Skills, Strategies, and MetacognitionJoyce E. Stone, Partially adapted from Kristina Doubet

What students should know and be able to do……

Organize, explain, and use information

Compare and contrast

Relate to other instances—personal and academic

Transfer to unfamiliar settings

Discover the big ideas embedded within a novel problem

Combine concepts and understandings

Pose new problems and solutions

Create analogies models, metaphors, symbols, and picture of the concept

Pose and answer “what if” questions

Generate questions and hypotheses to increase knowledge

Generalize from specific to big idea

Use knowledge to self-assess and assess others

On-going Formative AssessmentSupports Strategic Teaching and Learning

…FOCUS!

on Student Understanding by

anchoring instruction and

connecting students to

content.

Concepts Ensure Understanding: Metacognitive Process using language

arts as a model for any content

Connect the task to the understanding:

TASK: Students will know the eight parts of speech and their function in sentences.

UNDERSTAND: Students will demonstrate understanding of parts of speech and their role in sentences.

DO: Students will… 1. make flash cards of eight parts of speech2. using a written passage, students will use highlighters to color code various parts of speech3. identify and supply missing part of speech in sentences4. write "I Am" poems using adjectives and adverbs to describe themselves5. using pictures from magazines, make a collage representing a

particular part of speech

Pre-Assessment Administered during previous class period Diagnostic in nature – 16 questions

Match each part of speech to its definition (8) Identify parts of speech as used in a sentences (8)

Included some “tricky” questions to see who’s really got it (e.g., one word used in a variety of ways).

Results: Group A – Firm grasp of definitions and use/application Group B – Firm grasp of definitions but struggled with

application Group C – Struggled with both definitions and application

Ongoing Formative Assessments Why must I discover where students are in

relationship to my instructional goals?

Assessment and Instruction are parts of an interdependent, strategic process….

Learning Objectives (reflective of standards)

Ongoing, formative assessment

Valid, Reliable, Summative Assessment that supports strategic

instruction

Strategies designed to support teaching and learning and fill holes indicated by formative

assessment.

Ongoing Formative Assessments How can I discover where students are in

relationship to what I am teaching?

EXIT CARDS

Easy Strategy for Assessing Student Understanding…When students leave, have they understood the instruction? How will you use this information to promote learning?

Use EXIT CARDS to Create a Learner Profile and

Connect it to Instruction

Exit Cards (AKA “Tickets To Leave”) are used to gather information on student readiness levels, interests, and/or learning profiles.

The teacher hands out index cards to students at the end of aninstructional sequence or class period. The teacher asks the students to respond to a pre-determined prompt on their index cards and then turn them in as they leave the classroom or transition to another subject.

The teacher reviews the student responses and separates the cards into instructional groups based on preset criteria.

Exit Cards: Science

Teacher: Am I asking students to stretch?

Draw the earth’s orbit around the sun. Briefly explain what causes the seasons.

Use illustrations, if necessary. How have your opinions about this topic

changed? What questions do you still have?

Exit Cards: British Literature

Teacher: Why this task?

Student: I am making connections to other works of literature.

What is a “conceit”? Briefly explain the “conceit” apparent in

“The Flea” In what other works that we’ve read did you

notice a “conceit”?

Exit Cards: History

Teacher: I am asking students to compare and contrast, to examine the context.

Name 3 factors that contributed to the United States’ involvement in WWII?

Briefly explain what you believe to be the most significant of these factors and tell why?

Exit Cards: Algebra

Teacher: I am providing models and options.

Draw a graph & label the “x” and “y” axesGraph a line with the endpoints (3,5) (7,2)Graph a line with the endpoints (-3,-5) (7,2)Provide two ways of writing the equation for a line

3-2-1 Cards—Metacognition: Students need to know what they

learned and why.

3 things I learned today about entrepreneurship

2 questions I still have/ am confused about…

1 thing I would like to learn more about…

ENTRY CARDS

Another Alternative….to

Exit Cards. A way to pre-assess

Prior Knowledge.

Spiral Learning Strategy: Concept: Metaphor

Students will know the definition of metaphor, stanza, simile, etc.

Students will be able to describe themselves using metaphors

Students will understand that… Metaphors allow us to communicate ideas that

literal language can’t Metaphors help readers picture things in their

minds.

Metaphor Lesson

ENTRY CARD

Name: ____________ Period:_____

What is a “metaphor”?

Give at least two examples.

Explain why song-writers and poets use metaphors.

Two Tasks: Embedded Strategy

“ME” Metaphor Poem Write a poem describing yourself using a series of metaphors

and similes. You can describe both what you are and what you are not.

Try using couplets – and strive for about 5-7 couplets. See page 314 an 315 for more information.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Basic understanding – Assignment follows mini-lesson on metaphors)

“ME” Metaphor Poem

•Choose something to compare yourself to. It can be something in nature, a machine of sorts, a song, a force, and animal, a color—the only thing it CAN”T be is another person.

•Strive for at least 4 stanzas (line lengths in stanzas can vary).~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Advanced Understanding – Complete assignment independently)

A

B

Frayer Diagrams are

useful graphic organizers.

DEFINE IT

LIST EXAMPLES LIST NON-EXAMPLES

GIVE IMPORTANCE

TOPIC or CONCEPT

You can change the

category titles to suit your instructional

needs.

Economics Example

DEFINE IT

LIST EXAMPLES LIST NON-EXAMPLES

GIVE IMPORTANCE

Free Enterprise System

Teacher: “Hook” Strategy in literary analysis.Student: Self-assess and assess others.

Where Do you have it?

“Shrew” Characters who

had it:

“Shrew” Characters who lacked it:

Where do you lack it?

POWER

Teacher Strategy—The Matrix Combine Understandings

Jefferson FDR Kennedy G.W. Bush

Jefferson Something else JFK and Jefferson share that FDR and Bush

don’t

FDR

Kennedy Something JFK and Jefferson share that FDR and Bush don’t

G.W. Bush

Something unique to

Bush

In each square, list something that the leader in the two coordinate boxes In each square, list something that the leader in the two coordinate boxes share that the other two leaders do not. Where a person intersects with share that the other two leaders do not. Where a person intersects with

him/herself, you must list something unique to only him/her.him/herself, you must list something unique to only him/her.

Students generate questions and hypotheses in Think-Pair-Share

Windshield Check: A feedback Loop for Teacher and Students….

CLEAR – “I get it!” BUGS – “I get it for the most part,

but I still have a few questions.” MUD – “I still don’t get it.”

Alternative Method:

Thumbs-up/Wiggle palms/Thumbs down

Help Cards/Stations: Teacher intervenes. Students self-assess, collaborate, and support one another.

In one study, high school students attributed increased success to an atmosphere which encouraged students to ask for help, as well as opportunities to do so.

Help cards – hold up at designated times, or as needed

“Self-Help Groups” – Students self select to hear info another way or to work with a new application

Think Tank

Teachers and Students…

Which learning strategies have

you experienced?

Which would you like to try?