information gaps 2014- integrating the science of learning and the art of teaching

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INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION, INC. PRESENTS: Brainstreaming Information Gap Activities That Enhance Understanding And Facilitate Learning INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING BY Louis Mangione and Stephanie Detwiler

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Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

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Page 1: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION, INC.PRESENTS:

Brainstreaming™

Information Gap ActivitiesThat Enhance Understanding And Facilitate Learning

INTEGRATINGTHE SCIENCE OF LEARNING

ANDTHE ART OF TEACHING

BYLouis Mangione and Stephanie Detwiler

Page 2: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION, INC.

Louis MangionePresents:

Innovative Teaching Strategies For All Content AreasInstruction for Diverse and Inclusive Classroom Populations

Block SchedulingDifferentiated InstructionActive Learning Strategies

World language and ESL Instruction

To schedule a seminar for your schoolor to request information on his additional workshops:

Louis MangioneP.O. Box 930

Vashon, WA. 98070-0930(206) 251-3521(206) 567-4650

email: [email protected]: www.louismangione.com

Page 3: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

That’s for me to know, and for you to find out.

- Mom

Page 4: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

Information GapsAn information gap is a learning activity in which students are provided withincomplete sets of information and must interact with one another in a processdefined by the instructor in order to complete a designated task.

Relationships

Each student is assigned an identity in relationship to one other member ofa group. Students move about the room interacting with one another in anattempt to locate members of their particular 3-6 member group. Byasking and answering questions, students identify the other individuals intheir family or group and determine their relationship to each groupmember. Alternately, students may be assigned relationships to two othermembers of a group and must discover their own assigned identity bydetermining how they fit into a group.

Example: 30 chemistry students are given a card containing two pieces ofinformation: one element they must combine with and the type ofcompound they must ultimately create. Students must then interact withone another to determine their own identities as elements and to form thecompounds specified on their cards. Groups would share their results withthe class as stimulus for a discussion of patterns that may arise fromparticular types of combinations.

Other Applications: Determining relationships between literary orhistorical figures and events, relating the functioning of organs, organismsor organelles in living systems, linking numerical and graphed equations,connecting parts to wholes, exploring multiple definitions of a single word,examining separate components of various political systems, groupingelements from the periodic table, constructing geometric proofs, organizingindividuals into families, etc.

Copyright © 2001 Louis Mangione and Stephanie Detwiler

Page 5: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

Information Gaps (continuation)

ClassificationA similar process can be used to help students classify information. Anidentity is assigned to each student, and a number of groups or a number ofmembers of each group is designated. Group titles or names of categories,however, are not identified. Students must interact with one another todetermine possible categories and then physically organize themselves intocorresponding groups.

Example: Students in a mathematics class are given equations to create avariety of slopes and are challenged to organize themselves into a specifiednumber of categories based on the graphs (drawn on paper or formed bypositioning their arms to represent the slope) of their assigned equations.Group results would be shared with the class as stimulus for a discussion ofcommon features of equations resulting in various slopes.

Other applications: Classifying plants, animals, food groups, planets,elements, historical figures or events, works of art or literature, pieces ofmusic, parts of speech, stocks and other investments, diseases, rules ofplay, verb conjugations, etc.

SequencingAnother extension of this type of activity requires students to

organize themselves into groups and then put themselves into a logicalorder within that group.

Example: Each of 30 English students is given a different paragraph fromone of six 5-paragraph essays. Students must read their paragraphs,summarize the content, and interact with other students in an attempt tofind the four other paragraphs that complete their essays. Once they haveidentified the members of their essay group, they must interact with oneanother to determine the order in which the paragraphs should appear.Group results can be presented to the class as stimulus for a discussion oncommon traits of opening paragraphs, ideas for transition sentences, use ofconcessions, etc.

Other Applications: Steps in a procedure, proofs, literary and historicalevents, planets, recipes, balancing a checkbook, writing code,

Page 6: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

bibliographical form, movements in a composition, evolution of artisticstyle, etc.

Copyright © 2001 Louis Mangione and Stephanie Detwiler

Information Gaps: Forming Family Groups

To form family groups, begin by identifying your characters (whether they behistorical figures, elements from the periodic table, characters from novels, poemsfrom different authors, etc.). Divide the characters into like groups and label eachgroup member with a different letter of the alphabet. Use the chart below to createcards for your students. Mix, distribute and send the class in search of its families. Ifyour information set does not contain enough separate identities to provide eachstudent with a unique character, double up on one or more families, but provide theduplicate groups with some distinguishing identifier (a different color of paper, adifferent last name, etc.)

Page 7: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

Example One:

Your name is A .You are B’s .

Your name is B .You are C’s .

Your name is C .You are D’s .

Your name is D .You are E’s .

Your name is E .You are A’s .

Example Two:

You are A’s ,and B’s .Who are you?

You are B’s ,and C’s .Who are you?

You are C’s ,and D’s .Who are you?

You are D’s ,and E’s .Who are you?

You are E’s ,and A’s .Who are you?

Copyright © 2001 Louis Mangione and Stephanie Detwiler

Information Gaps (continuation

Using Visual Representations

Charts, graphs, maps and other types of diagrams or illustrations can becomeeffective tools for fostering communication. Create two versions of a singledocument, by removing opposing or alternating sets of information from eachof two copies. Make enough copies of each version of the document for halfof your students. Distribute version A to one half of the class and version B to

Page 8: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

the other. Each student will then have roughly half of the necessaryinformation, but no student will have all of the information needed.

Students may be asked to make predictions about the missing information,and are then challenged to find a partner with the opposite version of thedocument to complete their data set. At this point pairs of students maybe asked to analyze or draw conclusions about the information they havegathered. This exercise is even more effective when the instructorproduces more than two versions of the document in question.

Blind Date

In this exercise each student chooses or is assigned an identity related to thecontent of the course. Students may become historical figures, livingorganisms, characters from readings, people in the news, organs, elements,equations, artists, authors, scientists, etc. Composing these descriptions mayrequire some research. It is important that the information be accurate.

Each student writes a description of him or her self – in character and in thefirst person- without revealing an actual identity. The descriptions arecollected, shuffled and redistributed. Students read the descriptions they’vereceived and then move about the room asking questions of their peers in anattempt to identify the authors. Debriefing might require students to sharesomething they learned about their “date.”

Copyright © 2001 Louis Mangione and Stephanie Detwiler

Information Gaps (continuation)Telephone

In this activity, a piece of information is secretly passed from one player to anotheruntil it reaches the last group member. The last person then reproduces the acquiredinformation to the best of their ability.

What seems a simple child’s game is actually a complex communication activity. Thefirst member of each group, (A), has access to information unavailable to the othergroup members. This information is then relayed to group member B. B then passesthat information on to C and so on.

Page 9: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

Varying the format of the information to be relayed increases the difficulty of thisactivity. Consider using a paragraph, a newspaper article, a cartoon, a photograph, adiagram, an object, a recording, or a demonstration.

Group member A, upon receiving the information, must construct a detailedexplanation that will allow B to visualize the information well enough to reconstructit again for C. The last group member must then be ready to present the acquiredinformation in any format designated by the teacher.

Examples:A reads a short description of the structure of a cell, a list of procedures to follow, aneditorial, a poem. The last group member writes, draws, describes orally, or acts outthe acquired information.

A sees a representation of a polyhedron and then describes it to B. The last persondraws it on the board or recreates it in three dimensions using materials madeavailable in the classroom.

A sees model of a water molecule and describes it to B. B then uses the fourremaining group members to recreate the model using their bodies.

A reads a scene from a play or a news article and then describes it to B. B relaysinformation to C who must do a news report based on info gained from B.

A has an equation, B works it out on the graphing calculator, C must determinewhat the equation was from the results of B’s work on the calculator.

Copyright © 2001 Louis Mangione and Stephanie Detwiler

People BingoThis is an excellent information gap activity that requires students to interact withone another in order to exchange personalized or content-based information.

Variation: Getting-to-Know-You People Bingo:Each student writes something about him/herself that no one in the room knowson an index card. The teacher collects the cards and compiles the information ona grid or chart for the next class period. Students are then challenged to identifythe source of each statement by asking questions of their classmates in target.When a speaker has been identified, s/he is asked to sign the appropriatequotation. Students are not allowed to point, to ask questions about location on

Page 10: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

the page or to ask questions such as, “Which one are you?” The first to collect allof the signatures correctly wins a prize, but the best part is reviewing theresponses and interviewing students for more details about the “secrets” they’verevealed.

Variation: Content-Based People Bingo:Each student is given an identity that pertains to the content or concept beingstudied. Each student writes 3-5 statements that are true for her/his assignedidentity and that are somehow related to the content.

Examples:Each student represents a different element, molecule, part of the brain,geometric shape, character in a novel, historical figure or event, piece ofequipment, work of art, musical genre, etc.

Each student is then challenged to find other students (one for each statement)for whom what they’ve written is also true in order to find connections orpatterns. Students ask yes or no questions of their classmates in order todetermine the identity of at least three other students.

Students ask yes or no questions to find other students, with whom theycancombine, to form a pattern, complete a sequence or rebuild the structure of acertain concept.

As with Getting-to-Know-You People Bingo, an essential component of the activityis the follow-up discussion. Individuals can be interviewed for additionalinformation, class responses can be charted or graphed to analyze trends,comparisons can be made between the content under study and the lifeexperience of the students in the class.Copyright © 2001 Louis Mangione and Stephanie Detwiler

Information Gaps (continuation)Copy Cat

Research suggests that we remember a 90 to 95% of what we teach to others.Copy Cat is an effective cooperative activity that challenges students to relayinformation to a partner in order to accomplish a given task. This technique canbe used in any classroom situation. The materials you will need and theprocedure for acquiring and relaying the information depends entirely on thecontent of your lesson.

Page 11: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

The students are divided into pairs. If the classroom is equipped with desks,student pairs must turn their desks in order to face each other. One studentshould be facing toward the instructor and the other facing away from theinstructor. If there are tables and chairs, one student simply brings her chair tothe side of the table opposite her partner. (See grid).

The instructor performs a certain task or displays specific information in plainview of those students facing the front (students A). Those students (who can seethe instructor’s actions) then give detailed instructions to their partners (studentsB – who cannot see the instructor’s actions) in order to allow them to recreate oridentify the original task or information presented by the instructor.

It is sometimes helpful to specify and/or limit the means by which students A maytranslate the information. Depending on the task, students may be asked todraw, sculpt, pantomime or otherwise explain the process to their peers.Students B reinterpret the information and reproduce it for their partners – eitherin the original (instructor’s) format or in an entirely new form.

The Instructor can provide a time limit to complete the task, organize teams tocompete for early completion, or simply allow all students to finish the activity.Regardless of the organizational structure, it is important to discuss both theprocess and its results.

Example: Instructor displays a list of 10 vocabulary words. Students A define or otherwiseidentify the word without using the word itself. Students B attempt to identify the correctword from their partners’ explanations. Roles are reversed for a second list of words. Teamsmay compete to be first at identifying all words or for the most creative means ofdefining/identifying/demonstrating a particular term.

Copyright © 2001 Louis Mangione and Stephanie Detwiler

NOTE: This activity is most effective when the word bank is drawn from anextensive and varied list.Copy Cat: Sample Activities

Use tangrams to create patterns or geometric figures. Student A describes theconfiguration to Student B, who then reproduces the original pattern using herown tangram set.

Page 12: Information Gaps 2014- INTEGRATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND THE ART OF TEACHING

List a set of words drawn from a broad vocabulary set. Students must define orotherwise demonstrate the meaning of these words to their partners.

Use a series of symbols, images, words, etc. to create a pattern. Student Acommunicates the pattern to Student B in a new or different format. Student Brecreates the pattern in either the original or a new format (Example: Imagesrecreated as words; words recreated as symbols, etc.)

Build a three-dimensional model of a content-related item one piece at a time.Student A explains the process to Student B, who builds or draws a similar modelusing materials provided by the instructor.

Arrange items within two-dimensional drawings or models of homes,neighborhoods, etc. in a variety of patterns. Students in an ESL or secondlanguage class describe the placement of various objects to their partners theirpartners to practice prepositions.

Lead students on a specific path through a map or maze, or complete the graph ofan equation. Student A describes the path; student B reproduces it on aphotocopy of the map, etc.

Spell vocabulary words in sign language. Student A copies instructor, and StudentB writes the letters to determine the correct word.

Show a drawing or photograph related to your content. Student A describes theimage in as much detail as possible. Student B reproduces the image or attemptsto identify the person, place, event, etc. depicted in the original work.

Reveal an artifact or other object related to your content. Student A describes theobject to Student B, who draws it.

Copyright © 2001 Louis Mangione and Stephanie Detwiler