Chapter 6- ED PSYCH 410- Gabrielle Ambrose

Some of the things I want my students to be able to do in relation to cognitive learning include: being able to elaborate on topics presented in class, being able to apply knowledge to their long-term memory through the use of mnemonics and also being able to focus on the lesson and content being presented.

I believe it is extremely important for students to elaborate on topics presented in class because this implies that they understand the material and that they are able to apply what they have learned to real world concepts. For example, if I was teaching a lesson on the Civil Rights movement, I could ask questions such as, “Explain why African Americans and Caucasians were not able to use the same restroom during these times” or “Why did so many people gather at Washington in 1963 and what was their reasoning for gathering there? (The March on Washington)”. Questions like these would help students to recall facts and help them to know why certain events are important and how they changed history. These questions also give way for students to elaborate on the subject at hand.

Apply knowledge to long-term memory can be a difficult process; however, through the use of mnemonics, students will be able to remember facts more easily and they will be retrieved quickly when they are needed. Mnemonics can include: creating a song to remember facts, creating a poem to remember facts, or creating a word acronym to remember facts. Mnemonics help tremendously when trying to remember important information.

Trying to grab and hold onto the attention of students is an extremely difficult task. However, carefully choosing tactics to keep students attention can prove to be helpful during lessons. For example, giving students the chance to do something physically stimulating during the lesson can keep their attention. This would include creating a circle and giving one person a ball of yarn, having students name the different animals and plants in that habitat while passing the yarn to each other. Another fun activity to do during a lesson to keep students attention would include providing breaks in between the sections of the lesson so that students have a chance to process the information they have just learned.

My case study was the elementary case study in which one student is disrupting her peers and the peers at her table are disruptive as a result. The main student who is disrupting her peers would probably not execute this behavior if she was engaged in the lesson. Some things I could do to keep her engaged during the lesson would be to include physically involved things during the lesson, such as incorporating activities during the lesson that require movement. I could also give students a concept map to fill out during the lesson so that they stay engaged and focused on the lesson. By seeing the information and doing to act of writing the information out, students have a better chance of remembering the information they have just learned. Another thing I could do to keep her from disrupting her peers would be to incorporate different instructional methods into my lesson such as: moving students into different groups, having students interact with the classroom environment (have them measure items in the room if it is a lesson on length, area, etc.) and having students work on problems independently. By doing this, the students may be able to store these concepts into long-term memory by being able to apply their knowledge to different situations. Lastly, I could give students breaks in between major concepts of the lesson so that they have a chance to stretch and take in all of the new information that they have just learned. By keeping students involved in the classroom and being sensitive to their needs as far as taking in new information and processing this information, students can remain on task and actively engaged.