Using Graphic Organizers to Build Deeper Understanding of Content

EDC 448

Take notes from the chapter…

Organize notes from the chapter…

Benefits of Organizing Information Visually

• 1. • 2. • 3. • 4. • 5.

Biggest Benefit – Connections improve recall and understanding

• 4 2 9 5 6 3 1

• 429 – 5631 +/- 7

• You remember things better when they are connected and you understand how the parts are related to the whole!

Time Order

JFK

Freedom of Religion

Enumeration

Castles

Compare & Contrast

FireCause-Effect

Price of Oil

Problem-Solution

An Example: Learning about How Farmers Organized in the late 1800’s

• Learning objectives are explicitly stated and end of chapter questions thought-provoking

• But is the information presented to highlight the relationships between key concepts in a way that fosters recall and understanding?– Dates don’t stand out in key sequence– Cause/effect relationship could be more explicit– not enough high level thinking about the Populist Party

• Solution: Actively engage students with the ideas using Inspiration (or digital mapping tool)

So, what’s the take away lesson?

• The TM suggestions (and questions) often found in textbooks are less likely to promote selection and organization of important text information that helps students see how key concepts are logically connected to form the “big picture”

• Even then, students need an opportunity to synthesize and integrate the visual representations into their own words

Applying to Your Lesson

• Does your graphic organizer help students generate and recall important information?

• Does your graphic organizer teach HOW the key concepts are related (not just THAT they are related)?

• Does your lesson require students to summarize or apply the information AFTER they fill out the graphic organizer?