Overview of the TopicIntroduction and Rationale
Note-taking skills are a vital component of any student’s academic success. Throughout their educational careers, students will receive information via print, visuals, direct instruction, audio, etc. The 21st century has moved learning from a stagnate set of skills to an “informational age” where students are inundated with information at a never before seen rate and through multiple mediums. With this shift in society comes the educator’s responsibility to teach students how to organize the information and group it in a way that is conducive to meaningful learning and retention. Utilizing graphic organizers provides a visual representation of information, similar to the way our brain organizes information using schemas (Lindon & Brodie, 2016). |
Description of the Context and the Learners
Context and Audience
The following lessons will take place in a third grade classroom. The teacher will teach the lessons to a class of 19 heterogeneous students and then again to a class of 24 heterogeneous students. All of the students have had limited experience with graphic organizers, in the form of teacher directed instruction and teacher led “fill-in-the-blank”. None of the students have had any experience in note taking. When given a story in print, 7% percent of the students (3 out of 43) were able to adequately take notes that included the main idea and supporting details of the story. When read aloud to the students, 5% (2 out of 43) were able to take notes that included the main idea and sufficient supporting details.
Ninety- three percent of the students were excited about learning how to take notes using various graphic organizers. The teacher is knowledgeable in various online and technology programs that are used to take notes and organize information. The teacher is excited about scaffolding participation and enabling the students to become active learners in their education rather than passive receivers of predetermined information.
The following lessons will take place in a third grade classroom. The teacher will teach the lessons to a class of 19 heterogeneous students and then again to a class of 24 heterogeneous students. All of the students have had limited experience with graphic organizers, in the form of teacher directed instruction and teacher led “fill-in-the-blank”. None of the students have had any experience in note taking. When given a story in print, 7% percent of the students (3 out of 43) were able to adequately take notes that included the main idea and supporting details of the story. When read aloud to the students, 5% (2 out of 43) were able to take notes that included the main idea and sufficient supporting details.
Ninety- three percent of the students were excited about learning how to take notes using various graphic organizers. The teacher is knowledgeable in various online and technology programs that are used to take notes and organize information. The teacher is excited about scaffolding participation and enabling the students to become active learners in their education rather than passive receivers of predetermined information.
Needs Assessment
Closing the Gap
According to Robert Marzano, “What students already know about the content is one of the strongest indicators of how well they will learn new information…” (2009). Beginning the lessons by activating prior knowledge and allowing students to articulate ideas helps students to make connections and create meaning. Scaffolding is the next step in each module. The teacher guides the students as they extricate relevant information to write then slowly relinquishes responsibility and transfers it over to the students. This encourages the students to take ownership of the note-taking process and promotes student engagement. Students are then able to master note-taking through practice or “practice fields” using technology (Barab & Duffy, 2000). Tools such as Padlet, OneNote, Seesaw, student and teacher created graphic organizers are incorporated to provide students with a variety of medium to practice and demonstrate understanding. Using the rubric to assess students’ note-taking skills allows the teacher to accurately determine if the lessons were successful or if instructional design revisions are needed.
According to Robert Marzano, “What students already know about the content is one of the strongest indicators of how well they will learn new information…” (2009). Beginning the lessons by activating prior knowledge and allowing students to articulate ideas helps students to make connections and create meaning. Scaffolding is the next step in each module. The teacher guides the students as they extricate relevant information to write then slowly relinquishes responsibility and transfers it over to the students. This encourages the students to take ownership of the note-taking process and promotes student engagement. Students are then able to master note-taking through practice or “practice fields” using technology (Barab & Duffy, 2000). Tools such as Padlet, OneNote, Seesaw, student and teacher created graphic organizers are incorporated to provide students with a variety of medium to practice and demonstrate understanding. Using the rubric to assess students’ note-taking skills allows the teacher to accurately determine if the lessons were successful or if instructional design revisions are needed.