I am discovering that the best way to teach students is by utilizing the principle of gradual progress. The presentation talks about mindless lectures and information overload. These two issues can be rectified by teaching a little bit every day. For example, when I was teaching my class about the eight elements of literature my first year, I presented them all in one day. The students were overwhelmed and didn’t remember any of the information a few weeks later. The following term, I taught plot one day. I modified the information into understandable language and gave them an activity. They didn’t have to sit still or quiet for more than five minutes. The next day, we talked about plot and characterization. They remembered everything from the day before. We learned one new term a day. A few weeks later, everyone remembered the information.
What you are referring to is also known as scaffolding and building on prior knowledge. The concepts come from cognitivism and brain-based learning research. Research has shown that our brains can't process more than 5-7 things at one time. That's why our social security numbers and phone numbers are hyphenated--to help up remember the long numbers easier. Another concept that goes along with this is the idea that we need to chunk information. That's why courses are broken into units which are then broken into lessons. Even the lessons chunk information into smaller, easier to digest pieces of information.
ReplyDeleteSomething else that helps students learn is active participation rather than passive reception. Also have them apply and use the information to help them retain it in their long term memory. How often have you given a vocabulary test on Friday and have students who score well only to have them not remember anything two weeks later. That's because they only had it in their short term memory for the test. Because they didn't use it and rehearse the information, they lost it.