I feel like the constant debate in education is "that wasn't how I learned." Touche... However, we are dealing with a different clientele now. Thanks to technology, our students are different learners than we were. These students are dependent on technology, they embrace social interactions and hands-on learning. We have to adapt to these types of learners.
In fact, I think on this post, I vow to give my students on infographic a week to discuss as a warm-up. I'll share all the good ones I find/create. Stay tuned.
While some may feel like this is a bad thing, it's truly wonderful. These students do NOT want to sit back, take notes, and regurgitate information. They want to be fully immersed in the information, hands-on, discussing. According to Forbes magazine, only 12% of students said that they learn best by simply listening.
In my math class, I really like to give the students images and have them discuss what they see. Imagine if I gave you the information below without an infographic. Would you read it? Would you comprehend it? The way that it is laid out, can lend itself to really great discussion.
Many of my students feel they are "too old" for number talks. I love to give them something like this below of what they feel is surprising. I give them ~3-5 minutes to just write.
Or do you remember growing up writing down math vocabulary? Ew! What if instead your teacher had you create your own digital infographic like the one below? How great would that have been instead?
I also love the challenge that comes with the way students are learning today and wish that some of the tools that are available to students today were around during our "sit and get" school days growing up. I love your idea of having your students create graphics to explain math vocabulary terms. Math is such a great subject to incorporate graphics since so many of the concepts can be represented visually and would likely make for better retention. I look forward to seeing what ones you use in the coming weeks!
ReplyDeleteI too would have enjoyed being a student in today's educational world. There are so many more opportunities for engaging students. Having students create infographics is a fantastic idea. Whatever students are learning sticks when students are creating and sharing their learning. Using infographics to spur a math discussion is a fantastic idea. I'll stay tuned for your gems.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of having students respond in writing to a thought provoking infographic. It would be excellent to use with math. I am teaching ratios now and I am sure there are some cool infographics that could be a good exit or entrance slip to get students thinking about the relationships between numbers on a larger scale. I loved all of the good ideas for how to use them in the classroom!
ReplyDeleteI loved your idea of having the students create their own digital infographic of certain vocabulary words! I think visual students would really benefit from this. The infographic they create will stick in their minds, and that is amazing!
ReplyDeleteInfographics are such a unique way to teach your students! I also love the idea of using an infographic for vocabulary words and would love to apply that idea to my Spanish classroom. Thanks for the useful ideas and tips!
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