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Literature Review of Graphic Organizers Essay

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Literature Review Numerous studies confirm the benefits of using graphic organizers in the classroom in terms of helping students develop and process information. The mere fact this is a method that has been backed by such a strong body of evidence has imbued me with confidence that this intervention will yield positive results. Graphic organizers are a way to help students "grapple with core ideas of the content and develop sophisticated relational understandings of it" (Ellis 2004). They help students to process information as opposed to memorizing and stressing facts (Ellis 2004), which is what history, is predominantly concerned with. Too often when we teach children in our particular content areas we take a Scholar Academic …show more content…

In addition the act of showing students the particular information has the effect of allowing them to create their own understanding of the text. It allows students to examine the process of discerning important information from that which is immaterial. "Since understandings cannot be transmitted, merely telling children the relationships in some topic seems unlikely to provide much of a press for understanding. Nevertheless explaining can work when…a conceptual model such as an analogy or an example can highlight what is important and make connections easier to notice" (Newton 2001). "Ausbel (1963) originally rationalized the use of graphic organizers by speculating that a learner's existing knowledge which he referred to a s cognitive structure, greatly influence his or her learning. When the cognitive structure expands and strengthens by incorporating new information, learning occurs. To facilitate this process, graphic organizers provide learners with a framework for relating their existing knowledge to the new information." (Kim et. Al 2004). The evidence that supports my research question provides some basis as well as stability for my conclusions. Attempting to engage in active research for the first time, and equipped with a question that has been explored to different degrees by reputable educators, it is easy for one to be daunted by the challenge. Yet one can take heart from the wealth of information available, and be encouraged to engage in

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