Effective Instructional Strategies: From Theory to Practice
SAGE Journal Articles
Access to full-text SAGE journal articles that have been carefully selected to support and expand on the concepts presented in each chapter. Journal articles can act as an ideal resource to help support your assignments and studies.
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Article 1: DeChurch, L., & Haas, C. (2008). Examining team planning through an episodic lens: Effects of deliberate, contingency, and reactive planning on team effectiveness. Small Group Research, 39, (5), 542-568. Journal of Teacher Education, 36(2), 38-43.
Abstract: Three types of team planning processes differing in terms of timing and adaptation capacity are investigated. Deliberate planning and contingency planning occur during team transition phases; deliberate planning specifies a primary course of action whereas contingency planning specifies backup plans. Reactive adjustment is planning that occurs during the action phase when teams adapt plans to account for evolving task conditions. The current study uses data from a scavenger hunt game involving a total of 38 teams randomly assigned to preplanning or control conditions. While instructing teams to plan increased deliberate planning, it does not increase the adaptation-enabling processes of contingency planning and reactive adjustment. Team effectiveness is determined most strongly by reactive adjustment, then by contingency planning, and least so by deliberate planning.
Article 2: Thomas, C. (2001). What Is Wrong with Block Scheduling? NASSP Bulletin, 85 (628), 74-77.
Abstract: Student learning styles and faculty teaching styles may have a greater effect on student achievement than restructuring school schedules. This article discusses the problems identified with block schedules and proposes three key elements for academic success when using block scheduling.
Article 3: Loughran, J.J. (2002). Effective Reflective Practice: In Search of Meaning in Learning about Teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53 (1), 33-43.
Abstract: Reflective practice has an allure that is seductive in nature because it rings true for most people as something useful and informing. However, for reflection to genuinely be a lens into the world of practice, it is important that the nature of reflection be identified in such a way as to offer ways of questioning taken-for-granted assumptions and encouraging one to see his or her practice through others ‘eyes. The relationship between time, experience, and expectations of learning through reflection is an important element of reflection, and to teach about reflection requires contextual anchors to make learning episodes meaningful. This article examines the nature of reflection and suggests how it might become effective reflective practice that can be developed and enhanced through teacher preparation programs.
Article 4: Brown, E.L. (2002). Mrs. Boyd's Fifth-Grade Inclusive Classroom: A Study of Multicultural Teaching Strategies. Urban Education, 37 (1), 126-141.
Abstract: Public school students are increasingly heterogeneous in their family structure and the social, cultural, ethnic, and economic diversity they bring to the class-room. Inclusive classrooms broaden this scope to encompass behavioral, intellectual, and physical diversity. Educators who are committed to providing each student with an equal opportunity for success frequently seek and experiment with accommodation methods that use creative management, instruction, and assessment strategies to foster academic proficiency and social responsibility. This case study of one exemplary multicultural fifth-grade classroom teacher provides educators with accommodation activities that support and encourage all students without limiting or impeding their academic or social development.
Article 5: Lewis, C.W., Dugan, J.J., Winokur, M.A., & Cobb, R.B. (2005). The Effects of Block Scheduling on High School Academic Achievement. NASSP Bulletin, 89 (645), 72-87.
Abstract: The effect of block scheduling on high school student achievement in mathematics and reading was investigated in this study through the use of an ex postfacto, longitudinal research design. Specifically, student scores from 9thand 11th-grade standardized tests were matched and sorted by junior high and high school attended. Outcome measures consisted of Levels tests and ACT exams in mathematics and reading. Statistical analyses of student gain scores included main effects of scheduling type, gender, and ethnicity as well as interaction effects for these independent variables. Results indicate that students in 4 X 4 block scheduling had greater gain scores in reading and mathematics than did students in both traditional scheduling and A/B block scheduling.