- In the chapter-opening vignette, Ms. Logan uses a variety of instructional strategies in the lesson on sound. Which of the following statements from the vignette is an example of Ms. Logan using direct instruction?
- ANSWER: b) Ms. Logan whet her students' appetites for learning about sound by having them experiment independently, filling bottles with different amounts of liquid to produce sounds. Then, she called them back for the lesson.
- If Ms. Logan were to use a direct instruction approach to a science lesson on gravity, which of the following steps would come first?
- ANSWER: b) Ms. Logan would begin by stating the learning objective.
- According to research on direct instruction, why should Ms. Logan conduct learning probes during her lesson on sound?
- ANSWER: c) Ms. Logan should conduct learning probes to get feedback on student comprehension, thereby allowing her to make adjustments in her lesson plan as necessary to insure students apprehend the lesson.
- Ms. Logan plays a flute and a piccolo to demonstrate how sound waves travel through air. She hopes this demonstration will help her students understand the experiment with bottles of water. What principle of instruction is she using?
- ANSWER: c) Ms. Logan is hoping her demonstration will result in transfer of learning by example.
- After Ms. Logan's students work in groups to finish the lesson on sound, she tells them they will be tested individually to demonstrate their knowledge; however, their group can only be called "superteam" if everyone knows the material. What instructional strategy is the teacher using?
- ANSWER: b) Small group discussion. The group leader is responsible for keeping the group on task to complete the lesson on sound in order to become a superteam. The group works cooperatively, though, to ensure all students attain sufficient task mastery.
- Create a lesson using all the steps of a direct instruction lesson.
- POSSIBLE ANSWER:
- State learning objectives and orient students to the lesson: For example, I will say, "The objective of today's lesson is to understand the heart's function under stress." I will follow the objective by telling students I'm giving them a pop-quiz on the basic structure of the heart, a topic already studied. To whet their appetites, I will have them calculate a classmate's heart rate by palpating the radial artery on the wrist near the thumb and calculating beats per minute. I will use the results to demonstrate how the heart rate increases during stress. Then, I will relax them with a brief imagery exercise and have classmates re-calculate each other's heart rates.
- Review prerequisites: I will give students a worksheet with a drawing of the heart and ask student to identify different structures. Students will exchange worksheets and grade them. We will then briefly review prerequisite knowledge.
- Present new material: The lesson will be presented, paying close attention for student comprehension. If I detect student confusion, I will stop and ask for clarification of understanding. I will also use examples to help transfer concepts learned in class to outside of classroom settings, like giving a presentation in front of a club.
- Conduct learning probes: To ensure comprehension of new material, I will pose questions to a variety of students by randomly selecting student names from the class list until all students have had a chance to answer. If I detect confusion, I will have students apprehending the concepts to clarify the concepts for students failing to apprehend the concepts.
- Provide independent practice: I will have students work on interpreting a vignette by discussing the physical processes underlying a stress-provoking situation. I will have students exchange worksheets for correction.
- Assess performance and provide feedback: Student work on the aforementioned vignette will be assessed in a large group discussion, after students have exchanged their papers with classmates for grading. In this manner, feedback will be almost immediate.
- Finally, to ensure that students retain knowledge beyond the classroom, I will assign homework that requires students to collect their own heart rate information at set intervals, recording the surrounding circumstances occurring at the time of the recordings. This material will be presented to class, in a non-threatening fashion, to ensure compliance.
- What are some advantages and disadvantages of small-group discussions and whole-group discussions?
- POSSIBLE ANSWER: Both small and whole-group discussions have several advantages and disadvantages. A key advantage of large group discussions for the instructor is the ability to maintain control over the course of the discussion and to include a variety of students. However, this advantage can easily turn into a disadvantage if teachers fail to pursue fertile topics or ignore all but the most motivated students. For students, large group discussions allow opinions to be voiced to a larger audience and perhaps build competence in public speaking. A drawback, however, applies to the socially anxious student for whom public speaking is a dreadful event. As such, some teachers or students may come to see the quiet student as lacking motivation or loafing.
Small-group discussions also have a variety of advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are a less-threatening environment for students to speak their minds, and if arranged correctly, the ability for a variety of students of different abilities to work together, encouraging scaffolding. A disadvantage is lack of control, particularly among younger students. Therefore, student maturity is a big issue. Further, because each group needs a leader, teachers may discriminate and make only the highest-achieving students leaders.
