Information Processing Model

I love these quotes that were at the beginning of our class's Information Processing Module.

The more attention the brain pays to a given stimulus, the more elaborately the information will be encoded – and retained…Better attention always equals better learning.” ~John Medina

“It is unrealistic to believe that students who are constantly stimulated by the multimedia world will sit for hours each day passively listening to lectures, taking notes, and preparing for a paper-and-pencil test without dropping out mentally.” ~Donna Walker Tileston

 

As a teacher in training I am learning that the least effective way to teach is through droning, repetitive lecture and drill.

 

Our brains have incredible capacities and a lot of research has been done to figure out how we as humans best learn. As teachers we need to take the results of this research and use teaching strategies that will maximize learning in our classrooms.

 

I have brainstormed ideas I can use to make learning the Spanish subjunctive mood a fun and effective (meaning the students actually learn the subjunctive-the subjunctive actually makes it into their long term memory) experience.

 

• I will maintain my students' attention with variety in presentation and activities- lots of variety!
• I know I can’t introduce too much at once so I won’t use all of these activities in one lesson but over the unit. I will be careful not to over load them.
•  One day I can have the pictures I use to teach emotions hanging from the ceiling as the students walk in the classroom to catch their attention and provide visual imagery.  We will talk about the emotions and link emotions and feelings to the concept of mood, specifically the subjunctive mood in the Spanish language which will be a new concept. I will try to help the students feel when to use the subjunctive by focusing on the emotions, not just know.
•  I will also link the new information they are learning to previous knowledge by comparing the English subjunctive that they know (although they are unaware of it) to the Spanish subjunctive. 
•  I will tell the students the 3 key things they will need to remember when using the subjunctive:

1.  2 different subjects
2.  que
3.  2 different verbs – the first will always be in the indicative (but will be a W.E.I.R.D.O. verb) and the second will always be in the subjunctive. 

• I will teach them the W.E.I.R.D.O. verbs (a Mnemonic I got from How to Learn Spanish (using free online resources) http://howlearnspanish.com/2010/12/the-spanish-subjunctive-explained/):

Wishes                           
Emotions                      
Impersonal Expressions
Recommendations       
Doubt/Denial              
Ojalá                            

• I will point out that these things are key. (The word key, that I will emphasize, will catch their attention and help them focus again.)   
• And I will have them write the key things in their notebook.
• I will have them turn to a partner and explain the key items.
• As a bell ringer for one day I will have the students go outside and draw on the sidewalk The WEIRDO Mnemonic in different colored chalk.
• I will have the students get in groups and play games using the subjunctive mood, for example one student could call out his/her desires for the other students and they would have to act out what  the student desired of them: “Yo quiero que uds. ….”
• I will have them write a few subjunctive sentences. I can have them write a chore list from their parents and then maybe a chore list for their parents. I can them elaborate on the qualities they desire in a boyfriend or girlfriend.  
• We can listen to a popular Spanish song that has a lot of subjunctive in the lyrics and I can have them circle the WIERDO verbs and underline the subjunctive words.
• I can even give them the “problem” of teaching the subjunctive to a struggling student and see what ideas they can come up with to teach the subjunctive. This activity will solidify their own learning as they prepare to teach the concept.

Basically, there is no limit to what I can do to make the subjunctive or any other topic more interesting and therefore more memorable. I'm excited to start implementing these strategies!