EDIM 508 Unit 3 Summary Posting Information Overload:

The Need for the Synthesizing Mind

I’ve enjoyed reading your discussions this week. I hope that the readings have better opened your mind to
understanding the synthesizing mind and the technological tools and strategies that can be used to foster this
mind. I’d like to highlight some thoughts from this week’s discussion.

Amanda- I know that part of my job is to create a community were they feel confident to make
connections and share them regardless of their fears. Synthesizing does involve risk taking as well as
recognizing that their is not one specific answer or way to put pieces together. Each student has their own
individual thoughts and experiences that add to the information they learn. This creates unique synthesizers.
We must continue to support the uniqueness that are students have and provide feedback that is valuable
enough to allow students to keep their uniqueness.

Brandon- To make assessments enjoyable for students, implementing technology is a great way to
have them be open to the assessment. I do use Kahoot as a review activity and other websites and applications
that can offer the content well, but I typically do not include this as a grade. But it certainly is an assessment,
and I'll continue to do so.

Jacquelyn- I always give my students a rubric. As a class we go over the rubric so students are
aware of their responsibilities throughout the project. I also think for PBL it is important for students to peer
grade one another so all students are held accountable. I completely agree with you saying that rubrics need to
be specific, they shouldn't use vague words. I also agree with you saying that the teacher should model a
project where they got the full amount of points. This seems to really help students.

Jennifer- While not needing to formally train students to synthesize

knowledge across subjects and domains, the opportunities to show and guide students to
make connections among different subjects are endless. Doing so will prepare students to
utilize their synthesizing mind when they focus their studies on a specific discipline later
in life.

Jessica- I believe that teachers have more ability to create genuine

assessments because of the increase in technology. Connections are easier to make and information is
abundant. It also gives students variety and choice. When variety and choice are given, students are more likely
to be interested in what they are learning, which certainly helps with synthesis.

Jordan- In my classroom I try to help students develop their synthesizing mind by using a lot of
cross-curricular and real world ties. I want them to see how they may use a skill in my room in two or three
other courses. Ultimately I do not want to make the same errors and ignore their synthesizing mind as some
educators did in my school experience. While I do not teach at the elementary level I still strive to show kids
how information in my courses can help them and relates to other courses.
 Katelyn- I believe the whole point of assessment is to show what students’ know and determine the
needs of individual students. I often approach assessments by calling them a “show what you know paper” or
“celebration of learning.” I know that sounds silly, but that is the whole point of assessment. I often stress that
it is for me, as the teacher, to find out what students still need help with.

Lauren- At the primary level teaching students how to synthesize is a necessity. However, as they
get older it seems very natural for most digital natives. Even over the last couple of years I have seen an
increase in my students’ ability to synthesize information quickly from multiple areas and make connections
that students in years past have not. I fully believe that part of this is the result of the speed of technology that is
now at their fingertips. A child’s brain is naturally making connections, what teachers need to do is foster the
connections by showing students how to synthesize information and providing them with opportunities to do so.

Lindsey- I believe the purpose of assessment in learning is to

determine what the students know and what knowledge they have. I don't think
assessments should be taken out all together because that worries me that
students will begin to slack off and not care. However, I do think assessments
should be differentiated and not always be the old-fashioned pencil and paper
assessment.

Louise- I do think that assessments still have a place in the classroom.

If we didn’t test, we wouldn’t have the data we need to show what students learned and know. Also, I do think
that students need to learn how to take tests. It might sound silly but, it’s inevitable that everyone is going to
need to take a test at some point in time. The point in assessments is to measure what students know and what
they don’t understand and may need more time learning. I’m not against testing, but I do think it is important to
incorporate other types of assessments into the classroom. There are several ways to measure what’s been
learned besides testing.

Mario- I feel as though in order for students to become better at synthesis, they need to able to
practice it. Since synthesis in itself is multidimensional and is about producing something that connects many
diverse pieces, classic assessments (i.e. paper & pencil tests) in my opinion is not the vehicle in which synthesis
should be practiced or assessed. In my opinion project based learning (PBL) would be a much better route to
take because it naturally lends itself to students working with other individuals, with different skills and
strengths, using their combined efforts and knowledge, to make a final product.

Maura- This chapter got me thinking about how I could evaluate synthesis. I don’t find it a question
that is easy to answer. I think what we can do is allow our students to share their understanding, their
connections, and their thinking process. We can give them opportunities to track their thoughts. Perhaps a
journal could be kept in which students can write about connections they have made. It would be a place for
them to then revise their thinking if needed, when new information is learned.
 Megan- I have used Google Forms to create quizzes and had the students take the quiz via
Classroom Classroom. The students really enjoy that and I love that it gives me instant feedback for the
multiple choice and true and false questions. It really helps to drive instruction when you get instant feedback.
Immediately after the students take the quiz, I know what to review with them. I have only used Kahoot for
reviews, but it is definitely a crowd favorite!

Melissa- As far as synthesis is concerned, I would arrange my groups

to include students who have an interest in history and do well in the subject and
students who are good with various multi-media programs. Each group would
need a student who is a leader and could keep the others on track, and a student
who has more of a creative side. I think that having a student with each of these
strengths would provide a well-rounded group and help to ensure the group’s
success.

Micah- As teachers, we need to try to break our students of these

common habits and let them know that it is okay to fail. That is the way we all get
better at what we do. That is the history of our country. Failure is key to success.
In regards to our digital natives, I believe that they naturally can develop a synthesizing mind due to the
amounts of information available to them. They have grown-up knowing to turn to their devices for help. They
can easily research information and have an answer in a few seconds.

Michael- I feel two ways I possibly provide my students to develop their synthesizing mind is by
offering them content through different media outlets and providing them with tools in order to solve problems.
Many times when I teach a lesson, I try to present the information in a few ways in order to hit as many styles of
learning as possible. My students really adhere to videos and songs so I try to incorporate them where I can.
Students thus are processing information from me, my instruction, activities, and media.

Rikki- I think it is important to have a balance between technology and hands-on lessons as to
appeal to all different types of learners, and admit that I fear sometimes we will swing too far towards
technology that we will forget the importance of the hands-on interactive piece. We are at an interesting time
with teaching, because we are learning that many of the old time teaching strategies are no longer working, but
school districts and even more importantly the government have not yet changed their tune to make these
changes easier for us to incorporate. I am hopeful we will be seeing some changes soon!

Stephen- Technology needs to be a tool that is accompanied by other skills to help students be able
to synthesize the content they have learned. I believe this is a skill that needs to be developed, and in turn,
taught for students. I compare it to when I was in school and we talked about appropriate research skills in
looking in books and encyclopedias. This similar logic needs to be applied to use of technology to attain
knowledge.
 Teresa- Allowing students to lead classroom discussions accomplishes several goals. Students really
do enjoy learning from their peers, and giving them the reins allows me to step back and act as a facilitator. It
also gives them the forum to openly discuss topics that might not be appropriate for me to present (such as
politically charged material). In addition, because there is such an abundance of information out there, by
allowing students to bring in current events articles related to their topics, it takes some of the burden off of me
to constantly comb the news for relevant material, not to mention the fact that it really does work to develop
their synthesizing minds! :)

Valeria- I don't think there is a 'one size fits all' in terms of assessment.
As teachers we need to differentiate the types of assessments we give in order to
prepare our students for what they will face in education but also while giving them
a chance to display what they have learned..

William- As teachers, time is a premium. Especially now with

scheduled standardized testing. A whole month of the school year is wasted on
preparation for these. It's very easy to say we need to change our teaching methods,
but when there's no time to plan or instruct, what gives?