Johnny Allred

MEd 6060

New American Lecture

Describe it
Lecturing mixed with
student activities and
teacher support
Uses anticipatory guide in
effort to hook students
Uses visual organizers to
help students memorize
information
Presents information in
varied ways to help
different types of learners
Lots of info presented to
students in a shorter
amount of time

Critique it: Strength/ Weakness

Strengths: it can result in a
lot of material presented in a
small time period; it engages
students through connecting
to their prior knowledge; it
helps students recall,
explain, and think
figuratively.
Weaknesses: it is more
teacher-centered, not
providing as much student
inquiry or discovery; it
requires extensive planning
for questions and instruction

Ways to Apply it
As an English teacher, I
could use it when
teaching about figurative
language. I would explain
a topic, give visual
organizers to help
students memorize vocab
terms, and then have
them apply their learning
in the texts we read in
class. I wouldnt use it too
frequently, since I value
other non-lecture
methods

Reflection on Strategy
Lecturing is looked down on
in the education world
today. Its too teacher-driven
and not student-centered.
Everything is about giving
students more responsibility
for their learning nowadays
When did the term New
American Lecture begin? I
have never heard of it before

Johnny Allred

MEd 6060

Direct Instruction
Describe it
Emphasizes a four-step
process for teaching
Modeling, Directed
Practice, Guided Practice,
& Independent Practice
Teacher demonstrates &
explains procedures/skills
Uses a gradual release of
responsibility
Employs effective
modeling, student
independence &
questioning, and ongoing
assessment

Critique it: Strength/ Weakness

Strengths: allows students to
see tasks broken down into
steps; encourages students
to ask questions, therefore
teaching them responsibility
in the learning process
Weaknesses: students dont
instigate the learning;
instead, they watch the
teacher and try to parrot
what the teacher does. That
could be counterproductive
in some cases

Ways to Apply it
As an English teacher, I
use this all the time.
When I try to teach
grammar principles, I
show them in my writing,
then we create sentences
using those grammar
principles as a class, then
I observe as they do it,
then I have them do it
independently in essays
and journal entries

Reflection on Strategy
I like direct instruction, and I
like how it gradual hands the
reins to the students.
I think it builds confidence in
the student
It also shows the class that
the teacher isnt perfect, as
the teacher often works
through challenges while he
is modeling for the class

Johnny Allred

MEd 6060

Graphic Organizers
Describe it
Handouts, charts,
matrices, etc.
Creates some visual
representation of the
learning or a space to
organize learning
Strategy used by tons of
teachers and with tons of
templates found online

Critique it: Strength/ Weakness

Strengths: graphic organizers
are powerful because they
help students remember
things and organize what
they learn into chunks. They
are visual, and they can be
kept by students for
studying, memorization, or
recall
Weaknesses: they can be
confusing if theyre too
complex. They take time,
paper, or creativity on the
teachers part

Ways to Apply it
As an English teacher, I
have used graphic
organizers quite a bit. We
make character charts for
the novels we read,
comparing/contrasting
physical, emotional, and
social attributes of
characters. I also use
graphic organizers to
monitor individual
reading done outside of
class

Reflection on Strategy
Graphic organizers will
always be around and used
in schools
I want to find more ways to
incorporate them into my
instruction
Since we have a limited
printing budget in our
language arts department, I
can find digital versions and
post them on my web site
and display them on my
projector

Johnny Allred

MEd 6060

Teams-Games-Tournaments
Describe it
Uses competition and
games to reinforce the
learning for students
Way of splitting class into
teams and have fun ways
to prepare for tests, etc.
It is supported by brain
research done by Dr.
Sylwester

Critique it: Strength/ Weakness

Strengths: kids like to play
games, so theyll be more
willing to participate and
stay engaged. Competition
often fuels improvement.
You can pair weak students
with strong students on a
team, and the learning gap
will be reduced
Weaknesses: seems to take a
lot of work to plan and
perform. Competition could
be bad for some students.
Instructions take time

Ways to Apply it
As an English teacher, I
could use more games to
review the novels we
have read, in preparation
for a final test or final
essays. I can also use
teams or tournaments for
memorizing vocabulary
words, elements of
speech, or figures of
speech. Games can be
incorporated into any
classroom

Reflection on Strategy
Im always wary of games,
because its easy to lose
track of the learning
objectives
I like to play games, and I
have enjoyed the few games
Ive used in the classroom so
far in my teaching
I wonder if it really would be
a bad thing for students to
get zero points on a game.
The books method of
scoring would prevent that,
but is it really a problem?

Johnny Allred

MEd 6060

Compare and Contrast

Describe it
Technique that teaches
students to look for
similarities and
differences between
things
Describe items separately
Uses comparison
organizers
Involves discussions and
conclusions
Involves completing a
task
Humans have a natural
ability to compare things

Ways to Apply it
As an English teacher, I
could have students
compare and contrast a
novel from a film
adaptation. I have done
this several times
actually, and it usually
results in nice charts and
thoughtful discussions. I
could also compare and
contrast novels to other
novels, authors to other
authors, or poems to
other poems

Critique it: Strength/ Weakness

Strengths: putting things
side-by-side helps students
see things they wouldnt
otherwise see. The visual
organizer keeps similarities
and differences distinct
Weaknesses: it could be easy
to lose the purpose of the
learning. Also, sometimes its
hard to know what aspects
to compare. There are
countless ways that things
could be different, so which
aspects are important?
Reflection on Strategy
I liked the several different
compare/contrast charts
shown in the book. Im going
to use the Y Organizer
instead of the Venn diagram
I have been using.
Comparing and contrasting is
an important skill to learn,
since we have to do it for the
major decisions and
purchases we make in our
lives

Johnny Allred

MEd 6060

Concept Attainment
Describe it
Teachers show yes and
no examples of an idea
or concept they want
students to learn
Students explore and
learn on their own with
guidance from the
teacher
Humans naturally group
things together based on
common characteristics
(Bruner)
Also requires compare
and contrast skills

Critique it: Strength/ Weakness

Strengths: engages students
by having them actively
seeking out clarity, instead of
a teacher just defining things
for them. This active learning
helps them gain and keep a
clear understanding of the
principle
Weaknesses: students who
struggle to identify common
characteristics may fall
behind and learn less than if
they were just given a
definition from the teacher

Ways to Apply it
As an English teacher, I
could show examples of
grammar principles and
some non-examples, and
students would have to
identify what they are
seeing as common
characteristics (e.g.,
coordinating
conjunctions, semicolons,
subordinating
conjunctions)

Reflection on Strategy
I thought this was called
inductive learning. I guess I
will see what how inductive
learning is different when we
read and I teach about that
chapter
I really like this method of
teaching and learning. Its
the one I like to use best as a
teacher; when Im using this,
I can see lights go on inside
my students minds. Its
pretty cool

Johnny Allred

MEd 6060

Mystery

Describe it
Requires students to
think like detectives
Lesson begins with a
question or riddle
Teacher provides clues or
set of evidence
Students go through an
experience of finding
evidence, organizing
details, and coming to
conclusions on their own
The question presented
should be answered as
evidence of the learning

Ways to Apply it
As an English teacher, I
could ask many questions
about the plot,
characters, or theme of
novels we read as a class.
This could drive a lot of
searching in the text,
critical thinking, and
journal responses that
help students retain their
learning. I could also
create questions about
the purposes of different
punctuation marks

Critique it: Strength/ Weakness

Strengths: it can be very
intriguing and captivating for
students, motivating them to
work hard to find the
answer. A students learning
is distinctly her own
(Suchman), so she
remembers and cares about
it more
Weaknesses: might be a
stretch to come up with a
question for many different
lessons in different subjects
Reflection on Strategy
The justification for why this
strategy works is
understandable, but I dont
really love this strategy for
my teaching style.
I like mysteries and thrillers,
and it would be cool to have
that kind of anticipation and
intrigue in an English
classroom. Maybe I need to
experiment with this more
often

Johnny Allred

MEd 6060