Ch09 Teaching for academic learning

TEACHING FOR ACADEMIC LEARNING Teacher-Directed Instruction How would you go about identifying the key* to successful Teaching? You might students, principals, college of education, or experienced hers in list the characteristics Rood teachers. Or you could do intensive studies of a few classrooms over a long. You might observe classrooms, rate different teachers on certain .liar autistics and then see which characteristics were associated with whose students either achieved the most or were the motivated to learn. (To do this, of course, you would have to decide him to assess achievement and motivation.) You could identify teachers whose students, year after year learned more than students working with other teachers; then you could watch the successor teachers, and note white they do. You might also train leathers to apply several different strategies to teach the same lesson and then determine which strategy led to greatest student learning. You could videotape teachers, and then ask them to view the tapes and report what they were thinking about as they taught and what influenced their decisions while leaching. You might study transcripts of classroom dialogue to learn what helped students understand. All these approaches and more have been used to investigate teaching (Flodeti 20011. Often researchers use the relationships identified between teaching and learning as the basis for developing teaching approaches and testing these caches design experiments (Brown, 1992; Cireeno, Collins, and Resmck, 199oJ. Let examine some of the specific knowledge about leaching gained from these projects. Characteristics of Effective Teachers Some the earliest research oil effective teaching focused on the personal quality of leathers themselves (Medley, 1979). Results revealed Home lessons about three teacher characteristics: knowledge, clarity, and warmth. Teachers' Knowledge, teachers who know more about their subject have mute positive on students? When we look at teachers knowledge of fact] and concepts, as measured teal .scores and college grades, the relationship to student learning is and may be indirect. Teachers who know about their subject do not have students who learn more. But teachers who know more may make clearer presentations and student difficulties more readily. They are ready for any student questions and do not have to be evasive or vague in answers. And we know from Linda Darling-Hammond's (2000) work that the quality of as measured by the teachers were fully certified and had a major in their teaching field—is related to student performance. Thus, knowledge is necessary but not sufficient for effective teaching because being more knowledge able helps teachers be clearer and more organized. Clarity and Organization. When Barak Rosenshine and Norma (1973)reviewed about ill .studies of teaching, they concluded that clarity was the most promising leather behavior for future research on effective leaching. Teachers who provide clear presentations and explanation tend to have students who more and who rate their teacher mote positively, Cruickshank. Hi Kennedy, 1985; Land, 1987|. Teachers with more knowledge of the subject lend to be less vague in that explanations to the class. Warmth and Enthusiasm. As you are well aware, some teaches are much more enthusiastic than others. Some studies have found that ratings teachers' enthusiasm their subject are correlated with student (Rohcnshinc & rural, 1973). Warmth, TrienJlinew, and understanding seem lo he the teacher traits most strongly related to student attitudes (Murray. 1983; Ryans, I960; Soai & Soar, 1979). In other words, teachers who are warm and friendly lend lo have student*) who like and the class in general. But notice, these are correlation studies. The results do not tell us that teacher enthusiasm causes student learning causes positive attitudes, only that the two variables lend lo occur together Teachers trained to demonstrate their enthusiasm have students who arc more attentive and involved, but not necessarily more successful on tests of content (Gillett & Gall. 1982). The Guidelines on page 442 include some ideas communicating warmth and enthusiasm. Beyond general characteristics, how can teachers design instruction? he following sections describe formats or strategies building blocks that can be used lo lessons and units. We begin with the strategy many people associate most directly with teaching direct instruction and explanation. Explanation and Direct Instruction Some studies have found that teachers' presentations take up one-sixth to one-fourth of all classroom time. Teacher explanation is appropriate for communicating a large amount material to many students in u short period of lime, introducing a new topic, giving background information, or motivating students to learn more on their own. Teacher presentations are therefore most appropriate for cognitive and objectives at the lower levels the taxonomies described earlier for remembering, understanding, apply ng, receiving, responding, and valuing (Arends, 2001; Kinds vatter, When, [shier. 1992). Direct Instruction. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was an explosion of research that focused on effective teaching. The results of all this work identified a model of leaching that was related to improved student learning. Barak Roscuslune calls this approach direct instruction i 197V) or explicit teaching (IVK6). Tom Good (I9«ia) uses the term active teaching a similar approach. The direct instruction mode fits a derived from a particular approach to research. Researchers identified the elements direct instruction comparing teachers whose students learned more than expected (based on entering knowledge) with teachers whose students performed at an ex peered or average level. The researchers focused on existing practices in American classrooms. Because the focus was on traditional forms of teaching, the research could not identity successful innovations. Effectiveness was usually defined us average provident in standardized test scores for a whole class or school. So the results hold for large groups, but in the group. Even when the average achievement of a group improves, the achievement some individuals may decline (Brophy St Good. 1986; Good, 1996; Shuell, 19961. Given these conditions, you can see that direct instruction applies best to the teaching of banc skill*—clearly structured knowledge and essential skills, such as science facts, mathematics computations, reading vocabulary, and grammar rule* f Rosen shine & Stevens, 1986). These skills involve tasks that are relatively unambiguous; they tan be taught step-by-step and tested by standardized tests. The leaching approaches described below die nut necessarily appropriate for objectives such as helping students to write creatively, solve complex problems, or mature emotionally. Weinert 11995) describe direct instruction as having the following (a) the teacher's classroom management is especially effective and the late of student intransitive behaviors is very low; »b) the teacher maintains a strong academic focus and uses available instructional time intensively to initiate and localizable students' learning activities; (c) the teacher insures that as many students as possible achieve good by carefully choosing appropriate tasks, clearly presenting .subject-matter information and solution strategies, continuously diagnosing each student's learning progress and learning difficulties, providing effective help through r e m e d i a l instruction, (p. 1.18) How would I teacher turn these themes into actions? Rosenshinc's Six Teaching Functions. Rosenshine and his colleagues i Rosen-shine. I9H8; Rosenshine Stevens. 1986) have identified leaching functions based on the effective instruction. These could serve as a checklist for leaching basic skills. Review and check the previous day\ work. Reteach if students made errors. Present new material Make the cleat, in small steps, and provide many examples and examples. Provide guided practice. Question give practice problems, and listen for misconceptions and misunderstandings. Reteach if necessaiy Continue guided practice until students answer about 80% questions correctly. Gir feedback and corrective based on student answers. Reteach if necessary. Provide independent practice- let students apply new learning on their own, in sea I work, cooperative groups, or homework. The success during independent practice should be about 95%. This means that students must be well (or the. work by the- presentation and guided practice and that assign must not be too difficult. The point is for the students to practice until the skills become over learned and automatic—until the students are confident. students accountable: check if. Review weekly and monthly to consolidate learning. Include some items as homework. Test often, and reteach material missed on the these six functions are not steps to in a particular order, but all of them dements of effective instruction. For example, feedback, review, should whenever necessary and should match the abilities of the students. Also, keep in mind the age and knowledge of your students. younger or the less prepaid your students, the briefer your explanations should be. Use more and cycles of presentation, guided practice, feedback. There are several other models of direct but most share I he elements; presented in Table 12.5 on page 444, which summarizes Madeline I [miter's Mastery Teaching (Hunter, 1982), another example of direct instruction. Criticisms of Direct Instruction. instruction, when involves extended teacher tons 01 lectures, has some disadvantages. You may find that some students have trouble listening for more minutes at a time and that they simply tune out. Teacher presentations can put (he students in a passive position by doing much of the cognitive work them and may prevent students from asking 01 even thinking of questions (Preiberg & Driscoll, 1996; Gilslrap Martin, 19 Scripted cooperation is one wav of incorporating active learning into lectures. Several tunes during the presentation, asks students to work in pairs. One is the and the other the summary. This gives students a chance their understand ing, their thinking, and translate ideas into their own words. Other possibilities aie described in Critics also claim that direct instruction is based the wrong theory of learning. Teachers break material into small segments, present each segment clearly, and reinforce or correct, thus transmitting accurate understandings from teacher lo student. The student is seen as an "empty vessel" waiting to be filled with knowledge, rather than an active constructor of knowledge (Anderson, 1989a; Beig & (Jlough. Davis. Matter, & Nodding, 1990). These criticisms of direct instruction echo the criticisms of behavioral themes. Seatwork and Homework Carol Weinslcin and Andy Mignano (2003) describe several altenatives to workbooks and dittos, such as reading silently and reading to a writing for a "real" audience; writing letters or journals: tran-scribing conversations and punctuating them properly; making up problems; working on long- term projects and reports; solving and puzzles, and engaging in computer activities, of my favorites is crat-ing a group limy. Two students begin a story on the computer then two more add a paragraph. The story grows with each new pair's addition. The students leading and writing, editing and improving. Homework. In contrast to the limited research on have been studying the effects of lot over 75 years (Cooper & Valentine. 2001a. 2001b; Corno. 2000). As you can see from there continues to be a debate about the value of homework. To benefit from individual group seatwork homework, students must stay involved and do the work. The first step toward involvement is getting students started correctly by making sure. It may help to do the first few questions as a class, to clear up any misconceptions, this is especially important for homework assignments, because students ma> have no one at home to consult if they had problems with the assignment. Making Seatwork and Homework Valuable. In the situations it is especially important for students to know what to do if they need help. One teacher described by Weinstein and Mignano t'2003) taught students rule. "Ask three, then me." Students have to consult three classmates before seeking help from the teacher. His teacher also spends lime early in the year showing students haw to help each other how to ask questions and how to explain. Questioning and Recitation Teachers posequestions, students answer. This lot in leaching, sometimes called been with us for many years (StoHoUky, 1988). The leather's questions (develop a framework the subject matter involved, these steps are repeated over and over. let us consider the heart of, the soliciting or questioning techniques may he among I In- most that teachers employ during lessons. An essential element of innovations is cognitive apprenticeships, peer learning techniques, authentic activities, and nearly all other contemporary learning techniques is keeping students engaged and that is where skillful questioning strategies are especially effective. Questions several roles in cognition. They can help students rehearse information for effective rec a l l . T h e y c a n w i n k t o i d e n t i f y g a p s i n o n e ' s k n o w l e d g e b a s e , a n d p r o v o k e c u r i o s i t y a n d l o n g t e r m i n t e r e s t . T h e c a n i n i t i a t e c o g n i t i v e a n d p r o m o t e t h e r e s u l t s i n k n o w l e d g e s t r u c t u r e . F o r n o w w e w i l l f o c u s o n t e a c h e r s ' q u e s t i o n s , t o m a k e t h e m a s h e l p f u l a p o s s i b l e f o r s t u d e n t s . M a n y o f t h e w o r k w i t h a r e h o w v a l u a b l e g o o d q u e s t i o n s c a n b e a n d h o w d i f f i c u l t t h e y a w t o c r e a t e . Ki n d s o f Q u e s t i o n s , b o r n e e d u c a t o r s h a v e e s t i m a t e d t h e t y p i c a l t e a c h e r aria b e t w e e n 3 0 a n d I J O q u e s t i o n a n h o u r , o r a b o u t 1,5000,1 MM J q u e s t i o n s o v e r a l e a c h i n g c a r e e r F i t t i n g t h e Q u e s t i o n s to t h e S t u d e n t s . Both high and low level question.* ran be cttective (Harden, 1995; Kedfieid Rousseau, 1981). patterns seem to be better for however I he best pattern for younger students and lower-ability of all ages is simple questions that allow a high percentage answers, ample encouragement, help when the student does not have the corr a l answer, and praise* For high ability students, t h e pattern includes harder at both higher and lower levels and more critical feedbag k Berliner. 1987: Good. 198S; Sadker & Sadker, 2003). Whatever their age or ability, all students should have some with thought- provoking question* and, if necessary, help in learning answer them. As we saw in Chapter H, to master critical thinking and problem solving skill*, students must have a chance to tire dull*. They also need lime to think about Group Discussion Group discussion is in some way to the recitation, but should be more like the instructional conversations in Chapter (Thai p &>, A tetchier may pose. listen to student answers, react, and more Information, but in a true group dialogue, the does not have B role Students ask questions, answer each other's questions, respond to each others answers McKcown. Worthy* Sandoia. & Kucan, ll>96; Burbules Sr Bruce, 2001; Market & Hess, ZOOJ). There are many .advantages! to group discussions- The students are directly involved and have the chance lo participate. Group discussion helps students learn to express themselves clearly, to opinions, and tolerate different views. Croup discussion also gives students a chance to ask for clarification, examine their thinking, follow personal interests, and assume responsibility by taking leadership roles in the group. Thus, group help students evaluate ideas and synthesize personal viewpoints. Discussions are also useful when student art: trying to understand (Jilltcult concepts that go against common sense. As we saw in Chapters 8 and 9, many scientific concepts, such as the role light in vision or Newton's laws motion, are difficult to grasp because they contradict notion. By thinking together, challenging each other, and suggesting and evaluating possible explanations, are mute likely to reach a genuine understanding. Of course there are disadvantages. Class discussions are unpredictable and may easily into exchanges ignorance some members of the group may haw great difficulty participating and may become anxious it. In addition, you may have lo do a good deal preparation lo ensure that participants have a background of knowledge on which lo base the discussion. And large groups are often unwieldy In many cases, a few students will dominate the discus lion while the others daydream (Arends, 2001; Kindsvatter, Wilcn, & Ishler, 1988). The Guideline* on page 4bl give some ideas for facilitating a productive group discussion. No one person is expected lo give in completely; au for and each other. The no lose method is a six step. Problem-solving: I. Dejinc the problem. What exactly are the behaviors involved? What does each person want? (Use active listening lo help students pinpoint the real problem.) Generate many possible solutions. Brainstorm, but remember, don’t allow any evaluations ideas yet. V Evaluate each solution. Any participant may veto any idea. If no .solutions is found lo be acceptable, again 4. Make a decision. one solution through consensus—Wiling. In the end, everyone must be satisfied with the solution. V Determine how to implement the solution what will be needed? Who will be responsible for each task? What is the timetable? 6. Evaluate the success of the solution. After trying the solution for a while, ask. "Are we satisfied with our decision? How well is it working? Should we make some?" Many ol the conflicts in classrooms are between students. These ran be learning experiences for all concerned. Group B e h a v i o r M e n l i v e i n g r o u p a n d a r e g u i d e d a l l i m e s b y g r o u p a n d n o r m s . T h e i r i n d i v i d u a l r e a c t i o n i s m o d i f i e d a n d t h e i r b e h a v i o r i s a d j u s t e d a n d c o n t r o l l e d b y t h e s o c i a l e n v i r o n m e n t . N o d o u b t t h e b a s i c i n s t i n c t s a n d n e e d s p r o m p t o u r a c t i v i t i e s f o r t h e i r s a t i s f a c t i o n Y e t t h e y u n d e r g o c e r t a i n m o d i f i c a t i o n s u n d e r g r o u p p r e s s u r e . T i l l s i s b e c a u s e m a n i s b a s i c a l l y a s o c i a l c r e a t u r e . G r o u p l i t e g e n e r a t e s n e w n e e d s a n d e x p e c t a t i o n s . V a l u e s a n d a t t i t u d e s t h u s s h a p e g r o u p b e h a v i o r . S a t i s f a c t i o n p l a y s a p r o m i n e n t p a r t i n g r o u p b e h a v i o r . I n d i v i d u a l s w h i l e i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h o n e a n o t h e r l e n d I n g a i n f r o m t h e i r i n d i v i d u a l c o u r s e o f a c t i o n * A g r o u p m i n d e d n e s s p r e v a i l s w h e n i n d i v i d u a l s s a c r i f i c e t h e i r s t r o n g i n d i v i d u a l i t y a n d c o m e t o a c o m p r o m i s e f o r a d j u s t m e n t . I n d i v i d u a l s n e e d c o m p a n y a n d c o o p e r a t i o n f o r e f f e c t i v e f u n c t i o n i n g . M a n c a n n o t l i v e i n i s o l a t i o n . H e i s p a r t i c u l a r l y a s o c i a l a n i m a l I t i s i m p o s s i b l e f o r m a n t o l i v e i n a n e n v i r o n m e n t c u t o f f f r o m o t h e r m e m b e r s o f t h e c o m m u n i t y . H i s i n n a t e u r g e t o c o - o p e r a t e a n d c o o r d i n a t e i s s t r o n g . G r o u p l i f e t h e c h i l d a s o c i a l e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e i n d i v i d u a l c h i l d n e e d s l o v e , e n c o u r a g e m e n t a n d s e n s e o f s e c u r i t y w i t h i n t h e f a m i l y a n d g r o u p . W i t h o u t t h e g r o u p l i f t t h e h a r d l y g r o w s . G r o u p i n t e r a c t i o n h e l p s t h e c h i l d t o g r o w s o c i a l l y a n d e m o t i o n a l l y . T h u s w h e n a c h i l d c o m e s t o s c h o o l h e t o g e t h e r a n d s h a r e s h i s e x p e r i e n c e . H e g e t s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o e x p r e s s h i s f e e l i n g o f s e l f - a s s e r t i o n , c o m m u n i o n a n d c o m b a t a n d g r o w s u p e m o t i o n a l l y , s o c i a l l y a n d p h y s i c a l l y . A s m e n t i o n e d e a r l i e r , t h e c h i l d g r o w s t h r o u g h experience. H e n e e d s s y m p a t h y a n d s u g g e s t i o n f o r s e l f e x p a n s i o n A t t i m e a c h i l d f e e l s a n d l o o k s f o r w a r d t o s u g g e s t i o n s a n d f r o m h i s g r o u p s S y m p a t h y p r o v i d e s s e n s e o f s e c u r i t y a n d b u i l d s u p t h e s t r e n g t h o t t h e c h i l d . At l Times a child is confused or and badly need suggestion, (he role of parents, teachers and even of friends is very significant. Sympathy is the fellow feeling or feeling with others. This involves emotions when shared among members within a group. is aroused in ease there is any accident or a sudden situation demanding common participation. It facilitates social solidarity and harmony of even around on occasion or event. Sympathy also plays a significant rule in animal behavior It prompts them lo share and profit from each other’s experience and knowledge of a group life. Sympathy may be expressed both In active and passive. In a class room situation the teachers can take advantage of their interaction by arousing emotions for die right and good cause aiming the pupils. He can inspire them toward noble causes and creative activities. Like sympathy, imitation is found to influence group behavior, to love others instinctively as this tendency is ingrained in nature childhood. A child teams to speak gradually. He copies from nearest adults other's behaviors even unconsciously. Imitation is very common when the relationship between the members is close and cordial. We imitate what we admire in others. The children learn most by imitating their parents and teachers. Most of the habits and modes of behavior are copied by children through imitation is great social bond, a means of uniting a large number of individuals into one group. Group behavior dominant when there is cohesion and commonality. Group behavior is something more than a collective behavior. Motivation and interest can be generated by applying group dynamics. Not only in the field of education, are group dynamics applied at present even in the field of industry for better production. Cooperation, competition and conflict are the various modes of group behavior which can be employed for producing the behavior as end result. In ( h e p r e s e n t s o c i e t y w e A n d c o m p e t i t i o n a n d c o n f l i c t m o r e t h a n i s a s n u g g l e f o r s u r v i v a l t h e f i n e s t I t i s t h e l a w o f t h e p r e s e n t s o c i e t y . W e c a n h a r d l y i g n o r e t h i s s t a r k r e a l i t y * Y e t t h e r e a r e c e r t a i n o c c a s i o n s a n d c a u s e s w h i c h d e m a n d c o o p e r a t i o n , a n d c o - o r d i n a t i o n o u r g r e a t e r i n t e r e s t A n y n a t i o n a l e n t e r p r i s e d e m a n d s c o - o p e r a t i o n i n s p i t e o f c o n f l i c t s a n d c o m p e t i t i o n s w i t h i n g r o u p . D u m p B e h a v i o r a n d E ducation W i t h t h e g r o w i n g o f t h e c l a s s r o o m a n d i n c r e a s i n g l o a d o f c u r r i c u l u m t h e r e i s h a r d l y a n y l i m e t o p a y i n d i v i d u a l a t t e n t i o n i n t h e c l a s s r o o m . I t i s a l s o n o t f e a s i b l e t o t r e a t p u p i l s i n d i v i d u a l l y . s i t u a t i o n t h u s d e m a n d s a p p l i c a t i o n o f g r o u p d y n a m i c s , w h e r e a i s d i v i d e d i n t o g r o u p s f o r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n a s s i g n e d e d u c a t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s . T h i s i n t e r a c t i o n a l a p p r o a c h v e r y o f t e n p r o v e s e c o n o m i c a n d e f f e c t i v e a s w e l l I n g r o u p a p p r o a c h a n i n d i v i d u a l f i n d s i t p o s s i b l e t o c o n t r i b u t e h i s b e s t t o t h e g r o u p p e r f o r m a n c e a n d d e v e l o p s a s e n s e o f i d e n t i t y w i t h t h e g r o u p . T h e s p i r i t o f s o c i a l a w a r e n e s s is t h u s s t i m u l a t e d t h r o u g h t h i s g r o u p a c t i v i t y .