What is a soundboard, and why use them?
Soundboards are one-on-one, facilitated sessions where students vocalize, visualize, and organize their thoughts and ideas. They allow students to assess their current knowledge, identify what they are missing, and develop a plan of action for their final product.
Students in Dr. Holme's chemistry courses are typically tasked with writing an essay connecting chemistry and sustainability. This is unique because exposure to writing in chemistry primarily occurs in the laboratory through written lab reports, rather than in lecture settings, especially in large classes. Research has shown that writing-to-learn can facilitate student learning and knowledge retention (Arnold et al., 2017; Reaves et al., 1993). Use of soundboards as an educational intervention allows students to vocalize and organize their understanding of chemistry in context. Students can self-identify areas where they are missing information and actively reflect on their mental models of science and the ways they frame their position to shape their assignment.
What happens during a soundboarding session?
When completing a soundboarding session, students are asked to:
- Choose their topic
- Identify what chemistry they know about the topic
- Identify what information they still need to write their paper
Students physically organized their thoughts and answers to these questions using the Concept Board website to further detail their paper. All sessions are facilitated by a graduate student to help answer any questions they may have about the assignment.
You can learn more about the Concept Board website here
What's the theory behind soundboards?
The select-organize-integrate (SOI) theory of generative learning is the framework for how learning occurs when students use the soundboard method. Students first select the most relevant information for their task, then organize it into a meaningful mental representation, and finally integrate the new knowledge with existing knowledge in long-term memory (Fiorella and Mayer 2016). In a soundboarding session, students are physically doing these steps, facilitated by an instructor.
References
Arnold, K. M. et. Al. J. Exp. Psychol App. 2017, 23(2): 115-127.
Reaves, R. R.; Flowers, J.; Jewell, L., Journal of Agricultural Education 1993, 34(3): 34-40.
Fiorella, L., Mayer, R.E., Educational Psychology Review 2016, 28(4), 717-741.