Session 7 Cognitive Apprenticeships

I have thought of the word of apprenticeship as meaning spending several years to learn a craft or trade from an accomplished master.  The term cognitive apprenticeship (which is new to me)  means how to show a cognitive process.

We must ask the question “Are students in public schools learning how to think? “

 The article gives examples of how to teach thinking skills by making thinking visible. The strategies identified in the article discuss how to make thinking visible by modeling and coaching students are common teaching practices.  I did find the explanation of scaffolding helpful.  As the student progresses less assistance is needed from the teacher. 

 

Concepts presented in the reading materials identified  common teaching practices  such as motivating students by using authentic real world  situations, and showing models of a completed product.  

One of the strategies mentioned in the by Darling-Hammond article  of a  teacher modeling the thinking process involved in solving a geometric proof  by discussing the thinking process includes ideas or steps that are rejected is an example of what teachers regularly do. Do teachers  in general realize that they are teaching the students how to think in this situation?  

The next step is to teach the students to articulate what they are thinking. This step will enable the student to identify what they understand and what they do not understand as well as getting feedback from their peers and keeping the teacher in the loop to enable her to assist if needed. 

Audio-Tutorial Approach

Audio Tutorial Approach: Reflection on Research and practical applications

As a teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing I am always concerned with accessibility. Any and all tutorial materials created with public money should be accessible. The audio instructions in an AT modual should be available in a text version and in American Sign Language. A video of a teacher signing the material could be added to the tutorial.

I am somewhat surprised by the conclusion of the Kulik article finding basically no significant difference in performance between students engaged in courses presented via audio- tutorial and conventional college courses.

In the AT approach students had some measure of control of the information presented by having the ability to control the pace. They had the opportunity to repeat presented information which should have assisted in comprehension. The students were also expected to present information orally, which should have helped them to retain what they were learning and therefore they should have performed better on examinations. The AT approach had more hands activities and was more interactive then conventional classes which should have assisted in comprehension, and retention of information resulting in higher examination scores, however the use of AT did not lead to significanlty improved or reduce scores.

There were only a few studies with elementary, middle or high school students, but if the college students did not have a significant difference in performance I would not expect that K-12 students would have results indicating a great difference in performance using the AT method when compared to traditional methods.

For students to benefit from the AT method consistently I think they would need training and practice on how to learn via AT. I can see the benfit of incorporating AT into the K-12 curriculum by using short tasks and short units in elementary school and increasing the length and complexity of the AT units in a systematic way.

In conclusion AT is another tool to use to reach students.

ECI 517 Session

Hello All,

This is my first time to author a blog. I expect I will become a more proficient author as time goes by.

I know many of you will have off from work for Martin Luther King Day. Hope you have an enjoyable day. I am hosting a baby shower brunch for a good friend. My daughter, Alyssa, is very excited about it and has been helpful in the preparations.

I am excited about the Presidential inauguration on Tuesday and will watch it on TV. The high school students where I work have final exams this week and will be finished by 10:30am. This year I am working with Intellectually Disabled students who are in the certificate program. My students are not taking final exams. We are cooking and eating breakfast.

My daughter's elementary school is having their annual inaugural ball on Tuesday evening. Alyssa, who is in the first grade, has been selected as her class representative. She will be doing the fox trot with her escort