| |
This activity asks students to identify
and summarise key information from the
‘learning sciences’, and to produce a
model synthesising the information.
|
|
| Overview of the activity |
| |
| In this activity, students
(working in groups) engage with information about
the brain and about learning, and produce two outcomes:
a model of the learner and a set of ‘tips for learners’
that they could use as advice on study/revision
skills for other students. The two tasks require
the groups to organise and present information from
the same ‘database’ in two very different ways. |
| |
| Rationale of the
activity |
| |
The ‘learning science’
activity was partly intended to inform the development
of metacognition (see Chapter 5), but - in common
with a number of other activities - also involved
a modelling activity. In the ASCEND programme this
activity was also used as an introduction to modelling
in science.
Deliberate aspects of the design of the activity
included: |
•
Setting two tasks with
different types of outcomes – the groups
produced a summary sheet with key points
about learning, in the form of tips for
students, and a poster (although it would
have been possible to use other media) modelling
the learner as a ‘system’;
• Providing (as the primary source of information)
a substantive text (included on the CD-ROM)
that was not suitable for reading in full
in the limited time available;
• Providing auxiliary information in the
form of a diverse set of figures of relevance
to different aspects of the text;
• Modelling of modelling in science
by playing a slideshow of images.
|
|
The thinking behind
the sessions included the expectation that some
of the students would have rather limited notions
of what a model in science could be, so presenting
them with a range of examples of different types
of model would be useful. For ASCEND a series of
images were accessed from the internet (see below).
These are not reproduced on the CD-ROM for copyright
reasons, but it is suggested that is a useful approach
to use when introducing students to the range of
models scientists use.
Similarly, although a verbal text was produced as
a principal source of information, this was supplemented
with various visual images. This, along with the
size of the text (over 4000 words, including new
vocabulary and technical information) was a deliberate
attempt to require the students to work as groups,
and to plan a strategy for undertaking the work.
In terms of the two outcomes expected, it was left
for the groups to decide whether to subdivide into
smaller teams to take primary responsibility for
the different outcomes, as well as deciding how
to organise a way of searching the information sources.
The visual images were presented as a series of
A4 cards each including one or two images, each
with a legend (and an acknowledgement of the source).
Again the images used were found from an internet
search, and are not included on the CD-ROM for copyright
reasons, but it is suggested that teachers may wish
to develop their own library of useful images.
As well as adding complexity to the task, the set
of images complemented the information in the text
provided, and (paralleling information given in
the text) offered information in alternative formats
to simple written text. |
| |
| The scope of the
text |
| |
| The ‘The brain and learning’
text was designed to introduce a wide range of ideas
related to learning, from both the psychological
and the more physiological perspectives. The scope
of the text may be gauged from the sub-headings:- |
| |
•
Cells in the brain
• Perception
• Subconscious thought?
• Intuition and science
• Discovery and Justification
• The role of imagination
• The prepared mind
• What is learning?
• Meaningful and rote learning
• Learning style
• Multiple intelligences? |
|
| |
| The text was deliberately
designed to be ‘dense’ introducing a wide range
of ideas, and new vocabulary for students to use.
Consider the opening paragraph: |
| |
Cells in the brain
A human brain consists of about 100 billion
(10 to the power 11) nerve cells, or neurons,
supported by other cells (glial cells), bathed
in a fluid (the cerebrospinal fluid) and supplied
with blood. The glial cells have several different
functions in the brain, but it is the neurons
that are thought to be responsible for our
cognitive processes (thinking –
imagining, remembering, etc.). |
The text relates familiar science ideas (the brain,
blood, cells), familiar everyday ideas (imagining,
remembering), and (what is likely to be) new concepts
and vocabulary (glial cells, cerebrospinal fluid).
The text was designed to be a demanding yet interesting
read for students. Gifted learners should have the
ability to comprehend such texts, and it is important
that they are able to engage with sources of this
nature (which are somewhat different from standard
school text books designed to meet the needs of
a wide range of students with different levels of
reading skill and interest in the subject).
Students need to have the ability to ‘read for purpose’
– to identify texts, skim them, determine whether
they are relevant to matters in hand, and then select
the parts of a text from which they will obtain
information. Such skills are unlikely to develop
when reading is limited to basic teaching texts,
and students are always directed to particular passages
for reading. Gifted learners (in particular) are
likely to take more responsibility for finding a
suitable source and interrogating it when they need
information (see chapter 5).
During ASCEND a range of general science books (i.e.
‘popular’ science, mostly written for adults) of
particular relevance to the ASCEND themes were made
available in the teaching rooms, and some students
did spontaneously use these sources, along with
other reference books on hand, during some of the
ASCEND sessions. |
| |
| Resources |
| |
| The following resources
are included on the CD: |
| |
| Resource |
Description |
Filename |
| Briefing
sheet |
Instruction
sheet for the groups |
Act
3 Instructions |
| Response
sheet |
Summary
sheet for groups to record their
suggestions of tips for learners
|
Act
3 Learning tips |
| The
brain and learning |
Text
providing an overview of thinking
about the brain and learning |
Act
3 Text |
|
|
|
| |
| Two additional resources
were used in the session, which are not reproduced
on the CD-ROM for copyright reasons. However, it
is recommended that teachers consider developing
their own image libraries to build such resources. |
| |
| Modelling science
slide show
(using PowerPoint) |
This
consisted of a series of images accessed
from the internet, offering an overview
of some of the modelling that is used in
science. The images used in the ASCEND project
included models of space vehicles; model
steam engines; model plane in a wind tunnel;
replica dinosaurs; a model cell made from
food stuffs; model cell from a biology course;
molecular models (including the iconic DNA
model of Crick and Watson); plastic life-size
brain model; atomic structure diagrams;
food pyramid image; schematic showing lock
and key model of enzyme action; a representation
of how mass distorts space-time; representation
of magnetic fields around earth as solar
wind varies; schematic showing biochemical
pathways; mathematical formulae (being written
on a board by Lise Meitner); hologram of
skull; as well as a range of other graphs,
charts and schematics. |
|
| |
| Learning science image
bank |
A series
of images relating to the theme of learning and
the brain. Each student group was provided with
a set of the images to complement the text ‘the
brain and learning’. The images used, accessed
from the internet, included: various images of
the human brain (realistic, labelled images showing
main brain areas etc.) including images supposedly
linking to hemispheric specialisation and learning
styles; schematics of nerve cells and connections;
photomicrographs of cells in the brain; schematics
of neural nets; common optical illusions; graphs
showing outcomes of experiments on recall and
forgetting (e.g. effects of reviewing learning);
schematics representing ideas about hierarchies
of learning skills, learning styles, and multiple
intelligences; people undergoing brain scans of
various types; and images from different types
of scans. Some images with more indirect links
to the textual material were also included: a
fine art painting of a woman entitled ‘intuition’;
an image of a ring of snakes (inspired by Kekulé’s
report of his dream leading to the ring structure
of benzene and other aromatic compounds); a painting
of Pasteur (who commented on the value of a ‘prepared
mind’ in scientific work) working in his laboratory,
and one of the spaceship USS Pasteur (a medical
ship Captained by Dr. Beverley Picard in the Star
Trek Franchise). Some of the images included were
intended to offer more ‘creative’ links to the
theme. |
| |
| Download
PDF of activity 3 brief |
| |
|
