Each teacher strives to make the learning process brighter, more fun and more interesting. Indeed, the unusual situation makes children better remember information.
A great way to get what you want is to look at the cluster. What it is? At school, this is a technique that the teacher uses in the lesson. This is the name of the graphical method of organizing information in which the main semantic units are distinguished, which are fixed in the form of a diagram with an explanation of all the connections between them. An educational cluster is an image that contributes to the systematization and synthesis of educational material. It serves as a visual aid to the student.
The “cluster” technique develops the ability to form one’s own opinion based on experience and observation. In addition, it promotes the self-educational activities of students, the ability to work both in a group and independently, activates learning activities. The guys have the opportunity to make corrections to the finished scheme.
Cluster - what is it? At school, this is an opportunity for children to express themselves, to show how they see the proposed problem or topic. This is the freedom of creativity.
Cluster - what is it in school?
We will tell you about the reception in more detail. The term itself in translation means "constellation" or "bundle". A cluster is a graphic method of systematizing knowledge in the form of a "bunch" or a "bunch" of interrelated facts.
Cluster as a method of critical thinking
What is the modern education system oriented to? To increase the independence of the younger student. Critical thinking is a pedagogical technology that stimulates the intellectual development of students. Admission "cluster" in elementary school is one of its methods.
Critical thinking goes through three stages: challenge, reflection, reflection.
The first stage is the stage of activation. All students are involved in the process. Its purpose is to reproduce existing knowledge on a given topic, form an associative series and pose problematic questions on a topic. The phase of reflection is characterized by the organization of work with information. This may be reading material in a textbook, pondering or analysis of the available facts. Reflection is the stage when the acquired knowledge is processed in the course of creative activity, after which conclusions are drawn.
If you look at these three stages from the point of view of the traditional lesson, it becomes obvious that they are not fundamentally new for teachers. They are present in most cases, only called a little differently. “Challenge” in the name more familiar to the teacher sounds like “actualization of knowledge” or “introduction to the problem”. “Understanding” is nothing but “the discovery of new knowledge by students.” In turn, “reflection” coincides with the stage of consolidation of new knowledge and their initial verification.
What is the difference? What is fundamentally new is the technology of "cluster formation" in elementary school?
An element of unusualness and novelty lies in methodological techniques oriented towards creating conditions for the free development of each individual. Each stage of the lesson involves the use of its own teaching methods. There are quite a few of them: cluster, insert, sincwine, table of thick and thin questions, zigzag, “six hats of thinking”, true and false statements, and others.
Cluster technology: what are the advantages and results of using this method?
What skills are formed and developed in the process of this work?
- Ability to formulate questions.
- Find the main thing in a large volume of educational material.
- Establish causal and logical relationships.
- Build inferences.
- Go from private to general, perceiving the problem in a general way.
- Draw an analogy.
- Compare and analyze.
Cluster technology application: benefits
- Allows you to cover a significantly larger amount of educational material.
- Involves all students in the learning process.
- Activities are interesting for children.
- Pupils are open and active, as they have no fear of making a wrong judgment.
- Organizes creative activity, provides a flight of fantasy.
In what sequence to act, making a cluster?
The sequence of actions when compiling a "bunch" is logical and simple.
In the middle of a blackboard or a blank sheet, a keyword or sentence is written, which is the main thing in revealing a topic, idea. Further around, other words or sentences are written that express facts, ideas, images suitable for the chosen subject. As you record, all new elements are connected in a straight line to the key concept. Each “satellite”, in turn, also has “satellites” - this is how new logical connections between concepts are established.
At what stage of the lesson is it more productive to use cluster technique?
The elementary school cluster can be used at any stage of the lesson. It is also suitable for the stages of challenge, reflection and reflection, as well as the basic strategy for conducting the lesson.
When organizing work with younger students, it is necessary to take into account their age characteristics. Remember that the teacher at these lessons is a kind of coordinator of work: directs the efforts of students in the necessary direction, pushes various judgments, helps to create conditions that will encourage independent decision-making.
What is a good cluster? What is this at school? The method of independent work of students. To make this technique technologically advanced, it is enough to carry out a similar work 2-3 times. Students are happy to form clusters. You can work on issues that you didn’t have time to consider in the lesson at home. The application of the “cluster” method is not limited only to the classroom activities of younger students.
How to apply the cluster method at different stages of the lesson?
Call stage
At this stage, students express and record all the knowledge on the topic that they have, as well as all associations and assumptions. Here, the cluster is a stimulating component of the cognitive activity of younger schoolchildren, which creates a motivation for reflection before starting to study a new topic.
Stage of comprehension
At this stage, the reception of the cluster will allow you to structure the training material, improving the quality of its assimilation.
Stage of reflection
This is the stage of generalization of acquired knowledge and skills that will help to systematize the cluster.
Examples of such schemes, at least some of them, are presented on the page. The method is good in that it is suitable for use in any lesson and at all stages of the lesson, in the form of its general strategy. So, at the beginning of the lesson, students record all the knowledge that they possess. Further along the course, students supplement the scheme with new data. It is advisable to do this in a different color.
Admission of the cluster contributes to the development of the ability to highlight the main thing, to assume and make forecasts, analyze and supplement.
Are there any principles for compiling a "bunch"?
A cluster of history or any other discipline can be arranged in the form of a model of the planet with its satellites or in the form of a bunch.
The key concept, thought is located in the center, further, on the sides of it, large semantic parts are indicated, which are connected to the central "planet" by straight lines. These may be sentences, phrases, or words that express facts, thoughts, associations, or images related to a topic.
You can divide a sheet into a certain number of sectors, which will have a common part in the center - this is a key concept and the blocks associated with it.
Cluster - examples of correct concretization, systematization of facts that are contained in the material being studied. So, around the "satellites" of the already existing "planet" appear even smaller satellites, less significant units of information that more fully reveal the topic and expand the logical connections.
Cluster: examples in elementary school. How to arrange a "bunch"?
The design of the cluster depends on the way the teacher organized the lesson: for example, a "bunch" can be drawn on the blackboard, on separate sheets, or even in students' notebooks, as they complete individual tasks. When composing a cluster, it is best to use colorful chalk, pens, pencils, markers or felt-tip pens. This will highlight key points and more clearly reflect the overall picture, simplify the systematization and classification of information.
How to make a cluster in the lesson: tips and tricks
Making up a "bunch", do not be afraid to express all your thoughts, assumptions, facts and record everything that comes at the level of associations. Indeed, in the course of work, everything that is incorrect and inaccurate can be corrected or supplemented. Pupils can give free rein to imagination, fantasy and intuition by working until the stream of ideas runs dry. No need to worry about the presence of a significant number of semantic links in the diagram. A cluster on a topic that is vast in itself and should be big enough. The main thing is to find as many logical connections between blocks as possible. At the stage of the analysis of work, everything is systematized and will fall into place.
How to apply the cluster method in the lessons?
So, the cluster. Examples in elementary school can be truly diverse: this technique can be applied in almost every lesson when studying a wide variety of topics.
Using this method of work, you can use absolutely any form: collective, individual or group. It is determined by the goals and objectives of the lesson, the capabilities of the teacher and students. Suppose the transition from one form to another.
For example, at the call stage, each student works individually: each child creates his own cluster in his notebook. When new knowledge begins to flow, already during the general discussion and discussion, relying on personal drawings, it is possible to draw up one general graphic diagram.
The cluster can be used as a way to organize work during the lesson or as homework. If you ask students to form a cluster at home, then remember the importance of having certain experience and compilation skills for students.
Cluster Technology: An Example
As an example, take the compilation of a "bunch" at a social studies lesson. The topic under study is Monarchy.
At the beginning of work on the “bunch”, students express all associations and proposals on this issue, and the teacher, in turn, fixes them on the blackboard.
Example: power, monarch, form of government, head of state, autocracy, state system, power.
The following is an exploratory reading of a paragraph in a textbook. As you familiarize yourself with the material or as a result of reading the text, the cluster is supplemented by “fresh” facts. The teacher fixes them on the blackboard using a chalk of a different color.
The result of the lesson is an analysis of the resulting picture. Be sure to discuss the correctness or incorrectness of the initial facts and judgments. An important stage is a generalization of the knowledge gained.
What gives the use of the cluster in the learning process for children?
The cluster method contributes to the development of systemic thinking, the ability to creatively process material, teaches children to classify and analyze not only facts from a textbook, but also their value judgments, develops the ability to consider several positions at once, teaches to formulate and express their own opinion, which is developed on the basis of experience and observations.
Output
A lesson using the technology of a cluster, or “bunch”, gives children the opportunity to express themselves, express their opinion, and also provides room for creativity. In general, non-traditional teaching methods, which are actively used in the educational process, contribute to increasing the motivation of students, give a feeling of personal freedom, and create an atmosphere of mutually beneficial cooperation.