has found that to develop competence in an area of inquiry (that is the goal), students must: (a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and (c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application (Bransford, How People learn).

We Know: Textbooks are generally collections of systematically organized broadly defined concepts that are in the best textbooks clarified with the use of examples, statistics, and other details that signal a main idea is being clarified, proved, or developed.

We Know: A conceptual framework is group of concepts that are defined and systematically organized to provide a focus, a rationale, and a tool for integrating and interpreting information.

58

We Know: Conceptual understanding refers to an integrated and functional grasp of ideas.

The focus is not on discrete skills (finding the main idea for example) as much as it is on focusing on the more basic questions of what readers actively mentally do - metacognition.

To Surface Survey: - What text clues are included in the text?

- Read all the titles and subtitles.

- Read captions under pictures, charts, graphs, or maps.

Identifying the Conceptual Framework

- Read the questions at the end of the chapter.

Readers need to spend more time determining what the conceptual framework is for a reading selection before beginning reading in order to later understand facts and ideas they will read within that conceptual framework.

- If there is a summary read it.

Cognitive Strategies for Making the Conceptual Framework Useful Moving from Surface Surveying and Deep Surveying: The first thing a reader wants to do is begin to develop a conceptual framework within which to later understand the facts and ideas (concepts) of the text’s chapter. Note the distinction between surface surveying and deep surveying.

Surface Surveying: Goal: The reader skims and scans the chapter to get a general idea of the content, structure, and organization of the chapter or reading selection. Surveying the chapter helps the student prepare for “understanding the ideas

- Get an overview of what the chapter is about.

Deep Surveying – Adaptive Reading (reading to learn): Goal: Deep surveying engages the reader in a much deeper level of thinking. Deep surveying’s main goal is to grasp the author’s conceptual framework within which the reader later makes an effort to construct meaning within that framework.

Deep surveying asks the reader to take advantage of how the brain learns naturally by tapping their own prior knowledge as they come to titles, questions, heading, subheadings, pictures, and summaries.

Deep Surveying involves the Rules of Consolidation, Core Cognitive Strategies, Internal Dialogue Inquiry, and organizing by mind mapping the “conceptual framework” (big picture), within which to hold the details and facts (concepts, terminology, vocabulary) together.

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To Deep Survey: Brain Rule: Always apply Rule #1 for how the brain learns naturally: Connect new information to prior knowledge. Dendrites, synapses, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The first time we experience a new subject, our brains must build a dendrite on a cell body for that topic or must connect to an existing idea. Only after that dendrite is in place or the related idea identified can we begin to know, remember, and understand a topic.

Internal Dialogue Questions: The reader always asks at least the internal dialogue questions (below) and answers those questions to themselves as they come to each title, question, heading, subheading, picture, and summary. For example, â&#x20AC;&#x153;What do I already know about the these concepts or ideas?â&#x20AC;?

Internal Dialogue Questions: 1. What do I already know?

2. Are there examples in the book and do I know any examples of the concept being considered?

3. How is what I am reading like or different than what I already know?

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4. Can I predict where this is going?

Rule One: Re-expose yourself to the information.

5. How has the author organized the information in this reading selection and how does it relate to prior readings?

Rule Two: You are elaborating when you redraw the pictures by using one of the most powerful elaboration strategies for storing information in long-term memory – Saying what you have just learned in your own words. (Anything you do to interconnect what you are learning to what you already know is an elaboration.) Writing to learn (see below) is very powerful for helping clarify, organize and construct meaning as one surveys.

Rules of Consolidation: (see Appendix A for more explanation)

Rule Three: Re-expose oneself to the conceptual framework using fixed timed intervals. Fixed intervals for surveying are: Time Intervals • Immediately re-expose yourself to the information you encounter surveying. Ask the internal dialogue questions above.

• Mind map the conceptual framework as you encounter the new concepts; this helps to systematically organize the information.

• As you complete the survey of each section, mentally reconstruct he mind map or summarize what you know at this point.

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- Writing to Learn Writing to learn is among the most important clarifying, organizing and constructing new meaning strategies that man has created.

tions, free writing, and notes.” (Literacy Matters). Focus on meaning, not correct spelling, grammar, and usage in writing to learn strategies.

“All too often in education, we are focused only on final products: the final exam, the grade, the perfect research paper, mastery of a subject. But how do we get students from here to there? What are the intermediate stages that help students develop the skills and habits of master learners in our disciplines? What kinds of scaffolding enable students to move forward, step-by-step? How do we, as educators, recognize and support the slow process of progressively deepening students’ abilities to think like historians and scholars? (Bass and Eynon, Capturing the Visible Evidence of Invisible Learning, 2009).

It’s more difficult to convince teachers that writing is a learning process than it is to convince them that talk is, because so often teachers use writing as a way of testing. They use it to find out what students already know, rather than as a way of encouraging them to find out. The process of making the material their own--the process of writing--is demonstrably a process of learning. -James Britton

Don’t miss this point: Writing to learn activities are among the most powerful elaboration strategies. First a note on some boundaries for writing to learn: “Writing to learn emphasizes what is said (new ideas and concepts) rather than how it is said (correct spelling, grammar, and usage). Often, less structured and more informal writing to learn can take forms such as journals, summaries, responses to oral or written ques-

In adaptive reading, we use writing as a tool for organizing information as a way of helping discover connections, discern processes, raise questions and discover solutions. In this way, writing to learn helps to not only acquire content information but also to transform knowledge and to generate new knowledge. Writing to learn is a powerful tool for clarifying thinking 62

in preparation for organizing knowledge in ways that facilitate application (inquiry-based inquiry and problem solving).

Reading students and content course students are often asked to write or complete a project based on reading before they have had a chance to engage in and learn to use the intermediate processes of “reading to learn” such as the Rules of Consolidation, Core Cognitive Strategies, Internal Dialogue Inquiry, and organizing by mind mapping.

Conceptual Framework and Text Clues Authors provide lots of clues for finding the conceptual framework in texts and articles - all of which should be used but not taught as discrete skills. The main learning efforts should be directed toward the thinking involved within the context of authentic texts within the larger conceptual framework, not on discrete skills. We will look at reading to learn and writing to learn strategies later.

Each text clue is very important; however, from an adaptive reading point of view, the clues would not be taught as discrete skills (exercises that have the reader read a short passage and for example find the main idea and supporting details), but as clues to the conceptual framework of the text and how the clues contribute to the larger understanding and inclusion in the text’s conceptual framework. The shift in adaptive reading from traditional reading instruction (discrete skills) is a focus on constructing meaning and integrating that meaning within a conceptual framework in order to make later learning of related information easier to learn and to

make concepts learned more transferable. In textbooks, the clues for the text’s conceptual framework are everywhere. The use of examples, statistics, and other details signals a main idea is being clarified, proved, or developed. The main idea is not an end in itself in adaptive reading, but rather information that helps the reader not only connect with their prior knowledge, but to help the reader figure out how new information is systematically organized within the a conceptual framework.

With supporting details, emphasis is not on details, but on the use of details to understand the concept being learned and more importantly to understand the facts and ideas within a conceptual framework. Clues to the text’s conceptual framework can be found in titles, heads, subheads purpose sentences, preoutline, objectives, topic sentence, italics repletion, questions, numbering, visuals, details, organizational patterns, and summary.

Conceptual Understanding and Metacognition This is where the conceptual understanding approach to reading instruction shines. Most approaches teach skills that are “ends in themselves” - main idea and details for example. The isolated skills don’t add up to producing a learner who can read to develop competence in an area of inquiry.

Metacognition and Internal Dialogue (thinking about thinking; making thinking visible).

Metacognition must be taught: Metacognition is not an instinctive process; therefore deliberate efforts must be made by teachers and students to call attention to it when it is occur63

ring. Doing so can be difficult because the process often occurs as an internal dialogue, meaning there are no tangible or verbal cues to aid in awareness (Bransford et al., 2000; Wolfe & Brush, 2000). Second, the most successful strategies for teaching metacognition require the complete reorganization of a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thinking process, which involves much more than simply pointing out when metacognition is occurring (Perkins & Grotzer, 1997).

The conceptual understanding approach does just that - develop metacognition strategies, The focus is not on discrete skills as much as it focuses on more basic questions of what readers mentally and actively do while reading idea of a text metacognition.

Cognitive strategies for developing conceptual understanding do not act in isolation.

Internal Dialogue Must Be Taught: Bransford et al.

(2000), warned that educators often make the misguided assumption that because metacognition takes the form of selfimposed internal conversation that students will develop this internal dialogue on their own. They emphatically state that this is not true. The point is that the better understood the entire concept of metacognition becomes, the more sophisticated the thinking process becomes. When given metacognitive training, the degree to which transfer occurs in different settings has been shown to increase (Bransford et al. 2000).

However, significant discussion and practice with metacognition are required before students are able to sufficiently comprehend and accommodate the concept. In a highly recommended book by Bain (2004) that discusses the practices of the best college teachers, the concept of metacognition is mentioned and strongly implied throughout. To get students thinking about their thinking is an essential first step to their mental processes of learning and synthesis that are critical harbingers of transfer. (Ramocki, 2007)

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C HAPTER 6

Developing Competence Developing competence is straight forward, but challenging. Students need to be able to do the following: •develop a deep foundation of factual knowledge, •understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and •organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application. (Bransford) “Contrary to popular belief, learning basic facts is not a prerequisite for creative thinking and problem solving -- it's the other way around. Once you grasp the big concepts around a subject, good thinking will lead you to the important facts.” (John Bransford) It’s the “grasping big concepts”, “good thinking”, and “organization” that the remaining chapters will be about.

S ECTION 1

Sociology

The answer to these two question provide the rationale for the activities that help a reader â&#x20AC;&#x153;understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.â&#x20AC;?

Examples of the Big Questions from Different Disciplines

In this section, sociology will be the area of inquiry used to explain most of the activities that facilitate the kinds of thinking that enable the reader to understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework. These activities are transferrable to other areas of inquiry such as biology, history, business, and psychology. Differences in patterns of organization mental activities related to those areas will be noted in the following sections.

The Big Questions or Conceptual Framework Writers of college textbooks tend to systematically organize the concepts of the discipline. That organization is referred to as a conceptual framework. The organizational pattern of discipline textbooks can vary based on the purpose of the discipline. In the Accelerated Co-Requisite Reading to Learn Model (ACRLM) of instruction, among of the first things a learner needs to know is 1.

What is the big question(s) that the discipline being read about is trying to answer or observe?

2.

How is the content organized around that big question?

For the reader, a conceptual framework is a group of concepts they will be learning that has been systematically organized to help the reader interpret and integrate the new information they are reading. The reader needs to learn how to identify or create the big picture question(s) (conceptual framework) of the given discipline in order to use cognitive strategies and habits of mind that lead to important facts. In this chapter we will look at how conceptual frameworks are created and the answers to those questions for sociology. This is key for building activities for understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.

Sociology: Thinking Like a Sociologist To become competent in sociology, the learner must learn to think like a sociologist. What is sociology In general, sociology is an area of inquiry that focuses on how groups of humans interact with one another. It is the interaction that sociologist pay the most attention and around which the a conceptual framework is built.

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How Conceptual Frameworks are Developed in Sociology When a sociologist observes that there is a pattern in the ways groups interact, they give the pattern a name or label. For example, when sociologists observed that groups tended to have rules of guidelines for their behavior, the sociologist gave the observation the label “norms.” “Norms” is then the concept word representing “all rules or guidelines for how groups and individual in those groups act in given situations.” Then sociologists begin to look for patterns in the rules that groups or individuals follow.

For example, sociologist observed that some rules were expected by other members of the group, but if they were not followed there was no consequence; the behavior is noticed and is not considered a big deal. For example, wearing two shoes that did not match. They called those norms “folkways.” However, the sociologist noticed that when some expected rules were not followed there were consequences or punishment.

For example, running a red light; the sociologist labeled this type of norm “mores.”

Sociology is basically the observed patterns for how groups and individuals in those groups interact with one another.

Those labeled patterns form the conceptual framework for understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.

The Big Question in Sociology The big question that readers of a sociology textbook need to keep in mind is “how do any new concepts the reader runs across while reading fit within how groups and individuals in those groups interact?” In order to answer that question, it is imperative that the reader has first developed a conceptual framework from which to understand the facts and ideas they will encounter when reading a text selection in sociology.

First: In any discipline for deep learning to occur, the first thing a reader needs to understand is what is the purpose of that discipline. For example, what is the purpose of sociology.

Sociology focuses on how groups of humans interact with one another.

Second: The reader must constantly reflect on how what they are reading relates to the purpose of sociology. This is the beginning of expanding a conceptual framework on how groups interact with one another. The following questions become the drivers of deep learning.

ACTIVITY: Take time before every beginning to read the chapters in the textbook and read any preface, introduction or those parts of the first chapter that indicate that the purpose of the discipline might be explained. This is like detective work that gets easier as the more it is practiced. Instructor modeling and collaborative exploration for the propose of the discipline.

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It is not uncommon for authors to say no more than “Sociology is about how groups and individual in that group interact.” Other textbook authors will spend additional time trying to connect with the reader’s experiences such as providing examples and explanations that connect with the reader’s prior knowledge.

For deep and useable learning to occur the reader needs to reflect and have opportunities to explore their own minds about what they know about how groups and individual in those groups interact.

Note: Keep in mind that it takes effort and repeated exposure to new ideas before the neural networks for those ideas are developed and strengthened. Finding the discipline’s purpose is the first of many opportunities for readers to learn to use the rules for moving new information from working memory to long-term memory for which the bottom line is re-exposure with elaboration (connection to prior knowledge.)

the heading and subheading, and summary all provide an opportunity to further expand and prepare the brain for grasping the big concepts around a subject, as well as prepare the reader for using cognitive strategies for incorporating important concepts and facts.

ACTIVITY: In sociology, the reader takes the discipline’s big question (How do groups of humans interact with one another and with individuals in the group?) and looks for text clues that help organize what is about to be learned and mentally tries to recognize the connections the text clues have to the discipline’s purpose. Below are questions the reader need to learn to use to help them make those connections.

Note: Initial instructor modeling and collaborative exploration of these connections can be very helpful before students strike out one their own.

The Big Three Questions of Internal Dialogue Whether getting an overview of the chapter or reading the chapter, the reader should always have three question they are asking:

Using Text Clues to Further Develop the Conceptual Framework

1. {What Do I Know} What do I already know? (Dendrites of Prior Knowledge)

Text clues in content textbooks are like maps that when the organization is recognized help the readers to create the chapter’s conceptual framework. The title, the chapter objectives,

2. {Are There Explanations or Examples} Are there explanations or examples in the book and do I know any examples of 68

the concept being considered? (Connection to Dendrites of Prior Knowledge) 3. {Prediction} Can I predict where this is going? (Anticipate what is next) Those Three Questions Can Expand Into: • Why am I reading this selection? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

• What do I already know about what I am Reading? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

• Anticipating where is this heading going/what is coming next? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at every level of the six levels of the neocortext the same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”) • How can I use this information? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at every level of the six levels of the neocortex the same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”) • What cognitive strategies do I have for strengthening new learning. (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for

what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced. Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow from stimulating experiences. Use it or lose it.)

• How does this apply to my own life? (“Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced.” Smilkstein) ACTIVITY: Never assume that the learner will grasp and use these questions to drive their learning after just hearing or reading about them. It takes a lot of effort to build these questions into the learner’s neural networks of cognitive processes and are so strongly developed that they become automatic.

Note: Once cognitive strategies become automatic, they no longer are crowding the learner’s working memory and then working memory can be devoted to further manipulation and especially elaboration (connecting to the learner's prior knowledge.)

In the Accelerated co-Requisite reading to learn model, these questions and the questions to follow are not questions to be superficially learned, but must be over-learned to the point of being automatic. Neural networks need to be developed through repeated exposure to these questions in order to build myelin in neural pathways for these questions when reading that enable instantaneous application of these questions in the reading and learning processes. These questions 69

then become part of the students mental processes for thinking about their thinking.

Note: Keep in mind that if the metacognitive processes do not become automatic (repeated exposure with elaboration), then working memory will not have the space to both store and manipulate the information (use cognitive strategies) being learned.

The Instructor and the Learner In the Accelerated Co-requisite Reading to Learn Model, the instructor and the reader need to understand what is occurring in the brain when learning occurs using the cognitive strategies learning in this book. Activities and strategies reading to learn are not in a vacuum; a second level of understanding in the context of a conceptual framework must be at play.

That second level means that not only must new facts and ideas be understood in the context of a conceptual framework, but the very learning mental processes the student will be learning to make that happen must be understood in the context of a conceptual framework of how learning is occurring in their own brains. THis move the activities they will be doing from “just something the instructors want them to do” to a personal level of something they need to do for themselves.

This second level of understanding also provides the instructor and the student with a channel of communication for explaining why and how a given strategy is important, but also for assessing and correcting difficulties a student may be having incorporating a strategy when difficulties arise.

Reflection and Metacognition The questions above drive metacognition (the reader thinking about their thinking). Metacognition has to be learned and mental activities that help the learner to automatically try to build a conceptual framework for what they are about to read and to expand that conceptual framework as they read is key to transfer learning (deep learning).

Again, “Contrary to popular belief, learning basic facts is not a prerequisite for creative thinking and problem solving -- it's the other way around. Once you grasp the big concepts around a subject, good thinking will lead you to the important facts.” (John Bransford) The Physiology of Practice “The question neurologist and educators have been asking is “why does it take so long for people to learn complex skills that result in application, decision-making, and problemsolving. The answer turns out to be both physiological and psychological. The physiological answer turns out to be myelination, the process of building a fatty insulation around neurons. “The brain senses nerve firing and responds by wrapping more myelin (fat) around the brain cell that fires. The more the brain cell fires the more myelin wraps around it. The more myelin wraps around it, the faster the signals travel, increasing velocities up to one hundred times over signals sent through an uninsulated brain cells. It is at this point that providing instruction becomes interesting. Mere repetition is not the key for accelerated learning of skills; it is here that scien70

tist have discovered a twist – struggle is not optional – it is neurologically required; we tend to try to reduce struggle in learning; we try to make learning smooth, especially at the point of “assessment for learning.” This does not produce optimal learning of skills. However, it is a combination of the following that accelerates deeper learning: “In order to get ones skill circuits to fire optimally, one must by definition fire the circuit suboptimally, one must make mistakes and pay attention to those mistakes; one must slowly teach their circuits.

Myelination is the physiological manifestation of metacognition.” (Coyle, 2009) Metacognition and Internal Observation For rigor in learning to be successful, the learner has to be able to mentally step back and observe the learning process as it is occurring in the brain - this is the foundation of metacognition and it has to be taught. In order to take the most effective control of instruction and learning (rigor), the instructor and learner needs to understand what is occurring in the brain during instruction and learning that can transform both into rigorous learning.

“In the 1990s a committee of the National Research Council, led by John Bransford, Ann Brown, and Rodney Cocking concluded that metacognition is a key factor in learning that should be deliberately cultivated. They emphasized the particularly important role that metacognition plays in promoting transfer learning. That is, students can more readily apply knowledge acquired in one context to another context if they

have more awareness of themselves as learners, if they monitor their strategies and resources, and if they assess their readiness for tests and other performances” (Linda Baker).

Internal Dialogue Questions Can Drive All Cognitive Strategies Bransford enjoins us to resist substituting strategies for thinking. Learning strategies can be basically mindless unless the learner can step back and observe their thinking. This ability to step back while learning and observe oneown thinking David Rock calls “The Director.” Research is indicating “the director” (metaphor for the observing ones thinking about thinking ability of the brain) sits “above” our other working memory functions, monitoring our thinking and choosing how best to allocate resources (cognitivie strategies)” (Rock).

“It gives us the space of mind in which we can consider various options and then choose the most appropriate ones” (Siegel). Mindful internal dialogue questions activate this executive function by providing space for directing thinking. We have learned about how the brain learns and are now learning about awareness of what the brain is actually doing moment by moment. “Knowledge of your brain is very helpful, but one also needs to be aware of what ones brain is doing at any moment for knowledge to be useful” (Rock).

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One thing the brain tries to do automatically is to compare and contrast new information with what it already knows. The learner can take advantage of this fact by introducing further questions that if over learned helps the brain do more deeply what it tries to do naturally.

Six internal dialogue questions that readers need to learn to use as part of their internal dialogue for establishing a metacognitive approach to learning while reading are: 1.

What do I already know about what I am reading? (learning – constructing meaning)

The good news is that “Mindfulness is a habit, it’s something the more one does, the more likely one is to be in that mode with less and less effort” (Rock). That is why the whole reading course is learning and practicing how to become aware of what the brain is doing moment by moment using cognitive strategies driven by internal dialogue. “One of the best ways of having our director handy is practicing using your director regularly (internal dialogue questions). A number of studies now show that people who practice activating their director do change the structure of their brain. They thicken specific regions of the cortex involved in cognitive control and switching attention.” (Rock).

2. How does what I am reading reinforce or contradict what I already know (compare and contrast)?

3.

What do the concepts (terminology) introduced in the reading have in common? (analyzing) 4.

How are concepts (terminology) introduced in the text different; how do they contrast? (analyzing) 5.

Are the new concepts (terminology) part of a larger concept (ex. folkways and mores are types of norms)? (classifying – inductive reasoning) 6. How are all the concepts in a reading related? (mind mapping – systematically organizing – deductive reasoning - synthesizing)

Internal Dialogue (Comparing and Contrasting) 72

How Comparing and Contrasting May Show Up in Working Memory Comparing and contrasting new information can show up in (1) the writer’s organization of information – facilitates categorization, (2) as a way the experts in the discipline have categorized information – ex. what is a sociologist trying to learn – “the reader must keep the author’s overall purpose in mind while classifying, in order to group information by useful criteria.” (Zwiers), (3) in the reader’s head as a natural reminder of what the reader already knows – putting new information into categories, or as (4) an internal dialogue question (cognitive strategy – decision making) in which the reader is trying to take control of their thinking (metacognition) to construct meaning.

ACTIVITY: Again, re-exposure and practice are key to over learning these questions.

Note: Again, instructor modeling and collaborative exploration of answers to these questions are very helpful.

Reflection Activity: Taking the short reading selection below on anxiety disorders and general anxiety, stop and observe your thinking about what you are learning when you encounter th double orange parentheses ().

What is Culture? ()

Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted () customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. () It includes the ideas, values, and artifacts (for example, DVDs, comic books, and birth control devices) of groups of people.

Patriotic attachment to the flag of the United States is an aspect of culture, as is a national passion for the tango in Argentina. () Sometimes people refer to a particular person as “very cultured” or to a city as having “lots of culture.” That use of the term culture is different form our use in this textbook. () In sociological terms, culture does not refer solely to fine arts and refined intellectual taste. It consists of all objects and ideas within a society, including slang words, ice cream cones, and tock music. () Sociologist considers both a portrait by Rembrandt and the work of graffiti spray painters to be aspects of culture. () A tribe that cultivates soil by hand has just as much culture as a people that relies on computer-operated machinery. Each people has a distinctive culture with its own characteristic ways of gathering and preparing food, constructing homes, structuring the family, and promoting standards of right and wrong. ()

Norms () and Values () “Wash your hands before dinner”. “Thou shall not kill”. “Respect your elders”. All societies have ways of encouraging and enforcing what they view as appropriate behavior while discouraging and punishing what they consider to be improper 73

behavior. () They also have a collective idea of what is good and desirable in life or not. In this section we will learn to distinguish between the closely related concepts of norms and values. () NORMS () Norms are the established standards of behavior maintained by a society. () For a norm to become significant, it must be widely shared and understood. () For example, in movie theaters in the United States, we typically expect that people will be quiet while the film is shown. Of course, the application of this norm can vary, depending on the particular film and type of audience. People who are viewing a serious artistic film will be more likely to insist on the norm of silence than those who are watching a slapstick comedy or horror movie. () Types of Norms () Sociologists distinguish between norms in two ways. () First, norms are classified as either formal or informal. () Formal norms generally have been written down and specify strict punishments for violators. In the United States, we often formalize norms into laws, which are very precise in defining proper and improper behavior. () Sociologist Donald Black (1995) has termed law â&#x20AC;&#x153;government social controlâ&#x20AC;?, meaning that laws are formal norms enforced by the state. () Laws are just one example of formal norms. () The requirements for a college major and the rules of a card game are also considered formal norms. In contrast, informal norms are generally understood but not precisely recorded. () Standards of proper

dress are common example of informal norms. Our society has no specific punishment or sanction for a person who comes to school, say, wearing a monkey suit. Making fun of the nonconforming student is usually the most likely response. () Norms are also classified by their relative importance to society. () When classified in this way, they are known as mores and folkways. Mores are norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society, often because they embody the most cherished principles of a people. () Each society demands obedience to its mores; violation can lead to severe penalties.

Thus, the United States has strong mores against murder, treason, and child abuse, which have been institutionalized into formal norms. () Folkways are norms governing everyday behavior. () Folkways play an important role in shaping the daily behavior of members of a culture. () Society is less likely to formalize folkways than mores, and their violation raises comparatively little concern. () For example, walking up a down escalator in a department store challenges our standards of appropriate behavior, but it will not result in a fine or a jail sentence. () In many societies around, folkways exist to reinforce patterns of male dominance. () Various folkways reveal menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hierarchical position above women within the traditional Buddhist areas of Southeast Asia. In the sleeping cars of trains, women do not sleep in upper berths above men. Hospitals that house men on the first floor do not place women patients on the sec74

ond floor. Even on clotheslines, folkway dictates male dominance: womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attire is hung lower than that of men. () Â

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S ECTION 2

Biology

The Big Questions or Conceptual Framework Writers of college textbook tend to systematically organize the concepts of the discipline. That organization is referred to as a conceptual framework. The organizational pattern of discipline textbooks can vary based on the purpose of the discipline. In the Accelerated Co-Requisite Reading to Learn Model (ACRLM) of instruction, among of the first things a learner needs to know is 1.

What is the big question(s) that the discipline being read about is trying to answer or observe?

2.

How is the content organized around that big question?

The answer to those two question provide the rationale for the activities that help a reader â&#x20AC;&#x153;understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.â&#x20AC;?

Examples of the Big Questions from Different Disciplines For the reader a conceptual framework is a group of concepts they will be learning that has been systematically organized to help the reader interpret and integrate the new information they are reading. The reader needs to learn how to identify or create the big picture question of the discipline. In this section we will look at how conceptual frameworks are created and the answers to those question for sociology, biology, history, business and psychology. This is key for building activities for understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.

Biology: Thinking Like a Biologist How Conceptual Frameworks are Developed in Biology The Big Questions in Biology Learning Activities will Expand Around The Big Three Questions Whether getting an overview of a chapter or reading the chapter, the reader should always have three question they are asking: 1. {What Do I Know} What do I already know? (Dendrites of Prior Knowledge) 76

2. {Are There Explanations or Examples} Are there explanations or examples in the book and do I know any examples of the concept being considered? (Connection to Dendrites of Prior Knowledge) 3. {Prediction} Can I predict where this is going? (Anticipate what is next) These Three Questions Can Expand Into: • Why am I reading this selection?

(Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

• What do I already know about what I am Reading? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

• Where is this heading/what is coming next? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at every level of the six levels of the neocortext he same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”)

• How can I use this information? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at every level of the six levels of the neocortex the same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”) • What cognitive strategies do I have for strengthening new learning. (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced. Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow from stimulating experiences. Use it or lose it.)

• How does this apply to my own life? (“Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced.” Smilkstein) Reading Readiness and Concept Imagery: In biology, if a mental image is not created by the learner, the concept can be lost.

"In One Ear and Out the Other" The Langsford Learning Center, Louisville, Kentucky: Why do good readers, ones who have learned to read words with ease and fluency, sometimes have difficulty understanding what they read?

People often wonder if this difficulty is due to not trying hard enough or a lack of attentiveness. While attention can sometimes be involved, often the difficulty is due to an under77

developed learning process important to understanding what we read: concept imagery. The ability to develop concept imagery from words is an important underlying process that all readers need in order to develop into life-long independent learners.

Research conducted by cognitive psychologist Allan Paivio has shown that children and adults with good comprehension have the ability to "dual code." This is the process of turning words read or heard into images, pictures and/or movies in the mind and then turning those images back into words. This interplay between verbal and visual information within the brain is important for true understanding and learning to happen. As the thinker Thomas Aquinas said, "Man's mind cannot understand thoughts without images of them."

Falling Through the Cracks In the early grades most schools have a "learn-to-read" focus and teachers are primarily concerned that the actual mechanics of reading and spelling are in place. Then a gradual shift occurs and schools move toward "reading-to-learn." We can see this shift by simply looking at books. Books for young children have lots of pictures and images, but as the reading level increases, the words on the page increase and pictures gradually decrease.

The basic idea is that with continual practice and increased fluency, imaging and understanding will progress naturally. However, this is not always the case. Some students have to work much harder than their peers to get good grades, or can't pro-

gress at the same rate as their peers. They seem to read the text just fine, yet can't understand it, or they only understand parts rather than the whole. This can happen despite good vocabulary and good fluency.

Readers who do not process the information through dual coding often find other ways to compensate, such as relying on memorization. Memorization may help these readers do well on tests, but eventually they hit a wall where this just doesn't seem to work anymore, usually because the content required is simply too much information to memorize. This might happen in 5th grade, high school, college, or maybe not until doing graduate work. It all depends upon the individual's ability to compensate.

Memorization can be very helpful if the underlying ability to generate concept imagery is in place, but when that foundational piece is missing, other strategies are not nearly as effective. Relying on memory to study and learn puts the focus on the facts. In addition, good memorizers often don't do well on tests that require them to think about the material in a different manner from how they memorized it. Strong concept imagery improves the ability to process, organize, verbalize, and write information, independent of rote learning. Imagery is also very important for higher order thinking, which includes the ability to critically analyze, infer, predict and evaluate.

They're Just Words The reason to read is to get meaning from the printed word.

Learners who are not efficient at generating concept imagery 78

and also struggle with memorization are just reading the words. These words seem to go in one ear and out the other if there is no picture or image created to anchor the meaning in the brain. Such readers often find themselves reading and rereading information in order to recall even basic facts. Until an image is created, critical and analytical thinking cannot even begin to happen. A person can't read between the lines when they are only focused on the lines.

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Examples of the Big Questions from Different Disciplines

Business

For the reader a conceptual framework is a group of concepts they will be learning that has been systematically organized to help the reader interpret and integrate the new information they are reading. The reader needs to learn how to identify or create the big picture question of the discipline. In this section we will look at how conceptual frameworks are created and the answers to those question for sociology, biology, history, business and psychology. This is key for building activities for understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.

Business Thinking Like a Businessperson How Conceptual Frameworks are Developed in Business The Big Questions or Conceptual Framework Writers of college textbook tend to systematically organize the concepts of the discipline. That organization is referred to as a conceptual framework. The organizational pattern of discipline textbooks can vary based on the purpose of the discipline. In the Accelerated Co-Requisite Reading to Learn Model (ACRLM) of instruction, among of the first things a learner needs to know is 1.

What is the big question(s) that the discipline being read about is trying to answer or observe?

2.

How is the content organized around that big question?

The answer to those two question provide the rationale for the activities that help a reader “understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.”

Introduction to business textbooks generally provide an overview of the structure of American business, management and organization, human resources, financial management, production, labor-management relations, marketing, and accounting, as well as the global dimensions of business and social responsibilities of business.

The Big Questions in Business Learning Activities will Expand Around The Big Three Questions Whether getting an overview of a chapter or reading the chapter, the reader should always have three question they are asking: 1. {What Do I Know} What do I already know? (Dendrites of Prior Knowledge)

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2. {Are There Explanations or Examples} Are there explanations or examples in the book and do I know any examples of the concept being considered? (Connection to Dendrites of Prior Knowledge) 3. {Prediction} Can I predict where this is going? (Anticipate what is next) These Three Questions Can Expand Into: • Why am I reading this selection? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

• What do I already know about what I am Reading? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

• Where is this heading/what is coming next? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at every level of the six levels of the neocortext he same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”) • How can I use this information? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at every level of the six levels of the neocortex the same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”)

• How does this apply to my own life? (“Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced.” Smilkstein)

Building a Conceptual Framework For Business Below is the first paragraph in an introduction business textbook, which is starting to define the goal of business: The Nature of Business “A business tries to earn a prophet by providing products that satisfy people’s needs, The outcome of its efforts are products that have both tangible and intangible characteristics that provide satisfaction and benefits. When you purchase a product, you are buying the benefits and satisfaction you think the product will provide. A Subway sandwich, for example, may be purchased to satisfy hunger; a Porsche Cayenne sports utility vehicle, to satisfy the need for transportation and the desire to present a certain image.”

• What cognitive strategies do I have for strengthening new learning.

(Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced. Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow from stimulating experiences. Use it or lose it.)

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Looking at the mind map below, we can begin to see how the author has begun to develop the concept of the goal of business. The first sentence literally provides the major concepts (profit, products, and satisfying needs that will provide the context for learning everything in the business textbook.

The Nature of Business

In later passages, the major concepts that make up th larger concept of business will be expanded . Below is an example of such concept expansions. The author chose to provide an example of what constitutes profit. Read the example below and visualize the concepts of cost of making a product and selling a product.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A business tries to earn a prophet by providing products that satisfy peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs.

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An essential mental process for deep learning is organizing knowledge in ways that facilitate later retrieval and application. Below is a mind map that organizes the major concepts making up the larger concept of business. This builds neural networks in the brain of interrelated connections, which become prior knowledge, which makes later learning of related information easier to learn. And very important, it enables working memory to store and manipulate larger amounts of information at any one time.

As the reader continues to other passages in the business textbook, having built a conceptual framework for business pays dividends for incorporating new information within that conceptual framework.

Note in the mind map below how the reader can easily incorporate the concepts of tangible and intangible products within the larger concept of the goal of a business.

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If the reader has developed a conceptual framework for the goal of business, then the reader has a better chance of constructing meaning when encountering related information.

For example, below is the dictionary definition of profit, which introduces related concepts of net income, revenue, deductions, income, outlay, non-cash expenses and depreciation, all of which are terminology that represent the concepts that the reader learned when developing the concept of profit earlier. Read the dictionary definition below and see how it fits with the textbook example of profit.

As the reader is reading about business and profit, they should be taking the time to stop as they read and reflect on what they are learning.

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It is also important that the reader learns to stop as they are reading and reflect on what they are learning by asking the following type of questions and have an internal dialogue with themselves as they are learning. This is essential for moving new information from short-term memory to long-term memory.

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S ECTION 4

History

The Big Questions or Conceptual Framework Writers of college textbook tend to systematically organize the concepts of the discipline. That organization is referred to as a conceptual framework. The organizational pattern of discipline textbooks can vary based on the purpose of the discipline. In the Accelerated Co-Requisite Reading to Learn Model (ACRLM) of instruction, among of the first things a learner needs to know is 1.

What is the big question(s) that the discipline being read about is trying to answer or observe?

2.

How is the content organized around that big question?

The answer to those two question provide the rationale for the activities that help a reader “understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.”

Examples of the Big Questions from Different Disciplines

For the reader a conceptual framework is a group of concepts they will be learning that has been systematically organized to help the reader interpret and integrate the new information they are reading. The reader needs to learn how to identify or create the big picture question of the discipline. In this section we will look at how conceptual frameworks are created and the answers to those question for sociology, biology, history, business and psychology. This is key for building activities for understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.

History: Thinking Like a Historian How Conceptual Frameworks are Developed in History History meaning "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation" is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research, which uses a narrative to examine and analyze the sequence of events, and it sometimes attempts to investigate objectively the patterns of cause and effect that determine events.

Note: To become competent in history, the learner must learn to think like a historian, and the learner needs to learn history in a way that develops competence in history – the information is useful in reason and thinking.

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“Almost invariably history will be organized chronologically, with a macrostructure scheme composed of major eras of time being covered. History is narrative (tells a story) by nature, but involves as much interpretation as reporting, Introductory history texts tend to emphasize the latter. Pace and Pugh recommend an architectural metaphor for readers so that they build meaningful structures out of what may seem like masses of detail. They offered the metaphor of acting as a detective … to convey what historians do an how they think. This involves sorting through concepts and their details, then organizing the concepts and details. (Caverly, 2002).

The Big Questions in History Learning Activities will Expand Around The Big Three Questions Whether getting an overview of a chapter or reading the chapter, the reader should always have three question they are asking: 1. {What Do I Know} What do I already know? (Dendrites of Prior Knowledge) 2. {Are There Explanations or Examples} Are there explanations or examples in the book and do I know any examples of the concept being considered? (Connection to Dendrites of Prior Knowledge) 3. {Prediction} Can I predict where this is going? (Anticipate what is next)

These Three Questions Can Expand Into: • Why am I reading this selection? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

• What do I already know about what I am Reading? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

• Where is this heading/ what is coming next?

(Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at every level of the six levels of the neocortext he same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”) • How can I use this information? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at every level of the six levels of the neocortex the same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”) 87

• What cognitive strategies do I have for strengthening new learning. (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced. Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow from stimulating experiences. Use it or lose it.)

• How does this apply to my own life? (“Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced.” Smilkstein) Understanding Facts and Ideas in the Context of a Conceptual Framework (Timelines) Timelines not only provide a conceptual framework for history, but also help the learner organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval.

“Timelines provide structure. Timelines have several things going for them. They provide a structure on which you can overlay information. Whether your timeline is horizontal, vertical, spiral or circular (as in the geological clock on the left), think of a timeline as the framework for your content. If your content consists of a progression in any way, see if you can creatively work it into this type of format.

Timelines are a good source for interactions. Asking learners to build their own timeline or to drag and drop events on a timeline can make an effective online learning activity.”

Elements of Timeline Language To understand a graphical timeline, the viewer needs to understand both its conventional and novel visual language. Timelines typically have a minimum of four visual elements: • A way to depict the trajectory or path of time (conventionally, these run left to right or top to bottom) • Elements that define each point or segment of time (often a line or shape) • Elements that define each event (text and/or graphic) • Text labels and call-outs (used on the trajectory and elsewhere)(Malamed, 2012)

Timelines enable chunking. Another ideal feature of timelines is that by their nature, they chunk information. Because events on a timeline occur at a point in time or during a segment of time, you’re residing in a chunking environment.

Chunk away!

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S ECTION 5

Psychology

The Big Questions or Conceptual Framework Writers of college textbook tend to systematically organize the concepts of the discipline. That organization is referred to as a conceptual framework. The organizational pattern of discipline textbooks can vary based on the purpose of the discipline. In the Accelerated Co-Requisite Reading to Learn Model (ACRLM) of instruction, among of the first things a learner needs to know is 1.

What is the big question(s) that the discipline being read about is trying to answer or observe?

2.

How is the content organized around that big question?

For the reader a conceptual framework is a group of concepts they will be learning that has been systematically organized to help the reader interpret and integrate the new information they are reading. The reader needs to learn how to identify or create the big picture question of the discipline. In this section we will look at how conceptual frameworks are created and the answers to those question for sociology, biology, history, business and psychology. This is key for building activities for understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.

Psychology: Thinking Like a Psychologist What is Psychology? Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. Psychology explores a variety of questions about feelings, thoughts and actions. Psychologists have greatly increased our understanding of why people act as they do through their research findings.

The answer to those two question provide the rationale for the activities that help a reader â&#x20AC;&#x153;understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework.â&#x20AC;?

Examples of the Big Questions from Different Disciplines 89

How Conceptual Frameworks are Developed in Psychology The Big Questions in Psychology Learning Activities will Expand Around The Big Three Questions Whether getting an overview of a chapter or reading the chapter, the reader should always have three question they are asking: 1. {What Do I Know} What do I already know? (Dendrites of Prior Knowledge) 2. {Are There Explanations or Examples} Are there explanations or examples in the book and do I know any examples of the concept being considered? (Connection to Dendrites of Prior Knowledge) 3. {Prediction} Can I predict where this is going? (Anticipate what is next) These Three Questions Can Expand Into:

• Where is this heading/what is coming next? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at every level of the six levels of the neocortext he same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”) • How can I use this information? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there. The brain learns by predicting) (at every level of the six levels of the neocortex the same heuristic is repeated—“matching sensory input to stored patterns and predicting what will happen next”) • What cognitive strategies do I have for strengthening new learning. (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced. Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow from stimulating experiences. Use it or lose it.)

• How does this apply to my own life? (“Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow for what is actively, personally, and specifically experienced and practiced.” Smilkstein)

• Why am I reading this selection? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

• What do I already know about what I am Reading? (Dendrites, synapse, and neural networks grow only from what is already there.)

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Anatomy and Physiology Below is the conceptual framework around which everything to be learned in anatomy and physiology is organized. The reader needs as they are reading related what they are learning to this conceptual framework if they want deep learning to occur.

Understanding how the information being learned is systematically organized is essential for deep learning and the graphics below provide the most fundamental organization in anatomy and physiology. -namely the levels of structural organization. This provides the foundation for understanding the organ system levels as seen on the next page. It is the building of this conceptual framework that will enable the learner to understand more complex concepts they will encounter in later readings.

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M ATH

and then choose the most appropriate ones. This process of awareness is referred to by many names - metacognition, reflection, mindfulness; however, they all refer to actively taking control of ones thinking while learning.

What is the Key Cognitive Strategy?

“Vocabulary knowledge is as essential to learning mathematics as it is to learning how to read.

Students learn mathematics best by using it, and understanding the language of math gives students the skills they need to think about, talk about, and assimilate new math concepts as they are introduced” (Chard).

Think About, Talk About and Assimilate Refer back to chapter one on “reflection”, which is the key to what learners can do during those moments of reflection when the brain is focused on what the reader needs to do while reading to consolidate newly learned information into long-term memory - reflection.

It is the stepping back and observing one thinking (reflection) that is the foundation upon which deep learning builds.

Stepping back and reflecting is about taking control of learning while reading and learning. Reflection gives us the space of mind in which we can consider various options for learning

It is the stepping back and observing one thinking (reflection) that is the foundation upon which deep learning builds.

Stepping back and reflecting is about taking control of learning while reading. Reflection gives us the space of mind in which we can consider various options for learning and then choose the most appropriate ones. This process of awareness is referred to by many names - metacognition, reflection, mindfulness; however, they all refer to actively taking control of ones thinking while learning.

Overarching Goal for Reading/Learning Math The learner will employ thinking reading strategies for developing competence in math.

Research: By learning in ways that develop competence in math, students can more readily apply math knowledge acquired in one context to another context; math becomes useful beyond the math course. If math is not learned using cognitive strategies that develop competence, math procedures are quickly forgotten.

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When reading math textbooks, the reader should be looking for • new terminology, and • examples of that terminology from real life, • steps in procedures and • the math terminology used to explain the procedures • along with examples of each step of the procedure from real life.

Understanding facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework When we systematically organize the concepts in the chapter, we develop a conceptual framework. Fortunately, the textbook authors generally do that for us under the title, Fractions and Mixed Numbers, the headings and subheadings.

The conceptual framework for chapter 14 is Fractions and Mixed Numbers and the concepts related to Fractions and Mixed Numbers are all the math vocabulary, and steps required to solve problems.

Mind Mapping Math Knowledge, Procedures and Concepts Mind Mapping for a Procedure The name of the math procedure should be the center of the map (ex. Writing Mixed Numbers (2 ½) as an Improper Fraction).

Each main branch off the center of the map should have printed on it a step in the procedure being learned using math language. (Ex. Multiply the denominator of the fraction by the whole number. Hint: use abbreviations) Off each main branch should be examples of the numbers and symbols representing the step being learned. (ex. 2 ½, write 2 X 2 = 4) 94

Also, off the main branch should be a drawing of a concrete example representing the concept being learned. (ex. Draw 3 cookies being cut in half)

Mind Mapping for a Concept The name of the main concepts in the reading selection should be in the center of the map (ex. Proper Fractions, Improper Fractions and Mixed Numbers) Each main branch off the center of the map should have printed on it new terminology (ex. Proper fraction) Off of each main branch should be examples of number representing new words. (ex. Proper fraction 2/3; Improper fraction 7/5; Mixed number 2 ¼ Also off each branch should be a drawing of a concrete example representing the new terminology. (ex. For Mixed number, draw three pizzas and one ¼th slices of pizza for 3 ¼.

Using Rules of Consolidation When New Math Information is Found 1. Deliberately re-expose yourself to the information if you want to retrieve it later.

2. Deliberately re-expose yourself to the information more elaborately if you want the retrieval to be of higher quality. “More elaborately” means thinking, talking or writing about what was just read.

Any mental activity in which the reader slows down and mentally tries to connect what they are reading to what they already know is elaboration. (It is very impor95

tant to try and find real life examples in the text at this time.)

3. Deliberately re-expose yourself to the information more elaborately, and in fixed intervals, if you want the retrieval to be the most vivid it can be. (Medina) Fixed Time Intervals for Re-exposing and Elaborating As the reader identifies what is important while reading, stop and re-expose onesself to the information and elaborate on the it (have an internal dialogue, what do you already know about what you are reading, write about it (take notes in your own words), explain it to yourself out loud.

When you come to a new topic or paragraph, explain to yourself what you have just read; this is re-exposure to the information.

When you finish studying, take a few minutes to reexpose yourself to the information and elaborate.

Within 90 minutes to 2 hours, re-expose yourself to the information and elaborate.

Review again the next day as soon as you can.

The Point 1. All strong learning strategies help the learner interconnect new information to the learnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prior knowledge, which results in growing new dendrites (learning).

2. New dendrites formed by new learning start to be reabsorbed by the brain (forgetting) if they are not strengthened. The most powerful learning strategies increase the size of the myelin sheath (by re-exposure with elaboration) around the axons in the neural pathways leading to the new learning (dendrites). These strategies always involve reexposing the learner to the newly learned information with elaboration. Elaboration means that the learner attempts with every re-exposure to the new learning to in some way have an dialogue about what they are learning that ties what they are learning to what they already know. For example, saying what is being learned in the learnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own words.

Guessing and Predicting Guessing and predicting before and as one is reading (or working a problem) during moments of reflection is a powerful strategy. It is counter-intuitive, but effective. It is especially effective when learning math concepts and procedures. The research has found that students who predict what is coming next or what an answer learn better even if they are wrong and in many instances they learn better when they are initially wrong.

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Visualization Concept imagery is a critical factor in cognition, including language comprehension, language expression, and analytical thinking. Imaging is the sensory input that connects us to language we hear and language we read. We create an imaged gestalt (whole) from language concepts and from this whole we can do higher order thinking skills: get the main idea, make an inference, draw a conclusion, predict, and evaluate. In short, the imaged gestalt is the basis for language processing, for reasoning and creating. Einstein said, “If I can't picture it, I can't understand it.”

Concept imagery is a sensory-cognitive factor basic to analytical thinking and language comprehension – critical factors in higher order thinking skills. Imaging is the sensory input that connects us to language we hear and language we read. (Worthington) In anatomy and physiology, it is easy to want to memorize the parts of the body or pieces of information; however, such a learning approach does little to develop the relationship that exists between anatomy and physiology. Without an understanding of that relationship organization, learning often fails to become meaningful. Anatomy is the “study of the structure and shape of the body and its parts in relationship to one another.” Physiology is the “study of how the body parts work and function.” Information becomes meaningful when what the reader is reading is interconnected with what the reader

already knows and has just learned. It becomes useful when the relationships become organized into a conceptual framework.

Text and Illustrations To get a quick overview of how the anatomy and physiology textbook is organized, look at Chapter 1, pages 326–349.

One of the first things the reader notices is that there are lots of illustrations of body parts. Everything you read about will have an illustration.

That is the key to learning anatomy and physiology. The reader who ignores the illustrations will quickly find themselves being overwhelmed by the volume of information in an anatomy and physiology textbook. The organization of information and the illustrations are the keys to learning that match the way the brain learns naturally. All illustrations have labels that link the reader back to the text being read. If the reader has not read the introductory chapters at the beginning of this reading textbook, Taking Control of Reading, now is a good time to do so. Much of this section is based on the information in those chapters.

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Cognitive Strategies and Elaborations The same cognitive strategies and elaborations that were used in earlier sections of the text apply in this section. For example, {Question/Read}, find {Explanations/Examples}, and {Recite} all apply to anatomy and physiology. The major shift in thinking while reading anatomy and physiology will be {Connecting Illustration to Text}, and a shift from mind mapping to {Drawing Structures/Labeling}. {Drawing/Labeling} and {Redrawing/Labeling} What is the strategy? Understanding the content of many textbooks, especially the sciences, is heavily dependent on having a mental image of the concept being learned. For example, anatomy and physiology, or the major area of psychologyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;biological psychologyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; are always heavily illustrated. In these kinds of textbooks, the reader needs to make a connection between the information being read and illustration(s) with the labels that visually show what is being learned.

How the strategy reinforces learning (how the brain learns naturally)? Words and their meanings are stored in one part of the brain and visual images are stored in another part. The connection between words and their imagery are important for constructing meaning and conceptual understanding. Remember, anatomy is structures or body parts. Without an image (anatomy) with which to apply how body parts work

and function (physiology), learning has little prior knowledge with which to construct meaning.

When and why the strategy should be applied? Always look for an illustration for any concept the reader encounters while reading. Explanations and examples help make this connection to text in textbooks such as sociology, but the hard sciences need to connect new concepts to illustrations. Redrawing an illustration and labeling its parts is an excel- lent way to strengthen newly grown dendrites Cognitive Strategies and Elaborations The same cognitive strategies and elaborations that were used in earlier sections of the text apply in this section. For example, {Question/Read}, find {Explanations/Examples}, and {Recite} all apply to anatomy and physiology. The major shift in thinking while reading anatomy and physiology will be {Connecting Illustration to Text}, and a shift from mind mapping to {Drawing Structures/Labeling}. Reread about the other cognitive strategies and elaborations in the first few chapter of this textbook, Taking Control of Reading, if you have not already done so. {Drawing/Labeling} and {Redrawing/Labeling} What is the strategy? Understanding the con-tent of many textbooks, especially the sciences, is heavily dependent on having a mental image of the concept being learned. For example, 98

anatomy and physiology, or the major area of psychologyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;biological psychologyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are always heavily illustrated. In these kinds of textbooks, the reader needs to make a connection between the information being read and illustration(s) with the labels that visually show what is being learned.

How the strategy reinforces learning (how the brain learns naturally)? Words and their meanings are stored in one part of the brain and visual images are stored in another part. The connection between words and their imagery are important for constructing meaning and conceptual understanding. Remember, anatomy is structures or body parts. Without an image (anatomy) with which to apply how body parts work and function (physiology), learning has little prior knowledge with which to construct meaning.

When and why the strategy should be applied? Always look for an illustration for any concept the reader encounters while reading. Explanations and examples help make this connection to text in textbooks such as sociology, but the hard sciences need to connect new concepts to illustrations. Redrawing an illustration and labeling its parts is an excel- lent way to strengthen newly grown dendrites.

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