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It is very important that students’ focused learning time is followed by opportunities to express themselves and reflect. This is critical to long term memory formation. When students discuss their learning, represent it in a new way, or put it in their own words, they remember it better. (Eric Jensen, 1998) When you allow students to express themselves, whether by writing, drawing or building, you are helping them recode information: representing information in a new way as it comes in. According to Dr. Mel Levine, "This is where you change the packaging of information from the one in which it was delivered. So, if something is presented verbally, you make a graphic – a diagram of it. If there is something visual to learn, you put it into words. Active learners understand the need to somehow make some changes in what they are learning. They make tables, drawings, and bulleted lists. The very act of creating these recoded information packets helps consolidate the information in memory. "Memories are Made of This: Schools as an Unending Test of Remembering and What to do About It, By Dr. Mel Levine, www.allkindsofminds.org |