Blog Entry Week Four
Description
This
week in EDAT 6114 the reading and discussion focused on effective lessons and
how to use direct instruction to meet the needs of students. Discussion is an
important component of effective teaching as well. In order to best support our
students and help them learn, it is important for teachers to understand what
strategies to use and how to meet individual students where they are.
Analysis
Slavin
(2018) defines direct instruction to describe “lessons in which you transmit
information directly to students, structuring class time to reach a clearly
defined set of objectives as efficiently as possible” (p. 160). There is a
specific plan for direct instruction lessons with seven components: stating
objectives, reviewing prerequisites, teaching the new material, giving learning
probes, providing a chance for students to practice individually, assessment
and feedback, and review (Slavin, 2018). The first component, stating
objectives, is meant to give the students an idea of what they should be able
to do by the end of the lesson. Along with stating the objective, it is
important to find ways to spark students’ interest and connect the skill to a
real world situation and make it relevant. The next step is reviewing
prerequisites. This is necessary to activate students’ background knowledge ad
check their understanding of topics that the new knowledge should be building
on. The way that a teacher reviews prerequisites is dependent on how well the
students are already grasping the topic. After this, the teacher introduces new
material. This can be done in a number of ways, but the lesson should always be
clear and well organized with indicators of exceptionally important
information. Slavin (2018) writes that “Effective explanations are at the core of
effective teaching” and they “emphasize concepts and principles, rather than
just facts and skills” (p. 167). In other words, students should be able to
understand and explain the how and why, not just perform a skill. This is an
excellent opportunity for discussion and cooperative learning. Other strategies
for teaching new skills include modeling, demonstrations, and videos (Slavin,
2018). After teaching new skills, it is important to utilize learning probes to
measure your students’ level of understanding during a lesson. The purpose of
learning probes is to “give you feedback on students’ levels of understanding
and allow students to try out their understanding of a new idea to find out
whether they have it right.” (Slavin, 2018, p. 168). The probe may be written,
oral, or physical, but the goal is to adapt your teaching according to the
understanding of your students (Slavin, 2018). The next component of direct
instruction is independent practice. This provides the students a chance to
practice their new skill and move information from their working memory to
long-term memory (Slavin, 2018). The next step is assessment and feedback,
where the teacher checks for mastery and helps guide instruction I terms of
students who need remediation, extension, or if a lesson needs to be retaught
completely. The final step of a direct instruction lesson in distributed
practice and review. Slavin (2018) states that “Practice or review, spaced out
over time, increases retention of many kinds of knowledge” (p. 175). This
component usually comes in the form of homework.
In
order for a student to truly learn a skill or concept, transfer of learning
needs to take place. According to Slavin (2018), “The fact that a student has
mastered a skill or concept in one setting or circumstance is no guarantee
whatsoever that the student will be able to apply this skill or concept to a
new setting, even if the setting seems (at least to the teacher) to be very
similar” (p. 177). As teachers, we need to be sure that our students are able
to apply their new knowledge and skills in different situations, and that they
truly understand what they have learned. It is important to connect to
students’ prior knowledge and build on it, but also to provide many examples
that give the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge in different ways.
Discussions
are a great way for students to expand their knowledge, ask and answer
questions, and make stronger connections to the material they are working to
master. Discussions can be done in whole class or small group settings (Slavin,
2018). In a whole class discussion, the teacher takes a “moderator” role where
they guide the discussion, but let the students come up with their own thoughts
and ideas throughout. For discussions to be successful, students must have a
strong enough knowledge base to carry on the discussion and avoid “dead ends”
too often. In the small group setting, students work more independently as the
teacher moves from group to group listening and supporting as needed. Sometimes
these types of discussions have student roles, such as leader, timekeeper, and
recorder. Discussions are an opportunity for students to demonstrate their
knowledge and build on what they already know.
Reflection
As I read, I realized that a lot of
the direct instruction lesson components are present in my lesson plans, I just
didn’t know the technical term for it. Especially working in a school with a
huge ELL population, building background knowledge and offering visuals is very
important. I have found that my students don’t have a lot of experiences, and
in order to teach I need to first help them connect to certain things. One
example that comes to mind is summer camp. During one of our read alouds, a
student asked what summer camp was. It wasn’t until then that I realized my
students had no idea what summer camp meant and what kids do at summer camp was
totally foreign. We looked at websites for camp programs, pictures, and watched
video advertisements. It took quite a bit to build the background knowledge, but
once it was there the students understood. This, to me, is the most important
part of the lesson where the foundation is built and the students prepare
themselves to learn. I find myself checking for understanding constantly
through questioning and observation, and use assessments to drive my
instruction frequently. However, as we talked about in our weekly discussion,
even after all these steps there are still students who just don’t get it. In
my classroom, I use the workshop model to try and alleviate the problem. My students are ability grouped and work on the same
concepts, but the product is differentiated based on their level. Most students
end up in the same place at the end of each unit, but some groups moved through
more quickly or slowly. I also had groups that required extension, while others
required remediation. Our students are not all the same, so we cannot expect to
teach them all in the same way or using the same methods. Workshop and small
groups allows me to create more individualized activities and lessons for my
students, and meet them where they are.
One of
the reasons that I find workshop works so well is because it provides opportunities
for discussion. My students are more willing to take risks and ask questions in
small groups. They also talk more to each other and explain their thinking to
one another rather than depending on me to show them how to do something. I
like to provide opportunities for discussion frequently, even if it is not
during a workshop time. I recently completed a training on Instructional
Conversations where students lead their own conversations and practice discussion
skills without teacher interference. I have seen my students make incredible
observations and connections, and they feed off of each other’s ideas. The
learning that comes from discussions is real and amazing.
The most
important idea that came from this chapter is being aware of where your
students are. In order to teach them, we need to know where they are and what
they understand. We cannot assume they have mastered a skill without evidence
that they have done so, and we need to give ample opportunities for our
students to demonstrate their understanding and use that to guide our
instruction. We cannot build strong skills on a weak foundation.
Reference
Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational psychology:
Theory and practice (12th ed.). Boston,
MA: Pearson Education.
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