INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Categories of Strategies

DIRECT INSTRUCTION

Teacher-directed Most commonly used Used for delivering information Useful for introducing other teaching

methods

How to: Lecture Demonstrations Drill & Practice Compare & Contrast Reading, Listening, Viewing, Thinking

INDIRECT INSTRUCTION Student-centered Can complement direct instruction Students observe, investigate, form hypotheses Takes advantage of interests and curiosity Encourages students to generate alternatives

or solve problems Teacher becomes facilitator and supporter

How to: Case Studies Reflective Discussion Concept Mapping Writing to inform

EXPERIMENTAL LEARNING Student-centered Activity oriented Most effective when followed with personal

reflection and other application Focus is on the process of learning rather than the

product Process: experience, share, analyze, infer, apply

How to: Field trip Narrative Conducting Experiments Role-playing Games Surveys

INDEPENDENT STUDY

Student-centered (individual) Range of methods provided to foster self-

reliance and self-improvement Can be initiated by either the student or

teacher In MS, generally planned

How to: Essays Journals Reports Homework Research projects

INTERACTIVE INSTRUCTION Student-centered Relies heavily on discussion and sharing with peers Learn from others to develop social skills, to organize

thoughts, and to develop arguments Teacher outlines the topic, gives amount of time and

size of groups; then, students report Teacher must be good at facilitating and structuring

How to: Debates Role playing Brainstorming Jigsaw Interviewing Discussion

LECTURE Teacher speaks to the class, usually followed

with a discussion. Generally used to cover many facts in a short period of time. Very common method.

Pros: Teacher can convey a lot of information at once.

Cons: Can be very boring and monotonous.

JIGSAW

Students become expert on one assigned piece of a topic, then teach to their group of 4-5

Pros: students learn to research and report most important facts. Students learn by teaching.

Cons: students may focus solely on their own topic, and may not absorb others. Students might not do their part.

BRAINSTORMING

Teacher poses a question to students and students are free to respond with whatever first comes to mind without penalty.

Pros: Teacher can see where students are with a subject. Gets students thinking ahead.

Cons: Students may be unmotivated to brainstorm if there is no direct reward.

FIELD TRIPS

Students physically visit a location to experience a subject or topic Subject or topic is limited in a classroom

Pros: Can learn things a classroom would limit. Learn from an expert in the subject.

Cons: May be expensive. Keeping kids focused and participating may be difficult.

ROLE-PLAYING

Students act out a theme, situation, or idea.

Pros: Initiates creativity. Can be fun. Helps students see through new perspectives.

Cons: Some students may be too shy.

PRESENTATIONS

Student(s) research a topic and give an oral presentation/demonstration to the class.

Pros: If in a group, students can learn to work with other students. Forces students to become an expert on a topic.

Cons: If in a group, work may be unbalanced between group members. Students may not complete the project or do enough research.

GUEST SPEAKERS

A person who comes to speak to a class about their skill(s), expertise(s), or experience(s).

Pros: Real world connection with topic. Exciting to have new person in the classroom. Expert on the subject.

Cons: Students may be disrespectful. Can be hard to find guest speakers.

DEBATES

Students discuss a topic with an opposing side. An argument facilitated and (if needed) mediated by the teacher.

Pros: Students learn to express opinions and learn others’ opinions. Students learn about research in the process.

Cons: Students could get too heated. Some students may not want to participate either out of indifference or fear of stating opinions.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING Students get together and try to work

together to understand a topic or develop a skill. In other words, group work.

Pros: Informal; takes pressure off to work together.

Cons: Students may not participate or may be too shy to work with other students. Can get off topic quickly.

GAMES

An activity that utilizes play as a learning tool.

Pros: A break from regular teaching. Usually hands-on/visual. Fun!

Cons: Students can sometimes lose focus and not take away the things they should.

We need to add in some creativity to spice things up and to reach those who “think differently.”

This helps teach others to think outside the box, too!

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX Connect ALL the dots, without lifting your

pencil from the paper, using only 4 straight lines (use a straight edge!)

SOLUTION!

NOW…

Connect the dots using only 3 straight lines. Use a straight edge!

SOLUTION!

FINALLY…

Can anyone think of a way to connect all the dots using only 2 or even 1 straight lines? (There are solutions)

SOLUTIONS!

Tear paper/cut paper with scissors into 3 pieces, so you have 3 columns of 3 dots ripped out. Line them up so they make on long line of 9 dots, and draw a line straight across.

If I had given you a thick paintbrush, you could paint one line over all the dots.

What else?

ARE YOU READY TO REMEMBER?

REVIEW

Time to take out your handout of strategies! Journal for about 3-5 minutes. Write down

Which strategies have worked best for you as a student

Which ones haven’t worked so well for you as a student

What ones you’d be interested in using as a teacher of a middle level

Some strategies: debate, field trip, guest speaker, game, jigsaw, journal, role-playing, presentation, brainstorm, lecture, cooperative learning

GNATS (GO NOW AND TELL SOMEONE!) Find a partner, tell them 2 things you learned

from today’s seminar/workshop. Repeat til we say stop!