Dimension of Learning: Extend and Refine Knowledge

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Dimension of Learning Extend and Refine
Knowledge

• Presented by Denise Tarlinton
• Quality Teaching Conference
• Kurwongbah State School
• 13 August 2003

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Hows your thinking? If the day before the
day before yesterday was Tuesday, what is the day
after the day after tomorrow?
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Solution!
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Dimensions of Learning Framework
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Dimensions of Learning

• is about thinking strategies

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Dimensions of Learning
is a model/framework that provides a common
understanding and language related to learning.
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• Dimensions of Learning is a comprehensive model
  that uses what researchers and theorists know
  about learning to define the learning process. 
• Its premise is that five types of thinking-
  called the five dimensions of learning, are
  essential to successful learning. 
• The Dimensions framework helps teachers to
• maintain a focus on learning
• study the learning process
• plan curriculum, instruction and assessment that
  takes into account the five critical aspects of
  learning.

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• Implicit in the Dimensions of Learning model, or
  framework, are five basic assumptions
• Instruction must reflect the best of what we know
  about how learning occurs.
• Learning involves a complex system of interactive
  processes that include various types of thinking-
  represented by the five dimensions.
• Curriculum programs should include the explicit
  teaching of attitudes, perceptions and mental
  habits that facilitate learning.
• A comprehensive approach to instruction includes
  both teacher directed and student directed
  instruction.
• Assessment should focus on students' use of
  knowledge and complex reasoning processes rather
  than on their recall of information.

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Habits of Mind
Use Knowledge Meaningfully
Extend and Refine Knowledge
Acquire and Integrate Knowledge
Attitudes and Perceptions
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We learn by doing, if we reflect on what we
have done.
(John Dewey)
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Why extend and refine?

• The most effective learning takes place when
  students extend and refine the knowledge they
  acquire in order to develop in-depth
  understanding of that knowledge.
• By making new connections, restructuring the
  knowledge and experiencing new insights students
  understand their learning at a deeper level.
• Students analyse what they have learned by
  applying reasoning processes that will help them
  extend and refine the information. 

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Extend Refine Knowledge Reasoning Processes

• Comparing
• Classifying
• Abstracting
• Inductive Reasoning
• Deductive Reasoning
• Constructing Support
• Analyzing Errors
• Analyzing Perspectives

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Explicit teaching of reasoning processes

• Help students understand the process.
• Give students a model for the process, and create
  opportunities for them to practice using the
  process.
• As students study and use the process, help them
  focus on critical steps and difficult aspects of
  the process.
• Provide students with graphic organisers or
  representations of the model to help them
  understand and use the process.
• Use teacher-structured and student structured
  tasks.

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As a result

• Students should see knowledge in new ways and be
  able to express insights, understandings, ideas
  or discoveries related to that knowledge.
• Students deepen their understanding of content.
• Students increase their understanding of learning
  as a process

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• A basic principle of learning is that once
  acquired, knowledge changes.

(Robert Marzano)
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Comparing
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BLOOMS REVISED TAXONOMYCreatingGenerating new
ideas, products, or ways of viewing
thingsDesigning, constructing, planning,
producing, inventing. EvaluatingJustifying a
decision or course of actionChecking,
hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting,
judging  AnalysingBreaking information into
parts to explore understandings and
relationshipsComparing, organising,
deconstructing, interrogating, finding Applying
Using information in another familiar
situationImplementing, carrying out, using,
executing UnderstandingExplaining ideas or
conceptsInterpreting, summarising, paraphrasing,
classifying, explaining RememberingRecalling
informationRecognising, listing, describing,
retrieving, naming, finding 
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ComparingThe process of identifying and
articulating similarities and differences among
items.

• Select the items you want to compare.
• Select the characteristics of the items on which
  you want to base your comparison.
• Explain how the items are similar and different
  with respect to the characteristics you selected.

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ComparingThe process of describing how things
are the same and different

• What do I want to compare?
• What is it about them that I want to compare?
• How are they the same? And how are they different

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Venn Diagram
Object One
Object Two
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Use a Venn to compare

• Illustrations or illustrators
• Holidays
• Celebrations
• Religions
• Farms
• Food
• Plants etc.

• Numbers
• Animals
• Places
• People
• Land forms
• Weather
• Books
• TV programs

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T-Bar Analysis
Object One
Object Two
(Frangenheim, 2002, p. 62)
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Language of Comparison

• Explicit teaching of the vocabulary that students
  can use when sharing their thinking and learning
• In comparison
• Compared to
• Similarly
• Whereas
• Alternatively
• But
• Although
• On the other hand
• However
• In contrast

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Key Points Comparing

• Because the process of comparing can be overused,
  it is important to ask if it is the best process
  to use to help students extend and refine the
  identified content knowledge.
• Students need extensive modeling, practice and
  feedback in order to become skilled at
  identifying meaningful and interesting
  characteristics to use in comparison tasks.
• Students should understand that the purpose of
  doing a comparison task is to extend and refine
  knowledge. A question such as What did you
  discover? helps to reinforce this understanding.

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Classifying
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BLOOMS REVISED TAXONOMYCreatingGenerating new
ideas, products, or ways of viewing
thingsDesigning, constructing, planning,
producing, inventing. EvaluatingJustifying a
decision or course of actionChecking,
hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting,
judging  AnalysingBreaking information into
parts to explore understandings and
relationshipsComparing, organising,
deconstructing, interrogating, finding Applying
Using information in another familiar
situationImplementing, carrying out, using,
executing UnderstandingExplaining ideas or
conceptsInterpreting, summarising, paraphrasing,
classifying, explaining RememberingRecalling
informationRecognising, listing, describing,
retrieving, naming, finding 
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ClassifyingThe process of grouping things into
definable categories on the basis of their
attributes

• Identify the items you want to classify.
• Select what seems to be an important item,
  describe its key attributes and identify other
  items that have the same attributes.
• Create the category by specifying the
  attribute(s) that the items must have for
  membership in the category.
• Select another item, describe its key attributes
  and identify other items that have the same
  attributes.
• Create this second category by specifying the
  attribute(s) that the items must have for
  membership in the category.
• Repeat the previous two steps until all items are
  classified and the specific attributes have been
  identified for membership in each category.
• If necessary, combine categories or split them
  into smaller categories and specify the
  attribute(s) that determine membership in the
  category.

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ClassifyingThe process of grouping things that
are alike into categories

• What do I want to classify?
• What things are alike and could be put into a
  group?
• How are these things alike?
• What other groups can I make and how are the
  things alike in each group?
• Does everything now fit into a group?
• Would it be better to split up any of the groups
  or put any groups together?

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Graphic Organisers for Classifying
Categories
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Exercise Life and Death
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Geography Terms
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Key Points Classifying

• Categories should be related to one another or
  parallel.
• It is important to focus on attributes that are
  important and meaningful to the content.
• Students must understand the defining
  characteristics of the categories well enough to
  justify placement of the items - which gets more
  difficult with complex content.
• Having students classify and then reclassify is a
  key to helping them notice unique distinctions
  and connections that they might not have noticed
  had they classified the items only once.

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References

• www.mcrel.org (accessed 10 August 2003)
• Frangenheim, E. (2002). Reflections on
  classroom teaching, 4th ed. Loganholme, Qld
  Rodin Educational Planning.
• Langrehr, J. (2003). Thinking Lessons
  Critical and Creative Thinking for the Middle
  Years. Ballarat, Vic Wizard Books.
• Marzano, Robert J., Pickering, Debra J., et
  al.,  (1997).  Dimensions of Learning Teacher's
  Manual, 2nd ed. Aurora, Colorado McREL.
• Marzano, Robert J., Pickering, Debra J., et
  al.,  (1997).  Dimensions of Learning Trainer's
  Manual, 2nd ed. Aurora, Colorado McREL.