Authentic Instruction for Creating a Community of Learners

1
Authentic Instruction for Creating a Community of
Learners

• Chapter 9

2
Classroom Climate

• Is defined as the atmosphere or quality of life
  in a classroom, determined by how individuals
  interact with each other
• The climate will be determined by how you
  interact with your students and by the way you
  exercise authority, show warmth and support,
  encourage competitiveness or cooperation, and
  allow for independent judgment.

3
Activity

• Write a brief description of the ideal classroom
  climate. Share this with the person sitting next
  to you when you have finished writing.

4
Overview of the chapter

• Careful attention must be paid to the emotional
  elements of a positive learning environment. How
  the class is structured contributes to creating
  an environment in which all children feel that
  their needs can be met.
• The first two-thirds of the chapter focus on
  creating a community of learners and the last
  third on developing the curriculum

5
High performing teachers confirm that they take
steps to create classroom climates with the
following Characteristics

• A productive, task oriented focus
• Group cohesiveness
• Open, warm relationships between teacher and
  students
• Cooperative, respectful interactions among
  students
• Low levels of tension, anxiety and conflict
• Humor
• High expectations
• Frequent opportunities for student input
  regarding classroom activities

6
Four necessary conditions to increase learning
through positive interactions

• Organized classroom free from constant
  interruptions and disruptions
• Teacher patient, supportive, doesnt embarrass
  students for mistakes
• Work challenging but reasonable
• Learning tasks must be authentic

7
How Can you create a positive learning
environment?

• Caring classroom
• The physical classroom environment
• Classroom organization

8
Caring

• Effort to help all students learn to their
  fullest potential
• Gets to know all students well
• Students learn to care for others in class
• Students have a voice in decision making

9
Physical Environment

• Fresh air, plants, displays of students work,
  comfortable reading area
• Seating arrangement-make sure the seating
  arrangement does not does not reduce the
  opportunity for some students to learn
• Action zone

10
Classroom Organization-Take the following quiz on
the back of the study guide . Match the following

• ___1. Between class ability grouping
• ___2. Cooperative learning groups
• ___3. Within-class ability grouping

• A. Students are assigned to classes based on
  ability, achievement of standardized test scores
  or in high school, goals after graduation
• B. Students are instructed in homogenous small
  groups
• C. Students are grouped with the purpose of
  helping each other complete assignments

11
Answers

• 1. A
• 2.C
• 3.B

12
Delivering Instruction

• Delivery of instruction is a key element in
  creating positive learning environments
• Common tasks elementary-seatwork, listening to
  the teacher, reading groups, games, discussions,
  take tests, view films, give reports, go on field
  trips. Teacher asks- What activity will enable
  me to accomplish my instructional goals.

13
Terms

• Authentic learning tasks- enables students to see
  the connections between classroom learning and
  the world beyond the classroom
• Allocated time- time teachers allocate for
  instruction in various areas of the curriculum
• Time on task- the amount of time the students are
  actively engaged in learning activities
• Academic learning time- the amount of time a
  student spends working on academic tasks with a
  high level of success (80 or higher). One
  thousand hours most states require, only about
  300 hours students are truly engaged in
  meaningful appropriate tasks
• Block scheduling- a high school scheduling
  arrangement that provides longer blocks of time
  each class period with fewer periods each day

14
Keys to Successful Classroom Management

• How teachers structure their learning
  environments to minimize behavioral problems
• Use of techniques that elicit student
  cooperation and involvement in activities and
  thus prevent problems from happening in the first
  place
• Good planning- teachers are prepared
• Establish rules and procedures

15
Establishing Rules and Procedures

• Teach early in the year using clear
  explanations, examples and practice
• Rules should be clear, concise and few in number
• Enforce classroom rules consistently and fairly
• Procedures- Establishing routines your students
  will follow as they participate in learning
  activities. How will homework be collected?

16
Activity

• Complete the Classroom Management Profile on the
  back of the study guide
• Read each statement carefully
• Write your response next to each statement
• Respond to each statement based upon either an
  actual or imagined classroom experience
• 1 Strongly Disagree
• 2 Disagree
• 3 Neutral
• 4 Agree
• 5 Strongly Agree

17
To Score your quiz

• Add your responses for statements 1,3 and 9. This
  is your score for authoritarian style
• Add statements 4,8,and 11 for authoritative style
• Add statements 6,10, and12 for laissez-faire
  style
• Add statements 2, 5, and 7 for the indifferent
  style

18
Constructive Assertiveness

• Assertiveness skills allow you to communicate to
  students that you are serious about teaching and
  about maintaining a classroom in which everyones
  rights are respected
• Communication is clear, firm and concise
• Three basic elements
• Clear statement of the problem
• Eye contact with the student
• Firm unwavering insistence on appropriate behavior

19
Lee Cantors approach to Discipline- Assertive
Discipline

• Make clear that you will not tolerate anything
  preventing you from teaching, stopping learning,
  or doing anything else that is not in the best
  interest of the class
• Instruct students clearly about what behaviors
  are desired and what behaviors are not tolerated
• Plan positive and negative consequences for
  predetermined positive and negative behavior
• Plan positive reinforcement for compliance
• Plan a sequence of steps to punish noncompliance.
  These range from putting a childs name on the
  board to sending the student to the principals
  office

20
Teacher Problem Solving (using Glassers Theory)

• When a teachers efforts to get a student to stop
  misbehaving are unsuccessful, a problem solving
  conference with the student is warranted
• Steps
• Have the misbehaving student evaluate and take
  responsibility for his or her behavior. What are
  you doing? Is it helping you?
• Have the student make a plan for a more
  acceptable way of behaving
• Require the student to make a commitment to the
  plan
• Dont accept excuses for failure to follow the
  plan
• Dont use punishment or react to a misbehaving
  student in a punitive manner. Instead, point out
  that there are logical consequences for failure
  to follow the plan
• Dont give up on the student. If necessary,
  remind the student of his or her commitment to
  the desirable behavior.

21
Models of Teaching

• A description of a learning environment
• Effective teachers use a repertoire of teaching
  models
• Four Instructional Models
• Cooperative Learning
• Theory into practice
• Behavior modification
• Nondirective teaching

22
Direct Instruction (Theory into Practice)

• Orient students to the lesson by telling them
  what they will learn
• Review previously learned material
• Present new material using examples
• Assess students understanding by asking
  questions
• Allow students to practice and apply new
  information
• Provide feedback and corrections as students
  practice
• Include newly learned material in homework
• Review material periodically

23
Modeling by thinking out loud

• Show students the reasoning involved
• Making students conscious of the reasoning
  involved
• Focusing students on applying the reason
• In this way, teachers can help students become
  aware of their learning process and enhance their
  ability to learn

24
Constructivist Teaching

• How learners construct understanding of new
  material based on what they already know.
  Teachers help students arrive at a deeper
  understanding of the material
• The teacher elicits students prior knowledge of
  the material and uses this as the starting point
  for instruction
• The teacher not only presents material to the
  students, but he also responds to the students
  efforts to learn about the material
• Students actively use the information to
  construct meaning
• Teacher creates a community of learners that
  allows students to talk with one another as they
  construct meaning and solve problems.

25
KWL Chart
26
Scaffolding

• An approach to teaching based on the students
  current level of understanding and ability the
  teacher varies the amount of help given to
  students based on their moment to-moment
  understanding of the material being learned

27
Scaffolding

• Overall, the teacher provides just enough
  scaffolding ( clues and other assistance to guide
  the students learning efforts) to enable
  students to discover the material on his own
• Concept based on Vygotskys work
• Zone of Proximal Development-refers to the point
  at which students need assistance in order to
  continue learning

28
Methods based on the Thinking Process

• Inquiry learning and discovery learning
• Students are given opportunities to discover
  information for themselves
• Best suited for teaching concepts, relationships,
  and theoretical abstractions

29
Curriculum

• Curriculum refers to the experiences, both
  planned and unplanned, that enhance the education
  and growth of students
• Four curricula that students experience
• Explicit
• Hidden
• Null
• Extracurricular

30
Explicit Curriculum

• What a school intends to teach students
• Made up of several components
• The goals, aims, and learning objectives the
  school has for all students
• The actual courses that make up each students
  course of studies
• The specific knowledge, skills and attitudes the
  teachers want students to acquire

31
Hidden Curriculum

• The behaviors, attitudes and knowledge the school
  unintentionally teaches students
• Can be positive or negative, depending on their
  day-to-day experiences at school
• Teachers set the stage to determine whether the
  hidden curriculum will be positive or negative

32
Null Curriculum

• Intellectual processes and content the schools do
  not teach
• The options the student is not afforded, the
  perspectives they may never know, the concepts
  and skills that are not a part of their
  repertoire
• We teach largely out of habit and neglect areas
  that could be extremely useful to the child such
  as astronomy

33
Extracurricular/Cocurricular

• School sponsored activities music, drama,
  sports, special interest clubs
• Students may pursue in addition to the academic
  curriculum
• Provide an opportunity to use social and
  academic skills in many different contexts
• Students who might benefit the most (those below
  the norm in academic achievement) tend not to
  participate

34
How is School Curriculum developed- Tyler
Rationale

• Four fundamental questions that must be answered
• What educational purposes should the school seek
  to attain?
• What educational experiences can be provided that
  are likely to attain these purposes
• How can these educational experiences be
  effectively organized
• How can we determine whether these purposes are
  being attained

35
Student-centered versus Subject-Centered
Curriculum

• Key concern in curriculum development is whether
  greater emphasis should be given to requirements
  of the subject area or to the needs of the
  student
• Subject centered is more typical of high school
• Student-centered (emphasizes the growth and
  development of the student )is more typical of
  elementary school

36
The Integrated Curriculum

• Used most frequently in elementary grades
• Integrated curriculum draws from several
  different subject areas and focuses on a theme or
  concept rather that a single subject.
• Helps put the lesson in perspective instead of
  learning isolated facts
• Sample themes
• The life cycle
• The use of symbols
• A sense of time and space

37
Who plans the curriculum

• Textbook publishers influence what is taught (CA
  and TX)
• Federal government see national educational goals
• State departments of education develop broad
  aims for school curricula and specific minimum
  requirements for students to learn
• Classroom teacher plan the curriculum that
  students actually experience

38
Critique of textbooks

• Artificially lowered reading levels (dumbing
  down)
• Questionable gimmicks to hold students attention
• Poor writing