I vividly remember sitting in my second grade class and listening to my teacher read to us about the Statue of Liberty. There was one picture in our textbook, but that was about all. I just couldn't picture in my mind the boats that came through Ellis Island and what all of the people on board looked like. I found myself wandering away from my teacher's words and thinking about something else. As I have been reading about cognitive learning, I have come to realize even more how important it is to make those links or connections through as many avenues as possible. Last year, as I was teaching my own class about the Statue of Liberty, I remembered my experience and how I struggled to remember anything that my teacher had taught me. I could see that I was loosing my students also. To keep that from happening, I logged onto scholastic.com and found a wonderful virtual tour showing the actual boats pulling in and people getting off and stepping into their new life. It's amazing to see the women's dresses and scarves, along with the men in their best suits and hats. Showing this has made an immediate connection with my students and led us into a discussion comparing and contrasting people of today and yesteryear. It was far from the lesson I was taught!
I think as teachers we all recognize the importance of such tools as concept mapping and virtual tours and field trips (just to name a few), and making those connections to make learning more meaningful. I have found that bringing learning to "life" leads even my young learners into deeper discussions and gives them a greater understanding of that which we are studying.
Amy
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You raise an point when you state " how important it is to make thoe links or connection through as many avenues as possible." I think our learning this week about virtual field trips makes it possible to create experiences in the classroom for our children who may never have an opportunity to make personal visits.
ReplyDeleteYou are right - the key to learning is all about connections. Finding any way for students to relate and connect with the concepts they are learning is such a must in the classroom. It not only increases the opportunities for students to remember what they have learned but it also creates life-long learners because they are much more engaged and eager to learn about things they can relate to.
ReplyDeleteI just watched Kathryn's former student's PPT on the Holocaust. First of all it gave me chills to watch the images along with the music. After I wiped away my tears, I thought about the connections that just that short PPT made for me as an adult. I think something like this is a great way to begin a unit of study. It gives them a true way to relate and connect even before they start to learn about the subject. I believe the same can be said of the virtual field trips.
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