When discussing a topic, a commonly-used way to present new information is through the use of lectures. Educators have been debating the use of lectures as a mean of providing information to their students...
Here are some advantages of using lectures in your classroom:
• "Lecturing is an efficient use of the instructor’s time. A good lecture can be presented from one semester to the next,
reducing subsequent planning and preparation time to review and update".
• "Lecturing is versatile. It can be used with large or small groups, for any curriculum area, and can last from a few
minutes to several hours".
• "The instructor has complete control of course content. When lecturing, the instructor has complete control over the
level of detail and degree of emphasis with which course content is covered".
(Heward).
Here are some disadvantages of using lectures in your classroom:
• "Course content is often presented via lecture in unorganized and uneven fashion. This makes it difficult for students to determine the most important aspects of the lecture (i.e., What’s going to be on the exam?)".
• "Students can be passive observers. The typical lecture does not require students to actively participate. One of the most consistent and important educational research findings is that students who make frequent, relevant responses during a lesson learn more than students who are passive observers"
• "The listening, language, and/or motor skill deficits of some students with disabilities make it difficult for them
to identify important lecture content and write it down correctly and quickly enough during a lecture. While writing one concept in his notebook, the student with learning disabilities might miss the next two points".
(Heward).
What are guided notes?
"Guided notes are instructor-prepared handouts that provide all students with background information and standard cues with specific spaces to write key facts, concepts, and/or relationships during the lecture. Guided notes (GN) require students to actively respond during the lecture, improve the accuracy and efficiency of students’ notetaking, and increase students’ retention of course content" (Heward).Since I had always been someone who felt negatively towards lectures, it was nice to learn that there was a new strategy, guided notes, to help make lectures more interactive for the students! I am a big supporter of actively involving students in their learning because I think in general, people learn more when they are actively involved. That being said, I think students would definitely get more out of lectures by using guided notes!
Why should you use guided notes?
1) Students produce complete and accurate notes.
2) Guided notes increases student's active engagement with course content.
3) Guided Notes help instructors prioritize and limit lecture content.
Implementing Guided Notes Into The Special Education Classroom:
1) Eliminate the need for generality as much as possible: prioritize the settings the learner will most often function and prioritize the knowledge and skills that will be required most of the learner. The most important skill-setting combinations should always be taught directly.
2) Probe for generalized outcomes before, during and after instruction.
Generalization probes can often be made more efficient by contriving meaningful opportunities for the learner to use his or her new knowledge or skill.
I loved learning how I could take the concept of guided notes and implement it into the special education classroom! Since I do not have much experience with students with special needs, I always appreciate learning different ways and techniques to help them learn using a technique used in the regular education classroom, like guided notes!
Here is a short video on how a teacher used guided notes in her classroom:
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