Module 3, Week 8

Curriculum - In education, curriculum refers to student experiences in a learning environment. This includes planned lessons, informal interactions, activities, and resources contributing to their learning. It often refers to a scheduled instruction sequence within a particular subject or study area. This includes learning goals, content, activities, assessments, and resources. Curriculum documents can outline the specific topics, skills, and knowledge students learn at each grade level, often aligned with learning standards. The government, textbooks, or the teacher sometimes set the curriculum.

Instruction - The word "instruction" is primarily regarded as providing information or guidance. This could be imparting ideas, information, knowledge, skills, or wisdom to someone or giving clear directions, commands, and orders (almost as a recipe) to acquire the ideas, skills, and information. In teaching, it is both. Teachers instruct students to support learning, but it is also the actions or steps that students will take to participate in the learning exercises and experiences.

Essential Questions (What are the questions which ground this inquiry?)

Essential Questions for Week 8 - Please consider where you are regarding thinking about Education in Society.

What decisions should I make as a teacher?
What is diverse instruction?
How do I ensure my instruction is diverse enough to support all students?
What does diverse instruction do to learning?
How do I know what diverse instruction is and looks like?

Introduction & Provocation (How do we get our brain and cognition going about the topic?)

Primary Concept - What are learning styles? Do students really have learning styles?

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations. - Anais Nin (Cuban and French, immigrant and singer)

Consider the idea of learning styles (visual, textual, kinesthetic learners) and how widespread the notion is, but what we need to question is...

There is little scientific support for the fashionable idea as something to be applied to individual students per se—like there is one kind of learner, or someone is a "visual learner"; honestly, we are all hardwired to be visual learners. We ALL need information presented in a range of mediums. There is more substantial evidence that the range of learning strategies is effective for general learning (for all students).

The point is not that learning should not be varied or differentiated based on a person's "perceived" learning styles. Instead, it is just that the teacher should use the instructional strategies that work for a range of students, and the strategies that work are diverse and varied!

There is no need to base this variance on the students; it is just good teaching (good strategies), especially in the inclusive, general education setting where we design instruction to reach all learners.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-problem-with-learning-styles/

Primary Concept - What if I could do something that magically improves students' learning? (*hint - YOU CAN)

Every year for the last 15 years (sample size 1,500), I teach my students the world's simplest magic trick. It's called "jumping paper clips." It consists of getting two paper clips to "magically" jump onto a rubber band using a piece of paper.

I always approach the teaching of this trick in the same manner:

First, I give my students the materials and tell them about the trick and how to complete it. Then, I measured how many students got the trick on the first go. How many do you think get the trick on the first go? Honestly, it's about .01%. I have only had 15-20 students over the years get the trick on the first try just from listening to instructions.

Next, I give them written instructions on the board. And re-test. Another 1% of students get it. And then, I give them instructions on cards individually, at their desks. Again, another 1-2%, or an average of 1 more student per attempt.

We have now had three attempts, and we have three students out of 25 learning the trick. I announce that "I have told you what to do and given you the instructions. Why is it that you are not learning?"

Are the students sufficiently motivated?
Do the students believe in themselves?
Do the students have all the necessary resources to get to the outcomes?

On the fourth attempt, I showed them the video...and this is often the FIRST game changer!

We watch the video first, and then we do the trick. There are lots of "Ohhhhs" in the class and even some joy as more like 30% of students are now successful. But what about the other 70%? How can it be that on the 4th attempt, we have yet to see progress?

So, on the 5th attempt, I usually scaffold the learning. I break it down into its core parts. We look at the materials. We discussed the steps, and we identified the most difficult parts. Then, I showed them the video, and we did the steps together. I walk around the room, monitoring and modeling. They also have someone near them who is now working on mastery, having already completed the magic trick at least once, but in some cases, a couple of times. At this step, we often get to about 75-80% of the class. I would ask students at this stage, "Is there something wrong with the learners who have yet to get or master the trick?" Of course, they say "No."

So, I say, "Well, let us ensure everyone gets it then." I assign the students who still need to get the trick to work with a partner who feels confident that they now understand how the magic happens. This usually gets 95-100% of the students to the mark, and then we do it again for mastery. By the 7th attempt, most students have mastered the skill of the magic trick. They will likely never forget it.

Then, I ask, "what is the real magic?"

MAGIC = Learning

Diverse instruction + student motivation (who doesn't want to learn a magic trick or be successful in front of peers?) = Learning

The magic of learning is really about student motivation coupled with diverse instruction. If you remove only the instruction and focus solely on motivation, you will NOT achieve learning. Trying hard and caring more without effective instruction is useless!

Weekly Content (What should we be familiar with to learn the content?)

Primary Concept - What are some Effective Instructional Strategies for Learning Experiences?

Effective Instructional Strategies for Learning Experiences

I have included two general frameworks:

One includes several examples of what you could do to ensure that you have diverse learning experiences for students, and the other focuses on questions that you can ask of yourself, instruction, or others to consider whether or not instruction has been differentiated for students.

Primary Concept - What Diverse Instructional Strategies for ALL students?

Diverse instructional strategies can be used at various stages of student learning. Some include Direct instruction, Indirect instruction, Experiential Learning, Independent Learning, Interactive Learning, and Metacognitive Learning.

Structures and Organization of Learning - Goal-oriented behaviors and clear, consistent, regular, and strategic learning routines
Conceptualization and Contextualization - Connections between the curriculum, instructional materials, students' previous knowledge, funds of knowledge, schematic conceptualizations, experiences, and motivations.
Motivation and Engagement - Authentic motivations for learning, achievement, and success
Knowledge Bases - Students should have access to knowledge frameworks to guide their thinking.
Active Learning - Students should be able to engage in dynamic learning processes that are scaffolded and accessible.
Evaluation and Reflection - Review student learning and performance to understand how to work towards improvement and mastery

Direct instruction - Students are given a clear explanation of what they will learn and how they will get there. This is often the passing on of knowledge directly.

Learning Objectives are clearly stated.
Assessment expectations are communicated and linked to objectives.
Evaluation tools are communicated and linked to assessments and objectives.
Instruction is outlined, chunked, scaffolded, and linked to objectives and assessments.
Tasks are written in clear and student-friendly language.
Evaluation and feedback are timely and provide an opportunity for growth.
Assessments are designed for mastery.

Indirect instruction - Students are given opportunities to make decisions and discoveries about what they are learning and thinking. This is often a sharing of knowledge and thought.

Problem-solving - students are encouraged to work on a problem.
In case study analysis, students are given a large case to study, and they can break the case into its essential components.
Question Development - students develop sets of questions about the lesson content.
For examples and Non-examples - students are shown good and bad models for understanding and critique.
Induction and Deduction-logic - students are given information and asked to make sense of the whole or parts of the whole.
Gather student/class ideas - students are democratically included in the development of lessons.
Drawing on student experiences - content is related to students' experiences and prior knowledge.
Group discussions - students can construct answers and solutions in dialogue with small groups or large groups.

Experiential Learning - Students are given authentic learning environments where they are asked to record information, make inferences, create models, demonstrate knowledge, and use tools to search for knowledge.

Labs - students are encouraged to conduct experiments where they can safely test their ideas and hypotheses using specialized equipment and materials. Students gather information from their experiments and analyze it to draw conclusions.
Service-learning, fieldwork, or work-based learning - combines classroom learning with service. It aims to give students a deeper understanding of the topics they are studying while benefiting the community/program/business/organization they are involved with. Service activities are connected to the academic content being learned in the classroom. This allows students to apply their knowledge and skills in a real-world setting. Students are encouraged to reflect on their service experiences during and after the activity. This reflection helps them connect their learning to the broader context and develop critical thinking skills.
Case study - an in-depth exploration of a particular case within its real-world context, such as a person, group, event, or phenomenon. It involves intensive investigation and analysis to understand the case and its unique characteristics comprehensively.
Role-play - In our daily lives, we often consciously adopt different roles based on our social context. For example, you might behave differently when interacting with your teacher, family, or friends. This is a natural way of navigating social interactions and expectations. In role-play for learning, we often try re-create some scenarios to get a feel for what might occur.
Observation - Observational learning, or social learning, is acquiring knowledge, skills, and behaviors through watching others. It involves paying attention to the actions and outcomes of others, retaining the information, and potentially replicating the observed behavior later.
Arts-based - an educational approach that integrates various art forms such as music, dance, drama, and visual arts into the core curriculum subjects like math, science, history, and language arts. This means learning incorporates artistic expression and exploration to enhance understanding and engagement.
Technology-based - Technology-based learning (TBL) encompasses various educational approaches that leverage technology to facilitate teaching, learning, and assessment. TBL uses multiple digital tools, platforms, and resources to support the learning process, including websites or apps offering courses, interactive modules, discussion forums, video conferencing tools, and collaborative learning platforms. Learning materials such as videos, audio recordings, presentations, and other digital content enhance understanding.
Presentation - Presenting can be a valuable learning experience. Preparing for a presentation often involves thorough research and analysis of the topic. Organizing your thoughts, identifying key points, and consolidating information can lead to a deeper understanding of the material. Presenting effectively requires clear, concise, and engaging communication. By practicing your presentation and receiving feedback, you can develop and refine your communication skills, including your ability to structure your arguments, articulate information effectively, and use appropriate language.

Independent Learning - Students are allowed to think through a particular activity independently. They are given a set of parameters, directions, and objectives.

Projects
Independent studies
Articles
Readings
Individual assignments, exams, quizzes

Interactive Learning - Students can learn and think alongside peers, mentors, and experts.

Group work
Debates
Brainstorm
Q and A
Student-teacher conferences
Peer review process

Metacognitive Learning - Students are given opportunities to think about their experiences, learning, and processes for their thinking. More precisely, it refers to the processes used to plan, monitor, and assess one’s understanding and performance. Metacognition includes a critical awareness of one’s thinking and learning and oneself as a thinker and learner.

Examples from experts as evaluative extensions of their work
Students' work is presented and displayed in real-world settings and is examined for its value to the individual and community
An evaluative review of objectives, accomplishments, and behaviors.
The Muddiest Point gives students practice in identifying confusion: “What was most confusing to me about the material explored in class today?”
Retrospective Post-assessments help students to recognize conceptual change: “Before this course, I thought evolution was… Now I think that evolution is ….” or “How is my thinking changing (or not changing) over time?”
Debrief & Reflective Exercises provide a forum in which students monitor their thinking: “What about my exam preparation that worked well and that I should remember to do next time? What did not work so well that I should not do it next time or change it?”

Primary Concept - What is Differentiation for ALL students?

There are NO concrete recipes or magic pills for instruction and learning for ALL students. Generally speaking, you should consider aspects of differentiating or diversifying your classroom instruction. On a conceptual level, in thinking about the Differentiation of your course, you should consider the following guiding questions to support your thinking about instruction:

Learning environment (the classroom culture) – How the classroom works and feels.

Do we make sure that a classroom is a place that provides opportunities for learning quietly, introspectively, and collaboratively?
Do we ensure that we develop routines that allow students to understand expectations for learning and behavior?
Do we ensure that we develop routines that allow students to get help from teachers and classmates?
Do we set clear guidelines for independent work?

Content (the what) – The content you want students to engage with.

Are you presenting the objectives, goals, and standards students are responsible for learning?
Do you know if the goals are clear and meaningful?
How are you presenting information?
Are you using videos? Texts? Pictures? Stories? Computers? Paper? Cards and cut-outs?
Is the content relevant to students' lives?
Where did you get your materials from?
Are the materials local?
How are the materials connected to students?
What is their value for the future of students and the community?
Are we providing materials that reflect a variety of cultures and home settings?
What levels of academics and readability are you using?
Is the content scaffolded? Do students have access to the content?

Process (the instruction) – activities in which the student engages to make sense of or master the content

Are students working together? Individually? Homogenous (same) groups? Heterogenous (different) groups? Directly with the teachers? Pairs? Small groups?
Are you meeting with small groups to re-teach an idea or skill for struggling learners or extend the thinking or skills of advanced learners?
How do you structure your learning exercises?
Do you have Do-nows?
Do you share content standards?
Do you provide models?
Do you check for understanding?
Are you using tiered activities where all learners work with the same important understandings and skills but proceed with different support, challenge, or complexity levels?
Are you providing interest centers that encourage students to explore subsets of the class topic of particular interest?
Are you developing task lists written by the teacher and containing both in-common work for the whole class and work that addresses the individual needs of learners) to be completed either during specified agenda time or as students complete other work early?
Are you offering manipulative or other hands-on support for students who need it?
Are you varying the time a student may take to complete a task to provide additional support for a struggling learner or encourage an advanced learner to pursue a topic in greater depth?

Products (the assessment) – Culminating projects that ask students to rehearse, apply, and extend what he or she has learned in a unit.

Are we giving students options for expressing required learning (e.g., create an artistic piece, PPT, video, essay, story, write a letter, or develop a mural with labels) and encouraging students to create their product assignments as long as they contain required elements?
Do we ensure that examples guide the development of learning products?
Do we ensure that the development of learning products matches standards and is linked to rubric criteria?
Are the skills necessary to complete the scaffolded tasks at the students' varying skill levels?
Are some of our learning produced jointly between teacher and student or in small groups?`

Evaluation, Feedback, & Voice (the summary and adjustments) - Students receive direct feedback on their academic and learning progress. Students use feedback to improve their mastery of learning objectives. Students are given opportunities to respond to their experiences in learning and assessment.

Do you provide individualized feedback on assessments?
Does the feedback provided align with learning objectives, criteria, and rubrics?
Can students gauge their learning performance based on objective criteria and use these to improve?
Do students have an opportunity to provide feedback on the assessments or the course structure?
Do students have an opportunity to express their feelings about the process of learning and completing the course?
Do students have an opportunity to review the instructor's performance?

Summary (What should I conclude from this Information?)

Primary Concept - Effective Instruction Increases Student Learning

Teachers Matter - People often emphasize the importance of good teachers, and many local, state, and federal policies are designed to promote teacher quality. Research using student scores on standardized tests confirms the common perception that some teachers are more effective at improving student test scores than others. However, standardized tests provide an incomplete window into teachers’ overall effectiveness.

Teachers matter more to student achievement than any other aspect of schooling. Many factors contribute to a student’s academic performance, including individual characteristics and family and neighborhood experiences. But research suggests that, among school-related factors, teachers matter most. Regarding student performance on reading and math tests, teachers are estimated to have two to three times the effect of any other school factor, including services, facilities, and leadership.
Although researchers do not usually observe nonschool factors, statistical methods can provide valuable estimates of teachers’ effectiveness, but these estimates are imprecise. Researchers cannot directly control most nonschool factors affecting student test scores. Statistical methods such as value-added modeling have produced valuable information about teachers’ effectiveness at increasing student test scores. Still, these estimates can be imprecise, especially for teachers who are early in their careers or new to a district. In addition, standardized tests do not measure all the outcomes teachers are responsible for promoting, so measures based on these scores provide incomplete information about teachers’ effectiveness. Despite these caveats, research shows that high-value-added teachers influence longer-term outcomes, such as graduation, college attendance, and earnings.
Effective teachers are best identified by their performance rather than their background or experience. Despite common perceptions, effective teachers cannot reliably be determined based on where they went to school, whether they are licensed, or how long they have taught. A better way to assess teachers’ effectiveness is to look at their on-the-job performance, including what they do in the classroom and how much progress their students make on achievement tests. This has led to policies that require evaluating teachers’ on-the-job performance based partly on evidence about their students’ learning.

(*adapted from https://www.rand.org/education-and-labor/projects/measuring-teacher-effectiveness/teachers-matter.html)

Links & Resources (Where can I find Out more information?)

Weekly Assessment (What will I do in order to meet the outcome?)

Assessment 3.2 - The Teacherʻs Work - Part II - Diverse Instruction

Assessment 3.2 - Teacher's Work - Diverse Instruction (EDEF 310)

Next Steps (What will we be doing next?)

Module 3, Week 9 - Managing Behavior

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