Describe:
Educational psychologist John
Carroll published an article in 1993 titled “A Model of School Learning.” In
this article, he describes the elements necessary for effective teaching. He
proposed that effective teaching was a combination of time spent learning and
the time needed to learn. Slavin analyzed Carroll’s work and transformed it
into a workable model in which the quality of instruction, appropriate levels
of instruction, incentives, and time balance to provide effective instruction.
This model, referred to as QAIT, focuses on elements within a teacher’s
control.
Grouping students is done in order
to ensure that each student receives the instruction that he or she needs.
There are many different types of grouping that can be done in schools and
classrooms, and in this chapter Slavin (2012) discusses different types of
grouping strategies and their levels of effectiveness. Students are usually
placed into groups based on their abilities. Between-class ability grouping
places all students of similar ability level into the same class. While in
theory this sort of grouping is effective, in practice it is quite the
opposite. Often in between-class grouping, students in low ability level
classrooms receive low expectations and are exposed to few positive role
models. Within-class ability grouping is much more effective because students
are placed into mixed-ability classrooms. Mixed-ability classrooms expose
students to all sorts of achievement levels. Students are placed into smaller
ability groups that have homogenous skill level, but the students are not
placed in a situation in which they may have decreased self-esteem because they
have not been cast out. Students can see one another fail and succeed and the
teacher can determine goals for each student.
Differentiating instruction is
critical in the classroom. According to Slavin (2015, p. 259) differentiating
instruction is how we can tailor instruction to each student’s needs. It adapts
the content, level, pace and products of instruction so that each student can
succeed. Students who are special needs or at-risk benefit from this type of
instruction a lot because often they need more help, more explanation, or more
encouragement. At-risk students also
benefit highly from individualized education programs in which they have set
goals that they work to achieve. Slavin (2012) states, “children who are at
risk can succeed if we are willing to give them high-quality instruction and
intensive services early in their school careers,” (p. 266).
Technology in the classroom can also
increase effectiveness. There are many different ways in which to incorporate
technology and support learning through technology. It is not only helpful for
teachers to include technology in their lessons, but the students also benefit
because their world is so infiltrated by technology already. Students must
understand how to use technology and teachers need to use technology that is
available in order to help make their jobs easier, more effective, more
interactive, and more fun for everyone.
Analyze:
This week’s readings reinforced my
knowledge about effective teaching. It is so important to have a balance for
the use of time in the classroom and the QAIT model is an excellent resource
that I could use in the future for planning lessons. I enjoyed reading about
grouping and learning what works and what doesn’t work. In my own experience, I
have used both mixed-ability and within-class ability grouping. Both seem to be
very effective and are dependent upon what skills I am working on in the
classroom.
This week’s discussion was excellent
and I enjoyed reading the ways in which different teachers develop good
rapports with their at-risk students. For me, personally, I think it is
important to be those students’ cheerleaders and to encourage them because
sometimes they don’t receive encouragement from anywhere else. My sentiments
were reflected in Kasey’s post. Kasey wrote about how she not only gives
one-on-one feedback to each of her students, but she makes it a point to go to
her students’ after school activities and support them outside of the
classroom. I thought that this was a great idea and I would love to do this for
my students. Many of these students need someone to just believe in them and I
hope to be that positive influence in my students’ lives.
Reflect:
How is this concept
significant concerning the context of your classroom?
This is important to the context of my classroom because I want to
be an effective teacher. I have to remember effective grouping strategies and
always be considerate of the at-risk learners in my classroom. I teach at a
Title I school, and so it is very likely that my classroom will be filled with
at-risk students.
Postive aspects
This week’s reading and discussion had many positive aspects, but
my biggest take aways came from reading my colleagues’ discussion posts. I
think that it is so important to learn from other teachers and this week I have
done just that. They have given me several ideas of how to come along side
at-risk learners and help them to succeed.
Meaning for me
This week’s reading had a lot of
meaning for me. I am very passionate about making sure that each student
succeeds and that no student falls through the cracks. Making my teaching more
effective by using strategies like QAIT, and grouping students within the
classroom can help me to be a better teacher.
Beliefs about teaching
I believe that every student should have the opportunity to succeed
and that is what this chapter was all about. Using new technology resources and
incorporating individualized education programs can help students to get the
help that they need. I want to always be aware of what each student needs and
what they are struggling with, and knowing strategies for teaching effectively
can help me to do just that.
Reference
Slavin, R. E.
(2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (10th
ed.). Boston, MA:
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