Teacher Leadership Standard 10 Reflection: Understand effective use of research based instructional practices

Standard 10 Reflection: understand effective use of research based instructional practices

Background

My understanding of effective use of research based instructional practices going into my Master in Teacher Leadership program I felt was strong since In my district we have been doing lots of work based around Hattie and Marzano in the area of instructional practices as a way to improve our instructional practices.  We started this process by looking at Hattie’s work to see what instructional practices would make the biggest impact on student growth. As a result of this we focused on creating and communicating clear learning targets both verbally and visually with our students for about a year.

After we had mastered this as a district changed our focus to  creating and evaluating formative assessments. Due to district-wide moves occurring when we built a new high school we put things on pause for a year and focused on our previous learning rather than adding another instructional practice to work on. Then this year we focused our professional learning opportunities talking about providing rigor and differentiation based on our formative assessments using Marzano’s research.

Learning and Applied Practice

Most of my learning on this topic came from my  Survey of Instructional Practices class

We began by 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.

As I said earlier, in our district we have been doing a lot 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 reading  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 before we start on our 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 through a presentation which then could be used/adapted by them to teach others..  Then we were asked to implement them in our classrooms and video what we had done so we could share this with others.   We would then critique each others lessons based on the topic of the week.  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 through professional learning opportunities.  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.   

Issues Encountered/Problems of Practice Addressed

As a district, we feel  comfortable with creating clear learning targets, success criteria and formative assessments.  But, we have not worked as hard on providing reflection time for students. We do exit slips or quick whip arounds for closure, but that is the extent of it.  So I appreciated the practical ways that were provided in chapter one of Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning  and in chapter 4 of Classroom instruction that works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. to give reflection time throughout the lesson and not just at the end as well as how to provide supports to students so they can develop their own learning goals.    I plan on tried using some of the ideas provided and saw how it improved my student’s learning and/or perceptions of their learning. As a result of trying these strategies, I will be able to share my experience and the strategies, and hopefully influence my peers.

Another thing I need to remember is that  as teachers we need to teach these strategies multiple times, in a variety of ways, and provide models for our students.  Often, we think that our students know what to do, but by providing a model or example we get projects that are so much more complete.  It just reaffirmed the need to do this. Teachers are often reluctant to do this since we are afraid that our students will just copy the work.   I know that as a student again, I appreciate when I have a model to look at so I can self-assess if I am doing what the teacher is expecting. My students are asking for the same thing and I was afraid in the past that they would just copy the

model, but now i see the need for it.

How  Effective Use of Research Based Instructional Practices is Supported by Research

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.

Overall Impact

Not only have I learn why researched-based strategies helps all students to learn,   but I have incorporated them into my classrooms. 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.  Lastly, hope to share this information in the future with others in optional professional development opportunities.

References

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

Hippie, D. (n.d.). Grades 6-8: Activities to teach note-taking | Scholastic. Retrieved May 9, 2018. from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/Grades -6-8-activities-teach-note-taking/

Mann, M. (2014). The effectiveness of Graphic Organizers on the Comprehension of Social
Studies Content by Students with Disabilities. Marshall University.

Rollins, S. P. (2014). Learning in the fast lane: 8 ways to put ALL students on the road to
academic success. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Rollins, S. P. (2017). Teaching in the fast lane: How to create active learning experiences.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Slavin, R. E.. (2014). Making cooperative  learning powerful. Educational Leadership, 72(2),
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