Check-In

• Questions?

Check-In

• Questions?

• Comments about conversation—generally good rate of postings but need more integration of readings and your own personal experiences

Process-Product Research on Successful Teachers

• Data collected by the Research and Development Institute at the University of Texas over a decade in multiple classrooms

• Used teacher coding instruments such as those developed by Good and Brophy (1991)

Coding Categories for Question-answer-feedback Sequence

Student Response

+ Right Teacher accepts the student’s response

± Part Right The teacher considers the student’s response to be partially correct or complete

-Wrong The teacher considers the student’s response to be incorrect

Teacher Response

++ Praise The teacher praises student in words or by expressing verbal affirmation in a notably warm, joyous or excited manner.

+ Affirm Teacher simply affirms that the student’s response is correct.

0 No reaction

The teacher makes no response—simply goes onto something else.

Student Responses

Teacher Responses

+ ± - 0 ++ + 0 - -- Gives Ans.

Ask

Other

Other

Calls

Repeat

Clue

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Process-Product Research on Effective Teachers

• Data collected over multiple three decades in multiple classrooms by multiple researchers

• Used teacher coding instruments such as those developed by Good and Brophy (1991)

• Correlated with student outcomes including classroom tests, student projects, oral performances, portfolio assessments, and standardized tests.

Five Key Behaviors

1. Lesson clarity

2. Instructional variety

3. Teacher task orientation

4. Engagement in the learning process

5. Student success rate

Lesson Clarity

Effective teachers…Make their points clear to learners at all levels

Provide step-by-step logic in explanations of concepts

Have a direct, audible, non-distracting delivery

Lesson Clarity Indicators

1. Informs learner of lesson objectives

2. Provides learners with advance organizer

3. Checks for task-relevant prior learning at the beginning of the lesson

4. Give directives slowly and distinctly

5. Knows ability levels and teaches slightly above

6. Uses examples, illustrations, and demonstrations to explain and clarify

7. Provides review or summary at end of each lesson

Instructional Variety

• Asking questions

• Varying question type– Fact– Process– Convergent– Divergent

• Using learning materials, equipment, displays, and space

Instructional Variety Indicators

1. Uses attention-gaining devices2. Shows enthusiasm and animation

through variation in eye contact, voice, and gestures

3. Varies mode of presentation4. Uses a mix of rewards and reinforcers5. Incorporates student ideas or

participation6. Varies types of questions

Teacher Task Orientation

• Learning tasks– Getting students ready to learn– Presenting, asking questions, encouraging

independent thinking– Assessing

• Procedural tasks– Taking attendance– Distributing handouts– Collecting homework– Checking for materials

Teacher Task Orientation Indicators

1. Develops unit and lesson plans that reflect most salient features of curriculum guide or adopted texts

2. Has efficient routines for administrative and clerical interruptions

3. Has efficient routine for stopping misbehavior

4. Aligns instructional choices with content5. Builds to unit outcomes with clearly

defined events

Engagement in the Learning Process

High student engagement rate promoted through:

1. Routines that allow students to attend to personal needs without permission

2. Active monitoring

3. Interesting, worthwhile, and do-able independent assignments

4. Writing daily schedule on the board

5. Abundant use of resources and activities slightly above current level of understanding

6. Lack of timing errors

Student Success Rate

• High success: The student understands the subject matter taught and makes only occasional errors

• Moderate success: The student has partial understanding but makes some substantive errors

• Low success: The student has little or no understanding of the subject matter

Students who spend ~60-70% of their time on high success activities have higher achievement, better attention, and more positive attitudes toward school than average students

Student Success Rate Indicators1. Establishes unit and lesson content that

reflects prior learning2. Administers correctives immediately after

initial response3. Divides instructional stimuli into small

chunks4. Plans transitions to new material in easy-to-

grasp steps5. Varies the pace at which stimuli are

presented; builds toward climax or key event

Problem: Process-Product Research findings

did not transform teaching in the US.• Teachers are not automatons—they think,

reinterpret, adapt, filter out recommendations that contradict their private theories about teaching

More Educational Research

• Is any of it valid? – Experimental Psychology (Theory)– Research in Classrooms (Practice)– Paradigm problem?

Studying teachers versus chess players

Robustness of experimental psychology research versus classroom research

• Classroom Instruction that Works

New Idea: Successful Teaching is Theory-Driven

Module 3

Applying theory to practice for behaviorism:1. Identify content that is suitable for behaviorism:

Transmission of existing knowledge base

Lends itself to very short segments of instruction followed by learner exhibition of behavior and immediate feedback on right/wrong behavior

Learner can move through material at own pace

Feedback on behavior provides primary reward/motivation to continue to learn

2. Develop instructional vehicle for content—segmented delivery of instruction with immediate feedback and learner self-pacing

3. Develop sequence for instruction

Module 3

Applying theory to practice for information processing theory:

1. Identify content that is suitable for IP theory• Ties to existing knowledge• Relevance• Ability to use information to solve problems

2. Develop sequence for instruction:• Advance organizer• Presentation of new material; tips on how to remember,

chunking of information, mnemonics, rehearsal• Sample problems• Practice with feedback• Independent practice• Evaluation

Module 3

Applying theory to practice for constructivism (human model):

1. Find suitable problems2. Choose suitable pedagogy including

appropriate technology (idea of match between content and pedagogy briefly introduced in article referenced in Module 3 overview)

3. Sequence learning events• Typically a learning cycle—explore, term/concept

introduction, application

Sample Lesson--Constructivism

Desired learning: 1. Improve students’ ability to communicate

scientific phenomenon through graphing.2. The student will be able to interpret

dashes made by dot cars moving with both constant and accelerated motions both qualitatively and in the construction of graphs that visualize position versus time, velocity versus time, and acceleration versus time.

Sample Lesson Events

0: Review or introduction to various types of graphs including bar, pie, and scatter.

1: Instructions on how to use the dot car2: Do a run with the red car (fast, constant motion). What do

you observe?3: Do a run with the blue car (slow, constant motion). What do

you observe?4: Generate claims and evidence statements

Evidence: The dashes made by the red car are longer and are farther apart than the dashes made by the blue car.

Claim: The red car was moving faster than the blue car.Evidence: The dashes made by the red car are the same length

throughout the run.Claim: The red car was moving with constant velocity.Etc.

Sample Lesson Events

5: Question: How could you visualize or communicate the differences in velocities?Graph them both on the same graphWhat kind of graph should I use? [Scatter]Why? [Continuous variables—position & time]Students graph position versus time for the two cars. They note

that the red (faster) car has a steeper slope and both lines are straight.

6: Start both cars at the same time heading towards each other. How would you communicate this situation graphically?

7: Start one car in the middle one at the end of the paper, both moving the same direction. How would you communicate this situation graphically?

Sample Lesson Events8: Continue with various constant velocity scenarios

having students graph each scenario and discuss the graphs.

9: What are inferences you can make about the graphs?Students recite prior claims and evidence statements and

others.10: The position versus time graphs do not demonstrate

constant velocity—how could we do that? [Graph velocity versus time] Introduce the idea of average velocity as the change in position during a given time period and demonstrate how to graph average velocity for each time interval on the position versus time graph.

Sample Lesson Events

11: Move onto accelerated motion by rolling the dot car down a ramp. What do you observe? [As the car moves down the ramp, it picks up speed, the dashes get longer and farther apart]

12: Continue spiraling ability to interpret both the experimental data and graphs of the experimental data by making increasingly sophisticated scenarios.

13: Introduce idea of acceleration as the change of velocity in a time period. Demonstrate how to graph.

Teaching science through interactive experiences:Scientific Thinking Types

Type 1: Finding patterns in observations/data. Observations can be student-generated or archived

Type 2: Constructing and testing hypotheses from patterns found in observations/data [i.e., hypotheses are founded on experience]

Type 3: Constructing models (mental, physical, or mathematical) to understand, explain or communicate scientific phenomenon

Teaching math through interactive experiences:

Mathematical Thinking TypesType 1: Finding patterns [In “advanced”

mathematics, patterns typically take the form of theorems]

Type 2: Constructing and testing hypotheses from patterns found in observations/data [i.e., hypotheses are founded on experience]

Type 3: Constructing a proof or model to justify, understand, explain or communicate patterns

Constructing an effective lesson based on Constructivism

1. Identify a problem that would be:– Interesting to your student population– Would teach content at the heart of the discipline– Could be learned through one of the science or

mathematic thinking types2. Identify 1-5 general statements of learning for the

lesson3. Choose a lesson sequence that allows for spiraling:

– Learner explores and develops tentative explanations– Teacher facilitates learner construction of knowledge

through Socratic questioning or targeted and brief lecture– Deliver brief and appropriate formative assessments to

check learner progress toward meeting objectives– Repeat sequence until all ‘statements of learning’ have

been taught