Monday, September 21, 2009

Kristen W's metacognition

My own thinking about concepts at first is very jumbled. I think it takes a lot of organization to have clear thoughts on all the concepts I learn now. For several years I have grown accustom to taking notes in class. There are so many different concepts that I come across in college. Notes are always a way to display what is important and what is not. A lot of times when I read something for a class I will highlight what I think is important and maybe make a side note why it was important. This is needed now more than ever, because I have found things that I want to use in the future and I hope when that day comes I can find those notes somewhere. Notes help while reading alone at home, but they help in thinking about concepts in the classroom as well. I am always sure to take notes in class in order to know what concepts are important to think about. I also say what I think about the concepts in class discussion in order to see if I am thinking on the right track. Also, a lot of homework assignments that I have now focus on directing my thinking to the important parts of concepts I learn.
I think it is important to have students think about the concepts they are learning pertaining to reading and writing. One way that I think will help this is class discussion. Providing opportunities for students to pose questions, reflect, and debate about what they read not only shows me, the teacher, their comprehension of the reading, but helps them clarify their thinking on the concept as well. To me, notes are an important part of organizing my thoughts, but I didn’t do any note-taking in elementary school. I think taking notes may be a little complex for younger kids, which is why I probably never did it. An alternative may be to have kids write in journals on what they think the main points of the reading were. This would not only be an outlet for kids who may not feel comfortable during a class discussion, but would also allow writing practice and supply a hand written guide of their thoughts. Another way to make students aware of how they think about the material they encounter is to supply homework assignments which ask of their reflections or to answer what the most important parts were to them. Overall, having metacognition and organized thoughts is important. I not only want to find the best strategies now to organize my thoughts, but to find the best strategies to teach organization of thoughts as well.

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