R/D12

Cindy Thelen
R/D12

I enjoyed reading this chapter and was surprised by a few things:
Animated visuals aren’t any more education than still visuals.
Audio narration works better than text.
Unnecessary visuals and information distract learners from the real objective (I figured that much) and actual “depress learning dramatically” (Reiser & Dempsey, p. 319).
Using ID is more beneficial for low-knowledge learners.

Two ideas I can incorporate into my instruction are the use of simulations and working on building prior knowledge. Simulations are a valid tool for instruction. Simply put, they are imitations, reproductions, or models of the genuine article. Applied to the teaching of history, you can use role playing activities to help the students put themselves into the historical period. I can only think of a couple of ways that I have incorporated simulations into the teaching of history.

Every year I plan an “Ancient Egyptian Feast” or a “Medieval Feast”, depending on which period I’m covering. Students are expected to make a costume for a specific role they will carry out in the feast. As they act out their role and observe others doing the same they learn so much about what life was like back then and how it differs from our way of life.

Each year when we cover inflation we always do a simulation called “The Thelen Candy Factory”. Each student is given a role card. They might be the CEO, packager, truck driver, mixer, receptionist, etc. This activity helps students imagine what it is like when our money cannot buy what it used to be able to, and how negatively this affects families.

My students especially enjoy these activities and I definitely think I could apply this more often. I am hoping to try to think of at least one simulation for each quarter. For instance, for the American Revolution we could:
Role play the key ideas that led to the revolution. One student would be king, one could be a tax collector, a few could be members of Parliament who refused to allow colonists a say in their taxes, several could be colonists, etc. Imagine taxing students who were wearing tennis shoes, belts, white socks, etc. and giving them no say on what they will be taxed.
For the Civil War I could take them to a Civil War Re-enactment where they could watch others acting out what life was like as a soldier, civilian, slave, etc.

One other key issue that really stood out to me was how having more related knowledge stored in long-term memory enables the working memory to handle more information. So prior knowledge is critical in education and something as simple as a KWL activity can give students a chance to articulate what they already know. This is an important part of the process because it gives students something to “peg” new information on. KWL discussions are also beneficial because one student’s memory will trigger someone else’s memory and the prior information of the class as a whole tends to expand. My favorite quote from this chapter is:

“The learner’s level of prior knowledge is the single most important individual difference variable involved in learning, and is the most important characteristic to know to help you design appropriate training.” (Reiser & Dempsey, p. 320)