Teaching Strategies
Scaffolding of Academic Language - Scaffolding provides levels of support to students to meet them where they are. Students who are supported will build more confidence and autonomy. These supports may be temporary for some students who need less structure as they build skills and strengths within the subject. Other structures may need to remain in place for some, particularly those that are put in place within an Individual Education Plan. Students in my classroom have varying levels of academic vocabulary and English proficiency. Some vocabulary will need to be introduced. A word list will be provided on the wall or in their math journal. Throughout the unit, students will be provided with sentence stems to assist them in organizing their thinking and communicating their thoughts.
Small group instruction - Small group instruction allows teachers to address individual learning styles and diverse needs to target instruction to specific students. I find this especially helpful in my special education classroom where their needs and current academic levels can vary so dramatically. Providing instruction in small groups helps to keep some students from getting bored waiting on others to get help or catch up. It also allows more time and/or support for those that may fall behind in a whole class lesson. In addition to whole group discussions, students will work with me in smaller groups (5 or less) to reteach skills or offer practice at higher or lower levels than presented to all. Many of my students struggle with following instructions for independent work. Working with them in small numbers allows me to go through the activity with them step by step before releasing them to work on their own. This is also an opportunity for formative assessments to steer instruction and work on applicable IEP goals.
Targeted or planned groups - Students are grouped intentionally, either all at the same level or mixed level, to facilitate the activity. Whether a heterogeneous or homogeneous group is appropriate depends on the particular activity. Students may also be grouped based on what is known about their personalities and comfort levels. When grouping students, it is important to determine your goal of the activity and of having them work together. Heterogeneous groupings mix students of various academic levels together, fostering inclusion and strengthening social skills. Lower students benefit from the experience of a peer tutor while higher students strengthen their grasp on the material through explaining it in their own words. Students gain experience asking for assistance and assisting others. Homogeneous grouping allows for targeted instruction and variations on activities that will most benefit students at varying academic levels. Higher level students can challenge each other and not always be the peer tutor of the group. Lower level students may get the chance to peer tutor a modified activity within their group. All students may be more comfortable with students at a similar level to their own.
Kagan strategies - Strategies like Think-Pair-Share, Round Robin, and Think-Write-Share provide a structured framework for students to share their thinking. These strategies focus on cooperative learning and assist in classroom management. Often students resist participating or display off task behaviors, because they do not know exactly what they should be doing. By introducing these strategies, you give students a precise roadmap of how to interact with each other and empower them to present their answers. The sentence stems mentioned above are useful within these structures as well. When first learning these frameworks, it is helpful to have students talk/share about nonacademic topics that they are more comfortable talking about.
Technology integration - Technology is utilized to facilitate some of the other teaching strategies. Bell ringers are presented through NearPod so that student answers are shared (without names) and we can discuss common mistakes. Individual activities can be assigned through online learning platforms so that some students are working on activities for individual IEP goals while I am instructing a small group. These activities may be teacher made or from a school purchased interactive curriculum. They may be intervention for skills that the student is lacking or enrichment and extension for those that are ready for the next step. The smart board is utilized to display data and manipulate mathematical models. I have also found that allowing students with high sensory needs to complete their individual work on the smart board instead of a laptop to be very effective. These are students that typically struggle with sitting still and staying focused. By standing, stepping, and reaching across a large board, they engage large muscle groups which is generally an effective tool for regulating the nervous system and allowing them to focus their energy on their academic needs.
Bell Ringer - I use this part of my daily routine to have students practice a skill that has already been taught and will be needed to complete the lesson of the day. This is also an important classroom management strategy as they have something specific to do upon entering the classroom. Once this routine is established, students are working from the moment the tardy bell rings. There is no need to instruct them to take a seat or finish up a conversation. It gives them a quick review, engages their prior knowledge, and allows me to see who might need extra support as we progress into new learning.
Comments: