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Instruction: How Should Learning Be Designed?

This section examines ten different theories on instruction:

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Mastery Learning

Definition
Mastery learning proposes that all children can learn when provided with the appropriate learning conditions in the classroom.

Discussion
The application of mastery learning is based on Benjamin Bloom’s Learning for Mastery model, with refinements made by Block. Mastery learning is predominantly a group-based, teacher-paced instructional approach, in which students learn by cooperating with their classmates. However, some mastery learning strategies require students to work independently, rather than with classmates.

How Mastery Learning Affects Education

Curriculum–Mastery learning does not focus on content, but on the process of mastering it. This type of learning works best with the traditional content-focused curriculum, one based on well-defined learning objectives organized into smaller, sequentially organized units.

Instruction–This strategy captures many of the elements of successful tutoring and the independent functionality seen in high-end students. In a mastery learning environment, the teacher directs a variety of group-based instructional techniques. The teacher also provides frequent and specific feedback by using diagnostic, formative tests, as well as regularly correcting mistakes students make along their learning path.

Assessment–Teachers evaluate students with criterion-referenced tests rather then norm-referenced tests. Mastery learning ensures numerous feedback loops, based on small units of well-defined, appropriately sequenced outcomes.

Reading
Block, Schools, Society and Mastery Learning.
Schools, Society and Mastery Learning Mastery Learning

Benjamin Bloom, All Our Children Learning.
All Our Children Learning Mastery Learning

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Cooperative Learning

Definition
Cooperative learning consists of instructional techniques that require positive interdependence between learners in order for learning to occur.

Basic Elements
Research shows that both competitive and cooperative interaction are a healthy part of a child’s repertoire of behavior. By second grade, however, urban children have effectively extinguished their cooperative behavior and persist in competition, even when it’s counterproductive. By developing deliberately cooperative techniques, educators aim to correct the unconscious societal and educational bias that favors competition.

Research has also found an interesting racial implication in cooperative learning: Minority children are more likely to retain these cooperative strategies. In fact, when educators introduce cooperative learning into the classroom, minority learners show a disproportionate improvement in achievement.

Patterns for student interaction are called structures. Together, teachers and students develop a repertoire of these structures. So when the teacher announces that the class will use a particular exercise to explore today’s lesson topic, students know what type of interaction to expect. For example, when the teacher says the class will use the “Think-Pair-Share” exercise to study African wildlife, students know they will work independently to write down their thoughts on elephants or lions, then find a partner, share their ideas with their partner, and probe each other for complete understanding.

It is up to the instructor to integrate the interactive exercises with the specific lesson content. The teacher must give careful thought to who should collaborate with whom and why, how to manage the classroom while unleashing cooperative activity, and how to balance the attention to both content and cooperative skill building.

Reading

Spencer Kagan, Cooperative Learning, Resources for Teachers, 1992.

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Accelerated Learning

Definition
Accelerated learning is a comprehensive approach to school change, developed in 1986 at Stanford University. Accelerated learning aims to create school success for all students by closing the achievement gap between at-risk and mainstream children. The idea is to radically change individual schools by redesigning and integrating curricular, instructional, and organizational practices so that they provide enrichment–not just remediation–for at-risk students.

The accelerated learning theory assumes that at-risk students have “learning gaps” in areas valued by schools and mainstream economic and social institutions. The program also assumes that remedial approaches fail to close these gaps because they don’t build on the students’ strengths and they don’t tap into the resources of teachers, parents, and the community.

Basic Elements
When an accelerated learning program is introduced into a school, the process involves several guiding principles and values:

Unity of Purpose–Parents, teachers, students, and administrators must agree on a common set of goals for the school. These goals become the focal point of everyone’s efforts, serving as a framework for all curricular, instructional, and organizational initiatives.

Empowerment/Responsibility–Members of the school community can make important educational decisions, take responsibility for implementing them, and take responsibility for the outcomes. This breaks the stalemate among administrators, teachers, parents, and students: It stops them from blaming each other and factors beyond their control for the students’ poor educational outcomes.

Building on Strengths–This program identifies and uses all the available learning resources in the school community, instead of exaggerating weaknesses and ignoring strengths. For example, parents can positively influence their children’s education at home and help teachers understand their children better. School administrators could make a concerted effort to creatively work with parents, staff, and students, rather than merely complying with them. Plus, teachers bring valuable insights, intuition, teaching, and organizational skills to the table. Furthermore, the strengths of at-risk students differ from those associated with predominantly white, middle-class culture, and often are overlooked. And finally, communities are ripe with assets, including youth organizations, senior citizens, businesses, religious groups.

Getting Started as an Accelerated School

There are four initial steps for developing an accelerated school. They are:

  1. Take stock of where you are, and establish baseline data.
  2. Create a shared vision as a focus for change.
  3. Compare your vision to baseline information, then identify gaps and needed changes.
  4. Identify 3-4 initial priorities, and establish small groups to work on these.

Reading
Hopfenberg, Wendy S. and Levin, Henry M., Accelerated Schools. School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA (1990).

Accelerated Schools, Newsletter of the Accelerated Schools Project. School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.

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Thematic Instruction

Thematic Instruction

Definition
Thematic instruction is the organization of a curriculum around macro “themes.” Thematic instruction integrates basic disciplines like reading, math, and science with the exploration of a broad subject, such as communities, rain forests, river basins, the use of energy, and so on.

Basic Elements
Thematic instruction is based on the idea that people acquire knowledge best when learning in the context of a coherent “whole,” and when they can connect what they’re learning to the real world. Thematic instruction seeks to put the teaching of cognitive skills such as reading, mathematics, science, and writing in the context of a real-world subject that is both specific enough to be practical, and broad enough to allow creative exploration.

Thematic instruction usually occurs within an entire grade level of students. Teachers of all the different subjects taught in that particular grade work together as a team to design curriculum, instruction methods, and assessment around a preselected theme. Typical steps include:

  1. Choosing a theme–Themes often involve a large, integrated system (such as a city, an ecosystem, and so on) or a broad concept (such as democracy, weather, and so on). Instructors often strive to connect the theme to the students’ everyday life. In some cases, students participate in choosing the theme or themes.
  2. Designing the integrated curriculum–The teachers involved must organize the learning objectives of their core curriculum (both process skills and content knowledge) around the theme. In the study of a river basin, for instance, math might involve calculating water flow and volume; social studies could look at the nature of river communities; science might study phenomena like weather and floods; and literature could study books and novels that focus on rivers, such as the works of Mark Twain. The initial design requires considerable work on the part of teachers. Again, sometimes students help design the curriculum.
  3. Designing the instruction–This usually involves making changes to the class schedule, combining hours normally devoted to specific topics, organizing field trips, teaching in teams, bringing in outside experts, and so on.
  4. Encouraging presentation and celebration–Because thematic instruction is often project-oriented, it frequently involves students giving collective presentations to the rest of the school or the community. Plus, students commonly create extensive visual displays.

Thematic instruction can be a powerful tool for reintegrating the curriculum and eliminating the isolated, reductionist nature of teaching around disciplines rather than experience. It requires a lot of hard, initial design work, plus a substantial restructuring of teacher relationships and class schedules.

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Service Learning

Definition
Service learning combines service to the community with learning outside the classroom. Schools throughout the country are striving to implement service learning along the entire K-12 continuum.

Discussion

Service learning has acquired several different meanings. For instance, some high schools have instituted a requisite that all students must perform a certain number of hours of community service.

Other schools have implemented service learning as a part of their ongoing curriculum. This may include class, team, or individual exercises and assignments. For example, a project might revolve around cleaning up trash in a park, categorizing the waste, and determining its impact on the environment.

And some schools even employ programs in which individual students serve the community organizations that relate to their career interests.

How Service Learning Affects Education

Curriculum–Depending on the definition of service learning, there can be a significant impact on curriculum. Schools use service learning to provide meaning and context to the information taught. However, students that merely volunteer for community service hours may have little impact on what happens in the classroom. Those students who do see connections–or a lack of them–between the concepts learned and their real-world applications may pressure schools for curriculum changes of context and relevancy.

Instruction–Teachers may need to expand their own knowledge base to extend learning beyond the classroom. Teachers may also have to relinquish their perception as being the only source of information. The goals of instruction often change from amassing knowledge to using and applying knowledge in a real-world context.

Assessment–Service learning often changes the nature of assessment by focusing on the customer satisfaction of the organization students are serving. Teacher’s assessment can be either shared or replaced by assessors in the community who can provide more accurate feedback.

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Whole Brain Learning

Definition

Whole-brain teaching is an instructional approach derived from neurolinguistic descriptions of the functions of the brain’s left and right hemispheres.

Basic Elements

Neurolinguistic findings about the brain’s language functions show that in the integrated brain, the functions of one hemisphere are immediately available to the other, producing a more balanced use of language. Whole-brain teaching emphasizes active learning, in which the learner makes connections that tap both hemispheres.

Another aspect of whole-brain teaching is managing the emotional climate, to reduce the “downshifting”–or primal thinking–that occurs during distress. To relax learners, instructors may offer clear, realistic predictions of barriers (such as, “Advancement may be sporadic”) and progress (such as, “Sooner or later, this will become easier”). Plus, instructors may try enhancing the learning experience with music or soothing colors.

In whole-brain learning, imaging is seen as the basis for comprehension. For this reason, learners are encouraged to visualize, draw, and use drama as they develop new ideas, in order to retain them. A reading teacher, for instance, might present new vocabulary words by building a story or skit that uses them–but doesn’t define them–in context. The teacher then might play music while reading the definitions, leaving time for listeners to draw images of the words. The teacher next might use guided meditation to build a relaxed state containing memories of success before the listeners hear the definitions again. And the learners might even act out the words’ meanings or construct stories of their own.

Reading

T. Buzan, Use Both Sides of Your Brain. NY: Dutton (1976).

G.L. Rico, Writing the Natural Way. Los Angeles, CA: Tarcher.

D.H. Schuster and L. Vincent, “Teaching Math and Reading with Suggestion and Music,” Academic Therapy, vol. 16(1), 69-72 (Sept, 1980).

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Cognitive Coaching

Definition

Cognitive coaching is based on the idea that metacognition–or being aware of one’s own thinking processes–fosters independence in learning. By providing personal insights into the learner’s own thinking processes, cognitive coaching builds flexible, confident problem-solving skills. Plus, it encourages self-efficacy and pride.

Basic Elements

Coaching involves the modeling of self-appraisal and the self-management of cognition by an expert. It also involves learner performance and reflection, internalizing, and generalizing.

In modeling, the instructor explains thinking, reading, and calculating strategies by naming the strategy (such as “eliminating alternatives” or “finding the main idea”), then explaining why it should be learned. The instructor also provides explicit steps for using a particular strategy, deciding when it’s appropriate, and evaluating it.

Dialogue, both on the part of instructor and student, is another prominent aspect of coaching. For example, in the “scaffolded instruction” technique, teachers and students take turns leading dialogues about texts, asking each other to predict, question, clarify, summarize, and self-appraise.

Scott Paris, in his 1990 article “Promoting Metacognition and Motivation of Exceptional Children” in Remedial and Special Education, lists the following fundamentals of building effective metacognitive skills:

  1. Common goals held by teachers and students
  2. Ongoing assessment of performance, in order to adjust difficulty levels
  3. Mutual regulation–in other words, teachers benefit from the students’ misconceptions and observations of the strategies, while students learn from their instructor’s previous experience using the strategies

Adult learning principles greatly support cognitive coaching and predict its success. For example, adult coaching is often used as an alternative to clinical supervision in developing the teaching and management skills of school administrators. However, cognitive coaching is also being developed in K-12 instructional programs for special needs and whole language students. Apparently, the same principles apply for both adults and children…imagine that!

Reading

Farmer, James A., New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education.

Marzano, R.J. et al., Dimensions of Thinking. Alexandria: ASCD.

Paris, Scott G. “Promoting Metacognition and Motivation of Exceptional Children, Remedial and Special Education, Nov-Dec 1990, pp 7-15.

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School To Work Transition

Definition

School-to-work programs provide ways for students to transition successfully into the economy, either through paid employment with a business or self-employment. Numerous studies reveal that, upon high school graduation, many students who aren’t college-bound are neither prepared for nor connected to employment opportunities.

Basic Elements

In general, building a school-to-work transition program entails the following three approaches:

  1. Integrate the long-separated “tracks” of academic and vocational education. From middle school on, schools should orient youth to work, help them explore different types of jobs, provide guidance about career paths, and assist them in finding work relevant to their needs and interests. Vocational education is considered too narrow and specific, outdated by modern technology, and ineffective in building language and math skills. Academic education is criticized for being too conventional, driven predominantly by standardized tests, and ineffective at motivating most students.
  2. Link schooling with the demands and realities of the workplace. Through employment-related experiences and on-the-job learning, students can receive significant exposure to the workforce and can prepare for their future work environment.
  3. Develop programs to closely coordinate secondary and post-secondary education with employers. Apprenticeships and school-business partnerships are just two of the many ways educators and businesspeople can produce a shared view of youth learning and development.

These changes have extensive learning implications, particularly for high schools, including:

Curriculum–Develop new models that integrate vocational and academic education, from revamping the guidance counseling system to creating a coherent sequence of courses related to broad occupational clusters.

Instruction–Focus on experiential, project-based learning. Also, reduce the “tracking,” or segregation, of students into either academic or vocational studies.

Assessment–Use portfolios to gauge a student’s employability.

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Instructional Technology

Definition

Instructional technology is just what it sounds like: using computers, CD-ROMs, interactive media, modems, satellites, teleconferencing, and other technological means to support learning.

Discussion

Some educators believe the use of interactive, computer-based technology is crucial to improving classroom learning. These educators contend that advanced technology will fundamentally change the learning process and structure. Other educators believe technology is merely a tool that has minimal impact on the quality of learning.

How Instructional Technology Affects Learning

Curriculum–Advanced technology has the potential to significantly expand the breadth and depth of the curriculum. With the Internet, for example, students can access information far beyond the scope of their traditional textbooks. Curricula can be individualized and adapted to students’ specific learning styles. Instructional technology has the power to enhance overall knowledge accumulation, instead of just focusing on content mastery.

Instruction–Advanced technology could significantly affect the role of teachers, as well as the structure of schools and classrooms. The use of instructional technology changes the teacher’s role from expert to facilitator or coach. Plus, instruction is no longer limited to the school building or classroom. For example, students can take courses from a global satellite feed or on the Internet. Learning can take place at home, at work, or anywhere else that has the capacity for a television, phone, or computer.

Assessment–Instructional technology will focus more and more on building feedback loops directly into the learning process. Students can obtain frequent and accurate feedback, make corrections to their work, and structure learning experiences around their individual needs. Assessment can be monitored by offsite instructors, plus it can be ongoing and cumulative.

Reading

Lewis J. Perelman, School’s Out.

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