Lesson 3

How does multitasking effect learning?

Structure & Progression

This lesson is intentionally structured differently from the previous two lessons to communicate a change in objectives and assessment. A black diamond-shaped node represents the driving question instead of the default cloud shape. Visually, the diamond communicates the concept of a refined, multifaceted hub. Whereas an (amorphous) cloud-shape is appropriate for formative questions, a diamond is a more appropriate shape for the refinement involved in summative assessment.

All of the top-level nodes are linked to collaborative inputs from previous lessons and include the working memory map, notes, annotated bibliography, quiz results, and experiment results. All nodes are connected with bi-directional arrows with verbs from Bloom's Taxonomy including "apply," "analyze," and "compare." This indicates that students are free to explore the resources (made from previous formative assessments) to help develop their theses and gather evidence for the summative assessment. One single node is linked beneath the driving question with the label "synthesize" on the connector. This visual structure and flow of information simulates a funnel. Essentially, students will "funnel" their ideas and evidence through the driving question to write a two to three page paper to show what they have learned through critical analysis.

Content

All content consists of input nodes from lessons 1 and 2. Rather than viewing novel content, students are tasked with analyzing and interpreting their collaborative findings to produce an original paper.

Pedagogy

This lesson brings all Experiential, Constructivist learning from the previous lessons full circle. Students are asked to use the formative assessments, which were produced collaboratively, to synthesize original work. Like lessons 1 and 2, students are encouraged to discuss their process of learning and discovery using a custom hashtag on Twitter.

Evaluation

This lesson focuses on using data collected in previous formative assessments to produce a final paper as the summative assessment. Students must write a two to three-page analysis about how multitasking effects memory and learning. Students must develop an original thesis based on the question "how does multitasking effect learning?" Students must use a minimum of four academic/scholarly articles, and no more than two popular sources and are encouraged to utilize sources in the collaborative annotated bibliography.