Module 4-B Rethinking Teacher-centered Instructional Methods

1. Module 4-BRethinking Teacher-centered Instructional Methods TED 367 Methods in Sec. Ed.

2. Reading • Read the following in the Duplass textbook: • Unit 5 (topics 21-25) Instructional Approaches • Unit 6 (topics 26-36) Methods

3. Teacher-centered Methods • Expository in nature. • Easier to implement than student-centered activities.

4. Teacher-centered Methods • Teacher talk (lecturing) • Demonstration • Assignments and homework • Memorizing • Reviewing • Questioning • Discussion Topics in light color will be presented by class members.

5. Teacher Talk (Lecturing)

6. Teacher Talk (Lecturing) • If the traditional lecture method of “chalk and talk” with the teacher talking and pupils taking notes is your idea of teaching, you will find yourself with an inordinate amount of classroom management problems.

7. Teacher Talk (Lecturing) • Lecturing (AKA direct instruction and teacher-centered instruction): • Teacher is THE primary communicator of knowledge. • Teacher directly manages the pace and sequence of instruction. • Includes: • Lecturing to students (formal). • Talking with students (informal).

8. Teacher Talk (Lecturing) Teachers need to lecture more today due to time constraints in meeting academic standards.

9. Teacher Talk (Lecturing) • Remember that: • You can “teach at” students, but this does not ensure students have learned the material. • You must monitor students to ensure that you have not lectured too long.

10. Improving Teacher Talk • Newer approaches to teacher talk: • Feedback lecture. • Guided lecture. • Responsive lecture. • Demonstration lecture. • Pause procedure lecture. • Think/write/discuss. • Lecture with graphic organizer. • Socratic method lecture.

14. Improving Lectures • Conduct lectures more as discussions. • Integrate different types of lectures and organizing patterns. • Integrate visuals and manipulatives into the lecture.

15. When Lecturing, Make Sure… • Don’t talk too much. • Don’t talk too fast. • Make sure you can be heard and understood. • Avoid monotone. Enthusiasm is contagious! • Just because students hear something does not mean they understand it. • Don’t rely on lecture only. Support lecture with direct or simulated learning experiences. • Don’t assume. Ensure students know prerequisite knowledge/skills.

16. Guidelines When Lecturing • Use an advance organizer. • State main idea and how it relates to other learning/knowledge. Builds connections. • Have a beginning, end, and logical order. • Reinforce with visuals. • Encourage student participation. • Have a clear ending, followed by activity. • Keep teacher talk short. • Keep pace relatively quick.

17. Guidelines When Lecturing • Realize that the college lecture is inappropriate for adolescents. • Recapture student attention. • 10 to 15-minute blocks. Used to commercials. • Vary strategies and activities frequently: • Teacher talk  student-centered activity • Change learning activities every 10-15 minutes. • In a 60-minute period, use 3 or 4 sequenced learning activities. May be concurrent.

18. Guidelines When Lecturing • Prepare notes/outline. Do not read lecture! • Guide students in note-taking (what is important?). • Don’t just summarize textbook, or students will not read it. Augment and supplement. • Move about the room when lecturing. • Explain vocabulary as you go (prefix, root word, suffix). Remember that all teachers are language arts teachers!

19. Guidelines When Lecturing • Use examples and analogies to bridge knowledge. • Establish and maintain eye contact. • Develops rapport. • Read student attentiveness and comprehension. • Helps with classroom management.

20. Demonstration

21. Demonstration • Demonstration is a methodology liked by students. • Students are actively engaged in the learning activity.

22. Purposes of Demonstration • Grabs attention of students. • Student vicariously participates. • Reduces safety hazards. • Saves time and resources. • Reviews theory. • Illustrates or models.

23. Guidelines when Demonstrating • Decide the most effective way to conduct the demo: • Teacher. • Teacher with student helper. • Student. • Entire class OR small groups. • Teacher first, then small groups repeat.

24. Guidelines when Demonstrating • Make sure the demonstration is visible to all students. • Have a plan B. • Model proper safety precautions.

25. Assignments and Homework

26. Assignments and Homework Practice should be incorporated into the Instructional Sequence as either an in-class assignment and/or an out-of-class assignment (homework).

27. Automaticity: Mastering Procedural Knowledge processes so that the procedure occurs rapidly and with little conscious effort. Allows students to not commit substantial memory to the process. Frees up cognitive capacity for higher level activity (reconstructing and making meaning of knowledge that is more complex). Overlearning: How thinking processes become automatic. Learn something to a point of mastery so that it can be replicated repeatedly, automatically, and over extended years. Reason for Practice

28. Guided Practice ALWAYS takes place at school in a classroom, library, studio, laboratory, or computer room, where the teacher can observe and give feedback. The teacher actively interacts with students, providing “over-the-shoulder instruction” to an individual or group. Tasks are graded. Independent Practice can take place in school or as homework. The student is expected to complete the task without (or with very little) assistance from the teacher, other students, or anyone else. Independent Practice is also graded. Types of Practice

29. Benefits of Homework • Improves academic performance & study habits. • Develops autonomy and self-discipline. • Promotes efficiency by effectively using both the classroom and the home for learning. • Facilitates parental involvement in children’s education.

30. The Goals of Homework • To practice skills learned in class. • To learn a baseline of information in advance of a lesson, usually as a reading homework assignment. • To apply concepts learned in the classroom by completing assignments. • To learn self-discipline.

31. Parents’ Duties • Provide a specific and consistent time each day for homework • If needed, designate a specific place where homework is to be done. • Limit distractions by eliminating TV and music during homework. • Check the student’s understanding of the assignment before he or she starts. • Encourage student to contact a study club member or homework buddy if needed.

32. Parents’ Duties • Ensure student does not do homework with their friends (unless it is a group project). • If student encounters a problem, ask questions to help the student arrive at a conclusion. • Never do a teenager’s homework by telling him or her the answers. • Expect the work to be neat and orderly. • Check the work for accuracyif knowledgeable. Parents should not be viewed as a substitute for the teacher.

33. Teachers’ Duties • Only assign homework that students should know how to do if they were paying attention in class. • Reading assignments will follow a prereading activity and/or be followed by bell work or a postreading activity. • Homework assignments will always be do-ableand will not need any particular expertise to complete. • Assignment will be clear and definite, and able to be completed without specialized materials. • Students will be held accountable.

34. Teachers’ Duties • Students can be assigned to a study club or homework buddyto get assignments when absent and to clarify assignments. • Amount of time students will be expected to spend on homework will be limited. (Maybe ½ hour a day, Monday through Thursday.) • Meaningful homework will be assigned on a consistent basis, perhaps every Monday through Thursday. • Homework will be collected, read, and graded, and feedback will be provided within two days of receipt. Include positive comments as well as notes about mistakes.

35. Teachers’ Duties • Students can be prompted to use a homework planner. • Students—not the teacher—will be responsible for the daily check-in and checkout of homework. • There will be some mandatory and some optional homework. • There will be options: • For example, students will be able to choose between creating an essay or creating an image to express their ideas. • Assignments will be written on the chalkboard at the beginning of class, not at the end as an afterthought. • As students leave, they will be reminded about the homework due the next day.

36. Memorizing

37. Memorizing • Sometimes students must memorize things, even without much understanding. • Language  alphabet • Math  numbering system • Chemistry  common element symbols • Play trumpet  fingerings

38. Guidelines for Memorizing • Avoid overuse of memorizing. • If possible, have students understand meaning before memorizing. • Use mnemonics to aid students in memorization.

39. Reviewing

40. Reviewing • In general, reviewing is a positive and necessary practice! • Recall is improved. • Understanding is improved by strengthening semantic networks.

41. Reviewing in Subjects • Science • Many concepts cannot be fully understood in isolation. • More appreciation for concepts when seen in context of later topics. • Math • Concepts build on each other. Frequent reviews are necessary. • Geography • Parts have less direct connection. Fewer reviews are needed.

42. End of Unit/Course Review • Always profitable! • Helps to unify concepts. • Helps students see the big picture. • Helps strengthen semantic networks. • Review should not be used solely as preparation for an exam. If you review more often than just before an exam, students will not view a review as merely an exam preparation strategy.

43. Alternative Review Techniques • Student summaries • Quiz games (Jeopardy) • Discussion • Broad questioning • Dramatizations • Application problems

44. Explore: Game Reviews Online Game Templates

45. Questioning

46. Questioning • Well-formed questions help students develop their critical thinking skills. • Provides an opportunity for students to elaborate and adjust their responses based on their interaction with the teacher and other students, as well as to put forth unique insights. Questioning is one of the easiest ways to convert instruction from a passive to active learning experience, but it must be planned and purposeful.

47. Structuring Effective and Efficient Questions • Knowledge questions check only memory: • What is an amoeba, and what are some of its critical attributes? • Comprehension questions check memory and comprehension: • Please give the class an example of supply and demand and explain the difference? • Application questions student ability to apply knowledge • How do the concepts of protagonist and antagonist apply to Macbeth?

48. Structuring Effective and Efficient Questions • Analysis questions require the student to scrutinize Knowledge • What conclusions did you draw from the evaporation of the water? • Synthesis questions require the student to combine Information Knowledge & draw conclusions • If you know the longitude and latitude of a place, what other things can you hypothesize about its location? • Evaluation questions require the student to use a set of criteria to make a reasoned judgment. • What are the most important criteria for selecting a president of the United States?

49. FAQ In a Middle School Classroom, assign percentages based on the type of questions you think are most frequently asked by teachers in a typical class situation. 1.______ Knowledge 2.______ Analysis 3.______ Synthesis 4.______ Evalaution 87.0% 9.8% 4.6% 4.0%

50. Creating an Environment Conducive to Questioning • Classroom interaction focuses on sustained examination of a few topics. • Students are given sufficient time to think before being required to answer questions. • The teacher presses students to clarify or justify their assertions. • The teacher models the characteristics of a thoughtful person. • Students are encouraged to generate original and unconventional ideas.