Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Chapter 3: Summarizing and Note Taking
Last session we discussed the strategies of summarizing and note taking. Some could argue that these are two of the most useful academic skills students can have. We are hoping you had chances to use some of the strategies outlined in this chapter. Please comment below on your experiences- both successes and struggles! Also, let us know if you used any of the internet resources at the end of the Power Point, and were they helpful?
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We started to attempt summarizing in my Global I class and it has been a struggle. To better understand what they already knew about how to summarize I broke them into groups of 3 or 4 and handed out a paragraph to each group for them to summarize and told them to get started with no direction. It was pretty much what I expected, most didn't have a clue where to begin and just started to copy everything. For our second attempt with instruction, we used the TRI model and I modeled how to use it. With the same original paragraphs the students were able to come up with the general information required to properly summarize using that model. This model works well for my classroom because I have such a large range of learners and in groups they are able to pick apart the information to be successful. The next step will be to do this independently and see what the outcome will be as the individual level.
ReplyDeleteCharlie, I am not surprised that your students were lost. I don't think we often ask them to read textbooks and I also think they don't have a clear idea of summarizing because they are not asked to do it often.
DeleteI have had my kids read and outline sections of the textbook for years now and I find it helps them tremendously. They have a better understanding of the content and I have also found that their vocabulary has increased. I was not impressed with any of the frameworks from the book for textbook reading, although I use something similar to the argumentation frame when reading primary sources. When I teach the outline format I use a rule based strategy and tell the students to use the bolded sub headings for a clue as to what information they are looking for in the paragraph to summarize. I differentiate by allowing them to use a template that I have made (and Maria Shea perfected) or just doing an informal outline. I swear by this as a learning tool, and I have witnessed an increase in their writing abilities as a result of it.
DeleteKerry, I would love to see the template you created for note taking. I also love the outline format, not only for note taking, but also as a prewriting tool. It works well for me...but I try to be open to other methods.
DeleteCharlie, very cool approach. As Melissa said, it shouldn't suprise me that they were unable to do this witout instruction...but still, why do we (I) assume this should be an innate skill??!! I am anxious to see if you plan to continue this practice with your students, and how they progress.
Kathy,as you and I discussed this morning - there are a lot of assumptions we at the secondary level make about what our students are able to do with texts. Many of my colleagues use a textbook inventory to begin the school year. That exercise alone, I bet, gives many of them pause as to where to go from here. We need to reinforce that textbooks can be a great source of information gathering if students have strategies in place to get to said information.
DeleteCharlie, my kids are struggling with summarizing also. We tried deleting trivial material, redundant material, substituting terms that all mean the same, and inventing or identifying the topic sentence strategy. We gave the kids an article to read and practice this strategy, then summarize. UUGH too many focused on minor detailed information. Back to the drawing board, we read the actual court case (each student was assigned their own) and had the students find the information they felt was important or key information and use a pencil to underline, then conferenced, then we set them out to highlight the information (hoping it was better visually) then students had to find at least 20 words to support their topics, then summarize. Lots of steps, we did get better results second time around. I think this may have not been the best strategy for my kids.
DeleteI am planning to spend the month of January on summarizing and note taking. I have several thoughts about teaching students to summarize that I think need to be related to students. Teachers vary greatly on their own concepts of what a good summary is. For example the back page of a book usually gives a short summary as do book reviews. I consider a summary something that gives you a general idea of plot or topic; overview; beginning and ending period; etc. The DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) considers a summary a detailed retelling to the story. Some teachers consider notes "cloze procedures" that keep kids somewhat conntected to the topic. Other teachers may ask for a written summary without giving any guidelines. Students need to know the kinds of questions to ask to determine exactly what teachers want. I wonder if we could provide teachers with an overview of notetaking and summarizing information as well as graphic organizers. These could be used as a way to define what they are looking for as well as help point kids in the right directions.
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts. Again, I flash back to the Marzzano video that said, we are all responsible for teaching students this skill...almost like "The buck stops here!" Having just worked with Matt Sidebottham on a physics project, I know he is working with students on highlighting key ideas and summarizing...I think it is happening in our building in pockets. Perhaps we need to consider using this PD offering as a jumping off point. We can all go forth and spread the word to our depts. about the importance of these skills, and as you said, provide teachers with an overview. Maybe at a faculty meeting or during a superintendent's day? What do you think?
DeleteFor the next semester, I am going to actually try to use the strategy where students are given a page from a text and they will cross out information they feel are fillers. I know from the summaries I ask for - kids write more than the authors do - and get MAD at me for giving the assignment!!
DeleteKathy, in response to your PD idea, what I really feel needs to be done is for each department to have a serious conversation about what are the critical components of the courses we teach that students absolutely need to understand. This conversation would allow us to recognize material that is difficult for students and then we could devise ways to help students work through it. In some respects, it would help pave the way for Tier I intervention strategies (going back to what Kerry does when she differentiates)and hopefully helping students find a strategy that fits how they learn. I totally agree about the PD - I see it as a bigger process, however.
DeleteI think that this is something the English department and Social Studies department could collaborate on. I think if the students had reinforcement in multiple content areas, it would help them. Would we get buy in from all stakeholders? There are so many new things going on right now that it is hard to think that we are going to move people towards another new idea. Maybe, if we can keep the idea of doing good things for kids as our focus.
ReplyDelete