Reference no: EM133494462

Case: Using What You Know about Direct Instruction to Improve Teaching and Learning

Intentional teachers select their instructional strategies with purpose. They understand the benefits and shortcomings of the strategies they select and then choose strategies based on their? students, the? content, and the context.

They plan lessons appropriate to the objectives they have in? mind, using? (for example) direct instruction for? well-defined objectives and discussions and using projects for less? well-defined objectives.

At the beginning of direct instruction? lessons, they make students aware of lesson? objectives, orient students to the? lesson, and review prerequisites. They use feedback from these early stages of the lesson to modify their? plans, if? necessary, in light of what students already know.

As they teach new concepts or? skills, intentional teachers use? humor, variety,? examples, analogies,? visuals, and technology to make their lessons? engaging, easy to? understand, and motivating.

As they? teach, intentional teachers constantly probe? students' understanding, using formative assessments to see whether students are learning what they are teaching.

After presenting the main? ideas, intentional teachers give students opportunities to practice what they have been taught in ways appropriate to the objectives.

At the end of? lessons, intentional teachers use formal or informal measures to find out whether students have attained lesson expectations. If? not, they reteach key concepts.

Intentional teachers provide? appropriate, engaging, and interesting homework to give students opportunities to practice new skills or apply new concepts over time.

Intentional teachers are not satisfied with learning that is limited to a? narrow, school-specific context. They teach to enhance transfer from topic to topic and from school to life.

Intentional teachers use? open-ended discussions to supplement direct instruction or to replace it when objectives are less? well-defined, difficult, or effective.

In the following? video, Ms. Baltierra teaches her? second-grade students the strategy of summarizing as they read. She uses modeling with examples and visuals and then provides guided practice.

Question 1. What evidence do you see that Angie Baltierra was intentional about planning a lesson appropriate to the objectives she had in? mind?

Question 2. How does Ms. Baltierra know whether her students understand the new? strategy?

Question 3. Ms. Baltierra is intentional about the structure of her lesson. Describe the structure of the lesson. In your? description, name the specific parts of a direct instruction lesson that she used and describe her application of each part.