Instructional Strategies and Technology

1. Instructional Strategiesand Technology Based on Robert Marzano’s “ Classroom Instruction That Works”

2. Like Pulling a Rabbit Out of A Hat! • Which one is best??? Learning Styles Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Variety of Methods Direct Teaching Problem –Based Learning Inductive Thinking Cooperative Learning Role Playing Simulation

3. Research-Based Instruction • Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock reviewed hundreds of studies on instructional practices that have proven to effect student achievement. • Beginning with the method statistically proven to be most effective, each method will be described.

4. 9 Instructional StrategiesThat Improve Student Achievement • Identifying Similarities and Differences • Summarizing and Note Taking • Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition • Homework and Practice • Nonlinguistic Representations • Cooperative Learning • Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback • Generating and Testing Hypotheses • Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers

5. Identifying Similarities and Differences • Presenting students with explicit guidance and asking them to identifying similarities and differences enhances students’ understanding of and ability to use knowledge. • Representing similarities and differences in graphic or symbolic form enhances students’ understanding of and ability to use knowledge. • Identification of similarities and differences can be accomplished in a variety of ways. The identification of similarities and differences is a highly engaging activity.

6. Suggested Teaching Strategies • COMPARING—the process of identifying similarities and differences between or among things or ideas • CLASSIFYING—the process of grouping things that are alike into categories on the basis of their characteristics - Venn Diagram - Comparison Matrix -Word and Picture Sorts - Column Format - Concept Mapping

7. Suggested Teaching Strategies • CREATING METAPHORS—identifying a general or basic pattern in a specific topic and then finding another topic that appears to be different but has the same pattern • CREATING ANALOGIES—identifying relationships between pairs of concepts, identifying relationships between relationships Whale is to Mammal as Snake is to Reptile The Internet is an information superhighway

12. What Technologies Can Help? • Powerpoint • Inspiration/Kidspiration • Webspiration • Smartboard • Spreadsheet • Word Processor • Online Games • Other Web 2.0 Tools

13. Summarizing and Note Taking • To effectively summarize, students must delete some information, substitute some information, and keep some information. • To effectively delete, substitute, and keep information, students must analyze the information thoroughly.

14. Summarizing and Note Taking • Being aware of the explicit structure of information is an aid to summarizing information. • Provide opportunities for students to summarize key content.

15. Summarizing and Note Taking • Teach students how to process information for their own note taking. • Use summary frames and other organizers to assist students who learn visually.

16. Teaching Strategies Rule – Based Summarizing Summary Rule # 1 Use the Single Strike Out to take out material that is not important for your understanding. Summary Rule # 2 Use the Double Strike Out to take out words that repeat information.

17. Summary Rule # 3 Replace lists of things with one word that describes the things in the list. (example: replace ‘apples, oranges, lemons, and limes’ with ‘fruit’) Highlight these words in red. Summary Rule # 4 Find the topic sentence, and underline in red. If you can’t find the topic sentence, make one up and write it in red ink.

18. Teaching Strategies (con’t) Summary Frames • A series of questions the teacher provides to the student to highlight the critical elements for specific types of information. • Narrative Frame • Topic Frame • Definition Frame • Argumentation Frame • Problem/Solution Frame • Conversation Frame

19. What Technologies Can Help? • Smartboard • Powerpoint • Word Processor • Kid Pix or similar program (write & illustrate) • Inspiration/Kidspiration • Other Web 2.0 Tools

20. Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition • Not all students realize the importance of believing in effort. • Students can learn to change their beliefs to an emphasis on effort. • Rewards do not necessarily have a negative effect on intrinsic motivation.

21. Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition • Reward is most effective when it is contingent on the attainment of some standard of performance. • Abstract symbolic recognition is more effective than tangible rewards.

22. Strategies • Charts • Token economy • Praise • Certificates/Awards • Positive Feedback • Showcase their work

23. What Technologies Can Help? • Rubrics w/Rubric Maker or RubiStar • Websites w/interactive Activities • Powerpoint Games • Certificate Maker • Webpages/Wiki to post student work • E-mail to parents • Student broadcasts/newscasts as Podcasts

24. Homework and Practice • The amount of homework assigned to students should be different from elementary to middle school to high school. • About 10 minutes per grade level • Parent involvement in homework should be kept to a minimum.

25. Homework and Practice • The purpose of homework should be identified and articulated. • If homework is assigned, it should be commented on. • Establish and communicate a homework policy.

26. Homework and Practice • Design homework assignments that clearly articulate the purpose and outcome. • Vary the approaches to providing feedback on homework assignments.

27. Strategies • Charts • Homework Books • Positive Feedback • Homework Help/Club

28. What Technologies Can Help? • Webpages/Wiki to post assignments, policies, etc.. • Informational Powerpoints • Practice websites (http://gets.gc.k12.va.us/elementary/) • Homework Online Helpers • PJ Pinchbecks’ (http://www.bjpinchbeck.com/healthandpe.html), etc.. • Homework Hub (http://www.scholastic.com/kids/homework/)

29. Nonlinguistic Representations • A variety of activities to produce nonlinguistic representations should be used. • Creating graphic representations • Making physical models • Generating mental pictures • Drawing pictures and pictographs • Engaging in kinesthetic activities

30. Nonlinguistic Representations • Nonlinguistic representations should elaborate on the pre-existing knowledge or the newly introduced knowledge.

31. What Technologies Can Help? • Inspiration, Kidspiration, Webspiration • Descriptive patterns - facts about specific persons, places , things and events • Time-Sequence patterns – events in chronological order • Process/cause-effect patterns – sequence of steps or specific outcome from cause • Episode patterns – organize information about specific events including setting, • Generalization/principle patterns • Concept patterns

32. Technology (con’t) • Word Processor • Digital Camera • Moviemaker • PhotoStory • Discovery Streaming • Web 2.0 tools (Animoto etc..)

39. Cooperative Learning • Organizing groups based on ability should be done sparingly. • Students of low ability perform worse when they are placed in homogeneous groups. • Students of high ability perform only marginally better when homogeneously grouped. • Middle ability students benefit most.

40. Cooperative Learning • Cooperative groups should be kept small in size—3 or 4 members. • Cooperative learning should be applied consistently and systematically, but not overused.

41. Cooperative Learning • Tasks given to cooperative groups should be well structured. • If students do not have sufficient time to practice skills independently, cooperative learning is being overused.

42. Strategies • Use the elements of Cooperative Learning • Positive interdependence (sink or swim together) • Face-to-Face interaction ( helping each other, applauding success and effort) • Individual and Group Accountability ( each member must contribute) • Interpersonal and small group skills (communication, trust, decision making & conflict resolution) • Group processing ( How well did we do? Function as group?) • Vary Grouping Criteria • Managing Group Size (3-5 members)

43. What Technologies Can Help? • Webquests • Powerpoint • Online Projects • Scavenger Hunts • Online/ Downloadable Games • Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Twenty Questions, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Etc…

44. Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback • Instructional goals narrow what students focus on. • Instructional goals should not be too specific. • Goals stated in behavioral objective format are not as effective as goals stated in more general formats.

45. Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback • Students should be encouraged to personalize the teacher’s goals, adapting them to their personal needs and desires.

46. Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback • Feedback should be corrective in nature. • The best feedback shows students what is accurate and what is not. • Asking students to keep working on a task until they succeed appears to enhance student achievement.

47. Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback • Feedback should be timely. • The larger the delay in giving feedback, the less improvement one will see. • Feedback should be specific to a criterion, telling students where they stand relative to a specific target of knowledge or skill.

48. Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback • Students can effectively provide some of their own feedback. • In fact, non-authoritative feedback produces the most gain.

49. Strategies • Rubrics for Feedback • Student Self Assessment Forms Technology Resources • Word processors • Electronic Portfolios • Rubricmaker/Rubistar

50. Generating and Testing Hypotheses • Hypotheses generation and testing can be approached in a more inductive or deductive manner. • Inductive—use general rules to make prediction about specific event. • Deductive—specific pieces of information lead to general conclusion.