Cognitivism in Practice

I remember my 7th Grade American History class with fondness. Mrs. Harrison would require us to take copious amounts of notes on the subject matter. But, she did teach us how to correctly organize our notes into an outline format. I have used this same format for taking notes ever since (yes, even in this Master class.) But when I began teaching 6th Grade Earth Science, I was surprised to learn that the publishing company provided a note-taking workbook for each student. This note-taking workbook uses a variety of concept mapping and cognitive learning tools to help students retain subject matter. Word pyramids, triangle diagrams, web-clusters, picture diagrams are just some of the graphical organizers that are used in the book. I also notice that our Colorado Standardized Assessment Program (state test) now asks students to use graphic organizers to help plan and organize their ideas and thoughts for writing assessments. And where once these graphic organizers were not included in the test, they are now more prevalent throughout the assessment – in math, reading, writing, and science. I also notice an increase in the amount of pictures and diagrams used in the test. I remember the old California Achievement Tests (CAT) tests I took in Middle School. Multiple choice answers filled out on a bubble sheet.

If standardized testing is moving towards more visual learning, it is important to teachers to begin to incorporate these strategies into lesson plans. At our school, each teacher is provided with a laptop that can be connected to a Promethean Board. It is very easy to provide technology enhanced lessons that target visual and aural learners. It helps them activate prior knowledge and provides opportunity for elaboration. (Pitler 2007) One piece of technology that I use in almost every class is Google Earth. In Earth Science, I can zoom into any geographic area or region that we are covering that day. In American History, we can look at Oregon Trail river crossings, or Civil War battle fields. In music, we can travel to Mozart’s hometown, or zoom to New Orleans to see the birthplace of jazz. It is much too expensive to take my class on a field trip to the White House, but in a few clicks, we can take a personal tour online at our own leisure. Every student experiences the visual images of the experience and they remember those images better than just reading the text.

As students began to integrate more technology into their own learning, the need to present material to multiple senses becomes more important. In a few years, students will be carrying their own laptop from class to class. Textbooks will be replaced with on-line texts. Homework will be assigned and distributed via email and blog. It is vital that students process the information into a learning style that best helps them connect the information to their own unique learning style. Concept mapping and virtual field trips still present the same information as outlines and text – they just a new tools to help better organize ideas and information. And honestly, more fun.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD