Fast Llamas,

Today we shift from behavioral strategies to cognitive ones.  When I think of cognitive engagement, I have to recall the four ways in which we basically think with our brains.  

Let's call them the Brain Basics.

1. Firing - 🔥

    Neurons that fire together, wire together.  

2. Attending - 🧠

    Attention is necessary for learning

3. Connecting - 🧩

    We make meaning by connecting to existing knowledge.

4. Imaging 📷

    Mental imaging supports understanding. 
  
While planning my lessons, I am aware of these brain basics  - if my students are talking, moving, collaborating, writing, drawing, summarizing, recalling, organizing, sequencing, explaining (you get the picture) - they are making meaning and they are thinking critically.  They are engaged cognitively.  Everyday students have opportunities to:

    1. Move

    2. Collaborate and 

    3. Engage with media of some sort (think lots of visuals for example)

What's great is the activities do not have to be these grand, big, huge lessons.  They are can small activities, chunked throughout the lesson that get kids doing the learning, and me the teacher guiding and facilitating.  Think about student carrying the cognitive workload and what that would look like.  If I give my students notes on particular topic - WHAT will they be doing with the information? If I give my students a reading activity - HOW will they use that information?  I want to make sure my students have ample opportunities to learn with others and connect what they know with the new information.

I also want to make sure that as I am explicitly teaching that I build opportunities for discussion by asking open ended questions and use Wait Time.  

PAWE is a strategy what is fantastic strategy to use for when you want to build in this type of teaching.

P - Prompt - pique curiosity and get their attention! 

    "we have been talking about the US Constitution" Here we can tap into existing knowledge.  (BB #2 and BB #3)

A - Ask - ask the question - open ended, use visuals to help make meaning (BB #4)

W - WAIT - use wait time, allow students to collaborate and talk, learn from others.  Get those neurons firing. (BB #1)

E - Elicit - pull and stretch out the answers - ask for similarities, more examples, differences, get the students to tell you more! Here the meaning is being made as students connect what they already know to new learning.  (BB 1 - 4 in play here)  celebrate the answers with praise!

When you think about it, isn't this a lot more engaging for you and for the students than just cold calling the same students over and over again?

Next in this series, we tap into our first cognitive strategy - Purposeful Movement.