INTASC Standard #8: Instructional Strategies

The teacher uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content to build connections, skills, and apply knowledge in meaningful ways.

 

Rationale & Disposition Statement

Students best receive, process, and present their learning in various ways, while still meeting the same high standards. I think it is important to provide students with multiple ways to receive, process, and present/apply their learning in order to allow students to utilize their personal talents and gear projects to their personal interests.

 

Application of Standard

One instructional strategy I uses is Blended Learning. Blended Learning, describes blended learning as allowing for traditional methods of education to be blended with online learning to personalize the learning experience for each individual learner. The goal is not to simply a tech-rich classroom (layering technology on top of technology), but instead recreate the learning structure using technology. This will provide an effective and engaging learning experience, which encourages ownership of the learning process. Students should have some control over place, path, and pace, in which learning online and within the classroom becomes an integrated whole. Blended learning is personalized, is mastery-based on core concepts, based on high expectations and rigorous standards, and drives student ownership. Selwyn (2011) supports this concept when quoting Facer and Green (2007) as stating that, “more often than not, digital technology is seen to provide a powerful means of supporting education that is driven by individual learner needs and based on learners taking control of managing and accessing knowledge for themselves” (p. 148).

 

Reference

Selwyn, N. (2011). Education and technology: Key issues and debates. London, UK: Bloomsbury.

 

Explaination of Artifacts

Artifact #1

The reductive process lesson for scratch art helps the student to use existing knowledge to build new skills. The experimental practice portion of this lesson provides the student with multiple ways to develop an understanding for working in reverse in order to prepare for the project.

 

Artifact #2

This lesson utilizies technology to help students to build connects and apply learning to a project that reflects their understanding of the lesson objectives.

 

Artifact #3

This WebQuest lesson utilizes multiple online resources for students to develop a broad and deep understanding of their research topics and draw connections across time and cultures.