The Cause and Effect Model

1. The Cause and Effect Model How to Identify what happens and why it happens. Social Studies 7th Grade 2008

2. Why do it? • Leads you through an investigative process. • Emphasis is on active participation. • Examine the past to figure out the present. • Keep from making the same mistakes.

3. Key Points • Useful where there is action • Teacher facilitates. • Students discover. • Use to start or finish a lesson. • Do often to get better.

4. Key Points (cont’d) • Take time. • Involve everyone • Student driven: • Don’t let comments go unchallenged. • Ask for supporting evidence. • Question statements • Generate discussion • Other tasks • Creative writing • Theme production • Critical essays • Make predictions.

5. Basis for its use • Encourages • individual thought • group interaction • formulation of educated generalizations. • Supports • students form own generalizations. • Not a study of what others think. • Promotes • critical thinking • research.

6. Steps: Cause and Effect ModelStep One: Making the choice • Choose the subject to be studied. • Any significant action, event, or issue is appropriate. • History • Fictional • Hypothetical (possibilities) • An element of an event. • Introduce the topic visually.

7. Step Two:Ask for causes and support for those causes. • Student centered. • Facilitate with questions. • Prompt students for supporting evidence. • Record everything. • Discussion centered on causes that support the chosen topic. • No random or unsupported statements allowed! • Dissenting views are OK.

8. Step Three:Ask for Effects and Support • Look for connections: The effect of the action or cause. • Use “What” and “Why” • Visually place all effects in a column under the topic. • Keeps it chronologically sound. • Maintain perspective.

9. Step Four:Ask for Prior Causes and Support • Place on the top of the chart. (chronological). • Look at each cause separately. • Ask for causes of the causes. • Find support that relates to the prior cause.

10. Step Five:Ask for Subsequent Effects and Support • Position these entries to the bottom of the chart. (Chronological). • Take on each effect separately. • Never accept an effect without support. • Why • What • Give examples.

11. Step Six: Ask for Conclusions • Use what has been provided under the columns. • Give examples, then ask for their beliefs. • Always demand support for statements. • This is the most difficult step! • Involves abstract thinking • Get “Out of the box”

12. Step Seven:Ask for Generalizations • Transfer the study of the specific topic to an exploration of the themes discussed. • Do they pertain to the actions of people in similar situations? • Change from specifics found in the overall work to terms such as “people” or “others”. • Try to relate it to other events. • Examine other “like” situations.

13. Step Eight:Evaluate Your Performance • Individual and group feedback improves future endeavors. • Teaches the art of listening. • Disagreement is welcome. • Constructive. • Polite • Civility first, then substance. • Thoughtfulness and originality of ideas and input is the future objective.

14. My CautionsNot an Easy Process Can’t just do it once!

15. Cautions in Using the Model • The process takes time. Accept it and use as much as needed. Don’t rush it just to finish. • Always demand support for positions taken. • Display items in a way that represents the proper chronological order, even if you don’t ask them in that order. • Use your instincts when determining the best way to present the sequencing of events. • Cause- Effect • Prior causes  Subsequent effects • Cause  Prior cause • Effect  Subsequent effect • Can be used to review previously taught materials. Don’t introduce new information at this point.

16. Any Questions?????

17. Cheat Sheet for Success • Use a practice sheet to jot down the topic. • Before discussion: • Write topic to be analyzed under data • Causes • Prior causes • Remaining steps • Have examples ready the first time for both conclusions and generalizations. • Use a summary of the steps until you have learned it yourself. • Teach the difference between Fact and opinion.

18. Relationship to Eisner’s Ideologies Closely aligned to Progressivism. • Focused on human experience. • Student-centered learning. • Adaptation to the environment in which we live • Personal • Political • Change the environment we live in by developing our intelligence.

19. Relationship to Eisner’s Ideologies(Cont’d) • Growth through social and cultural interaction. • Allows for teacher-designed programs • Exploit the “teachable moments” • Facilitate greater learning using the curriculum as the means, not the end. • The process deals with the “Whole Child” and efforts to develop independent thought and interpersonal relationships.

20. What Do I think? I think that this particular model highlights my method of teaching and my view of what is important to develop among our next generation: an ability to think and discuss on a wide variety of topics. I chose this model because of its obvious utility in social studies. However, as I examined it, I found that the concepts worked just as effectively for language arts, math, and science. It provides a great tool to examine a particular topic, involve the students in relating it to their own experiences, and generate conjectures that may be useful in presenting future events related to the subject at hand. In class, I stress the importance of treating my 7th graders as young adults. They will be voting in six years. I want them to be able to think for themselves, argue their position thoughtfully, and recognize the merits of counter-arguments. This particular model, if allowed to mature in the class through repetitive use, will provide both the students and teacher a remarkable vehicle for learning. It cannot be a one-time event. The model supports any curriculum because its objective is to ensure complete understanding of the topic assigned. It simply takes that understanding one step further by emphasizing individual thought and interactive discussion.

21. References • Eisner, E. W. (2002). The educational imagination: On the design and evaluation of school programs (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. (Original work published 1979) • Gunter, M. A., Estes, T. H., & Schwab, J. (2003). Instruction: A models approach (4th ed.). Boston, Ma: Allyn and Bacon. (Original work published 1990)