Interactive Think Aloud
Definition:
Think-alouds have been known as "eavesdropping on someone's thinking" (http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/think_alouds). With this strategy, a teacher will verbalize aloud while reading or solving a problem. The goal is for students to watch the proficient reader model this strategy, then practice while the teacher guides them, until students eventually gain control over their own comprehension (Miller & Veatch, 2012). When they are ready, students can engage in self-monitoring as they tackle the next challenging text (2012).
|
How it works (Miller & Veatch, 2012):
|
How I will use an Interactive Think-aloud
I will use an interactive think aloud with my students when we come to challenging portions of a text. I also think, in my subject area of science, that this would be a great tool to use when going through the procedure for a lab. By using an interactive think-aloud with the students, I can go through the procedure of a lab and discuss any unfamiliar vocabulary, concepts, we can look at what the aim of the lab is, etc. I also think it will be utilized when I go through complex processes in Biology such as DNA synthesis or replication. When there are many steps, I feel an interactive think aloud would allow me to let the students "eavesdrop on my thinking" as we go through the processes.
I also think it would be valuable to use a Think-aloud while science articles with my students. As I read science articles, I process information differently as a science teacher than my students would be able to process the information. I think it would be valuable to model for them how I comprehend and process science articles and then let them practice.
I also think it would be valuable to use a Think-aloud while science articles with my students. As I read science articles, I process information differently as a science teacher than my students would be able to process the information. I think it would be valuable to model for them how I comprehend and process science articles and then let them practice.
Examples:
The above video is a teacher using a Think-aloud in a way I could also see using one in my classroom. She is pulling a science article up on the overhead. I would also make sure every student had a copy of the article. She is then going through the article and Thinking-aloud for her students how she determines if this is a credible source or not for information. In the area of science, this is vital because we have so much information on the internet and sources may or may not be credible. So it is important for us to teach our students how to discern what a credible source looks like. She then goes through the article as a Think-aloud, read-aloud. The students are engaged as she is talking through how she processes this information from the article.
I included the video above as an example because I will often use the Think-Aloud strategy as I solve problems with my Chemistry students. Many of these problems are word problems and I find it is valuable for me to model how I solve these problems using the Think-Aloud strategy. Students are then able to see how I get the numbers and from where. They see how I decide what chemicals to use, how to set up a chemical equation and solve the problem. This is a valuable strategy with Chemistry word problems.
Writing Component: Common Core English Language Arts Standards » Science & Technical Subjects » Grade 9-10 (http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RST/9-10/)
- Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.
- Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text.
- Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9-10 texts and topics.
- Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy).
- Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.
- Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem.
- By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.