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...