Module 5 Planning and Conducting

Instruction

TED 377

Methods in Sec. Ed.

Module 5Students will explain types of motivation and behavior management problems presented by Secondary students, including integrated students with disabilities.

Students will explain types of motivation and behavior management problems presented by Secondary students, including integrated students with disabilities.

• Instruction as organizing activities.• Connecting activities with transitions.• Teacher perceptions and biases in the

classroom.• Concepts that contribute to effective

management.

Reading

• Read the following in the Duplass textbook:– Topic 19: “Planning Efficient Instruction”

Instruction as Organizing Activities

Planning and Conducting Instruction

• You already have:– Classroom is well organized.– Developed and taught rules and procedures.– Systems in place to manage student work.

• Interesting, well-planned, well-paced lessons are key to holding student attention. The opposite creates conditions for discipline problems to develop.

Planning is key to success in classroom management!

Instruction as Activities

• Activity is organized behavior that the teacher and students engage in.

• Activities are the building blocks of instruction and the key to good classroom management.– Activities: discussions, recitations, group

work, presentations, seatwork, checking.

activity activity

activity

activity

activity

Keep the “Big Picture” in Mind

• What skills or concepts must be learned to reach the objectives?

• What activities will help students the most?

• How can activities be selected/designed to maintain student engagement throughout the period? Plan 2 or 3 different activities. High student involvement.

Semester plan

Units

Weekly plans

Daily plans

Activities

Keep the “Big Picture” in Mind

• Much of the daily planning deals with organizing activities.

• Remember to also focus on the course as a whole (as well as to activities).

• Realize that many teachers will use several of these activities together rather than as distinct activities.

Opening the Period

• Goal: Help students transition into the classroom in an orderly and efficient manner.

• Options:– Start with roll call.– Have students begin with an academic warm-

up activity, while you mark attendance and handle other administrative tasks.

activ

ity

Checking Classwork or Homework

• Have students check assignments.• Keep the procedures uniform.• If the work will be assigned a grade, the

teacher should monitor during checking.• Have students check in a different way

(pencil vs. pen, different color ink).

activ

ity

Recitation

• Question-and-answer sequence. Accept or correct student responses.

• Check student understanding of a previous lesson, assignment, or to review vocabulary.

• Call on all students, not just volunteers.• Allow enough wait time.

activ

ity

Recitation

• If a student responds incorrectly:– Paraphrase partial correct response to give

credit to student, and then elaborate.– Ask student another question.

• Frequent wrong answers:– Re-teaching may be needed.– More practice may be needed.

Content Development (Teaching)

• Teacher presents new information, elaborates, demonstrates, shows how to perform a skills, or describes how to solve a problem.

• Ask questions to check understanding and to maintain involvement.

activ

ity

Discussion

• Whole class discussions led by the teacher.

• Teacher serves to clarify rather than evaluate.

• Students are encouraged to examine their opinions and beliefs to understand other perspectives.

• Students may respond to other students, and not just to the teacher.

activ

ity

Discussion

• Encourage students to respond to other students, and not just to the teacher.

• Ask quiet students to give their opinion on something already discussed.

• Ensure students are aware of ground rules.

Seatwork

• After presenting new information, allow guided practice (seatwork).

• Ideas:– Do the first few problems together.– Because it is difficult to maintain student

engagement, break up lengthy seatwork activities with discussion or review segments.• This allows you to check student comprehension,

clear up problems, and refocus student attention.

activ

ity

Small Group Work

• Students can:– Explain concepts to each other.– Describe how they solved a problem.– Complete an assignment.– Drill on spelling words or new vocabultary.– Review for a test.– Gather information to prepare a project.– Plan a group report.– Discuss an issue/topic.

activ

ity

Closing

• Goal: Bring the period to an end in an orderly fashion.

• Have students ready to proceed to the next class.

• Ensure students have left your room in good condition.

activ

ity

Organizing the Activities

1. Opening routine.

2. Checking.

3. Present new information.

4. Seatwork, group work, or discussion.

5. Closing.

Disadvantage: This sequence allows for presentation of only 1 topic, and presentation will tend to be lengthy.

Disadvantage: This sequence allows for presentation of only 1 topic, and presentation will tend to be lengthy.

activity activity

activity

Organizing the Activities

1. Opening routine.

2. Checking.

3. Present new information Part I.

4. Seatwork or group work Part I.

5. Discussion or checking.

6. Present new information Part II.

7. Seatwork or group work Part II.

8. Closing.

activity activity

activity

activity activity

activity

Organizing the Activities

• Advantages:– Can teach two different topics in same period.– Ideal for block scheduling.– Can separate a complex concept into 2 parts

to ensure comprehension and student engagement.

• Disadvantage:– Requires more transition points.

Connecting Activities: Transitions

Transitions

• Transitions: Time between activities; time when switching from one activity to another.

• Greatest number of discipline problems occur during transitions, especially when students have extra time before the next activity.

Transitions

• Lesson transitions: Teacher concludes one activity, begins the next, and connects the current activity with next.

• Transitional activities: Keep students academically occupied so they don’t have wait time with nothing to do.

activity activity activity

Transitional Activities

• Establish a procedure in which students engage in transitional activities when they complete an activity early.

• Plan transitional activities in advance, and remind students before an activity.– Examples:

• Journal writing.• Worksheet activity.• Portfolio work.• Homework.• Project work.• Work on an assignment for another class.

Teacher Perceptions and Biases in the Classroom

Gender Differences

• Males receive a disproportionate amount of teacher attention (because of both good and bad behaviors), and African American girls receive almost no attention.

Gender Differences

• Males receive lower grades than females.

• Males are more likely to repeat grades and drop out.

• Males are more likely to be suspended.• Males are outperformed by females in

reading and writing.• Males and females perform equally

well in math and sciences.

Gender Differences

• Within mixed-gender classes, teachers:– Make more eye contact with males.– Are more animated when responding to

males.– More frequently assume an attentive posture

when males speak.– Call on males more frequently.– Wait longer for males to respond.– Are less likely to interrupt males.– Accept ideas from males more readily than

from females.

Perceptions and Stereotypes

• ECTOMORPHIC (tall and thin)– Teachers are perceived as anxious, self-conscious,

and intelligent.– Students are perceived as high-strung, anxious,

nervous, and competent.• MESOMORPHIC (bony and muscular)

– Teachers are perceived as credible, dependable, likeable, and competent, but also demanding and tough.

– Students are perceived as intelligent, talkative, dependable, and athletic.

Perceptions and Stereotypes

• ENDOMORPHIC (soft and round)– Teachers are perceived as unprepared, slow,

complacent, and non-dynamic.– Students are perceived as lazy and lacking in

intelligence, but nice and funny.

Perceptions and Stereotypes

• Teachers expect quiet students to do less well.

• Teachers give more opportunities to students they believe are more likely to learn.

The less they know about their students, the more likely teachers are to have their grading influenced by stereotypes.

The less they know about their students, the more likely teachers are to have their grading influenced by stereotypes.

Perceptions and Stereotypes

• When dealing with students they believe to be “better” students, teachers…– Smile more.– Use a friendlier tone.– Nod approvingly more often.– Look students in the eyes more.– Give more time.– Teach them more difficult content.– Praise them more.

Perceptions and Stereotypes

• Students fortunate enough to have one of the physically attractive face contours and body types are perceived as “better” than other students in the absence of other data.

• When teachers have lower expectations (lower performance) of a student:– Seat them farther away.– Criticize them more frequently.– Praise them less.– Interrupt them more frequently.

Concepts that Contribute to Effective Management

Research of Kounin

• Research of Kounin et al (1968,1970, 1974):– Research identified several concepts that

contribute to effective management.– Other contributions:

• Ripple effect: How a teacher responds to one student’s behavior affects other students.

• “with-it-ness”: Ability to spot off-task behavior and redirect quickly, and make classroom management feel natural. (Teachers have “eyes in the back of their heads.”)

Concepts that Contribute to Effective Management

1. Managing movement:– Momentum: Pace lessons that move along

briskly.– Smoothness: Present a lesson that flows

smoothly and remains on topic.• Jumping off-topic.• Jump back to an earlier activity left unfinished.• Teacher inserts material irrelevant to students

who are working on another activity.• Teacher is distracted by something and draws

class attention to item.

Concepts that Contribute to Effective Management

2. Maintaining group focus:– Group alerting: Maintain group attention

while individuals are responding.• Call on students randomly, tell students to listen

so they can add to a response, call on a student after a question has been asked.

– Accountability: Let students know their performance is being monitored.• Ask all students who know an answer to raise

their hands; have students mark down answers.

Concepts that Contribute to Effective Management

– Higher participation formats: Involve all students in activity rather than have one student at a time respond.• Write answers.• Solve problems.• Read along.• Manipulate materials.• Perform some task.

How to Be “With It” (Kounin)

• Don’t spend too much time on one student/group.

• Always face students.• If there are 2 problems, deal with one

problem directly, and use face/gesture to other group (show awareness).

• Involve all students in activities, not just interested ones.

How to Be “With It” (Kounin)

• Randomly call on students; keep them alert and on-task.

• Always monitor the whole class (regardless of what you are doing).

• Walk around the room.• Establish eye contact with all learners

during instruction.

Class Activity:Managing Transitions

• The interval between any two classroom activities is a transition, including the beginning and end-of-period times. The greatest number of discipline problems occur during transitions, especially when students have extra time before the next activity.

• In small groups, can you suggest solutions for the following transition problems?

Review:MODULE 5

• Instruction as organizing activities.• Connecting activities with transitions.

– Transitions and transitional activities.

• Teacher perceptions and biases in the classroom.– Beware of stereotypes and treating students

differently (gender, body type, academic expectations).

• Concepts that contribute to effective management.