Activity 4.2

Chapter 11 Summarization

In chapter 11, James explains that in order to keep the learners attention the teacher must present information in an interesting manner. James says, “Let your pupil wander from one aspect to another of your subject, if you do not wish him to wander from it all together to something else, variety in unity being the secret of all interesting talk and thought.” (p. 56)

As a educator, I use several methods of delivery, concrete examples, visual stimulations and sensory objects to present information and keep the students attention. The book, Inspiring Active Learners provides strategies that help students stay engaged in the lesson, maximize their attention span and learning. Some of the strategies include, think alouds, learning centers, giving students jobs or responsibilities, partner work, keep lessons flowing, guided discovery, group work, and individual assignments.

Harmin, M., & Toth, M. (2006) Inspiring Active Learners. Available from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103113/chapters/List-of-Strategies.aspx

Chapter 14 Summarization

In chapter 14, James describes apperception as “the act of taking a thing into the mind.” (p. 77) James explains that humans use their prior knowledge to assimilate the information but when the learner isn’t familiar with the content he or she will rearrange the “previous system of beliefs”. (p. 78) However, the process of rearranging often is challenging and unwelcomed as “we instinctively seek to disturb as little as possible our pre-existing stock of ideas.” (p. 78)

During whole group instruction, teachers often use schema to draw in students’ background knowledge and engage their attention in the lesson. I’ve observed young children struggle to rearrange their beliefs about the content taught, especially with abstract concepts such as main idea and author’s purpose. According to The Theory of Teaching and Elementary Psychology, using appreciation in instruction is both negative and positive. It’s negative because it limits the student to the prior knowledge that they’ve attained. On the other hand, it’s positive because it provides a foundation of information that students have learned and can presently use. (A. Sailsbury, p. 273)

Salisbury, A., (1905) The Theory of Teaching and Elementary Psychology. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=cP1EAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA273&lpg=PA273&dq=using+apprception+in+teaching+elementary&source=bl&ots=SyC-ZiDmyC&sig=bNjOEzY9JS4UG78eTZ6KwceeD2E&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mfQiVJKzA46TyAT9xYHYBA&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=using%20apperception%20in%20teaching%20elementary&f=false