pdZone

In his post Representing Information, Clarence makes a good point about “How we represent information, what it looks like, and the forms that are possible, shape our thoughts about it.”

I have thought about the other side of this, but this makes so much sense. I am comfortable with the idea that we make meaning in what we read based on our own experience. It seems so obvious then that we continue to shape our understanding of a concept when we represent it. I recently went to a workshop on differentiated instruction, and Clarence’s statement makes me think about strategies whereby the students are given more options in the way that they demonstrate their learning. If the way in which we represent information helps to shape the way in which we view that knowledge, it stands to reason that we need to give students as many opportunities as possible to select those strategies that best suit their own learning.

Will we encounter students who will take the easy way out and select those strategies that simply require the least effort and which lead to minimal learning? Let’s not kid ourselves. It’s going to happen, if we allow it. I suppose it comes back to us to guide the kids to choose the strategies that will be most effective for them (we should know or kids well enough to have a good idea what will work best).

What about a topic like mixing colours of light, for example? Which kids will benefit from demonstrating their understanding of this concept through a structured written task? What about a demonstration with ray boxes? How about a computer-based activity in which the students demonstrate their understanding by mixing colours of light in the cells of a table? They all address the same curriculum expectations, but each student could develop his/her own understanding of the topic through the mode of presentation/writing representation that he/she chooses.

I have a meeting on Monday morning and I think I might refer back to this.