I don't remember which week I was suppose to post this for I think two weeks ago, but I just found it, so I will post it. Sorry, I am soooo long winded!
Just talking to teachers about how and what they do in the classroom may be a whole can of worms. But what I think I would try to do is put a unit together and ask the teachers to come in and view some new ideas on how to introduce information. I would also enlist the teachers that all ready do this. The issues I would raise would be what is your lesson about and how could you visually represent it to introduce it. For example, I read a book to the 3rd graders called The Jubilee Singer. Usually I end the book with a YouTube video of the Jubilee Singers, but maybe it would be better to start the lesson with that, so the students would have questions raised in their minds. Who are these singers? And why is the video so old? Teachers, ask questions that require thought, not just regurgitating information. In other words have a hook. How could the information you are presenting be put in some sort of graphic organizer? Give them a rubric so they understand exactly what is expected of them. Instead of having students blindly search the internet, have a few websites picked out that have good information on your subject. Have them or yourself organize information on a chart, or power point, or Inspiration. And lastly use a web application like Wallwisher, to post student responses to important and essential questions.




Because I am not a classroom teacher, I have fewer opportunities introduce a unit, vs a lesson, than the classroom teacher. That said I can see that I am not introducing my lessons properly. For example, the beginning to my 4th grade unit on reference material. I do have the five reference materials to show the students, however I could have a graphic organizer, for the students to fill in as they discover what is in each reference material. I could also use Inspiration to have a thought map. For my introduction to genres, I could use a Smart board and have students move definitions into correct columns under the heading of each genre. For a poster project I could have a clear rubric. I did a poster project without a rubric, I just showed an example of what I wanted, and it was a total mess. Students didn’t understand the level of my expectations. At the end of the year I do a Googledocs survey and what the kids liked and didn’t like about library class. What I could do is a survey in the beginning to help assess knowledge. I use multimedia a lot in my lessons. But I will have to think if I am using it correctly.

Note taking is a personal short-hand summary of what you are hearing. But what you write down is not necessarily the essence or summary of the lesson. Two people can hear the same thing and take away different information. I tend to be a person that takes many notes, and then goes back and finds the important information in those notes. Others, however, may listen, decide what is important, and then write down what they feel is the important information (summary). So note taking and summary are the same in that you are taking down information. However, they are different because note taking is a mechanical process of taking in information and getting that information onto paper. And summary is looking at or listening to information and figuring out what the important point of it is.