Research shows that teachers need to vary the methods of instruction. This week reflect upon the following questions to determine the quality of your cooperating teacher’s instruction.
Does the teacher:
• Rely too heavily on “tell” forms of instruction?
• Include “show” methods of instruction to demonstrate the meanings of the material being taught?
• Include “do” activities where students apply, or learn, the skills of the lesson?
• Vary instructional methods to ensure meeting the needs of all students?
Don't forget to bring all of your practicum documents and anything else that you still need to turn in next week.
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The teacher that I got to observe didn't do a very good job of the "tell" forms of instruction. The instructions he would give were not very clear and precise, but he did do a great job of the "show" forms of instruction. He would demonstrate what he wanted the class to do and then let them do it. So not only did they learn by seeing him do it, but they also got to participate and put what they learned into practice. Another thing he didn't do a very good job at was varying the way he taught. He would teach it one way and expect that all the students would be able to understand it instead of explaining or showing them a different way if they didn't get it. This can make it hard for the students who don't always understand it the first time.
ReplyDeleteI am observing a Physical Education teacher. The students have been coming to this class all year now, so I have yet to see any true teaching done. This is because of the activities I have seen, the children have already been taught and already know how to play. So pretty much the students will just come in, get dressed, then begin to play the game. I am almost certain, though, as a physical education teacher you must show by example on most new activities you introduce to your students. A lot of the activities would be real tough to simply "tell" the class what to do without actually showing them what to do. So there would be a great mixture of the two, telling while showing. But I have honestly not got the oppurtunity to watch the teacher introduce any new activities to the class yet
ReplyDeleteRyan, while in highschool I can remember a teacher that did the exact thing you are speaking of. The teacher would put just write math notes on the board everyday. Meaning she would "show" the class how to do certain problems. Which is quite effective, but i beleive also going more in depth in telling how or why would have helped greatly. The teacher would do the same thing everyday. So not much varying going on
ReplyDeleteI am observing a marketing class, so in this class there are lots of projects the students do and when the teacher I observes gives the directions she shows and tells. She explains how it is done while she is showing the class. She always has examples to show the class so they know what track to go on when completing the project. She has used the same teaching technique throughout the whole time I observed her and it seemed to work. It had a positive affect on the students.
ReplyDeleteRyan, i had plenty of teachers like you just explained in your blog. Too me having a teacher that uses the same teaching method every class would be boring. My teacher does use the same method every time she explains a project, but the students really bought into her methods so i guess its the way you just teach to your students.
ReplyDeleteThe teacher I observe is a physical education teacher so she implements all of the methods if she is teaching something new that maybe the freshmen students may not have played before, but other than that my teacher really only has to tell them what they're playing and they already know how to do so. They get changed in the locker rooms, my teacher takes attendance, and while doing so she tells them what they're playing and asks if anyone has any questions.
ReplyDeleteRyan... I agree with you it would be hard to pay attention and try to learn in a class where the teacher never varies his teaching methods. That would be very repetitive feeling and would get extremely boring to the point where you dread going to that class so variation in methods is key in teaching.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher relies too heavily on "tell" forms of instruction sometimes, because certain assignments and projects were clearly not explained well and she did not really take the time to go over it again, or show them how to do it correctly. Although I witnessed this a few times, I did also notice that she had great ideas for implementing resources to show the students how to do something. For instance, she wanted the students to make their own books for a Mother's Day/writing activity. So, she made an example of her own to show the students exactly what was expected. One think I don't think my teacher does as well as she should as far as varying the lesson for other students' needs. She usually just walks around the room while students are working and if someone is having a problem, then she goes over the key points to the lesson again.
ReplyDeleteRyan Gross: My teacher has, unfortunately, a similar quality by not realizing that some people are not understanding the lesson or varying the lesson for them. I think it is important to remember not everyone learns the same way and its important to accommodate to every student's needs.
ReplyDeletemy teacher actually only relies on the tell form of instruction. she's not very good at connecting with her students. she just tells them what to do, not showing them or anything like an example. when she tells she just expects them to do.
ReplyDeleteWill,
ReplyDeleteMy class is the same way. I'm observing a band teacher and I think in classes like ours, it's the only exception where teachers have to teach something new just about every day. Your kids already know how to play sports, and my kids already know how to play their instruments. But like you I think it's also important to show by example and incorporate several methods of teaching when the kids on rare occasion do learn a new thing.
In my physical education class that I am observing, I have noticed the teacher tends to "show" more than anything. She demonstrates what needs to be learned for differnt activities and usually gets the students to participate after fully explaining and showing what needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteWill-
ReplyDeleteYou are right, because of it is towards the end of the year most of the students already know what is expected. I also agree with the statement that most activities in PE have to be "show[n]" not just "told".
My teacher did a very good job with the "tell" form of instruction. She stated clear and simple instructions and she made sure she did not overload the students with too much information at once. She would give them one instruction, let them complete that part then give them the next one. This worked very well for the students because they were able to help students that got stuck at the exact part in what they were working on. She would also show on the board what the students were supposed to be doing so they had a visual to look at as well as the verbal instructions.
ReplyDeleteAna,
ReplyDeleteFor p.e. I know it was easier for me to understand what to do in the game when the teacher showed us what to do because telling us the instructions would get confusing if there were too many rules. After the teacher showed us what to do she would explain any rules we needed to know and usually everyone would understand.
My teacher did all of these methods well. She made sure that all the students understood what they were supposed to be doing. If she thought that the students did not understand what they were supposed to be doing she would make sure to explain it again and try it in a different way. When having them do a work sheet she would have the instructions on the paper and say them out load. Once she had said it out loud she always did one problem with the students to make sure they understood it.
ReplyDeleteKelly M.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very important that the teacher does not over load them with information. I know as a student I hated when I had to remember a bunch of information all at once.
The teacher I am observing does an excellent job at varying the methods of instructions. When I arrive, the class is usually sitting on the floor infront of the marker board going over what they are goin to do that day in each reading/writing rotation. The teacher verbally gives directions then the class does the first problem or an example problem together so they completely understand the directions. Then after questions are answered, the students break up into their groups and complete the assignments at each rotation. There is one student who is a slower learner who sits with a teacher each day that further explains the directions and helps him complete the work. Also there is one student in the class that speaks fluent spanish and has trouble speaking english most times. He joined the class around the time i started observing and has trouble settling into the classroom since he fully doesnt understand english. There is a special teacher who comes each day to help him out. Also, they have many games on the computer for him to help him with his english.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher does a lot of telling. I do not think this is beneficial for the children, since it is a third grade class. They can not pay attention for very long and they do not comprehend half of what she is saying. I believe the students get the most out of their projects that they rarely do. I wish she would include all of the types of learning rather than just talk all the time.
ReplyDeleteJamie,
ReplyDeleteyou are very lucky to have a teacher who works so hard to make sure all of the students are on the same page and understand assignments. I believe all teachers should try to always do this.
Jamie,
ReplyDeleteYou are very lucky to have a teacher who actually uses all three types of teaching methods and makes sure the kids all know what is going on. I believe every teacher should strive to always do this.
The teachers that I am observing do a good job at using multiple techniques to getting across to the students. Since I'm in special education classes the teachers really can't afford to just use one type of strategy because the students will become comfortable with that way and will have a hard time adapting to any other style of teaching. In special education you must be very careful with your style of teaching because these students have a different ways of learning and don't pick up material ass fast and efficient as regular students
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Kelly M with teachers overloading students. it is never a good idea to overload students with work. Each student learns differently. Overwhelming the students with work will force some students to get lost in the shuffle and have a very difficult time catching up. A teacher must always remember to do what is best for the student and know what capacity each of their students work at
ReplyDeleteI do believe that teacher overload students and don’t let them have fun with there child hood students have plenty of time when they grow up to work why take what little care free time that they have away from them. With special ed students most of them can work hard and well they’ve just be taught that if they yell and complain enough they get to go take a nap or do something fun so teachers really need to watch out for implanting those behaviors into special ed students
ReplyDeleteI see what lauren is saying my teacher did a great job incorperating his leason plan and dmaking the kids work he also had a great rewards punishment system
ReplyDelete