I. What are elements of effective instruction beyond a good lesson?

SELF-CHECK ITEM: Draw a diagram showing the significance of and interrelationships among quality of instruction, appropriate levels of instruction, incentive, and time.

POSSIBLE ANSWER:

SELF-CHECK ITEM: Describe the two major types of ability grouping. Give examples of their appropriate use. What does the research literature say about the effectiveness of ability grouping?

QUESTION 1: Describe the two major types of ability grouping. Give examples of their appropriate use.

POSSIBLE ANSWER: The two major types of ability grouping are between-class ability grouping and within-class ability grouping. Between-class ability grouping refers to grouping students in separate classes by ability, resulting in rather homogeneous classes (e.g., intermediate algebra). Within-class ability grouping refers to classrooms being divided into groupings by ability level, such as an elementary school class divided into different reading groups by ability (e.g., bluebirds, redbirds, and yellowbirds).

QUESTION 2: What does the research literature say about the effectiveness of ability grouping?

POSSIBLE ANSWER: Research does not support the efficacy of between-class ability grouping. Although there may be some benefits for students assigned to high-track classes, those gains are offset by losses to students assigned to low-track classes. In contrast to the findings regarding between-class ability grouping, researchers have found support for within-class ability grouping. Focusing primarily on elementary school math, researchers have found benefits for high, average, and low ability students in those math classes in which teachers employed within-class ability grouping.

SELF-CHECK ITEM: Define mastery learning. What are its underlying philosophy and assumptions? In what context is mastery learning appropriate? Explain formative assessment, summative assessment, and corrective instruction.

QUESTION 1: Define mastery learning.

POSSIBLE ANSWER: Mastery learningis a learning strategy by which teachers enable all students to achieve learning objectives by allowing learning time to vary as needed.

QUESTION 2: What are its underlying philosophy and assumptions?

POSSIBLE ANSWER: The underlying philosophy of mastery learning is that all students achieve a specific level of mastery before moving on to more advanced levels. Its assumption is that almost every student can learn the appropriate skills in the curriculum when the learning is broken into its component parts and presented sequentially. Further, it is the teacher’s job to realize the assumption.

QUESTION 3: In what context is mastery learning appropriate?

POSSIBLE ANSWER: Mastery learning is time-consuming and labor intensive. Therefore, teachers should be selective in its application. Teachers should limit the use of mastery learning to those aspects of the curriculum to which mastery learning is most relevant and to situations where prerequisite knowledge/skills are essential for future learning.

QUESTION 4: Explain formative assessment, summative assessment, and corrective instruction.

POSSIBLE ANSWER:

• Formative assessment: Formative assessment is frequent assessment of student learning to enable adjusting instruction to meet the individual needs of learners.
• Summative assessment: These are final evaluations on each learning objective designed to see if students have attained desired competence within the allotted time frame.
• Corrective instruction: Corrective instruction is added instruction, perhaps after school, designed to bring students failing to meet a pre-established mastery criterion to the desired mastery criterion.

SELF-CHECK ITEM: Describe appropriate ways of individualizing instruction using peer, cross-age, and adult tutoring.

POSSIBLE ANSWER:

• Peer tutoring: Peer tutoring can be employed with either same-age or older peers. Peer tutoring is useful for both the tutor and the tutee. One method is to have students get together in dyads or other small groups, taking turns being tutor and tutee. Therefore, students who know more about one subject can push challenged students to higher levels of mastery.
• Cross-age tutoring: This strategy involves older peers tutoring younger students. Teachers can workout time for student exchanges, whereby half a class of older students can visit a class of younger students to tutor a subject like reading, one on one. Students from the younger class can visit the older students’ class for one-on-one tutoring as well.
• Adult tutoring: Adult tutoring benefits tutees by spending needed time on difficult questions that students struggle to answer in class or in homework. Therefore, when students fail to apprehend concepts in the classroom, volunteer or paid tutors can cover those concepts in greater detail until students apprehend the concept in question.

SELF-CHECK ITEM: Explain how drill and practice, tutorials, instructional games, simulations, and the Internet can be used in classrooms. What does the research literature say about each of these technology applications?

QUESTION 1: Explain how drill and practice, tutorials, instructional games, simulations, and the Internet can be used in classrooms.

POSSIBLE ANSWER: Computer-based instruction provides appropriate levels of instruction; it can analyze students’ responses immediately to determine whether to spend more time on a particular topic or skill. Further, the computer is ideal for presenting pictures or diagrams to reinforce concepts. Moreover, computers use stimulating multimedia to reinforce appropriate responses.

• Drill and practice should be used to reinforce skills or knowledge students have learned elsewhere, not as substitutes for instruction.
• Tutorial programs can teach new material, adjusting instruction to the student’s level of comprehension. Teachers should select programs carefully, as advances in technology are producing exciting innovations in software, so that tutorials mimic real teacher-student interactions.
• Instructional games can be used to reinforce concepts and teach self-regulatory skills like attention.
• The Internet is ideal for research and communication. Teachers can connect students with other students around the world. However, teachers must use caution, as the Internet is full of unreliable sources and surprises, some of which are not appropriate for children.

QUESTION 2: What does the research literature say about each of these technology applications?

POSSIBLE ANSWER: Most researcher findings indicate that computer-based instruction has small to moderate-size positive effects on achievement. It is generally more effective as an adjunct to regular instructional methods, rather than as a substitute.

SELF-CHECK ITEM: Define at risk and placed at risk. What conditions place students at risk? Give examples of compensatory education programs, early intervention programs, and comprehensive school reform programs.

QUESTION 1: Define at risk and placed at risk.

POSSIBLE ANSWER: The term at risk, in the context education, refers to children who are more likely to experience negative educational outcomes due to some predisposition, like low socio-economic status. The newer term placed at risk defers responsibility from the individual to external factors, such as teachers, family, or community, that place the student at risk for poor educational outcomes.

QUESTION 2: What conditions place students at risk?

POSSIBLE ANSWER: Conditions that place a student at risk include, family, community, schools, and teachers.

QUESTION 3: Give examples of compensatory education programs, early intervention programs, and comprehensive school reform programs.

POSSIBLE ANSWER:

• Compensatory education programs: An example of a compensatory education program is Title I, a federally funded program that provides financial support for schools for the provision of extra services to students from low-income families having trouble in school.
• Early intervention programs: Early intervention programs are designed to provide infant stimulation and parent training for children from birth to about five years of age. One example is the Carolina Abecedarian program, providing intensive intervention for children from low-income families from infancy to school entry. Another example is Reading Recovery, which provides one-on-one intervention to first graders not reading adequately.
• Comprehensive school reform programs: Comprehensive school reform programs introduce research-based strategies into every aspect of school functioning. Examples of such programs include Success for All and Direct Instruction, both of which provide specific student material for each subject and detailed guides for using them. Others like Co-nect focus on infusing technology school-wide.