Cristina Eichler SGET 631 Linking the Brain, Mind, Teaching ...There are also student made piñatas...
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Cristina Eichler SGET 631 Linking the Brain, Mind, Teaching and Learning
Transcript of Cristina Eichler SGET 631 Linking the Brain, Mind, Teaching ...There are also student made piñatas...
Cristina Eichler SGET 631 Linking the Brain, Mind, Teaching
and Learning
7th Graders
Spanish 1
Class size: 15-17 students
47 minute class period
Haworth, New Jersey
Suburban Upper-Middle Class
Audience /Environment
Presenter
Presentation Notes
This lesson was designed for a 7th Grade Spanish class. In each of the three sections of 7th Grade, there are anywhere from 15 to 17 students. This lesson was an introductory lesson to the family member vocabulary.��My classroom environment is very bright and bold thereby giving the students a sense of comfort and security. The yellow painted walls have colorful posters on them with classroom phrases and vocabulary that the students use daily. There are also student made piñatas hanging from the ceiling in addition to country flags and various artist posters hanging on the walls. Image Credit: Microsoft Clip Art (2012)
Objectives
Give the names of their immediate family members in Spanish.
Be able to discuss what their family is like.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
My objectives for this lesson were for my students to: Be able to name their immediate family members in Spanish. It is assumed that the students have not seen the majority of the vocabulary before and this is new to them. 2) Be able to discuss what their family is like, i.e. description and number of members, in Spanish as a whole and the individual members using the prior chapter’s description vocabulary. Image Credit: Microsoft Clipart 2012
Goals/Outcomes
Communicate in target language
Understand concept of family in target culture.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Overall, the goal of the lesson was for the students to communicate about their family and family members using current and prior vocabulary. The students will also be discussing with the teacher the concept of family in the American Culture versus the Hispanic culture and how households are conducted in each culture. Image Credit: Microsoft Clipart 2012
Students using their Spanish to discuss family in
class Family Tree Poster Project
Assessments
Presenter
Presentation Notes
While the immediate evaluation of the day is the students being able to ask and answer the questions presented to them using the new and prior vocabulary, the more formal assessment of this lesson comes via a project. The students will be creating a family tree poster that will display their understanding of the vocabulary and grammar of describing their individual family members. Image Credit: Microsoft Clipart (2012)
Primetime One
Smartboard presentation of vocabulary
Note taking on presented vocabulary
Tunnel Activity on Smartboard
Presenter
Presentation Notes
In Primetime One, the students will be presented with a Smartboard lesson on the family vocabulary. They will be writing down the English words on a printed worksheet with the Spanish vocabulary on it. This enables the students to pay attention more rather than just focus on the note taking. During the lesson, the students will be coming up to the board to tap the boxes that are covering the vocabulary term to reveal the word. Once they are somewhat familiar with the vocabulary, several students will be coming up to the board to do the tunnel activity. They will be grabbing a word and sliding it through the “magic tunnel” to show what the word is in Spanish from English. They will have to guess the word before they come up to the Smartboard.
Downtime
Family Tree Activity on Smartboard
Tossing a stuffed globe around asking questions
Presenter
Presentation Notes
During the downtime activities, the students will be viewing a Family Tree with several multiple choice questions about the tree. The students will have to utilize the tree and answer the questions presented to them in Spanish regarding it. Afterwards, they will be tossing a stuffed globe around to each other, asking and answering questions about their own families. They will ask each other questions about their family such as ¿Cuántas personas hay en tu familia? And ¿Cómo es tu _______? Using their prior knowledge of Spanish numbers and the descriptive adjectives as well as subject adjective agreement, they will be answering these questions. Image Credit: http://www.metskers.com/Zoom.aspx?spv_id=200534&spt_id=3 http://www.thelittlepillow.com/download_Jan2006.htm
Primetime Two
Sparkle Game with family vocabulary
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Students will play a game called Sparkle, which is a helpful and fun way to practice the spelling of the vocabulary. The students line up in a straight line facing the teacher and they spell the words/phrases out in Spanish one letter at a time. Once spelled out, the next student states what the term is in English and the student after that “sparkles” the next student. Image Credit: http://www.gemsgc.org/leaders/clip_art.html
Materials and Technology
Notebook software Computer LCD Projector Smartboard Worksheet with vocabulary
Presenter
Presentation Notes
For this lesson, I had found a Notebook file on the Smart Tech website (www.exchange.smarttech.com) which I reconfigured and then projected onto the Smartboard using the LCD projector. The students received a worksheet with the vocabulary in Spanish that they had to fill in as we went. The Notebook software and the Smartboard were used to enhance the learning of the students. By coming up to the board to move things around and write on the Smartboard (kinesthetic), the students were able to be more involved in the lesson as opposed to the traditional note taking from a PowerPoint. This also played to the visual component of the lesson with the students being able to see the vocabulary terms on the projected Notebook file. Image Credit: http://esmstechnologytoolbox.wikispaces.com/Interactive+Whiteboards
Multiple Intelligences
Presenter
Presentation Notes
According to Howard Gardner, each human brain has a unique combination of the nine different kinds of intelligences that reflect different ways of interacting with the world. While every person has all nine intelligences, there are no two people who have the exact same configuration. (Gardner) While planning this lesson, I kept in mind Gardner’s nine Multiple Intelligences to make sure I addressed as many as possible. In a Spanish lesson, the Verbal-Linguistic aspect is one of the most touched upon since the students must verbalize their thoughts in the target language. For example, if a student is asked, “¿Cómo es tu familia?” (What is your family like?), they must be able to give an answer in Spanish such as, “Mi familia es grande.” (My family is large). The Interpersonal aspect is seen with the students when they are discussing the different types of nuclear family, being sensitive to the fact that not every family is the same in every culture. The Intrapersonal intelligence is met with the students having an idea of what their own family is like. In the lesson, Bodily/Kinesthetic intelligence is seen in several ways. The students are going up to the Smartboard at various times to move items, taking notes throughout the lesson, tossing around a stuffed globe and lining up to play the game Sparkle. The Logical/Mathematical aspect is touched upon when the student is looking at the family tree to see how it is laid out and how each person is connected to the others on the tree. The Musical intelligence is used when the students come in. I always have music playing in the background the first few minutes of class as they come in and get settled. As evident, the Visual/Spatial intelligence is evident throughout the entire lesson via the students having the notes on the Smartboard as well as seeing the Family Tree in the Notebook File. Some of my students utilize the Existential intelligence when they discuss with me how we came to have the type of family unit we have today as opposed to another type of family unit. The Naturalist Intelligence is seen when the students classify the different parts of the family. Image Credit: http://www.consciousness-evolving.com/Intrapersonal_Intelligence.htmlegffe
Sensory Preferences
Presenter
Presentation Notes
While we do use all five senses to gather information from our environment, sight, hearing and touch are not all used equally during learning. Every person develops a preference for a specific sense. My lesson affects each of the sensory preferences. The students who are primarily visual learners can see the vocabulary terms on the colorful Notebook file. The primarily kinesthetic learners have the ability to come up to the Smartboard and write on the board as well as moving words through the “magic tunnel” in the Notebook file to change the words from English to Spanish. They also have the opportunity to toss around the stuffed globe to choose who will be asking and answering questions. The auditory learners will be able to listen to the language being spoken by the teacher and their fellow students in addition to the Sparkle game they will be playing to practice the vocabulary as Sparkle is primarily a game for auditory learners. Image Credit: Microsoft Clip Art (2012)
Learning Styles
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Gregorc feels that learning is a process and each person has a different learning style. We have two qualities we must look at: perceptual preference (Concrete and Abstract) and ordering preference (Sequential and Random). When we gather information, it is perception; when we analyze the information, it is ordering. (Gregorc) In this lesson, each of the learning styles was addressed. Concrete Sequential: This type of learner benefits from the overall structure of the lesson itself as well as the game of Sparkle since the rules are clear and they are rewarded for specific work that is done. Concrete Random: These students appreciate the globe practice the best because they are able to think fast on their feet during the open ended activity to fill in their own answers about their family based in the questions presented to them. Abstract Sequential: These students benefit from the lecture aspect of the lesson in Primetime One since we go in a logical sequence through the vocabulary. They also are engaged since note taking is an individual activity that they can complete on their own. Abstract Random: This set of students enjoy the game Sparkle since it is a cooperative assignment and it gives them a chance to break away from the formality of the lesson for a bit and engage in a more social activity with their peers. Image Credit: http://acc.ccconline.org/wiki/File:GregorcModel.gif
Information Processing Model
Presenter
Presentation Notes
The information processing model in our textbook that we are studying is “my view of how the brain learns.” (Sousa, 42). This is Sousa’s explanation of how the brain works when processing information. Sousa explains that the external stimuli enters via the five senses (touch, smell, sight, hearing and taste). Touch, sight and hearing make up about 95% of our external stimuli, with smell and taste making up the remaining 5%. Once the information has entered our brain, it passes through the sensory register. If the sensor register deems the information unimportant, it drops out and is gone. If it is important, it moves onto the immediate memory, which is subconscious. Immediate memory will hold onto information for about 30 seconds. The two filters used to determine if information stays or goes are personal safety and anxiety and comfort. If it is unimportant, it drops out. If it is important, it moves onto the working or short term memory. In working memory, which is the beginning of conscious thinking, information can be held up for 18-36 hours in up to 7 chunks. While in working memory, the brain decides whether the information has sense and meaning. If it does not, then the information is dropped out and forgotten. If it does, it moves onto long term storage. When information is being stored in long term memory, the learner retains it by similarity. For example, in Spanish, students might take the concept of masculine things end in “o” and feminine things end in “a” and apply it to the family members by noting that the majority of the female family members end in “a” and the male members end in “o”. In long term storage or long term memory, the information is stored in various places. Within long term memory, we have our Cognitive Belief System which is how we see the world and our Self Concept, which is how we see ourselves in the world. Self concept plays a key role in whether or not the learner accepts or rejects new learning. If the learner was successful with the information in a prior experience, they will most likely pass the information through working memory from the sensory register. If they were unsuccessful, most likely the sensory register will block the incoming data. When we retrieve information from long term memory, while we rely on similarities, we have to realize that the critical attributes of the information, which are unique to the information, are more important. If things are too similar, the learner could potentially become confused. In this lesson, there is sense and meaning to my students due to the fact that they are all part of some sort of nuclear family unit. This gives the students a reason to store the vocabulary and grammar in long term storage for later retrieval. The students are retaining the information by recognizing the masculine and feminine items by their endings through retrieval of prior knowledge of subject adjective agreement. Image Credit: http://www.cognitivedesignsolutions.com/DesignProcess/CogDesignPrinciples.htm
The Brain
Presenter
Presentation Notes
While learning language, many of the areas of the brain are utilized. Peripheral Nervous System: Sends sensory information to the brain via neurons, which pass sensory information to the spinal cord, up the brainstem to the brain to potentially be stored in long term memory. In my lesson, hearing, sight and touch make up the sensory stimulation. Frontal Lobes (Front of brain): Since it deals with focus, this area aids the students in focusing on what we are learning. Cerebellum: (Controls involuntary functions and balance): Students used this while tossing and catching the stuffed globe. Occipital Lobe placed in back of skull: (Sense of Sight) Students used this while viewing the Smartboard and Notebook file. Temporal Lobes (in temples of head): (Auditory): Students used this while listening to the lecture by the teacher as well as listening to their classmates speak the Spanish language. Parietal Lobes (near top of brain): (Spatial orientation) Students used this while they were tossing the globe around as well as lining up for Sparkle. Image Credit: http://www.mayfieldclinic.com/Images/PE-AnatBrainFig3.jpg&imgrefurl
The Limbic System
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Thalamus (All sensory information except smell): Students receive all sensory information here and it is then sent to the brain for processing. Hypothalamus (below the thalamus): (Maintains homeostasis) If the students are hungry, tired, hot, cold, etc., it will be difficult for them to focus on processing the curriculum material. Amygdala (Attached to the hippocampus): (Emotions) Students feel strong emotions when talking about their family since they are strongly connected with them. Also, this plays a role in how emotionally comfortable the student is. If they do not feel emotionally comfortable, they will be unable to learn. The environment I create in my room is one where the students feel emotionally comfortable. Hippocampus (At the base of the limbic system): Learning is consolidated and information is converted from working memory to the appropriate long term storage regions. This process is necessary for the creation of meaning. Image Credit: http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/L/limbic_system.html
Gardner, Howard. Frames of Mind: The Theory of
Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books, 1983. Print.
Gregorc, Anthony. Gregorc Style Delineator. A Self-Assessment Instrument for Adults. Columbia, CT: Gregorc Associates, Inc., 1985. Print.
Sousa, David. How the Brain Learns. A Classroom Teacher's Guide. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc., 2005. Print.
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