Is Digital Learning in the Best Interest of the Children?

There's a lot of Digital Learning going on in schools right now! But is it in the best interest of the children?

 Developmental Psychology was my favorite course in college.

I really loved learning about the stages that children went through as they developed. Piaget was my favorite! Do you remember these stages?

The Sensorimotor Stage: the babies! These are the little ones that are just learning about how their bodies work! They learn to interact with the world by using their senses.

The Preoperational Stage: These are those toddlers and pre-schoolers through about second grade. These little ones are only beginning to think in terms of symbols. These sweeties need a whole lot of hands-on learning! That's how they learn!

Then there is the Concrete Operational Stage. These are the upper elementary school age children: about second grade through sixth.  They are becoming capable of some logical thought, but these children still need lots of hands-on learning!

The Formal Operational Stage begins around middle school and extends into adulthood. These children are beginning to be able to think in an abstract manner and manipulate ideas in their heads. But, you know, even adults love those hands-on experiences, and it will enhance learning! 

 

As teachers, we all know there are children who develop faster than their peers, and many who develop much slower. 

In the past couple of years, laptops and devices have become a bigger part of the classroom. Honestly, the children LOVE them, and there's a whole lot of learning that can happen with them! (Plus, they often make life easier on the teachers, too!) Plus, digital learning is a necessity during remote learning!

I'm sure you know how much the children love learning on a digital device! I'm a huge fan of Boom Learning activities, as they provide fun learning as well as easy record keeping for teachers! Plus, there's an amazing variety of learning that can happen on this platform! Check some of these out HERE! 

Those of us who work with children in the preoperational as well as the concrete operational stages of development know the importance of internalizing learning with hands-on experiences! Please make sure they get plenty of these experiences! 

I've recently developed some resources for place value that are the best of both worlds: digital learning and hands-on learning!

Level one gives the children practice finding a number by counting tens and ones!  Cuisenaire Rods Place Value Fun Level 1 Tens and Ones Boom Learning

Level two gives the children practice finding a number by putting together tens, then counting tens and ones! Boom Learning Making Tens with Cuisenaire Rods Level 2: Hands-on and Digital

Level three gives the children practice finding a number by regrouping to make thens, then counting tens and ones! Boom Learning with Cuisenaire Rods Level 3 Regrouping Tens: Hands-on and Digital

Or go for the bundle:

Boom Learning Place Value with Cuisenaire Rods Bundle: Hands-on and Digital

How else can you maintain the important hands-on learning while using digital devices?

Twelve Strategies to Get From Working Memory to Long Term Memory

I had a delightful group of teachers at my after school workshop today on Using Brain Research in the Classroom. We shared lots of ideas and there was lots of enthusiasm on the topic of the brain. 

I had several key points I wanted to make, which I think came through successfully. You can see these main points on this post: Seven Brain Based Learning Principles.

Although I got through most of these points, (we really didn't get to the last two, after all, it's only an hour workshop!) But the one that's stuck in my mind is the third one:

The working memory can hold 2 to 4 chunks of information at a time, usually in about 4 - 8 minutes. After that, the brain needs time to process, reflect and review in order for those chunks to move to the long term memory.

In a world where we're given large amounts of information to dish out to the kids in a short day, it's tough to give out just 2 to 4 chunks of information at a time, then allow the time to process that information so it can go into the long term memory. Here are some suggestions for this enormous task of taking information from the working memory to the long term memory:

1. Get them moving! I like to make movement and physical action part of the learning experience by using gestures and having the children mirror what I do.

2. Give time to review. I find the use of whiteboards work well for review. They are easy to use, very forgiving, and the kids love them.  They are easy for a teacher to check for quick assessments.

3. Use hands-on activities. Math manipulatives and science demonstrations work well to get the students interested and involved.

4. Minimize directions. Break larger lessons into smaller parts, making connections between parts.

5. Use a timer. After about 4 - 8 minutes, stop for a brain break, then return for a few more minutes, then another brain break.

6. Pause after a few pieces of information and give the students time to reflect and/ or ask questions.

7. Allow the students to draw pictures of what they're learning.  I'm a firm believer that drawing internalizes information. (I use it a lot for vocabulary.)

8. Use graphic organizers to arrange ideas so they can be revisited and understood.

9. Use "think pair, share" type activities where the students talk about what they just learned.

10. Use music. Putting important information to a simple tune that the children already know really helps them remember the information.  Some simple tunes that everyone knows:  Twinkle Twinkle, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, or This Old Man.

11. Have a gimmick. Do something clever or unique to get their attention. Tell a joke or hook them in with something clever.

12. Get their emotions involved. Emotions are very  much tied to memory. (I'll bet you remember those very emotional events in your life:  like your wedding or giving birth!) For some, getting up in front of the class will get the right amount of emotions going. For others, a game will do the trick.

Do you have any ideas to help those chunks of information get into the long term memory?  Please include your ideas in the comments section below!