2. Identifying Similarities and Differences
Identifying similarities and differences… is basic to human thought… and might be considered the core of all learning.
Think about your own personal experiences with identifying similarities and differences, both in school settings and in real life. Using these experiences as examples, explain why you think that the act of identifying similarities and differences can have such a positive influence on learning.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I really like this concept! Everyone needs different ways to see the same picture. If a student doesn’t understand the skill, they will not try. We just have to supply the electricity for the light bulb to go on.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Guys and Gals, make sure you are answering the question thoroughly and giving examples!
June 25th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Took forever for me to find this question-scary. No one can exist successfully without see and evaluating likenesses and differences between things/people/events. I use these skills each day more than I think anyone wants to read about. When students are in your classroom, this skills helps identify needs, abilities, and what “works” in the classroom. Students need to learn this skills in order to better evaluate decisions as well as behavioral actions/progress. I agree with Angel that these skills provide the energy necessary to get that “light bulb” to shine brightly without adult or parental guidance.
June 25th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Identifying similarities and differences… is basic to human thought… and might be considered the core of all learning.
Think about your own personal experiences with identifying similarities and differences, both in school settings and in real life. Using these experiences as examples, explain why you think that the act of identifying similarities and differences can have such a positive influence on learning.
We identify things every day by comparing similarities and differences. An example would be just going to the grocery store and buying a sports drink. You look at sports drink A. it has 150 calories per serving, no sugar and it costs $1.89 per bottle. Sports drink B. it has 160 calories per serving high sugar content, it costs $2.29 per bottle but it has electrolytes. Which one do you buy? Well you read and compare and contrast ingredients and price, and you come up with a decision as to which one to buy. Most likely you chose the one with electrolytes, because it is a great marketing word, you don’t know what electrolytes are, but you have heard that they are what plants crave, so you buy it even though it costs more.
An example of comparing and contrasting in the school setting would be in track when we first get started putting our kids into different events. At first we rely on our past experiences, comparing a kid that we have today with similar kids we have had in the past and training them to run in the events that we think they will be best suited for. Inevitably we make mistakes and so we switch kids into diffeent events as we find out more about their talents, and those of the team.
Having students compare similarities and differences yields such a positive influence on learning because it requires higher level thinking skills. The students are having to analyze what exactly is similar between two things and what is different between them. Also, they are evaluating why these things are similar or different. So in a nutshell the students are forced to actually think in order to complete the analogy, compare and contrast something.
June 25th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Go, go, go!!! If I wasn’t so miserably sore I’d do the splits y’all are so impressive!!! Okay- not the splits, maybe a cartwheel… I’m so proud!!!!
June 27th, 2008 at 8:49 am
The first thing that comes to mind about this topic is the old song from Sesame Street – “One of these things is not like the other”. Remember that? One of the first skills you learn is to tell things apart. Mommy’s voice versus Daddy’s voice, etc. As you grow you develop a more sophisticated understanding and get into nuances of similarities and differences. You start being able to discern things like Chocolate and vanilla are different, but they’re both tasty. Evaluating similarities and differents within the same comparison.
Our students have many similarities. They’re all kids, they’re all students of WMS, they’re all somebody’s babies. The similarities don’t end there. The differences are just as obvious – we have boys and girls, we have differences in maturity between grade levels and even within grade levels. We have differences in ability, interest, and engagement. But again we come back to the similarities. All our students need us, all can benefit from our contact with them and all of them have potential that can be realized. It’s looking at the differences that can help us determine that potential, which I think is the most important similarity.
Sorry if this is rambling – I’m on the last day of a two week professional development in Austin, and I’m really tired
June 30th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I think understanding how things are alike and how things are different helps you fully understand a concept. Comparing two concepts helps you to go deeper into the makeup of the concept and helps you to develop a different view of the concept or subjects. One way to define a concept or idea is to be able to say what is like, what is it not like and how is it different. The strategy of comparing and contrasting certainly helps move students into using higher level thinking skills. If students have to think outside of the box then we all win in the learning environment.
June 30th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I had a great chance to personally identify similarities and differences as I compared and contrasted the weddings of two of my sons. Aaron (my second) was married last May, while Daniel (my third) was married on June 28th.
In both cases two well educated people chose to unite their lives in a traditional marriage…vows were repeated and God’s blessings were invoked. Both brides wore long dresses and had friends and family members present as witnesses and attendants. At both events dinner and cake were served. Both had a slide show, and dancing via the requested tunes played by a D.J.
Though both ended in a kiss, differences existed. The first wedding was a Protestant ceremony, the latter Catholic. The former a spring evening wedding outside (Botanic Garden) the latter a summer afternoon mass in a Catholic church.
As a teacher, I have found that students often struggle with identifying similarities and differences between school subjects or topics within a single discipline. Repeatedly, students have said, “We thought this was a science class,” as I used an historic event or mathematics in my classroom to drive home a point or explain data.
I remember my dad saying that science is related to every other subject, and it’s true. What relationship exists between Henry the Eighth and his six wives and our modern day understanding of genetics? What does a war in the Middle East have to do with rising fuel prices? How can that stimulate experimentation with automobile design or alternate fuels? Having students look at a satellite picture of the world taken at night could be the stimulus for a discussion on the distribution of energy and its influence on a nation’s or continent’s economy. By the way…Africa is almost totally devoid of light.
One’s ability to identify similarities and differences is imperative to his/her making personal judgments and strategic planning. As others have said on this blog identifying similarities and differences is the most basic of human forms of learning. However, it is to my way of thinking of one of the most underutilized forms of learning in schools.
July 6th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I think in everything we do, especially every new thing we try, we are finding similarities and differences. It’s all about connecting to our background knowledge then adding to it.
In a school setting, teaching literature is great. We constantly compare literature in my class with students’ real life situations, with social concepts, with other academic subject matter, with history. Finding similarities and differences fuel our conversations about literature.
In my real life, I am currently thoroughly analyzing similarities and differences as my family is about to embark to Disney World. For example, my past experience tells me that I will never ride “It’s a Small World After All” again and that I need to compare the rides descriptions with one another to choose rides that won’t drive me and my daughter to the looney bin after this vacation:)
July 7th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Growing up my dad taught me the value of identifying patterns of similarities and differences in what I was trying to learn and accomplish. It was when I began to identify patterns of similarities and differences specifically in American History that I began to really get excited about teaching it full time.
The pattern began in the Colonial era and continued through the Civil Rights Movement. When the northern colonies/states are compared to the southern colonies/states and their similarities and differences are illustrated, it provides the key to why events occurred. Similarities kept them somewhat united for almost 150 years, but the differences led to the War Between the States, and why the south lost and the north won. We compare them on a regular basis so the students will see them like a chain that leads to grave consequences, i.e. the Civil War. I believe it gives more of a purpose to why we study what we study. I try to teach them that by identifying these in our own life we can use the information to shape our individual history.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
We recently we moved in to our new home and landscaping has been my latest passion. I found myself constantly observing other house landscapes, comparing them and identifying great ideas and bad choices… By recognizing similarities and differences we found our own way. As teachers we must put more emphasis on interconnectedness. Students fail to connect their academic work to their personal experiences of the physical world around them.
During my art class students very often are asked to compare similarities and differences, they learn to observe and contrast various artworks and art styles. There is a big distinction between looking and seeing. I have heard many times people saying that they cannot draw, but it’s not about manual skill, it’s about training your eyesight. Everyone can draw…draw a line and various shapes, but to create a realistic drawing you must learn to see…Seeing and actively observing (differences and similarities of lines, shapes, proportions, color etc.) are the key elements to academic drawing/painting.
July 25th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
When kids are little they learn to tell similarities and differences: circle/square, red/green, etc. It seems like a simple skills, but you must know the item very well in order to know what it is not. When we were studying the hero archetype in class the students would agrue with each other over whether or not a character fit the archetype. They had to know all of the characteristics of the hero archetype in order to defend their position. Many times when I am explaining something in class I will say, “It’s like so and so.” The students immediately get it or other students will help them out with other examples. I think it helps the kids to learn because they can attach the new learning to what they already know about something. What’s that called – schema or something like that? Constructing metaphors seems a bit difficult for the kiddos, but I’m willing to try and see what they can come up with. The students must have a clear understanding of what the item to be compared and contrasted is before being able to do the activity. If they can do it well – you know they know what you wanted them to know.
July 28th, 2008 at 12:02 am
First, I ‘d like to thank my sponsor Chili Cheese Fritos for support as I answer questions on chapter 2. By the way, Todd, Susan and Vanessa, I love y’alls answers. They were very specific and interesting!
Think about your own personal experiences with identifying similarities and differences, both in school settings and in real life. To follow Todd, Susan and Vanessa, I’d like to share my life with the group. I have taught at HMS, WMS and NSHS. All three of these schools had low socio-economic students and I was one of these students as I grew up in school. It was a key similarity I looked for when I got a teaching job. All three of these schools have allowed me to work with at-risk kids which I enjoy. A key difference is that I was not “at-risk” growing up as student, but I was surrounded by “at-risk” peers everyday in my schooling from grade 5 up.
I think looking for things we relate to or even associate with each other can help bridge the chasm when we reach unfamilar territory. Differences we identify in things can help steer us clear of making incorrect assumptions when we are stuck “making an educated guess.” This is why I believe this practice is such a postive influence on learning.
Check out this poem that illustrates this chapter so perfectly:
AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS
by Portia Nelson
I
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost … I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.
II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place
but, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
V
I walk down another street.
August 3rd, 2008 at 6:37 pm
As I teach, I try to point out the way a new concept is the same as or different from a previous concept. For example, I asked a student in summer school what 8 times 3 was. He replied, “I’m not very good with my eights.” So I then asked, how about 3 times 8 and he immediately replied 24. It was a great introduction to the commutative property. I went on to exlain there are lots of ways to solve a math problem and together we will try to find the one that is easiet for them. We, as teachers, must find the way to reach kids. The same concept can be presented in a number ways and we must be willing to find those ways.
August 4th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Well, first of all I felt really good about the fact that we actually do analogies for six weeks every year as our warm up. That is one of my attempts to get my kids to do higher level thinking. It is an eye opener as well as a time to “make them feel smart”. Sometimes we think something is so obvious yet to our students it is quite perplexing. I can even apply that to the home backgrounds that show up in my classroom every year. I have to remember that everyone is not coming from the same educationally rich homelife. If I can identify where this child is coming from, I can draw on my background and experiences to make his time in my room the most beneficial. My goal for each student is the same, but sometimes I have to get there in a different way.
August 6th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
I think we should all join Diane and teach analogies in the first six weeks- cross-curricular. That’s the first thing I thought of when reading this chapter in the analogy section. Of course, we teach it in English, but I would love for the entire 8th grade class to get used to them in math, social studies, and science classes as well (the examples they give of analogies from those subjects are awesome). Our kids could become pros at finding similiarities and differences through analogies. I’m sure I could even come up with some great ones between volleyball and basketball:)
August 18th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
When I was in my own science classroom, I always reviewed many cycles together. Hydrogen, nitrogen, water, rock, etc. To reteach these I always started with a cycle that the students knew well, ex: water cycle. Then we went to a more complex cycle and compared it, identifying similarities in what a cycle was, how they were both cycles, what was different between the cycles, and on and on. It is like your brain developes a hook for every piece of knowledge that you learn. Then when you learn something new and ‘connect’ to the previous hook of knowledge, by identifying a similarity/difference, you’ve got it. It really seemed to help with retention.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Like Vanessa said, this skill has a positive impact because kids make a connection to their background knowledge. They build on what they know and think on higher levels. It is such a practical skill. Being quite the frugal person, I compare all the time. I look at the similarities and differences from (and both recent examples) toilet paper to vacation resorts. In teaching, we find that metaphors help our kids understand things. Because of this, we constantly look for links to our kids’ background knowledge in which to relate new concepts. For example, I use salt on French fries with dialogue in a story. Just a little bit tastes good, but if you dump the whole shaker on them, you can’t even eat them.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I’ll put on a “hat” from my previous job as a consultant for Prentice Hall. I traveled 5 days a week with PH and had to stay in hundreds of different hotel rooms/chains. I developed what I call, “Hotel snob syndrome.”
I’ll apologize to my Oklahoma friends in advance. While working in Oklahoma, I worked in VERY small towns such as Guyman and Elk City, as well as OKC and Tulsa. All hotels have beds, sheets, bathrooms, lamps etc. There is a distinct difference between an “Elk City Inn” and a Marriott Renaissance Hotel in Tulsa. There is a difference between 90 thread count sheets and 600 thread count sheets. There is a difference between 50 year old mattresses and brand new, comfortable ones. There is a difference between mold in the shower and spotless bathrooms!
I think when you can make examples for kids with simple “make sense” examples first, then applying s & d’s to content is much easier! It also makes it easier to make connections to other subjects. I always make a S & D lesson with the Texas and the American Revolution.
By the way, does everyone know what the most dirty item in a hotel room is consistantly across the world? The coffee maker. Most people get up in the morning, go potty and then make coffee. Sounds like our question in the ladies room, huh? Bottom line: Don’t use the hotel coffee maker!
August 18th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
See- posts like Elizabeth’s make John and Kate’s day! She truly gets why words like “poopee” are funny!!!!
August 19th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Being able to identify similarities and differences is important because it allows you to see the big picture. Once you see the similarities and differences you are able to make a better judgement on an issue. I think about teaching this concept to my students and I know they struggle with seeing both sides. It also allows us/them to think at a higher level.
August 19th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
In the world of P.E./athletics we have to teach the kids new fundamentals and concepts all the time. At first, I found myself trying to explain the rules of a game or the certain footwork or an approach over and over and for some studnet it just would not click. Over this past year I have realized that identifying similarities between various fundamentals in sports and students background knowledge, like Vanessa mentioned, has let me intorduce new techniques more effectivley.
Funny story. One day I was teaching the students how to throw a football and many of the students were just not getting it. One student then recited the commercial were Payton Manning describes the football throwing motion like you “flick the booger off your finger”…gross, I know, but effective! It ended up working. Ha, how’s that for identifying similarities.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:23 pm
In pe, I teach them to identify things that are similar and things that are different. For example, tennis and pickleball are both racquet sports. Many of the shots are called the same and executed in a very similar fashion. But there are many differnces, like the actual raquet that is used and the dimensions of the court. Chances are that if they understood the first sport, they are going to understand the second one.
September 22nd, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I thought a very long time about how to answer this question, but I think I finally have it. I found it, as usual, in my classroom. I have the amazing and gratifying opportunity this year of teaching classes of gifted students; it is like looking in a mirror some days. Especially when I look at one girl. She and are finding more and more things that we have in common–we wake up each day with a song in our heads, we both know the secret to the game Black Magic, and we both have perfectionistic tendencies that can be detrimental. She comes to me every morning now and we compare songs; we don’t have the same taste in music, but it doesn’t matter. She has an adult she can identify with and I have a chance to help her understand she doesn’t have to be perfect 24/7. Those are pretty darn important similarities to identify in a classroom that don’t have anything to do with an objective. I learn more about myself from watching these kids think than I thought I ever might. Ever the student, I am grateful for the chance to be with them.
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Recently, a landscape architect drew up some plans for our backyard. Jim and I listened to this gentleman carefully, looked over the drawings closely, then we each made our separate lists of things we REALLY liked, sorta liked and didn’t like. This way we were able to come up with a plan we were both happy with and could be excited about.
At school I remember talking with some students, who had come to Content Mastery, about what led to the Revolutionary War. Comparing the colonists and England to the students and their parents (”Why do many young adults move out of their parents’ home? rules, restrictions, nosey, old fashioned, etc”) It was a fun way to engage them in the lesson as they could think of MANY reasons to want to be free of their parents’ jurisdiction. By putting pieces of yourself into the mix, taking what you know and using that to solve a problem or get a perspective – it’s fun and has a positive influence on learning.
September 23rd, 2008 at 2:38 pm
There are not two learnes exactly alike yet when a group of students walk into my classroom, they do share similarities in age, genders, socioeconimics, etc. I am challenged to find a way to teach the same skills and objectives to very different learners ranging from mental retardation, new English language learners, developmentaly delayed, genius slackers, and over achievers.
In my class we can discuss diferences in work world and how each of us have special qualities that will lead toward success or possible failure in the future. Quality time is spent on exploring the personality, aptitudes and interests of each student through curriculum materials and the pre,pre-ACT test called Explore. The students are encouraged to understand their positive strenghts and also their weaknesses. And, realizing that it takes different types of personalities, skills, learning styles, etc. in the workplace allows the students to respect each other’s differences more in our school. We need to celebrate and enjoy the differences of each other in society.
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:22 pm
“Celebrate and enjoy the differences of each other” – I love that, Claudia!!
October 3rd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
From a coaching perspective, understanding differences and similarities can make or break a team and it’s season. You’re working to assemble, create, and manipulate all of your players in the best way possible. The ultimate goal (winning) is, or should be, shared by everyone (even though certain athletes may not agree with thier role or place). But any successful coach must be able to find the strengths/weaknesses of his/her players to put thier team in the best position to win.
As a coach, I found placing certain “personalities” or “styles” together on a line (hockey term) never worked if two players both thought they were goal-scorers. It never worked if someone WASN’T set on being a goal-scorer either. I needed a player to clear the way, one to set up, and one to finish!
On special teams play, a coach desperately needs those players with the SAME or similar mentality. You want 100% defense when you kill off a penalty, and an offensive minded athlete isn’t suited for such a role.
In the end, I always work to find the right “fit” when coaching hockey and putting together what I hope to be a winning team. I look for similarities and differences in personality, playing style, and overall strengths/weaknesses.
October 7th, 2008 at 11:58 am
When I compare things in my own mind whether the comparison is between people, places, or things I am able, and thankful so, to make meaningful images that relate to my past/my experiences and that connect and build on my prior knowledge. As an example, when I compare people and their personalities, I also begin to analyze concepts and logically investigate-based on my past experiences and acquired knowledge-as to why that person is like they are. This mental activity generates inference and deduction, all of which are higher order thinking. Although our students brains are not develop fully as of yet, this identifying similarities and differences does have a positive influence of learning.
October 11th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
When students are able to relate their experiences to the things we are doing in class or have a different way to solve a problem, you know they are making connections. Students tend to be around other students that are similar to themselves in behavior and avoid those that are different. However, when placed in a classroom together they are able to cooperate with each other most of the time.
October 14th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Similarities and differences are a very basic and easy way to make connections for students. They can connect new experiences with things they already know, new information with already learned information, and they can do it in fun and creative ways. Also, we have learned from Marzano that Similiarities and Differences are the #1 way of learning and retaining information.
October 20th, 2008 at 10:51 am
My recent encounter with identifying similarities and differences has been a fulfilling experience; MMTIC has enabled me to realize, understand, and be more patience with students in my class because I’m mentally identifying my students’ personality type. They have many differences and similarities in personality and learning style. Most of my students are very, very different from my personality type and recognizing this fact is requiring me to teach and re-teach focusing on how their personality traits dictate how they learn and possibly why they have such difficulty in the classroom environment.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:19 am
As teachers we are constantly indentifying simularities and differences of the students we teach. One will be quick to pick up on a task and another will find the same task quite difficult to master. Some students are quick to pick out strategies of a new game while others seem lost and cannot quite seem to understand what is going on around them. It is at this time where good teachers find something the lost students can identify with to learn the new task. Relating the new task to a previously learned task helps to bring the lost students around. Students can compare an old task with a new one and describe how the new task is different than the old task and how it is simular to the new task–helping them to master the new task with less stress and with greater success. We do this in our own lives almost everyday, whether shopping for new car, house, or some type of service–we compare what we did previously and use our information on the new purchase. Hopefully, we compare ans contrast and get the best deal.
November 3rd, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I remember when my children were small I spent hours helping them identify things that were similar and things that were different- colors, shapes, values. It is definitely a cornerstone to ones learning.
In my classroom students must understand how pitches and rhythms are similar and different. This is the basics to understanding the skills necessary to read music, tone production and blending within their section.
I do many activities and games in choir dealing with similarities and differences of identifying and performing pitches and rhythms.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
This is an easy one. Snowflakes. No two snowflakes are alike. They don’t fall alike, they don’t melt alike. Kids. No two kids are alike. They don’t think alike, they don’t learn alike, and they are definitely on different speeds. The importance of identifying and understanding similarities and differences can not be understated. We all have classes with kids on opposite ends of the learning spectrum. Think of spaghetti noodles. You take a noodle out of the pot and throw it against the fridge. It slides down and falls. It’s not ready. You let it cook a little longer. Take another noodle out, throw it, BAM! It sticks. We have to have the patience and the knowledge to make our classes work. Extra work, extra help, extra time…these are simple ideas but when applied to the classroom, they can make big gains. We need to make learning connect with what students are familiar with. That’s when knowledge “sticks” to the fridge, or the kids.
November 12th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
As a math teacher I utilize the identifying similarities and differences strategy quit often. Two years ago, I had the privilege of being trained on analyzing the TEKS and how to use it to guide decision making about teaching, learning, and assessment. As part of the training, I had to identify the similarities and differences between the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade TEKS and to create criterions for assessing the students learning. To be honest, the training was a BEATING; however, now I am capable of identifying what my students need to know and what they should know when they enter and leave my classroom.
Identifying similarities and differences is a key factor in the students’ success in mathematics. I use this strategy to help them understand ideas or concepts more deeply and to be able to apply the knowledge in appropriate situations. I might guide the students through the process using a teacher-directed activity or encourage more divergent thinking through a student-directed activity. As one of my college professors once told me, “Learning is the work of the mind. Learning only happens as it happens in the minds of individuals.” I believe there are a number of habits of mind that can help students more deeply understand any content. A habit of mind is an automatic mental process used when new information is encountered. As teachers, we can deliberately employ instructional strategies that help our students uncover and develop habits of mind that will make them more successful learners.
November 17th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I use cooperative learning and use a peer grading sheet where everyone is accountable for the learning. Also, grouping of the students are very important. I split the class by academic achievement and then halfway down the list I break off into another column placed next to the first column and pair them that way or group them that way. I agree with the parent that one child should not be doing all the work. As a teacher I should be monitoring and making sure everyone is doing their part in the project.
November 17th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
As a teacher, you have to identify the similarities and differences in each student. This will ensure that learning will take place. In lessons, you can have students do the same with concepts. This requires higher order thinking and gets the blood flowing in the brain. It can stump some kids who just want to be given the answer too and frustrate them to no end. We need to be patient with them and guide them to the final goal.
In class we took our lab reports and created a flow chart from them. They had to give similarities and differences between the two and it was difficult for them. They finally accomplished the task and I could see they were pleased with themselves. They didn’t think they could do the task in the first place. I proved to them they could.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Sorry, I post my cooperative learning answer in the wrong spot.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
The act of identifying similarities and differences from my own life help me to understand the positive influence it can have on any learning situation. The many different facets of comparing and classifying everything in life is done almost as a second nature. Almost from the time that we can walk and talk we learn right, wrong, good and bad. Comparing and classifying before we can even put a identification tag on it.
Teaching the students how these things are already involved in our lives naturally is a great way for teaching: simiarities and differences; comparisons, classifying, methapors AND analogies.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I teach a life skills class during sixth period for my students who are emotionally disturbed, behaviorally disordered, and/or learning disabled. We discuss many problems and the strategies to handle them. We are constantly evaluating ourselves and our responses in different situations. While trying to improve our attitudes and behaviors, we often talk about our differences and similarities. We note the differences and similarities in students who are successful academically and socially. We compare out characteristics and habits with theirs. We are constantly trying to learn to behave appropriately in order to be more socially accepted.
November 19th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
This won’t reap of “educationalese” but it is what came to mind in reading this chapter. Comparing and contrasting is a skill that should be addressed frequently within the classroom. Other than figuring out percentages for sale items or tips, this is something I do quite freqently. I shop. I compare and contrast price and product. I compare and contrast quality of the materials. I compare and contrast value of the product; is it worth the investment, be it 99 cents or $100? This rings so very true to me as I try to select toys for my 6 month old “Creme Puff”’s first Christmas. Fisher Price or Baby Einstein? The donut ring stacker: do I go with the $18.00 one that lights up and sings or is $9.00 that just has beads in it just as good? Isn’t that comparing and contrasting? Is this an innate skill? Perhaps to a degree; however, I think this is a skill that should be honed within the classroom in the hopes that it aids the learner become a wiser consumer.
November 28th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
The thought that I couldn’t shake as I read the chapter is that I have used some of these strategies for a long time. However, Marzano has sparked new ideas for me on when and how I can apply them to difficult concepts for my students.
For example, in my unit on 3-D measurement, I have long used a classifying activity at the beginning in which students sort the objects into certain categories and they do very well with this. As I read the example of the math teacher’s analogies, I realized I could use something similar to help them with the more difficult tasks at the end of the unit. Maybe a matrix or analogy will help my students distinguish between surface area and volume–topics that are often confused. I am eager to try this to see if it helps!
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Having small children really helps you appreciate our natural tendency to group things into the similar and dissimilar. My 2-year old spends a lot of time simply grouping his toys. I think it’s his way of making sense of the universe. As we get older, I think it’s not quite as obvious, but that inherent tendency is still there.
Just like the coaches, I tend to group students into types. I have to cast them in plays, so I need to think about what sort of roles fit their personalities and capablities. Again, I’m frequently wrong and frequently surprised by a student who turns out to be different than what I had imagined them to be.
As far as acting goes, students use similarities as a way “in” to whatever character they happen to be playing. There are basically two schools of thought in theatre: creating a character from the inside out, and creating a character from the outside in. In the first style, you try to identify situations in your life that are somewhat similar to your characters, and then use your own emotions and thoughts to inform your performance. In the second style, you are trying to “match” what you have seen previously, act angry and then you will become angry. It sounds a little hokey, but it works quite well actually. If you want to sound nicer, smile first. If you want to sound angry, twist your features into a snarl. We can all identify the facial expression that relates to an emotion, so what you are really doing is imitating. Imitation and discovering simlarities are really the same thing.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Identifying similarities and differences is one of the most basic and vital intelligences. In fact, many early IQ tests used this concept as well as spatial orientation to determine a person’s level of intelligence. As I teach children to draw technical drawings it becomes apparant that this may be an area where we are failing our students.
Differentiating is our most basic survival skill. Safe versus danger, good versus bad. But is also one our most powerful tools to make our students more aware of themselves and their environment. Many times it is a struggle to have a student make a likeness of a simple drawing. We must do better and not accept just any effort as wonderful when the criteria is not met or the concept is not achieved.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Seeing the similarities and differences, comparing and contrasting is a natural skill we all do. Children, however, have a hard time applying these concepts to interdisciplinary classes and life situations. By allowing our students to interact with each other in small and large groups, we are modeling knowledge and experiences to apply these tasks.
December 12th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Having two young children, I find myself constantly comparing and contrasting the boys. The differences usually outweigh the similarities. The same is true with my children at school. The students are more different than alike. In Symphonic Band, the mix of the 7th and 8th grade class personalities vary greatly. The quality of instruments from child to child varies, but the product we produce is same.
In band, we spend countless hours striving to sound the same on everything we do. We train the students to analyze every sound that leaves their instrumnet. Is my sound the same as Mrs, Zeier? Did I match length with the other students in my section? Am I playing louder than the tubas? All of these thoughts have to instantly pass through their brains for just one note. I think this thinking skill transfers to all subject areas and is one of the many benefits of music reading.
December 17th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
“Identifying similarities and differences… is basic to human thought… and might be considered the core of all learning.” –Marzano
To be a functional person, one must be able to identify similarities and differences. From the basic necessities to sustain life (am I thirsty? is it best to wear clothes in public?…) to decisions that affect the quality of life (do I want to pay $650 a month for a car or $325, do I want to live in this neighborhood, what characteristics do I prefer in a mate to create offspring?, is the 2008 Dallas Defense stronger than the Dooms Day Defense of the 70s?), being able to have an awareness of differences, strengths, weaknesses, etc makes a person able to make decisions and use knowledge.
In my teaching subject, I try to train my students to be aware of the way a “core” sound or “vibrant” sound or “characteristic” sound is produced on their instrument. How does it feel? Can you recreate it the way I have taught you? If it is a sound that is not “characteristic” describe why it is not. What might that person be doing to create an “uncharacteristic” sound?
Playing a passage of music, we try to match note lengths, ends of notes, front of notes, quality of notes, speed and duration of notes. Students need an opinion or be aware of what is happening in real time, and be able to respond to what they hear.
I judged high school all-region auditions last Saturday at Lamar HS. I heard 68 clarinets play the same excerpt of music and I had to rank them, best to worst. I have a mindset of what I like to hear a clarinet sound like and how a piece of music should be played, the style, etc. I had to identify differences in tone quality, technique, articulation, musicality, etc and rank them according to an ideal standard. There were 4 other judges who listened along with me to these 68 kids play the same piece of music. Our ranks did not entirely agree because we all like to hear things a certain way, or our educational background or our teaching philosophies dictate our “ideal standard.” But, I will be honest, some directors offended me because of how they ranked certain players. I can easily fall into the trap of judgment on peers if I think their ideal standard is weak. Bad, Laurie. Some people identify preferences (differences) in their own unique fashion.
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:18 pm
As a teacher, identifying the similarities and differences in my students personalities and strengths changed the way I taught and related to students. A colleague of mine was very into the Myers-Briggs evaluation instrument and used it with her students (this is the grown-up version of MMTIC that our 6th graders are participating in right now). She also tested me and gave me great information about my personality type. Apparently, my personality type wants EVERYONE to be just like ME! Learning that students can learn, enjoy, absorb, and internalize but not necessarily look like me while they are doing it was a real “ah ha!” in my teaching. I still struggle with this and constantly remind myself that we can all be different and equally effective.
In singing, students are constantly forced to take their differences (our DNA gives us each a unique voice) and work to unify them with one another. We are all different, but we have to sound similar for that WOW sound. Validating their individuality while combining them to a cohesive whole is a daily effort. I work to challenge them to HEAR how this happens so THEY can make the changes. Shifting the paradigm to “teach says, I do” to “I think, therefore I am” is a constant goal.