online lecture 8	video 8
EFFECTIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES AND THE DESIGN OF INSTRUCTION
[Classroom Instructional Planning][Classroom Instructional Objectives] [Selecting Instructional Strategies] [Lesson Plans - The Key to Planning for Success] [Additional Online Sources for Lesson Plans]

Your reading for this lecture was Chapters 13 in the text, Educational Psychology, by Elliott et al. We expect you will use the text to develop, review and update your knowledge of theories of learning and teaching, as fits your needs. Your primary learning experiences will also include exploring the concepts in the text and their applications using Internet and World Wide Web resources, including those that are hot links within the lecture.

INTRODUCTION

In this lecture, we will examine effective teaching strategies and the design of instruction. We will see that, on many of the topics that are central to effective instruction, there is now a knowledge base that identifies "best practices" in ways that can be readily used in the classroom.

Clear educational goals and instructional objectives are critical to success in using any of these approaches.. We will look at the work that has been done at the national and state levels to establish educational standards. In addition, we will examine the methods used for developing instructional objectives for the classroom.

We will begin the lecture by examining a framework for classroom instructional planning. We will then look at a number of different models of teaching and instructional design. Thereafter, we will examine some of these models -- mastery learning, direct instruction and cooperative learning, in detail.

We also will identify resources for developing lesson plans consistent with these objectives. Finally, we will identify study skills and methods for enhancing students' overall performance.

These lecture notes are derived in part from the text, Educational Psychology: Effective Teaching, Effective Learning 3rd edition by S. Ellioltt, T. Kratochwill, J. LIttlefield, J. Cook and J. Travers (Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2000). 

CLASSROOM INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

Establishing Educational Goals

Educators typically work with frameworks for teaching that include both long-term educational goals and short- and medium-term instructional objectives. Long-term goals are typically presented in broad, general terms and provide a framework for instructional decision-making. Examples are for students "to understand the attributes of the physical world" or for students "to be literate, competent readers."

In 1989, a meeting of the nation's governors laid the foundation for Goals 2000. This is a national initiative that specifies the eight National Educational Goals to which the nation has committed itself. These goals have now been developed further in educational standards in each subject. These standards and other standards developed by individual states are being used to define the outcomes of schooling. They specify what learner outcomes are expected of students in each subject area from elementary grades to high school graduation.

The overarching goal for student achievement within Goals 2000 is:

"By the year 2000, all students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter including English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography, and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our Nation's modern economy."

Specific standards of student performance have been defined at the national level by professional organizations and by individual statements. Thus, for example, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Science Teachers Association and the National Council of Teachers of English were involved in the developing of national standards in mathematics, and science and English, as were teachers in other subjects.

It is valuable to look at some examples of these national standards in order to appreciate their basic purpose, which is to establish broad frameworks to guide improvement in education in the U.S. Each set of national standards is a vision of what the curriculum in that subject area should include as priorities in both content -- the what of student learning -- and process -- how students solve problems and reason in various subject areas. In essence, the standards are intended to be used in the different curriculum areas as a foundation for change so that teaching and learning in U.S. schools improves.

Examples of National Standards in Mathematics

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) created national standards in 1989. They included performance standards, which we will examine below, as well as content standards, which pertain to what the curriculum content should be. Educators nationwide saw clear potential for improving educational outcomes in the NCTM standards, and the movement toward more such standards began.

Let us look at one group of performance standards -- expected outcomes for students. We will begin with standards for the elementary grades in the area of Mathematics as Reasoning. This will give us a sense of how the NCTM standards are designed to focus on meaning, understanding and ability of students to use mathematics.

In grades K-4, the study of mathematics should emphasize reasoning so that students can:

• Draw logical conclusions about mathematics;
• Use models, known facts, properties, and relationships to explain their thinking;
• Justify their answers and solution processes;
• Use patterns and relationships to analyze mathematics situations;
• Believe that mathematics makes sense.

• Systematically collect, organize and describe data;
• Construct, read and interpret tables, charts, and graphs;
• Make inferences and convincing arguments that are based on data analysis;
• Evaluate arguments that are based on data analysis;
• Develop an appreciation for statistical methods as powerful means for decision-making.

Examples of Other National and State Education Goals and Standards

National and State educational goals and standards have been developed in each of the subject areas of K-12 education. This effort has involved some of the nation's finest educators and has resulted in a series of documents providing a framework for not only understanding the overall goals of the nation's schools but also for determining which of these goals, as developed or with appropriate modifications, are relevant to individual schools and teachers.

A number of World Wide Web sites are devoted to providing information about national and state educational goals and standards. They can provide very helpful information about what is occurring at the state level for any teacher in the nation. The most comprehensive Web sites on the topic of national and state educational goals and standards include the following:

Developing Educational Standards

Goals 2000 Database

Standards and Benchmarks Database

California Academic Standards

In discussions about educational standards, a distinction is often made between different types of standards for schools. The first are performance standards, such as those we looked at in mathematics. They pertain to student learning outcomes. The second are content standards. They pertain to what should be covered within the curriculum -- the material that should be taught. The third are "opportunity to learn" standards. They pertain to the resources that are available to support student learning and the distribution of these resources. Other partially related terms that are often used are "system performance standards (addressing how well a school system is performing) and school delivery standards (relate to the effectiveness of instruction within individual schools).

We have given attention to educational standards because they set the general framework within which individual teachers establish instructional objectives for their classrooms. These frameworks are valuable in giving direction to classroom instruction and in placing short- and medium-term objectives in a meaningful, long-term context.

Instructional objectives are the statements of intended student outcomes that guide the planning, teaching and assessment components of instruction. The intent of establishing educational objectives is to identify desired student outcomes as a basis for selecting appropriate instructional methods and resources. They also serve to enable teachers to communicate to others the content of instruction and help to plan meaningful student assessment.

There are a number of different approaches to writing instructional objectives. They vary in terms of the specificity they expect and the relative emphasis on learning outcomes and learning processes.

All instructional objectives include observable student behaviors that are measurable. An instructional objective in mathematics for the upper elementary grades might include:

• The student can define what multiplication means, in his or her own words.
• The student can perform multiplication as indicated by the ability to solve multiple-digit multiplication problems.
• The student can use multiplication to solve everyday problems such as determining the total cost of purchasing the same item for a large group.

An instructional objective is supposed to be a clear description of a teacher's educational expectations for students. It is sometimes recommended that instructional objectives include three parts. These reflect the components of behavioral objectives that were used in schools for many years. While some schools continue to use these, others see instructional objectives as being written with more flexibility, emphasizing primarily the student outcomes that will be observed.

In those schools and districts that use behavioral objectives, the three designated components are:

1. The student behavior -- the skill or knowledge that is to be gained (e.g. concept of democratic form of government) and the action or skill the student is to be able to do (define, analyze, evaluate, etc.).
2. The situation -- the circumstances or conditions under in which the behavior will be performed.
3. The performance criterion -- how well the behavior is to be done; specification of a standard.

Examples of well-written instructional objectives using these criteria would be:

The student will evaluate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A dream" address in an oral presentation to the class, discussing the significance of at least three of the five major points discussed.

The student will analyze the factors that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, demonstrating an understanding of two primary factors responsible for a lessening of Cold War tensions.

In understanding how to develop and use instructional lesson plans, it is especially useful to look at the important contributions made in this area through Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. He began over 40 years ago, working with a group of other educators, to classify educational objectives into three domains: the cognitive, the affective, and the psychomotor.

The types of questions used in Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives, particularly in the cognitive domain, continue to be used by educators around the nation because they support a hierarchy of cognitive skills that is very useful for defining instructional objectives. The hierarchy includes six levels, going from ones that require relatively simple learning to ones that require higher-order learning and thinking.

The "six levels of cognitive objectives" specified by Bloom and his colleagues are relevant across all subject areas. They are particularly valuable in ensuring that instructional activities focus on higher-order challenging activities rather than lower-level cognitive tasks. The higher-level objectives are appropriate not only for individual subjects but also for interdisciplinary. The six levels of cognitive objectives in the hierarchy are:

Knowledge -- This refers to recalling or recognizing information, ideas and principles in the approximate form in which they were learned. Examples of verbs we use when we describe knowledge objectives are write, list, label, name, state and define. We might use any of these in a knowledge level instructional objective. An example of an instructional objective at the knowledge-level would be:

The student will define the levels in the classification taxonomy of the animal kingdom.

Comprehension -- This refers to demonstrating understanding of information, ideas or principles. We usually use words such as explain, summarize, paraphrase, describe or illustrate when we are defining behavior that shows comprehension, and these are terms we would use in an instructional objective focused on comprehension. An example of an instructional objective at the comprehension level would be:

The student will explain the purpose of the classification taxonomy of the animal kingdom.

Application -- This refers to selecting, using, and transferring information and principles to compete a new problem or task. When we are choosing words to describe behaviors that demonstrate application, typical choices would be use, apply, solve, transfer or extend. An illustration of an instructional objective at the application level would be:

The student will apply the taxonomy of the animal kingdom to classify animals that fall within four different primary categories.

Analysis -- This refers to breaking a problem down into its subparts and detecting of relationships among the parts. Terms we typically use when referring to analysis include analyze, compare, contrast and separate. An illustration of an instructional objective at the analysis level would be:

The student will compare and contrast the attributes of animals within two different categories in the taxonomy structure.

Synthesis -- This refers to combining ideas to form a new whole, to synthesize, integrate or combine information or ideas. Terms we usually use when referring to synthesis include these as well as the following: create, invent, develop, and design. An example of an instructional objective at the synthesis level would be:

The student will exhibit knowledge about the different categories of animals and prepare a paper summarizing the distinctive attributes of each.

Evaluation -- This refers to the process of appraising, assessing, judging or critiquing on the basis of specific standards and criteria. Terms we use when we refer to instructional objectives at this level include judge, critique, justify and recommend. An example of an instructional objective at the evaluation level is:

The student will judge the relevance of the animal taxonomy in relation to recently discovered microscopic forms of life.

Among the most significant decisions teachers make are those related to the model(s) or types of instruction they will use with their students. Over the centuries, different educators have embraced three different approaches to instruction. Today, these are reflected as direct instruction, constructivist approaches and humanistic approaches.

Direct Instruction

Direct instruction is characterized by structured, teacher-directed learning. In this approach, the teacher actively presents information. In doing so, the intent is to gain students' attention, to use advance organizers, and to ensure that essential content is covered. Step-by-step progression from subtopic to subtopic is characteristic of direct instruction.

This form of instruction originated in behavioral psychology. Direct instruction places considerable emphasis on identification of the tasks and subtasks that must be accomplished in order for learning to occur and which are generally assumed to occur in linear fashion. Continuous practice is usually included within direct instruction.

Indirect Instruction

Indirect instruction starts from a different set of assumptions about learning and proceeds very differently from direct instruction. Among those individuals best known for their work in indirect instruction is Jerome Bruner. His work was based on constructivist principles in which the student was able to learn through an active process of discovery in an environment that was carefully structured to facilitate learning of key concepts.

Many of these more student-centered approaches to learning are used in schools throughout the country today, with a recognition that experience is the foundation of knowledge and that active learning is most effective. "Hands-on, minds-on" approaches to science instruction, the emphasis on problem-solving within mathematics, and the inclusion of Living History, in which students actually "re-live" historical events and role play are examples of approaches that place greater emphasis on the child as active learner.

Direct and Indirect Instruction: Roles for Each

In making instructional decisions, it is important to recognize that there is a role for both direct and indirect instruction, and that the two can be complementary. For teaching some things, some children, and under some circumstances, one approach might be ideal, while for teaching other things, with different children, or under different circumstances, the other might be more effective.

In general, there is a role for both direct and indirect instruction for all children. Often, learning the "basics" is enhanced through direct instruction. But development of higher-order thinking skills is fostered through indirect instruction. Hence, it is important that all children have the opportunity for both, with careful choices made and with special attention to ensuring that all learners have the opportunity for more advanced learning challenges usually found in indirect instruction.

In addition to specifying instructional objectives and determining the overall instructional approach, there is a third primary task involved in planning for instruction: developing lesson plans. Most educators believe that developing high-quality lesson plans is one of the most important parts of a teacher's planning and that good lesson plans increase significantly the likelihood of success in the classroom. While there are some variations among schools and districts in the exact details of lesson plan formats, most are basically similar.

Lesson plans generally contain at least the following components:

• The subject, title and grade level
• The instructional objectives for the student
• Materials needed for the lesson
• An advance organizer for focusing student attention
• The learning activities in which students will participate
• Methods and criteria for student evaluation.

Some lesson plan formats include additional components to further help the teacher plan, conduct and evaluate the lesson. The lesson plan format used in this course has some added features.

Additional Online Sources for Lesson Plans

There are now many sources on the World Wide Web for finding excellent lesson plans. The following are some of these sources: 

AskERIC

Classroom Connect

Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education

Environmental Education Link

KIDLINK

Math Forum

Newton's Apple

Teacher's Edition

Teachers Helping Teachers

The Lesson Plans Page

[WEBLIOGRAPHY for Lecture 8]

[ED173 Online Home Page]

[UC Irvine Department of Education Home Page]

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[Classroom Instructional Planning][Classroom Instructional Objectives]

[Selecting Instructional Strategies]

[Lesson Plans - The Key to Planning for Success ][Additional Online Sources for Lesson Plans] 

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