Reflective Journal #6
Description:
Chapter 9 discusses how the intentional teacher not only effectively plans for a lesson but also how they execute it with their students who have differing abilities. This is done through different types of grouping within and between classes. It also is done through implementing other differentiation methods such as peer and adult tutoring. At-risk students are also discussed as teachers should understand the programs that benefit these students. Finally, the intentional teacher uses technology to enhance their lessons and engage their students in learning.
Analysis:
As we learned in chapter 8, effective lessons are made up of many elements. However, beyond having an effective lesson, an intentional teacher also must think about how they will effectively instruct that lesson. There are many models of how to do this but one that was discussed in the text was Slavin's "QAIT model" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 216). QAIT is made up of four elements.
The first "Q" stands for the "Quality of instruction" which includes "the degree to which the presentation of information or skills helps students learn the material" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 217). This would mean that teachers need to effectively include a range of activities and material that will ensure that students are understanding the material they are presenting.
The second part of the QAIT model is "A" which stands for "Appropriate levels of instruction" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 218). Intentional teachers understand that not all students can grasp the material that is presented in every lesson. Students come into our classrooms each day with "different levels of prior knowledge, skills and motivation as well as different learning rates" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 217). In order to meet them where they are, we must make sure that the lessons we are presenting are differentiated to their unique needs. We may need to slow down our lesson or speed it up according to how students are grasping the information we are presenting.
The third part of the QAIT model is "I" which stands for "Incentive" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 216). It is important to think about incentive because students are not always excited to learn. They may need "some kind of recognition or reward if they are to exert maximum effort to learn skills or concepts" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 218).
The fourth and final part of the QAIT model is "T" which stands for "Time" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 216). Time is important because we only have so much time to teach concepts and standards to students. We must think about what is the best use of our time and how long students will really be engaged in what we are teaching. In addition, there are many "interruptions, behavior problems, and poor transitions between activities that eat away at the time available for learning" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 218).
In order to help accommodate students differences and differentiate the instruction, teachers can use a variety of grouping methods. There are many types of grouping methods that can be used including "within-class ability grouping, between-class ability grouping, untracking or mixed-ability grouping" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 219-222). Grouping is something that teachers can do in order to separate students based on their achievement level so that they may learn from their peers who have similar or different levels of abilities.
Within-class and between-class ability grouping refers to how a teacher or school can divide students in a classroom. Within-class grouping means that you take a class of different learners and group them inside a classroom with other peers who have similar ability levels. For example a teacher may use "reading groups that divide students according to their reading performance" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 219). This way stronger students are grouped together while lower performing students are grouped together. This allows for teachers to work with the lower-achieving students while the higher-level students work on enrichment activities on their own. In between-class grouping students are grouped in "classes according to their abilities" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 220). This means that high-achieving students are in classes together and low-achieving students are in classes by themselves as well. This is a common practice in most schools but research has found that this can be very ineffective for lower-achieving students because it "exposes them to too few positive role models" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 220).
Untracking on the other hand, refers to when teachers take students out of the heterogenous groupings of within-class or between- class ability groups and instead place them in mixed-ability groups (Slavin, 2015, pg. 221). This means high-achieving, middle-achieving, and low-achieving students can work together to meet objectives and learn from each other. This is often beneficial for all learners because they can work together and each of them gets something from the grouping arrangement. The high-achieving learners can teach the mid to lower-level learners the concepts and skills they may be struggling with.
In addition to grouping arrangements as a form to differentiate instruction, another positive means of differentiate is through tutoring. This can be done by peers or teachers with the most effective form being one-on-one teacher tutoring. Peer tutoring has been proven "that it increases the achievement or both tutees and tutors" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 224). This form of differentiation allows students to receive that one-on-one attention they need in order to make sure they are understanding the information presented in class.
Many of the low-achieving students that teachers see in their classroom may be referred to as "students at risk" which means that they "may come from impoverish or chaotic homes, have developmental delays, exhibit aggressive or withdrawn behavior and are m ore likely to experience problems in school than other students" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 226). For these students, schools must do something to intervene and make sure that they have the opportunity to be successful. To do this, "compensatory education programs" are developed (Slavin, 2015, pg. 227). These programs include "Title I programs, early intervention programs, comprehensive school reform programs and after-school and summer-school programs" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 227-229). No matter the program, the goal is to make sure at-risk students receive the extra support they need to succeed in school.
Technology is powerful tool in education. Teachers today may be inundated with technology and have a difficult time figuring out exactly what types of technology will be the most beneficial for instruction. There are two different distinctions of technology in the classroom and those are "technology for teaching" and "technology for learning" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 231). Technology for teaching are the tools that the teacher will use to present lessons to students. This might include using an "interactive whiteboard or electronic response device" to help students interact with the material that is being presented (Slavin, 2015, pg. 231). Technology for learning asks students to use "word processing, desktop publishing or other technology mediums" to express what they have learned for assessment (Slavin, 2015, pg. 232). In addition, students may play games or use other programs to help them understand the material as a form of independent practice.
In using technology, teachers must be very careful to make sure they establish clear rules and expectations for students. As with anything, it can be challenging to integrating technology into the classroom effectively. Students have great access to technology through their cell phones and often want to access those phones in the classroom. It is important to that the teacher maintains the "safety and security" of all students while accessing technology in the classroom.
In conclusion, the intentional teacher makes critical decisions about how to effectively plan lessons and implement them into the classroom. They "consider how to balance quality, appropriateness, motivation, and time" to "maximize the success of all students" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 244). Intentional teachers think about how there students can be grouped to effectively differentiate instruction for all learners. They also implement peer-tutoring and teacher tutoring to help students who are struggling with the content. In addition, intentional teachers think about what type of technology will most benefit their students and engage the in the lessons. They "keep up on the developments in technology and make strategic use of technology to enhance their teacher teaching and meet students' needs." (Slavin, 2015, pg. 244).
Reflection:
This chapter summarized how important it is for teachers to not only effectively plan lessons but also to think about the implementation of the lesson in the classroom. The "QAIT model" of instruction developed by Slavin lays out four areas which teachers should make sure to consider before implementing their lessons in the classroom. I feel like I do a good job of thinking about the quality of instruction component of Slavin's model. I make sure that I use a variety of activities that allow for my students to fully engage in and understand the information that I am presenting. An area where I need to do more planning is "A" portion of the QAIT model. The appropriate level of instruction can present quite a challenge when we have students who come from many different backgrounds and varying ability levels.
In my school students are grouped heterogeneously by ability levels. They are grouped through between-class ability levels and can be placed in support, on-level, honors, or advanced placement courses. This means that students are placed in classes together based on their achievement levels. I teach on-level 9th Grade Literature and Composition that is mostly composed of students with an average ability level. The honors 9th grade classes have the higher-level ability students in their classes. In my on-level classes, though they are of similar ability, I find that they still require a good amount of differentiation. I have highly motivated students in my on-level class and also at-risk students. In addition, I have ELL students and students with learning disabilities. It can be quite overwhelming to make sure all of these students needs are met.
I have found that using mixed-ability grouping in my classroom offers me the greatest level of success for all students. The reason I do this is because I have seen the results of higher-level students working with lower-level students. This seems to be a good situation for both level of students because they learn from each other. Sometimes there is some frustration for higher-level students but when they view it as an opportunity to help their peers they usually appreciate the interaction.
I also try to use peer-tutoring as often as I can in the classroom. For my classroom, this often comes into play during difficult concepts that are seen in literature or through peer review in writing. Students work together to annotate texts and analyze them for meaning. Students also will provide critical feedback to their peers on their writing before they turn them into the teacher. In both situations, the peer interaction gives them the confidence that their ideas and understanding of the content makes sense.
At-risk students are seen through all of my on-level classes. This year, we began a new program to help at-risk students. We started by working with the middle schools to identify the students who were falling through the cracks academically. Then we identified core academic teachers to have those students sprinkled through their classes. I was one of those teachers and had about 25 at-risk students throughout my 5 class periods. These students were also enrolled in a high school transition class which helped them learn those essential skills to being successful. They had this as an elective class period in addition to being placed in specific teacher's classes during the school day. This allowed for those identified classroom teachers and transition teachers to work together to help these students. We found a great level of success by knowing who these students were before they arrived in our classes so we could really zone in on ways to help them.
Technology is something I use on a daily basis in my classroom. We have interactive white boards and access to 10 Chromebooks in each classroom at our school. I try to incorporate technology in each lesson. I use the interactive white board to incorporate videos and other media to help connect lessons to the real-world. I also use the chromebooks to engage students in various activities such as vocabulary review games, webquests, research activities and using publishing tools for essays and projects. My students using Google drive to turn in all projects and essays. I spend a great deal of time in the beginning of the year showing them how to use Google drive and share that information with their peers and the teacher. I find that students enjoy using technology in the classroom and put more effort into their work when they have the ability to use the technology.
In conclusion, this chapter affirmed for me the importance of thinking about specific elements like differentiation and the use of technology in the classroom. Even if I plan an effective lesson, I must make sure all of my students have the ability to learn from that lesson. I need to make sure I differentiate the instruction and include engaging elements like technology in all my lessons. As an intentional teacher every decision I make contributes to the ability of my students to learn the content.
Reference
Slavin, R. E. (2015). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Pearson.
Analysis:
As we learned in chapter 8, effective lessons are made up of many elements. However, beyond having an effective lesson, an intentional teacher also must think about how they will effectively instruct that lesson. There are many models of how to do this but one that was discussed in the text was Slavin's "QAIT model" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 216). QAIT is made up of four elements.
The first "Q" stands for the "Quality of instruction" which includes "the degree to which the presentation of information or skills helps students learn the material" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 217). This would mean that teachers need to effectively include a range of activities and material that will ensure that students are understanding the material they are presenting.
The second part of the QAIT model is "A" which stands for "Appropriate levels of instruction" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 218). Intentional teachers understand that not all students can grasp the material that is presented in every lesson. Students come into our classrooms each day with "different levels of prior knowledge, skills and motivation as well as different learning rates" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 217). In order to meet them where they are, we must make sure that the lessons we are presenting are differentiated to their unique needs. We may need to slow down our lesson or speed it up according to how students are grasping the information we are presenting.
The third part of the QAIT model is "I" which stands for "Incentive" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 216). It is important to think about incentive because students are not always excited to learn. They may need "some kind of recognition or reward if they are to exert maximum effort to learn skills or concepts" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 218).
The fourth and final part of the QAIT model is "T" which stands for "Time" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 216). Time is important because we only have so much time to teach concepts and standards to students. We must think about what is the best use of our time and how long students will really be engaged in what we are teaching. In addition, there are many "interruptions, behavior problems, and poor transitions between activities that eat away at the time available for learning" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 218).
In order to help accommodate students differences and differentiate the instruction, teachers can use a variety of grouping methods. There are many types of grouping methods that can be used including "within-class ability grouping, between-class ability grouping, untracking or mixed-ability grouping" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 219-222). Grouping is something that teachers can do in order to separate students based on their achievement level so that they may learn from their peers who have similar or different levels of abilities.
Within-class and between-class ability grouping refers to how a teacher or school can divide students in a classroom. Within-class grouping means that you take a class of different learners and group them inside a classroom with other peers who have similar ability levels. For example a teacher may use "reading groups that divide students according to their reading performance" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 219). This way stronger students are grouped together while lower performing students are grouped together. This allows for teachers to work with the lower-achieving students while the higher-level students work on enrichment activities on their own. In between-class grouping students are grouped in "classes according to their abilities" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 220). This means that high-achieving students are in classes together and low-achieving students are in classes by themselves as well. This is a common practice in most schools but research has found that this can be very ineffective for lower-achieving students because it "exposes them to too few positive role models" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 220).
Untracking on the other hand, refers to when teachers take students out of the heterogenous groupings of within-class or between- class ability groups and instead place them in mixed-ability groups (Slavin, 2015, pg. 221). This means high-achieving, middle-achieving, and low-achieving students can work together to meet objectives and learn from each other. This is often beneficial for all learners because they can work together and each of them gets something from the grouping arrangement. The high-achieving learners can teach the mid to lower-level learners the concepts and skills they may be struggling with.
In addition to grouping arrangements as a form to differentiate instruction, another positive means of differentiate is through tutoring. This can be done by peers or teachers with the most effective form being one-on-one teacher tutoring. Peer tutoring has been proven "that it increases the achievement or both tutees and tutors" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 224). This form of differentiation allows students to receive that one-on-one attention they need in order to make sure they are understanding the information presented in class.
Many of the low-achieving students that teachers see in their classroom may be referred to as "students at risk" which means that they "may come from impoverish or chaotic homes, have developmental delays, exhibit aggressive or withdrawn behavior and are m ore likely to experience problems in school than other students" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 226). For these students, schools must do something to intervene and make sure that they have the opportunity to be successful. To do this, "compensatory education programs" are developed (Slavin, 2015, pg. 227). These programs include "Title I programs, early intervention programs, comprehensive school reform programs and after-school and summer-school programs" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 227-229). No matter the program, the goal is to make sure at-risk students receive the extra support they need to succeed in school.
Technology is powerful tool in education. Teachers today may be inundated with technology and have a difficult time figuring out exactly what types of technology will be the most beneficial for instruction. There are two different distinctions of technology in the classroom and those are "technology for teaching" and "technology for learning" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 231). Technology for teaching are the tools that the teacher will use to present lessons to students. This might include using an "interactive whiteboard or electronic response device" to help students interact with the material that is being presented (Slavin, 2015, pg. 231). Technology for learning asks students to use "word processing, desktop publishing or other technology mediums" to express what they have learned for assessment (Slavin, 2015, pg. 232). In addition, students may play games or use other programs to help them understand the material as a form of independent practice.
In using technology, teachers must be very careful to make sure they establish clear rules and expectations for students. As with anything, it can be challenging to integrating technology into the classroom effectively. Students have great access to technology through their cell phones and often want to access those phones in the classroom. It is important to that the teacher maintains the "safety and security" of all students while accessing technology in the classroom.
In conclusion, the intentional teacher makes critical decisions about how to effectively plan lessons and implement them into the classroom. They "consider how to balance quality, appropriateness, motivation, and time" to "maximize the success of all students" (Slavin, 2015, pg. 244). Intentional teachers think about how there students can be grouped to effectively differentiate instruction for all learners. They also implement peer-tutoring and teacher tutoring to help students who are struggling with the content. In addition, intentional teachers think about what type of technology will most benefit their students and engage the in the lessons. They "keep up on the developments in technology and make strategic use of technology to enhance their teacher teaching and meet students' needs." (Slavin, 2015, pg. 244).
Reflection:
This chapter summarized how important it is for teachers to not only effectively plan lessons but also to think about the implementation of the lesson in the classroom. The "QAIT model" of instruction developed by Slavin lays out four areas which teachers should make sure to consider before implementing their lessons in the classroom. I feel like I do a good job of thinking about the quality of instruction component of Slavin's model. I make sure that I use a variety of activities that allow for my students to fully engage in and understand the information that I am presenting. An area where I need to do more planning is "A" portion of the QAIT model. The appropriate level of instruction can present quite a challenge when we have students who come from many different backgrounds and varying ability levels.
In my school students are grouped heterogeneously by ability levels. They are grouped through between-class ability levels and can be placed in support, on-level, honors, or advanced placement courses. This means that students are placed in classes together based on their achievement levels. I teach on-level 9th Grade Literature and Composition that is mostly composed of students with an average ability level. The honors 9th grade classes have the higher-level ability students in their classes. In my on-level classes, though they are of similar ability, I find that they still require a good amount of differentiation. I have highly motivated students in my on-level class and also at-risk students. In addition, I have ELL students and students with learning disabilities. It can be quite overwhelming to make sure all of these students needs are met.
I have found that using mixed-ability grouping in my classroom offers me the greatest level of success for all students. The reason I do this is because I have seen the results of higher-level students working with lower-level students. This seems to be a good situation for both level of students because they learn from each other. Sometimes there is some frustration for higher-level students but when they view it as an opportunity to help their peers they usually appreciate the interaction.
I also try to use peer-tutoring as often as I can in the classroom. For my classroom, this often comes into play during difficult concepts that are seen in literature or through peer review in writing. Students work together to annotate texts and analyze them for meaning. Students also will provide critical feedback to their peers on their writing before they turn them into the teacher. In both situations, the peer interaction gives them the confidence that their ideas and understanding of the content makes sense.
At-risk students are seen through all of my on-level classes. This year, we began a new program to help at-risk students. We started by working with the middle schools to identify the students who were falling through the cracks academically. Then we identified core academic teachers to have those students sprinkled through their classes. I was one of those teachers and had about 25 at-risk students throughout my 5 class periods. These students were also enrolled in a high school transition class which helped them learn those essential skills to being successful. They had this as an elective class period in addition to being placed in specific teacher's classes during the school day. This allowed for those identified classroom teachers and transition teachers to work together to help these students. We found a great level of success by knowing who these students were before they arrived in our classes so we could really zone in on ways to help them.
Technology is something I use on a daily basis in my classroom. We have interactive white boards and access to 10 Chromebooks in each classroom at our school. I try to incorporate technology in each lesson. I use the interactive white board to incorporate videos and other media to help connect lessons to the real-world. I also use the chromebooks to engage students in various activities such as vocabulary review games, webquests, research activities and using publishing tools for essays and projects. My students using Google drive to turn in all projects and essays. I spend a great deal of time in the beginning of the year showing them how to use Google drive and share that information with their peers and the teacher. I find that students enjoy using technology in the classroom and put more effort into their work when they have the ability to use the technology.
In conclusion, this chapter affirmed for me the importance of thinking about specific elements like differentiation and the use of technology in the classroom. Even if I plan an effective lesson, I must make sure all of my students have the ability to learn from that lesson. I need to make sure I differentiate the instruction and include engaging elements like technology in all my lessons. As an intentional teacher every decision I make contributes to the ability of my students to learn the content.
Reference
Slavin, R. E. (2015). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Pearson.
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