Page 14 - Year-Long Plan_Neat

The importance of making connections in the learning process goes beyond the classroom.

Owen begins the article with a story about a student who was having a difficult time making connections

for an assignment about a topic both from their past and present experiences. She continues the article

emphasizing how students make meaning through connections and having an understanding of that

meaning through prior knowledge and experiences. In this summary I intend to discuss the 4Cs that are

critical learning and innovation skills. These include communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical

thinking.

“Making connections is how we learn best” (Owen, 2013). Those connections happen beyond

the classroom, in college and in the workplace. There is a science behind our ability to make

connections. As a learner, I also felt that I was able to understand the big picture if I was able to make a

connection to my life. The same can still be said for today’s learners. Now more than ever, colleges are

looking to recruit learners who are able to make connect ideas and concepts across sources. After

college, the importance of making those connections becomes more imperative. Employers expect to

hire candidates that have higher-level thinking skills, an ability to make informed decisions, and to be

able to build relationships and work together effectively. The foundation to build these skills starts will

making connections in the classroom.

Teaching students to make those connections isn’t easy, but there are numerous things that

teachers can do such as modeling and visualizing, storytelling, technology, and reflection. Modeling and

visualizing can involve the teacher demonstrating for students how to make connections by walking

through with them what they already know and the new concepts that they are learning about.

“Storytelling is a powerful connecting activity because it taps into emotional experiences and engages

many different emotional triggers that are helpful in retrieving information” (Owen, 2013). Technology

and reflection also provide effective opportunities for students to that fun, authentic, and create

meaning. Some examples of technology include blogs, Skype and video. Some examples of using