Instructional Principles

Instructional Principles

1. highly effective teachers and schools

   • create a stimulating literate environment
     • classroom filled with print
       • books of all kinds
       • created by students
         • reports
         • books
         • charts
         • projects
       • created by teacher
         • instructional charts
         • words and topics being studied
         • graphic organizers
     • students constantly busy
       • multiple activities and tasks happening at same time
     • instruct whole class
     • work with small groups
     • confer with individual students
     • wide range of texts employed
       • basal readers
       • children's literature
       • nonfiction books
       • magazines
       • students' own writing
     • rich combination of direct explicit skill instruction
       • phonemic awareness
       • phonics
       • comprehension
     • holistic activities
       • reading quality literature
       • book discussions led by teacher
       • book discussions led by students

2. traditional instructional principles

   • focusing on academically relevant tasks
   • employing active teaching
     • explains concepts and strategies
     • models strategies
     • guides students
   • fostering active learning
   • distinguishing between instruction and practice
     • proactive teaching
       • deliberately showing students how to do something before expecting them to do it themselves
     • reactive teaching
       • first asking students to do something and then showing them how only when they struggle
   • providing sufficient and timely feedback
   • teaching for transfer

3. constructivist and sociocultural perspectives on instruction

   • gradual release of responsibility model
     • depicts an entire instructional cycle during which students learn new skills and knowledge and gradually assume increased responsibility for learning
     • students gradually progress
       • teacher takes responsibiilty
       • students assume increasing responsibility
       • students take total or nearly total responsiility
       • guided practice
         • students and teacher work together
   • direct explanation
     • employs direct instruction, cognitive modeling and a gradual release of responsibility
   • cognitive modeling
     • teacher actually does something instead of telling students how to do it
     • teachers use explicit instructional talk to reveal thought process as they perform tasks
   • scaffolding
     • students try out new tasks and new strategies
     • teacher provides support by scaffolding students' efforts
     • process that enables a child or novice to solve a problem, carry out a task or achieve a goal which would be beyond his unassisted efforts
   • contextualizing, reviewing and practicing what is learned
   • cooperative learning
     • instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other's learning
     • instructional methods in which students of all performance levels work together toward a group goal
   • zone of proximal development
   • teaching for understanding