Do you have vocabulary words you’d like to stick in your students’ brains?  Whether you teach upper elementary, middle school, or high school, I’m guessing you’re nodding your head, yes!  It encompasses all subjects- we all have key terms that will improve our students’ learning. 
 
It’s always a teacher’s goal to improve retention, in other words, help our students move information into long-term memory.  If students retain key terms, our jobs are so much easier!
 
 
Visual "Memory Triggers"
 
The way that we can blend text and images in a doodle note strategy leads to better comprehension and retention of our lesson material.  This combination of visual and linguistic input is based on Dual Coding Theory and supports student learning.

I call these blends of text and graphics “visual memory triggers” because the student brains process the text and image together in a way that builds connections and helps them to remember the concept later on.
A solid visual trigger is based around an image that either fits the lesson material or fits into an analogy that will help students remember.  They’re a key component of doodle notes.  For example, this school bus is a visual trigger for the commutative property.
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“Commutative” Property – to move back and forth:  Students write one letter per bus window and remember “commuting” to and from school as the connection.

In the same lesson, I have students write “associative” inside an image of two people or an image of a handshake.  This one helps them remember that associates are like partners and that math property is all about switching “partners” in an equation.  We accompany these graphics with examples that will help connect the abstract analogy with a concrete principle.  The hand’s action of lettering and sketching leads to a brain pathway that helps store each memory as a blend of visual and linguistic input.  This has been proven to be the most effective way for the brain to ensure that information gets into long-term memory.

Here are more samples of what visual "memory triggers" look like.  Students can develop these blends of graphic and linguistic content themselves to help a big concept or key word stick in their brains:

 
How to Help your Students Develop their Own Visual Memory Triggers
 
A way to instantly boost memory and retention is to have your students create their OWN visual memory triggers.  To teach them how to do this, start with specific prompts.
 
You can have them create a visual magazine cover for a key term like the one below for the term “gravity.” Or you can encourage them to design a t-shirt for a term, sketch it, or use it in sentences.  

​Or, if the given topic has various layers, have your students show that in scoops on an ice cream cone or layers of a cake.  The opportunities are endless!
 
Show them more examples of visual triggers for inspiration!
 
This pack of Visual Vocabulary Prompts: Doodle Note Review Card Templates makes this process a breeze for you and your students!  The cards already have a variety of creative prompts built in, as well as designated areas to doodle, color, and visualize on paper a given term.
 

The graphic layout of these study guides allows students to mentally organize the information in their minds, understand the relationships and connections between ideas, and remember the lesson material better!

 
Why this Helps Them Remember
 
There is psychological research done on visual note-taking.   Dual Coding Theory originated with Paivio in the 70s, and explains how visual and linguistic information is processed in two different areas of the brain.
 
In essence, as new input enters the brain, it's stored in short term memory in two distinct categories.  Graphic information, images, and other sensory input are processed in the VISUAL center while auditory input, words, and text are processed in the LINGUISTIC center of the brain.
 
This is a great way for our brains to constantly take in both types of information, and the system works very well as we are on the go.  However, in order to actually convert new information into true learning, we need it to be saved and stored in long term memory.
 
To do this, we need referential connections between the two zones.  We have to CONNECT the information in the visual area with the information in the linguistic area.
 
When we are able to blend the text/auditory input together with the images, we boost the potential for retaining the information!

​Not only are the individual words and ideas committed to long term memory more effectively, but the associations between them are retained as well.  With this strategy, our students can understand the big ideas and concepts AND remember the vocabulary and small details more consistently. 
 
In addition to the learning benefits of visual note-taking, when students develop their own visual memory triggers, they are essentially able to teach others.  According to the Art of Problem Solving, “The best test of whether or not you really understand a concept is trying to teach it to someone else. Teaching calls for complete understanding of the concept. You can’t just ‘kind of get it’ or know it just well enough to get by on a test; teaching calls for complete understanding of the concept.”
 
Even if you don’t use the visual vocabulary in groups or partners, your students still have to interact with the term from a different perspective.  They have to think about the key term as if they were teaching it; they have to fully understand it in order to build a visual memory trigger.  It's all about coming up with their own brain-friendly memory boosters!

The templates and prompts shown above are part of this set.

For support and more information as you explore the different opportunities that visual note-taking can offer your classroom, download the complete Doodle Note Handbook for free here.
 

The past three weeks I’ve posted a series about women in STEM.  Even in today’s world, there is so little female representation in science, technology, engineering, and math due to many various factors.  It's essential we help our teenage female students realize there is a place for them in STEM. 
 
An interesting way to look at women in STEM is through an international lens.  The differences around the world might surprise you!
 
In case you missed it, check out Women in STEM: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 to learn more about why these gender gaps exist and how to help our female students close the gap!
 
How Location in the World is a Factor 
 
I just read a fascinating article from The Atlantic that made some shocking realizations about women in STEM in the world.  Basically, in more progressive countries like the US, where gender equality is greater, there are much fewer women in STEM than in countries where males and females are not considered equal.
 
The article says Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates were the only three countries in which boys are significantly less likely to feel comfortable working on math problems than girls are.
 
Shocking, right?! You would think that greater gender equality in society would equal greater gender equality within STEM fields.  Here is one theory- “...it could have to do with the fact that women in countries with higher gender inequality are simply seeking the clearest possible path to financial freedom. And often, that path leads through stem professions.”
 
This tells us that there’s something in liberal societies nudging women towards careers other than science, technology, engineering, and math, and vice versa in less liberal societies.  The article shares other theories and findings; give it a read if you have a chance!
 
 
Three Inspiring Women in STEM
 
One way to pique our teen students’ interests in STEM is by sharing some inspirational women in various science, technology, engineering, and math fields.  Bonus points if the girls can picture themselves in these roles, (One of the many reasons why diversity is important).
 
So, this week, I’m sharing 3 young, modern-day women who have made their way into STEM fields.
 
Pooja Chandrashekar
 
At a young age she founded ProjectCSGIRLS, a tech and computer science competition for middle school girls.  This organization has chapters all around the world.
 
According to Huffington Post, Pooja said, “I saw female friends turn away from pursuing computer science because of the negative stereotypes surrounding the field, and the lack of female role models.”
 
The goal of ProjectCSGIRLS to show women they can use science and technology to make a social impact.

Sabina London
 
At just 15 years old, Sabina London founded STEM You Can!  What started as a summer camp with 15 kids became a huge program for kids who love science.  Her Campus tells us she wanted other young girls to become just as passionate about science as she was.
 
“My idea to start STEM You Can! extends back to my sophomore year in high school when I noticed I was one of only four girls in my honors chemistry class,” London shared. She was further motivated by studies that showed women lacked confidence in the scientific fields and felt like they were “incapable of succeeding.”
 
Sasha Ariel Alston
 
Sasha studied technology in high school in Washington D.C. and became an intern at Microsoft, where she designed her first gaming app.  She was involved in many STEM-related clubs and courses; she noticed there were very few women around her and even fewer women of color.
 
So, she wrote and published a children’s book called, Sasha Savvy Loves to code.
 
Alston said, “I want girls to know that they can choose any career they want despite their gender or race.  Raising interest in STEM should be done at an early age. Hopefully, girls hearing from me, a young woman who likes fashion and music just like most of them but also thinks coding is cool, will make an impact.”
 

To wrap up this series, I'm including a printable file with the graphics I made for these posts so you can put them up in your classroom.  This would be a great bulletin board or decoration for your STEM classroom!  These images feature facts and quotes for some of the featured women in STEM as an inspiration for your class.  Enjoy!

Click here to download the pictured materials and then subscribe here to get more free materials, ideas, and updates sent to your inbox.

How can you bring some hands-on spontaneity into your math classroom?  It’s super easy! Invest in some dice and get some inspiration below.
 
When you make math more hands-on, you not only more successfully engage your students, but you are helping the learning stick in their brains; retention is improved.
 
When you think of math manipulatives, you may think of elementary students using various number blocks to learn place value or addition and subtraction.  Sometimes, we struggle to think of ways to incorporate manipulatives in the upper grades.
 
That’s where dice come into play.  There so many creative ways to get your students using dice in math class.  I like the soft foam dice (shown above) because they are so nice and quiet when rolled!  There are a few options of sizes, which is also nice.  Some of the ideas below require both small and large dice together.  You can also get giant inflatable dice.  By buying just two of those jumbo ones, you'll be able to roll them in front of the whole class for management ideas (below) or for large group lessons on probability, etc. for everyone to see.
 
I posted on Instagram and asked everyone to share their favorite ways to use dice in the classroom, and I’ve included some of my own!
 
Here are 23 ways to get you started.  You can use dice to:
 
 
Middle School Pre-Algebra

• Play a “Decimal Dice Game (@middleschoolmathmoments wrote an awesome blog post about it here.)
• Toss two dice to each student around the class and when they land in their hands, whichever numbers are facing up they have to multiply (@knowledgeovergrades)
• Play a Probability Game (@middleschoolmathmoments)
• Practice with exponents (@maekkan) using small and large dice
• Generate random factor pairs or trios.  (@ez526)
• Practice methods of multiplication (@mia_dor_jet)
• “Bowl a Fact” -a game,(recommended by @melkob124), where students practice combining number combinations to get specific results.  You can find directions at youcubed.
• Play “Division 4 in a Row”- a game to practice division fluency.  You can find directions, here, from multiplication.com.
• Play Yahtzee to teach concepts of probability.
• Play “Snake”- a whole class game to practice multiplication facts, (recommended by @haileygarrou).  Find directions here. 
• Play “Skunk”- a game to teach probability and risk, (recommended by @algebrathecat)

 
 
Algebra

• Generate numbers to solve inequalities (@mia_dor_jet)
• Use them to determine the coefficients and constant when practicing solving quadratic equations using the quadratic formula (@ms.melissa.moreno)
• Play Battleship type games (@maekkan)
• Try @rockymountainclassroom ‘s math trick, and then let students create their own! 

​Geometry

• Create coordinates to graph (@math.with.mrs.n)
• Create the vector for a translation (@math.with.mrs.n)
• Generate length and width for calculating area (@math.with.mrs.n)
•  Use a die as a model of a cube with 6 faces (@doitjewett87)  This one might be simple, but it is so important for students to really hold and visualize it to help them with nets and surface area.
• Determine a scale factor (@garberteachesmath)

 
 
 
Classroom Management

• Call on students. Number the tables and number each seat.  Roll one die to pick the table and another to pick the student (@eweir26)
• Determine partners (@maekkan)
• Generate small groups

 
 
 
Do you have any cool ways to use dice in your classroom?  Add more to this collaborative list in a comment below!

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