Honor the Vets, but Teach Students to Think

by Oskar Cymerman       @focus2achieve

Wednesday was Veteran’s Day and just as in the years past, my school put on an outstanding ceremony to honor the US armed forces veterans. It is a beautiful celebration to honor the sacrifice our men and women make to show our appreciation and respect to those who put their lives at risk for us. But is it always best for us?

This post will put some people off, perhaps anger others, because what I am about to write might be misunderstood or misconstrued. Some of them might be colleagues, and some might be friends, and I hope that if I do strike a sensitive note with them, they can forgive me for saying what I believe and think is right.

This post is a risk I am willing to accept, because while I am in awe of and appreciate the service of the soldiers, I have to be true to my beliefs and core values, and teach my students to think for themselves. Student education, the proper and authentic education, without omission of all things true but inconvenient, is the number one priority on my “teacher” list. As such, I must tell them about the 3 inconvenient truths: the Brainwashing, the Imperialism, and the Freedom of Mind.

The Brainwashing

Belief determines behavior. This country was founded on noble and progressive beliefs and was once a beacon of light, a shining example of what personal freedom can look like, to the rest of the world. It was imperfect, but beautiful. But now, it is a shadow of itself. Slowly, the confidence in the United States as the bastion of freedom has eroded, and its reputation of being the “most free country in the world” lives on only in rhetoric of its politicians and minds of its citizens, blinded by ideals and unaware of facts.

It’s easy for people to believe in ideals. I believe it is human nature to be good, and as such we strive to be part of something greater, something important. This is why it is so easy for a speaker who presents a big enough message to rouse us, ask for our support, and call us to action. Such was the case with the Iraq War that started in 2003, officially ended in 2011, and is probably continuing through the present. This conflict represents maybe the most obvious rationale/reason mismatch anyone can observe with a little research into history and the facts surrounding the war itself.

Rationale: Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and is ready to use them (the T-word).

Reason: US Dollar is threatened as the world trade currency, because Saddam Hussein, who controls 25% of worldwide oil production, is now selling it in euros, following Iran, another oil-rich country placed on George W. Bush’s axis of evil, threatening the same in 1999.

Since the US Dollar became the world trade currency in the 70’s, our government has irresponsibly been ordering the Federal Reserve (a private banking behemoth with roots in Great Britain) printing more and more dollars and using them to pay for imports, mostly oil. This convoluted system with many layers only partially understood by many economists, has been our country’s answer to raising money that cannot be collected through taxes, and is the reason for the perpetually record-breaking debt burden of our nation. If you are not sure what I wrote just now, don’t worry: I keep rereading and am not sure if I understand it myself. But that’s precisely the point…

As a naïve young soldier, who upon reading the words of the Declaration of Independence in his high school US History class has become forever enlisted to defend the ideals it promises, would you like hearing that the real reason why you are going to Iraq is to prevent your government’s screw-ups from becoming an economic catastrophe; to basically bail out the officials we all elected from the consequences of their collective incompetence? Yep, preserving freedom sounds way better.

The Imperialism

“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

A Polish friend of mine who recently visited the US to rock climb in the West has recently posted several pictures from her adventures to Facebook with a caption that translates to “Imperialistic United States.” Imperialistic, I thought to myself and smiled: Why would she say that?

The next day was when I attended the Veteran’s Day program at my school. Just like everyone else, I clapped hard when veterans form the local VFW chapter entered the gymnasium to show how much I admire and appreciate their bravery and service. It was a great ceremony and it was well prepared, but I did not stay to the end. During the lead Jr. ROTC Cadet’s speech two things hit me hard:

1.     The casual description of US flag flying proudly in all four corners of the world, as if it was something perfectly common to have military troops stationed literally everywhere in the world.

2.     The statement made that since the inception of this country, every single generation has had to fight in a war to protect our freedom.

I had to leave after the second statement, as it upset and prompted me to reflect on the “Imperialistic United States,” and how the pretext of freedom is commonly used to mask the true intentions of our policy makers or to justify the millions of lives our military has erased from existence. One of the most horrific and shameful genocides in the history of the world involves the white Americans systematically dehumanizing and killing Native American Indians. In fact, the US Government using its military might has done such a thorough job of destroying the American Indian spirit that today the native population exhibits the highest school dropout rates, highest suicide rates among youth aged 15-24, and highest alcoholism and death from alcoholism rates among all US ethnicities as reported by the National Congress of American Indians.

I know that the cadet just read a prepared speech designed to discuss the greatness, justify the necessity, and emphasize the benevolence of the US Military. But I wonder if this teen realized that all the wars waged against the native tribes and nations (and you can find a long list of them here) were not for freedom at all? Maybe he thought that the US military was freeing the Indians from their land, which was doing them a huge favor, because what were they going to do with all this real estate if they didn’t even know how to farm, right? That last one was cynical, but questions in this vein rarely get asked in public. They are not convenient as the answers involve some of the often-glorified forefathers of this nation being shown to act in ways consistent with those employed by some of the most evil and cruel world leaders, such as Hitler, Stalin, or Milošević. And that is nothing to aspire to.

One such well-documented case, is of President Thomas Jefferson laying out a plan for seizure of “aboriginal” lands through deceitful assimilation, acculturation, and in cases of resistance, forced removal and extermination. He presents this plan in a letter to Governor William H. Harrison Washington from February 27, 1803. I wonder if the American History textbooks used in high schools provide any look into the specifics of how this country started implementing such radical nationalistic views and imperialistic polices shortly after its inception. While Jefferson himself was already out of the office at the time of implementation, the “Indian killer” President Andrew Jackson had a well laid out template for it, courtesy of his predecessors, most notably Jefferson.

“The most powerful man in the free world” – this is what we are accustomed to hearing when the President of the US is being talked about. What makes him so powerful? All Americans know the answer to this question, because it is a source of pride to all of us. Our military is a fine-tuned ass-kicking machine second to none; bar none. But I think it is important to ask our students the question whether this fact should be a source of pride for us. Has the privilege of being the all and ever present benevolent uncle to all nations who do as we do been bestowed to America by the rest of the world? Has it been agreed upon by at least the majority of the people living on this planet? Perhaps, the divine granted it to us? Or maybe, in the words of Jefferson, “it is our sovereign right?”

The Freedom of Mind

I think it is important to start educating our students to look at our government’s policies and actions with a more critical lens. This is one of the freedoms afforded by our constitution, but only exercised by few, as our very government is a great marketer of ideals and noble values it sells as a package deal, while it goes about its business of world domination. We, the educators, have to teach our students to challenge this approach and pose difficult, rarely asked, and often overlooked questions such as:

1.     Are our policies, as viewed by not just our people, but also the citizens of other countries, benevolent or simply arrogant and why we should care?

2.     Does the official story of going to war make sense, or does it wreak of ulterior motives?

3.     Is the predominant modus operandi of “benevolent hegemony” a must, or something we are desperately trying to hold onto as Americans?

4.     How have we found ourselves in this position?

5.     How long can we go on like this? And

6.     And is it truly advantageous in the long run?

And maybe the new generations will clear the smoke, shatter the mirrors, and pave way toward a more sustainable America. After all, would it be so bad to the American ego to restore equal footing with every other nation on earth and become a country that truly cooperates with the rest of the world, instead of instilling fear and forcing collaboration with the imminent threat of military intervention and the potentiality of chaos ensuing in the countries of those who oppose its will? Just saying…

The truth is that the United States has exercised imperialist policies since its very beginnings as a country. To maintain the support of its citizens, the government uses the high ideals and moral principles contained within the pages of our constitution. These tactics, along with the targeted promotion of the courage and sacrifice of our soldiers, are used to distract us away from the real issues and the true motives. These motives aren’t necessarily evil; they just aren’t harmonious with the picture of America we project to ourselves, which in turn is a reflection of who we are as people. Most people like to paint a pretty picture, because abstract paintings are weird…

As teachers, we need to work to free our children’s minds from the tyranny of linear thought and help them clear out the distractions preventing them from seeing the complicated truths. It is only then we can teach them to protect our most precious resource – our young men and women – who, on moments notice, courageously accept an order to leave those they love and go into hell. Sometimes they are called upon to protect us, and sometimes to protect our interests. Sometimes, they go into hell and back. And sometimes the hell claims the highest price anyone can pay…

We also need to teach our students to be smart about how they communicate about these issues and about the actions they take to stand up against engagements that violate their core values. Edward Snowden comes to mind here. For what he did, he is in exile forever. He is no longer American, never to be spoken of in the same sentence as the words “United States of America.” No longer a citizen, he stays a country-less wanderer, forever to be vilified by legions of his blinded compatriots, whose eyes he tried to open, if only for short while. 

But what did he do? I do not know his motives, but I want to believe that one day his conscience caused him to stand up and say: I will not allow my own government to violate the Constitution of the United States of America, the very document it has sworn to uphold and protect no matter what. What he did, wasn’t thought through. Maybe it was stupid. Perhaps an act of treason as well. But what is more un-American and traitorous than violating the one document that delineates what it means to be American and explicates the principles we swore never to allow to be desecrated? Because if we do, the very foundation of what this country is lays in ruin.

Personally, I am conflicted and angry when our government uses preservation of our freedoms as a ruse to go to war and then makes a mockery of these inalienable rights by covertly defiling them when it sees fit.

Our Soldiers and Our Children

I do not claim to have all of the facts and I interpret things and events based on the research I do and sources I find. Some of this information is not meant to be found easily. Some of it is readily available and has been (not so) common knowledge for decades. It isn’t even hidden or denied by our government – it’s just conveniently omitted and replaced with ideals we aspire to.

As a teacher it’s my job and desire to help my students aspire to do great things and honor those who choose to serve others; the men and women soldiers whose courage, honesty, and values exhibit what’s best about this country. It’s also my responsibility to teach them to think for themselves, consider the facts, look for conflicting information, make their own conclusions based on their findings and regardless of the good opinion of others, and formulate their own value systems to withstand the pressures of those who will undoubtedly seek to influence and bend their will.

This includes challenging the government for which the indefinite detention of its citizens without trial is now status quo, the very government that is slowly eroding whatever is left of our “inalienable” liberties, under the pretext of preserving freedom, because WE LET IT.

I dedicate this post to my son, Adam, whom I want to infect with unconditional love for life and people, and whom I hope to teach to think for himself, speak out against injustice, and uphold the highest values.

I also dedicate it to my friend Paul, an Iraq War veteran, who, from our regular conversations, seems just as conflicted as I am about our government’s motives, and continues to support his veteran brethren by advocating on their behalf. Right on brother. Right on…

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Want Students to Learn? Don’t Just Tell Them What You Are Teaching (The Importance of Learning Objectives)

by Oskar Cymerman | BAm!Radio Network EDWords Blogger | @focus2achieve

Learning Objectives are a Classroom Game Changer.

“Life is not a matter of chance... it is a matter of choice.” ― Ka

Should we leave our students' learning up to chance? The answer seems simple enough right? But its application isn’t automatic. It is a conscious choice we must make as educators.

I have a confession to make. I have been a high school teacher for 13 years and this is the first year that I started writing down and consciously going over the learning objectives at the beginning of every class with my chemistry students. I mean, I always told my students what they were about to learn each day, and I even remember using the required SWBAT (Students Will Be Able To) format in the lesson plans I submitted to the administration weekly when I taught science in Chicago Public Schools. However, I did not ever consider or realize that simply telling my students what I was about to teach wasn’t enough.

Now I know that “just saying it” is not enough.

Objectives are not the Day’s Agenda

I most definitely have been guilty of mislabeling the day’s agenda for learning objectives. I’ve seen many really good teachers do it. We meant well. We just did not realize at the time, that the activities we led and students did were the learning medium, and not the learning outcomes. They were the means and not the ends… 

Objectives are the ends though, and as such should be identified and written down before the unit is taught. Backwards design/planning promotes writing the summative assessment before the unit is taught. Doing this is crucial to being able to accurately identify all of the unit objectives students need to learn and makes the learning process more meaningful. All the teacher has to do is to go through the test questions and write actionable objectives that cover the test content. This is different from “teaching to the test,” because when I go through the objective writing process I am not focusing on students being able to answer every question. Rather, I look for the big ideas, understandings, and skills and mold them into daily objectives. And, if the students can “do” the objectives well, they can “do” the test well.

Objectives Need to Be Clear

I do not beat myself up over not realizing the purpose of objectives earlier. I always did my best, tried my hardest, and cared a lot about my students. I taught them well then. I do it better now. In fact, I include the agenda and the objectives on the same page of my SMART Notebook lesson plan to differentiate between the two and as a reminder to discuss each before the main lesson activity begins. I believe that having the goals and the plan to reach these goals on the same screen is a great way of showing students what it will take for them to be successful and what route we will all take together to get there.

So, how can this be done effectively? I go over the objectives after the bell ringer activity with students every day. I want them to have a clear understanding of the objectives so I explain them. If time allows, I reiterate and reinforce them at end of direct instruction. I write down all of the learning goals on the second presentation slide when I use flipped classroom note taking. In fact, I started adding objectives to all of my presentations. They should not be a secret. After all, goals and teacher clarity figure very high on the Hattie ranking of influences on student achievement.

Objectives Need to Be Deliberate

“What I hear, I forget; What I see, I remember; What I do, I understand.”  - Attributed to Confucius

Life is multimodal and so is learning. No single learning modality can be used effectively on a consistent basis. The ever-popular in the K-12 community VARK (visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic) learning styles inventory is continually being proven inaccurate and the idea that each person has a preferred learning modality is not supported by numerous university studies. In fact, it is flat out debunked, as the individual’s self-reported learning preference is not reflected in his actual performance. You can read more about this here. Or here. Or here.

Therefore, rather than focus on any one approach, I find it important to target this information in a multitude of ways. I write the learning objectives down so students can see them. I read them, so they can hear them, and tell students to write them down. Because I write the objectives as action statements, students can check with themselves if they can do the actions after the lesson is over. In addition, I created a universal review strategy that utilizes the learning objectives as a part of preparation for tests. You can download the Focus Method Review for free here.

I suggest that all teachers reading this post require all their students to write them down as a crucial part of their notes. Make them do it. Twist their arms if you have to. But do it only if you care enough, because it will do your students a world of good.

Objectives are the Ultimate Measure of Success

I believe that the learning objectives are one of the most powerful ways for students to measure their own success in any class. More specifically, objectives can be used by students to self-assess their learning. This is the reason why I write them as action steps – sentences that begin with words such as: “Explain”, “Calculate”, “Compare and Contrast” etc. – that are “calls to action.” At the beginning of every class I tell students that if they are able to perform these actions they can be sure that they have learned what was intended.

I leverage the objectives to be such a success tool by:

1.     Writing, reading, and explaining them to students.

2.     Having the students write them down as part of their notes.

3.     Reviewing them at the end of class.

4.     Including the learning objectives review in each unit review. See Focus Method Review.

The End does justify the Means

I enjoy teaching a lot. I especially love the times when after a prolonged struggle trying to grasp an abstract chemistry concept, my students finally have that light bulb moment and things start making sense for them. That is truly an awesome feeling for a teacher, especially after committing a lot of time, thought, and effort into teaching such a topic. However, as I am sitting in my home office right now, I wonder if knowing what I know now before and using this knowledge could have helped; somehow streamlined the learning process for my students.

I do not claim that by using the learning objectives I can simplify every tough concept in chemistry, but I do think that by using them I can help students grasp concepts more efficiently and on a deeper level. I have to be honest and throw caution to the wind here though:

Not all students will buy into the idea of objectives. No matter how many times I explain to them how important they are and how big of a game changer the awareness of the learning goals can be for them, some students do not write them down. Their teenage brains simply don’t allow them to believe they can do better than they are already doing, regardless of how well they are doing. I will never let that detract me though. Not ever. I can’t.

I hope you will reach the same inevitable conclusion Mr/Ms ___________________________ (fill in your name). Once signed, only the pain of death (or retirement) can relieve you from this contract.

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The Focus Method: Teaching Students to Use Metacognitive Strategies in Note Taking and Learning

by Oskar Cymerman       @focus2achieve

THE FOCUS METHOD: TEACHING STUDENTS TO USE METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES IN NOTE TAKING AND LEARNING.

The truth: American high schools are not preparing students to excel after graduation. Only 25% of high school students graduate with the skills and knowledge necessary to be college-ready in the 4 core subjects of English, Reading, Math and Science.

If teacher quality is one of the most important factors contributing to student success in school, then it is imperative that we, the educators, provide students with the right learning tools and teach them skills necessary for success in high school and beyond. One such skill is note taking. 

Call me crazy, but I believe that most high school students do not find much benefit in using their own notes to study. I mean, even if they pay attention in class, take notes diligently in class or at home, and review these notes to learn, many students come up short on tests. So what gives? 

Upon closer examination of the learners I meet in my Chemistry classes every year, I can confidently ascertain that there are definitely those who never take notes. Others take notes and never open them. I know this, because I've asked this question many times during my tenure and each time I saw several hands go up in the air. Then, there are others, who take and use their notes with limited effect. Finally, there are those few-and-far-in-betweeners who basically have it all figured out. They are the notes ninjas: they take good notes and use them as their greatest school weapon. So, it is only fitting that in this rant, I will talk about my plan to get everyone else to that same level of note-taking and learning sophistication. I will talk about how I am using a learning method I created, the Focus Method, to teach note maximization and metacognition. But, first things first...

Issues I observed

I am convinced that a great majority of high school students simply does not know how to use notes. The 5 main reasons for this are: 

1. Not having a consistent note taking strategy 

2. Not having a clearly defined focus for taking notes (read: learning) 

3. Inability to pick out and/or leverage the big ideas effectively  

4. Lack of understanding of the material 

5. Not realizing how to use the written information effectively           

My plan of attack: The Focus Method (a Metacognition Strategy)

According to the Teaching Excellence in Adult Literacy (TEAL) Center, a project of the U.S. Department of Education, metacognition is "one’s ability to use prior knowledge to plan a strategy for approaching a learning task, take necessary steps to problem solve, reflect on and evaluate results, and modify one’s approach as needed." Metacognition then, is the learner awareness of the thinking and learning tools he or she can use to learn more effectively. The Focus Method I describe below is such a strategy. It serves as a medium for teachers to teach students cognitive, as well as metacognitive skills, and it is a learning method that provides students with strategies to approach and reflect on their own learning.

1. The Right Strategy 

There is not one right note-taking strategy that trumps them all and is effective for every student. Different ones work for different people. I remember using outline type notes in high school and college, but I know others might prefer Cornell notes, concept mapping, other graphic organizers, or any combination of these strategies. (I am purposefully ignoring electronic note taking, as multiple recent studies suggest that e-devices are not only a source of distraction in school, but the electronic note takers are also consistently trumped by pen and paper users when it comes to retention, understanding, and test performance). 

No matter what strategy one uses, I believe consistency is the key. And, because most students come to my class without a clear vision of what note taking should look like and do not have a consistent strategy, I came up with the note-taking template and strategy I call the Focus Method. 

2. Clearly Defined Focus

I sometimes think of the Focus Method as Cornell Notes on steroids. But, it isn't that at all. Sure, it uses the Cornell Notes organization and there are additional features in the note taking template that make it more complete. However, the different strategies and learning activities it lends itself to during and after note taking make it a lot more. If Dr. John Hattie is right about teacher clarity being one of the biggest determinants of student success, then discussing objectives and having students write them down at the beginning of the lesson in indeed a high return on investment activity. 

The Focus Method puts the objectives front and center so that students know what information to focus on during the learning activity. To make the process a metacognitive one, I write the objectives as action steps, have students use them when they review for tests (see the Test Review Method), and prompt students to ask themselves at the end of each lesson, and while reviewing for exams, questions such as: Do I understand the objectives? Can I perform the actions they call for? How can I learn this material or gain a better understanding of it? 

At some point in my teaching career, I realized that my main goal as a teacher is not necessarily to teach students chemistry (which is important), but to help them gain the skills necessary to become better learners. To achieve this, students must become aware of what they do and do not know, and be able to reflect on their ability to control and manipulate the thought processes involved in their learning. Such metacognitive focus has to be first uncovered for students, as most have not consciously thought about their thinking before, and then it must be taught by teachers so that the students can take their learning to the next level.

3. Identifying and Leveraging the Big Ideas

While identification of big ideas and key concepts should initially be scaffolded for students, the upfront class time investment by the teacher pays huge dividends in the future. Being able to pick out information that is crucial to developing deep content understanding is essential to academic success. What I believe is more important though, because it lasts a lifetime, is developing the metacognitive skills associated with identifying and using the big ideas contained within lectures, presentations, and readings to further one's knowledge and understanding. 

The Focus Method utilizes objectives to point a student's subconscious toward key information. As the student listens to the lecture, his mind starts to make connections between the vocabulary used in the objectives and the most important information contained in the presentation. Such cognitive processing makes a big difference in student learning, but learning how to use the information metacognitively gives the learner the ability to be more strategic when reviewing (Asking questions such as: What is really important to understand here? What do I already know? What do I need to hit hard?); to reflect on and evaluate results (Asking questions such as: Do I understand this? Can I explain it in a simple way? Do I feel confident about what I know?); and to modify the learning approach if necessary (Asking questions such as: What else can I do? What can I do better? How can I learn this more effectively?).

4. Problem-Solving

Asking questions and problem-solving are the ultimate exercises in metacognition. 

I want to focus on problem-solving here (check out my previous post for a proven problem-solving method I use: PROBLEM SOLVING MADE EASY... EASIER... ISH...) and how it teaches metacognition, and I will describe asking questions in the next section.

One way I leverage problem-solving to teach my students metacognitive skills involves writing challenging bell ringer questions and asking students to come up with multiple ways of answering them. Whenever possible, it is important to use problems that require logic and a multi-step approach, and to use think-alouds to model the thinking that is occurring in the problem solving process. To become a better problem solver a student can ask himself questions such as: What can I do to solve this problem? Where can I find the solution? and Who can I ask for help? 

Problem-solving is one of the best strategies to use to teach such metacognition as it requires continuous reflection, which, among other things, involves digging up the prior knowledge one possesses and thinking about the problem-solving process itself.  It includes knowing when, where, and how to use specific problem solving strategies. If I just bought a house and want to buy a Christmas tree that fits in the new family room perfectly, I will consider where I bought the tree in years prior and where I could go now. I will think about the ceiling height in the old apartment vs. the new house and decide what size tree to buy. I will visualize what the done up tree should look like and what reactions I want it to evoke. Most importantly, I will think about the actions I can take and the things I can do to ensure that my whole family feels at home in our new house come Christmas time.

5. Maximizing the Use of Notes to Increase Learning

When using the Focus Method with students, I prompt them to write down any questions they may have during the opening activity (warm-up/bell ringer), during the main activity, and during the time they review and summarize their notes. If a student identifies some confusion while reviewing his notes, the Focus Method Notes template provides him with space to write questions down. By writing questions down students become conscious of what they do not understand or need more clarification on and start thinking about how to address such gaps in knowledge and understanding. 

Another highly metacognitive activity I have my students do involves writing higher-level questions on the left side of the Cornell note-taking system the Focus Method uses. These are questions that educe processing and application of the information to gain a deeper understanding of it. The teaching and learning of this strategy takes time and considerable effort on the part of the teacher and the students, but it pays big dividends when used correctly.

While each question and the answer to it requires higher level cognitive processing and improves learning, metacognition occurs during the question writing process as the student contemplates the most effective question she can write to bring forth the most sophisticated understanding of the concept when reviewing the notes later. 

The Focus Notebook method involves “on the spot” summarizing, checking for own understanding, and asking questions. These are powerful ways of getting the most out of learning, because one is allowed to process the information at least 4 times as he is receiving it and shortly after recording it. On the surface, this continual repetition helps learning of concepts. The magic happens beneath the surface though. Upon more careful examination, it is fairly easy to discover that the learner is using metacognitive processes when he begins noticing that his level of comprehension and memory retention improve as a result of this ongoing re-processing.

Bringing It Home 

Students simply don’t have a wide repertoire of study strategies. They rarely consider alternatives to the methods they've always used when they hit a learning roadblock. Not realizing learning is 80% quality and 20% quantity, many students think that studying more is the answer to their persistent lack of understanding. Moreover, and this one is in my view a tragedy, most high-schoolers do not think to evaluate what and how well they learned. Rather, success is measured by the grade they received.

So how do I problem-solve here? I teach metacognition. 

Metacognition can be taught. Metacognition should be taught in school. To significantly improve student success, teachers must help their students learn "thinking about their thinking skills." I believe that it is our great responsibility as educators to provide students with the tools and the instruction that allow them to make sense of, process, and consciously use the information they receive in school effectively and efficiently.

Learning the cognitive skills, such as selection of what's important and summarizing of key ideas, is increasingly important in the work world of today, and will be even more necessary in the world of tomorrow, as the amount of information grows exponentially. Teaching students to think about how to select and summarize information, so that the meaning is not sacrificed as a result of lack of time or space, opens the entryway to the metacognition realm that is often reserved for a select few. I say we give everyone access.

Taking It Further

It is my intention to create a classroom climate that promotes the idea that the ultimate goal of schooling is to provide students with skills that will last a lifetime; skills that can be used throughout their career; skills that set them on a path of excellence in their future. I want to foster a classroom environment in which my students meet their "learner-self." They consider how they learn, adjust their learning process, and identify and use learning strategies that work best for them. 

The quote goes: "If you're not growing, you're dying." In the ever changing and evolving world, any single way of doing things must be continually re-evaluated and improved, just as any skill must be sharpened to maintain the competitive edge. These statements may be strong, but I see note-taking as a skill that can last a lifetime, and as such, should evolve with the learner. This can be achieved by analyzing the note-taking process itself, by asking and answering questions about it, and by comparison of notes between students.

If a student asks herself why she wrote down what she did, she will gain further insight into her cognitive process. Moreover, she will have the opportunity to adjust her note taking and evolve her learning process. If a student is given the opportunity to compare her notes with those of another student, or several students, she will gain insight into how others think, which in turn will improve her cognitive processing. This can be taken even further by reflecting on these activities and putting the learned revelations to work. For example, a student might consider the changes she would make if she was asked to take these notes again. Then, she might examine her reasons for these changes. 

I want my students to do more "thinking about thinking" activities. When they do, their thinking improves, and they process information in a more meaningful way. I want to help my students use metacognition. When they do, they really learn. Students are given opportunities to plan and organize, monitor their own work, direct their own learning, and to self-reflect along the way. When we provide students with time and space to be aware of their own knowledge and their own thinking, student ownership increases. And research shows that metacognition can be taught, so I created a medium to help students learn to engage in it. So far, the Focus Method consists of a Note Taking Method, Table of Contents, and a Test Review Method. I am constantly improving it and have several tools that support and further it in development. 

Please download the Focus Method for FREE (links above) if you think you can find it helpful in your classroom or learning and leave me a comment or ask questions in the comments section.

If you are interested in supporting this project, I am currently running a Kickstarter campaign, which uses the Focus Method in a notebook format. Check it out here: Focus Notebook

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Resources

Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) The Pen is Mightier Than a Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking Psychological Science

Peter Doolittle: How Your Working Memory Makes Sense of the World. TEDTalk. Filmed June 2013 at TEDGlobal

Hattie, John (2008) Visible Learning

Anderson and Hidi (1988) Teaching Students to Summarize. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Sheehy, Kelsey. "High School Students Not Prepared for College, Career." US News. Accessed February 24, 2014, http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2012/08/22/high-school-students-not-prepared-for-college-career.

Maryellen Weimer (2013) Three Ways to Help Students Become More Metacognitively Aware. http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/three-ways-to-help-students-become-more-metacognitively-aware/

Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebook Bundle of 3

$9.00

The Cornell Notes on Steroids Notebook is a 8.5"x11" 120-page academic notebook that contains an organizational method that improves on the Cornell Note-Taking System. BUNDLE & SAVE.