When looking at Mr. Quella's curriculum for
sixth grade earth science, it appears rather standard. He employs the use
of journal entries, lab activities, reading activities and group discussion to
facilitate scientific learning. I observed all of these strategies executed in
class and did not ever unpack the reason for some of these activities or how these
instructional tools all work together.
.jpg) |
| 6th grade student thoughts on Earth in Space after unit |
It was not until Mr. Quella insisted that I review the journal entries with him that I realized how valuable these strategies were to enhance metacognitive growth. Through journal entries, he builds students' metacognition by having students explore their thoughts on a science topic and explore why they possess those initial thoughts. Following a unit, they then reexamine what they know on a topic and why they now think differently. Essentially, they are thinking about thinking.
 |
| 6th grade student's explanation of thoughts |
Metacognition, however, is beyond just thinking about thinking. It is the monitoring and control of thought through metacomprehension, problem solving, and critical thinking (Martinez, 2006). Although we have just read about the value of implementing metacognition into instruction, these journals are actual evidence of that. This 6th grade student's journal demonstrates a control of thought through the student's understanding that their comprehension of Earth's seasons was initially inaccurate and changed over time (Martinez, 2006). The student is illustrating not only "thinking about thinking' but also metacomprehension through evaluating the quality of their own comprehension. Mr. Quella has found this highly valuable in improving students' learning and even uses as it his main form of assessment now.
As Mr. Quella shows, imbedding metacognition into instructional practice is highly valuable for students, but we can even take a step further from these journal entries. We can enhance students' literacy and overall understanding of a discipline through cognitive apprenticeship. This is where these two articles from this week's reading really overlap with each other. By using metacognitive tools, students can control their own cognitive reading processes and enhance their problem-solving skills when approaching an academic text (Shoebach et. al, 2003). The example below shows a science classroom using metacognitive strategies, such as highlighting unknown words and formulating questions, when reading new material on the nitrogen cycle. Through this, students are expressing their lack of understanding together as a class, which could then demystify the text. The teacher also makes connections between the material and prior knowledge and encourages students to explain why they are thinking certain questions. Through this method, the students not only strengthen their metacognition and build academic literacy skills, but they also are more engaged in the material. It appears from both the classroom in the video and Mr. Quella's classroom that metacognitive strategies can be highly valuable and worth considering implementing into classroom instruction.
References:
Braunger, J., Greenleaf, C., & Litman, C., Schoenbach, R. Apprenticing Adolescents to Reading in Subject-Area Classrooms. Phi Delta Kappan, 85, 133-138.
Close Reading in Science. YouTube. Retrieved June 17, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQc1q3qq7wU.
Martinez, M. What is Metacognition. Phi Delta Kappan, 87, 696-699.
The examples in your post are great examples of working with metacognition in the science class. When looking into science texts, we find they can be very confusing and they mostly draw on previous knowledge. From our example on Wednesday, there are many elements that need to be considered when reading the periodic table. For students who have never had to work with a text of this manner, it will be a great challenge to not only read this text, but also understand it as well. It may be very helpful to have students write down there initial thoughts on a topic and then reexamine these thoughts at its conclusion simply so they can visually see their advancement in knowledge of the subject, and also, as you mentioned, think about their own thoughts. This is a great skill for students to learn in science and other subjects; they can use these skills to begin developing complex ideas about a topic. Having students engage in their learning is a great achievement for a teacher and furthering this engagement by having students actively read in each discipline they study is even better.
ReplyDeleteI really liked that you used an example for what you have seen a teacher actually use in his classroom. It is good that you followed up with the teacher and found out why he was using these strategies than just accepting that it just the way they do things.
ReplyDeleteThe video in the post was a great example of the teacher modeling example given in class. The instructor first gave out her instructions and then when through a few examples with the students, asking them to help her along the way. She then allowed the student to continue on in the assignment without her guiding them. I really love this strategy because it gives the students some direction on what you as the teacher are expecting without giving them too many of the 'answers.' It allows them to practice with you giving them a good example and lets them then show you that they have grasped the concept. Too often teachers give too little or too much instruction when guiding students, both of which I believe can be detrimental. Too little instruction and the students can get frustrated, and too much instruction doesn't allow the students to show you what they have learned.