TEACHING CAN BE SO COMPLICATED!
According to my research, someone coined the term "effective instruction" to label, well, just that. It sounds simplistic and obvious, but there are actually four components that experts in the field recommend that teachers abide by when planning meaningful instruction.
1. Planning instruction
2. Managing instruction
3. Delivering instruction
4. Evaluating instruction
Planning your instruction is pretty obvious, right? That's what I thought. But I soon found that every good teacher is using planning strategically. You can have a plan with not projected outcome or goal, so what is the point of that? Plan strategically.
As a teacher, you have to be able to manage whatever instruction you throw at your students. If you cannot keep up with assignments and content, then they surely cannot either. Make instruction meaningful!
Your instruction delivery is the key to success. It has the potential to sink steps 1 & 2; if you cannot deliver your instruction, whatever that may be, in an appealing and interesting manner, you will lose your students. That is primarily where your nifty tricks and technology comes in! Throw in a snazzy method of delivering instruction.
It is so important to evaluate and reflect on your instruction practices. If something did not work, it will be easy to simply nip it in the bud then and there. No need to subject students to more of the same.
These components of effective instruction are there to help teachers structure their lessons, etc. I am in the midst of lesson planning like crazy at the moment, and I'm sure it's nothing compared to what a practicing teacher experiences. However, I can tell firsthand that when writing multiple lessons, it can be easy to get lost in trying to cram as much "awesomeness" as you can.
Now, this is not to say that all of the new strategies and technology are worthless. The essence of effective instruction is to get teachers thinking about the big picture of what they are trying to accomplish. There should be direct evidence as to why students are learning about the Apple/FBI debate or the apple farm.
There is always going to be a lesson or learning experience that another teacher will "one up" you on. There will be days when you feel like you've failed your students. Everyone experiences that; I have, even as a pre-service teacher. But when you get to feeling burned out, just remember the four components of effective instruction to reflect back on. As NCTCS Standard 1c. Teachers lead the teaching profession states, we should strive to be the best teachers we can be. In saying that, I want to take this mini-learning experience (no pun intended) and keep it as a reminder for when I am in my own classroom.
Thank you Olivia! I really needed this practical reminder as we are smack in the middle of craziness (I am anyway). As we plan and prepare our lesson plans over the next few weeks, this post was a great reminder to make them meaningful. I like how you suggested planning with a strategy in mind, plan with a goal. In order to keep our lessons all over the place, it is important to manage instruction and make it meaningful. This post has encouraged me to research delivery instruction in order to keep it interesting. Again, thanks again for this reminder to slow down, make lesson planning meaningful and purposeful. Great job!
ReplyDeleteOlivia,
ReplyDeleteReading your blog made me think that these components should be in an acronym (in lite of our learning components this week) But I do agree, we have been learning so much in this classroom. It feels as though we are on information overload. But like I tell myself, "its better to be over-prepared, than under-prepared." Plus, I truly believe that what you are really called- things will come naturally. You will be using this and other strategies like the are second nature.Thanks for sharing this information.
Olivia,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder about how important the basics are! You are right - we have covered ALOT of information this semester - now it is time to apply what we have been learning and develop great units and lesson plans.