InTASC+8+Instructional+Strategies

Teachers should utilize various instructional strategies to push students towards higher levels of thinking. Traditionally, teachers were the center of the classroom, relying solely on lecture and teacher-led inquiry to develop students’ academic knowledge. However, teachers are changing roles from informer to facilitator, diversifying the instructional strategies used in the classroom. Active learning, collaborative learning, and problem-based learning all place the student at the center of the classroom experience. By asking students to blog about novels, engage in Socratic seminars, complete peer editing, or conduct a research project, teachers make students valuable contributors to the learning environment. Students, then, become more motivated and strive towards higher expectations. However, effective classroom teachers do not leave students unsupportive during these instructional strategies. Instead, they are constantly using formative assessments to gauge students’ knowledge and progress. Therefore, if students are completing an assignment incorrectly or are encountering challenges, teachers can regroup, explain the activity, and provide the necessary scaffolding. For example, an English teacher may assign students an argumentative essay on a topic of their choice and collect the rough draft. When reviewing the drafts, the teacher may notice that a large percentage of students do not analyze or reflect on the evidence they provide. Before proceeding to peer editing, the teacher can model this skill and have the editors focus on how the writer can improve in this area. By pausing in the active learning and providing some direct instruction, the teacher can correct students’ misconceptions and improve their abilities as writers. Overall, the goal of teachers is to move students higher up Bloom’s Taxonomy, and to reach this goal, teachers need to use a variety of instructional strategies in the classroom, picking the one that is best suited to students’ needs.

A lesson plan that I designed for standard seventh grade English Language Arts at Perry Hall Middle School demonstrates my mastery of using various instructional strategies in the classroom. This lesson plan and a reflection on my teaching can be found in Appendix I of this Wiki. During this lesson, students participated in reflective learning, collaborative learning, and reciprocal teaching. After reviewing characterization methods, students were asked to write a definition of courage using their personal experiences and the narrative Gifted Hands, connecting their lives to the classroom and participating in reflective learning. Students also participated in collaborative learning by working in small groups to find examples of how the narrative characterized Maranda or Ben Carson as courageous. Furthermore, after students completed this activity, they worked with another small group to share answers and debate whether Maranda or Ben demonstrated the most courage in the chapters. Students took turns teaching each other about their assigned character, using reciprocal teaching in order to increase student participation and collaborative learning. Acting more as a facilitator and less of an informer, I utilized instructional strategies that would contribute to a constructivist classroom.