Using Self-Explanation to Learn
Situation
Recently I worked with a 6th grade girl on a science task. The assignment was to read about the scientific method and make a flap page (see pic above) to summarize each step.
Observations
I noticed three problems emerge as she worked on this task.
1. The "artsy" nature of the flap page didn't increase engagement on a learning level. It made it look pretty and she happens to like pretty, but it did not change the learning.
2. Her "summaries" looked almost identical to the original text in both language and length.
3. There seemed to be no more understanding of the scientific method from this task than before it. And since I assumed this to be the teacher's purpose for this assignment, this was a problem.
Implications
Both issues 2 & 3 are COMMON struggles when our children read textbooks. Frequently we assume that READING is a viable way to learn. But reading ALONE is not how we learn... its what we do during reading that results in learning. Therefore I focused on what she was doing as she read.
For the record, in attempt to address the #3 issue, we covered #2 (but I will still explore this issue in a future blog).
A very effective learning strategy to employ when reading is SELF-EXPLANATION. This strategy works because the reader goes beyond reading... beyond summarizing... beyond writing notes... to a place where they explain it to themselves. This requires going beyond what is written. In this case, I had her generate an example for her notes. Since I know she loves popcorn, we used making popcorn as our topic. Together we wrote examples of each of the scientific method steps. (see in the pic above)
This makes me think of the quote from Daniel Schwartz (Author of ABCs of How We Learn)
"Ineffective readers are learning a text. Effective readers are learning from a text."
This specificity strengthened her understanding of each step. And she commented that if she ever gets to do science fair again, she will use this popcorn one. I encouraged her that she didn't need to have a science fair to do this exploration.
It also increased her engagement a hundred fold, which is necessary for learning to happen. I noted that it wasn't the artsy part of the task that engaged her, but the self-explanation with examples that got her excited. Which leads me to this...
The artsy part of the task was fun for her (although others may dread something like this), but it did NOT increase the engagement and therefore learning of the topic. I'm all for finding ways to increase creativity and artistry; but with two purposes in mind.
- Allow each child the space to choose their artistic expression. Some options might be... make a video explaining the scientific method or make a large chart that shows the method or glue fancy/colored paper and make a flap page. Keep in mind, in order to link this to deeper engagement, which leads to learning, the student needs to interact with the ideas.
- When possible embed solutions creativity into the experience versus artsy creativity. (I think I can do a whole blog on this idea...)
In reflection, I use self-explanation a lot. As I read, I stop to make sense of the ideas I'm reading. I'm sure you've used this too. Consider how you or your child may have used this learning strategy and please share it with me in the comments section. (I love learning from your stories as well as mine)