Brittany Geren Professor Isbell Module 2 Writing Component October 2, 2013 After reading chapters four, five and

six of Learning & Teaching: Research- Based Methods I have leaned several strategies that I can incorporate into my classroom. Chapter four went over how and why teachers plan for lessons, chapter five discussed different strategies for effective teaching and chapter six discussed ways to increase learning by using student involvement. Along with the chapters, three of the thirteen competencies correlate. Competency three, the teacher understands procedures for designing effective instruction based on objectives and goals. Competency four, the teacher understands learning process and factors that impact student leaning. Competency five, the teacher knows how to establish a classroom climate that fosters learning. There are three elements from the chapters and competencies I feel are important to implement in the classroom, these elements are: the factors that influence planning, teacher attitudes, and effective questioning. The first concept from chapter four, is from the section entitled, Factors influencing instructional planning. This section covers two of the competencies; competencies three and four. I believe that as a teacher that it is really important to understand what goes into creating a lesson. According to the book there are eight main factors: the teacher, the learners, motivation, content, context, time, materials, and resources. I feel that a factor that often gets over looked is time. As a teacher you want to teach your students everything, which may seem overwhelming when youre planning, especially for first year teachers. A way to combat becoming overwhelmed is by breaking your planning time into chunks; just as you would break down your students lesson and teach them in chunks. The second concept from chapter five, is from the section entitled, characteristics of effective teachers. This section covers competency five. Students pick up on the mood and

attitude of their teachers very quickly, which is why I believe teachers attitudes is one of most important characteristics mentioned in the book. The example in the book compared two different teachers beginning their lesson on the Civil War. Today we are going to look at the differences between the North and South before the Civil War. Its not one of my favorite topics, but it is on the test at the end of the year so we better learn it. (Kauchak & Eggen, 2012) If I were a student in this classroom I would already feel unmotivated to learn. As a teacher you want to model positivity about the topic, here is a better way to introduce the Civil War. This is a really interesting and important topic and will help us understand why our country is the way it is today. This is one of my favorite topics, and I think youll find it fascinating too. (Kauchak & Eggen, 2012) I have had classes, specifically high school, where the teacher comes into class in a horrible mood. They may have spilled their coffee all over the car, got stuck in traffic on their way to work or even got into an argument with someone right before class; but as a teacher it is important to mask your personal problems and be enthusiastic about what you are about to teach. The third concept from chapter six, is from the section entitled, elements of effective questioning. This section covers competency five. The majority of students learn by being involved and engaged in an activity rather than by a strict lecture. A simple way to engage students is by questioning them. The book outlines six strategies to take into consideration for effective questioning: question frequency, distribution of questions, use open-ended questions, prompting, wait time and repetition for emphasis. I feel that open-ended questions are a good

way to involve the whole class and maybe get quieter students to get involved and talk during the discussion. When I was in elementary school I was the timid girl. I knew the answers, but kept them to myself and never raised my hand. My teacher used open-ended questions to help me become confident talking in front of my classmates. Even if I wasnt completely correct she praised what was correct; these forms of questions gave me the confidence I needed to get involved in future discussions. After reading Learning & Teaching: Research- Based Methods, I discovered three strategies that I can implement in my classroom. These strategies are: planning lessons in chunks, modeling positivity in the classroom, and using effective questioning in the classroom.

Works Cited Kauchak, D., & Eggen, P. (2012). Learning & teaching: Research-based methods. (Vol. 6th). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.