Implementing Instruction

How can teachers implement effective instruction in their classrooms and make them conducive to meaningful learning?

      Teachers can implement effective instruction in their classrooms and make them conducive to meaningful learning through effective strategies, to communicate effectively and to support students’ engagement in the teaching-and-learning process. Studies emphasizes not only a teacher’s efforts at planning instruction, but also successfully implementing strategies appropriate to the content and instructional goals The literature on instruction suggests that students whose teachers develop and regularly integrate inquiry-based, hands-on learning activities, critical thinking skills, and assessments into daily lessons consistently out-perform their peers. Therefore, flexibility and adeptness with a variety of teaching strategies contribute to teacher effectiveness; teachers are obliged to look for the best strategies to implement instruction in their classrooms and make them conducive to meaningful learning. Definitely, some strategies that might help teachers to reach an effective instruction in their classrooms are combining instructional techniques that involve individual, small-group, and whole-class instruction. This allows them to monitor and pace instruction based on the individual needs of students.

Why is communication of content and skills knowledge a characteristic of good teachers?

    Communication of contents and skills knowledge is a characteristic of good teachers because communication is fundamental to any profession that requires interaction among people and within an organization. Teaching is no exception. Clarity on explanations, an important communication skill, is manifested in two primary ways in teaching process. The first, for example, relates to the teacher’s ability to explain content clearly and in focused manner pointing out concepts and relations; in this way, students learn and absorb what it is being taught in class. The second one, however, concerns the teacher’s clarity in terms of explain directions for how students are to complete an activity. Clearly, effective communication in teaching requires teachers to clearly understand subject matter and how to share that subject matter with students in a way that come to own it and understand it deeply.  

ORGANIZING FOR INSTRUCTION

ORGANIZING FOR INSTRUCTION

      How do you focus on instruction?

      Well, I try to follow what I have planned, and I try to manage time during the development of the class. One important thing that I take into account in my teaching practicum is to give my students clear instructions every time I start a class, a task, or an activity. I also try to persuade my students’ interest through activities that emphasize the need for them to experience success. Since the beginning of each class I try to model a good behavior and a deep interest in the TL because that lets students know that these two keys are important as it is presented in the book “Qualities of effective Teachers” where it is said that effective teachers see consistency and organization in their classroom as important because they allow the central focus of classroom time to be on teaching and learning. Therefore, for me it is pretty important to have this in mind when organizing for instruction.

      How do you maximize instructional time?

      I, for instance, remember the first day of my teaching practicum time was not enough and I was disappointed and in somehow frustrated since I had not finish everything I had in my lesson plan. However, I did not know that much about planning, timing, giving instructions, and so on. But now I do know how to make arrangements if something it is not working in class.  So for the next classes, I planned my classes more carefully and made an appropriate use of time. Besides, actually I am trying to maximize instructional time through tasks that allow not only my students to have responsibility but also accomplishment in regards with the teaching and learning process. Furthermore, the teacher whom I am working with and I always follow a sequence in our classes because in that way students know what is next during  class, coming up next week, or next month. That is why, I really like that teacher’s organizing for instruction because he is always informing and monitoring students in regards to lessons. Indeed, for every class I try to prepare my students for the day’s activities, and follow a consistent schedule and maintain procedures and routines established since the beginning of my teaching practicum. To be sincere, I try to make clear and smooth translations and maintain momentum within and across lessons.

      How do you expect students to succeed in your classes?   

As the book “Qualities of Effective Teachers” in its chapter four presents that effective teachers believe in their students and expect all of them to learn, regardless of their skill levels and starting points, I, of course, believe in my students; therefore, I can assure that they will learn no matter if they show a higher interest or not, but I will do my best for motivating and showing them that I believe in them and that they have the capability to learn English. For example, I had three students who were always talking, bothering, and never working in class. Once I talked to them and told them that they were able to learn if they wanted and also that they had to take avenges of time and not to lose it. Hence, they changed their behavior and now they are participating actively in class.

      How do you plan and prepare for instruction?

       I, for example, take into account not only the students’ level but also the students’ strengths or challenges; in other words, I think over my students’ needs before organizing and preparing for instructions. I, in fact, interview some of my students in and out of classes to see if they have learned something about English and to see how much familiar they are with the TL because this helps me to incorporate new things that are connected to prior school experiences or real-life-situations.

      Do you make last-minutes changes when things are not working? Based on what premises, have you made such changes? Did they work? What needs to be done to better your instruction?

      First, I always ask my tutor about what class I need to prepare or the content I have to develop. Then, I look for appropriate information, tasks, activities, drawings, etc. Besides, I have loved to be prepare with extra material if something does not work; once, I brought to my class an activity that I believed that it was very difficult for my students to do it, so I changed the activity and chose another one, considering that my students did not have the appropriate vocabulary and they could feel frustrated. That last-minute change helped me or even more it saved me from chaos. But I am sure that I need to do more researchers and get more information to better my instructions.  What I actually do is to talk and share ideas, experience and in some instances materials with my classmates, and until now that has been a good strategy.