Elaborative rehersal for high performance learning
Posted by: mimanifesto on: May 17, 2008
Of course being me, potential applications to teaching and learning were never far from my mind as the day progressed. I think teaching psychology gives me a very useful insight into the cognitive processes which underlie my classroom practice and much of my work is based on using this knowledge to structure the activities my pupils work on during lessons.
Today, an interesting concept jumped out from the lectures and discussions which I can see myself using and this is the idea of ‘elaborative rehersal’. Put simply, its a way of moving from superficial to deep learning. You think of 5 concepts or terms from a topic and list them. You then have to write something about each of the 5. You repeat this another two times, explaining each new addition and forming a chain originating from each of the original 5 terms, and hopefully end up with an accurate regeneration of material previously learned. In other words, you are actively generating content on a specific topic area.
I can see lots of collaborative possibilities here in the classroom. I can also see how this would work well using GLOW meet, where the pupils could each have a whiteboard and ask for help using the instant messaging if they need a prompt or an idea for the 5 concepts or themes they are working on. They could of course contribute to each others whiteboards. It would also work well with two classes in different schools coming together in GLOW meet, one class starting of with their 5 themes, the other class adding something for each of the 5 and then handing back to the originating class for further input, and so on.
This builds upon psychological theories of memory of course, particularly declarative memory and retrieval. Translating theory into classroom practice is all about taking risks I think, about moving out of your comfort zones and trying new strategies to engage the learners.
And sometimes those risks can pay off !
3 Responses to "Elaborative rehersal for high performance learning"
May 19, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Hi Fearghal…
It was for an OU post-grad course I’m doing at the mo.
Its good to know that other schools are teaching Psychology….The students find it a very demanding subject though and quite a few strugggle with the analysis and evaluation.
Have you got your GTCS registration in Psych – just interested; I added it as an ATQ a couple of years ago.
Jaye
May 20, 2008 at 2:18 pm
No, I’m a Biology teacher by trade. This was my first year teaching it. The pupils do find it very demanding, but some of our pupils this year are really excelling at it. I considered going for an OU Psychology course, but now that I’m headed down the CT road that will have to wait.
May 19, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Hey Jaye,
I’ve been teaching Psychology for the first time this year as well, and I agree with you about the helpful insight it gives you into teaching. It’s amazing how many aspects of the Higher course have come up in my reading for Module 1 recently!
What was the seminar? I’d love to go to more of these events in future.