Overview
Optimal learning requires carefully designed student learning strategies that focus on what students do rather than what the teacher is doing. - see also Traditional vs. Digital Learning
Teachers should design learning experiences where students use digital technologies, when appropriate, to interact with new knowledge, practice and deepen understanding of new knowledge, and generate and test hypotheses about new knowledge. - Enhancing the Art and Science of Teaching with Technology (Magana, Marzano, 2014)
Teachers should design learning experiences where students use digital technologies, when appropriate, to interact with new knowledge, practice and deepen understanding of new knowledge, and generate and test hypotheses about new knowledge. - Enhancing the Art and Science of Teaching with Technology (Magana, Marzano, 2014)
Examples
13 Essential Learning Strategies* with Digital Learning
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Strategy 1: Previewing New Content
Students access prior knowledge and analyze new content. Students connect new content to previously learned information.
Digital Learning Examples
Students access prior knowledge and analyze new content. Students connect new content to previously learned information.
Digital Learning Examples
- Students use video, audio, images, and text in a 'flipped learning' activity to highlight critical information before instruction
- Students can answer questions/polls, fill in advance graphic organizers, etc. about connections to previously learned content and concepts. Use Edmodo, Google Forms, Google Classroom, One Note Class Notebooks, Socrative, Infused Learning, Blendspace, Sophia, etc.
- Students read a blog post and make a comment
Strategy 2: Organizing Students to Interact with Content
Use data to group students and provide activities that require collaboration and cooperative learning. Exposure to others' perspectives can enrich students' processing of information.
Digital Learning Examples
Use data to group students and provide activities that require collaboration and cooperative learning. Exposure to others' perspectives can enrich students' processing of information.
Digital Learning Examples
- Use Google Docs to edit and revise group notes, add nonlinguistic representations or diagrams, and URLs to information.
- Students work in groups to create simple and complex questions that other groups answer using response clickers/online formative assessment tools like Kahoot, Socrative, Infuse Learning.
- Use Edmodo Snapshot (questions aligned to the TEKS) to gather student learning data
Strategy 3: Helping Students Process and Generate Conclusions About Content
Students should be in different group structures summarizing, elaborating, and generating conclusions about content. They should be actively learning, not just listening to a lecture.
Digital Learning Examples:
Students should be in different group structures summarizing, elaborating, and generating conclusions about content. They should be actively learning, not just listening to a lecture.
Digital Learning Examples:
- Use Edmodo, Google Docs, Office 365, or another online group space to create virtual student groups that can work on these types of tasks anytime, anywhere
Strategy 4: Helping Students Elaborate on Content
Teachers intentionally ask questions so that students make inferences about what they have learned/content. Students should provide evidence and support for their inferences.
Digital Learning Examples:
Teachers intentionally ask questions so that students make inferences about what they have learned/content. Students should provide evidence and support for their inferences.
Digital Learning Examples:
- Students use computers, laptops, or tablets to search the Internet for reliable evidence to support their claims about an inference or controversial topic. Students can post their evidence online for others to view (example: Padlet)
- Students respond to a poll in Edmodo or other online polling resource and post reasoning for their answers. View the class results and have group discussions about responses.
5 Helping Students Record and Represent Knowledge
Students create their own representations of content and processes. Be sure to include abstract representations like: mental models and mathematical models.
Digital Learning Examples:
Students create their own representations of content and processes. Be sure to include abstract representations like: mental models and mathematical models.
Digital Learning Examples:
- Students create video tutorials of new knowledge and post them on a class blog or website. Then students watch and provide feedback to one another's work
- Students can use Audacity (which is on all BISD district computers) or the app Hokusai, to record what they have learned, written, practice fluency, or self reflect. The student, peers, and other teachers can listen and give feedback.
Strategy 6: Managing Response Rates With Tiered Questioning Techniques
Ask students questions with ascending cognitive complexity. Every student should respond to these questions and provide evidence for their answers.
Digital Learning Examples:
Ask students questions with ascending cognitive complexity. Every student should respond to these questions and provide evidence for their answers.
Digital Learning Examples:
Strategy 7: Reviewing Content
Provide brief overviews that highlight the "big picture" of content. Examples: provide cloze activities for students, students create summaries of previously learned content, questioning
Digital Learning Examples:
Provide brief overviews that highlight the "big picture" of content. Examples: provide cloze activities for students, students create summaries of previously learned content, questioning
Digital Learning Examples:
- use audio recording software or apps to create summary
- have a group of students collaborate on a script and create a summary video
- students use screencasting software such as Educreations or Showme to create narrated tutorials of previously learned content
- submit summary statement to a Google form or use polling software
- create online flashcards using websites like Quizlet to review. Students can work in groups to decide on important content and then generate new review questions in Quizlet for the benefit of the class
Strategy 8: Helping Students Practice Skills, Strategies, and Processes
This element involves the use of both massed and distributed practice. Examples: Close monitoring by teacher directly after introducing new content, frequent structured practice, varied practice, fluency practice
Digital Learning Examples:
This element involves the use of both massed and distributed practice. Examples: Close monitoring by teacher directly after introducing new content, frequent structured practice, varied practice, fluency practice
Digital Learning Examples:
- Close Monitoring: students use software such as Explain Everything, ScreenChomp, iPad or phone video or audio recording apps, etc. to record their practice with a new strategy, skill, or process. Teacher reviews. Students can also use these tools to explain their thought processes as they apply new skills or procedures to provide teachers insight about student understanding.
- Frequent Structured Practice: students use software to practice skills,
- Varied Practice (less structured, more complex situations in which to use newly acquired skills or processes): students use audio, video, and screencasting to record practice. Students then listen/watch to peer review or monitor and self-assess their own knowledge.
Strategy 9: Helping Students Examine Their Reasoning
Students produce and defend claims by examining reasoning, ideas, information, processes and procedures. Also make sure that students are analyzing for errors or fallacies in content, reasoning, and logic or an argument.
Digital Learning Examples:
Students produce and defend claims by examining reasoning, ideas, information, processes and procedures. Also make sure that students are analyzing for errors or fallacies in content, reasoning, and logic or an argument.
Digital Learning Examples:
Strategy 10: Helping Students Examine Similarities and Differences
Students compare, classify, and create analogies/metaphors. These activities need to focus on content details, but also don't forget to have students do this with content "big ideas" and "conclusions."
Digital Learning Examples:
Students compare, classify, and create analogies/metaphors. These activities need to focus on content details, but also don't forget to have students do this with content "big ideas" and "conclusions."
Digital Learning Examples:
Strategy 11: Helping Students Revise Knowledge
Students correct errors, misconceptions, and add new knowledge. Be sure to have students view different perspectives and identify different ways of executing procedures. Also, be sure that students have opportunities to write responses to their classmates entries.
Digital Learning Examples:
Students correct errors, misconceptions, and add new knowledge. Be sure to have students view different perspectives and identify different ways of executing procedures. Also, be sure that students have opportunities to write responses to their classmates entries.
Digital Learning Examples:
- students create and use online journals/notebooks (Google Docs, Evernote, OneNote)
- students create and use a personal/class academic blog
- a class wiki
- use video/audio recording or the comment features in Google docs/OneNote to provide constructive feedback on student assignments
Strategy 12: Helping Students Engage in Cognitively Complex Tasks
Students must be doing this throughout the learning cycle, not just at the end of a unit or as a culminating activity. Constantly incorporate activities that require students to use a high level of thinking. Examples: Experimental-Inquiry Tasks, problem-solving tasks, decision-making tasks, investigation tasks
Digital Learning Examples:
Students must be doing this throughout the learning cycle, not just at the end of a unit or as a culminating activity. Constantly incorporate activities that require students to use a high level of thinking. Examples: Experimental-Inquiry Tasks, problem-solving tasks, decision-making tasks, investigation tasks
Digital Learning Examples:
- students use social media tools (Twitter, Edmodo, Blendspace, etc.) to gather data from peers or other online learners to test a hypothesis
- use internet resources to research an investigate
Strategy 13: Providing Clear Learning Goals and Scales (Rubrics)
Unpack the Standards and be sure that students understand the Learning Goals and can monitor their progress by using your scale and rubric.
Digital Learning Example:
Have students use clickers or free online polling tools, such as PollEverywhere, Socrative, or TodaysMeet, Edmodo Polls, Google Forms/Surveys to vote on their level of understanding after your lessons.
For example, consider having students vote on their progress using the following scale:
1. With help, I can understand the simpler details and harder information.
2. I understand the simpler details, but not the more challenging information.
3. I understand all the simpler details and more challenging information.
4. I understand all the information, and I can generate inferences or insights that were not explicitly taught.
Unpack the Standards and be sure that students understand the Learning Goals and can monitor their progress by using your scale and rubric.
Digital Learning Example:
Have students use clickers or free online polling tools, such as PollEverywhere, Socrative, or TodaysMeet, Edmodo Polls, Google Forms/Surveys to vote on their level of understanding after your lessons.
For example, consider having students vote on their progress using the following scale:
1. With help, I can understand the simpler details and harder information.
2. I understand the simpler details, but not the more challenging information.
3. I understand all the simpler details and more challenging information.
4. I understand all the information, and I can generate inferences or insights that were not explicitly taught.