Standard #8: Instructional Strategies
The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
Artifacts:
Reflective Statement:
This standard emphasizes the importance of using different techniques to make sure that students have a clear understanding of the content. One teaching strategy may work for one student, but not for another, so it is important to use a wide variety of strategies to make sure that all students have a clear understanding of the content.
The artifacts that I have chosen for this standard are from my fall 2014 student teaching placement at Dyersville Elementary School. In my second grade classroom, one of my first teaching responsibilities was math. When I first started teaching math, I taught it whole group using the smart board provided in the classroom. I found that the smart board was a very useful tool to use, but the students seemed a little disengaged. This was especially true when we had a long math period on days when we did not have specialists. It was at this time that my cooperating teacher and I decided to teach math in centers in order to improve engagement. I also realized that some concepts still needed to be taught whole group. At this point, I tried to use some creativity in my math instruction. My first creative technique was entitled "What's My Rule?" Students were given a chart, as seen above, and were asked to fill in the blanks. The only way that they would be able to fill in the blanks would be by first recognizing the patterns in the chart and then figuring out the rule. Although the curriculum manual has a completely acceptable way of teaching this lesson, I realized that something more was needed to maintain my students attention. Thus, I created a game I called "going fishing". As seen in the video above, I would ask one student to go under my table and act as the fish in my pond. I would then cast my line into the pond with my "in" bait. While doing this, I would create the in/out chart on the whiteboard. Depending on what was pulled from the pond, students would have to determine what was the correct rule. I found this teaching strategy to be very effective. Not only were the students more engaged than if I was just lecturing them, they were also able to reflect upon this lesson as they worked on future concepts. If a worksheet had an input/output chart on it and a student was confused, I would remind them about the time we went fishing. The students were able to recall their fishing experience in dealing with future problems. Hopefully they will continue to make connections to it as they proceed in the school year.
In my brief experience as a teacher, I have come to understand the importance of being able to go "off script." While the teacher's manual provides the necessary information for a lesson, I realized that a good teacher is responsible for adapting that lesson to suit the needs of the students. Realistically, some lessons will not be as creative and fun as "going fishing", but all such lessons should teach the content in a meaningful way. It has become very apparent to me that helping students make connections will enable them to take their learning to the next level, and give them the best chance to be successful as they continue their education.
The artifacts that I have chosen for this standard are from my fall 2014 student teaching placement at Dyersville Elementary School. In my second grade classroom, one of my first teaching responsibilities was math. When I first started teaching math, I taught it whole group using the smart board provided in the classroom. I found that the smart board was a very useful tool to use, but the students seemed a little disengaged. This was especially true when we had a long math period on days when we did not have specialists. It was at this time that my cooperating teacher and I decided to teach math in centers in order to improve engagement. I also realized that some concepts still needed to be taught whole group. At this point, I tried to use some creativity in my math instruction. My first creative technique was entitled "What's My Rule?" Students were given a chart, as seen above, and were asked to fill in the blanks. The only way that they would be able to fill in the blanks would be by first recognizing the patterns in the chart and then figuring out the rule. Although the curriculum manual has a completely acceptable way of teaching this lesson, I realized that something more was needed to maintain my students attention. Thus, I created a game I called "going fishing". As seen in the video above, I would ask one student to go under my table and act as the fish in my pond. I would then cast my line into the pond with my "in" bait. While doing this, I would create the in/out chart on the whiteboard. Depending on what was pulled from the pond, students would have to determine what was the correct rule. I found this teaching strategy to be very effective. Not only were the students more engaged than if I was just lecturing them, they were also able to reflect upon this lesson as they worked on future concepts. If a worksheet had an input/output chart on it and a student was confused, I would remind them about the time we went fishing. The students were able to recall their fishing experience in dealing with future problems. Hopefully they will continue to make connections to it as they proceed in the school year.
In my brief experience as a teacher, I have come to understand the importance of being able to go "off script." While the teacher's manual provides the necessary information for a lesson, I realized that a good teacher is responsible for adapting that lesson to suit the needs of the students. Realistically, some lessons will not be as creative and fun as "going fishing", but all such lessons should teach the content in a meaningful way. It has become very apparent to me that helping students make connections will enable them to take their learning to the next level, and give them the best chance to be successful as they continue their education.