JOHN PAUL M.
MORADO
BTTE – 4B
TEACHING STRATEGY
Activity 1
1. Effective teaching is not a set of generic practices, but instead is a set context-driven
decisions about teaching.
Effective teaching is achieved by the application of practices that has been
proven to be the solution for the identified problems. And these context-driven decisions
have the capacity to adjust new and emerging problems in education without sacrificing
the set and determined goals of the education system.
2. Effective teachers do not use the same set of practices for every lesson…instead, what
effectives teachers do is constantly reflect about the work, observe whether students are
learning or not, and then just the practices accordingly.
Effective teachers have the capacity to make changes accordingly in order to fit
the learning styles of their learners. They don’t adhere to the “one size fits all”. Rather,
they have designed and adopted methods to accommodate the individual differences that
learners have and come up with several strategies to effectively facilitate learning in
diverse group of learners.
3. In teaching, why do you need instructional decision making? Can you explain and give
examples on instructional models, strategies, methods and skills?
Answer: Instructional Decision Making is need in teaching because it is a systematic
process of using student achievement and other data to guide instructional decisions. The
process of using data systematically to make instructional decisions provides a
framework for aligning resources to meet the needs of groups of students as well as
individual students.
Instructional methods – are related to theories about how we learn. Examples
include: behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism and connectivism.
Instructional strategies – are techniques teachers use to help students become
independent, strategic learners. Examples include: Microlearning, Spaced
Repetition, Interactivity, Gamification, Leaderboards, Peer Learning, Mobile
Learning, Just in time training, prizing instructional strategies and integrated
translation.
Instructional Methods – are kinds of instructional ways or activities used to guide
the facilitation of learning in each phase of the instructional process. Examples
includes: Direct instruction, Flipped classroom, Kinesthetic Learning,
Differentiated Instruction, Inquiry-based Learning, Expeditionary Learning,
Personalized learning and Game-based learning.
Instructional Skills – are the most specific category of teaching behaviors. These
are used constantly as part of the total process of instruction. They are necessary
for procedural purposes and for structuring appropriate learning experiences for
students. Example includes: questioning, discussing, direction-giving, explaining,
and demonstrating.
JOHN PAUL M. MORADO
BTTE – 4B
Activity 2
In your own words and understanding, explain Saskatchewan Education Instructional
Framework. Give examples/s in every phase.
Answer: Saskatchewan Education Instructional framework is an interrelated set of
systems and expectations that govern teacher’s way teaching. There are so many variables for
teachers when making decisions about teaching and learning, it is essential that they have a
conceptual base for understanding. Thus, Saskatchewan’s Core Curriculum gives a framework for
understanding the levels of instructional decisions. It described the conceptual base and
instructional framework and provided an overview of instructional models, strategies, methods,
and skill. In addition, it also illustrated the inter-relationship of those four levels of the
instructional framework.
Instructional Strategies
Decision making regarding instructional strategies requires teachers to focus on curriculum, the
prior experiences and knowledge of students, learner interests, student learning styles, and the
developmental levels of the learner. Such decision making relies on ongoing student assessment
that is linked to learning objectives and processes.
Although instructional strategies can be categorized, the distinctions are not always clear-cut. For
example, a teacher may provide information through the lecture method (from the direct
instruction strategy) while using an interpretive method to ask students to determine the
significance of information that was presented (from the indirect instruction strategy).
Five categories of instructional strategies and the interrelationship between and among strategies
are illustrated in Figure 4. Explanations of the five categories follow. Although samples of
instructional methods pertaining to each category are sometimes included, these will be explained
further in the section "Instructional Methods".
Instructional Methods
After deciding on appropriate instructional strategies, a teacher must make decisions regarding
instructional methods. As is the case with strategies, the distinction between methods are not
always clear cut although they are categorized for the purposes of this document. Figure 5
illustrates how various methods relate to the five strategies presented in the previous section. It
should be noted that the methods appearing in the diagram are examples only, and are not
intended to be inclusive of all instructional methods.
A sampling of instructional methods with accompanying explanations is presented in this section.
The methods are organized by instructional strategy,
Instructional Skills
Instructional skills are the most specific category of teaching behaviors. These are used
constantly as part of the total process of instruction. They are necessary for procedural purposes
and for structuring appropriate learning experiences for students. No matter how experienced or
how effective a teacher may be, the development and refinement of these skills and processes is a
continual challenge.
A variety of instructional skills and processes exist. Some are broader than others and more
complex in their nature. Some factors which may influence their selection and application include
student characteristics, curriculum requirements, and instructional methods. For the purpose of
illustrating instructional skills, two examples follow: explaining and demonstrating, and
questioning.
Explaining and Demonstrating
The teacher spends much classroom time explaining or demonstrating something to the whole
class, a small group, or an individual. Student resource materials typically do not provide
extensive explanations of concepts, and students often need a demonstration in order to
understand procedures.
Explaining
Some explanations are given to help students acquire or deepen their understanding of a concept,
while others help students understand generalizations. Concerning the former, the teacher must
select an appropriate concept definition and appropriate examples and nonexamples. Regarding
the latter, Shostak (1986) suggests that an explanation can show:
a cause and effect relationship (for example, to show the effect of adding an acid to a
base);
that an action is governed by a rule or law (for example, to show when to capitalize a
noun);
a procedure or process (for example, to show the operation of solving a mathematical
equation); or,
the intent of an activity or process (for example, to show the use of foreshadowing in
drama).
Demonstrating
Much student learning occurs through observing others. A demonstration provides the link
between "knowing about" and "being able to do." Research reveals that demonstrations are most
effective when they are accurate, when learners are able to see clearly and understand what is
going on, and when brief explanations and discussion occur during the demonstration (Arenas,
1988).
Questioning
Among the instructional skills, questioning holds a place of prominence in many classrooms.
When questioning is used well:
a high degree of student participation occurs as questions are widely distributed;
an appropriate mix of low and high level cognitive questions is used;
student understanding is increased;
student thinking is stimulated, directed, and extended;
feedback and appropriate reinforcement occur;
students' critical thinking abilities are honed; and,
student creativity is fostered.
Good questions should be carefully planned, clearly stated, and to the point in order to achieve
specific objectives. Teacher understanding of questioning technique, wait time, and levels of
questions is essential. Teachers should also understand that asking and responding to questions is
viewed differently by different cultures. The teacher must be sensitive to the cultural needs of the
students and aware of the effects of his or her own cultural perspective in questioning. In
addition, teachers should realize that direct questioning might not be an appropriate technique for
all students.
Questioning Technique
The teacher should begin by obtaining the attention of the students before the question is asked.
The question should be addressed to the entire class before a specific student is asked to respond.
Calls for responses should be distributed among volunteers and non-volunteers, and the teacher
should encourage students to speak to the whole class when responding. However, the teacher
must be sensitive to each student's willingness to speak publicly and never put a student on the
spot.
Wait Time
Wait time is defined as the pause between asking the question and soliciting a response.
Providing additional wait time after a student response also allows all students to reflect on the
response prior to further discussion. Increased wait time results in longer student responses, more
appropriate unsolicited responses, more student questions, and increased higher order responses.
It should be noted that increased wait time is beneficial for students who speak English as a
second language or English as a second dialect.
Levels of Questions
While the need for factual recall or comprehension must be recognized, teachers also need to
challenge students with higher level questions requiring analysis, synthesis, or evaluation. The
consideration of level is applicable at all grade levels and in all subject areas. All students need
the opportunity to think about and respond to all levels of questions. Teacher probes or requests
for clarification may be required to move students to higher levels of thinking and deeper levels
of understanding.
