Today, we are talking Strategy! No. I am not your football coach who is reviewing plays with you before the big game on Friday night. However, I am you Teacher Coach for the next few moments. If you will, think of teaching as a game. You know from having played any sort of game in the past that in order to “win” or at least give your best shot…. you need to have a strategy. Throughout my post, I am going to share with you some of my own personal ideas about incorporating strategy within the classroom, as well respond to others theory about successful strategies used within the classroom. Okay everyone… break!
Activating Prior Knowledge
There are multiple ways of using strategies to active prior knowledge. It is an essential part that we as educators help our students learn how to use prior knowledge so that they can use their learning that they already have to learn more about other types of academics. In the future, I see that myself using think-pair-share in almost every one of my lessons. As well as the two minute talks. 
Having students talk amongst themselves is often when they learn and take away the most.
As frustrating as this is to a teacher, it’s the facts and there is nothing that we can do about it. Peers learn best from their other peers. The think-pair-share is to engage students in about their prior knowledge of a topic by having students will have individual time to think about a question related to the topic of study. They will then pair up with a partner to share their thoughts.
Finally, the pairs will select one major idea to share with the entire class. The two-minutes talks are to activate prior knowledge and focus student learning on the topic about to be addressed. Students will share with a partner by brainstorming everything they already know (prior knowledge) about a skill, topic, or concept. In doing so, they are establishing a foundation of knowledge in preparation for learning new information about the skill, topic, or concept.
English Language Learner’s
Now according to Rigorous Curriculum Design: How to Create Curricular Units of Study that Align Standards, Instruction, and Assessment. Written by Larry Ainsworth.
“Addressing the instructional needs of English Language Learners as they move through the five established levels of language acquisition and helping those student access both content and language through Sheltered Instruction (SI) or Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) method are essential to providing all student with the federally required equal access to core instruction.” (pg.196)
The strategies that are recommended for educators to use when they are instructing those who are ELL students are flexible learning groups, active participating and interactive learning experiences and different instruction. Many of these strategies are the same as strategies for differentiation. It all comes down to providing the student what he/she best needs to succeed.
Research-Based Instructional Strategies
Throughout the many years, we have learned that we are now in the “data-era” of education. What this means is that the importance of research-based instructional strategies is to be on the data-based teaching level. This has come to be in a multitude of reasons. One of which being the common core state standards that have been incorporated in every school almost nationwide.
From the book written by Larry Ainsworth we are told that,” instructional strategies can be defined as the specific actions educators take to help students achieve specific learning targets. In other works, strategies are the methods or techniques teachers use to increase student understanding.” (pg. 182)
I have seen these techniques used amongst special education classrooms as well as general education. One of the more frequently used research-based effective teaching strategies that is used in the special education classroom, is setting clear and relist goals and objectives. There are a numerous of reasons as to why this research-based strategy is most effective for the students in the special education classroom. One of which being, the clearer the teacher is with what is expected the easier that the student who is in special education will be able to comprehend what their job is during those academic times.
An example of how research-based instructional strategies are effective in the general education classes is setting objectives and proving feedback. This is not only effective with primary age students, but as well as with college age students. When students are receiving feedback both positive and constructive is more beneficial than one may think. It raises the effort that the student wants to put into their work because they know that their work is actually being read and looked over. Many times a teacher will get students with an attitude, “Why do we have to do this? This is stupid…” These types of attitude are developed over the years of students who have teachers that aren’t giving any feedback, positive or negative.
Students become to believe that their work is not valued, therefore not wanting to put in the effort that is necessary. With all of this said, my hope is to utilize the research-based teaching strategies without needing to explicitly write it into a lesson plan by providing this feedback. By giving this feedback, it will overall make the learning environment a much more positive place and make them feel as though they are cared about the work they are producing.
Until next time, happy blogging!
~Abby
