Weekly Reflection Week_4_ Dates _2_/_4_ - _2_ / _8_

InTASC Standard 8: Instructional Strategies

The teacher candidate understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to

encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections,
and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.

During instruction in whole group math this week on 2 step word problems, I had set up
the problem then had students come to the board and explain how they would solve it. After
the lesson, I sent my students to their desk with a worksheet to work on, on their own. Shortly
after sending them off, I realized few students had started which lead me to believe further
instruction was necessary. So I provided instruction again, but this time while they were at their
seat and had a worksheet so they could follow along. After this additional instruction, most
students flew through the remainder of the worksheet.

This experience enhanced the importance of providing a variety of instructional

strategies, and to read students needs. Additionally, this enforced the necessity of gradual
release. Some students can learn by listening in a whole group setting, while others learn by
doing and I believe that was much of the issue here. Although I had some students come to the
board, most of them hadn’t had the chance which neglected the ‘we do’ for them regarding
gradual release. One thing that did go well though was that during instruction students were
provided various strategies to solve multistep word problems, and following the additional
instruction, students were successfully using various strategies that worked for them.

Moving forward, I want to work on making sure I provide clear instructions and
explaining things thoroughly. I also want to work on gradually releasing them on their own
when starting a new unit and continuing to provide various instructional strategies within
various settings including whole group, small group, partners, and individually.