Being an owner is way better than merely renting. And, no, I am not referring to real estate. I'm talking about knowledge. When my students are merely "renting" knowledge, it stays in short-term memory. They cannot become "owners" until that information moves into long-term memory. It can be difficult to determine owners from renters.
Unfortunately, I know this from firsthand experience. It became apparent to me this week. Let me explain. I've been consistently reviewing the eight Thinking Maps (that have been posted on my wall since the first day of school) and their corresponding thought processes. In fact, I've come up with a chant and gestures for each map.
Yesterday I decided to test how many of the Thinking Maps and their thought processes they really knew. Here's what I did. I posted the various maps and assigned them each a number. Then I presented an imaginary scenario, such as "Let's imagine that I am a kindergartner and my teacher wants me to brainstorm all the animals I can come up with. Which map would describe the thought process necessary to generate all of those animals? When I say 'show me,' show me with your fingers which map I'm describing."
Students were eager to show me; however, their responses were literally all over the map, so to speak. Why?!? The answer: they were merely renting the chants and gestures. Sure they enjoyed the catchy chant and the playful gestures, but they weren't transferring, applying, or extending that knowledge. It wasn't their fault. It was most assuredly mine. I haven't given them the opportunity to transfer, apply, or extend that knowledge consistently. Are we still going to recite the chants with accompanying gestures? Of course. Chants are captivating, and gestures definitely help students remember. From now on, though, I am going to engage students in actually connecting the maps with their thought processes with real-world, as well as imaginary scenarios.
Students were eager to show me; however, their responses were literally all over the map, so to speak. Why?!? The answer: they were merely renting the chants and gestures. Sure they enjoyed the catchy chant and the playful gestures, but they weren't transferring, applying, or extending that knowledge. It wasn't their fault. It was most assuredly mine. I haven't given them the opportunity to transfer, apply, or extend that knowledge consistently. Are we still going to recite the chants with accompanying gestures? Of course. Chants are captivating, and gestures definitely help students remember. From now on, though, I am going to engage students in actually connecting the maps with their thought processes with real-world, as well as imaginary scenarios.
Albert Einstein is credited with saying, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Perhaps truer words have never been uttered. If I want students to truly master Thinking Maps, then I need to change my approach. Note to self: DAILY extend students' understanding of Thinking Maps by not only presenting multiple imaginary and real-life scenarios, but by also directly teaching key words. This will enable students to become owners who can automatically connect the thought process related to a given scenario to its corresponding Thinking Map. To illustrate, I may say something like, "Imagine I am a seventh grader in a life science class and we are learning the various parts of a frog's body. Which map would help me connect the whole body of a frog to its different parts?" As time goes by, I will imbed fewer and fewer clues as students' automaticity grows. I am confident that my students will become Thinking Maps experts in no time!
Still living the Spotlight Life,
Lola E. Jollie
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