1. Effective Teaching &
Learning
Dr. Jennifer Irwin
EDU 620: Module 10
Chapters 7 & 9

2. I know what to teach,
now how do I teach it?
 Have you ever had a teacher who knew
their subject area very well but didn’t
know how to teach it to others?
 When you completed the first Learning
Reflection for this class, you were asked
“is content knowledge enough”?
 I hope by now that you know the answer
to that question . . . No!

3.  In this module, we will explore ideas that
will help you as you plan for instruction,
including:
– Different instructional approaches
– Effective use of discussions & questioning
– Grouping techniques
– The QAIT Model

4. Think about this …
 New teachers usually “teach” the way they
were “taught”
– Do you agree with this statement?
– For me personally, this was very true. When I
first began, my bag of teaching tricks was
limited to lectures, worksheets, and tests
(how sad!)
– Through hands-on experience and having
great mentors, I have become a much more
effective teacher (I hope!).

5. Different Instructional Approaches
 What is the best way to teach something?
 What are some different ways to teach?
 Do we need to vary our approaches based on
our students or the subject matter?
 We will take a look at 3 different types of
teaching approaches….
 I will leave it up to you to decide on the
effectiveness of each…..

6. Expository Approaches
 Expository means that students are
“exposed” to learning
 Examples:
– Lecture
– Mastery learning
– Direct instruction
– I don’t think I need to define lecture, so …

7. Expository Approaches
 Mastery learning:
– Students demonstrate mastery of one topic
before proceeding to the next

8. Expository Approaches
 Direct Instruction:
– Teacher transmits information directly to
students; lessons are goal-oriented and
structured by the teacher
– To me, this is classic “teaching”
– Scaffolding at it’s best!
– The “I do, We do, You do” method
– How many of you teach this way?

9. I do
We do
You do

10. Hands-On Approaches
 Hands-on approaches have students
actually doing something
 Examples:
– Discovery Learning
– Experiential Learning
– Authentic Activities
– See the Constructivism module for more info

11. Hands-On Approaches
 Discovery Learning: a constructivist
approach to teaching in which students
are encouraged to discover principles for
themselves.

12. Hands-On Approaches
 Experiential Learning:
“the process whereby
knowledge is created
through the
transformation of
experience.
Knowledge results
from the combination
of grasping and
transforming
experience” (Kolb,
1984)

13. Hands-On Approaches
 Authentic Activities:
promoting meaningful
connections between
subject matter and real-
world connections
– Anything you do that
helps students make this
connection

14. Interactive/Collaborative Approaches
 Interactive/Collaborative approaches are
ones in which students work together and
utilize collective “brain power” to learn
material.
 Examples:
– Cooperative Learning
– Reciprocal Teaching

15. Interactive/Collaborative Approaches
 Cooperative
Learning:
students
working
From our very own
together in textbook author,
heterogeneous Robert Slavin
groups
Keep in mind that students must be taught how to work cooperatively!

16. Interactive/Collaborative Approaches
 Reciprocal Teaching: small-group teaching
method based on question generation through
instruction and modeling (often used when
reading material) (Palinscar & Brown, 1984)

17. Let’s reflect ….
 Which of the 3 general approaches do you
currently use (or would use)?
 Is one approach more effective than
another?
 Or do you think that there is a time and
place for all of these instructional
approaches?

18. Effective use of discussions &
questioning
 One of the best teaching methods has to
be the effective use of class discussions
and questioning techniques.
 Whole group v. Small group discussions …
– Which is most effective?
– Again, is there a time and
place for both?

19. Wait Time
 A very important aspect of questioning …
Wait Time (waiting about 3-5 seconds
after asking a question to get a student’s
response)
 This give everyone time to formulate a
response to the question, and not just
those who process faster!
 There is much research support
for the effectiveness of wait time …

20. Wait Time
 Changes in teacher behavior:
– Comments more fluent
– Discussion more logical
– More higher-level questions
– Higher expectations of students
Source: Sadker & Sadker Teachers, Schools, & Society

21. Wait Time
 Changes in student behavior:
– Longer responses
– Statements supported with evidence
– Speculative thinking increases
– More student questions
– Fewer failures to respond
– More student participation
– Fewer discipline problems
– Better performance on higher-level thinking skills
Source: Sadker & Sadker Teachers, Schools, & Society

22. Grouping Techniques
 So far, we have talked about cooperative
learning and whole/small group discussions …
what is the best way to group students?
– Homogenously (same ability level)
– Heterogeneously (different ability levels)
– We must be careful, however, to avoid “tracking”
(where year after year some kids end up in the
bottom groups/classes) … remember what we’ve said
about teacher expectations!

23. The QAIT Model (Slavin, 1987)
 “a model of effective instruction that focuses on
elements teachers can directly control: quality,
appropriateness, incentive, and time” (see chapter
9 for more info)
 This model reminds me of the “Serenity Prayer”
– ... grant me the serenity to accept the things I
cannot change; courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference …
– More than once, these thoughts have gotten me
through a rough day of teaching!!

24. What you usually
cannot control
Q
What you
A
CAN control!
I
T

25. Last thoughts …
 As you think about these different
methods of instruction, discussions,
questioning, and grouping … I hope that
you are seeing two things:
1. Each idea presented here is effective in
some way and for some purposes
2. You need to have a variety of ideas in your
teaching Bag O’ Tricks!