Grouping, Differentiation, and Technology

Describe

This week as a class we examined the ideas surrounding different teaching methods including differentiation, grouping and technology use.  The day and age where students walk into a classroom with the same relative amount of knowledge is done, if it ever existed in the first place.  Kids come from different backgrounds, including culture and education.  It is important to know that students will have very different levels of background knowledge, which has shown to have an enormous effect on student performance (Slavin, 2012).  With varying levels of background knowledge and different levels of performance it is a teacher’s job to do everything that they can in order to make up ground for some learners while expanding the ceiling of others.  This week’s chapter focused on a few instructional techniques that can help teachers with this task.  The first issue addressed was grouping.  There are two distinct forms of grouping that occur in schools.  Although there are several different methods most result from either between-class ability grouping or within-class ability grouping.  Between-class ability grouping occurs when students with similar learning abilities and needs are placed into a class together.  This type of grouping makes it easier for teachers to provide instruction that can accommodate and address these student’s difficulties.  One of the drawbacks of this type of grouping is that the classes are formed out of standardized test scores and not individual performance in certain classes.  In addition to the grouping criteria students can be made to feel ostracized by being in different classes than some of their peers.  In-class ability grouping occurs when students are in a mixed ability class but do work in groups that are based on their abilities.  This is effective when the only option is a mixed ability class.  In-class grouping allows for the teacher to plan according to groups ability levels, rather than each individual student.  Another way teachers and schools can address different ability groups is through differentiation.  This is a technique in which teachers alter the content, delivery, and assessment in order to bring different ability levels to their highest potential.  Examples of differentiation include, providing presentation outlines, different test sheets, and allowing a range of assessment topics for students to choose from.

Analyze

Our class’s discussion topic for the week was building a rapport with at-risk students.  Students that are classified as at-risk are normally in danger of failing grades or dropping out.  Some of the notable reasons include family structure, socioeconomic status and ability level.  This does not mean that students with learning disabilities cannot succeed, but when paired with a bad home life and a low motivation for school it can critically impact their performance.  Our discussion topic paired with the week’s reading did a great job of presenting both sides of mixed ability instruction.  The weekly reading provided a great set of tools and things that can be concretely described as interventions.  We can differentiate our content as well as work our classroom groups to effectively accommodate different students.  These are tangible things that can be documented for our own success through our lesson plans, IEP’s, and portfolios to show that we are trying everything possible to reach all learners.  The discussion topic showed the more abstract side of reaching these students.  Strategies such as identifying student interests, maintaining a trust with students and working to raise motivation cannot all be documented as they are all different in each student.

Reflect

This week’s discussion topic may be the single biggest factor in what we do, building rapport with students.  The topic was for at-risk students but in my professional opinion all students could be considered at-risk.  Even students who perform at a high academic level are at-risk of not realizing or achieving their full potential.  We have to be able to combine research driven techniques and practices with a productive professional relationship between our students.  For my own classroom I have to be aware that I can know every technique and pedagogical tool in the book, but if I can’t relay and apply it to my students because they don’t trust me then those techniques are useless.  Some of the reoccurring themes of this week’s discussion were trust and patience.  Some student’s only nurturing relationship may be between them and a teacher.  It is our job to gain student’s trust in order to teach them, not only academic criteria but also life lessons in character and integrity.  Gaining a trust between me and students can be difficult.  Often time’s students don’t trust adults and even worse, don’t like them, especially authority figures.  Having the patience to seek out new ways to reach these students is an absolute must to become an effective teacher that can impact lives year in and year out.

Student Centered Instruction

Describe

This week we focused on different approaches to instruction.  Some of the different approaches include Constructivists approach and the cooperative learning approach.  The constructivist approach has often been called student centered instruction because it focuses on students and how they interpret new information.  Information that can only be taken in and regurgitated is of very little use in real world settings.  An example of this would be allowing a student to memorize all of the times tables from one times ten to ten times ten and upon conclusion the same student wouldn’t be able to give the answer to eleven times four.  When students take the learning in and are given the knowledge of how to bend and mold it to work for them in practical settings they are truly considered to be learning.  The constructivist approach is centered on this type of instruction.  The book uses the terms “sage on the stage” and “guide on the side” to illustrate how we should look at instruction.  By facilitating students learning we are able to give them more autonomy over their processes and applications of new knowledge.  The aim of constructivist approach is to give students the vital information but allow them to put it into working practice.

The second big focus of Chapter 8 as well as our weekly discussion was on cooperative learning and its benefits in our classrooms.  Cooperative learning is when students work in groups.  Group work has benefits beyond the classroom.  Cooperative learning can lead students to a team oriented atmosphere as well as help students make up deficits by working with their peers (Slavin, 235).

Analyze

As with any instructional method, implementation is key.  I referenced a college professor that I learned from in one of my discussion posts this week.  This professor’s method of instruction was to question us on the assigned readings and allow our answers to lead the discussion.  He was the thoughtful and intelligent pilot of our conversations, he knew what questions to ask and how to mold our answers into viewpoints that would ultimately give us ownership over the concept.  This type of leadership in our book is known as “cognitive apprenticeship” (Slavin, 219).  The book gives several different attributes of constructivist instruction that can all be utilized in the classroom.  The key to this instruction is to find what would work best in our individual classrooms.  A point I enjoyed reading more about was self-regulated learning.  This type of learning comes when a student is equipped with the tools they need and they begin knowing when to use these tools to best fit the desired knowledge.  Knowing when to skim a passage and when to read for detail is an example of this.

Reflect

The purpose of this chapter was to examine constructivists approach to instruction.  In true accordance with this pedagogy it is essential that I take in my new information and effectively apply it to my own classroom.  While reading this chapter there were two things that stuck out in my mind regarding this type of instruction, classroom management and student motivation.  Cooperative learning is a great tool that can find a home in any class but I believe you have to have control of that class before you ever try this strategy.  There have to be clear cut rules and consequences, not just for the class itself but also for the particular group activity for the day.  Having these rules in place will assure that students are learning and not taking advantage of this type of instruction.  The next factor for constructivist instruction is that students have to be motivated and take charge of their own knowledge.  Our college classes are a great example of this.  Professors assign different discussion topics and allow our input to serve as a potential new viewpoint for some and a refinement for others.  I can post a topic and look at the replies and instantly learn something that I did not know, and the professor simply asked the question.  The thing that a college professor has that most high school teachers don’t is students who are actively involved in their learning.  The challenge is to get students motivated to the point that they do participate in discussions and critical thinking questions.  As a teacher I know that I must address these two potential hurdles before using these strategies.  I already base much of my instruction around this type of pedagogy and this chapter further proved that these strategies are effective and very much worth the extra time and planning they take to implement.

Chapter 7: Lesson Preparation

Analyze

This week as a class we looked over the idea of preparation in the classroom.  I truly believe that being an effective teacher (not just a teacher) is one of the most demanding careers that someone can take on.  We work tirelessly in order to learn the academic portion of the content that we teach as well as effective pedagogy to teach it.  Teachers work both as psychologists, field experts and mentors all in a single day’s work.  I recently finished year one in the classroom and I had consistently heard that “you will learn more in year one than college can ever teach you” and that statement could not be more true.  In my first year I was able to learn so much about time management.  Not only is knowing what to do important, but knowing how to apply those skills is equally important.  Many teachers point directly to best practice and pedagogical tools when they speak of lesson planning but my group partner made a great point about planning for student behavior and possible interventions and how effective preparations can lead to a more efficiently managed classroom.  Things like this are great examples of knowing both the what and the how.  There are two types of lessons that can broadly overlap most classroom instruction, whole group lessons and small group lessons.  Slavin details seven important parts to an effective whole group, or direct instruction lesson in his text.  These seven steps include, state learning objectives, review prior knowledge, present new material, conduct learning probes, provide independent practice, assess performance, and provide additional practice and review (Slavin, 185).  Each of these steps is very critical in becoming an intentional teacher, something Slavin believes should be the goal for teachers.  Each of these steps require additional prep time for the teacher.  These steps are all very useful items and must be given the proper attention that they require.  The intentional teacher must be able to take each one of these seven tasks and decide where to place certain activities, as well as execute them after planning.

Reflect

When I read through this particular chapter I was consistently reminded of things that I need to be doing better in my classroom.  The process of starting at a clearly stated objective and moving to new information and wrapping up with independent practice requires a lot of preparation that I was unaware of as a first year teacher.  The biggest one of the seven steps is conducting learning probes in my opinion.  No matter if you call it learning probes or formative assessment it is simply a tool that teachers must use in order to gauge whether or not the students learned what you intended to teach.  Effective learning probes allow us to decide if we did a good enough job with the material that we taught.  Having clearly stated objectives is your road map to determine how well you did in the classroom or on the particular lesson.  I learned from this chapter that in order to relay information more effectively I have to start with clearly stated objectives and end at a well thought out learning probe.  As a young teacher I consistently think that there has to be a curtain of mystery between my students and the teacher jargon that goes into teaching them, things like learning targets, objectives, methods and assessments.  As I have reflected on this past year I have seen that to be wrong.  In the coming school year I want to be able to show my kids the standards; I’ve even put a copy of them in my new syllabi.  In order to be a better teacher I intend on starting each unit with a clearly stated objective, something of a roadmap to where we are going.  I want my kids to know that we are going to be learning about this in this certain time frame because it is standard number so and so.  Allowing students to see the method to what goes into instruction will hopefully open them up to the big picture, rather than me simply spitting out dates and facts that may or may not be on a test.  This chapter didn’t show me the importance of preparation, but rather, new tools to help my preparation become that much better, both for me as a professional and for my students.

Information Processing and Cognitive Theories

This week we examined the benefits and need for different instructional methods inside of our classrooms.  As instructors we know that different students learn through different methods.  This is somewhat of a culture shift within the classroom.  I (and most of my classmates) can remember the days of teachers having one or two ways to present information and it was up to the student to take it in and make it work.  I distinctly remember having teachers in school, all the way back to middle school, who were going to come in, put up the warm up, use the warm up to begin the instruction, and proceed to illustrate math problems on an overhead until the joyous sound of the bell came whistling through the loud speaker.  Looking back at the classes that did that it is obvious what turned me away from mathematics.  Simply watching someone do something over and over again doesn't necessarily make me better at it.  I can watch an instructor do something repeatedly and as long as the numbers are simply replaced and the process stay the same I can complete the same task, but I haven't actually learned the material.  Through this method I was never really able to translate that information into a working model that could be applied to different scenarios, like advanced equations and especially when graphing was brought into the fold.  For these reasons I find it critical that I present information to my students through a variety of methods in order for them to learn the material rather than just watch or hear me do it.

Analyze

The focus of this week's text reading was on the different functions of memory.  Memory comes in several different forms for our brains, the most noticeable being short term and long term memory.  Short-term memory is defined as "the part of memory in which information that is currently being thought about is stored" (Slavin, 146).  When reading this portion of the text I thought about short-term memory like "active" memory.  Our brains take it in and relate it to other information and decide where or if to store it into another place in which we can regain it later.  This speaks volumes to us as teachers because we have to work to make sure our information is relative and engaging enough for students to store it into long-term memory.  This is also where background knowledge plays a crucial role.  If students have or are exposed to some background knowledge related to material then they will have a bigger place to store the new information.  Long-term memory is where important information is stored for very long periods of time (Slavin, 149).  The storing of information in this capacity is determined by its importance and its rehearsal.  When things are important, like test questions or anniversary dates, we tend to store them in long-term so that they can be remembered.  When things have less long-term importance we must use rehearsal which Slavin refers to as "maintaining an item in working memory by repetition" (147).  This type of application is true for things that just need to be memorized in order to speed up future operations, like 10-10 times tables. 

 I recently got a glimpse of my upcoming school year calendar and I distinctly remember that August 3rd is my our students first day back to school, this is important to me so it has been stored into long-term memory and I'm sure that I won't forget it.  I enjoy most music that I hear, but I have to hear songs over and over again to remember all of the lyrics, this is an example of rehearsal.

Reflect

The implications of the brain and memory are very important for teachers.  As I was reading through the material and looking at different discussion posts I couldn't help but think about standardized testing.  The school that I am currently teaching in runs off of periods, seven 50 minute periods per day for the duration of the school year.  What this means is I am tasked with getting kids to remember things from August to October for a test in May.  This combined with the cultural and personal changes that a high school kid goes through in a school year make storage in long-term memory a must.  As a teacher I cannot afford for any portion of my material to simply be "working memory" which is where information is being used and rarely held on to after its use is up, like me trying to recite what was on last week's grocery list (Slavin, 146).  My instruction has to be filled with background knowledge whether the students have it or whether I have to present it before teaching.  Background knowledge helps build a "shelf" of sorts for students to put information on.  I teach Social Studies so a big tool that this chapter showed me I need to lean on is semantic memory.  Semantic memory is where things are stored in little categories; it's what allows us to group the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock, 1776, and Thomas Jefferson all into one category.  I hope to be able to implement this in a way that will allow my students to build their knowledge of history rather than simply remember it while I'm talking about it. 

Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. Boston, MA: Pearson.