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Can you read this?<\/p>\n
Of course, you can read the text when I type it clearly, but in the above picture if I were to grab the black light and sprint off in the opposite direction, you’d probably be pretty hopeless in reading that statement.\u00a0 Unless you happen to have a large supply of black lights, which if you do you’re just really cool and I approve.<\/p>\n
Now, on a scale of 1-10 (1 being ridiculous, 10 being useful), how beneficial would it be to take notes on stoichiometry in invisible ink?\u00a0 I think I heard a “-3” shouted from the back, and you’re probably right.\u00a0 Taking notes in invisible ink is not the smartest idea.\u00a0 “Invisible” notes are just not useful.<\/p>\n
What about invisible thinking?<\/p>\n
In the book, “Making Thinking Visible” by Ron Ritchhart, we look at different ways to show students\u00a0how<\/em> they are thinking so that they can understand not only the curriculum but how they’re understanding the processes.\u00a0 Why is this important?\u00a0 Because just like invisible notes, invisible thinking leads to more work and less comprehension for the students.\u00a0 If students aren’t able to see why they’re coming up with their knowledge, then it’s likely that they won’t grasp the information as well.\u00a0 This can be detrimental for student learning and for the environment of your classroom.<\/p>\n So how can we make thinking visible for our students?\u00a0 Ritchhart gives several strategies in his book (which I highly recommend), but I’m going to include my three favorites, along with situations in which they’d be best implemented.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/CarolynMirelez\/status\/928329211617710080<\/p>\n Tug of War is a MTV strategy that I absolutely\u00a0love.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Start with a topic–for example, in a biology classroom, we might look at GMO’s.\u00a0 Students are given time to research the topic a little bit, and formulate their ideas before coming back together as a class.\u00a0 Students then come up with two sides for the issue, and I as the teacher would draw a long line across the white board (or, since I’m a pretty extra teacher, I would have a tug of war rope that I’d hang up every time we do this activity), and would write the two sides of the argument on each side of the rope.\u00a0 Then, students would write their thoughts on post-it notes and come put them up on whichever side of the rope they side with most.\u00a0 This can be done anonymously, and after students get all of their thoughts on the board as a class we would look at which side won the tug of war and what thoughts went on each side.\u00a0 Students can then see how their thoughts fit into a larger debate, and how all of these ideas come together to create a conclusion at the end of the day.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a03-2-1 Bridge<\/strong><\/p>\n 3-2-1 Bridge is a strategy that is particularly useful at the beginning of a lesson (in the 5 E’s, it would probably be an engage or explore).\u00a0 Students are given a statement, such as “polar”, and are told to write three thoughts\/ideas, two questions, and one analogy that pops into their heads at this word.\u00a0 It doesn’t have to be science related–it’s just whatever they think of.\u00a0 Then, I would give students some sort of content–a comic strip, a reading, a video–and following this students would develop three new thoughts, two new questions, and one new analogy.\u00a0 I used a comic called, “The Bare Essentials of Polarity” (if you Google this, you’ll be able to download it) to explain to students what polarity is.\u00a0 After students have their new thoughts, we as a class “bridge” our ideas–how did our original thoughts relate to what our new thoughts are?\u00a0 How do polar bears relate to polar bonds?\u00a0 These questions allow students to visibly\u00a0see<\/em> how they are constructing knowledge off of their prior experiences with words and phrases.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Chalk Talk<\/strong><\/p>\n https:\/\/pin.it\/x0EqwKc<\/p>\n Chalk Talk is a teaching strategy that allows students to have, in essence, a silent debate.\u00a0 This is also a\u00a0perfect<\/em> activity to do outside, if the weather is nice (because we all know science is best done when out of the classroom and into the real world!).\u00a0 This activity starts with a number of prompts written on large pieces of paper or on the ground outside in chalk.\u00a0 Students are then told to grab a marker of their choice (their color) or a piece of chalk and go around to write their thoughts near the prompt.\u00a0 If it is an original idea, they put a box around it, but if they are branching off another thought or responding to another person’s idea, they put a circle around it.\u00a0 This allows students to remain anonymous and share their ideas, while also giving them an opportunity to see how their thoughts are developed both individually and as a class.<\/p>\n Overall, it is clear that making thinking visible is not as hard as it may seem.\u00a0 Giving students opportunities to see their thoughts helps them understand what they’re learning and why they’re learning it.\u00a0 It’s also very helpful for students who aren’t as talkative during class, as they have a chance to voice their thoughts by writing them down and sharing them that way.<\/p>\n Visible thinking can truly change the classroom.\u00a0 If you have any more thoughts or ideas, I challenge you to pick up Ritchhart’s book and give it a read!\u00a0 He has so many great strategies for using this in the classroom, and his thoughts are easily applicable.\u00a0 Leave your questions and comments in the section below.\u00a0 Until next week!<\/p>\n -Naomi<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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