Strategies for Direct and Indirect Instruction - Case Study Example

Lesson Plan for 3rd Grade Earth Science; The Plants Unit in the Total number, levels, and ages: the total number of students in the class is 32, out of which 18 are girls and 14 are boys. All students are from the 3rd grade with an average age of 8 years old. Knowledge of content area: the students of the third grade have knowledge about plants to a little extent. They know about different colorful flowers, different types of plants, the fact that plants are watered, and that they provide us fruits and vegetables. Cultural diversity and gender mix: the students in the class belong to different cultures and races. The girls and boys of the class are almost in the same number with girls in slight majority. However, the students talk, discuss, and learn together in classroom and are friendly towards one another. Learning Styles: psychologists have concluded that different people have different styles of learning and in order to ensure their effective learning, there are different learning styles. 3rd graders are at the early stage of their learning process so it is immensely important for the teachers to identify their learning styles and apply them. Some children are visual-spatial learners, auditory learners, kinesthetic learners, and some are a combination. By identifying the learning personality of the child, the environment and style of teaching can be adopted which would help him succeed in school (Honigsfeld, 2013). Affective needs: the third graders have an increasing sense of personal responsibility and independence. Neurological and physiological changes in the child bring an increase in attention, physical stamina, and memory. Students also develop a willingness to work with the opposite gender and develop an understanding with other students through teamwork. These are the social needs of the students. The emotional needs require the teachers to be polite and friendly towards the students rather strict or formal. The students’ emotional needs increase and they find criticism or failure more difficult to accept. The students’ needs must be fulfilled by the teacher in class and at all times of their interaction throughout school learning. Direct Instruction Strategies: The direct instructions are the directions of the teachers that are commonly used in classes. This strategy is used mostly in order to develop an approach and provide information to build the knowledge of students. Some of the strategies adopted for this lesson are teacher structured lessons, behavioral learning principles, use deductive methods to teach new concepts, and monitor students’ learning and provide feedbacks. The structured lessons prepared must ensure the clear approach towards the topic, a sequential approach, and activities and lesson pacing in control of the teacher. For this unit, the students must be given lessons about plants in a sequential order by explaining the parts of the plants step by step. The students must be given a step by step understanding of the parts and types of plants so that there is no confusion. Starting from the roots to the leaves, the parts of plants should be well explained and taught. The activities related to different parts of plants such as the explanation of roots using carrots and leaves using lettuce must be given step by step when explaining that specific part of plant. The students must be given instructions for the goals of the topic that parts of plants, types of plants, activities, and creative learning will be done in class. These instructions would motivate the students towards the lesson. Teachers must adopt the strategies of behavioral learning principles through which students’ attention and responses can be achieved in class. The lesson must be taught in easy language which is understandable to the students of 3rd grade. The approach must be creative and catchy so that students’ attention is constant and their interest is maintained throughout the lesson. Students’ responses must also be taken frequently so that participation and attention is affirmed. Constant questions and responses must be taken on types and parts of plants from students who have a low confidence level. Correct responses should be reinforced and students must be guided to adopt positive attitudes towards one another. Class responses and feedbacks must be recorded in overall academic performances so students are motivated (Klahr, 2011). The use of deductive methods by teachers allows students to learn in the style that suits their personality. The teacher adopts those teaching styles that suit the individual learning styles of the students. The students who have a visual-spatial learning capacity may learn the parts of plants through diagrams and pictures while other may have the capability to grasp lectures and understand (Brooks, 2011). This would allow the teacher to adopt different methods as planned in the lessons. Monitoring students’ performance and providing feedbacks is another direct instruction strategy in which students are assessed at every step of the teaching procedure. Students must be assessed and their progress must be monitored at every step from giving lectures, to homework and tests. Through these strategies, the students will be able to perform better in class, understand the need for participation, learn about the plants, and learn to follow the instructions of their teachers. These strategies ensure that students of the class understand the lesson and content area clearly, and through monitoring the teachers can ensure that their strategies are effective. Behavioral learning and stating goals is important for students’ learning process (Honigsfeld, 2013). Indirect Instruction Strategies: Indirect instruction strategies are those in which teacher direction is limited and students are motivated through social and emotional development to make friends, work in teams, and coordinate with one another on their independent basis. The indirect instruction strategies for this lesson would be limited direction from the teacher, using social instructional approaches, constructive principles, and using inductive methods. Limited direction from the teacher in this lesson would allow students to co-create their learning with their teachers as facilitators. The students’ social development allows them to learn and read their topics prior to the class lectures. The teachers must motivate the students to read their lessons before they come to the class and discuss it with their teachers (Klahr, 2011). Social instructional approaches will allow students to work with other students and form better understandings with the people around them. This would create a friendly understanding and relationship between the students instead of negative relations. In this lesson this is important because there are many group activities in class which would develop the students’ learning and social development. Constructive principles must be adopted in class as it allows the students to create meanings and understandings through their engagement and investigative skills. These constructive principles allow students to learn independently such as reading the topic prior to the class lesson or doing their homework independently. Constructivism is important in class as it promotes the point of view of students, the teacher student interaction, student thoughts, and reinforces the student thought process and reflection rather focuses on absolute correct answers (Morrison, 2010). Inductive methods for this lesson are essential as they would help students to discover the concepts rather than being directed to particular answers (Brooks, 2011). Students must be left to discover and participate such as through diagrams and pictures the students must be given a chance to express their understanding of the plant rather simply lecturing them. These indirect instruction strategies are chosen as they help students to develop their social and emotional growth through gaining confidence, participating, being independent, and responsive. These strategies would fulfill the objective of students being able to analyze their learning and knowledge through different principles. References Brooks, P. (2011). Does discovery-based instruction enhance learning. Journal of Educational Psychology Honigsfeld, A. (2013). Learning Styles: What We Know and What We Need. Taylor & Francis Klahr, D. (2011). Educational Interventions to advance children’s scientific thinking. Science Morrison, G. (2010). Designing effective instruction. John Wiley & Sons Read More