It's not just me!...

I was so relieved in class when Jill mentioned how difficult the Advanced Organizer jargon was for her. Just like Jill, I had to read and reread nearly every paragraph of the chapter (I also had to pinch myself to stay awake). All these complicated words, just to talk about graphic organizers. Jill's presentation was first rate, however. I loved the way she put the strategy to work by creating folders within a folder to be more organized. Advanced organizers are used a lot in my classroom. They help special needs students make sense of all the information, they organize. We've used Venn diagrams to compare and contrast stories we've read. We've used webs to further our understanding of our new vocabulary words.
Now onto Cognitive Inquiry. I'm never sure how I feel about this theory. I see the good in it, but also the bad. Personally, I'd rather work alone, with all the "am I doing this correctly?" insecurities. In cognitive inquiry, we work in groups. Groups aren't so bad if I am comfortable with everyone (I am completely comfortable with my MAIT family), and if everyone pulls their weight. As a teacher, I've seen groups that work together and learn, and I see groups right next to this group, where only one or two children are doing the work while the others play around. To give my final thoughts on this theory: I like it, but with close observation of the groups by the teacher, and in moderation.