The Pride
PHS Staff Bulletin February 4 - 9
Our Mission:
The New Art and Science of Teaching
Chapter 5: Conducting Knowledge Application Lessons
Element 12: Engaging Students in Cognitively Complex Tasks
"By definition, cognitively complex tasks require a number of mental steps for students. They also require using content in new ways. The strategies in the table below involve steps that require students to think deeply about content. Cognitively complex tasks also require students to apply what they have learned in novel situations--hence the term knowledge application lessons. For example, assume that students in an art class were exposed to certain design principles during one or more direct instruction lessons and knowledge-deepening lessons. At the knowledge application level, the teacher might assign the following experimental inquiry task:
Select three different visual structures that, according to the design
principles we've been studying, can have different effects on the viewer,
such as a sense of balance, anxiety, or rhythm. Create simple drawings
that you believe exemplify each structure and find out if you are successful
in communicating what you intend. For example, survey your classmates
to tell you which drawing represents which effect. Decide if, based on the
results, you can change the design to improve your results.
This task requires students to create an original composition, survey viewers' reactions, analyze the data, and draw conclusions.
When the strategies in this element produce the desired effects, teachers will observe the following behaviors in students.
- Students clearly engage in their cognitively complex task.
- Students can explain the conclusions they have generated.
- Students can defend their conclusions.
- Students have produced artifacts from their cognitively complex task."
--from The New Art & Science of Teaching,
Robert J. Marzano
Weekly Calendar
This week in photos...
Pre AP Physics
Student Work Displayed in Mrs. Sims'
Geometry Scavenger Hunt
Educator Inspiration...
Happy Birthday to You!
February 9--Brandi Leonhardt
Contact Us
Email: tmguajardo@pisd.us
Website: http://hs.pisd.us/
Location: 900 Eagle Pride, Pleasanton, TX, United States
Phone: 830-569-1250