Wow! Talk about a dense reading! I started this reading assignment with a colored pen in hand to highlight important aspects of the reading, as I usually do. After reading the first few pages multiple times, I had to put it down (I had printed it because I feel like I understand more when I have a book and highlighter in hand, rather than a screen). I came back to it later in the day and I began to read again. As I began to read again and felt confused about what I was reading once more; I couldn’t help but think of the students in my reading groups that struggle with most of our readings. As I read each paragraph, I thought about what the author was trying to convey in that section of the text. I highlighted, underlined and wrote notes and questions on the margins; this helped me to process the content in smaller, more digestible chunks. I am definitely a visual learner; therefore, figure 6.1, the sense-making metaphor was quite helpful. The exemplars were also helpful in understanding how sense-making has been applied in different areas of research. Even though I feel like I was able to make sense of more of the reading after multiple reads, I don’t feel completely confident that I am able to fully understand all of the information that the author was trying to deliver.
From what I understood, the author was trying to tell us that each individual is unique in how they think about and process information in their day to day experiences. Many aspects come into play when individuals are trying to make sense of things. Different individuals define their own steps on their own terms, but can come up with the same conclusion. Sense-making happens in everyday experiences. In reference to my classroom, this means that every single student can have his or her own path to understanding the material that is presented to them. It reinforces my current belief that the cookie-cutter curriculum that is sometimes used to teach students do not support all of our students varied learning styles and their sense-making methods. I don’t feel that I understood the material enough to teach it to someone. Yet, if I had to teach this to students I would definitely start by using the sense-making metaphor picture. I would introduce it in small pieces, drawing and labeling as I introduced each section of the picture. I would also include video clips and provide examples that they could relate to, at their age.
4 Comments
Emily Feil
2/12/2018 09:56:10 pm
I also usually read with a highlighter in hand. I made the mistake of trying to digest this article digitally. (Poor choice on my part!) Like you, I had new empathy for my struggling readers. I even found myself feeling angry at the process. One thing that really helped me was the youtube video posted by the librarian with the background in information science. She seemed to be working to translate the material for an audience that did not have that background. It reminded me of the importance of providing context for our students before sending them off to read.
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Christina Schreiber
2/13/2018 03:08:33 pm
I also had to print this out and highlight. I knew it was a dense reading but I definitely underestimated how hard this would be to read! I joked that it almost felt like it was in a different language! I can agree that many students must feel this way when reading a dense science textbook in my class. I liked your reference about cookie cutter curriculum and how it is not how every student makes sense of new materials.
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mayra Cindy De la Torre
2/13/2018 07:42:55 pm
I completely agree with you Teresa this was very difficult for me to understand as well. I think you are right about the author's message that everyone has a different thought process but may end up at similar conclusions. I did not think of printing the article up, but I should have I also do better when I write in the margins. I
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Shawn
2/14/2018 06:19:48 pm
I know for myself that past influence are present. This article brought a new way of thinking about how our past influence. I always thought mostly about our action and never really made the connection to learning or processing information. After reading this very dense article it helped me make that connection. Just as our past influences our future it influence our learning as well. We are taking complex ideas and trying to find use for them in our daily lives. If we can personalize our teaching to our students we can be more effective in reaching all of our students. Which sounds amazing but how? How do we get there ?
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