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Chapter 6

Effective Instruction

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Part I: The Curriculum

Curriculum has come to mean a sequence of learning experiences, or the plan of study to be followed to reach educational goals, (formal ).

Curriculum is also defined as all experiences in the educational setting (informal).

Teaching Today, 8eArmstrong, Henson and Savage

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Part II: Instruction

The question of how important knowledge can be taught to the young is important to teachers because Research indicates that teachers are the most

significant variable that influences academic performance

Effective teaching requires expertise in instructional design and delivery (Good & Brophy, 2003).

Teaching Today, 8eArmstrong, Henson and Savage

Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.All Rights Reserved

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Instructional Expertise and Teachers’ Dispositions

Teachers are generally judged most on their instructional effectiveness

Therefore, teachers should be taught the methods of effective instruction

Teacher DispositionsPerceptions and attitudes that shape a

teacher’s behavior

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Instructional Expertise and Teachers’ Dispositions

Teacher Dispositions Teacher beliefs should include:

Your learners are worthy individuals Education is more than just preparation for work Your relationships with your learners should be

characterized by mutual respect Diversity represents the strength of American education

and American society All students and teachers should be lifelong learners Learners should feel competent and worthy Lessons should encourage learners to become actively

involved in creating their own knowledge

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Active Teaching

Teachers directly leading the class in roles such as:Motivating studentsPresenter of new informationMonitor of learner progressPlanners of opportunities for learners to

apply contentReteacher of content

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Active Teaching

Program PlanningMatching instruction to learner

characteristicsEngaging in task analysisSpecifying learning intentions (lesson

objectives)

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Active Teaching

Effective Lesson Presentation Stimulating and maintaining interest

Teachers should motivate learners Initial motivation Within-the-lesson motivation End-of-the-instructional-sequence motivation

Sequencing lessons Pacing Within-lesson checks for understanding Monitoring progress

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Constructivist Teaching

Belief that students “learn” not from exposure to new experiences but from the personal interpretations they make of these experiences

Helps develop metacognitive powersLearners determine if processes used to

problem solve are appropriate with given learning encounters

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Constructivist Teaching

Thinking Aloud Teacher talking students through the process of

analyzing an assignment

Visualizing Thinking “Learners use diagrams to examine the

requirements of an assigned task, to consider the nature of thinking they will need to complete it, and to identify specific kinds of information they will need to finish it.” (Armstrong & Savage, 2002)

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Teacher Clarity

Verbal and Nonverbal StyleParalanguage

Voice intonationPrecision of articulationRate of speaking

Nonverbal behaviorsGesturesBody languageCan confuse learners if not consistent with intent

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Teacher Clarity

Lesson-Presentation StructureAdvance organizer – the way a large

amount of information will be coveredConnected discourse – smooth, point-by-

point development of the content you are introducing

Internal summaries – allows learners to stop and reflect on what has been taught (learned) to that point

Providing Explanations

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Teachers’ Questions

Lower-Level Questions Teacher asks Learner responds Teacher reacts to response

Higher-Level Questions Open-ended, probing questions Give adequate time for learners to process Model responses you expect to hear Phrase in terms of questions that may stump

learners on standardized tests

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Teachers’ Questions

Learner-Initiated Questions Clarity of Questions Probing Questions

Cue students to think about premature assumptions

Wait Time Average is one second Three seconds increases achievement levels Waiting allows learners to continue interacting with

the information

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Homework and Learning

Research supports 30-year cyclesVarying beliefs on homework

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Part II: InstructionHomework and Learning

What is the role of homework in learning? Can too much homework be detrimental to learning?

How? How can you determine how much homework to

assign? How can you gain support from parents for

homework policies?

Teaching Today, 8eArmstrong, Henson and Savage

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17

Observing In The Classroom

Event or Time SamplingNarrative Approach

Writing down everything that is observedSelective verbatim – writing down specifics

that fall into a categoryFrequency countsCoding systemSeating chart systems