Instructional Strategies All Members of the Instructional Strategies Group: Clarity Principles of Learning Models of Teaching (click a member

name to view its data) The Skillful Teacher (2008), Chapter 10: Principles of Learning "This section describes twenty-four packages of power from cognitive science, each one self-contained and ready for use by itself, each a possible addition to any teacher's repertoire, and each certain to increase the rate and durability of students' learning. A strong claim? Perhaps. But for once in education, a certain one. Saphier, J., Haley-Speca, M.A., & Gower, R. 2008.The Skillful Teacher: Building Your Teaching Skills, 6th ed. Acton, MA: Research for Better Teaching, Inc. Question: How do I design more efficient and effective learning experiences? (click here to see quiz)

Excerpt from Chapter 10:

Skills of Principles of Learning

These principles are discrete guidelines and techniques to increase the rate and durability of learning, each derived from old and solid laboratory research: Active Participation Get students active: operating, moving, responding, interacting with each other and with the material to be learned during the course of the learning experience. Have students practice skills in setting that are or as close as possible to settings where they would use them in real life. Begin with tangible representations of ideas, move to pictorial, and then to abstract or language-based ways of interacting with ideas. This progression is applicable regardless of the age of the student. Break multi-part tasks into single parts with learning that is new or when students have difficulty. Avoid introducing two closely confusable ideas or words close together in time. Close Confusers Be aware that first impressions stick. The emotional tone of a first exposure to a new topic will linger into future contacts with that topic. Wrong guesses at factual information create memory traces that have to be erased afterwards. Prevent wrong guesses. Bring previously learned information back in combination with new information being studied. Support and guidance with new material being learned should be high, then gradually lessened and withdrawn as the learning becomes solid. Modulating this gradual release requires close monitoring of student mastery. With material that provokes curiosity and different hypotheses, look for opportunities to leave students between classes with provocative but unanswered questions to ponder. Insert fun and concern into the tone- but never too much! Feeling Tone Teach students the technology of setting appropriate goals and making good plans of action to accomplish them.

Application in Setting ConcreteSemiabstract-Abstract progression Breaking Complex Tasks into Simpler Parts

Contiguity

Cumulative Review

Degree of Guidance

End Without Closure

Goal Setting

1) Purpose of the PoL 2) Process (reflect on appropriateness of the PoL,if it achieves the desired outcome) 3) Impact on student learning (if the PoL does not work, you can share what other strategies you want to try)
Isolate the attributes of a concept that make it what it is, so that student can then use the list of attributes to determine whether a given example represents a full exemplar of the concept. Respond to student answers so as to keep them present and thinking about the issue, even if they are incorrect in their answer. Also called "feedback," this principle says to maximize frequency and helpfulness of data we give student about their academic performance. Make connections whenever possible from academic material to something real and meaningful in the students' real world experience. Teach students techniques from the large repertoire of memory devices, especially those that combine multiple approaches like the highly effective "mnemonic key word" technique. Demonstrate step-wise products, procedures and processes and preserve them for future student reference. Conduct frequent practice at the beginning of learning a new skill beginning with smallest meaningful units to ensure early success and build from there. Look for responses to students that increase the likelihood of desired behaviors and reduce the occurrence of undesirable behaviors. When praise is used as a reenforcer is should be specific, genuine, earned, and in appropriate language. Use as many perceptual channels as possible in learning experiences; but be particularly aware of the magnifying effect of having students say their learning outloud in their own words, and they apply the new learning to do something real as soon as possible. The first and last items in a list are easiest to learn and best remembered. The one just past the middle is the first to go. The same applies to spans of time where what happens at the beginning and end is best remembered. Create a series of experiences for students that progressively distances the invitation to use a skill from the school setting in which it was first presented. Thus they are led to transfer use of the skill on their own to setting in real life outside of school. Create a series of experiences for students that progressively distance the call for them to use a skill from the school setting in which it was first presented. Thus they are led to transfer use of the skill on their own eventually to setting in real life outside of school. Bring novelty, strong sensory or emotional tone to learning experiences to heighten attention and assimilation of new learning.

Isolation of Critical Attributes Keep Students Open and Thinking Knowledge of Results

Meaning

Mnemonics

Modeling

Practice

Reinforcement

Say-Do

Sequence and Backward Chaining Similarity of Environment

Teach for Transfer

Vividness