Instructional strategies are an important part of every
teacher’s lesson plans. But sometimes,
after years of teaching we get into a funk of how we teach certain units. After learning all about instructional
strategies in my master’s class, I began to look at what strategies I am using
in my classroom and how effective they are.
When looking at Marzano’s most effective strategies, the one I find
myself using the most is the Similarities and Differences strategies. This week I used it in my fairy tales unit to
compare and contrast two different versions of The Three Little Pigs. This strategy seems to be very
effective. The kids are actively engaged
in the lesson and have to work together to come up with answers. They often fed off each other’s thinking
leading to new discoveries and more discussion.
I also used the Cooperative Learning strategy. We are working on a measurement unit and the
kids had to work with a partner to measure and record various things in the
room. This too seemed to be an effective
strategy. The kids were engaged and had
to pull from prior knowledge to complete the project. They also had to work on their teamwork
skills in order to work together and accomplish the task. The last strategy I found myself using was
the Homework and Practice strategy. For
math, I have a specific homework schedule that we follow. The amount and content varies based on the
units and lessons we are working on. It
is an effective strategy based on the fact that it gives the kids an
opportunity to refine and extend their knowledge of our subject matter but is
ineffective as it really provides the kids no feedback other than they
corrections I have made on it. All in
all, I feel like most of the strategies I use throughout the day are effective
but there are always ways I can improve my instruction by changing ineffective
strategies for effective ones. What strategies are effective in your classroom?
No comments:
Post a Comment