Standard 8: Instructional Strategies
Artifact: The Instructional Strategies Booklet
In a classroom, it is the job of teachers to teach the way students learn; it’s not the job of the students to learn the teaching style of the teacher. Each student has a different way of taking in information and becoming engaged in different ways, therefore it’s important to have multiple methods for instruction at each level of the learning process. To explore various ways of presenting material and constructing a lesson, a booklet was made describing a wide range of strategies proven to enhance learning. The booklet created goes over the different instructional strategies based on the five categories described by Five to Thrive, a text stating the five different levels to student processing: activation, collaboration, metacognition, communication, and application. In creating the booklet, each strategy was researched to analyze the purpose of the strategy, the possible ways a teacher could utilize it in their classroom, and strategies to avoid the potential problems that arise when conducting the technique at hand. Knowing the strategy in hand isn’t useful when conducting a lesson, the importance of the strategy comes from understanding its purpose and catering it to the needs of the students. The research done allows one to see the purpose, connect it in their own ways that fit their classrooms, and customize it. The booklet exemplifies Strategy 8, Instructional Strategies, as it not only states the strategies, but makes it accessible for when teachers need to switch their instruction up. It takes into account the processes that students take whether it’s in the beginning stages of understanding vocab or in the application phase of showing their learning. It’s a comprehensive compilation of strategies that makes it easy for teachers to understand.
As a student, it is very clear that teachers tend to fall into the habit of instructing only in the ways they are familiar with. It typically includes following a PowerPoint that contains text about the topic, some static images, and there are potentially some videos or memes to slightly increase student engagement. As a teacher, the way in which the material is presented to the students determines whether the students will see the purpose of it all and whether they can find the intrinsic motivation needed to truly take in the information. Varying the instruction in the ways presented at each stage of learning ensures that students don’t get bored with the lesson. It also ensures that the visual learners, the audio learners, and all the types of intelligence described by Gardner. The moment students become disengaged, they aren’t taking in any of the instruction and increase the likelihood of behavioral issues. It’s my responsibility to teach students in ways that keeps them engaged and a way that excites them to learn; in ways that connect their personal experiences to the material. It’s also my responsibility to take time to understand each of the students. These instructional strategies provide a multitude of ways to mix and match lessons to attend to the academic needs of a wide range of students. The students come first and these strategies are the tools to guide them in their learning.
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