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Study Guide & Strategies
Thinking Aloud
When we learned as infants and
children, thinking aloud or saying what we are thinking (private
speech), was accepted as a way of demonstrating our knowledge, or of
opening ourselves to "get it right." We sounded out words,
expressed ideas, formed sentences. When corrected, we practiced
until we imitated correctly, or conformed to the model of our
family, neighborhood, school, etc.
Thinking aloud was
essential to our early learning. Thinking aloud is also called
private speech.
As we grow older,
thinking aloud is internalized, and speech shifts to communicating
with others.
"Nevertheless, the need to engage
in private speech never disappears. Whenever we encounter
unfamiliar or demanding activities in our lives, private speech
resurfaces. It is a tool that helps us overcome obstacles and
acquire new skills".
We tend to use only phrases
and incomplete sentences in private speech. What is said reflects
our thoughts, but only what is puzzling, new, or challenging. We
omit what we already know or understand. So also private speech
decreases as our performance or understanding improves.
Applications of private speech
in learning include planning, monitoring progress, or guiding
ourselves in working through challenging tasks and mastering new
skills. It can help us manage situations and control our behavior
by verbalizing our feelings, or venting to ourselves.
Private speech is a useful tool in
learning. The more we engage our brain on multiple "levels," the
more we are able to make connections and retain what we learn. We
read, create images or diagrams, listen, use music or motion, talk
with others (collaborative learning) and with ourselves. Some of us
like to talk things through with someone or in a group, either to
help us understand or to remember better. And some of us don't need
another person around to talk with in this process! This can be a
learning style, and a very effective one.
We use multiple senses and
experiences to process and reinforce our learning, and the
combination of these strategies is very individual.
Applications of private speech
in learning include;
- memorizing vocabulary by saying
the words
- appreciating poetry by "dramatising"
it
- editing papers by reading the text
aloud
- talking through math problems to
arrive at solutions
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