Introduction to
Making sense of the curriculum
Reducing the cognitive demand of the learner
Patrick Hruz, Asst. Director of Education , Keystone Technical Institute
What are graphic organizers?
• Think – Pair – Share - what are some of the different types of graphic organizers?
• http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdf_activities/independent/IA_Graphic_Organizers.pdf
• https://www.google.com/search?q=list+of+types+of+graphic+organizers&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=901&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwju7euugOrPAhVm_4MKHTn6Dr4Q_AUIBigB#tbm=isch&q=graphic+organizers
What are graphic organizers?
• Show the organization or structure of concepts, as well as the relationship between concepts.
• Spatial arrangements depicting the information’s structure reduce the cognitive demands on the learner.
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• Our job is NOT merely to “tell” the information, our job IS to teach it!
• It is our job, by choosing to be educators, to be proactive in our planning, not reactive when a student is struggling to learn!
Why use graphic organizers?
• Students are more likely to understand and remember the content you are teaching.
• Graphics help students separate what is important to know from what might not be as essential.
• It reduces the semantic information processing demands and you can often address the content in more sophisticated or complex ways.
Isn’t this just putting information into little boxes? • To do this – the students have to engage in powerful
information processing and higher order thinking skills such as:
Using cues to recognize important information
Making decisions about what is important or essential
Consolidating information and identifying main ideas and supporting details
Is there research supporting the use of graphic organizers? • An extensive body of research exists that supports the use of
graphic organizers.
• They can be effective when used in conjunction with a wide array of teaching styles.
• They can be used to improve learning and performance of a wide array of students – from intellectually gifted to those with disabilities.
When should graphic organizers be used? • When you are teaching any content.
• However, graphic organizers allow you to teach more than just the content. You are also teaching processing skills, patterns for organizing information, analytical and critical thinking skills, as well as communication skills.
• When the need to develop “depth” of understanding.
More to come…..
• Graphic Organizers Part 2 –
• What do they look like?
• How do I create or find them?
• What is it really like for the students?
Conclusion…..for now…..
• Teaching is not just sharing information and hoping the student can learn it…..teaching is finding ways to help your student learn it!