Instructional Strategies
Student Engagement Strategies
"Student engagement is the product of motivation and active learning. It is a product rather than a sum because it will not occur if either element is missing." Elizabeth F. Barkley
Students who are engaged earn higher grades and test scores, and have lower dropout rates. Students can be disengaged and not be a disruption in class. There is a difference between engagement and compliance. "Engagement means that they are facilitating their own learning through questioning, response, active listening and collaboration." Tamara V. Russell
Reflect on these 3 questions when preparing for and delivering instruction. "Is the learning related to students' strengths, affinities, and interests? Does the learning process gradually transfer the responsibility for learning from the control of the teacher to the students? Are students actively, interactively, and productively pursuing learning throughout the majority of class time?" (Wink, 2017)
Cooperative Learning
Gradual Release of Responsibility Model- 4 Components
1. Focus Lesson- 10-15 minute lesson that builds or activates background knowledge, establishes purpose, and provides academic language.
2. Guided Learning- use strategic questions or prompts to find out student thinking and provides a focus for content exploration
3. Collaborative Learning- to "really" learn students must be engaged in productive group tasks that require interaction
4. Independent Learning- students apply their learning by creating or problem solving (Wink, 2017)
Planning and Delivery
"Lesson planning is at the heart of being an effective teacher. It is a creative process that allows us to synthesize our understanding of second language acquisition and language teaching pedagogy with our knowledge of our learners, the curriculum, and the teaching context. It is a time when we envision the learning we want to occur and analyze how all the pieces of the learning experience should fit together to make that vision a classroom reality. " (Jensen, 2001)
Click on the purple button below to access more lesson plan templates.
Lesson Plan Template
This is my favorite lesson plan, because it has a place for the closure and reflection and most templates do not include those very important pieces.
Parts of a Lesson Plan:
1. Goals and objectives- Goals are general statements of achievement and objectives are the specific steps you need to take to reach your goal.
2. Standards- Does the lesson cover the standards you should be teaching this quarter? If your answer is "NO", then your lesson is not relevant.
3. Materials- the items you need to complete the lesson.
4. Technology Used- the technology you need to complete the lesson.
5. Lesson Procedure- the engaging way in which you will teach the lesson.
6. Closure- One of the most important parts of the lesson that is often left out. Closure activities, such as summary or an exit ticket, creates what psychologists call the Recency Effect or lasting impression. It's what makes the information stick in the students mind so they can recall the information later.
7. Formative Assessment- low stakes assessments that tell the teacher if their lesson was effective, which students are doing well, and which need improvement.
8. Reflection- teachers comment on whether the lesson was effective or not, and note what changes need to be made.
5E Lesson Plans
What are 5E lessons?
Click on the purple button below to access the web page.
Lesson_Plan_5EXtemplate.pdf
Plan Your Questions
Each student learns at a different pace, so teachers must be ready to ask 3 levels of questions.
"Scaffolding questions: these lower level questions guide below-level or struggling students to think through the process or concept in smaller, attainable chunks.
On-level questions: the questions at the appropriate level of rigor that lead students to generate answers or products that serve as mastery.
Extension questions: these high- level questions prompt students to apply or transfer their learning in unpredictable situations, synthesize their thinking about the concept, or create products that expand on their mastery.
Rigor and Mastery
Rigor is not about giving students more work. It is about involving students in thoughtful work that prepares them to engage in high quality learning. Guiding students in rigorous learning demands that teachers have a deep level of content mastery as well.
Myths About Rigor
5 Strategies to Increase Rigor
https://blog.commonlit.org/5-strategies-to-increase-rigor-and-engagement-6273d10d6885
(Popecki, 2017)
How to Add Rigor
(TeachThought, 2015)
Formative vs. Summative Assessments
A formative assessment takes place during the learning process and can include simple observation, polling, and exit tickets. A summative assessment is at the end of a unit, 9 weeks, or semester and can include benchmarks.
Click the button above to be taken to the website.
Closure and Reflection
"Closure is the wrap up at the end of the lesson that helps students synthesize and summarize new knowledge. Students reflect on the objective(s) as they engage in a quick discussion or a closing activity to review what they have learned. It is meant to recap the learning, close out the conversation, and address any outstanding questions the students may still have. This process helps the teacher decide if additional practice is needed or whether it is sensible to move on to the next lesson." (Houston ISD, 2018)
Reflection: a valuable tool for self evaluation and growth.
Two Types of Reflection
Strategies for Individual Students
"Individualized instruction consists of any steps taken in planning and conducting programs of studies and lessons that suit them to the individual student's learning needs, learning readiness, and learning style." (Heather, 1977)
Intervention Process
1. Simplify the problem- identify the cause to the problem
2. Solve the problem- determine a course of action to take
3. Gauge improvements- decide whether to continue or stop intervention based on data (Wink, 2017)
Each of our schools has an intervention team that can work with you when going through the intervention process.