LESSON 2.2 INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
OVERVIEW
Instructional strategies support the goals that your students will be working towards.
ACTIVITY 1: For this next activity you are going to choose a goal you created in lesson 1. Below are recommended instructional strategies for each quadrant. Review the instructional strategies for the quadrant your goal belongs to. Choose one strategy from the list that you would use to teach your chosen goal and explain your strategy. Provide examples. Record your answer on a piece of paper.
EXAMPLE I have chosen a goal from the adaptation quadrant -Students predict the possible pollutants produced by a company and recommend possible alternative solutions. A strategy I would use to start developing this goal is to use group discussions. I would ask my students to form small groups and make a list of possible pollutants produced by a given company before they have to do any research. My strategy would require students to consider the underlying structure of business (to think about the stages of production, methods of distribution, and the possible costs that dictate many company choices) and how that structure ultimately impacts environments. Realistically my students should be able to list at least 5 pollutants and explain why they are produced given that they have been studying environmental pollution since quadrant A.
Best Strategies for Quadrant A - Acquisition
-Guided Practice, Lecture, Memorization, Demonstration- Teacher, Video, Literature, Graphic Organizer - Notes, Instructional Technology - Games
Best Strategies for Quadrant B - Application
-Cooperative Learning, Group Discussion, Demonstration - Student, Instructional Technology - Games, Problem - Based Learning, Project Design, Simulation/Role Playing, Work-based Learning
Best Strategies for Quadrant C - Assimilation
-Brainstorming, Group Discussions, Inquiry, Instructional Technology, Research-Literature-Writing, Socratic Seminar, Teacher Questions
Best Strategies for Quadrant D
-Brainstorming, Cooperative Learning, Inquiry - Research, Instructional Technology, Presentations/Exhibitions, Problem-based Learning, Recognition - Rewards, Project Design, Group Discussions, Simulation/Role-playing, Socratic Seminar, Teacher Questions, Work-based Learning, Internships
My Resource: 1
ACTIVITY 2: This next part requires you to research your strategy and list 3 to 4 ways in which to make your instructional strategy more rigorous. Use the example below to guide the construction of your response.
EXAMPLE
A question I might ask myself is ‘How can I structure the group discussion so that we reveal more knowledge?’ After doing some research I discovered several ways to make group discussions more successful.
-Consistently set aside time each week dedicated to discussions. Students will develop norms for cooperative learning and more easily form healthy habits of mind (compare/contrast, question sources and information, etc.)
-Give students more opportunities to form meaning on their own instead of leading discussions. Smaller groups work well for this. Students learn by practicing and doing.
-Writing down important points in the discussion helps students make connections between ideas. They can review these ideas later to refresh their memories.
I’ve reflected on these examples. One conclusion I’ve made is that group discussions are made more rigorous with support from organizational and instructional strategies.I had expected to find answers related to adding more content to make the discussions more rigorous. Did your findings surprise you?
My Resource: 1
For additional resources on this topic I recommend:
Teacher Questioning 1
Definitions of Instructional Strategies (slides 53, 54) 2
NAVIGATION
Unit 2: Understanding the Rigor/Relevance Framework
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