- How to make an attribute wheel?
- What is an attribute wheel for?
- Skills developed with the attribute wheel
- In which cases is an attribute wheel used?
- References
An attribute wheel is a graphic organizer that allows you to make a visual representation of a set of ideas that are expressed in relation to an object or process. It is used primarily to help understand a topic.
The attribute wheel facilitates the understanding of a topic through various topics and is used mainly by teachers who seek to build the meaning of a topic with their students.
Tribute wheel example
It is an active learning technique that consists of listing the attributes of an object, starting from guiding questions and writing them in connected circles around the central theme.
From a central circle that contains the object of study, the statements expressed by the students are connected through lines, which are known as attributes of the topic, for later analysis.
In this sense, the attribute wheel allows teachers or students to create a structure of meanings about an object or process.
The attribute wheel is one of the most used graphic organizers and requires analytical thinking to delve into the characteristics of the object of study.
Once a statement is issued on the subject, the analytical capacity of the whole group is activated to affirm or deny the statement and add new ones.
In addition to the attribute wheel, the group of graphic organizers includes: the concept map, the mind map, the sequence chain, the flow chart and the organization chart, among others.
How to make an attribute wheel?
To make an attribute wheel, you must first place the study topic within a circle. Subsequently, new circles are added around it, joined to the central one by means of lines, in which the attributes of the object or process being analyzed are written.
To guide the statements that students make about the central theme, the base questions of the Harold Lasswell model are used in their studies on communication: who, what, how, when, where and why.
There are two possibilities of working with the circles that define attributes: one of them is to draw a circle each time an idea is stated in relation to the object or the process; Another is to graph all the circles and fill in one by one each time a statement is made; This option is used to motivate the generation of new ideas.
For example, if you want to know who Simón Bolívar was, you will inquire about who he was, what he did, when, where and why he did it.
An attribute wheel does not necessarily establish hierarchy in the location of the circles surrounding the center. These circles are connected to the center through solid lines and represent meanings of the central theme.
What is an attribute wheel for?
The wheel of attributes serves, in general, to understand a topic and therefore favors the reduction of cognitive demand in the student.
With graphic organizers, a visual representation is obtained that facilitates cognitive processes in the brain, such as perception, memory and the ability to synthesize.
As it is about collecting among the students all the characteristics of the object of study through words or sentences, it is possible to generate a more complete meaning of the topic.
The attribute wheel has a clear function of defining a topic and its understanding through various questions.
Not recommended when the goal is to compare or categorize; for these purposes there are graphic organizers adjusted to this need.
In this process of construction of meaning, the student develops a set of skills in their learning process.
Skills developed with the attribute wheel
In the first place, this type of graphic organizer favors the development of critical thinking, that is, the ability to analyze and evaluate the soundness of reasoning.
Second, the wheel of attributes motivates creativity, making the student generate new statements and make associations between ideas and concepts.
The wheel of attributes also develops the capacity for synthesis and therefore the elaboration of summaries, the classification of the subject, the visualization of the relationships between concepts and processes and their categorization.
Another aspect that the attribute wheel improves in students is memory, favoring the coding, storage and retrieval of information.
Interacting with the subject of study is another skill that is acquired with the use of the attribute wheel; Between the student and the object of study a field of meaning production is created that mutually enriches them.
With the expression of ideas and statements about a subject of study and their graphic representation, the understanding of new vocabulary is expanded and improved, a fundamental skill that every student must develop.
Finally, with the wheel of attributes knowledge is built; the expression of words or sentences that are enclosed in the circles that surround the central idea, are related in such a way that they produce new information. With this information the student is able to produce new knowledge.
In which cases is an attribute wheel used?
The attribute wheel is a graphic organizer used primarily to understand a topic. Therefore, its use is recommended when you want to know an object from different topics.
It is ideal to know character biographies because through the questions of the Laswell model, it is easy to memorize each aspect.
It is also used to achieve the definition of a topic with the perception of the whole group. This graphic organizer is widely used in working with communities, in order to build the collective vision on a specific topic, for example, agricultural planning.
The attribute wheel is ideal for synthesizing and grouping the results of brainstorming in a group on a topic because the appearance of the blank circle motivates creativity and therefore the generation of new statements and concepts.
References
- Buehl, D. (1995). Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning. Wisconsin State Reading Association, 4809 Sternberg Avenue, Schofield, WI 54476.
- Drapeau, P. (1999). Great teaching with graphic organizers: lessons and fun-shaped templates that motivate kids of all learning styles. Scholastic Inc. pp: 34-56.
- Egan, M. (1999). Reflections on effective use of graphic organizers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 42 (8), 641-645.
- Walch Publishing. (2004). Content-Area Graphic Organizers for Social Studies. Walch Publishing. pp 45-68.