Description:
In Chapter 7, Slavin (2012) discusses direct instruction. He walks through the steps a teacher goes through during a lesson, and discusses how to ensure that learning has taken place. Slavin (2012) states that “direct instruction is particularly appropriate for teaching a well-defined body of information or skills that ll students must master” (p. 185). Slavin also discusses the use of discussions during instruction.
Analysis:
As teachers, we all use direct instruction every day in lessons where we “transmit information directly to your students, structuring class time to reach a clearly defined set of objectives as efficiently as possible” (p. 184-185). Direct instruction is what we think of when we think of that traditional lesson we learned how to teach. It typically has some type of introduction or attention-getter, it requires that we tell students what they will learn, activate prior knowledge that will be useful in learning the new material, and then teach the new material, making proper emphasis where necessary. When teaching the material, the teacher must make (ahead of time) several decisions that will greatly influence the outcome of the lesson. The teacher must make ideas clear and easy for students to understand, must provide explanations and work examples, and should give demonstrations and illustrations throughout. According to Slavin (2012), “visual representations are maintained in long-term memory far more readily than information that is only heard” (p. 192). Teachers must also pay attention to how much attention the lesson is getting from students, as it is important to keep them engaged. Teachers can use humor and/or stories to keep students interested. After teaching the new material, teachers must assess the students informally to ensure that the students are understanding what is being taught. Learning probes are different ways of asking students for brief responses about the lesson and can give you immediate feedback. No matter how it is done, teachers must check for understanding. One popular learning probe is through questioning. Just like everything else in a lesson, this requires some pre-planning. A teacher must know what questions he/she will ask, know how she will ask them—whole-class response, random student selected, etc. After the large group section of the lesson is complete, a teacher should usually assign some type of group or independent practice. It was a surprise to me to read that “Research on seat work, or in-class independent practice, suggests that it is typically both overused and misused” (Slavin, 2012, p. 199). To make independent practice more effective, teachers should make the time limited, monitor students closely, ensure they can do the work before assigning it, and make sure all directions are clear and easy to understand. Teachers must, of course, provide feedback for this independent work.
The purpose for the whole lesson is, of course, to ensure that students will later be able to transfer that knowledge to another situation. This is called transfer learning, and it “depends on the degree to which the information or skills were learned in the original situation and on the degree of similarity between the situation in which the skill or concept was learned and the situation to which it is being applied” (Slavin, 2012, p. 205). To ensure that students can do this, teachers can create lessons in context, and/or create small or large group discussions. In these types of situations, the teacher is more of a facilitator while the students take control of much of what is going on. Savin (2012) state, “Research on small-group discussions indicates that these activities can increase student achievement more than traditional lessons if the students are well prepared to work in small groups and if the group task is well organized” (p. 211).
Reflection:
I go through the routines mentioned in this chapter on a daily basis. One of the biggest surprises of teaching for me was the amount of preparation that goes into one class period. Sometimes it seems that one minute of teaching takes ten minutes of preparation. It was interesting to me that we place too much emphasis on independent work, and Slavin’s statement about it (cited above) made me really think about it. I do tend to give more independent work as homework, but I can understand why it isn’t as helpful as some other types of assignments. I think teachers are more and more encouraged to have students participate in what Slavin calls “transfer learning.” Because of the nature of my subject, we are often linking information and thinking creatively. One of the biggest types of instruction I employ in my class is discussions. I enjoy having discussions for many reasons. It shows me what the students know and how they think, but it also gives a few students leadership practice, and it allows them to take control of their own learning. The students must do the work beforehand, but it is amazing to have them read and annotate a chapter of a novel and then hear the different types of connections they make to the current world. There are some books I read every single year, and the students always come up with something new that I’ve never thought of.
In the article “Creative Teaching: Collaborative Discussion as Disciplined Improvisation,” Sawyer (2004) discusses the idea of teachers “performing” and that this approach is now widely used and becoming unsuccessful. I do notice this, and it is sad. Sawyer (2004) states that the problem with teachers performing—reading off the script with rehearsed timing: “[T]he metaphor of teaching as performance is problematic, because it suggests a solo performer reading from a script, with the students as the passive, observing audience” (p. 12). Direct instruction definitely has its place, but this is why I prefer to have the students engaged in not only the activity, but in the process of deciding what is most important.
References:
Sawyer, R. K. (2004). Creative teaching: Collaborative discussion as disciplined improvisation. Educational Researcher, 33(2), 12-20.
Slavin, R.E. (2012). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
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