Seth Reicks Instructional Strategies File Education 269 Spring 2014

#1 Technique: Think-Pair-Share Description: Think-Pair-Share is a versatile technique that works well in many situations, and I see it as particularly useful as a technique for after reading a text. This strategy provides an intermediary step between questioning and answering. Students are asked a question, given time to think, then paired with a partner(s) to refine their answer by listening to the thoughts of one or more of their peers, and then all of the groups can share aloud. The answers are more likely to be detailed because of the extra step in the process (Fischer and Frey, 2011, p. 8). Example of Use: When doing a unit plan assignment this semester in my Methods of Secondary Education course, I incorporated a Think-Pair-Share for a marketing class after having the students read a case study on Nikes marketing mix (the 4 Psproduct, price, place, promotion), in which the students were to evaluate if they thought Nikes strategy was good and why, or how it could be improved.

#2 Technique: Learning Stations Description: Students work in small heterogeneous groups on tasks that are meant to consolidate concepts that have been taught. The concepts are generally related to each other. The stations allow the teacher more time to provide direct instruction to smaller groups of students (Fischer and Frey, 2011, p. 9). I think this technique is more appropriate as an after reading technique, because its use is usually intended to be after material has been learned or taught, however, I think learning stations could also be used as a strategy during the reading. Example of Use: In a software applications class I could set up learning stations for different parts of Desktop Publisher or Photoshop. This would allow the groups to read and create the product from the station, and afford me the time to go individually to the five or six groups to provide them with individualized assistance as they are creating the assigned work.

#3 Technique: Jigsaw Description: Students are assigned to two groupsa home group and an expert group. Each member of the home group is assigned a different text to read, and then the members of each different home group that were assigned the same text gather together to discuss their material. After collaborating to master the material, the members of the expert groups reconvene back in their home groups with their teammates who are all now experts at a different piece of information. The home groups then teach each other what they learned. Example of Use: When doing a unit plan assignment this semester in my Methods of Secondary Education course, I incorporated a jigsaw activity for a marketing class while covering the production concept, product concept, selling concept, marketing concept, and societal concept. The students became experts on their assigned concept by reading the section in the book and discussing it with their other expert group members. Then all of the experts met back in their home groups and shared their knowledge.

#4 Technique: Quick Writes Description: Quick writes are anticipatory activities in the form of brief writing tasks that are done before reading in order to activate background knowledge and get students to think about their own personal experiences. These are done at the beginning of an activity to initiate a reading-writing connection (Fischer and Frey, 2011, p. 25). Quick writes are also handy because they provide teachers with a chance to formatively pre-assess student knowledge, and then utilize that information to help them know where to begin with the material. Example of Use: I would like to use quick writes when delving into information in which students will have to be able to form their own opinions that may vary from other students, and will therefore require critical thinking and the ability to justify their reasoning. Debating topics such as corporate social responsibility and ethics come to mind for me. When talking about business ethics, I would like to begin by seeing what students think of when they think of ethical behavior in business and what examples they can think of unethical business practices. Doing an activity like this helps to get students thinking about the material, what they know

about the topic, and what type of reflective thinking will be expected from them throughout the lesson.

#5 Technique: K-W-L Chart Description: A K-W-L chart is an anticipatory activity that activates prior knowledge by getting students to formulate questions to guide their inquiry (Fischer and Frey, 2011, p. 35). When creating a K-W-L chart, students write down what they know about a specified topic and what they would like to learn. After the lesson is finished, students write down what they learned. This is a technique that is done before reading since it is a good way to introduce a new unit of study, because it allows the teacher to formatively pre-assess knowledge, allows students think what areas within the lesson they are curious about exploring, and it also encourages them think throughout the lesson about what they should be learning and recording. Example of Use: I think that K-W-L charts are particularly useful in discussing specific people and events that the students may have heard of and have some background knowledge with. I would incorporate a K-W-L in an economics or finance class when discussing the Great Depression or Great Recession. A K-W-L could also be useful in any business class when doing a case study on a specific company or industry. In this instance, a K-W-L would allow me to see what students know about that particular company or industry.

#6 Technique: Vocabulary Self-Awareness Chart Description: A vocabulary self-awareness chart is a grid that lists the vocabulary terms, and then has three columns for the students to place a checkmark based on if they know the term well (can provide an example of the term and give a definition), somewhat know the term (can either give an example or definition, but not both), or do not know the term (cant give an example or definition). If the student knows the term well or somewhat, they fill in their example and/or definition. As the lesson progresses, students should eventually checkmark the box that indicates they know the word well and give an example and definition of the term. This is an activity to incorporate before, during, and after reading. It is helpful before reading as a pre-assessment and to introduce students to what they are expected to learn, during

reading to provide students clues of what to look for, and after reading as a reference for students. Example of Use: Vocabulary self-awareness charts would translate to any subject because they are a great way for students to access their own understanding and comfort with the terms at the beginning of the lesson, and fill in the missing pieces of their comprehension as the lesson progresses. I would specifically use vocabulary self-awareness charts in classes where there are a lot of terms that your typical teenager doesnt encounter very often, such as the terms in a personal finance classloans, interest, mortgage, depreciation, annuity, perpetuity, and fixed and variable costs.

#7 Technique: Vocabulary Cards Description: Vocabulary cards provide students the opportunity to create a visual representation of what a word means to them. The vocabulary cards are created by dividing a sheet of paper into a quadrant; in the top left quadrant the student records the vocabulary term, in the top right the student defines the term in their own words, in the bottom left the student creates a graphic representation of the word, and in the bottom right the student uses the word in a sentence. This post-reading activity is useful after students have been presented with the material and need to be able to store it into their memory. Vocabulary cards are good for this purpose because they are similar to flash cards, except they provide students with their own personal definition and visual representation of the word. Aside from quizzing themselves on terms, vocabulary cards provide students with an easily accessible reference tool to use when completing a task that requires an understanding of the vocabulary. The cards allow students to concentrate on meaning, use, and representation of terms in order to make them a part of their permanent vocabulary (Fischer and Frey, 2011, p. 54). Example of Use: I would use vocabulary cards in a class where students will need to frequently reference terms that are needed in order to complete a somewhat lengthy process (i.e. longer than a class period). The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a business class where my students would take part in a multi-step process is in an accounting class when students are given a simulation of transactions to record. There are many terms related to the types of transactions that need to be recorded into different accounts. Using vocabulary cards for these

terms for the types of transactions and accounts will help to eventually make the bookkeeping process become automatic for students by the end of the simulation.

#8 Technique: Questioning the Author (QtA) Description: The questioning the author technique is a strategy that is done during and after reading. This technique allows students to build meaning from the content by analyzing and questioning the authors purpose in their writing. The questions are intended to serve as prompts for the students to develop ideas and construct their own understanding. The teacher should serve as a facilitator, guide, initiator, and even responder in this activity (Fischer and Frey, 2011, p. 85-86). Example of Use: Throughout the business classes that I may teacheconomics, accounting, finance, marketing, entrepreneurshipI plan to regularly incorporate current events articles related to the business field being studied. By bringing in news articles based on an authors research, opinions, and predictions, I will spark lively debate amongst my students, in which they will be required to relate the content they are learning in class to what the author is arguing for or against. Questioning the author activities provide a structured way for students to create deeper levels of understanding by formulating and justifying their own arguments and counterarguments.

#9 and #10 Technique: Graphic Organizer Description: Graphic organizers are ways to visually organize ideas to show the relationships between the information; usually done by placing the terms or concepts into bubbles or squares and drawing connecting lines between them (Fischer and Frey, 2011, p. 101). Graphic organizers are handy tools to use at all phases of reading comprehensionbefore, during, and after reading the text. They can be used beforehand to activate prior knowledge and introduce students to what they will be learning, during reading as a means of taking notes, and after reading in order to review the content (Fischer and Frey, 2011, p. 104).

#9

Technique: Graphic Organizer Concept Maps Description: A concept map has a central theme or term with lines running off it that connect to other ideas that are correlated to the main theme or term. The teacher shouldnt just dictate the construction of the map for students to copy the information, but invite to students to help create the map in order for them to be able to construct their own meaning (Fischer and Frey, 2011, p. 106). Example of Use: I would use a concept map in a class where there are broad concepts that are composed of many smaller ideaseconomics comes to mind in this instance. For example, when talking about exchanges, related ideas would include supply, demand, prices, costs, complements, replacements, taxes, and price floors and ceilings.

#10 Technique: Graphic Organizer Flow Diagram Description: A flow diagram is a way to organize concepts or terms within shapes and using connecting arrows in order to show the steps in a process, sequence or timeline (Fischer and Frey, 2011, p. 106). Example of Use: I would use a flow diagram in a course that involves specific procedures that must be followedsuch as accounting. A flow diagram would be useful in in accounting journals and financial statements and reports because of the many processes that must be followed when recording and keeping track of expenses, loans, and sales.