Direct Instruction

Hey kids!

So it's been a while since the last blog posting.  I've been a little busy with other classes and I hate to say it but I've been slacking on the Methods end.  At least I'm being honest.  Anyway, since the last blog posting, we have learned a lot about Direct instruction.  We have broken into groups into each of the categories of driect instruction.

My group was Homework.  We talked about the pros and cons of homework which I have to say, were pretty good points.  I never liked homework in school, much as I don't like it now.  It's because I'm lazy but hey, again I'm just being honest.  So about this homework deal.. some cons are that sometimes the parents "help" or do the students work for them and although for the student thats totally awesome, they don't learn anything.  Some pros are that it prolongs the experience in the classroom.  Which is fun, yes who doesn't love spending 7 hours in a classroom then going home to do MORE work that has to do with the classroom.  Oh boy.  But anyway, thats a pro.  They would continue the learning process and therefore never forget what they have been learning.

We learned about the other sections of direct instruction too.  These would be the Anticipatory Set, Guided Practice, Drill and Practice, Independant Practice, and Closure.  Each of these play an important role in Direct Instruction.  The anticipatory set is the best part.  Here is where you get to flick the lights, or clap a whole bunch of times in the classroom.  Then you introduce what you're going to be teaching. For instance if you are teaching how to tell time, you can use a clock to maybe ask the students if they know what the hands on the clock mean. Guided practice is when you guide the students through the lesson. DUH. Self explanatory, but it enables the students to practice with the help of the teacher. Drill and Practice is when you teach to make students memorize then you practice it.  Independant practice I went over.  It's the whole fun homework thing.  And Closure is how you end it. What more can I say.

So we have this whole WebQuest thing to do.  I don't know when I'm getting it done.  But I will surely post the link foe you lovely people when I get the chance.

The first few weeks

The first few weeks of school are always an adjustment but here I am, finding myself back in Dr. Smirnova's class and to top it of...BLOGGING! This year is a different approach.  Now that we have all learned the basics, we are now learning how to apply them.

These first few weeks have been fun.  We started the semester off with the t-shirt project.  This project allowed us to get to know each other, which in turn is what we will actually do on the first week in our own classrooms.  It's funny because in the long run, you learn that what you do in your classes with your teachers is what you will actually be doing in your classroom when it is yours.  Another thing that we did in class was read and ask questions about the syllabus.  Now I know that this has nothing to do with what I actually learned, but I'll get there.  I think that this is always a key part of the classes that we take and the things that we learn to do in our classrooms because it allows the students to ask questions and be aware of what they are in for.

Now onto the good stuff..
We reviewed our goals and objectives, went over CBC format, and even learned about different models of instruction.  This is all going to benefit us in the long run because we will know how to deal with different student's different leanrning styles.  For instance, if I want to teach a student "how to.." do something I might want to take the Behavioral Learning method.  This would make the student see clearly how to do something and it uses direct instructions.  Another form of direct instruction is the Behavior Processing Model.  In this model the teacher teaches the student how to learn on their own.  Other models of instruction include the Social Interactive model and the Personal Model.  Both of which are indirect teaching methods.

This leads me to talk about Direct and Indirect Instruction.  Now, I don't wanna state the obvious here, BUT direct instruction is the teacher as the center of the class directing the instructions to the students.  Indirect instruction would be student centered.

The last thing that we have gone over is how to make a WebQuest on the PBworks website.  Now, I am familiar with PBworks from Dr. Smirnova's class last semester so this comes easily to me.  But if you all would like to follow here is my space.

Enjoy your week everyone, I'll be back...

Unfortunately.