Survey of Instructional Strategies

EDU 6526

End-of-course Reflection

As I look back on my Survey of Instructional Practices class many of the opportunities we given to me stick out.  The first being, having a chance to look at research about instructional practice which reinforced information I had learned through our district’s trainings.   Then once we learned the why, we had the opportunity to learn how to incorporate the instructional strategies into our classroom. Then as a last step we had the opportunity to share what we had learned with others.

In our district we have been doing lots of work based around Hattie and Marzano in the area of instructional practices.  So it was nice to have the time to look at this research for myself.   Through the Visible Learning for Teachers - Maximizing Impact on Learning  by John Hattie,  we were walked through entire lesson to see how teachers can impact learning at every step of the way based on research.   As we prepare for the lesson, we need to be clear of we expect our outcome to be so that we can provide a clear road map to our students through our learning targets and success criteria.  Then as we start the lesson, it is important for us listen and evaluate where are students are starting their learning journey about the given subject. As the lesson proceeds it important for us as teachers to have the discussions student- centered and constantly check for understanding and modify our lesson as needed.   Lastly, at the end of the lesson it is important to give students time to reflect on their learning.

Now, we know the why, it is time for learn the how.  In this class were were given several opportunities to learn how to implement instructional strategies into our teacher.  To begin with, we were tasked to learn about instructional strategies that were based on research as we read Classroom Instruction that Works by Dean, Hubbell, Pitler and Stone.  This was followed by us finding examples of instructional strategies that we could use in our classrooms, reflect upon them and share them with others in our SPU class.  Then we were asked to implement them in our classrooms and video what we had done so we could share this with others. At the end of this process we were able to reflect on our teaching by watching the videos and reading through feedback given by others.

After having the opportunity to try instructional strategies in our classroom we had the opportunity
to share our learning with others.  This was done in a couple of ways. The first was when we partnered with others in our class to develop professional development training Powerpoints/ Slideshows about a given topic.  This helped us to work collaboratively to get a better understanding of how we could train others in what we have learned as well as gave us a built in support system. It also helped us to have a supply of ready-made or at least starting points for us to use for professional development within our individual schools or districts.  As a capstone to this class we had an opportunity to try out leading/facilitating a professional development training within our own schools. During this time we were able, with feedback from others, to reflect the relevance
and effectiveness of the instructional strategies and as well as our ability to present information to others.

Lastly, we were also given practice to give feedback to others in an authentic way as we looked at each other’s videos and completed feedback forms provided by our profession.   This helped
us to implement feedback strategies we had learned in our Accomplished Teacher course. As we gave feedback that was specific to the topic of the week, we looked for examples of instructional strategies used and wonderings that we had.   

In conclusion, my Survey of Instructional class covered why researched-based strategies help all students to learn as well as showing us how to incorporate them into our classrooms and our professional learning communities.  For me, the research that I had been previously taught through district trainings was reinforced by this class and helped to remind me what to include in my lessons to make them more effective. I also learned some new instructional strategies to incorporate into my teaching whether it is in my classroom or as i am leading/facilitating professional development trainings.

Resources

    Dean, C. B., & Marzano, R. J. (2012). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

    Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. New York: Routledge