STUDY GROUP OUTLINE

1. Choose five words to describe your “mental model” of the phrase “adult education teacher.” (Pg 25)



2. Mental models are not static; they change and evolve as our experience of the world broadens. Mental models also affect how we understand everything we experience. (Pg 25) What is one mental model you have changed, either willingly or unwillingly, in the past year?
3. “A mental model is a kind of shorthand for experience (or a stereotype of it).” (Pg 25) We may not even be aware that we hold this mental model because it is such an inherent part of what we think. In fact, we may not consciously “think” about topics for which we have rigid mental models. What are some mental models you have noticed in your students that you suspect they are unaware of having?
4. The author says the parts of a mental model are interconnected; unfortunately they may be connected to totally unrelated information. (Pg 26) Have you ever evaluated a mental model (substitute the word “opinion”) of your own by looking at each part? Does your thinking mirror the “Ideal Mental Model” diagram or the “6th Grade Student’s Mental Model?” (Pg 26)
5. Mental models help us think in five ways: (1) they organize information, (2) they set up expectations of what is important, (3) they help us make associations, (4) they help access background knowledge, and (5) they include problem-solving shortcuts. (Pg 27) Choose one personal mental model and explain which way is most important to you.
6. Mental models are “stereotypes.” (Pg 27) For the following terms, think about your mental model: immigrant, refugee, person with no papers, welfare mother, dead-beat dad, juvenile delinquent, high school dropout. Do your mental models positively or negatively affect the way you look at students who fall into one or more of these “stereotypes?”
7. Experts are able to make mental models work for them. They organize facts, access information at appropriate times, make expectations before they read, and integrate diverse ideas with what they are reading at that moment. (Pg 28) Based on these thinking skills used by experts would you identify yourself as an “expert” in one or more areas? Do you agree or disagree with this list of mental model skills?
8. “Good readers sometimes ‘remember’ information that was not in a text because they added information from their own background knowledge.” (Pg 29) Accessing prior knowledge is good; adding information on a test beyond what is in the textbook can be very bad. Have you explained to your students that when answering test questions they must limit their answers to those that can be supported by text materials?
9. The author summarizes mental models in a chart (Pg 30). She identifies nine characteristics. Which would you select as the “Big 3” and

10. Four suggestions are given for choosing teaching materials (Pg 30). For each suggestion, think of one thing you could do in your classroom, regardless of the literacy level of your students.
11. “Modeling” is a process of demonstrating how you think—of “talking it through.” (Pg 31) Have you used this strategy? How did you feel . . . explaining every thought in detail . . . and how did your students react to a step-by-step instruction method? If you haven’t

12. “Students who grew up in other cultures (even in the U.S.) will have different mental models.” (Pg 32) Are the mental models of all your Hispanic students similar? Do the differences seem to occur between different educational levels, country/region of youth, age/sex, or other factors?
13. Throughout this chapter, Ms. Cromley stresses the need for increased background knowledge if students are to be able to improve their mental model strategies. For ESOL teachers, do your classroom materials stress language only, or do they teach language while teaching content-area topics like U.S. history, biology, and health and safety? For ABE teachers, do your classroom materials focus on the “biggies”—math, reading, social studies, science, and writing—and ignore the richness of oral language?
14. In the sample “Lesson Ideas” section, activities are listed for pre-reading, reading assignments, after reading, and general practice. (Pgs 32-33) Select any topic you would like to teach your class, and prepare one or more classroom lessons. Keep a record of the activities you tried. If your first attempt to teach the topic was unsuccessful, try a different activity.

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