I
began my last reflective journal entry by stating that I always feel guilty
when my lessons involve me delivering information more than students developing
concepts and ideas on their own, so this week’s reading assignment was very
refreshing and inspirational! Even though research supports the effectiveness
of direct instruction, I cannot ignore the boring effects associated with this
type of instruction. I believe effective teachers combine direct and
student-centered instruction to create a balanced approach to teaching.
The
constructivist theory states that learners must discover and transform complex
information in order to make it their own and develop a higher level of
understanding (Slavin, 2012). Teachers must provide students with learning opportunities
that require discovery and the active participation of students. Teachers must
also take on a different role in student-centered instruction as a guide to
assist when necessary, but not in the main delivery of content. This requires
teachers to give up a certain amount of control, which can be difficult,
especially with the large amount of content we are required to teach at this
time.
Constructivist
approaches to teaching incorporate cooperative learning, so that students will
discover and comprehend concepts that might be difficult for them (Slavin,
2012). I really enjoyed reading peer posts this week about how this can seem
like a chaotic learning environment, but that structure can still exist even
when the teacher is not solely in charge of the lesson. One method I plan to
use in the future, that I believe will be beneficial to my students, is the
reciprocal teaching approach in reading. Slavin (2012) states that research on
this approach has found that it generally increases the success of low
achievers. I teach fifth grade reading, and one of the classes I work with is a
small, EIP group. I believe this strategy will be an effective strategy to use
with them and will help them to build their comprehension, which is the area of
reading this group struggles with the most.
I
also plan on incorporating the Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition
(CIRC) program next year. I work very closely with the language arts teacher in
planning lessons, and a majority of students’ writing assignments stem from
their reading. I believe working together in small groups in reading and
language arts will provide additional support for students, especially those
who struggle with writing and responding to literature. Students will be able
to remind one another of discussions from the reading and apply what they have
learned to their writing. It has been my
experience that when students work in groups, they are engaged in discussion
and are actively seeking understanding, but this chapter provided additional
practices that aid in the effectiveness of cooperative learning, which include
creating and rewarding group goals and requiring individual accountability. I plan to create a way of rewarding group work and individual goals within the Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition program by brainstorming ideas with the language arts teacher.
Several
of the peer posts I read this week stated that teachers are seeing a lack of
respect among students when working cooperatively, but I believe we owe it to
our students to learn how to work with others and to problem-solve socially and
academically. We know students will be joining the workforce one day and it is
imperative that they are able to work collaboratively. As educators we can
provide students with these effective learning strategies in a way that we can
feel good about by implementing constructivist approaches in instruction.
Reference
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational
Psychology: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Education.
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