512+Agenda+-+7.24.14

Whadya Think?
Post questions, comments, ideas to discuss based on your professional engagement research on direct instruction (To post - 1) Sign in, 2) Click "edit", 3) Type your entry, 4) Sign your post (three tildes ~), 5) Click "save")

The conclusions presented in the article Sage //on the Stage// were very surprising to me. The findings indicate that students across achievement demographics perform better in a statistically-measurable way when time is shifted away from problem solving and towards lecture in a classroom. This result appears to run counter to the predominant message of the previous two EDTE courses that we've taken. However, it's not entirely clear to me on the basis of reading the article that this is so. I did not notice any explicit mention of the testing mechanism by which it was determined that student achievement improves with increased lecture time -- however, references were made to 'test scores' on several occasions, and this leads me to wonder whether the type of improvement that students experienced in the study is a type of improvement that we're interested in. user:jones.alecj

I, and apparently some others, found the TIMS analysis study "Sage on the Stage," very interesting. That they found a significant increase in student learning among teachers who used more lecture surprised me. I also would like to add that the discussion in the comments section was also very interesting and worth reading, as it contains some very cogent arguments both defending and criticizing this study. For an online comments section this is quite unusual indeed! I also would like to point out that the relatively animated lecture style in the first video I watched, "8th grade social studies" sseemed like a great way to lecture while still holding the students' attention. user:pcocco9870

I thought the articles and the videos were pretty interesting. I was very surprised by the "sage on the stage" article because it did a study that found students did better on standardized tests using lecture-styled teaching instead of problem-solving (IN MIDDLE SCHOOL!). I feel like both styles can be incorporated in a classroom, however, as we have learned in class students learn better when they are engaged. I was shocked to read that the lecture-style teaching was more effective in the middle school where the study was done. Middle school students have a difficult time sitting for long periods and if lecture is the main way they are taught then they are most likely just memorizing or writing what is written on the board. From personal experience, I learned better when critical thinking and activities were involved and I would remember what I learned. I found that the things I memorized I would forget it all after I took a test. user:mona.ali

I thought the articles were really interesting, and provided good evidence for both sides of the debate. I think lecture is the easiest way to tell students information, but the articles agree that it isn't always the best way for students to understand and remember concepts. A question I would have is how often to use lectures. If the teacher uses them every day, even if the lecture is broken up with examples from the articles such as think-pair-share, I think the students would still be rather bored by the material. I'm also wondering when the teacher should shift the lecture to an activity if it's clear that the students aren't interested, and how to do so effectively. Watching the video from the 8th grade social studies left me afraid that most activities that break up lecture monotony will be dull themselves. I'm not sure how to address that problem. user:mterry36

I thought there were some very interesting takes on interactive lecturing that can be taken into the classroom. I'm conflicted on using lectures because I have experienced how it can quickly lose an audience. On the other hand, I have been able to learn from lecture-based classrooms. I think the answer is a blend of both lecture and interaction (pretty much what was suggested in interactive lecturing). Reading about the possible negative consequences in lecturing, I can see that lecturing about issues in Social Studies could be problematic. Putting a bias on historical events or ideas in lectures would probably cause students to internalize that information. In that content area the focus should be on presenting students with the most unbiased information.user:gmaechler

After reading and watching on direct instruction, I realized that it is perfectly acceptable to use lecture in the classroom however, it should not be the only way you teach. The first video I watched had me nervous. I still was not sure if direct instruction meant a teacher lecturing for a full period while students only took notes, but after reading the articles as well, I realized that it is much more than standing behind a podium. Most of the articles made reference to the fact that lecturing can be effective in short doses, but must be mixed up with other activities such as discussion groups and personal journaling. Using a combination of strategies will allow students to engage all their senses, and hopefully create a learning environment that helps students retain information.user:am_kruse

“Bullet points kill people.” That was brilliant. PowerPoint really hasn’t been around for very long, yet it seems that classes cannot go a day without using it. I understand that it’s important to incorporate visual content alongside lectures, but is PowerPoint the most effective way? I mean, education has been going on for centuries; Jesus didn’t have PowerPoint, yet he got his point across pretty clearly. Am I just a snobby PowerPoint hater or is this really the best way to transmit direct instruction? user:krystalvalle

Interactive lecturing, I believe, can be valuable in the classroom if it is truly interactive. New interactive software creates innovative opportunities for making lectures creative and hands-on. Lecturing that does not productively take advantage of technology (and I’m not talking about PowerPoint) and does not utilize high levels of student engagement and feedback, however, seems extremely problematic in the secondary classroom. As the videos demonstrated, it is too easy to be a passive learner in these situations or to blend into the crowd of students and zone out. One issue in particular that I see with direct instruction and lecturing is its failure to address different learning styles. The “Sage” article mentions this as a critique, but fails to get at the core of the problem and downplays learning styles by referring to them as learning preferences. In fact, this article and its research were problematic on many levels. user:AliciaRosman

When I began reading about direct instruction, I figured that we would be presented with studies that showed how ineffective it is, how biased it is, and how it is really an old style of teaching that needs to be thrown by the wayside. While some of the readings showed a few of my initial thoughts to be true, my eyes began to be opened to the fact that direct instruction can be an effective method in a teacher’s bag of tricks. It seems that the biggest issue regarding direct instruction and its effectiveness is understanding when to use it and for how long. I am assuming it will be trial and error and will depend largely on how the students react to it. Am I on the right track here? user:hharper12

Direct Instruction will always have a place in the classroom. As mentioned in the “interactive lecture” article, it is a very effective way to present large amounts of information to a classroom of any size. I think that it is up to the teacher to utilize whatever skills and resources they have to make it as productive as possible. I have had teachers use a strict lecture approach and captivate me for entire class periods by relating topics to applicable real life issues or by simply applying a storytelling aspect. Unfortunately, I have experienced the exact opposite outcome as well. I guess what I’m trying to say, two teachers with different public speaking abilities will have dramatically different results if using the same methods. What works for you may not work for someone else and vise-versa. Play to your strengths and be prepared to modify if necessary. user:Ben.Davis7

After reading the articles about interactive lectures and ways to ensure effective learning, is not to use up an entire class period on a lecture, and add some creative ideas to the formula in order to keep students interested. Students learn differently and it is important that each students is learning effectively as their peers. Adding PowerPoint can be a great idea, but it also can bring challenges into the classroom. While students do find technology more interactive to learning, it can also cause a teacher to be reading off of it and not show any eye contact to his/her students. PowerPoint needs to be set up appropriately where there isn't very many words (using key terms that students need to know) and maybe show some pictures that give good examples (like showing pictures of Americans who suffered during the Great Depression or show "then and now" pictures of an event and explain the outcome of the historical event) so students can get a good example about the particular issue (by the way this does not only apply to history despite my two previous examples). The most important part overall is to make it interactive for the learner and its also important for the teacher to come out of their comfort zone at times in order to make learning interactive so students can be able to take something with them outside of class. If the teacher just goes their own way and not take any input, the teacher fails, not the student! user:kevinrenner89

I thought that the articles and videos were very helpful. I also liked the different ideas to avoid death by power point. There were a lot of good ideas around interactive lectures and I think that it is something that is easily adaptable to lecture style teaching. There were some very interesting things that were seen to be beneficial in lecture style classrooms. The increase in test scores is something that was very interesting because the culture today is so based around test scores and everything seems to be going that way. It seems that lecture style teaching then will be the best. There are of course downsides which include the fact that it is more rote memory and is something that is teacher focused rather than student focused. This is something I had conflict with as we have focused the last few weeks really looking at constructivism and learner focused teaching. The question that I really had was how do you find the right balance for you, your class, and your school because there are a lot of good things with both styles and direct instruction will always be in a classroom. user:Tomas427

I definitely believe lectures have their place in the classroom, however, like much of the direct instruction information stated, they should always be interactive or provide visuals. Lecturing has its place as a great tool to begin a lesson with, such as in the video of the 8th grade class learning background information about the great depression. The teacher uses lecture and power point to introduce some terms and definitions to open up the subject and also has students write or interact with each other to stay interested. I thought it was interesting to learn that lecturers should try to block their presentations using the ‘rule of three’ because attention tends to decrease after 10-12 minutes, (a lot like middle school students needing 15 minute blocks). This chunking of information allows students to process the information more effectively. user:jordanashley016

Agenda
Objectives:
 * I can write an effective learning objective
 * I can explain the characteristics of effective direct instruction

EMAIL MARIN

9:00 - 9:10 - Welcome & Review
 * Notetaker - TJ user:Tomas427
 * Photographer - Kevin
 * Reviewer - Ben
 * Snacks - Krystal, Mo

9:10 - 9:25 - Questions about course, syllabus, assignments user:Tomas427
 * layered learning contract
 * Turn in assignments to blackboard
 * Housekeeping
 * activity guides direct, inquiry, cooperative and text based teaching
 * two partner, two individual (1,3 partner)
 * Teach one with a partner and one individually
 * There will be an example posted today
 * Text based
 * text at the heart of the lesson
 * Can be text, video, outside source
 * Inquiry
 * Based on a question students have

9:25 - 10:00 - Writing objectives practice
 * Rating Objectives: Go to the lesson plan sites below. (Browse the objectives/targets for 5 lesson plans in your subject area. Copy the objectives onto this [|document] (include the link to the plan). Evaluate the objective and rate it as poor, satisfactory, or exceptional. Explain why you chose that rating.
 * []
 * [|(http://thegateway.org/ - website is down)]
 * []
 * []
 * Bloom's Taxonomy -http://pinterest.com/justinstallings/blooms-taxonomy/
 * http://www.cobbk12.org/sites/alt/training/Blooms/circle.GIF (Verbs for objectives)
 * Bloom's Taxonomy user:Tomas427
 * starts with remember, to understand, to apply, to analyze, to evaluate, to create
 * most objectives stay in the understand region
 * create might be culminating or first big idea
 * create might be culminating or first big idea

9:30 -10:00 - NTSG - Attention Getting Techniques (stop. wait. smile, proximity, call out desirable behavior, future conversation, specific instructions, lower your voice, focus energy, 2 minute re-focus activities)
 * Practice introducing your objectives - []

10:00 - 10:30 - Conversation Cards, Direct Instruction

10:30 - 10:40 - Break

10:40 - 11:10 - Crash Course in Direct Instruction
 * []


 * It is a tool, good in some situations, important to use a variety
 * Middle school is harder because they won't have the attention span
 * group discussions
 * Groups were formed, had a leader, wrote on a note card before, took in other ideas, collaborated on whiteboard
 * pros
 * freedom
 * Know there were topics discussed
 * hear different ideas, listening to others
 * cons
 * can get off task easily
 * All read the same things
 * Might not say anything about some material
 * Hall groups (birthday grouping) were random, get students moving, right classroom culture/community
 * Direct instruction demo
 * Difference between teaching something and students learning something
 * Teaching the teacher does, learning is something the student does
 * Assume teaching is talking, learning is listening
 * Argued to be the other way
 * Types of assessment
 * diagnostic
 * What they know before
 * formative
 * Understanding along the way, as it is being formed
 * summative
 * What students have learned at the end user:Tomas427

11:10 - 11:30 - Designing a rubric for direct instruction
 * [[file:Direct Instruction Activity Guide.docx]]

11:30 - 12:00 - Writing a Lesson Plan

12:00 - 12:20 - Lunch

12:20 - 1:00- Write a direct instruction activity guide
 * 15 minutes, no more than 7 slides
 * Compelling introduction
 * Engaging throughout (interest, passion, enthusiasm)
 * Clear objective
 * At least 3 opportunities for interaction
 * Effective visuals
 * Checking for understanding
 * Conclusion

1:00 - 3:00 - Language Camp Celebration


 * Housekeeping:**
 * Complete direct instruction activity guide with your partner. Upload to Blackboard before Monday.
 * [|Link to a Model] Direct Instruction Activity Guide template - [[file:Direct Instruction Activity Guide template-2014.docx]]


 * Teaching Demos for Monday -
 * 1.
 * 2.
 * 3.
 * P.E.T. - Text-Based Instruction - Spend about 90 minutes exploring these sites and other related questions. Take notes on what you find meaningful. Come prepared to discuss what you learned and to ask questions related to text-based instruction. Post 1-2 questions at the top of the agenda page.
 * Start to think about what lessons you'd like to plan for the final assessment for this course. You'll plan two connected lessons in your subject area using the lesson design plan and following the TPA focus for your subject area:
 * English – “construct meaning from and interpret a complex text”
 * History/Social Studies – “critically evaluate accounts or interpretations about an historical event or social studies phenomenon, and to defend their claims/arguments”
 * Math – “develop their understanding of mathematical concepts, procedures, and reasoning/problem solving”
 * Science – “develop their science inquiry skills to collect and record scientific evidence, using the evidence along with science concepts to explain a phenomenon”
 * World Languages – “develop students’ communicative proficiency in the target language in a meaningful cultural context.”
 * Reviewer?