Cognitive Engagement
with John Antonetti
Many teachers, coaches, and administrators asked for these sessions to be recorded because they were unable to join us live. Below, I have designed a way for you to view the sessions and receive PD credit (if that is something that you are interested in).
Cognitive Engagement in Social Studies - Part 1
Topics Covered:
Define: Engagement, Cognitive Engagement, Rigor
Determine the components of engagement and rigor
Analyze a series of tasks across the rigor divide
WODB - Which one doesn't belong
Vocabulary Strategy
Bill of Rights
Materials:
Bill of Rights (Videos of students doing the tasks, reflecting on the tasks, handouts for students, and teacher directions)
To receive PD credit for Part 1:
Watch the video and take a look at the handouts
Reflect and EMAIL your reflection to Lacy_Bryant@charleston.k12.sc.us. I will award you PD credit in Frontline.
Reflection Questions:
Tell me your thoughts on Cognitive Engagement.
Students cross the "rigor divide" when they have opportunities to make meaning and have their own unique thoughts about an idea/fact/information. "Which one doesn't belong" and the "Flipped Vocabulary" strategy allow students to make meaning and have their own thoughts. Do you like these strategies? What do you like about them? Are these things you would use in your classroom? Why or why not?
The Bill of Rights activity is designed to show teachers how one topic/idea could be moved from low rigor to high rigor. All tasks (even the low rigor tasks) have value and are powerful because a Powerful Task is any task designed to lead students to exactly where they need to go. Tell me your thoughts on the Bill of Rights activity OR tell me your thoughts on what the students said in their reflection videos.
Of all of the ideas and strategies presented in this session, what is the most important thing you learned. Why is this the thing that you chose?
Cognitive Engagement in Social Studies - Part 2
Topics Covered:
The Shift - see, say do
Why are DBQs powerful? (And when are they not?)
Examine the language of our standards in simple language and begin to imagine how students will first see, then what they will say, THEN what they will do.
Analyze - Look at something until you see a truth (pattern or convention)
Apply - transfer the rules
Evaluate - to decide relative value
Contextualize - to decide the surroundings (especially with unfamiliar places, times, economies, social contexts)
Compare and Contrast - think in attributes, not content
If Summarizing and Note taking are considered important elements to high rigor, how can we take traditional "summarizing and note taking" and make that rigorous?
Venn Diagram ... but better
Fast Facts
PMI (pluses, minuses, interesting/important) as a running record
Concept Mapping (session 2 video)
Triangle Concept Map
Pre-Notes (session 1 video)
Cornell Chunks
Cornell with options to make decisions
ISD
Non-Linguistic Representation
Generate and Test Hypotheses
Materials:
Video - AM Session
Video - PM Session
Bill of Rights (Videos of students doing the tasks, reflecting on the tasks, handouts for students, and teacher directions)
To receive PD credit for Part 2:
Watch the video and take a look at the handouts
Reflect and EMAIL your reflection to Lacy_Bryant@charleston.k12.sc.us. I will award you PD credit in Frontline.
Reflection Questions:
The rigor divide can be simplified by saying that low rigor is when students accept someone else's thoughts and ideas (textbook, teacher, internet, etc) and high rigor is when students must have their own original thought (or make a decision about something). Tell me your thoughts on this oversimplified definition of rigor.
Scenario - A teacher has created an amazing activity that is cognitively engaging and has high rigor. As the lesson progresses in a class of 30 students, the teacher notices that 2 or 3 students are volunteering ideas and actively participating in the discussion. The other students all appear to be paying attention. The teacher realizes that this is a rigorous lesson ... but he/she can't be sure if it is rigorous for the students who are not participating. In our sessions, John suggests that allowing a moment for ALL students to have a personal response (quick write for example) before sharing ideas will increase the rigor for ALL students - even if they don't all speak. Tell me your thoughts on this scenario or intentionally building in moments for personal response.
List, Rank, and Eliminate: We were shown many different strategies to increase rigor in our classrooms. List the strategies from most important to least important. Explain why you selected the "most important" strategy. If you could eliminate one strategy from the list, which one would you eliminate?
4Rs =- Restate what this session was about (in your own words), remember a connection, respond with a question , and share a reaction to what you have learned.