not sure if i'm using "public problem solving" or "think-alouds" here. I talked my way through finding symbols, analyzing rhyme and how these contribute to theme of a sonnet (14 line poem).
I was trying to get the students to think about how the elements of poetry can contribute to the theme of the poem.
This year I have tried to use think alouds with graphic organizers, in an attempt to show students how I would fill one out, so they can focus their energy more on the content being duscussed rather than that style of the particular organizer we are using that lesson.
Rob - I have also been trying to do this with concept maps in my physical science class. I didn't realize how many kids don't know how to organize information or how information is related to each other.
Think aloud try and show the way you go about doing the material. It shows the students the way you go about doing it. So in the end they can do it too.
I am attempting to show the students my step by step thinking process with new or complex ideas. The think aloud strategy also forces me to slow down and re-examine the material. I have found that I can make better connections and provide better examples the more times I do a think aloud on the same material.
In math classes we use think alouds to model solution strategies and the nuts and bolts of problem solving. For me it helps to also have prepared notes for the students to follow along. Students then use these notes and the modeling we did during the think aloud when we work on PGW to extend the learning.
Think-alouds lend themselves very well to teaching newspaper design. I start by showing students examples of newspaper designs, thinking aloud as I analyze the layouts. Then, I design a page on paper using the Elmo (or the white board), thinking aloud as I place different elements. For example, "I am placing this photo near the top of the page because it's an important and good photo. I think I should make sure the photo is horizontal or vertical, because square photos are boring. I think I will also make sure the headlines at the top of the page are large, because stories at the top of the page are the most important."
I also think with a little practice these could become a valuable tool on curriculum maps for district assessments (this may be more of a possibility for social studies and math)
When I am doing a focus lesson, I share my thinking with my students. Because I struggled with Geometry as a high school student, I constantly point out the concepts I missed when I was a student. I try to share with students how I connect the concept to the outside world so that my brain can remember the information.
I have been using think alouds to try and bring relevance to new legal concepts in Business Law. For example, after reading the definition of promissory estoppel, I said, "What is an example of a case where no consideration is present but the only way injustice can be avoided would be to enforce the contract? I then said, "what if I took a job, quit my current job, sold my home, and then moved only to find out that my promised job was given to the owner's nephew?" The only way injustice would be avoided would be to force the employer to offer me the job or compensate me since I relied on his promise and gave no consideration.
By using think alouds, it has really helped the students not only understand difficult legal concepts but also come up with their own narratives which help further their understanding of our course objectives.
I use read alouds every week when I read a fiction or non-fiction story aloud to students. I demonstrate my thought process and highlight various reading strategies. Immediately after I demonstrate how I think about the reading strategy, I then ask the students to use that reading strategy in the story.
I have used Think Alouds when we graph date and organize date in my class. I find it very helpful when I model my thinking of how to scale my axis using the given date. I do this to focus more on the skill of graphing correctly the content the graph and date are using.
Bob - I also use teacher prepared notes with my think alouds. This practice allows the students to take notes of my thinking as we move through the problem solving process instead of being worried about copying down my work. During a think aloud, I want the students to be focused on what I'm saying, as well as what I'm writing.
I have been using think a louds as well. I want my students to think about the actions that would go along with the recipes we are making and making a mental listing of what has to happen first, second, etc. As I read and model the recipe I act out the steps and pull out the tools and supplies I need. I find it has been helpful, students do have a difficult time making decision and reading and doing.
I use think alouds in helping students understand marketing math concepts. I do the problems on the Elmo while talking/thinking aloud how I solve the problems. This helps them see how they should be thinking in solving problems like these.
Rob K- I like your idea of doing it with graphic organizers. I never really thought about that I need to model how to use the graphic organizers and along with that also Foldables. I should start doing that as well modeling how to organize my thoughts on them and how to use the organizers effectively and really get a clear and specific purpose from using them.
Gives the kids a structure to follow for approaching a given set of problems or issues. In Global Science it is hard to do this often since the class is about issues that I want the kids to have their own opinions about and not mine. Of course I like mine better....ha, but they may not agree. So using this to structure thinking and sequencing is helpful for me.
I use a think-aloud when I have the class summarize a chapter that we have read.It gives them a strategy to use when they hear how I go through the thinking process. Then they can get the main ideas.
As I stated in my response to Bob, the practice of think alouds with teacher prepared notes allows the students to take notes of my thinking as we move through the problem solving process instead of being worried about copying down my work. During a think aloud, I want the students to be focused on what I'm saying, as well as what I'm writing.
Sarah--I agree that not many of our kids know how to organize their material--notes, etc. and we can work on that through organizers, providing our notes, etc., so they can begin to see how to organize a lesson/concept.
Trent- I think it is so important to use think alouds for complex topics. I totally agree that students will feel more comfortable with the subject matter if they feel their teacher is the "expert" on the subject. Have you ever noticed how students tend to feel more comfortable asking questions and confronting you after doing a think-aloud? I sure have :) .. Ha
For me, a think aloud is all about demonstrating metacognition. Frequently, student want to understand the steps they take to solve a problem and just memorize the process. This strategy regularly leads to failure as not all problems present themselves in the same way. The purpose of a think aloud is to demonstrate how I develop a problem solving strategy by assessing what is known.
D. Talbott - The idea of shared struggles makes the fact that students are having problems understanding material seem like a solvable task. Confidence in the process is always helpful.
I like what Rob said about trying to get the studens to think about the content rather than concentrating on how to fill out the organizer. So, what would we have to do as a building to be able to hand out the organizer and not have to go through it every time?
When thinking aloud for students during my focus lesson, I really try to use a genuine voice while keeping my vocabulary as I want the students to think. As the purpose is for students to learn from the "expert" (me), I try to break up my thought process so they can understand it while still showing the complicated task I expect them to eventually be able to accomplish.
My understanding of "think-alouds" is to give the students access to the thought processes required to complete a task. At the beginning of the trimester, I did a think-aloud on graphing. I showed the students my methods of determining which variable belongs on which axis, how to scale the axes to the datat and how to plot the data. I have also done think-alouds on extrapolation and interpolation of data to show students how a graph can contain more information than just the plotted data. These are all skills that students probably would not master by just reading about them and trying them on their own. But, by observing me, they can see how I want them to think through a process and learn for themselves.
Sarah, Like you, I was shocked by the number of students that struggle to understand the connection between vocabulary words, terms and concepts. Using a think-aloud while creating a graphic organizer can generally resolve the confusion for many students.
Dan- I really enjoyed reading your post. It was very well put and a great example of a think a loud. I also believe that those skills will help them on district and state wide tests. :)
As already stated above, I do think alouds so the students can see what I am thinking and how I got the answer I did. I also, use to show how I get to a decision with trial and error. My students are scared to make a mistake that they won't even try so I use a think aloud to show them my thinking with trial and error and that it is okay to try things even if they are wrong in order to get to the right decision.
When teaching drill think-alouds are almost a must. First the drill movement is demonstrated by the instructor or a senior cadet. Next, the same movement is again demonstrated with the model talking out loud what is being thought about with each segment of the movement. This helps the student begin to understand what should be going through their mind as they perform the drill movement.
I use think aloud in my classroom when I am introducing new topics in my classroom. Students can then concentrate more on what is I am teaching them then trying to copy everything down and learning what is going on. Students also use think aloud in my classroom when the do investigations and are trying to explain how they could use this to solve other problems.
I also agree with Rob. A think-aloud really helps the students think about the content and not just about how to fill out the organizer. A lot of times the students just want to do the activity and get it done for a grade instead of actually taking in the information and getting something out of it. So by doing a think aloud it takes the focus off of the actual organizer and put more emphasis on the content and what they should be learning.
Getting hard to add new thoughts! I also believe think alouds are a great way to show metacognition. I would argue that it is not enough to simply do a think aloud ourselves. Just because you talk about what you are thinking does not mean the students will connect. They may not know what strategies we are using or be able to connect to it. I would encourage the students to do think alouds with the teacher monitoring to find out strengths and weaknesses in the student's thinking process. This better enables the teacher to focus on needed strategies and connections for the students.
I use the think aloud to show the students how to solve math problems in different ways. I always start with the question: how will I attack this kind of math problem? And what if I do this….or this? This way I let the student think and not be afraid of doing mistakes or taking the wrong way. I sometimes intentionally do it the wrong way and then say: “doesn’t work, why? Let us think again.” Let us try something else. Finally I lead the student to the best way “easiest way” to think and solve the problems.
I agree with Jen's comment, "I demonstrate my thought process and highlight various reading strategies. Immediately after I demonstrate how I think about the reading strategy, I then ask the students to use that reading strategy in the story." I also try to help students with reading strategies, by first demonstrating with my own reading. You rock.
Dan, I like your example, I totally agree with you that by thinking allowed the students observe your way of thinking to solve or understand the problem and learn for themselves.
When using a think aloud in my class I do this to make sure my students are all on the same page. I take this time to model different ways to solve the given problem. We then work through this as a group by either using the Elmo, and/or creating a graphic organizer. Several of my students are visual learners so this is a great way to model what I am thinking and for them to do the same.
Instead of the traditional think aloud, we do a "play aloud". Students pair up and play certain passages for each other, comment on each other's playing and help each other fix mistakes. I also walk around and listen to them, then offer a few minor "expertise" fixes. This "modeling" is a key to effective "play alouds".
One nice benefit of Think-alouds is that they are best kept short and can be revisited frequently.
Valerie I like what you had to say about putting the emphasis on what students should be learning. I find think-alouds to be a great way, for me as a teacher, to emphasize key points of emphasis.
I use think alouds in two ways. First, as a method to recall previously learned student knowledge, and to model for my students my thinking process. After identifying where my students are within the lesson, I am then able to make adjustments to my teaching based on where they're at. Students will hopefully use the same method I do to assist them in solving academic problems.
When you as a teacher are doing a think about you are trying to show the students what your thinking and how you are thinking as you are reading a section of text or article aloud. When I have done a read aloud before the most difficult part for me is to remember to say "I" and not just ask the students questions.
I'm trying to model my thought process as a good reader. This is very important for struggling readers to understand and have modeled for them because they don't typically have the skills necessary to be a good reader.
Alex, I really like that you model your think aloud using visuals. That's a great way for our students to understand the material during a read aloud, because I agree, many of them are visual learners.
A think aloud can follow a focus lesson to demonstrate to students how the "expert" applies the process(es) to selected content. Learners need to see and hear the expert recall and demonstrate the steps she follows as she uses the process. Then as students think aloud with other students, the teacher can assess their learning guiding as necessary, while they make the process their own.
not sure if i'm using "public problem solving" or "think-alouds" here. I talked my way through finding symbols, analyzing rhyme and how these contribute to theme of a sonnet (14 line poem).
ReplyDeleteI was trying to get the students to think about how the elements of poetry can contribute to the theme of the poem.
This year I have tried to use think alouds with graphic organizers, in an attempt to show students how I would fill one out, so they can focus their energy more on the content being duscussed rather than that style of the particular organizer we are using that lesson.
ReplyDeleteRob - I have also been trying to do this with concept maps in my physical science class. I didn't realize how many kids don't know how to organize information or how information is related to each other.
ReplyDeleteThink aloud try and show the way you go about doing the material. It shows the students the way you go about doing it. So in the end they can do it too.
ReplyDeleteI am attempting to show the students my step by step thinking process with new or complex ideas. The think aloud strategy also forces me to slow down and re-examine the material. I have found that I can make better connections and provide better examples the more times I do a think aloud on the same material.
ReplyDeleteIn math classes we use think alouds to model solution strategies and the nuts and bolts of problem solving. For me it helps to also have prepared notes for the students to follow along. Students then use these notes and the modeling we did during the think aloud when we work on PGW to extend the learning.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part it works well.
Think-alouds lend themselves very well to teaching newspaper design. I start by showing students examples of newspaper designs, thinking aloud as I analyze the layouts. Then, I design a page on paper using the Elmo (or the white board), thinking aloud as I place different elements. For example, "I am placing this photo near the top of the page because it's an important and good photo. I think I should make sure the photo is horizontal or vertical, because square photos are boring. I think I will also make sure the headlines at the top of the page are large, because stories at the top of the page are the most important."
ReplyDeleteGerry, very nice example.
ReplyDeleteI also think with a little practice these could become a valuable tool on curriculum maps for district assessments (this may be more of a possibility for social studies and math)
ReplyDeleteWhen I am doing a focus lesson, I share my thinking with my students. Because I struggled with Geometry as a high school student, I constantly point out the concepts I missed when I was a student. I try to share with students how I connect the concept to the outside world so that my brain can remember the information.
ReplyDeleteI have been using think alouds to try and bring relevance to new legal concepts in Business Law. For example, after reading the definition of promissory estoppel, I said, "What is an example of a case where no consideration is present but the only way injustice can be avoided would be to enforce the contract? I then said, "what if I took a job, quit my current job, sold my home, and then moved only to find out that my promised job was given to the owner's nephew?" The only way injustice would be avoided would be to force the employer to offer me the job or compensate me since I relied on his promise and gave no consideration.
ReplyDeleteBy using think alouds, it has really helped the students not only understand difficult legal concepts but also come up with their own narratives which help further their understanding of our course objectives.
I use read alouds every week when I read a fiction or non-fiction story aloud to students. I demonstrate my thought process and highlight various reading strategies. Immediately after I demonstrate how I think about the reading strategy, I then ask the students to use that reading strategy in the story.
ReplyDeleteRob-
ReplyDeleteUsing a graphic organizer during a read aloud is a great strategy and very helping in getting students to think about the material.
I have used Think Alouds when we graph date and organize date in my class. I find it very helpful when I model my thinking of how to scale my axis using the given date. I do this to focus more on the skill of graphing correctly the content the graph and date are using.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBob - I also use teacher prepared notes with my think alouds. This practice allows the students to take notes of my thinking as we move through the problem solving process instead of being worried about copying down my work. During a think aloud, I want the students to be focused on what I'm saying, as well as what I'm writing.
ReplyDeleteI have been using think a louds as well. I want my students to think about the actions that would go along with the recipes we are making and making a mental listing of what has to happen first, second, etc. As I read and model the recipe I act out the steps and pull out the tools and supplies I need. I find it has been helpful, students do have a difficult time making decision and reading and doing.
ReplyDeleteI use think alouds in helping students understand marketing math concepts. I do the problems on the Elmo while talking/thinking aloud how I solve the problems. This helps them see how they should be thinking in solving problems like these.
ReplyDeleteGreat!!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRob K- I like your idea of doing it with graphic organizers. I never really thought about that I need to model how to use the graphic organizers and along with that also Foldables. I should start doing that as well modeling how to organize my thoughts on them and how to use the organizers effectively and really get a clear and specific purpose from using them.
ReplyDeleteGives the kids a structure to follow for approaching a given set of problems or issues. In Global Science it is hard to do this often since the class is about issues that I want the kids to have their own opinions about and not mine. Of course I like mine better....ha, but they may not agree. So using this to structure thinking and sequencing is helpful for me.
ReplyDeleteI use a think-aloud when I have the class summarize a chapter that we have read.It gives them a strategy to use when they hear how I go through the thinking process. Then they can get the main ideas.
ReplyDeleteAs I stated in my response to Bob, the practice of think alouds with teacher prepared notes allows the students to take notes of my thinking as we move through the problem solving process instead of being worried about copying down my work. During a think aloud, I want the students to be focused on what I'm saying, as well as what I'm writing.
ReplyDeleteSarah--I agree that not many of our kids know how to organize their material--notes, etc. and we can work on that through organizers, providing our notes, etc., so they can begin to see how to organize a lesson/concept.
ReplyDeleteRob-I have filling out graphic organizers to be very helpful in Child Development with ideas that need to be connected.
ReplyDeleteTrent-
ReplyDeleteI think it is so important to use think alouds for complex topics. I totally agree that students will feel more comfortable with the subject matter if they feel their teacher is the "expert" on the subject. Have you ever noticed how students tend to feel more comfortable asking questions and confronting you after doing a think-aloud? I sure have :) .. Ha
For me, a think aloud is all about demonstrating metacognition. Frequently, student want to understand the steps they take to solve a problem and just memorize the process. This strategy regularly leads to failure as not all problems present themselves in the same way. The purpose of a think aloud is to demonstrate how I develop a problem solving strategy by assessing what is known.
ReplyDeleteD. Talbott - The idea of shared struggles makes the fact that students are having problems understanding material seem like a solvable task. Confidence in the process is always helpful.
ReplyDeleteI like what Rob said about trying to get the studens to think about the content rather than concentrating on how to fill out the organizer. So, what would we have to do as a building to be able to hand out the organizer and not have to go through it every time?
ReplyDeleteWhen thinking aloud for students during my focus lesson, I really try to use a genuine voice while keeping my vocabulary as I want the students to think. As the purpose is for students to learn from the "expert" (me), I try to break up my thought process so they can understand it while still showing the complicated task I expect them to eventually be able to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding of "think-alouds" is to give the students access to the thought processes required to complete a task. At the beginning of the trimester, I did a think-aloud on graphing. I showed the students my methods of determining which variable belongs on which axis, how to scale the axes to the datat and how to plot the data. I have also done think-alouds on extrapolation and interpolation of data to show students how a graph can contain more information than just the plotted data. These are all skills that students probably would not master by just reading about them and trying them on their own. But, by observing me, they can see how I want them to think through a process and learn for themselves.
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDeleteLike you, I was shocked by the number of students that struggle to understand the connection between vocabulary words, terms and concepts. Using a think-aloud while creating a graphic organizer can generally resolve the confusion for many students.
Dan- I really enjoyed reading your post. It was very well put and a great example of a think a loud. I also believe that those skills will help them on district and state wide tests. :)
ReplyDeleteAs already stated above, I do think alouds so the students can see what I am thinking and how I got the answer I did. I also, use to show how I get to a decision with trial and error. My students are scared to make a mistake that they won't even try so I use a think aloud to show them my thinking with trial and error and that it is okay to try things even if they are wrong in order to get to the right decision.
ReplyDeleteWhen teaching drill think-alouds are almost a must. First the drill movement is demonstrated by the instructor or a senior cadet. Next, the same movement is again demonstrated with the model talking out loud what is being thought about with each segment of the movement. This helps the student begin to understand what should be going through their mind as they perform the drill movement.
ReplyDeleteI use think aloud in my classroom when I am introducing new topics in my classroom. Students can then concentrate more on what is I am teaching them then trying to copy everything down and learning what is going on. Students also use think aloud in my classroom when the do investigations and are trying to explain how they could use this to solve other problems.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Rob. A think-aloud really helps the students think about the content and not just about how to fill out the organizer. A lot of times the students just want to do the activity and get it done for a grade instead of actually taking in the information and getting something out of it. So by doing a think aloud it takes the focus off of the actual organizer and put more emphasis on the content and what they should be learning.
ReplyDeleteGetting hard to add new thoughts! I also believe think alouds are a great way to show metacognition. I would argue that it is not enough to simply do a think aloud ourselves. Just because you talk about what you are thinking does not mean the students will connect. They may not know what strategies we are using or be able to connect to it. I would encourage the students to do think alouds with the teacher monitoring to find out strengths and weaknesses in the student's thinking process. This better enables the teacher to focus on needed strategies and connections for the students.
ReplyDeleteI use the think aloud to show the students how to solve math problems in different ways. I always start with the question: how will I attack this kind of math problem? And what if I do this….or this?
ReplyDeleteThis way I let the student think and not be afraid of doing mistakes or taking the wrong way. I sometimes intentionally do it the wrong way and then say: “doesn’t work, why? Let us think again.” Let us try something else.
Finally I lead the student to the best way “easiest way” to think and solve the problems.
Sam-
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the voice has to be as close to the student's voice as possible.
I agree with Jen's comment, "I demonstrate my thought process and highlight various reading strategies. Immediately after I demonstrate how I think about the reading strategy, I then ask the students to use that reading strategy in the story." I also try to help students with reading strategies, by first demonstrating with my own reading. You rock.
ReplyDeleteDan, I like your example, I totally agree with you that by thinking allowed the students observe your way of thinking to solve or understand the problem and learn for themselves.
ReplyDeleteWhen using a think aloud in my class I do this to make sure my students are all on the same page. I take this time to model different ways to solve the given problem. We then work through this as a group by either using the Elmo, and/or creating a graphic organizer. Several of my students are visual learners so this is a great way to model what I am thinking and for them to do the same.
ReplyDeleteInstead of the traditional think aloud, we do a "play aloud". Students pair up and play certain passages for each other, comment on each other's playing and help each other fix mistakes. I also walk around and listen to them, then offer a few minor "expertise" fixes. This "modeling" is a key to effective "play alouds".
ReplyDeletebstacy I totally agree with what you stated about being able to find the weaknesses and strengths of each of our students.
ReplyDeleteOne nice benefit of Think-alouds is that they are best kept short and can be revisited frequently.
ReplyDeleteValerie
I like what you had to say about putting the emphasis on what students should be learning.
I find think-alouds to be a great way, for me as a teacher, to emphasize key points of emphasis.
I use think alouds in two ways. First, as a method to recall previously learned student knowledge, and to model for my students my thinking process. After identifying where my students are within the lesson, I am then able to make adjustments to my teaching based on where they're at. Students will hopefully use the same method I do to assist them in solving academic problems.
ReplyDeleteWhen you as a teacher are doing a think about you are trying to show the students what your thinking and how you are thinking as you are reading a section of text or article aloud. When I have done a read aloud before the most difficult part for me is to remember to say "I" and not just ask the students questions.
ReplyDeleteJoel I like that idea of being reminded to keep is short! Some times that is much more powerful.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to model my thought process as a good reader. This is very important for struggling readers to understand and have modeled for them because they don't typically have the skills necessary to be a good reader.
ReplyDeleteAlex, I really like that you model your think aloud using visuals. That's a great way for our students to understand the material during a read aloud, because I agree, many of them are visual learners.
ReplyDeleteA think aloud can follow a focus lesson to demonstrate to students how the "expert" applies the process(es) to selected content. Learners need to see and hear the expert recall and demonstrate the steps she follows as she uses the process. Then as students think aloud with other students, the teacher can assess their learning guiding as necessary, while they make the process their own.
ReplyDelete