Instruction
To understand how well students learn, instruction is needed. Instruction is defined as the strategies students will use to master the content and skills determined in curriculum. Students must determine the best way to learn. Once they understand what they are learning, how will they show mastery? and why they are learning it, according to Crowe and Kennedy.
You can review How to Plan Curriculum using SLP Guiding Questions to plan what students are learning.
Plan Instruction Using Strategic Learning Practice (SLP)
A teacher can move a student toward ownership of their learning by strategically deciding when to offer the following three learning practices:
| Strategic Learning Practices | Each student must answer the following questions | Reflection: How well do you develop students to own how they are learning? |
|---|---|---|
| Instruction 1: Each and every student is supported by opportunities for meaningful engagement using structured student-to-student communication. | How does engaging in conversations with my peers push my learning? How do I participate in these conversations? What is my role as both a speaker and listener? | Student communications build toward mastery of the relevant standards and measurable and achievable learning outcomes. Multiple and varied opportunities for student communication are provided. Student communications are structured to provide rigorous and high-quality conversations. Structured communications include reciprocal speaking and listening opportunities for each student. |
| Instruction 2: Each and every student is supported by opportunities for meaningful engagement using effective instructional strategies. | How does engaging in conversations with my peers push my learning? How do I participate in these conversations? What is my role as both a speaker and listener? | Instructional strategies build toward mastery of the relevant standards and measurable and achievable learning outcomes. Instructional strategies require high levels of active participation. Instructional strategies account for the different needs of your students. Students must reflect on the purpose and value of the instructional strategy. |
| Instruction 3: Each and every student is supported by opportunities for meaningful engagement, in which instructional time is efficiently used. | How much time do I have to learn this? How can I use my time most efficiently? How can these routines help me in the future? | All time is used to meaningfully engage students toward mastery of the relevant standards and measurable and achievable learning outcomes. The pace keeps all students actively participating. Routines are used to maximize instructional time and exclude nonproductive time. |
In Strategic Learning Practices, authors lay out the following:
- Clearly define each learning practice
- Describe what implementation looks and sounds like in the classroom
- Share teacher planning questions and offer examples of how students have been supported with these learning practices in various content areas and grade level
- Explain how these practices directly lead to increased student ownership
Strategic Learning Practice Instruction 1
Instruction 1: Each and every student is supported by opportunities for meaningful engagement using structured student-to-student communication.
For SLP instruction 1, each student must answer the following questions for students to own their learning regarding instruction:
- How does engaging in conversations with my peers push my learning?
- How do I participate in these conversations?
- What is my role as both a speaker and listener?
Crowe and Kennedy define each aspect of this practice:
Opportunities are those chances for students to actively engage. The greater the quantity and quality of these opportunities, the higher the probability of student learning.
Meaningful engagement occurs when students are involved in interactions that directly lead to increased understanding or mastery of the learning outcome.
Structured implies these interactions have a purpose, a value, and a goal. The teacher or students can plan these interactions, but everyone should be clear on their role in the interaction.
Student-to-student communication is an interaction between students, in which they can push their thinking and understanding of the learning through speaking and listening.
What does the students’ interactions look like in the classroom?
I found an example in the book Engagement by Design: Creating a Learning Environment Where Students Thrive by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Russell J. Quaglia, and Dominique Smith. Fisher and Frey provided Mark Castro’s classroom as an example.
Entering Mark Castro’s classroom, visitors notice the range of interactions students have within the classroom. Some groups are engaged in animated discussions, and others are sitting knee to knee, talking with a partner. At one table, a group of students discuss the questions they want to ask another group.
“I think we should first ask about the big idea,” Andrew says, “like why the author wrote this.”
Tierra agrees, “I like that because I don’t think we should start with the details, because then it gets too boring to find the information right there.”
“But I think we should have some detail questions ready, because there are some important things to remember, but they can come after the big ideas,” Brianna adds. “Remember, we’re supposed to make sure they understood this [Pointing to the paper]. Who knows how we will be asked to show that we understood? So, I think we need to make sure that details are included.”
Andrew responds, “Good point. Can we each write one question and then ask each other the questions, so that we can test them out and talk about them?”
The group gets to work.
Background information on Mr. Castro Students
- All Mr. Castro students are at risk for educational failure in one way or the other.
- All students live in poverty and many have attended multiple schools.
- Several students are learning English as an additional language.
- Five out of 33 students identified disabilities.
When asked Mr. Castro about his students’ achievement, his humble replied, “My students want to learn”. “They just need to be shown the way.”
Fisher and Frey believe Mr. Castro students achieve because they are engaged in learning.
Implementing the Practice
Recap: The unit we are covering is The Power of Friendship, based on the story “Charlotte’s Web”. The skill is to identify and describe specific character traits using evidence from the text.
Since meaningful engagement happens in those times when students are involved in interactions that directly lead to increased understanding or mastery of the learning outcome, the unit focuses on engaging discussion activities in describing character traits and they are:
- Use Mentor Texts: Select texts with well developed characters to help students identify character traits, motivations, and feelings. Books like “Each Kindness” and “The Day the Crayons Quit” are great examples.
- S.T.E.A.L Method: Encourage students to analyze characters using the S.T,E.A.L acronym, which stands for Speech, Thoughts, Effect on Others, Actions, and Looks. This method helps students organize their thoughts and provides a structure way to analyze characters.
