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Nine Teaching Strategies That Work
The following nine strategies are shown to be successful with students in the classroom. Each section details how I utilize a particular strategy with students in my kindergarten classroom.
1. Identify similarities & differences
When we classify or do comparison activities, it is usually teacher-directed. My students love comparing stories, so we make T-charts or Venn diagrams and discuss the ways 2 stories are the same and the ways they are different. Sometimes I will use 2 stories written by the same author. Sometimes we use 2 stories that share a similar plot, etc. Some of the most fun this year have been the “I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed” stories. I have several…in one she swallows the fly, of course, but in the others she swallows a bell, a trout, a shell, etc. The kids and I talked about many parts of the story while creating the charts including characters, plot, setting, etc. Graphic organizers are wonderful tool and I use them often. The Marzano text states that “Representing similarities and differences in graphic or symbolic form enhances students’ understanding of and ability to use knowledge” (2001).
2. Summarizing and note taking
I do not have my students take notes individually in kindergarten, but we do make anchor charts as a class and place them strategically around the room so that students can access them as they need to. Most of our charts have pictures and words together for students who are not yet readers. We do a lot of summarizing, though. I have students summarize what I say as well as what the other students say when we are having discussions. They also summarize things we have read and they give me a summary of activities we have done in class. After one student answers a question I say, “Susie will you tell us in your own words what Joey just told us?” and then I will ask another student “Fred, in your own words can you explain what Susie and Joey just told us?” The kids get the information summarized 3 times and they never know who I am going to call on, so they usually stick with me and stay engaged. I use the students to reinforce the concepts and they are teaching each other instead of listening to me talk all the time.
3. Reinforce effort and provide recognition
We celebrate students and their small achievements daily. Students’ attitudes and beliefs can be a delicate matter, and I tread very lightly on their little hearts. Every experience at school has the potential of being paralyzing or crystallizing for students…I hope that I am never a teacher who provides students with paralyzing experiences. I celebrate students who do their “personal best” regularly! Students really enjoy receiving feedback and recognition for their efforts as well as for their achievements. I LOVE what Marzano says about reward. He states, ”abstract symbolic recognition is more effective than tangible rewards” (2001). This is absolutely true of my students…they do not get goodies or treats or prizes, but instead they get praise and relationship based rewards. This goes a LONG way!
4. Homework & Practice
My students do not do a lot of homework, but we do practice things often in kindergarten. My teaching partner and I send home a weekly newsletter and each week we attach one or two activities to be completed at home. These activities are directly related to something we are working on at school in our curriculum, but usually require the parent to work with their child. I would call our handwriting lessons “focused practice” as detailed in the Marzano text.
5. Nonlinguistic representations
Making representations is what kindergarten students do best! My students are able to creatively express themselves and learn concepts easily through drawings and acting in the classroom. I have my students act out everything from stories to word problems and they stay engaged throughout these lessons. They enjoy acting out life skills and sentences containing sight words.
6. Cooperative learning
I strategically group my students in a variety of ways in order to maximize their learning. I also use peer assisted learning, which is amazing! My students coach one another and give positive feedback as well as help each other when they make mistakes. It is so great to watch five and six year old students engaged in meaningful conversations and encouraging each other. They take their peer tutoring seriously and work very hard in their groups, which makes a huge difference in the academic gains that students make. Someone really has to know something in order to teach it…and in these groups, both students act as the coach. (I don’t think it would work as well if one of the students was always the leader…)
7. Setting objectives & providing feedback
I feel that I do a good job of providing my students with feedback, but I do not do enough in letting them set their own goals. I conference and meet with my students very often, and I talk to them about their work and progress. I also show them their progress using AIMS Web graphs. The students LOVE seeing their growth over time on a graph! I am going to have to work on letting them take a more active role in goal setting. When I have students who struggle behaviorally, they make their own plan and goals. This is something I am going to revisit academically.
8. Generating & testing hypotheses
We do many experiments in my class! I think it is essential to learning for students to make predictions and test them out. I believe that in the “real world” we spend our lives making decisions and testing them out to see if we were right or not. Kids need to experience this in their little worlds so when they are out in the big world, they know what to do. Science is usually what people think of as soon as they hear the word hypothesis, but these concepts can be applied across the curriculum. I use problem solving strategies with my students often, and they are going to be able to take those strategies and use them throughout their lives. Sometimes, my students ask to “test something out” even when I had not planned on experimenting. I try to honor their curiosity and I want them to continue to think in that way. I feel that inquiry based learning is extremely effective, so many times we end up doing experiments that I have never even thought of. Letting the students’ minds lead can take learning beyond anything I had ever imagined…even in kindergarten!
9. Questions, cues, & advance organizers
Questioning is a huge part of what teachers do. I am sure that everyone in this course uses questioning hourly if not by the minute. “Cues and questions are ways that a classroom teacher helps students use what they already know about a topic” (Marzano, 2001). Focusing on what is important when questioning is key. I try and ask higher level thinking questions as much as possible, because I want my students to be doing more than just recalling information. I want them thinking! Wait time is essential to effective questioning as well. I give students enough time to think…those who have already come up with their answer wiggle their thumbs in the air to “send energy” to the other people who are still thinking. This keeps the students who are fast thinkers busy while allowing those who take a little longer to process some extra time. I ask questions before, during, and after learning concepts or completing tasks. K-W-L charts are helpful when questioning students. We make concept webs as a class on our SMART board, etc. Students learn more when teachers ask the right questions and/or the right kinds of questions.
1. Identify similarities & differences
When we classify or do comparison activities, it is usually teacher-directed. My students love comparing stories, so we make T-charts or Venn diagrams and discuss the ways 2 stories are the same and the ways they are different. Sometimes I will use 2 stories written by the same author. Sometimes we use 2 stories that share a similar plot, etc. Some of the most fun this year have been the “I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed” stories. I have several…in one she swallows the fly, of course, but in the others she swallows a bell, a trout, a shell, etc. The kids and I talked about many parts of the story while creating the charts including characters, plot, setting, etc. Graphic organizers are wonderful tool and I use them often. The Marzano text states that “Representing similarities and differences in graphic or symbolic form enhances students’ understanding of and ability to use knowledge” (2001).
2. Summarizing and note taking
I do not have my students take notes individually in kindergarten, but we do make anchor charts as a class and place them strategically around the room so that students can access them as they need to. Most of our charts have pictures and words together for students who are not yet readers. We do a lot of summarizing, though. I have students summarize what I say as well as what the other students say when we are having discussions. They also summarize things we have read and they give me a summary of activities we have done in class. After one student answers a question I say, “Susie will you tell us in your own words what Joey just told us?” and then I will ask another student “Fred, in your own words can you explain what Susie and Joey just told us?” The kids get the information summarized 3 times and they never know who I am going to call on, so they usually stick with me and stay engaged. I use the students to reinforce the concepts and they are teaching each other instead of listening to me talk all the time.
3. Reinforce effort and provide recognition
We celebrate students and their small achievements daily. Students’ attitudes and beliefs can be a delicate matter, and I tread very lightly on their little hearts. Every experience at school has the potential of being paralyzing or crystallizing for students…I hope that I am never a teacher who provides students with paralyzing experiences. I celebrate students who do their “personal best” regularly! Students really enjoy receiving feedback and recognition for their efforts as well as for their achievements. I LOVE what Marzano says about reward. He states, ”abstract symbolic recognition is more effective than tangible rewards” (2001). This is absolutely true of my students…they do not get goodies or treats or prizes, but instead they get praise and relationship based rewards. This goes a LONG way!
4. Homework & Practice
My students do not do a lot of homework, but we do practice things often in kindergarten. My teaching partner and I send home a weekly newsletter and each week we attach one or two activities to be completed at home. These activities are directly related to something we are working on at school in our curriculum, but usually require the parent to work with their child. I would call our handwriting lessons “focused practice” as detailed in the Marzano text.
5. Nonlinguistic representations
Making representations is what kindergarten students do best! My students are able to creatively express themselves and learn concepts easily through drawings and acting in the classroom. I have my students act out everything from stories to word problems and they stay engaged throughout these lessons. They enjoy acting out life skills and sentences containing sight words.
6. Cooperative learning
I strategically group my students in a variety of ways in order to maximize their learning. I also use peer assisted learning, which is amazing! My students coach one another and give positive feedback as well as help each other when they make mistakes. It is so great to watch five and six year old students engaged in meaningful conversations and encouraging each other. They take their peer tutoring seriously and work very hard in their groups, which makes a huge difference in the academic gains that students make. Someone really has to know something in order to teach it…and in these groups, both students act as the coach. (I don’t think it would work as well if one of the students was always the leader…)
7. Setting objectives & providing feedback
I feel that I do a good job of providing my students with feedback, but I do not do enough in letting them set their own goals. I conference and meet with my students very often, and I talk to them about their work and progress. I also show them their progress using AIMS Web graphs. The students LOVE seeing their growth over time on a graph! I am going to have to work on letting them take a more active role in goal setting. When I have students who struggle behaviorally, they make their own plan and goals. This is something I am going to revisit academically.
8. Generating & testing hypotheses
We do many experiments in my class! I think it is essential to learning for students to make predictions and test them out. I believe that in the “real world” we spend our lives making decisions and testing them out to see if we were right or not. Kids need to experience this in their little worlds so when they are out in the big world, they know what to do. Science is usually what people think of as soon as they hear the word hypothesis, but these concepts can be applied across the curriculum. I use problem solving strategies with my students often, and they are going to be able to take those strategies and use them throughout their lives. Sometimes, my students ask to “test something out” even when I had not planned on experimenting. I try to honor their curiosity and I want them to continue to think in that way. I feel that inquiry based learning is extremely effective, so many times we end up doing experiments that I have never even thought of. Letting the students’ minds lead can take learning beyond anything I had ever imagined…even in kindergarten!
9. Questions, cues, & advance organizers
Questioning is a huge part of what teachers do. I am sure that everyone in this course uses questioning hourly if not by the minute. “Cues and questions are ways that a classroom teacher helps students use what they already know about a topic” (Marzano, 2001). Focusing on what is important when questioning is key. I try and ask higher level thinking questions as much as possible, because I want my students to be doing more than just recalling information. I want them thinking! Wait time is essential to effective questioning as well. I give students enough time to think…those who have already come up with their answer wiggle their thumbs in the air to “send energy” to the other people who are still thinking. This keeps the students who are fast thinkers busy while allowing those who take a little longer to process some extra time. I ask questions before, during, and after learning concepts or completing tasks. K-W-L charts are helpful when questioning students. We make concept webs as a class on our SMART board, etc. Students learn more when teachers ask the right questions and/or the right kinds of questions.