Adding To My Teacher's Toolbox: Instructional Techniques To Remember

Lecture/Interactive Presentation: Although a lecture is not my favorite mode of teaching, it is a quick and direct way to give students the information and knowledge that they need. This teacher centered practice can help break down complex topics that would be difficult for students to learn on their own. A lecture can feel monotonous if students are expected to sit quietly and listen throughout the entire lecture. Throughout the lecture I will ask students for questions, or pose questions to make sure they are following along. To ensure the success of the lecture students will need to bring all of the necessary note taking materials as well as know the expectation of active participation. Activities like think pair share or exit tickets are good assessments to end a lecture or interactive presentation with. 

Divergent Questioning:  Divergent questioning is a type of question that requires greater deliberation and broader responses. The teacher does not ask these questions with a specific answer in mind, she should ask these questions in order to elicit the student thinking.  This kind of questioning is conducive as a warm up to a lesson or class to get the students thinking critically. While you could use divergent questions on a summative assessment, I plan on using them as a formative assessment to see where my students are at, and how I need to teach my lesson for the day to expand their thinking. Socratic Seminar: A Socratic seminar is a helpful teaching tool that combines questioning and discussion. In an English class this kind of seminar can be used a lot especially in discussions about the required text. To prepare for it, students are expected to have read, annotated, and prepared questions to discuss with the group. It makes students accountable for their learning, because the more they put into it the more they get out of it. Students are not only encouraged to speak and take notes but use the board and other classroom materials during the session. In terms of classroom management, the teacher should not be speaking more than the students during this, however if the conversation begins to lull or get off task they should step in to redirect or prompt as necessary. Like the questioning method, this method does not elicit a summative assessment but the questioning should be used as a formative assessment for the teacher. The knowledge learned can be used in a summative assessment elsewhere, like in a written assignment. 

Jigsaw: The jigsaw activity is a cooperative learning activity that lets students form connections and relationships by using groups to examine small pieces of a concept that the entire class is studying. The students have a “home group” and an “expert group”. The experts for each topic get together to discuss and then go back to their home groups to share the information. It is effective because it allows students to get up, move around, and work in small groups to achieve a common goal. In order to manage this classroom activity successfully, it is important to monitor the groups by walking around the room and making sure each student is accomplishing their task. This also helps the teacher to monitor the progress of each group to make sure the goals set forth are being accomplished. A good way to assess students is by doing a self and group assessment to have students critically think about the work they produced and how effective it was. 

Dramatization: A dramatization is basically like putting on a mini show in your classroom for a lesson. Since high school English curricula often implement Shakespeare, and other short plays, dramatization allows students to act out the entire play or different scenes. The dramatization includes setting a target, choosing parts, developing props, performing, and debriefing afterwards. Clearly stating expectations and goals is important for this strategy. Since it involves active participation students may become loud and disruptive, it is important to set these expectations early to maintain a positive environment. In order to assess a dramatization a teacher should not assess a student’s acting ability but rather their participation and willingness throughout the course of the project. In the debriefing the teacher should assess if the dramatization has helped them be able to empathize with the character or situation that was being acted out. 

The Issues/Values Continuum: The issues and values continuum is a form of discussion that forces students to assess their own values while also learning to respect and learn from the opinions of others in the classroom. This method can help the teacher talk about difficult topics that arise in literature to help students understand them more. These in depth discussions can even help them prompt ideas for their own research. The physical continuum is a line drawn across the board with one viewpoint on the right, the other on the left. Students explain their viewpoint by moving the point on the board and they are able to change throughout the discussion. In order to get every student to share their opinions during this activity a think pair share before might be helpful so students feel more confident sharing their responses with the rest of the group. It also gives them time to gather their thoughts and share their ideas. To assess student learning the teacher can create a rubric based on participation and the quality of student responses.