Presenting Information

At times it will be necessary for teachers to present information to students to further the work of the project. Certainly we all learn by listening to what others say. However, there is strong evidence that presenting facts will not help children develop understandings that they can apply and build upon. Several techniques, however, can be used to present information in powerful ways. Using analogies and metaphors, presenting graphs, showing movies or videos and educational television programs, and showing diagrams or pictures can be a powerful ways to represent information. Guest speakers often can present information in interesting ways that tie to a project, and community resources are great sources for information. We will discuss each of these strategies in the following sections of this chapter.

Teachers can also present information in more active ways. For instance, teachers can present information to students by allowing them to do short activities. After the activity, students will better remember information than if the teacher told them the information. Role playing, investigation centers, and field trips are also active ways to present information. We will cover these topics in this section as well.

 

Metaphors, Similes, and Analogies

Metaphors, similes, and analogies provide a method for students to become actively involved in constructing meaningful knowledge by linking new ideas or concepts to prior knowledge or previous experiences. Educational researchers (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1987) suggest that metaphors, similes, and analogies can help students develop their understandings.

 

Metaphors are a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, making an implicit comparison from one idea to another. For example, a teacher might say, "The heart is a pump," or "Don’t eat garbage food." The first metaphor lets students picture in their minds a pump (a familiar object) with the heart (an unfamiliar object). In the second metaphor, the use of the word "garbage" helps students picture something that is not good and compares it with unhealthy snack foods.

 

A simile is a type of metaphor that makes a comparison between two things using the words "like" or "as." For example, a teacher might say, "An exoskelton of an insect is like a shield of armor," "The iris in the eye is like a shutter in a camera," "Dots and dashes in Morse code are like DNA in genes," or "The arteries of the body are like the plumbing in a house." Each of these similes let students picture in their minds a familiar object and has them compare it to an unfamiliar object. They also help students understand relationships between ideas. For example, understanding that a camera shutter opens and closes helps students understand that the iris in the eye opens and closes.

An analogy is a comparison between unlike things pointing out similarities between their attributes. For example, a teacher might compare the human body to a country. In doing so, the teacher could compare the circulatory system in the body to the transportation system in a country (roads, airports, and train stations) by stating, "the circulatory system is to the body as a transportation system is to a country." The teacher could compare the nervous system in the body with the information system in a country (telephones, the Internet, newspapers, etc.) by stating, "the nervous system is to the body as information systems are to a country." The skeletal system could be compared with the economy of a country by stating, "the skeletal system is to the body as the economy is to a country." The teacher could also compare the immune system in the body to the military by stating, "the immune system is to the body as the military is to a country." In each of these analogies, unlike things (the human body and a country) are compared so that students understand relationships by comparing attributes between the concepts.

 

Diagrams, Graphs And Pictures

The old adage still applies and perhaps even more so in today’s media driven society, "A picture says more than a 1000 words." Often key ideas can be expressed by showing students diagrams, graphs, and pictures that represent ideas. The use of these multiple media help learners form links between ideas, helping them build deeper understandings.

Let’s say a class is exploring why the land around the school has the form that it does. Water that cut through the school’s neighborhood made a meandering stream. Certainly a teacher could describe to students what a meandering stream looks like; however, showing them aerial views of meandering streams or perhaps even an aerial view of the stream itself, would do a lot more than verbally describing a meandering stream. After showing the students the meandering stream, a teacher could have them describe what they saw. The picture tied with the discussion would be a powerful technique in helping them develop this idea.

New technologies such as video disks, CD ROM’s, and the World Wide Web are excellent sources for obtaining a variety of diagrams, graphs, and pictures. The images available on the Web can bring real meaning into the classroom. Using a video disk or a CD ROM might be the better choice for finding and illustrating a meandering stream to children; however, the World Wide Web could have pictures and diagrams that are not as yet available on video disks or CD ROM’s. Let’s say a class was completing an activity on "Can life exist on Mars?" When writing this book, some excellent, current pictures of Mars were available on the World Wide Web through the NASA site; however, these same pictures were not available via other media. Here the World Wide Web offered visuals not available on other media.

 

Showing Movies, Videos, and Educational Television

If a picture says more than a 1000 words, then a video says more than a book! Children of today see video all around them. Video can capture the attention of many learners. Therefore, videos can be extremely powerful. Videos can help set a context as well as allow students to visualize phenomena that would be too dangerous or difficult to observe through real life experiences. Videos can also be used to raise issues or enhance many of the ideas teachers are trying to capture in a project. Although we don’t want to encourage the incessant use of video, the judicial use of video can have many beneficial educational outcomes.

Videos can be used to help set the context of a project, or they can be used to enhance the context. For instance, teachers completing a project on air pollution could use a video to help show children the influence of acid rain on the environment. Showing and discussing a video would help contextualize the project for students, because it could show things such as time-lapsed photography that demonstrates the effect of acid rain on the erosion of a statue or rock. The Jasper Woodbury series developed by Vanderbilt University (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1992), the Scientist in Action series developed by Vanderbilt University, and The Great Ocean Rescue (1992, 1994) and the Rainforest Researchers (1996) developed by Tom Synder productions are excellent examples of video related material available on compact disc or laser disc that contextualize an instructional unit.

Videos also let learners experience phenomena that might be too dangerous or expensive to encounter first-hand. Let’s say a teacher was doing a project on weather by exploring the driving question, "What will it be like outside tomorrow?" Although we hope are children never experience a real tornado, showing children a video of violent storms, like a tornado, can have excellent educational value. A video about tornadoes can represent for children the power that this natural phenomena can have, helping children respect the power of natural phenomena. Similarly, videos of earth quakes and volcanoes also show children the power of natural phenomena in a safe but dramatic manner.

Other important ideas in presenting information:

Be concise

Be clear

Do it with a flare.

 

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