Did you watch last week’s Quarantinote? If so, what was it about? Do you remember?
Ok, I’ll give you a hint. We talked about memory as it is impacted by images and words. Along the way I spoke about Cognitive Load. Do you remember that?
Do you remember the 3 different loads that we should have in mind as we teach and create curriculum? Do you remember which should be minimized, which should be managed, and which should be maximized for the greatest impact?
It’s ok if you don’t remember. Just like students going from class to class, week to week, most educators forget just as quickly…
So this week, I share with you some information based on the work of Bjork & Bjork, as well as the book, “Make It Stick.” (If you don’t have this book on your bookshelf, you shouldn’t call yourself an educator…it’s that important.)
We’ll start by talking about a massive, prolific problem in K-20 education – curriculum drift and / or bloat. While it’s likely true that this is a greater problem in college than in K-12, the problem exists everywhere.
Then, I will share with you two strategies to consider for both mitigating drift/bloat, as well as helping students actually learn. (By learn, I mean remembering the information AFTER your class is over, not just acing the final and forgetting it all.)
I hope you find it 15 minutes worthy of your time as you develop your skills, bringing your teaching skills up a notch. While it may be a “blocking and tackling” aspect of learning, without considering stuff like this, the advanced (aka “fun”) stuff really isn’t possible…
Good luck and good learning.