I know I can do this now!

This is the response to the questions raised in the Jo 2 assignment for General Methods 5921-F10.

Although the lesson I gave on November 4, 2010 to a 4th grade class at the Sullivan West Elementary School was formulated around the Direct Instruction strategy and the Behavioral Model, my preparation for it rested in the pursuit of answers to many questions. In reality, my preparation required me to use the information processing model and the inductive teaching methods. I can explain.

Inductive teaching is based upon the claim that knowledge is built primarily upon the learner's experiences and interactions with phenomena. (From reading from Moodle, Week 10, Using Varied Instructional Techniques: Inductive and Deductive Teaching Approaches)I drew deeply on my prior experiences with children, as a mother, a substitute teacher and as someone who designed curriculum for a youth group for children ages 2-7 years old. I also frequently referred to all of the information I gained through the many weeks of classwork that we did on Direct Instruction to prepare an appropriate topic and grade-level lesson for this class.

Throughout the design/drafting process of the DI LP, I constantly asked myself questions about whether the grabber, development and activities were engaging and content-based. I constantly thought and rethought about what my objective was and if the lesson would meet that objective. I had an impression that the students I would be teaching were of the lower end of the "bell-shaped curve" of students and checked and rechecked my instructional levels of information. I questioned myself regularly about whether this group of students could absorb the information as I was presenting it. If I felt a particular activity (I ended up with six!) passed my scrutiny, I kept the activity as it was. If not, I redid it: changed the wording, changed the content a bit, and even changed the format of the activity itself. The writing and rewriting process required me to raise questions, make generalizations, and utilize the observations I made during the 4 hours of observation time that I spent with the class prior to designing the lesson.


In the Information Processing Model, the learners are presented with a problem, they are given the opportunity to investigate and find solutions to the problem, while developing their investigative skills and gaining confidence in their own abilities to think and to reflect on their progress. The problem for this assignment was to draft a DI LP lesson in camouflage. I dove into this lesson because animals are a personal passion of mine and how they share our world with us is also a passion. I readily and eagerly have learned about these topics since I was a child. Therefore, I already had vast experience with studying the animal kingdom. My investigative skills were honed when I went searching both the Curriculum Library and the Internet for resources to enhance my lesson plan. I gained confidence because I began to realize that I can solve this problem successfully because I found excellent information to help enhance my own ideas about how I wanted to lesson to be. I can also take advantage of the element requiring reflection before and after the lesson was presented.

I, in effect, gave myself an inquiry-based lesson while designing a direct instruction plan!

I can now tell you how the lesson went...
I arrived early which served me incredibly well because I was able to set up and greet the students at the door. I enjoyed the experience of being organized in that setting. In a certain way, I felt like I was some sort of specialist that came in to deliver a special lesson.

The children greeted me excitedly and sat right down in front of me as I directed them. I was seated in a chair at the front of the room. I definitely sensed their interest and curiosity as they came in.

My grabber was effective and actually grabbed them but did not over-excite or distract them. I believe the simplicity of the "funny nose and glasses" that I used as a disguise was an effective segue into a lesson on camouflage.

I planned many more activities than I actually had time for and that gave me confidence as well. The feeling of being prepared is incomparable! The confidence that that brings with it has always been and will always be a goal of mine.

I have evidence that the children learned because I constantly checked for understanding throughout the lesson and could tell from their responses during the activities that they understood the vocabulary that I had taught them during the development section. I have further evidence because I assigned them Independent Practice and they all did quite well.

During the vocabulary game, there was great enthusiasm. I was telling them the definitions to the vocabulary words and I purposely kept them general. But, impressively, they seized upon this loophole of vagueness. I was asking for just one word to go with the definition that I read out loud but they were responding with two or three words for the one word that I intended as the answer! Clever. They even protested when I told them I wouldn't accept certain other words for a certain definition. They were thinking critically about the subtleties of the meanings of the words I gave them. That was a completely unexpected but joyful occurrence.

The hard part was calming them back down after a point was scored by a team! I would do more with keeping their voice levels lower and keep them seated better. Students kept popping up out of their seats, in rapt excitement!

The overall experience was easy because I was so prepared and so excited. I felt naturally suited for this position.

I think that if the students in this and other classes, other teachers and peers would comment on my abilities, they would definitely say I had potential and great enthusiasm and friendliness. I have always prided myself in being approachable and intuitive about people and their needs. I know my students will learn that about me as well, someday. The information I am learning in MSMC and all of the outside reading and workshops that I am doing is greatly informing my abilities and generating great confidence for me.

The cooperating teachers I have worked with through the last year and one-half will have to say that I arrive prepared and organized and with a confident, friendly attitude towards my work and towards the students. These characteristics make it easy for the cooperating teachers to trust me with their students. I know that the teachers often feel a "loving possession" over their class. They sense I respect that feeling.

My knowledge of instruction and technology has already informed the teachers with whom I have had the occasion to discuss these items. The word WebQuest is now heard around the school! I have also told several teachers about PB Works and they have expressed interest in using it. I will be able to comment better after I present the students with my WebQuest in the next week or so.

The teacher commented today, November 5, 2010, as I met with her for her personal feedback that I am a very calm person, that the students, when she polled them, enjoyed the lesson and felt they had fun and learned a lot, and that I "seemed a natural in that place at the front of the room."

I have personal insight into myself as a teacher having finally taught I lesson that I prepared. I realize I can convey content information in a confident effective way. Even with this one example, I have an instant of proof that I can do this!!

Have any quesitons? Go to a Museum!

For Week 9, Dr. Smirnova posted a video to watch. In light of my Internet service, videos always take longer to load than they are in viewing time! But, I proceeded.

Our topic was still Direct Instruction but with an eye towards beginning to learn about the Information Processing Model and Inquiry-based lesson plans. The video actually took place in the Long Island Children's Museum. The activities depicted were so vast and varied that I felt as though I had to go there with my own children as soon as possible. The perfect laboratory for learning!

The museum visit is an ideal combination of direct instruction and inquiry-based learning: the museum presenters had the children gather in small groups and gave them information and then encouraged them to touch, smell, think and question (asking questions of the museum presenters as well) on their own.

The forum of the museum presents opportunities for all sorts of learners to learn: visual, tactile, auditory, and inter- and intra-personal. The children's faces glowed with excitement and engagement. For the children on the field trip from their school, it could be that this is their only chance to experience such a place. For the children, young and older, visiting with their families, everyone had a chance to sit face-to-face, hear the information and then interact with each other with the information. Often times, families don't make time for this sort of essential educational and emotional interaction.

This adventure is constructivism at work!

Interestingly, the expressions of excitement on the children's faces at the beginning were still present at then end of the video but they also looked exhausted from their adventure!

I truly experienced their excitement with them during this video. I have gone to MANY museums myself and with my own children. As they play, they are learning. The educational process in a children's museum or in any hands-on exhibit occurs naturally. Knowledge is assembled naturally and remains with the children for a long, long time.