Implementing EffectiveInstructional Strategies

Stephanie LindekugelConcordia University, St. Paul

ED 554: Curriculum and InstructionProfessor Michael Foster

June 9, 2015

“The only way to improveoutcomes is to improve

instruction.”

-Michael Barber & Mona Mourshed, How theWorld’s Best-Performing School Systems Come

Out on Top

Four Strategies• Summarizing and Note

Taking

• Comparing

• NonlinguisticRepresentations

• Cooperative Learning

Summarizing and Note Taking• Summarizing is the process of

breaking information down to its mainpoints to aid in understanding,memorizing, and learning the relevantmaterial.

• Note taking refers to the process ofcapturing key ideas.

Why Is This Important?• Students deepen their understanding of information because

these strategies involve higher-order thinking skills.

• Students proficient in summarizing and note-taking strategiesperform better on academic assessments.

• Students benefit from a variety of formats for taking notes.

• Students benefit from explicit instruction in note-takingstrategies. These skills are not intuitive.

Rule-based SummarizingStrategy

• Take out material that is not important tounderstanding.

• Take out words that repeat information.

• Replace a list of things with one word thatdescribes them (e.g., replace “oak, elm, and maple”with “trees”).

• Find a topic sentence or create one if it is missing.

Summary Frames

Conversation1. How did the members of the conversation greet one another?

2. What question or topic was insinuated, revealed, or referred to?

3. How did the conversation progress?

4. How did the conversation conclude?

Problem-Solution1. What is the problem?

2. What is the possible solution?

3. What is another possible solution?

4. Which solution has the best chance of succeeding and why?

Argumentation1. What is the basic claim or focus of the information?

2. What information is presented that leads to a claim?

3. What examples or explanations support the claim?

4. What restricts the claim? What evidence counters the claim?

Definition1. What is being defined?

2. To which general category does the item belong?

3. What characteristics separate the item from the other things in the general category?

4. What are some different types or classes of the item being defined?

Topic-Restriction-Illustration1. What is the general statement or topic?

2. What information narrows or restricts the general statement or topic?

3. What examples illustrate the topic or restriction?

Narrative1. Who are the main characters?2. When and where did the story take place?3. What prompted action in the story?4. How did the characters express their feelings?5. What did the main characters decide to do?6. How did the main characters try to accomplish their goals?7. What were the consequences?

Reciprocal Teaching• Summarizer -Reads a short passage and summarizes what has

been heard, read, or seen.

• Questioner -Asks questions that are designed to help identifyimportant information.

• Clarifier -Clarifies any vocabulary words, pronunciations, or termsthe group may not already know or understand well.

• Predictor -Asks the group for predictions about what will happennext. The predictor records those predictions and returns to therecordings for verification after reading is complete.

Classroom Practice for NoteTaking

• Give students teacher prepared notes.

• Teach students a variety of note takingforms.

• Provide opportunities for students to revisetheir notes and use them for review.

Examples of TeacherPrepared Notes

• Templates

• Webbing

• Outline

• Combination (Linguistic/Nonlinguistic)

Comparing• Comparing is the process of identifying

similarities between or among things orideas.

• Contrasting refers to identifyingdifferences.

• Most educators use the term comparing todescribe both situations.

Why is this important?• Identifying similarities and differences helps

us make sense of the world.

• Comparing enhances existing mentalrepresentation for the information.

• Comparing increase the likelihood thatconnections will be made to the schemawhen encountering new information.

Steps to Comparing• Select the items you want

to compare.

• Identify the characteristicsof the items on which tobase your comparison.

• Explain how the items aresimilar to and differentfrom one another, withrespect to thecharacteristics youidentified.

Nonlinguistic Representations• Creating graphic organizers.

• Making physical models/manipulatives.

• Generating mental pictures.

• Creating pictures/illustrations/and pictographs.

• Engaging in kinesthetic activity.

Why is this important?• Helping students represent knowledge as imagery taps into

students’ tendency for visual image processing, which helps themconstruct meaning of relevant content and skills and have a bettercapacity to recall it later.

• Students producing nonlinguistic representations of knowledge arebetter able to process, organize, and retrieve information frommemory.

• The impact of using nonlinguistic representations can multiply whenteachers and students use the strategy in combination with otherstrategies.

• We are quickly moving from a text-based society to one in whichall forms of communication have value and students will need tocommunicate through visual and audio media.

Graphic Organizers

ConceptGeneralization/Principle

Episode

Process/Cause-Effect

TimeSequence

Descriptive

More NonlinguisticRepresentations

Make Physical Modelsor Manipulatives

Engage in KinestheticActivities

Create Pictures,Illustrations, andPictographs

Generate MentalPictures

Cooperative Learning• Positive interdependence is a key element of

cooperative learning because it emphasizes thateveryone is in the effort together and that oneperson’s success does not come at the expense ofanother’s success.

• Individual accountability is the other key elementof cooperative learning. This refers to the need foreach member of the team to receive feedback onhow his or her personal efforts contribute to theachievement of the overall goal.

Why is this important?• Students can reflect upon newly acquired knowledge, process

what they are learning by talking with and actively listeningto peers, and develop a common understanding about varioustopics.

• Increased motivation for learning because students establisha sense of obligation to one another and a strong relationshipwith their peers that leads to greater buy-in, motivation, andincreased achievement.

• The cooperative learning task itself provides another form ofstructure that can encourage communication and mutualreasoning.

Elements of the CooperativeLearning Model

Establish dedicated time for groupreflection by providing structures suchas specific questions, learning logs, orsentence stems that focus on how wellthe team is functioning.

Promote group and individualreflection for maintenance ofgroup effectiveness and success.

Group Processing

Provide initial and ongoing instruction oneffective group skills such ascommunication, decision making, conflictresolution, leadership, and trust.

Ensure that all members clearlyunderstand effective group skills.

Interpersonal andSmall-Group Skills

Establish an optimal group size andinclude individual assessments. Helpstudents understand that each personneeds to contribute to the success ofthe group.

Ensure that all memberscontribute to achievement of thegoal and learn as individuals.

Individual and GroupAccountability

Encourage discussion among groupmembers and teach students about theimportance of effort and how to provideothers with recognition for their effort.

Individuals encourage and activateefforts to achieve and help oneanother learn.

Face-to-FacePromotive interaction

Establish a cooperative goal structureand equally distribute resources. Helpstudents develop a sense that they “sinkor swim” together.

Ensure that success by anindividual promotes success amongother group members.

PositiveInterdependence

InstructionalImplication

PurposeElement

Three Types of CooperativeLearning Groups

• Informal: Random groupthat lasts from a few minutesto an entire class period (e.g.,pair-share, turn to yourneighbor).

• Formal: Designed tocomplete an academicassignment and may last forseveral days to a week.

• Base Group: Long-termgroup created to providestudents with support over anextended period.

Classroom Practice forCooperative Learning

• Include elements ofboth positiveinterdependence andindividualaccountability.

• Keep group size small

• Use cooperativelearning consistentlyand systematically.

Mr. Washington’s 5th GradeSocial Studies Class

• How did Mr. Washingtoninsure positiveinterdependence?

• How did he insure individualaccountability?

• How did the teacher keepgroup size small?

• Where could you, or wheredo you, systematicallyincorporate the cooperativelearning model in yourclassroom?

NextSteps

CAUTION!• Don’t focus on a

narrow range ofstrategies.

• Don’t assume thathigh-yield strategiesmust be used in everyclass.

• Don’t assume thathigh-yield strategieswill always work.

Instructional Planning• Identify learning objectives.

• Identify criteria for evaluating studentperformance.

• Attend to effort and metacognition.

• Provide recognition.

• Incorporate cooperative learning.

Instructional Planning

Additional Notes:How Will I ProvideRecognition?

How Will I EvaluateStudent Performance?

How Will I ReinforceEffort andMetacognition?

How Will I IncludeCooperative Learning?

What are My LearningObjectives?

A Note AboutAssessment

• Clearly define criteria againstwhich student performance will bejudged.

• Tightly align performance criteriawith the learning objective.

• Decide when and how performancecriteria will be shared withstudents.

• Identify specific times and ways toformatively assess studentperformance.

• Designate specific times studentswill receive formal feedback.

• Decide how and when students willprovide their own feedback.

“Simply using the strategies atrandom will not raise student

achievement; teachers must alsounderstand how, when, and why

to use them.”

-Bryan Goodwin, Simply Better

References Dean, C. B., Hubbell, E. R., Pitler, H., Stone, B (2012).

Classroom instruction that works: research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Denver: McREL.

Marzano, R. J., (2009). Setting the record straighton“high-yield” strategies. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(01), 30-37.