Chapter 5

In chapter 5, the author writes about making connections.  Burmark states that the more senses you engage the more concrete the experience.  Applying concrete strategies to teach abstract concepts like venn diagrams prove to be effective. In section 10:2 a research-based strategy advises to practice teacher driven instruction for ten minutes and then to allow for student discussion with partners for two minutes.  Students should respond to topic-related and open-ended questions.  John Medina’s research shows that students tune out after ten minutes of lecture.  This strategy allows for student refocus and allows students to make connections between the new learning and their prior knowledge.  Robert Marzano acknowledges that the most effective strategy to make connections is identifying similarities and differences, which is also known as compare and contrast.  It is recommended that when comparing two objects on two different slides (displayed one after the other) that the objects be placed side by side instead.  In a school conducted study, that names every child instead of being labeled by an identification number, the children’s reading scores show higher scores in comparison to schools that utilize identification numbers instead.  Knowing the child’s name gives them a sense of belonging.  Wordle is a web 2.0 technology that will create a word cloud from text provided by the creator.  Wordle illustrates keywords.  The size of the words is determined by the frequency with which the words appear in the imported text.  Burmark also offers another way of connecting with the audience is by offering freebies.  Freebies should support critical points in the presentation or associate with the subject matter in some way.  Using humor serves as a means to connect also.  Be alert to opportunities as they arise and be persistent and hopeful that the audience will understand your humor.