Fostering Strategies for Student Independence

Chapter 16

Romie GarciaMichelle MurrayElizabeth Pratt

What’s this chapter about?

Emphasizes importance of using effective strategy instruction in the

classroom.Shows how to facilitate the teaching-

learning connection.Explains why students have difficulty

developing independence.Demonstrates how to teach students to

develop independence inside and outside of the classroom.

Effective Strategy Instruction: The Teaching-Learning Connection What’s a strategy?

Step-by-step cognitive processes and plans for reading, studying, and problem solving.

Okay, what does the mean in the classroom?

Strategies are deliberately controlled processes, they are goal-oriented. They go

hand-in-hand with skills.

The Goals of Strategy Instruction

To support students as they develop independence in completing learning tasks and eventually become skilled .

Such independent learners are known as executive learners.

What makes an executive learner?

Are knowledgeable about personal learning strengths and challenges.

Have a clear understanding about tasks to be accomplished.

Have a repertoire of learning strategies that can be applied in independent

learning situations.Have developed a set of help-seeking

behaviors.

How do my students become executive learners?

GuidelinesChoose Strategies

CarefullyPresent Content and

Strategies Concurrently

Teach Strategies in Stages

AwarenessKnowledgeSimulationPracticeSkill

Make Strategy Discussion a Regular

part of Class Routines

Tips for TeachersDifferent strategies

are designed for different purposes.

Not all strategies work for all students

For strategies to be useful they must be

presented in a memorable form.

Guidelines for Strategy Instruction Choose Strategies

CarefullyThere are many sources

available that provide a variety of different

strategies. You just have to go out and look for them!

Present Content and Strategies Concurrently.

You can increase the odds of your students using the strategies when you teach

them concurrently .Make Strategies a regular

part of the dayBrief class discussions

about specific learning tasks and how best to

accomplish them can be helpful.

Teach in StagesAwareness: Becoming

introduced to the strategy and its rational

Why use it?

Knowledge: Finding out when and how to use the

strategy as well as the procedures to use it.

Simulation: Trying it out!

Practice: Trying it out in actual reading and

studying

Skill: Making it a part of your regular routine.

Difficulties In Developing Independent Learners

Difficulty

Cognitive Cultural

Communicative

Educational

MotivationalOrganizational

Family

Jobs

Extracurricular

Difficulties In Developing Independent Learners

Things you can control

Your Advocacy for school wide

strategy learning

programs

Focus on teaching

students how to learn in your own

classroom.

Developing Independence: Personal Responsibility

Many students have a tough time self-monitoring, while others struggle with

self-determination .

Teaching students how to assume personal responsibility can help them

move beyond passivity and learned helplessness.

Self Monitoring

Self-monitoring includes: Self-Evaluation- self-analysis and goal

setting for either academic or behavioral task.

Self-recording: written documentation of incremental progress made in meeting

goals.It is important to set and monitor

progress

MARKERMARKER is an acronym that gives students a mark to work towards and is a marker of their progressMake a list of goals, set the order, set the date.Arrange a plan for each goal and predict your success.Run your plan for each goal and adjust if necessary.Keep records of your progress.Evaluate your progress toward each goal.Reward yourself when you reach a goal, and set a new goal. 

NOTEStudents usually work on 1 to 3 goals at a time keeping

progress on each goal.

Strategy used with middle and high school with learning disabilities and behavior disorders.

Can be difficult in a departmentalized setting.

For each goal, students use a Goal Planning Sheet on which they answerthe following questions:

Can I describe my goal?What is the reason or purpose for the goal?

Where am I going to work on and complete this goal?How much time do I have to complete the goal?What materials do I need to complete the goal?

Can I divide the goal into steps or parts? If so, in what orderShould I complete each step or part?

How am I going to keep records of my progress?How will I reward myself for reaching my goal?

 

Organizational SystemsTime Management

Some students will; need more support and continuity in learning how to get organized.

Ask parents for help.Have students set organizational goals for

improving their study environment.Check progress of goals throughout the school

year.Respect student personal matters if they do not

wish to share with class.Provide students with a list of materials to

organize their notebooks and that you will be reviewing it.

Work with students to organize their notebook.

Time Management Time Management is the organization and monitoring of time so that

tasks can be schedule and complete in an efficient and timely manner .Identify the task to be completedEstimate the time needed to complete the task Prioritizing task and estimating timescheduling the timework towards meeting deadlinesmonitoring progress and adjusting deadlines or tasksreviewing deadlines after task completion and adjusting schedules and

priorities based on past performanceNote:

Long range and short range planning are essential parts of your professional life.

Build a rational that explains to students the importance of planning . 

Suggestions for building rational:parents will “get off your back” when they see you getting your work done

on timeBeing in control of time makes you feel like you have more control over

your life

Time Management

Content Class IntegrationCan have a lesson at the beginning of the year time:

emphasizing time and its use or how it relates to productivity.

Teaching Time AnalysisTime analysis exercises:

Groups identify usual activities and estimate the time it takes to complete them list each school assignment and note whether they had to much, to little, or just enough time.

Have students compare their estimates with the actual time it took to complete the activities.

Time Management Planning and Monitoring a Schedule

Require students get a calendar if school does not provide one and a assignment notebook, to records assignment and due dates.

Steps required to planning:Records due dates for assignments , test, and projectsrecord regularly scheduled activities, study and personal and study timeIdentify complex task or projects, and break them into smaller task.Make a to-do list OF each day so that you can see how you need to plan

your time, particular study time.Set priorities 

Note:Monitoring task completion is the key to successful use of schedules and

to-do lists.Suggestions for monitoring:Meet with students to review the schedules and their monitoring.Have students adjust their schedule as necessary.Have students spend about 5 minutes during the class period to update

their schedules and cross off task they have completed.

Self-AdvocacyOccurs when individuals effectively communicate and

negotiate for their interest , desirers, needs, and rights by making informed decisions and taking responsibility for those

decisions.subset of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that constitute self-

determination.Self-determination include choice making, decision

making, and self-awareness.can be taught, beneficial to students with cognitive and

learning disabilities.Step 1: students work in instructional groups to develop their

own personal interestSteps 2-4: remaining steps focus on the communication skills

needed to present the information and advocate with teachers, parents, counselors, and others.

Steps are presented, discussed, and the practiced through role playing .

I PlAN and SHARE

I- Inventories are created but each individual in instructional groups; focus on students strengths, weakness, goals, and choices for learning or

accommodation.

P- Provide your inventory information.

L- Listen and Respond.

A- Ask questions.

N- Name your goals

Students learn the following SHARE behaviors to promote positive communication:

Sit straight up.

Have a pleasant tone of voice.

Activate you thinking.

Relax.

Engage in eye communication.

Note:

I PLAN and SHARE can be taught using role-playing activities.

Developing independence: Active Learning in the classroom

Listening to lectures, asking questions, and taking notes are skills critical for success in school.

Participating in ClassClassroom discussions go beyond teacher questions and

student responses.Discussions provide opportunities for expression of multiple

points of view, critical thinking, and information seeking.Cooperative learning groups and students pairs can be

excellent ways to promote class participation.

“Small group learning is complex, and cooperative teams don’t run by themselves. Students must know how to work

together and how to use techniques they have been taught.”

Listening and Taking Notes

There are two purposes for note taking:

External Storage FunctionEncoding Function

Purpose of Note Taking

External Storage Function means that taking notes in class provides the

student with a record of what was presented and discussed in class.

Encoding Function means that the physical act of taking notes promote

student engagement and learning.

Suggestions for Note Taking

Write down the date and title for each lecture.

Don’t worry about punctuation or grammar.

Use abbreviations for speed and efficiency.

Don’t write down every word the teacher says.

Record what the teacher puts on the board or includes on PowerPoint presentations or transparencies.

Underline, circle, or star anything the teacher repeats or emphasizes.

Don’t write more than one line per line.

Suggestions for Note Taking

Listen for digressions (times when the teacher gets off subject). It’s okay to take a mental break during these, but

don’t fall asleep.

Write down any questions the teacher asks, because these are likely to appear on future tests.

Don’t cram your writing into small space. Leave room to add more notes later.

Put questions marks by any points you don’t understand. Check them later with the teacher.

Teaching Note Taking

There are four key areas to teaching note taking:

.1Selectivity

.2Organization

.3Consolidation

.4Fluency

Teaching Note Taking

Selectivity- selecting the most important main ideas and detail

Organization- showing how key ideas are related

Consolidation- shrinking the key ideas in a telegraphic style

Fluency- rapid and efficient mote taking

Completing AssignmentsProject Strategy Steps:

Prepare your assignment sheetRecord and ask

OrganizeBreak the assignment into parts

Estimate the number of study sessionsSchedule the sessions

Take your materials homeJump into it

Engage in the workCheck your work

Turn in your work

Organizing and Planning for Long Term AssignmentsFor many students, developing the skills

to organize and plan long-term assignments and projects in a new

territory .

Here is a picture of a project planning form you can use to assist students in

planning long term assignment.

from the book (16.1)

Remembering Information

Provide time

for practic

e

Provide time

to review

How to

Enhance

student

Memory

Teach how to

apply

Use Visual Aids

Limit Amoun

t of Info

showed Activate

prior knowled

ge

Control rate

Cue Stude

nts

Remembering Information

Distributed Practice:Breaking up the material to be learned into

manageable chucks and then holding several short study sessions.

Over learning: Learning to masteryDirect teaching of memory strategies

can enhance student performance.

Lets Remember…

One kind of memory-triggering technique is known as mnemonic

devices .There are two types:

Letter StrategyKey word

Mnemonic Devices

Letter StrategyThere are two types:

Acronyms: words created by joining the first letters of a series of words.

Acrostics: sentences created by words that begin with the first letters of a series of words .

FIRST-letter mnemonic strategyIncludes an overall strategy (LISTS) and a

substrategy for making a mnemonic device (FIRST) .

Letter Strategy Mnemonic DevicesAcronyms

Radar: radio detecting and ranging

Scuba: self-contained underwater breathing

apparatusLaser: Light

amplification by stimulated emission of

radiation .

Acrostics

Every Good Boy Does Fine: Notes on the

lines of the treble clef staff: EGGBDF

King Henry Died Monday Drinking Chocolate Milk:

The Metric system: Kilo, Hecto, Deca,

Meter, Deci, Centi, Milli

My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine

Pizzas: The Planets in our

Solar System

LIST Strategy

Look for cluesIn class notes and books look for lists of

information that are important to learn.Investigate the items

Decide what should be included in the list.Select a mnemonic device, using FIRSTTransfer the information to a cardSelf-Test

FIRST-Letter StrategyForm a word

Using uppercase letters, write the first letter of each word in a list.

Insert a letter(s)Insert letters to see if a word can be made

Rearrange the lettersRearrange the letters to see what word can

be made.Shape a sentence

Try to construct a sentenceTry combination

Try combinations to see what works best

Key Word Strategy

Involves three steps1 .Identify a target word of concept to be

learned.2 .Identify a concrete, easily imagined “key

word” that is either phonetically or semantically related to the target word.

3 .Identify a visual image that links the key word to the meaning of the target word .

End of Chapter Quiz1 .Why is it important for students to be executive

learners?

2 .You have implemented a strategy in order to help your students learn about the water cycle

and planned the strategy beforehand and present the material to the class. Unfortunately you begin

to realize the strategy you thought was helpful isn’t. What could be some of the reasons as to

why your strategy may not have worked as you had expected?

3 .What are some of the reasons why students may have difficulty becoming independent

learners? How could you, as their teacher, help them learn how to become independent learners?

End of Chapter Quiz

4 .What does self- monitor include and how will you ensure your students learn

to use it? 5 .How many goals do students work on

at a time? Which ones do the student monitor the progress?

 6 .How can students improve their

studying environment?

End of Chapter Quiz

7 .What are some important aspects of time

management?

8 .Name 2 steps required to planning and explain

how you will use it in your classroom.

9 .What are the purposes of note taking?

End of Chapter Quiz

10 .What are some note taking suggestions you

could offer to your students?

11 .What are the four key areas of note taking and how are you going to ensure

your students understand these four areas?

12 .Describe some of the methods in which you can help your students remember important information.

End of Chapter Quiz

13 .Using what you have learned about how to enhance student memory how

would you help a student with learning disabilities memorize a particular

mnemonic device? 14 .Using what you learned about

mnemonic devices, construct your own mnemonic device that you’d use to help

your students remember something about the lesson they just learned .