Instructional Strategies

Positive Rhetoric

Although this may be something very small in the eyes of most, it is enormous in
the eyes of others. Having a positive rhetoric with students as much as possible is
one of the keys to their success. Instead of stating rules and procedures in
negative language, these should be presented in positive language. For example,
“Do not run.” ––> “We shall walk.”

This also applies to situations when students answer questions incorrectly.

Instead of shaming them, there should be a positive praise for their effort. Not to
mention that there are strategies to help a student in this situation. For example,
phone a friend or ask follow-up questions that will lead to the correct answer. In
today’s society there is too much negativity, but this does not mean it has to be a
part of our instruction.

Cross-Discipline Instruction

As someone with two academic background–– Social Studies in Spanish–– I

especially recognize the crossover of many content areas. What students learn in
one class can be helpful to understand content from another class and vice versa.
Or by putting two subjects together students can better appreciate how what
they are learning relates to real life. As a Spanish Immersion teacher this is
something that will inevitably occur every day in my classroom, but I also hope to
reach out to other collogues and learn from them and collaborate on projects
and ideas that can benefit our students, and sometimes even minimize our
workload. English and History are an excellent possibility, Spanish and Biology,
Spanish and Physical Education, Economics and Math, and much more. My goal
as a teacher is to not only help my students develop and grow personally and
academically, but also grow myself professionally and personally.

Independent Learning

I firmly believe one of the goals of all educators is to help students become
independent learners. An independent learner is a critical thinker, problem
solver, and explorer. Students should be scaffolded to a level of independence
where they are autonomous enough to seek help when needed, identify
problems and solutions, question information, and develop stances that can be
backed by evidence. This is especially critical in every Social Studies classroom.
That is why instruction has to be a mixture of group collaboration, teacher-led,
and independent work. It is also during this independent work time that teachers
can connect with the students who need the most help learning independently.
Students should not be left to learn on their own, they ought to be prepared for a
global society while in school.