(R/D 12)
As someone who looks to integrate various media into my daily instruction using whatever tools I have, I read with interest the ideas and suggestions in Ch. 30. The chapter was focused on rich media as it relates to computer-based instruction, however it seems logical that the concepts can be brought into a discussion on classroom based instruction which uses computer-generated or displayed media as an instructional tool. For example, I found the study which was referred to on p. 315 conducted by Mayer et. al. to be solid evidence for using images to supplement class discussions. He states "students learn better from words and pictures than from words alone" (p. 413). This would support my practice of displaying imgages or short movie clips over the TV screen (connected to my computer) to add to class discussion of curriculum or other learning situations. The "Communication functions of graphics" (Table 30.1 p. 317) then served as a reference for categorizing the use of such media. From that table I can now communicate to you and any of my collegeagues that the majority of the time when I use such images or clips in my lessons that they serve as Representational or Mnemomic.
For example when we talk about "big numbers" or exponents in math, there is a great website that shows what a football stadium would look like with a certain amount of pennies stacked in it (say 1 billion). This is a graphic that is not in our textbook that I am able to add to our lesson with the help of technology. A mnemonic image I might pull up could be a silly picture of something from Flickr that represents a mnemonic device like Never Eat Soggy Wheat (for the compass rose).
Some more great concepts were reviewed for classroom teachers or really anyone who presents information to others in the sections which discussed the "seven plus or minus two chunks" and other "K.I.S.S." principles. It is always a good reminder for us that students (and adults for that matter) can only process so much information at a time, and that when we are presenting things we need to do so in such a way that most optimizes learning. Sometimes I know that it is easy to get up there in front of the class on 'my pedastal' and just talk away because we have so much curriculum to cover. But silly me, humans just don't learn by me TELLING them! So as the authors presented evidence for "minimizing irrelvant audio" it really hit home that it should always be in the back of my mind to Keep It Simple, Stupid and to limit distractions-especially from unecessary technology. I do like to put on low calming background music when students are working independently and silently, especially when they are writing. I don't know if the studies mentioned in ch. 30 directly would correlate to this situation, but it is something for me to keep in mind as well.
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2 comments:
Brad,
I agree with you that as teachers we need to teach our students in many other ways than just through lecture. I often look to technology to enhance my lessons and provide connections to prior knowledge. For example, during my unit on exponential functions, I created a PowerPoint presentation about how exponential functions can be seen in the world in such ways as population growth. It was highly motivating for the students and connected to real life events. In regards to music, I also play music in the background that is instrumental. According to other research, playing instrumental music that is 60 beats per minute helps the brain to focus. I tried it on myself and it worked. It was also a success with my class last year. I plan to continue playing music.
Thanks,
Mary M.
As the information age continues to gain momentum so does the importance of being reminded of (or learning) the information presented in Chapter 30. As I read through this chapter I too recalled the importance of applying the K.I.S.S. principle (unfortunately, this is NOT always a strong point of mine). When using this acronym with students I substitute Silly for the last S---actually I find this to be a little more gentle style of self-talk too :-)
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