User:Switzermc21/Sit and Get


 * "Sit and Get" Won't Grow Dendrites is a professional learning guide written by Marcia L. Tate, Ed. D., and former Director of Professional Development for the DeKalb County School System in Decatur, Georgia. Tate has a 30 years of experience as a teacher, reading specialist, language arts coordinator, and staff development executive director .  "Sit and Get" details 20 different strategies teachers can use to help retention of information in a teaching session.

Strategy 1: Brainstorming and Discussion

 * In an attempt to access many levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, this brainstorming and discussion strategy gives students the opportunity to master incredible amounts of content. Examples of this strategy in use might include:


 * Allow students to circle the room and discuss items
 * Have students offer input to a topic (students must have prior knowledge of topic)
 * Offer an opened-ended question with multiple answers
 * Use the DOVE Guidelines (Defer judgment when others are responding, One idea at a time, Variety of ideas, and Energy from everyone for the task
 * Use Socratic Seminar
 * Start with major concepts you want the students to know
 * Formulate questions to encourage participation
 * Have speakers sit in inner circle, note takers sit in outer circle
 * Start the discussion with a "core" question about the topic
 * After a designated amount of time, have students offer summary statements
 * Debrief and reflect on how to improve discussion time
 * Students form groups based on a similar interest, research, and discuss their interests
 * Pick a seasonal partner with which to have a conversation with only during specific times of the year
 * Give students a limited time to brainstorm as many possibilities as they can (eg. 2 minutes)
 * To recall information, have groups discuss as many points as possible that were presented from a previous lesson in a short amount of time
 * Create a "parking lot" for post-it notes- students take the notes, write a discussion question, then park them in the lot. The teacher selects a note to discuss.


 * Brainstorming and discussions are relatively simple ways to engage the learner's brain.

Strategy 2: Drawing and Artwork

 * Drawing and Artwork strategies allow the brain to engage thinking across curriculum . Some ways of incorporating artwork include:


 * Draw a picture that represents the content learned
 * Work in groups to create a wall mural or graffiti
 * Work in groups to draw a doodle page of the content covered
 * Illustrate steps involved in a process
 * Attach notes to a diagram representing the eight categories of a person or group
 * Draw pictures to reinforce vocabulary terms
 * Cut out pictures from a magazine or newspaper to create a directed collage on a topic
 * Draw scenes that show particular events
 * "Expressing oneself artistically has extreme value for total cognitive and personal development."

Strategy 3: Field Trips

 * Field trips actually refers to three different types:


 * 1) Taking the class somewhere
 * 2) Taking the class on a virtual field trip from the comfort of the classroom
 * 3) Allowing guests to come to the classroom
 * Experiencing information allows students to apply theory and knowledge to specific situations. Here are some helpful ways to incorporate a field trip into the classroom:


 * Contact local agencies who can accommodate your class
 * Talk to administrators or other teachers
 * Search the web for possible field trip ideas
 * Try Tramline
 * Look in your community for opportunities or real world problems to solve
 * Consider instant messaging, video conferencing, or web conferencing
 * Have your students meet for class in a new location
 * All of these can help to facilitate learning in a new environment.

Strategy 4: Games

 * Games, if done correctly and appropriately, present a motivational way for learners to approach content and instruction. Some game ideas include:


 * Three truths and a lie
 * Write three things that are true about yourself, and one that is false. Meet people and guess which facts are which.
 * Create a board game that covers content
 * Construct a Jeopardy! type game to review instructional ideas
 * Play bingo using vocabulary definitions and words instead of numbers
 * Play charades with concept terms or ideas
 * If reviewing steps or procedures, toss a ball to find out who gives the next step or procedure
 * Play Who Am I?
 * Students guess who you are based on a sequence of clues
 * Have students develop, teach, and play a game that they have constructed based on the content
 * Games allow for creativity and lighten the climate of the classroom.

Strategy 5: Graphic Organizers

 * Graphic Organizers are visual ways of presenting information. Some graphic organizers include:


 * Flowcharts
 * Pie Charts
 * Right Angle
 * Spectrum
 * Fishbone
 * Agree/ Disagree chart
 * Ranking Leader
 * Mind Maps
 * Sequence Charts
 * K-W-L Charts

Strategy 6: Humor and Celebration

 * Giving a humorous story or anecdote can help secure the attention of a listener, and lock the story into long term memory. Humor also "enlivens participants, reduces tension, and increases productivity and creativity .  Some humorous activities may include:


 * Teach concepts with riddles or limericks
 * Design original cartoons or funny stories
 * Show appreciation in odd ways
 * Give high-fives
 * Snap fingers
 * Give a "thumbs up"
 * Share a joke
 * Post funny sayings or quotes
 * Celebrate achievements or successes with notes, awards, or other special recognition

Strategy 7: Manipulatives and Models

 * Allowing hands on experiences gives information a chance to lock into long-term memory, especially in technology. Here are some ways to use manipulatives and models:


 * Have students construct a model representing the content
 * Students place objects in categories
 * Create "lab" situations where students manipulate variables and uncover outcomes
 * Have students demonstrate understanding using hand signals
 * Thumbs up/ down
 * Five fingers/ two fingers
 * Pat/ Scratch head
 * Use high-fives, handshakes, and positive touches in explaining content
 * Give students an opportunity to handle objects used in lesson
 * Students can create a yes/no or agree/ disagree note card to show during instruction

Strategy 8: Metaphors, Analogies, and Similes

 * When teaching, use comparisons and word pictures to aid in instruction. Grasping new and complex subjects is easier for students if they can tie it to a metaphor, simile, or analogy.  Some strategies for using these word pictures include:


 * Relate a new concept to a concept that the students already grasp
 * e.g. Parts of Speech are like a recipe
 * Compare pieces of information that are related to parts of the body
 * Show how two things are related, and make it similar to two other related things
 * e.g. Hand is to the arm as the foot is to the leg
 * Have students write how two objects are similar
 * Have students write how two objects are different
 * Make a word picture that describes a new concept
 * Use if/ then/ because statements to relate new information
 * e.g. If people were animals, then teachers would be owls because they are wise.

Strategy 9: Mnemonic Devices

 * Mnemonic is a strategy that uses word associations to aid in memorizing information. Mnemonic devices include:


 * Acronyms- NCLB stands for "No Child Left Behind"
 * Acrostics- Using the first letter of each word in a phrase to create an easier to remember phrase
 * Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge is an acrostic to aid in remembering the names of the notes on a scale.
 * Have students create their own acronyms or acrostics from content
 * Students can create slogans or phrases to describe new information
 * Students can memorize a series of letters by chunking the letters into groups that make sense
 * e.g. CIAFBIUSTVBUS can be broken into CIA, FBI, US, TV, and BUS
 * Rhyme and make other associations to remember information
 * e.g. 1=sun, 2=shoe, 3=tree, etc.

Strategy 10: Movement

 * Getting students out of there seats and moving can aid in retaining information and new concepts. Adding movement to a lesson provides extra sensory input for the brain, which more than likely facilitates learning .  Movement strategies may include:


 * When students want to answer "yes," they stand; "no," they sit
 * Give some students vocabulary words and the remaining students definitions. Allow students to circulate until all vocabulary words are matched with their definition
 * Place posters around the room with content ideas written on them. Have students rotate to the different posters and add information learned about that poster's idea
 * Create a continuum line and have students align themselves along the continuum based on their understanding or levels or trust, etc.
 * Students move to designated areas of the room that correspond with their own viewpoints
 * Design lessons that incorporate both the left and right hand at the same time
 * Have students give as much information from the lesson as they can to a partner while standing on one foot. When the foot drops, the partner picks up their foot and continues
 * "Twenty years of research have shown that movement puts learners, whether kindergarteners or college students, in an appropriate state for learning ."

Strategy 11: Music, Rhythm, Rhyme, and Rap

 * Playing music or incorporating rhythm into a lesson can stimulate moods and increase understanding. Some ways to include music, rhythm, rhyme, or rap into a lesson include:


 * Play appropriate music as students enter/ leave a room
 * Play music during times when students are in transition
 * Be specific and use contemporary music to augment lessons
 * Have students "rap" the content taught
 * Students can create a rhyme or a poem to help understand instruction
 * Incorporate instructional content and ideas into lyrics to common songs
 * Use haiku, iambic pentameter, cinquain, or other poetic devices to explain/ review content

Strategy 12: Project- and Problem- Based Learning

 * Presenting real-world problems and project based learning allows the brain to function in a way that is closest to its evolved purpose . Furthermore, problem based learning enables participants to link past knowledge with new knowledge.  Problem based learning strategies may include:


 * Have students implement and plan a project based on content learned
 * Present real-life problems that can be solved with new instruction
 * Have students organize into groups and give individual members specific tasks, and the group a problem that can only be attempted by all members of the group
 * Video tape students doing a presentation, have them analyze and reflect on their presentation
 * Students create portfolios demonstrating knowledge they have acquired during instruction

===Strategy 13: Reciprocal Teaching, Cooperative Learning, and Peer Coaching ===
 * Reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning enables each member of a group to be individually accountable for a task, but also concerned about the success of all group members. In order for this strategy to be effective, ongoing support from the group needs to happen for the assimilation of new knowledge.  Ways to use reciprocal teaching, cooperative learning, and peer coaching may include:


 * Students turn to each other and talk about information presented from a lesson
 * In a group of 7, have each member responsible for a chapter, and teaching that chapter to other members of the group
 * Assign roles to members to help facilitate learning:
 * 1) Presenter: Presents findings to the class
 * 2) Recorder: Writes down answers or ideas
 * 3) Timekeeper: Informs group when time is half over or when only a minute remains
 * 4) Encourager: Helps and encourages members of the group
 * 5) Observer: Informs participants how well they are using group social skills
 * Have students work in pairs or small groups to compare answers
 * Students can review vocabulary in pairs with flashcards
 * After completing an activity, one member visits other groups and report information back to their group
 * One person in the group is the expert to guise the other group members in a task
 * Have students "shadow" another student or offer a chance for a student to be a "peer mentor"

Strategy 14: Role-plays, Drama, Pantomimes, and Charades

 * Role plays and dramas give students an opportunity to learn in a simulated reality. "Role plays increase the opportunities for understanding and retaining information because key concepts are put in the context of the learning situation ."  Ways to use role play include:


 * Different students can represent different parts of a whole, and act those parts in conjunction with the others
 * Participants take on the personality of a person or animal studied
 * Establish a peer court to demonstrate the legal system
 * Students act out scenes from books or movies
 * Students pantomime concepts previously taught as review
 * Students write and perform a TV news program to teach content

Strategy 15: Storytelling

 * Before written word, stories were told to convey information and values. Today, stories come in the shape of books, fables, myths, art, and even movies or music.  Telling stories can be a powerful and effective way to present information.  Storytelling strategies include:


 * Open a lesson with a short, humorous story
 * Associate a story with each new concept taught
 * Create a story that helps explain a multi-step process
 * Have students retell stories that are pertinent to instruction
 * Students can invent stories to help retain information
 * Act and tell a story to teach about values
 * Give personal testimonies
 * Tell a history of a school, student, or teacher
 * Write a movie or song that conveys a story about content

Strategy 16 : Technology

 * Technology brings a wealth of information and activities directly to a classroom. Computers also enable a student to be engaged in material and teaches skills for a technological world .  Ways to incorporate technology include:


 * Students complete webquests
 * Access websites to find strategies for teaching and learning
 * Allow students to start and contribute to blogs
 * Teach via a web conference
 * Sign up students for school-safe email accounts, like at Gaggle.net
 * Create online newsletters
 * Use software for learning opportunities
 * Utilize presentation tools like Microsoft Word and Powerpoint
 * Find computer software that disaggregates and analyzes student data

Strategy 17: Visualization

 * Visualization allows the brain to process information prior to it happening in reality. Visualization is a powerful tool for reorganizing known information and locking it into long-term memory.  Visualization techniques include:


 * Have students imagine what kinds of grades they desire or what kind of people they want to become
 * Talk about what an ideal classroom would look like with students
 * Create images for vocabulary words
 * Students tell visual stories to explain concepts or detail processes
 * During a lesson, ask students to envision the circumstances of the content

Strategy 18: Visuals

 * Visuals break up the monotony of a lecture, and give another point of reference for the learner. Visuals can also add importance and emphasis to content.  Visuals in a lesson include:


 * Powerpoints- a few is good, too many is actually bad for learning
 * charts, posters, and agendas
 * Overhead projector
 * Videos and projected computer images
 * Dry Erase boards
 * Symbols, icons, and other concrete images
 * Graphic Organizers
 * Show excerpts from videos, movies, or TV
 * Give handouts that allow students to modify or take notes
 * Place visuals on the walls that reinforce content, like cartoons, newspapers, book covers, etc.

Strategy 19: Work Study and Action Research

 * Work study gives students an opportunity to take what they have learned and apply it in a continual process. This strategy deals more with the follow-up to information, rather than the presentation of information.  Action research and work study applications may include:


 * Pair students to mentor each other over the course of a month
 * Following a lesson, give time for students to group and discuss the implications of the lesson
 * Teachers use research to uncover why students are not understanding a concept, and how to teach the concept for understanding
 * Allow students to "shadow" other students when implementing content or ideas

Strategy 20: Writing and Reflection

 * Students often need time to reflect and write about new concepts in order to retain the information. Guided opportunities to reflect and journal actually help the learner .  Writing and reflection activities may include:


 * Students write words or phrases related to the topic
 * Students rewrite as much information from presentation as possible in short intervals
 * Students design a web article or newspaper editorial from content
 * Give students a personal journal to add thoughts to
 * Allow students to write with a purpose, like persuade or explain
 * Give students to write and respond to situations presented
 * Have students write a "headline" to summarize information