It’s Timothy talking to you again. We are at the conclusion of week 6 in our
EDAT 6115 class. The discussions and
weekly readings were very interesting for our class this week. The reading and
discussions center on Chapter 9 from Robert E. Slavin’s (2012) book, Educational Psychology (10th
edition). The topics that were
covered in readings and discussion dealt with grouping, differentiation, and
technology.
Slavin
(2012) began the chapter by discussing key factors that contribute to effective
instruction that goes beyond a good lesson.
The chapter talks about Caroll’s Model of School Instruction, which
emphasizes corresponding the time needed
for learning and the time spent learning as elements of effective instruction
(Slavin, 2012). Slavin’s QAIT model
suggests that effective instruction will have four elements that teacher can
control: quality of instruction, appropriate level of instruction, incentive,
and amount of time (Slavin, 2012). As an
educator, I have found that the most difficult task of developing an effective
lesson is making sure that I have provided lessons that are not a repeat of
skills that the students have already learned, or lessons that require skills
and knowledge that the students do not possess.
It is also challenging to create incentives that motivate my students to
give their all with each lesson.
Being
able to create an effective lesson can be aided by grouping students. Slavin (2012) mentions various types of
grouping and how they can be used in the classroom. Between-class grouping puts students together
who are on the same level, and those students take their classes together
throughout the day (Slavin, 2012). My
school uses a bit of between-class grouping with our students. For the most part, our extremely
high-performing students are grouped together, and our low-performing students
are grouped together. However, I teach a
few classes that have mixed-abilities among students. These students would fall under the practice
of untracking. Untracking is placing
students in mixed-ability groups and holding all students to high standards
(Slavin, 2012). In these classes, I use
a great deal of within-class ability grouping.
I may group high-performing readers in a group together,
average-performing readers together, and low-performing students together. By doing this, I am able to accelerate and
remediate much easier. Slavin (2012) also discusses the idea of how retention
factors into schools. Slavin (2012)
suggests that retention is not an effective means of helping students
progress. I have to say that I disagree
with this notion. Though I do not think
retention should be used very often, I have found that social promotion is very
ineffective means of helping students.
We have some students who give little effort, have below-grade reading
and math skills, and do not seek or accept after-school assistance. In these cases, I feel that retention could
be used to motivate students to take advantage of assistance or give more
effort in their studies. In my opinion,
retention could be beneficial for future students. When students saw that students ahead of them
had been retained because they of a lack of effort or attendance in tutoring
programs, they might be more motivated to give effort and accept assistance in
order to improve skills.
If
schools use differentiation to reach each child, they could try to reach each
child through offering various activities for students of different levels
(Slavin, 2012). I use same-age peer
tutoring a good bit with my students in mixed-ability classes. This is an approach where classmates tutor
one another (Slavin, 2012). I find that
this is beneficial to both the student tutor and the student being
tutored. Furthermore, my students seem
to love this strategy. We do not use cross-age tutoring in my schools. This is where students are tutored by another
student who is a few years older (Slavin, 2012). There is also the use of
teacher-tutoring. My school uses a good
bit of teacher-tutoring through after-school sessions, individual sessions, and
before-school activities. Because I
coach, I am only able to use before-school tutoring sessions for my students. A few students take advantage of these
sessions but not as many as I would like.
However, my students who need assistance often use my co-teacher as a
chance to receive teacher-tutoring.
After-school,
Summer school, Head Start and Title I programs are tools that are used at my school
to reach at-risk students. I am not
involved in these programs, but our school has been recognized by the state for
our Head Start and Title I math programs.
All of these programs provide opportunities to either prevent or
intervene with low-performing students.
As Slavin (2012) points out, research suggests that the use of
prevention and intervention programs can be successful in reaching at-risk
students.
Our
class discussion also involved the topic developing a rapport with at-risk
students. The most common themes
discussed were the need for teachers to show care to their students and find
ways to connect with each child. I have
spent a good deal of my educational career working with at-risk students. I have found that showing care, concern, and
connections with my students is very important.
I make sure to speak individually with every one of my students. I try to find out each student’s interests
and hobbies. Furthermore, I will try to
talk with the kids about this so that a connection is developed. I also show each student that I care for
them. As many of classmates pointed out,
I believe it is impossible for teachers to fake care and concern for their
students. In my opinion, adults should
not enter the education profession unless they truly care for children’s future
goals and success.
The
chapter closes by discussing how technology can be used in education (Slavin,
2012). Slavin (2012) suggests that technology
usually serves three purposes in education: teachers use technology to plan and
give lessons, students use technology to complete tasks with lessons, and
schools use technology for administrative tasks. My school uses technology a good bit. All classes are equipped with Mimeo
projectors that are used to allow student interaction with lessons. Furthermore, we use the Mimeo to display web
pages, presentations, and videos to students. We also have several computer labs, laptops,
and iPads that are used for instruction. With today’s students, it is very important
to use technology with instruction. The students
come to school with a good bit of technological skills, so it is imperative
that we enhance their knowledge by including technology in the classroom.
The
concepts presented in this reading meant a great deal to my instructional
practices. As an educator, I must follow
researched practices that include differentiation, grouping, and technology to
best meet the needs of my students.
Also, I must guide my instruction so that I plan strategies that
acknowledge and support the different learning needs of my students. Furthermore, I must develop care, concern,
and connections with at-risk learners so that I am able to connect with them
and develop a good rapport.
I
feel that the concepts presented in this chapter are very valuable for
educational practices. I agree with
ideas that it is essential for teachers to differentiate lessons so that all
students are able to meet high standards.
Moreover, I feel that the ability to use within-class groupings and peer
tutoring is a great way to maximize the performance of all students. The one aspect of this chapter that I do not
feel good about is the idea that retention is always a bad practice. As I stated earlier, I believe that retention
can be used to effectively stress the need for students to take advantage of
assistance and diligently work to improve skills.
The
concepts of grouping and differentiation are pertinent to my classroom because
we use them a good bit. I could
definitely work harder to be more effective to include quality differentiation
into my lessons. I feel that my
instructional practices do well in differentiating assignments for on-level and
below-level students. However, I need to
continue to improve the differentiated techniques for improving instruction for
above-level students. Furthermore, the
concepts of grouping apply to my classroom.
Within-class grouping is used in my classes. By reading that research supports the use of
within-class grouping, I will include this method more into my teaching.
Finally,
all of the concepts confirm beliefs that I have held as a teacher. I have always believed in using peer tutoring
and mixed-ability grouping in my lessons.
I have simply assumed, from witnessing student enjoyment and positive
outcomes, that peer tutoring and mixed-ability grouping were effective
instructional practices. After reading
research that supports these practices, I will include them even more into my
lessons. Also, I have always believed that it is important for teachers to
offer incentives that motivate students to become actively involved in each
lessons. Slavin’s (2012) QAIT model
confirmed my long-held beliefs. Overall,
besides the proposed negative aspects of retention, all of the concepts presented
in this chapter confirm my ideas and theories that guide my planning and
implementation of lessons.
Pearson Education
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