Jessica Lerner

ELED300
Module 3: Pedagogy & Technology
Introduction
In Learning & Teaching, written by Don Kauchak and Paul Eggen, the authors focus on
teaching strategies that relate directly to and elaborate on the TExES Pedagogy and Professional
Responsibilities for early childhood through 12th grade. Teaching strategies and how teachers are
supposed to instruct and assess their students are based off of these competencies. Direct
instruction (chapter 8), teaching and learning through interactive instruction (chapters 7 and 9),
and problem based instruction (chapters 10 and 11) are just a few of the concepts that come from
Learning & Teaching that directly relate to the TExES Pedagogy and Professional
Responsibilities competencies.
Direct Instruction
As there are many ways to approach teachingand education in generalits especially
important to view every type of approach and understand how each works in the classroom as
well as how theyre each effectively done. Direct instruction, for example, is a teacher-centered
approach, which is unlike student-centered approaches that are often pushed for. With direct
instruction, the teacher is the facilitator; he/she gets the students attention, models the task,
gives the students a chance to practice with limited help, wraps up the information that was
given, gives the students a chance to practice on their own, and then assesses the students
knowledge about what they learned. A big part of direct instruction is the assessment portion;
how else do teachers know their students got what they shouldve (what the teachers wanted
them to) out of the lesson? In any activity that is done in the classroom, there has to be a purpose

which is defined by the objectives or goals that the teacher wants to the students to meet; the
objectives or goals of a lesson directly correlate the assessment.
Teaching and Learning Through Interactive Instruction
A huge part of learning derives from dialogue and communication; social interactions
among students promote a stronger learning environment. When students are asked to work in
groups, they are given an opportunity to share their own thoughts, see the viewpoint of others,
and compare their thoughts with those others. In addition, the more that students are actively
involved, they more they are engaged and actually learning and retaining information. Since the
real world revolves around working in and with teams, having students participate in discussions
with the teacher and class as a whole, as well as with partners and groups to complete group
work, students are given a chance to learn how to work well with others. When cooperating with
others and learning to do equal parts and share the work load, as well as sharing their ideas and
thoughts and opinions, students are preparing for the real world and promoting a higher level of
learning. Interactive learning is also a great way to teach students about responsibility and
accountability. Competency 7 states that the teacher uses and applies his/her knowledge of
principles and strategies for effective communication in the classroom in different teaching and
learning contexts. Knowing how to adjust to a conversation and participate in discussion is a
large part of learning for students. Unlike lectures that are carefully planned where the students
sit at their desks (usually) and listen to the teacher talk, discussions can be very flexible (more so
than lectures) and give students the chance to participate actively (rather than passively) and
extend further on information presented to them.

Problem Based Instruction

Students, especially young ones, are curious; its a innate trait that comes with being
human. What better way to extend students curiosity into their learning and make it a part of it?
Thats exactly what problem based instruction is all about; students are given a problem to solve
and with defined learning objectives (given by the teacher), their asked to come up with their
own understanding of the material through research and other types of exploration activities.
Competency 9 states that the teacher incorporates technology effectively to plan, organize,
deliver, and evaluate instruction thats for all students. Teachers have to know how to plan and
arrange situations so that students can guide their learning based upon the discoveries and
questions they come up with themselves. Asking open-ended questions that guide students in
(hopefully) the right direction is an essential part to a problem-based lesson. Presenting students
with the necessary information so that they can go out and discover concepts on their own that
build of off basic topics has to be carefully planned. Just like any type of instruction though,
theres always a need for an evaluation piece (a way for the teacher to see examine and give
feedback about their discoveries); this does have to be an ongoing process though throughout the
lesson because of the fact that students are putting together their own understandings of the
topics given to them (teachers have to be able to step in if the students conclusions start to
become too astray).
Conclusion
Knowing how to effectively present information to students and guide them through
practice with the teacher and on their own, adjust to discussions and build students learning off
of social interactions, and present opportunities for students to learn based off of their innate
curiosities are all essential parts of instruction in the classroom. Competencies 7 and 9 from the
TExES Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities for early childhood through 12th grade

explain the responsibilities of teachers, especially in direct instruction and problem based
instruction settings as well as through an interactive learning environment.

References
Kauchak, D., & Eggen, P. (2012). Leaning & Teaching: Research-Based Methods (6th ed.).
Boston, MA: Pearson Education.