Classroom Instruction that Works: Effective Instructional Strategies February 20, 2009 BISD Investigates

Feedback: Talking Chips Discussion Prompts Identify the strategy What worked? What modifications might you make in the future? Did your students have a preference between the formats? Did you have a preference between the formats? Did you observe a change in how students were using notes? Talking Chips Procedure Participants use a token (pens are fine) Each participant places a token in the center when they wish to speak All the tokens must be placed in the center before a participant may contribute again Many variations of talking chips exist

Categories of Instructional Strategies that Affect Student Achievement CategoryAvg. Effect size Percentile gain Identifying similarities & differences Summarizing and note taking Reinforcing effort & providing recognition.8029 Homework and Practice.7728 Nonlinguistic representations.7527 Cooperative learning.7327 Setting objectives and providing feedback.6123 Generating & testing hypothesis.6123 Questions, cues, and advance organizers.5922

Generating and Testing Hypotheses A process which involves the application of knowledge across all disciplines Logical and natural pattern of thought

How do you approach the generation of a hypothesis? Deductive Hypothesis Inductive Student has prior knowledge or discovers new information New conclusions Teacher presents knowledge/principles New conclusions

Frameworks for Classroom Practice Systems analysis Problem Solving Historical Investigation Invention Experimental Inquiry Decision Making

Expectations: Students should be able to explain their hypotheses and conclusions. How might you have students share their thinking with other students in the class?

Research and Theory Cueing and questioning may account for up to 80% of what takes place in a given classroom on a given day Teachers may not be totally aware of the extent to which they utilize these strategies

Classroom Practice Cues and Questions Should focus on what is important as opposed to what is unusual Higher level questions produce deeper learning than lower level questions Wait time increases the depth of student answers Are effective learning tools even when asked prior to a learning experience

Purposeful Design Cues are straight forward ways to activate prior knowledge. Questions can greatly aid students in making inferences. What trends in cues and questions can you identify in your instruction?

Advance Organizers: What are they? Appropriately relevant and inclusive introductory materials, introduced in advance of learning Presented at a higher level of abstraction, generality and inclusiveness than the subsequent information Provides an organizational structure for ideas and information Designed to bridge the gap between what is known and what needs to be known

Four Types of Advance Organizers Expository-statements which describe new content to which students are exposed Narrative-presents information to students in story format to make connections Skimming-pre-reading activity sets the stage for details Graphic organizers- may be used in advance to prompt prior knowledge

Belief in Effort is the most motivational Research shows that –Not all students realize the importance of believing in effort –Students can learn to change their beliefs to an emphasis on effort Demonstrate the relationship between effort and success through direct instruction (historic and contemporary examples) Encourage students to track the correlation between personal effort and success Effort and Achievement Rubrics

I worked hard and finished my work. I didn’t let anything stop me! I solved problems! I did great work! I worked until I finished, even if it was hard! I did good work I worked some, but stopped when it got too hard. I did okay work I didn’t work on it very much. I have room for improvement How Hard Did I Work?

Pair Share How might you use the effort and achievement rubrics in your classroom? What type of direct instruction might you design to teach effort to your students?

Is Praise Effective? Research results indicate that praise given for accomplishing easy tasks may lower achievement Praise is often handed out unsystematically and unevenly One could conclude that praise is ineffective; however, providing recognition is effective

What do you think? What a hard worker! What a great job of managing your time! You are a super reader! Your fluency is better today than it was last month. What good improvement! If you complete your homework, you will earn a free homework pass! If you complete your homework, you will be more prepared for the test!

Effective Recognition… Is contingent on the attainment of some standard of performance Providing rewards for the successful attainment of specific performance goals enhances intrinsic motivation

Line Up I do my best work when my principal gives me a well-deserved compliment.

Types of Rewards Abstract symbolic recognition is more effective than tangible rewards Verbal recognition of effort, improvement, and achievement is the most effective extrinsic motivator

ALT Work Session

Product Focus Design a lesson which incorporates a strategic approach to generating and testing hypotheses. What will be your approach to improving the cues and questions you use in instruction? Brainstorm with your group and design a system for recognizing effort, improvement, and/or achievement Be prepared to share the results of your design during the morning session of the April 10 th ALT session.