Instructional Strategies: Theories & Practices
Quality Teachers use a variety of instructional
strategies such as? & Why?
Instructional Practices
• Today
– Teacher-centered instructional strategies
• Philosophy of teaching & learning
• Practicum experiences start on Wednesday
– Next week planning (chap. 2, 3*, & 4..)
Instructional Practices
Teacher-Centered
Student-Centered
• Direct Instruction/active
teaching/explicit instruction
•Mastery learning
•Lecture
•Presentations
•Concept mapping
•Drill & Practice
•Recitation
•Assisted learning
•Reciprocal teaching
•Tutorial
•Digital technology
•Socratic/questioning
•Analogies
•Cooperative learning
•Problem-based learning
•Inquiry learning
•Discovery learning
•Experiments
•Discussions
•Presentations
•Oral reports
•Simulations
•Field work
• Demonstrations
•Debates
•Independent study
•Contracts
•Role playing
•Games
•Brainstorming
•Digital technology
•Case studies
•Socratic/questioning
Instructional Strategies
Differentiated Instruction=The use of a variety of
instructional strategies … (see ch.13, p. 463)
Because:
“One size does not fit all” …
Study individual differences in chap. 2
As you study write a reflection on one type of diversity as
follows:
Why the topic? What did you learn? What are you going to do with
the knowledge gained (Action?)…One page write up due on
Thursday 9/19
Teacher-centered Instructional Models
• Direct Instruction/Mastery Learning
– Lectures/presentations
– Demonstrations
– Concept teaching/Advanced organizers
• Approach:
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What is? Educators/theorists?
What’s the focus?
What’s the teacher’s role?
What’s the learner's role?
What are the benefits?
How is it structured?
Management issues
How might it impact your philosophy/values?
Team Work (one member will present)
• 1…. What is DI?, Characteristics? Theory & research
Educators?
– When to use it/purpose (Text p. 295…)
• 2&3
• Teacher & learner's role, Who benefits and caution
on p. 295
– Prepare a hypothetical DI lesson plan (p. 301…)
• 4 &5
– What is lecture/presentation/Demonstrations?
– Theory & research (educators), when to use (p. 263)
• 6&7
– Lesson planning model for
lecture/presentation/demonstrations (p. 275)
• Every one study chap. 9 (p. 326..) on concept mapping
• Chapters: 8 (DI), 7 (Lecture), 9 (Concept teaching, 2
(Diversity), 3 (Planning), & 4 (Learning communities)
Direct instruction (p. 295)
•Commonly used in our classrooms to
teach basic & foundational skills
•Has several labels (p.296)
•Active learning
•Mastery teaching
•Explicit instruction
•Effective teaching
•Research: DI increased:
• Time on-task and academic achievement
due to time management, structure, and
organization
Direct Instruction
• Pre-determined and systematic
• Teacher-centered
• Teaching is precise
• Focus on specific objectives
• Teacher teaches to objectives
Ideal Classroom
• Like a business environment
• Thus:
– Boys and Girls Town… Father Flanagan
– Assertive Discipline ….. Lee Canter
– Other?
• William Glasser…. Choices
• Jim Fay & Jim Finch…. Love and Logic
Theories
• Behavioral (p. 297)
– Ivan Pavlov; John Watson; Edward Thorndike;
B.F. Skinner
• Observable behavior
– Behavior is caused by positive or negative
consequences/reinforcement
– Pavlov--- Classical conditioning--- “The Dog”
– Skinner---- Operant conditioning– A link
between behavior & reinforcement… “The Skinner
pigeon”
• Humans are conditioned beings
• Humans are domesticated beings (Ruiz, 1997)
Social Learning (p. 298)
• Albert Bendura
• Focuses on thinking and cognition because
learning is not always observable
• Acquisition of knowledge and performance
(behavior) not are not necessary linked
• Learning occurs mainly through selective
observation
– Learning occurs through conscious observation, hence
commitment to memory--- action is not necessary
• Steps:
– Attention, Retention and production (hence, p. 294).
Teacher’s Role
• Set the stage for
learning
• Teaches to
objectives
Teacher’s Roles
• Plan and teach the lesson
• Sequence the lesson
• Motivate students
• Give immediate feedback
• Time manager
Teacher’s Role
• Ensures lesson economy (Bruner, 1962)
– Limits verbal clutter because it limits learning (p.108)
– Provides manageable amount of information & number of
concepts in a lesson
– Simplifies difficult concepts
– Ensures concepts are easy…
– Presents few concepts that are examined in details– limits
unrelated facts
Teacher’s Role
 Ensures Lesson Power (Bruner, 1962)
 Lesson is carefully planned…although presentation style is
essential, careful & detailed planning increases learning
 Concepts/content is presented in a straightforward,
organized and logical manner
 Shows relationships between new content and existing
knowledge
 Use concept maps- road maps and pictures that show
relationships ..p.277, for example.
 Use learner’s prior knowledge- new concepts are meaningful
when there is a link with what is already known.
Teacher’s Role
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Teacher breaks curriculum into smaller pieces
Maximizes the efficiency of teaching & learning
Time efficiency is critical
Success is determined by rate & accuracy of
learner responses
• Lesson closure
• Educators
– Madeline Hunter, Robert Slavin, Benjamin Bloom,
Rosenshine & Steven.
Mastery Learning
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Resembles DI
Every child can learn but at different time
Proficiency before moving on
Mastery is acquired through:
– Drill & practice, quizzes, etc.
• Students learn at their rate
• Meets individual needs
• Time is always an issue
• Educators:
– Benjamin Bloom, Robert Slavin, John Carroll
Student’s Roles
• Be engaged
• Have a positive
attitude
• Practice what was
taught
Student’s Roles
• Absorb knowledge
• Stay on-task
• Demonstrate knowledge
• Solve problems
Who Benefits?
• All student
• Teachers and administrators
• Community
Teacher benefits
• Lesson and time
control
• Mastery of objectives
• Minimal
management issues
When to Use?
• Introducing basic & foundational skills (p.
296)
• Other skills:
– Reading, writing, grammar, facts, concepts
• Teaching challenging concepts
Lecture/Presentation
• Mostly used in secondary & higher ed.
• Teacher-centered, one-way presentation of info.
• Useful in:
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Introducing an area of study
Providing directions to a task
Disseminating info.
Materials not available elsewhere
To arouse interest in subject matter
Material need to be remembered for a short time
(Gage & Berliner, 1992; Toole, 2000)
Types of Lecture
• Formal
– Common in high school and colleges
– Guest speakers with particular expertise
– NB: Concentration only for 20 minutes
• Interactive
– Designed to address short students’ attention span
– Use of questions, comments, etc.
• Demonstrations
– Involves showing procedures
– Used for modeling skills etc.
– Common in middle, junior and high schools.
Lesson Planning
• Step 1 (Entry)
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Ice breaker (anticipatory set)
State objectives
Provide a context for material to be presented
Focus on key concept, generalizations (use advance organizers(p. 262)
• Step 2 (Presentation)
– Sequence content form simple to complex
– Use visual aids
– Use verbal and nonverbal behavior to enhance attention
• Step 3 (Closure)
– Review for learning
– Transition to next lesson or activity
Concept Teaching (p. 323)
• Two-dimensional presentation of concepts
etc.- shows relationships
• Allows learners to see structure of key
concepts
• Helps learner interface new knowledge with
prior knowledge
• Useful in any subject (Ausubel. 1968)
Instructional Strategies: Theories & Practices
Quality Teachers are cautious: They teach to individual differences
Caution on T-C Instruction
– Time (10-20 minutes)…age less 3
– Content
– Individual differences (Chap. 2)
• Diverse classrooms (p. 41); Teacher expectations (p. 47);
Preferences (p. 50); Intelligence, p.51; Exceptionalities (p.
54); Disabilities, p. 57; Culture (p. 63); Religion (p. 73);
Language (p. 73); gender (p.76); SES (p. 82).
– Do you believe in them?
Planning DI Lesson (Chap. 3)