Christy Dixon
Describe
The concept
discussed in this chapter (chapter 7, of Slavin’s book Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice) was creating and
utilizing effective lessons within the classroom. As most teachers know “effective lessons use
many teaching methods” Slavin (2012). In the example at beginning of the
chapter, Ms. Logan “used direct instruction as well as discussion, cooperative
learning, and other constructivist techniques” Slavin (2012). It’s crucial for
teachers to know how to use each of these teaching methods and when it’s
appropriate to use them. “This chapter focuses on the strategies that teachers
apply to transmit information in ways that are most likely to help students
understand, incorporate, and use new concepts and skills.” Slavin (2012) The
method of direct instruction was explained in detail throughout Chapter 7.
Slavin tell us that
direct instruction is a seven step process. Below you will find a brief summary
of each step. These steps were listed on p.185 and expounded upon in greater
detail throughout the chapter.
Step 1 – “State
Learning Objective/Orient Students to Learning” Slavin (2012) - Explain to the
students what they will be learning and what is will be expected of them by the
end of the lesson. Capture their attention by keeping it interesting and making
connections to the real world. Making it personally relevant to the student
allows the student to feel more invested in their learning.
Step 2 – “Review
Prerequisites” Slavin (2012) - Review prior information relevant to
the new material. One reason it is important to “review prerequisites is to
provide advance organizers. As defined in Chapter 6, advance organizers are
introductory statements by the teacher that remind students of what they
already know and give them a framework for understanding the new material to be
presented.” Slavin (2012)
Step 3 – “Present
New Material” Slavin (2012) - Present a clearly organized lesson.
Information that is presented in a clearly organized manor can be retained
easier than unorganized information. Point out what is important throughout the
lesson by emphasizing or repeating certain aspects of it. Explain and give
examples as you teach. When possible, use demonstrations, models, illustrations
and technology. This helps with students’ understanding and maintaining their
attention. Keep a good pace throughout the lesson. Lessons that drag will lose
the attention of the students and lesson that go too fast will overwhelm them.
Step 4 – “Conduct Learning
Probes” Slavin (2012) - Do this in order to check for understanding. If your
students seem to grasp the concept being taught, move on to the next portion of
the lesson. However, it they do not seem to grasp the concept, slowing down and
re-teaching or remediation may be required. Keep the probes brief and simple.
Use questions to assess your students learning. Remember to use an appropriate
wait time when waiting on your students to answers your questions. Anywhere
from 3 to 6 seconds is best. Call on both volunteers and non-volunteers to
ensure all students have chance to answer. Choral responses are also good to
use when appropriate.
Step 5 – “Provide
Independent Practice” Slavin (2012) - This type of practice is “an essential
step in the process of transferring new information in working memory to
long-term memory.” Slavin (2012). Seatwork is one example, however it is most
often “misused and overused” Slavin (2012). To insure that you use independent
practice correctly, you need to be sure your students are ready for it, keep it
short, give clear instructions, get students started and then avoid
interruptions. You should monitor your students, collect it when they finish
and include it in their grades.
Step 6 – “Assess
Performance and Provide Feedback” Slavin (2012) - You can use a number of different assessments
to assess the learning of your students. You could use questioning, seat work,
quizzes, and even tests. Regardless of how you assess you students, it is
essential to provide them with feedback as soon as possible.
Step 7 – “Provide
Distributed Practice and Review” Slavin (2012) - “Practice or review spaced out over
time increases retention of many kinds of knowledge.” Slavin (2012) Giving homework,
is a good example of this.
Research on direct
instruction has produced varied conclusions. Researchers seem to agree that
these skills associated with direct instruction are skills that most educators
should possess. They agree that these methods can help with basic skills, but
“much is yet to be learned about how and when they should be used.” Slavin
(2012)
The book also
pointed out the usefulness of whole-class and small-group discussions. The roll of the
teacher is vastly different when it comes to the two forms of discussion. The
teacher’s roll within the whole-class discussion to “keep the discussion
rolling, to get students to use specifics to defend their positions, to ensure
that many students participated, and to help the students avoid dead ends or
unproductive avenues”. Slavin (2012) Whereas in small-group discussions the
students are assigned rolls and they are to track and regulate their group’s
discussion.
Analyze
As an educator, it is necessary for
me to think through my lessons before I teach them. This is key to having
effective lessons. Megan, from my discussion group, stated “For a lesson to run
smoothly and be successful, a teacher needs to prepare appropriately.” This is
so true! Planning ahead is essential for optimal learning. However, Megan made
another good point when she said, “Sometimes a lesson may not go as planned or
take an unexpected turn, but the more prepared a teacher is, the better the
chance of success.” In my 7 years of teaching I have found this to be
completely accurate! Things can change on a dime and you must be prepared! Good
teachers have to be flexible.
Good teachers also
have to decide what type of teaching method to use, and how to present the
information. This is a crucial step in the lesson planning process. When
planning my lessons, not only do I have to decide how to present the
information, but I must also decide how I will assess my students at the end of
each lesson. This is important because I need to assess who grasped the
information and who didn’t. Those who seemed to have missed the key points of
the lesson, may need some extra remediation, or one-on-one time with me. I usually
do this (re-teach and remediation) during small groups.
I have found that my
personal teaching style is correlates best with the direct instruction teaching
strategy. The book describes direct instruction as “lessons in which you
transmit information directly to students, structuring class time to reach a
clearly defined set of objectives as efficiently as possible.” Slavin (2012)
Sure, I use other types of teaching methods (such as students centered discovery),
but direct instruction seems to work best for me. I prefer using the steps
presented within the direct instruction teaching strategy. There are 7 steps,
they are as follows: “Step1. State learning objectives and orient students to
the lesson. Step 2. Review prerequisites. Step 3. Present new material. Step 4.
Conduct learing probes. Step 5. Provide independent practice. Step 6. Assess performance
and provide feedback. Step 7. Provide distributed practice and review.” Slavin (2012)
Reflect
How do you feel
about this concept?
I feel that the book
did an excellent job describing the direct instruction method for teachers. The
book laid out each step in such detail that any teacher could read it and put
it to practice it their own classroom. I feel that this method of instruction
is beneficial in presenting lessons in an elementary classroom. I personally
use the direct instruction method quite often in my fourth-grade classroom.
What did you learn
about this concept that you did not know prior to its presentation?
I knew that this is
how I usually teach in my classroom. I did not realize that it was called the
direct instruction method. I was reminded of the importance of questioning and
wait time. I was also reminded of how useful class discussions can be, whether
they are whole-class discussions or small-group discussions.
How might you handle
a situation or activity differently based on this learned information?
After reading
Chapter 7, I want to try and do more small-group discussions. I stated in the
“describe” section of this paper that I have tried small-group discussions in
the past, but I preferred whole-class discussions. Well, I do in fact prefer
whole-class discussions, but now that I have better guidelines as to how I
should group students and how to go about doing small-group discussions, I
would like to try it again. Hopefully I will see an improvement on the
effectiveness of utilizing this type of discussion.
How did this event
change or confirm your knowledge or beliefs about teaching?
Reading this chapter
confirmed my belief in the effectiveness of the direct instruction method. Like
I said, I use this method quite often and it has always seemed to work for me.
Yes, I do use other methods from time to time, but this is the method that I think
works best in my classroom, with my students. However, I look forward to
reading Chapter 8 on student-centered and constructivist approaches to
instruction. I feel that I need training on how to use these other methods
(like the ones going to be discussed in Chapter 8) in my instruction.
Works Cited
Slavin, R.E. (2012) Educational
Psychology: Theory and practice (10th ed.) Boston, MA:
Pearson
Class Discussion Week 5
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