Effective Instructional Strategies: From Theory to Practice
Fourth Edition
Chapter Summary
- Chapter Summary
- This chapter focused on planning. The main points associated with specific objectives were as follows:
- Learning Objective 1: Identify and describe the importance of each of the four levels of planning.
- Teachers engage in four levels of planning: course, unit, weekly, and daily.
- Curriculum mapping (course planning) is the broadest and most general type of planning.
- The planning of daily lessons should be viewed as one of the most important components of effective teaching.
- Learning Objective 2: Identify and describe the key components of units and daily lesson plans.
- Comprehensive unit plans that include a title, goals and instructional objectives, an outline of content, learning activities, resources and materials, and evaluation strategies are necessary for coherent instruction. Accommodations for exceptional students and reflections should also be important components of unit plans.
- A strong set induction (focus) is crucial for a lesson. It sets the tone and establishes a conceptual framework for the coming activities.
- Lessons should have a well-planned ending. This is your lesson closure.
- Learning Objective 3: Differentiate between the strategies used during teacher-centered and student centered instruction.
- Teacher-centered strategies are the more traditional approaches to teaching, with teachers providing information to students or by reading.
- Student-centered strategies involve students in their own learning through hands-on activities.
- Learning Objective 4: Define instructional strategy, and name its two components.
- The methodology and procedure form the lesson instructional strategy.
- The method used forms the heart of a lesson where you decide which will be most appropriate, a teacher-centered or a student-centered mode of delivery.
- When selecting a lesson method, students should actively respond in some manner or should at least be mentally alert.
- Learning Objective 5: Describe four variables that should be considered when selecting an appropriate instructional method.
- The selection of the instructional method should be based on the content and objectives of the lesson, teacher characteristics, learner characteristics, and the learning environment.
- Learning Objective 6: Discuss the importance of being a teacher who is a reflective decision maker.
- Reflective teachers encompass an evaluation of past experiences in planning their teaching.
- This evaluation results in more successful lessons.
- Learning Objective 7: Develop a curriculum map, unit plan, and daily lesson plans for a given area within your area of specialization.
- Adopted textbooks can serve as guides to curriculum mapping, unit planning, and daily lesson planning.