Instructional Variety (the BIG 6)

You are developing the most important quality of good teachers: persistence!

Q 1: Finish this statement: The most effective way to manage classrooms is to ____________________.

Q 2: Trivia question—fill in the blank: If you miss 2 classes, you lose ____points from your grade in this course. If you miss 3 classes, you lose _____ points from your course grade (no cheating—don’t look it up right now)!

Announcements

For today, read pp. 114-122. For Nov 27th, read pp. 122-130 GOOD NEWS: NO OBSERVATION 4

ASSIGNMENT—WILL BE PART OF THE FINAL EXAM—revised grading sheet

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Class Attendance Policies: Students are expected to attend classes and are responsible for the academic consequences of absence. The student is responsible for all requirements of the course regardless of absences. Below is a breakdown of how absences impact overall grade in course:

According to University policy, if a student’s absences in a course total 25 percent or more of the class meetings for the course, the student will receive a grade of N if the student withdraws from the course before the withdrawal deadline; after that date, unless warranted by documented extenuating circumstances as described in the previous section, a grade of F or U shall be assigned.

# Absences Impact on Grade1234+

None-5 Points on Course Grade-10 Points on Course GradeFail Course

Instructional Variety

• Refers to a teacher’s variability and flexibility in delivering instructional content

• Includes: discussion, small-group work, cooperative learning, demonstration, explanation, questioning, recitation within the context of a single lesson

• Could also include: variation in teacher physical movement and gesturing, eye-contact, and voice intonation

Instructional Variety

• Also includes the use of instructional media and technology, learning materials, laboratory equipment, displays, and classroom space that encourages student involvement in problem solving and project-based learning

• Results in less disruptive behavior and greater student attention

Today, we will review the basic things to consider when planning for instructional variety:

1. Using a variety of attention-gaining devices2. Showing enthusiasm and animation 3. Varying instructional activities and media4. Mixing rewards and reinforcements5. Varying types of questions and probes6. Using student ideas

Use the chart to keep track of the elements of instructional variety:

http://youtu.be/GaFKzDYbQls (Algebra 1)http://youtu.be/lhqEnExx2Ic (Elementary Science--start at the 18:30 time on the clip)

1. Attention Gaining Devices

• First behavior for instructional variety• Applied most often at the beginning of a lesson• Can take the forms of pictures, audio-visual media,

computer simulations, live demonstrations• Less dramatic forms are posting a challenging

question, presenting a dilemma or bewildering situation, showing a unique visual display

• Help create natural cycles of highs and lows that make life in the classroom more interesting

Attention-getting Openers

• Questions that are not designed to have a single correct answer, but are designed to amuse, stimulate and sometimes bewilder students so that they will be more receptive to new content

• Types of openers:– Surprise and Astound – Promote Controversy– Present a Contradiction– Promote Curiosity

2. Showing Enthusiasm

• Second behavior for instructional variety• A change in teacher’s voice inflection, eye

contact, and positioning within the classroom• “Withitness” – teacher’s ability to keep track

of many different signs of student behavior simultaneously in order that it conveys a sense of physical presence or vigilance

3. Varying Instructional Activities and Media

• Not only what the teacher does (questioning, discussion, guided practice, recitation), but what learning activity is required of the students

• Teaching goals:1. Give students many choices of was to learn2. Include many ways of teaching during each

lesson

4. Varying Rewards and Reinforcement

• Use many different kinds of positive reinforcement and rewards: (smile, head nod, allowing students to work in groups, displaying student work, having students tell class how they solved a problem, having peers comment on the correctness of a response, etc.)

• Use trial and error to find out what students respond to best

• Or, the teacher could simply ask

5. Varying Types of Questions and Probes

• Purpose: to draw out a response that can be refined and developed SO STUDENT WILL EXPAND THEIR THINKING

• The right probes also get students to share their learning processes with each other and benefit from hearing difference ways a question can be answered

Types of Questions 1

• Convergent – have single or limited number of right answers that are commonly associated with the goals of Direct Instruction (Direct instruction occurs when the teacher is the major provider of information.) (Think of some examples.)

• Look for patterns—if a student gets wrong, how might a teacher respond?

Types of Questions 2

• Divergent – may have many right answers and are most commonly associated with the goals of Indirect Instruction (Indirect instruction helps students use their own knowledge and experiences to actively construct learning.) (Think of some examples.)

• Look for patterns—if a student gets wrong, how might a teacher respond?

Bloom’s Taxonomy

See chart on page 126.• Definition: a chart that lists degree of thinking

difficulty for student work ranging from knowledge (memory) to the highest order thinking (evaluation)

• What levels result in higher student learning?

Probes

• Questions that follow questions and are carefully crafted to deepen, enrich, and extend an earlier response

• Can be used to elicit a clarifying response to an earlier question, solicit new information related to an earlier question, or redirect the learner into a more productive area

• Examples?

Wait Time: How Long?

• Refers to the amount of time a teacher gives a learner to respond

• Allows all learners time to think about, extend, or modify their responses

• Good wait time results in:– Length of student responses increase 300-700%– More student inferences supported by logical argument– Number of questions asked by students increased– Student to student exchanges increased– Misbehavior decreased– More students volunteered to respond

6. Using Student Ideas

• Acknowledging (repeating the logical connectives)

• Modifying (rephrasing or conceptualizing)

• Applying (using the idea to teach an inference or predict the next

step )

• Comparing (drawing a relationship between the idea and ideas

expressed earlier)

• Summarizing (use what was said by student(s) as a summarization

of concepts)

Analysis of instructional variety: The Flipped Classroom

• http://youtu.be/2H4RkudFzlc