Help your students pay attention by: Creating eye-catching displays at the beginning of lessons Underlining or highlighting written and spoken words Calling students by name Creating surprise events Asking intriguing questions Using a variety of teaching methods Changing your voice level and pacing during the lesson Use signals and give short, clear direction

Help your students pay attention by:

Creating eye-catching displays at the beginning of lessons

Underlining or highlighting written and spoken words

Calling students by name

Creating surprise events

Asking intriguing questions

Using a variety of teaching methods

Changing your voice level and pacing during the lesson

Use signals and give short, clear direction

Strategies for helping students retain that information: Elaborative rehearsal: have them connect the information to something they already know and hold in their memory (have them tell themselves a story) Maintenance Rehearsal: have them repeat the information in their mind Chunking: have them group individual bits of information (works best with numbers)

Strategies for helping students retain that information:

Elaborative rehearsal:

have them connect the information to something they already know and hold in their memory (have them tell themselves a story)

Maintenance Rehearsal:

have them repeat the information in their mind

Chunking:

have them group individual bits of information (works best with numbers)

Elaboration: add meaning to new information by connecting it to already existing knowledge Organization: better organized material improves learning Context: aspects of physical and emotional context (places, rooms, moods) influence how we learn ***The more completely information is processed, the better our chances are of remembering it***

Elaboration:

add meaning to new information by connecting it to already existing knowledge

Organization:

better organized material improves learning

Context:

aspects of physical and emotional context (places, rooms, moods) influence how we learn

Teach: Planning: how much time to give to a task Monitoring: real time awareness of how they are doing during the task Evaluating: making judgments about the processes and outcomes of their task

Teach:

Planning:

how much time to give to a task

Monitoring:

real time awareness of how they are doing during the task

Evaluating:

making judgments about the processes and outcomes of their task

Use the mnemonic device… DEFENDS D = decide on the audience, goals, and position E = estimate main ideas and details F = figure best order of main ideas and details E =express your position in the opening N =note each main idea and supporting points D =drive home the message in the last sentence S =search for errors and correct

***Things become meaningful when they are assimilated into existing schemas and are associated with other information in long-term memory*** How to make things meaningful to your students: Present lessons in vocabulary that makes sense to the student Clarify new words through ties with more familiar words and ideas Introduce well-organized lessons with clear connections between the different elements of the lesson Make natural use of old information to help students understand new information through examples or analogies Visual images along with explanations give students multiple ways to understand and interpret information

How to make things meaningful to your students:

Present lessons in vocabulary that makes sense to the student

Clarify new words through ties with more familiar words and ideas

Introduce well-organized lessons with clear connections between

the different elements of the lesson

Make natural use of old information to help students understand

new information through examples or analogies

Visual images along with explanations give students multiple ways to understand and interpret information

Mnemonics (systematic procedures for improving memory): Loci method: First imagine a familiar place and every time you have a list to remember, place one of your items onto a ‘peg’ in one of these locations…to remember the item, take an imaginary walk through the location Acronym: word formed from the first letter of each word or sentence Chain mnemonics: methods that connect the first item to be memorized with the second, and so on Have them talk about “what they know and what they don’t know” at the beginning of a lesson Have them talk about thinking and keep a thinking journal so they are more self-aware

Mnemonics (systematic procedures for improving memory):

Loci method: First imagine a familiar place and every time you have a list to remember, place one of your items onto a ‘peg’ in one of these locations…to remember the item, take an imaginary walk through the location

Acronym: word formed from the first letter of each word or sentence

Chain mnemonics: methods that connect the first item to be memorized with the second, and so on

Have them talk about “what they know and what they don’t know” at the beginning of a lesson

Have them talk about thinking and keep a thinking journal so they are more self-aware

Woolfolk, A. (2007). Educational Psychology (10 th ed.) Boston: Pearson Education.