InTASC+8



"Learning is something students do, NOT something done to students." -Alfie Kohn (8q)

//InTASC Standard 8: Instructional Strategies //

Typically when thinking of an English classroom, the mental image is one where students are being lectured to by a teacher with the same book open in front of each individual. In reality, when this occurs the students are unengaged and do not learn as effectively or as much as they could if the instruction was student-centered instead of teacher-centered. The eighth InTASC Standard, “Instructional Strategies,” states that an educator uses a variety of instructional strategies that she understands to encourage learners to develop a deep understanding of disciplines and their connections in order to apply the knowledge gained in meaningful ways (8i). Specifically, educators should think back to when they were a student, what they observed while student teaching, and activities they learned in college courses in order to develop a list of ever-growing activities that they can employ in their own classroom to engage and instruct students. To add to this list, teachers can read about instructional strategies in trusted article journals and consult with fellow teachers in their department, school, and district (8r). Sample activities in English that effectively encourage learners to think about what they are learning and make connections to the material include Socratic circles, poetry presentations, song analysis projects, designing and defending a tattoo for a character from a reading, dramatizing a scene, character perspective debates, and jigsaw activities. One instructional strategy that I have seen regularly implemented in my mentor’s classroom is the think/pair/share activity. In this activity, students independently read an assigned piece and jot down their personal notes. Students are then assigned a partner with whom to discuss their findings. Afterward, students share the highlights of their discussion with the entire class. In this example, students create their own opinions, debate with a partner to form a deeper understanding, and then listen and share with the class to hear what ideas their peers formulated in their own critical analysis discussions. Instructional activities enhance student learning and engagement in disciplines and subject matter by allowing them to experience different methods of learning. In this way, educators can vary activities so that all students learn in the style (be it kinesthetic, visual, auditory, verbal, etc) that is best for them throughout the semester (8h). Such variance also prevents students from becoming bored with the predictability of the environment of the school day. Finally, different instructional strategies aid in transforming learning into fun activities where students can develop their critical and creative skills to examine how what they are learning is meaningful to their lives.

Lesson Segment #3



Artifact Description  What is this artifact? This artifact is a lesson on the meaning of "vacation" after reading Julia Alvarez's //Something to Declare// that I planned for my 8th grade language arts classes. For this lesson students began by sharing a memory of a vacation that they had experienced. Based on their responses the students worked as a class to construct a class definition for "vacation". Students then conducted a close-reading of the first two pages of //Something to Declare//, marking examples of setting and conflicts in the text. To conclude the lesson, students constructed a paragraph response analyzing their definition of a vacation with Julia Alvarez's definition of a vacation.  How does this artifact demonstrate evidence of my mastery of the InTASC Standard? This artifact demonstrates my proficiency in //InTASC 8: Instructional Strategies// because I planned multiple instructional strategies into the lesson that were both teacher and student centered. The opening activity allowed students to engage in a teacher directed, whole class discussion. The body of the lesson had students independently conduct a close-reading of the text and then work in pairs to compare their findings. Finally, the closure had students construct a brief essay response to reflect on an important aspect of the text.  In what way did this artifact contribute to/relate to positive impact on student learning during my final internship? Incorporating multiple instructional strategies positively impacts student learning by preventing monotony in any lesson. Monotony causes student boredom and/or frustration. By eliminating such elements from a lesson the instructor has an increased chance of keeping students' attention. Additionally, the use of different instructional strategies aids in keeping the method of learning fresh and engaging, motivating students to learn the materials. Finally, by teaching students that learning is fun and engaging, instructors teach intrinsic motivation to their students, a skill that will positively impact student learning for the rest of their lives.  How does this artifact demonstrate the Planning-Teaching-Learning cycle? This lesson demonstrates the "judging prior knowledge," "planning" and "teaching" components of the Planning-Teaching-Learning cycle because the lesson allowed me to actively incorporate each student's prior knowledge with the term "vacation" to enhance their comprehension of the instructional text. Additionally, such active engagement during the beginning of the lesson motivated students to participate throughout the remainder of the lesson and made the text intriguing. Once students had a basis to work from they were able to work independently and in pairs to learn the lesson's content independently. include page="zStyle_bground_green"