| The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students' development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills. |
Fall 2007
There are many instructional strategies that can be used to present content to students. Instructional strategies fit lessons like pieces of a puzzle. Some strategies don’t fit with some lessons but all of the pieces eventually work together to form a bigger picture. As a teacher, it is important that I understand the various strategies that can be used in teaching content. It is also important that I vary the use of instructional strategies so that students don’t lose interest or motivation in the content because I continually use the same strategy. I will use "multiple teaching and learning strategies to engages students in learning opportunities that promote the development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance capabilities and that help students assume responsibility for identifying and using learning resources" (Standard 4 Performance 3).
Using various instructional strategies demonstrates two things. First, using various instructional strategies demonstrates my understanding of students’ development (INTASC Principle 2) and diversity (INTASC Principle 3). By using various instructional strategies I am applying my knowledge of students and designing the curriculum so that it better fits their learning styles and learning processes.
Second, use of various instructional strategies exemplifies the concept of using multiple paths to reach the same end. Multiple strategies can be used to teach a lesson equally well. My responsibility as the teacher is to choose the strategy that will best align with my students’ learning styles and learning processes.
Fall 2004
Understanding the vast array of instructional strategies is one of the most important concepts for me to understand. When "the teacher understands the cognitive processes associated with various kinds of learning and how these processes can be stimulated" (Standard 4 Knowledge 1), the teacher "develops a variety of clear, accurate presentations and representations of concepts, using alternative explanations to assist students' understanding and presenting diverse perspectives to encourage critical thinking" (Standard 4 Performance 5). Through an understanding of instructional strategies, I can better the learning experience of the students.
This standard is important because the "teacher knows how to enhance learning through the use of a wide variety of materials as well as human and technological resources" (Standard 4 Knowledge 3). When I understand this idea, I can use "mulitiple teaching and learning strategies to engages students in learning opportunities that promote the development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance capabilities and that help students assume responsibility for identifying and using learning resources" (Standard 4 Performance 3). By drawing upon the knowledge I have about the effectiveness of various instructional strategies, the more effectively I can relate that back to concepts learned at an earlier time.
This concept may pose some problems for me at first. I will learn most of the content that I need to know through my other classes. But learning is a process and it continues throughout life. So as new ideas and concepts are introduced, it is my responsibility to understand these new concepts. However, a strength that I do have is that once I learn something I am able to remember that information and access it at a later date. So I will be able to retain concepts that I learned in the past and apply them throughout my teaching methodologies.
I had some teachers who took an approach to teaching that was mostly lecture. In contrast, I had others who had the class work on many projects in small groups and also on individual projects. Some material is better suited for lecture style instruction, which follows the concept of direct instruction However, other material can be adapted to incorporate an interactive learning process, which would follow the concept of non-direct instruction. When I worked on group projects, I learned more because I was responsible for understanding the material and usually required reiterate that material through some form of assessment given by the teacher.