Effective Teaching Strategies

Effective Teaching Strategies

That Work with All Students

Session 2

Handout for PD Session at WMS on January 24, 2007

Developed by Jane Cook

EASTCONN Staff Development Specialist

Mill #1, 3rd Floor

322 Main Street

Willimantic, CT 06226

(860) 455-0707

Table of Contents

Agenda 1

OWL (Observed/Wondered/Learned) Reflection 2

What?/ So What?/ Now What? Strategy Frame 3

Sample Nonlinguistic Representations 4

Descriptive Patterns/Webs 4

Concept Maps 4

Character Map 5

Vocabulary Development Template 5

5 Elements of Cooperative Learning 6

Some Class Activities & Strategies that Use Cooperative Learning 8

WMS Lesson Plan 11

Windham Public Schools: SIOP Lesson Plan 12

Effective Teaching Strategies Matrix 13

Reflection Sheet on Effective Teaching Strategies 14

Excerpt: 'Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire' 15

Effective Teaching Strategies
That Work with All Students

Agenda

Time / Agenda topics Outcomes
1:00 - 1:30 PM / Welcome!
· Overview of the Training
· Warm-up: Individually write a brief reflection of the lesson that you did as your homework assignment using the O\W\L Reflection on page 2. Share your reflections with a partner. Discuss how the strategy you chose supported your students’ learning.
· Debrief and Burning Questions / Meet and greet. Discuss what is planned for the training and participate in a warm-up activity to activate your schema.
1:30 - 2:30 PM / Cooperative Learning Activity on 3 Strategies - Nonlinguistic Representations, Cooperative Learning & Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback
· Work in a small group to discuss your assigned strategy. Choose a repporter for your group.
· Summarize your strategy using a What?/So What?/Now What? Summary Frame on page 3. Be prepared to share your summary with the whole group. / Work with one or more colleagues to learn about an effective teaching strategy. Apply a strategy to summarize what you’ve learned.
2:30 - 3:00 PM / Closure and Next Steps
· Share your summary with the whole group (5 minutes per group). Fill in applications of each strategy in your content area/s in the Effective Teaching Strategies Matrix on page 13.
· Debrief and share questions, comments, insights
· Homework assignment
· Give feedback on today’s session / Share your summary with the group. Debrief the session. Discuss homework assignment. Give feedback on the session.
Objectives: / As a result of participating in this PD session, participants will be able to:
1. Explain three of the “Top Nine” effective teaching strategies.
2. Apply the strategy of Summarizing using a Summary Frame.
Special notes: / Please bring your good will and good humor and share them liberally.
Homework: / 1. Develop a lesson using one of the research-based teaching strategies that you researched today. After the lesson is completed, reflect on the lesson using the Reflection Sheet on Effective Teaching Strategies on page 3. Bring those reflections to the next session.
2. Read the excerpt from Rafe Esquith’s book, Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire, on pages 15-17 in this handout. Bring comments to the next session.

OWL (Observed/Wondered/Learned) Reflection

Strategy & Lesson: ______

What I
Observed / What I
Wondered
What I Learned

What?/ So What?/ Now What? Strategy Frame

Strategy
What:
(What is the strategy? What are its key components or characteristics? What does the research say about the strategy?)
So what:
(Why is this important? What does it mean to me? How does knowing about this research change my thinking? What other ideas do I have or connections can I make?)
Now what:
(What are the implications for my work with students? How am I going to apply this strategy in my teaching and with my students?)

Sample Nonlinguistic Representations

Descriptive Patterns/Webs

Source: http://faculty.salisbury.edu/%7Etrgorrow/F01%20304%20Presentations/7

Concept Maps

Source: http://faculty.salisbury.edu/%7Etrgorrow/F01%20304%20Presentations/17

Character Map

Source: Character Web Template from Inspiration®

Vocabulary Development Template

Source: Vocabulary Word Template from Inspiration®

5 Elements of Cooperative Learning

Source: http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/activities

It is only under certain conditions that cooperative efforts may be expected to be more productive than competitive and individualistic efforts. Those conditions are:

1. Positive Interdependence
(sink or swim together)
· Each group member's efforts are required and indispensable for group success
· Each group member has a unique contribution to make to the joint effort because of his or her resources and/or role and task responsibilities
2. Face-to-Face Interaction
(promote each other's success)
· Orally explaining how to solve problems
· Teaching one's knowledge to other
· Checking for understanding
· Discussing concepts being learned
· Connecting present with past learning
3. Individual
Group Accountability
( no hitchhiking! no social loafing)
· Keeping the size of the group small. The smaller the size of the group, the greater the individual accountability may be.
· Giving an individual test to each student.
· Randomly examining students orally by calling on one student to present his or her group's work to the teacher (in the presence of the group) or to the entire class.
· Observing each group and recording the frequency with which each member-contributes to the group's work.
· Assigning one student in each group the role of checker. The checker asks other group members to explain the reasoning and rationale underlying group answers.
· Having students teach what they learned to someone else.
4. Interpersonal &
Small-Group Skills
· Social skills must be taught:
o Leadership
o Decision-making
o Trust-building
o Communication
o Conflict-management skills
5. Group Processing
· Group members discuss how well they are achieving their goals and maintaining effective working relationships
· Describe what member actions are helpful and not helpful
· Make decisions about what behaviors to continue or change

Some Class Activities & Strategies that Use Cooperative Learning

Source: http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm#activities

1. Jigsaw - Groups with five students are set up. Each group member is assigned some unique material to learn and then to teach to his group members. To help in the learning students across the class working on the same sub-section get together to decide what is important and how to teach it. After practice in these "expert" groups the original groups re-form and students teach each other. (Wood, p. 17) Tests or assessment follows. For more information about the Jigsaw strategy, go to Jigsaw Classroom at http://www.jigsaw.org
2. Think-Pair-Share - Involves a three step cooperative structure. During the first step individuals think silently about a question posed by the instructor. Individuals pair up during the second step and exchange thoughts. In the third step, the pairs share their responses with other pairs, other teams, or the entire group.
3. Three-Step Interview - Each member of a team chooses another member to be a partner. During the first step individuals interview their partners by asking clarifying questions. During the second step partners reverse the roles. For the final step, members share their partner's response with the team.
4. Round Robin Brainstorming - Class is divided into small groups (4 to 6) with one person appointed as the recorder. A question is posed with many answers and students are given time to think about answers. After the "think time," members of the team share responses with one another round robin style. The recorder writes down the answers of the group members. The person next to the recorder starts and each person in the group in order gives an answer until time is called.
5. Three-minute review - Teachers stop any time during a lecture or discussion and give teams three minutes to review what has been said, ask clarifying questions or answer questions.
6. Numbered Heads - A team of four is established. Each member is given numbers of 1, 2, 3, 4. Questions are asked of the group. Groups work together to answer the question so that all can verbally answer the question. Teacher calls out a number (two) and each two is asked to give the answer.
7. Team Pair Solo - Students do problems first as a team, then with a partner, and finally on their own. It is designed to motivate students to tackle and succeed at problems which initially are beyond their ability. It is based on a simple notion of mediated learning. Students can do more things with help (mediation) than they can do alone. By allowing them to work on problems they could not do alone, first as a team and then with a partner, they progress to a point they can do alone that which at first they could do only with help.
8. Circle the Sage - First the teacher polls the class to see which students have a special knowledge to share. For example the teacher may ask who in the class was able to solve a difficult math homework question, who had visited Mexico, who knows the chemical reactions involved in how salting the streets help dissipate snow. Those students (the sages) stand and spread out in the room. The teacher then has the rest of the classmates each surround a sage, with no two members of the same team going to the same sage. The sage explains what they know while the classmates listen, ask questions, and take notes. All students then return to their teams. Each in turn, explains what they learned. Because each one has gone to a different sage, they compare notes. If there is disagreement, they stand up as a team. Finally, the disagreements are aired and resolved.
9. Partners - The class is divided into teams of four. Partners move to one side of the room. Half of each team is given an assignment to master to be able to teach the other half. Partners work to learn and can consult with other partners working on the same material. Teams go back together with each set of partners teaching the other set. Partners quiz and tutor teammates. Team reviews how well they learned and taught and how they might improve the process.

Credits:

David and Roger Johnson. "Cooperative Learning." [Online] 15 October 2001. http://www.clcrc.com/pages/cl.html.

David and Roger Johnson. "An Overview of Cooperative Learning." [Online] 15 October 2001. http://www.clcrc.com/pages/overviewpaper.html.

Howard Community College's Teaching Resources. "Ideas on Cooperative Learning and the use of Small Groups." [Online] 15 October 2001. http://www.howardcc.edu/profdev/resources/learning/groups1.htm.

Kagan, Spencer. "Kagan Structures for Emotional Intelligence." [Online] 15 October 2001. "http://www.kagancooplearn.com/Newsletter/1001/index.html

WMS Lesson Plan

Teacher: ______

Date: ______Grade/Class/Subject: ______

Unit/Theme: ______Standard/s: ______

Content Objective(s):

Language:

Key Vocabulary / What Materials Will I Use? / How Will I Differentiate?
SIOP Features
Preparation
___ Adaptation of Content
___ Links to Background
___ Links to Past Learning
___ Strategies incorporated / Scaffolding
___ Modeling
___ Guided practice
___ Independent practice
___ Comprehensible input / Grouping Options
___ Whole class
___ Small groups
___ Partners
___ Independent
Integration of Processes
___ Reading
___ Writing
___ Speaking
___ Listening / Application
___ Hands-on
___ Meaningful
___ Linked to objectives
___ Promotes engagement / Assessment
___ Individual
___ Group
___ Written
___ Oral
Lesson Sequence:
Reflections:

Effective Teaching Strategies Handout developed by Jane Cook – Page 1

Effective Teaching Strategies Matrix

Below is a sample matrix that teachers can use to develop applications of the effective teaching strategies within the context of their particular content area/s:

Teaching Strategies / English / Math / Science / Social Studies
Identifying Similarities & Differences / · Similes & metaphors / · Venn diagrams / · Double bubble / · Comparison matrix grid
Summarizing and Note Taking
Reinforcing Effort & Providing Recognition
Homework & Practice
Nonlinguistic Representations
Cooperative Learning
Setting Objectives & Providing Feedback
Generating & Testing Hypotheses
Questions, Cues & Advance Organizers
Non-fiction Writing

Reflection Sheet on Effective Teaching Strategies

After you have completed a lesson in which you applied one of the research-based effective teaching strategies, please reflect on the lesson and write a response to the questions below. Please feel free to add other comments on the back of this sheet.

1. What strategy did you apply? Why did you choose that strategy?

2. How did the students respond?

3. What happened that you expected?

4. What happened that you didn't expect?

5. What would you do differently next time?

6. What questions do you have?

Name ______Content Area ______Date ______

Excerpt: 'Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire'

by Rafe Esquith

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6939776

To hear a short interview with Rafe Esquith, that was aired on All Things Considered on NPR on January 22, 2007, click on the Listen button just below the title of the story on this Web site.

Prologue: Fire in the Classroom

It is a strange feeling to write this book. I am painfully aware that I am not superhuman. I do the same job as thousands of other dedicated teachers who try to make a difference. Like all real teachers, I fail constantly. I don't get enough sleep. I lie awake in the early-morning hours, agonizing over a kid I was unable to reach. Being a teacher can be painful.

For almost a quarter of a century, I have spent the majority of my time in a tiny, leaky classroom in central Los Angeles. Because of a little talent and a lot of luck, I have been fortunate to receive some recognition for my work. Not a day goes by when I do not feel overwhelmed by the attention.

I doubt that any book can truly capture the Hobart Shakespeareans. However, it is certainly possible to share some of the things I've learned over the years that have helped me grow as a teacher, parent, and person. For almost twelve hours a day, six days a week, forty-eight weeks a year, my fifth-graders and I are crowded into our woefully insufficient space, immersed in a world of Shakespeare, algebra, and rock 'n' roll. For the rest of the year, the kids and I are on the road. While my wife believes me to be eccentric, good friends of mine have not been so gentle, going as far as to label me quixotic at best and certifiable at worst.

I don't claim to have all the answers; at times it doesn't feel as if I'm reaching as many students as I succeed with. I'm here only to share some of the ideas I have found useful. Some of them are just plain common sense, and others touch on insanity. But there is a method to this madness. It is my hope that some parents and teachers out there will agree with me that our culture is a disaster. In a world that considers athletes and pop stars more important than research scientists and firefighters, it has become practically impossible to develop kind and brilliant individuals. And yet we've created a different world in Room 56. It's a world where character matters, hard work is respected, humility is valued, and support for one another is unconditional. Perhaps when parents and teachers see this, and realize that my students and I are nothing special, they will get a few ideas and take heart.