The statistics we were shown this week remind us of the importance of providing information to kids visually. One of the videos used during the lecture said that 65% of learners are visual learners and that 90% of the information absorbed is taken in through the eyes. I feel like this year more than others I really see how dependent the kids are on visuals. Their auditory skills are extremely weak, and it seems that if I say it out loud chances are they didn’t catch it . Most of them still don’t catch it the second or third time I say it. I must pair visual with auditory.
Because kids depend on visuals and seem to learn better and faster with them in their lives, it is important that they learn how to visually represent information and data. I have created an infographic for a course in the past, but I have not created one for my students. I do make anchor charts in the classroom that serve a similar purpose. I notice that when they have to be covered or taken down, the kids turn to look at the spot on the wall where they are used to seeing it. I think it would be powerful to have them create an infographic of their own to help them study, show their thinking and/or show understanding.
I have made it one of my professional goals to use technology to increase student engagement this year. I am pushing myself to implement a lot of the tools that I am learning about through this program into my classroom, so I see students creating an infographic in the near future! Along with learning visually, a lot of students learn by doing. I think they will get more out of the experience if they have the expectations for the assignment and they get to jump in and figure out how to do it. Creating an infographic would give them a chance to show their creative side and also work on problem solving skills.
I think it's great to show students information in all different kinds of ways. I go back to when I learned about visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. I try to incorporate all those different types of learning into my lessons. Most days it is easy to incorporate visual and auditory into my lessons but I struggle with getting the students up and moving around. We have recess at the end of the day so the students need that time to get up and moving around.
ReplyDeleteI love your goal about using technology to increase engagement. I have a similar one. I am working on creating an infographic with my students currently so we will see how it goes.
I'm glad that you brought up the fact that 65% of students are visual learners - in fact I feel like that number should be much higher! Students today are bombarded by visuals all day through numerous outlets and I think that infographics are a great way to bridge the gap. I also like that you mentioned that a lot of students learn better by doing, rather than just seeing...another great point! Good post!
ReplyDeleteI also see how weak students' auditory skills are. I've noticed that as well just in being able to follow directions. Giving a 3 step oral direction is almost useless. From what I am seeing in classrooms, the teachers that post the instructions on the white board or smart board have less students coming up to them and asking what to do next or just off task.
ReplyDeleteI think anchor charts are wonderful and really help students learn. They keep that information in their face everyday and you would think that their brains are soaking the information in every time they look at it whether they realize it or not. I just hope that they are not becoming reliant on the anchor charts or resources available for use. I watched a group of third graders taking a pretest on addition and subtraction with 3 digit numbers and because the 1000's chart was available they never tried any other strategies. It was a crutch. I love anchor charts, especially for younger students. But we have to then pose the question, can they complete the task without it?
I love giving students ways to express themselves creatively with assignments! I think your students will become more engaged with the use of the tools you provide for them. I'm using an infographic for my unit plan as the end product and I think it allows for a lot of creativity. I think that I would use a site that has templates though so that the students who aren't as creative (myself) have a place to start.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteRE: " I feel like this year more than others I really see how dependent the kids are on visuals. Their auditory skills are extremely weak, and it seems that if I say it out loud chances are they didn’t catch it . Most of them still don’t catch it the second or third time I say it. I must pair visual with auditory.
People are excellent at remembering pictures and less skilled at making sense of auditory information. John Medina's research has found that if you only hear a piece of information, three days later you'll remember only 10% of it. However, if you add a picture to the auditory information, you'll remember 65%. That's powerful!
Dr. Dell