Direct Instruction, Cooperative Learning, and Inquiry-Based Learning!

The three types of lesson plans that our class is required to teach in fieldwork are direct instruction, inquiry, and cooperative lesson plans. There are numerous components that make up each type of lesson.

Direct instruction is explicitly teaching content through lectures, demonstrations, modeling, and explanations. This type of instruction is more teacher-centered and fast-paced. Direct instruction is composed of goals, standards, objectives, and an introduction. The introduction contains review, a rationale, and a focuser. The introduction acquires students' prior knowledge and warms them up for the start of the lesson. Then the development occurs which is composed of an explanation, demonstration, modeling, visual aids, examples, non-examples, and comparison with something that the students know. Guided practice then takes place and includes prompting and student consequences. Closure then occurs along with a type of evaluation of student learning. Finally, an independent practice is distributed to students.

Inquiry learning is when students are faced with a problem or scenario and need to use their higher order thinking skills and critical thinking to carry out the process of solving the problem or scenario. This type of lesson is indirect and is more student-centered. An inquiry-based lesson is composed of goals, standards, and objectives, as well as the 5 E's (explain, explore,expand, elaborate, and evaluate). Students begin the lesson with exploration in the introduction. Next, they continue exploration and explanation in the development. The students then expand through monitored inquiry. Students elaborate through their assigned independent practice and the lesson is summed up in closure. Students are finally evaluated on the content they learned.

Cooperative learning is when students work with each other to develop social skills, as well as learn new content. This type of lesson is also student-centered and contains various parts.Cooperative learning is composed of goals, standards, and objectives. Students are pre-assessed in the introduction and then the development of the lesson occurs. The development involves group work. Students are also given an independent practice and the lesson is summed up in closure. Students are finally evaluated.


These three lessons are contain the same components. However, the difference among these lessons is whether the lesson is student-centered or teacher-centered, working independently or in groups, and how the material being learning is presented.


The lesson plan that I compiled together was the Direct Instruction Lesson Plan. Before teaching the lesson, I had to put together reflection questions that assessed each part of the lesson. The purpose of these questions was to assess how effective the components of the lesson plan were regarding academics and student engagement. The questions and answers are as follows:



Introduction


Did the video, word cloud, and pictures activate the students' prior knowledge and capture their attention?

I believe the video, word cloud, and pictures all activated student's prior knowledge and captured their attention. Students were fully engaged because their eyes were always on the teachers or the SMARTboard. They were actively participating by answering questions. When a teacher would ask the students what they knew about the video, the picture, or the word cloud, students immediately responded and began to pour out all of their knowledge, which was correct.


Development


Was a Prezi presentation the best way to present the material? Were students able to follow along and become engaged with the Prezi?

I believe so. Students were focused on the presentation. We never had to refocus a student or tell them to pay attention. They all followed along and never asked to go back or clarify anything. The Prezi theme chosen for the presentation was perfect for the lesson being taught.


Were the videos and pictures in the Prezi sufficient for student learning and understanding?

Yes. The videos provided visual and audio representations. They are a great way to target learners with disabilities, as well as for students without. They keep students engaged and provide another way for instruction instead of the teacher talking all the time. They students loved the pictures and figured out what each picture was and represented.

Guided Practice
Did the vortex, picture, and video activities allow the students to practice what they just learned?

Unfortunately because of time limitations, we were unable to do the picture activity. We were able to do the video and vortex activity. We played a video that was previously shown in the beginning of the lesson, except this time, the video was on silent. The students were fixated on the video and were engaged. They answered questions that we asked about what they noticed in the video. The students absolutely loved the vortex activity. Each student was able to come up to the SMARTboard and answer a question. They were fully engaged and each student enjoyed the activity.


Was the student praise and/or consequence provided lacking, too much, or sufficient enough to contribute to student confidence and learning?

I believed student praise was sufficient enough. When students responded correctly we told them, "Good Job!" or "Excellent Answer!" These responses would contribute to their confidence and want them to answer questions.


Closure
Did student groups asking other student groups questions allow the teacher to assess who really understood the content and who did not?

I thought this was a great way to assess students. Each group came up with a question that they had to ask another group. Some questions that were asked were basic, while others required students to critically think and use their higher order thinking skills which was excellent.

Independent Practice


Was the socrative fun for students, as well as provide practice for them? Did the socrative quiz allow the teacher to summatively assess the student?

Unfortunately because of time limitations, we were unable to perform the Socrative quiz. The Socrative quiz was given to the teacher to implement in her classroom that we are still waiting for results back.