1. Strategies for Contemporary Learners
Student Teaching Block Spring 2014
Jason McKibben
Kasee Smith
Ashley Stewart

2. Grab a paper and write this down
Most student teachers believe that contemporary learners need either more structure, more measurement, or more engagement in order for teaching to be effective.
Start boringly with this slide. Give them a few minutes to write… hopefully in bored silence

3. How about this instead?
Click on the link and help them with the polleverywhere logisitics

4. Bottom line:
When dealing with contemporary learners, they need all three, and:
HOW YOU APPROACH THEM MATTERS!!!
Its important at this point to highlight how much of an advantage the student teachers have than anyone else…. They are closer in age (and therefore thought patterns) to their students…

5. By the end of this workshop, you should be able to:
Understand the unique qualities of secondary students today
Examine tips to make every lesson successful
Explore some resources to make your life easier in the next 10 weeks

6. Some facts about today’s students
Digital Learners

7. How to succeed with every lesson (a review)
Get their attention
Tell them the objectives
Tie it to prior learning
Give them the information
See if they are “getting it”
Make them do something with it
Tell them how they are doing
Test their knowledge
Make sure they retain it
Adapted from Gange’s (1965) Nine Events of Instruction
We can run through this slide fast, since we will do them individually in more depth

8. 1. ATTENTION!!
Attention – Prerequisite for learning!! Easy to get, hard to sustain!
Relevance – Why do I need to know this? How will this affect my everyday life?
Confidence – Influences achievement! Confidence boosters will encourage persistence!
Satisfaction – Appropriate reinforcement of success builds confidence!

9. 2. Tell them the objectives
Studies have shown that telling them the objectives increases student learning by up to 300%
Why?
Human brains are preprogrammed to focus and dedicate attention where it is directed

10. 2. Tell them the objectives
Methods for presenting objectives:
TV Channel
“To Do” Boards
“Weekly Logs”
ALWAYS Post at the beginning?????
Discoverative learning doesn’t always need up front objectives
Don’t spoil the surprise
Share them when they become apparent

11. 3. Tie it to prior learning (Scaffolding)
Allows students to take risks
Students comfortable making mistakes.
The goal is not always the correct answer but changing the way they think and understand.
Connects to information that the student already knows or understands.
No one likes to be wrong. I was quick to tell them I was wrong. I would then show them how to find the information.

12. 3. Tie it to prior learning (Scaffolding)
Modeling
Bridging
Contextualizing
Schema Building
Metacognitive Development
(thinking about thinking)
Text Re-presentation
Modeling-guidance thru the lesson-provide examples they can follow for more difficult tasks-don’t let them copy. Be carful about what you show them, it is easy to allow them to “copy”.
Bridging- building on what they already know. Making connections (Wiring a plug- atomic structure, moving a plug, wiring a light in the garage/barn, Electricity- using a water hose of different sizes and a flow meter.

13. 4. Give them the information CHUNKING!
Breaking down information into bite-sized pieces so the brain can easily digest new information.
WHY??
Our working memory (where we manipulate information) holds a limited amount of information at one time.

14. 4. Give them the information CHUNKING!
Rule of Three
Using Graphic Organizers

15. 4. Give them the information (presentation strategies)
Note taking alternatives
Know Books: make your own note packet
Colored notes
Notecard of success
Ten questions
Top ten
Write me a letter
Advanced Go Get It
Clock Notes

16. 4. Give them the information (presentation strategies)
Group projects- ALWAYS HAVE A RUBRIC
Pitch Me!
PSAs

17. 5. See if they are “getting it”

18. 6. PERFORM!
After modeling expectations, give students the opportunity to prove mastery of the concept.
Good practice items SHOULD:
Encourage cooperation among students
Support active learning
Communicate high expectations
Provide for diverse learners

19. 7. Tell them how they are doing
Give specific feedback on the effort they’ve made and what they’ve accomplished. For example, “You were well prepared; it paid off.”
When possible, describe both the work and the process—and their relationship,
Choose words that communicate respect for the student and the work.

20. 7. Tell them how they are doing
Positively phrased feedback is more successful than negative feedback, even with negative feedback
Examples

21. 8. Test their knowledge

22. 9. Make sure they RETAIN it!
How do we encourage the retention of knowledge BEYOND Test Day?
Provide meaningful context
Ensure continuous review through formative assessment
Transfer previously learned concepts to new tasks for reinforcement

23. Our Present to You!
tamustudentteaching.weebly.com