Helping Students Learn

In the course of Miss Walker's observation, there were a variety of teaching strategies used to motivate the students and help them learn. One of the first teaching strategies used may not be directly included in the lesson, however, it did impact student learning. While taking attendance and lunch count, Miss Walker incorporated her students into the task and had them use their brains to figure out how many would be eating hot lunch. This may not have been a very direct approach to teaching; however, the teacher was able to get her students thinking right away without having a direct subtraction lesson.

Communicating the goal
Concerning the actual classroom instruction there were also several concrete teaching strategies that contributed to student learning. Almost all of Miss Walker's approaches could be considered teacher-directed instruction because she was the one calling most of the shots. The first strategy used could be referred to as direct instruction, which uses a variety of techniques designed to keep students continually and actively engaged in learning and applying classroom subject matter. (Ormrod p.444) An example of this from the case study is found on page 78. After handing each student 3 stories, Miss Walker explains that she wants them to read the stories and answer the questions that follow. She also tells the students what they are to do when they complete the questions. I consider this teaching strategy to be beneficial to student learning because what they were expected to do was clearly defined and within their ability levels. I think this action was effective because the students did what they were told to do, and with a little help, were able to complete their task and concentrate on what they were supposed to be doing. I also think the students were able to learn from the task because they were allowed to go at their own pace and check their comprehension. The main part of direct instruction that was observed is independent practice. The students were able to work toward achieving automaticity for material, or given a chance to complete mastery in reading comprehension. (Ormrod p 444)

Engaging Students with the content
Another instance in which Miss Walker had an impact on student learning is found on page 78 as well. This instance involves the teacher helping a boy in a green plaid shirt named Gary. Gary did not specifically ask for individual help, however, Miss Walker was able to see that he was in need of assistance. This is another step in direct instruction, referred to in the text (Ormrod p.444) as guided student practice and assessment after each step. Because Miss Walker offered guidance to Gary, he was able to better understand the material and eventually do it on his own. I found this to have a beneficial impact on student learning because Gary obviously learned what was expected of him and how to find the right answer. I think it was effective because Gary was able to understand the content of the question and learn how to answer such questions appropriately.

A third instance in which student learning was impacted by the teacher takes place on page 79 when Miss Walker is beginning to work with the reading group. She begins by going through the days of the week with her students and asking who remembers which day has a consonant digraph in it. This is an example of an in-class activity in which instruction begins with "an appropriate difficulty level for students-ideally, presenting a task that challenges students to stretch their knowledge and skills, or a task within students' zone of proximal development." (Ormrod p. 450) The task of recognizing digraphs is within the zone of proximal development because the students have already learned what consonant digraphs are and should be able to recognize them. The question is also at an appropriate difficulty level because, students are challenged to use their prior knowledge to conquer a new task. I believe this also has a beneficial impact on student learning because they are able to be refreshed on what consonant digraphs are and how they are used, before they are actually expected to be able to recognize them in words.

Providing Feedback
Another instance in which Miss Walker has an impact on student learning takes place during the actual lesson on consonant digraphs. Miss Walker uses positive reinforcement in the form of praise when her students give the correct answer. Examples of this are found on page 81 in which Miss Walker replies with "right", "good", or "very good" to her student's correct answers. According to Ormrod p. 309, "positive feedback and the feelings of pleasure and satisfaction that such feedback can bring are probably the most desirable forms of classroom reinforcement." I believe that such reinforcement has a positive effect on student learning because students appreciate the feedback and it helps them to want to know the correct answer in the future. Also, if students hear positive feedback given to other people, it may motivate them to pay attention and know the right answer, so that they too will get the positive feedback from the teacher. I think this action was effective because students are more likely to respond when they know they will receive feedback on their answer.

Asking Questions
A fifth instance in which Miss Walker affects student learning involves her use of questioning. According to Ormrod p. 455, "teacher questioning is a widely used teaching strategy." The text went on to list several benefits of lower-level questioning including: enabling us to determine what students' prior knowledge and misconceptions are about a topic, helping us assess whether students are learning class material, giving students the opportunity to monitor their own comprehension, and encouraging review of material. An example of Miss Walker using this strategy takes place on pp. 79-81 of the case study. Miss Walker began by asking lower-level questions such as; who remembers which day of the week starts with one of the consonant digraphs we've been studying? and which consonant digraph does it begin with? Miss Walker then moves on to go over the new task with her students and checks to see if they can locate consonant digraphs in other words. Miss Walker also uses student questioning to keep the students attention and interest. For example she asks the students "how many of you like peaches?" While this question is not directly related to the lesson, Miss Walker is able to use students interests to keep them focused on the words they are examining. I believe Miss Walker's use of questioning was also effective and beneficial to student learning because rather than just telling the students the answers; she let the students come up with them on their own and gave them a chance to practice what they were learning.

Overall, each of the instances I have included had a beneficial effect on student learning. I was unable to find any instances in which Miss Walker's teaching approach had a negative effect on learning. She seemed to do a great job of keeping her students on task and helping them learn the material she presented to them. Miss Walker used an overall approach of teacher-directed learning and the students seemed to do well with this approach.

Sources:
Ormrod, J.E. Educational Psychology, Developing Learners. 4th Edition
c. 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey