• involves learners

• is a high level/quality of learner participation in learning activities

• suggests more than simple on-task behavior

• can be estimated by periodic scanning (systematic observation) of the class

• is deep immersion in a learning activity

• can be enhanced when learners:

  • interact with each other

  • are asked for comments and assistance

  • roles are involved and detailed

  • access prior knowledge

  • can process and construct new knowledge in meaningful ways

Associations:

• are connections between ideas, sensations, memories, etc.

• are fundamental building blocks for learning

• form networks, patterns, and arrangements of knowledge

• are more meaningful to learners when the associative networks can be used to enhance learning

• address the prior knowledge that learners have and is an important element in building associative networks

• can vary from simple to more complex; concrete to abstract

During a language arts class on similes, teacher develops examples for class such as, "She’s as pretty as a flower; he’s as quick as a rabbit." Learner’s prior knowledge is explored by discussion with emphasis on the differences to make a point about the commonalities. In cooperative group learners are involved in transferring the knowledge by producing and illustrating a group display.

New

In a kindergarten mathematics class, learners are working on recognizing different shapes. Learners working in small groups use pattern blocks to form shape patterns. The teacher assists the learners in developing associations between shapes and objects in the classroom such as a ball, clock, board, rug, etc.

Secondary

1. In a women’s history lesson, learners are engaged in a brainstorming activity that is diagramed on the board to activate prior knowledge. Learners are actively engaged in developing associations between great women in their families and/or communities, and women from history. These associations will be utilized for the lesson about to be studied.
2. In a French class, while discussing culture, learners compare and contrast the attitudes about hobbies among American teenagers and French teenagers through Venn diagramming. Letters from French pen pals of individual learners, an ongoing project through the use of the Internet, are read aloud to provide more meaningful associations.