Inquiry-based Learning - page 1 Cooperative Learning - page 2 Differentiated Instruction - page 2 Curriculum Mapping - page 5 Independent (Student Directed) Learning page 5
(Classroom Cubby, 2013)
Teaching in the Social Studies Classroom
Education Weekly presents:
The Inquiry-based learning is guiding the student to comprehension about a topic (Teachology, n.d.). The purpose of inquiry-based learning is to involve the students and allow them to ask questions to better understand the material presented in the classroom. By recognizing and prompting questions, a teacher can encourage curiosity, which can motivate and inspire students to learn the subject. Encouraging students to ask questions as well as find answers to those questions will promote understanding and foster critical thinking throughout a lifetime (Cox, n.d.). To implement inquirybased learning into the classroom, a teacher must be prepared and structured. According to Teachology (n.d.), lesson plans must be organized “according to the changing, interrelating, and communicating of knowledge” (para. 7). A teacher can develop activities and lessons that
Education Weekly is proud to present a new educational newspaper, The Classroom Cubby. This week’s edition focuses on methods of instruction. As educators, the ultimate end goal is the success of our students. Teachers must work professionally and collaboratively with their grade level team members and school personnel to create an appropriate curriculum that reaches a wide variety of learners. Teachers hold These instructional a vast toolbelt of techniques that they will methods are designed to use throughout their education career. These reach all types of instructional methods are designed to reach all types of learners. As each learner is different, a learners. method that works for one student, may not be as successful with another student. Teachers need to use a variety of methods to reach every type of learner. This issue presents a few of the current instructional methods including curriculum mapping, differentiated instruction, inquiry-based learning, cooperative learning, and independent or student-directed learning.
Continued on page 3 (Teacher student high five, 2018)
According to the U.S. Department of Education, cooperative learning is a “successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement” (para. 1). The benefits of using cooperative learning during social studies lessons have shown that students retain the information for long-term use and it increases achievements in students. The benefits of group-
ing different academic levels of students together give the students social interaction and helping their peers in areas they struggle. Students will build relationships with their classmates and gain respect for each other. It also teaches students conflict resolution needed throughout their lives. Challenges that arise with cooperative learning when one student puts little or no effort into the group project causing frustrations amongst the other team members who are working hard on their portions. When teachers plan cooperative learning activities lesson planning will have to be carefully calculated to accommodate group work and arrange teams according to academic level, behavior
(Teacher student high five, 2018)
and overall performance of students and how they can manage in groups with certain students. One last disadvantage is if the teams become too social and do not focus on the task they are responsible for doing. While students work in small groups, the teacher must closely monitor the students to ensure they remain on track.
Continued on page 3
(Child at desk with papers and apple with chalkboard and teacher in background. 2013-2018)
Differentiation means tailoring instruction for each student’s individual needs. Differentiating may include changing the way the content is delivered, the lesson activities, the manipulatives and resources used and the learning environment. Differentiation can also consist of changes in student groupings and assessment. Teachers can differentiate at least four classroom elements based on student readiness, interest, or learning profile: content, process, product, and learning environment. Content is what the student needs to learn or the information the student needs to access. The activities that the student engages in so that he or she can master the content is referred to as process. Products are projects that ask the students to rehearse, apply, and extend what they have learned in the unit and the learning environment is the way the classroom works and feels (Tomlinson, 2000). There are many different strategies teachers may use to differentiate instruction. Some teachers might design their lessons based on the student’s learning styles. In many cases, teachers will group students based on their ability for assignments. Groupings can be heterogeneous grouping or homogeneous grouping. To check for understanding, teachers can Continued on Page 4
Cooperative Learning continued
will advance higher-level thinking and can ultimately generate knowledge and understanding of the community and world. Benefits of applying inquiry-based can be abundant in a classroom setting. Students who are in a classroom setting that offers them this kind of learning can have increased motivation and engagement because they are being asked to use their knowledge and previous experiences to ask and answer questions. Inquiry-based learning also allows the students to feel confident in the classroom and to have a voice and opinion on topics discussed in a lesson. When a teacher uses this method of learning, they foster curiosity and nurture a student’s passion for education. Along with deepening understanding, sharpening research skills, and reaching goals, this technique also promotes critical and higherlevel thinking (TeachThought, 2017). Although there are many advantages of inquiry-based learning, there are also some challenges with this method. One of the most significant problems can be school resources. When done correctly, students will (Child with question marks in background, 2007-2018) begin to question the material that they are learning; however, if school resources are limited research and the answering of these questions can be difficult for students and teachers (Lewis, 2017). While inquirybased learning can be motivating for some students, others may find this method challenging. Inquiry-based learning requires initiative, and some students prefer being told what they should be doing as opposed to figuring out what questions they should be answering (Lewis, 2017). Finally, assessing inquiry-based learning can be challenging for a teacher. When a student is being taught to ask and answer questions, it can be difficult to evaluate their understanding of the material. Teachers must pay close attention to goals, and learning objectives are clear, according to the standards of the state to ensure that criteria are met. Guided discovery is an effective method of inquiry-based learning that can be used in the classroom. In guided discovery, a teacher does a small lesson for the students that usually lasts less than 15 minutes. The students will then be given hands-on activities and materials in which they will ask questions and find solutions (Gray, n.d.). The teacher will move around the room and check in with students, monitoring the direction of their activities, facilitating and guiding their learning experiences (Gray, n.d.). Another example of inquiry-based learning is project sharing. Project sharing is a practical approach to inquiry-based learning because students will put together and research material and then put it into a presentation. By doing this, students will need to use research skills, higher-level thinking, problem-solving, and finally public speaking skills (5 Examples of Inquiry Based Learning, 2018).
An example of a fun cooperative learning activity to help students with their key vocabulary words from a lesson would be to play Pictionary. This can be done by creating small groups within the class. Each team leader will get a word from the teacher. The leader will return to their group and draw pictures to help their classmate guess the keyword from their lesson. Students are not allowed to speak or write words; they are allowed only to simply draw the picture. The team makes guesses until they figure out the word. The students each take a turn leading the others by drawing a picture. The first team to make it through the end of the list of words wins the game. Another interactive, cooperative learning activity is “Tea Party.” Based on the area of social studies currently taught in class, a teacher can split the class in half and form two lines of students facing each other. The teacher will ask a question regarding the content area in social studies and the students discuss the answer with their partner in front of them. After one minute, one line moves to the right, so each student gets a new partner. The teacher will ask another question regarding the unit lesson. The teacher will ask six questions for variation and throughout the activity, the teacher will walk along the line to assess the student’s answers and assist as needed.
Curriculum mapping is the process of laying out or diagramming the curriculum used in the classroom throughout the year. The purpose of curriculum mapping is to identify and correct gaps in academics, redundancies, and any misaligned content, skills, and assessments to ensure the overall cohesiveness of the subject. When a school is at the beginning of implementing curriculum mapping, it is very time consuming and requires teachers to discuss vocabulary and how to create the map successfully. Teachers must meet at the beginning and ensure that they agree about what they are mapping. They should have definitions that are understood for terms such as content, skills, and assessments (Curriculum mapping, 2014). There should be two types of maps that each teacher is creating, the individual map and the consensus/core map. The core map is the map of the content and skills that need to be covered in the year. The second is the individual map that is how the teacher achieves this in his/her room specifically. This map is going to be unique to the teacher because of the pacing and type of assessments. The challenge to beginning curriculum mapping is the amount of time needed to not only create it but then to meet with colleagues to discuss the plan and evaluate it for any misalignment, redundancies, or gaps in the content or skills (Johnson-Gerendes, 2008). Curriculum mapping allows teachers to see what their goal is and how they are getting there, this is also an excellent method for sharing with teachers who are teaching the same grade, in not only the same building but also the same district. They can compare maps and make sure that each teacher is meeting the core requirements of content and skills throughout the year. While each teacher may do it differently in their classroom, each is getting to the skills needed for the next year. The teachers can also examine what the plan is for the beginning of the next grade so that the skills required for the next year are part of the core requirements. The educators in the class below can look at the one above so that they know they are teaching Continued on Page 5
(Simple Road Map, 2017)
assess students learning throughout the lesson using formative assessment. Differentiation can occur through classroom management as well. Creating a safe and supportive environment for the students to learn is critical for differentiation. Examples of differentiation activities for content include: matching vocabulary words to definitions, reading the passage of text and answering the related questions, thinking of a situation that happened to a character in the story and a retelling a different outcome, and differentiating fact from opinion in the story. There are also many ways to differentiate the process of learning. Teachers can provide textbooks for visual learners, allow auditory learners to listen to audiobooks, and give kinesthetic learners the opportunity to do an assignment online. Teachers can also differentiate the product of the desired outcome. Students who learn better through reading and writing can read and write a book report, visual learners can create a graphic organizer, auditory learners can give an oral report, and kinesthetic learners can draw pictures illustrating a story. Last, teachers can differentiate the learning environment by breaking some students into reading groups to discuss assignments, allowing students to read on their own, if preferred, and creating a quiet space for students who get easily distracted. When students are offered more options for how they can learn the material, they often respond better and take on the responsibility for what they are learning. Students are also more engaged in learning during differentiated lessons, and there are fewer disruptions and distractions because the lesson is being tailored for different groups of students. While differentiating instruction is very effective, there are also cons to using these strategies. Differentiating instruction requires time-consuming lesson planning. Weselby (2018), the learning curve can be steep, and some schools lack professional development resources. Critics also argue that there isn’t enough research to support the benefits of differentiated instruction.
There is a new teaching style changing the way teachers teach, and students learn. It’s called student-centered learning or independent directed learning. This approach shifts the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student. Student-directed learning is a more individualized approach to address the individual needs of students. Students can learn as little or as much information as they feel is needed. Teachers facilitate the learning, but students are the ones who look for the answers and decide if they want further knowledge. This approach gives students the opportunity to peruse different aspects of topics that they find interesting. There are several benefits to student-centered learning. One main benefit of student-centered learning is that it causes less stress on teachers and students. Students can pick and decide what they want to read or what project they would like to do. Student decision making causes less resistance and behavior issues from students and teachers do not feel as stressed. Students achieve a better understanding of educational goals. Additionally, student-based learning encourages social skills and collaborative learning between students. There is a downside to student-centered learning, one main concern is classroom management, classrooms can become chaotic (Student-led instruction, 2010-2017) and noisy. Students can become easily distracted and get off their topic, so teachers must facilitate the learning and help students to stay on task. Some students like to work alone so working with a team may be problematic. An example of a fifth-grade student-centered lesson would be a unit on the Civil War. This lesson objectives include comparing and contrasting the life of a Civil War soldier to a modern soldier. Students identify the clothing and equipment used for both soldiers. Students break into small groups and use their iPads to research and find information needed to compare and contrast. Once their facts are found, the students can use the information to create an iMovie that tells the story of a Union, Confederate or a soldier from today. This activity will include student collaboration, using technology to find information and creativity to make a movie that is interesting to others. As an ending for the lesson, students can answer discussion questions out loud so other students can learn new information about the life of different soldiers.
Curriculum Mapping continued from Page 4 the correct core content and skills. The mapping session should be able to shift from teacher centered to student centered allowing the map to be focused differently. By focusing on the students, curriculum mapping now becomes more about making sure that each teacher has support in teaching the various core content and skills and allows them to discuss the best methods possible to deliver the information to the students. Curriculum mapping may seem intimidating at the beginning, but when it is fully comprehended, it is a tool that makes planning lessons in any subject easier. This is especially true is social studies. This type of planning allows the teacher to see the path that the subject should take ensuring that the content and necessary skills are covered. The subject, social studies, has skills that need to be placed in the curriculum using a scaffold because they build on each other, while at the same time the content should proceed logically. The use of the curriculum map allows the teacher to see what the scaffolding should look like and modify it for any holes that may be found in the curriculum goals.
final Educators are tasked with the challenge of using a variety of instructional methods. These instructional methods become a part of each teacher’s toolbox to use and redesign throughout their education career. Various tools teachers have available to them include curriculum mapping, differentiating instruction, inquirybased learning, cooperative learning, and independent or student directed learning. Educators who use a variety of instructional methods are teachers who successfully create a learning environment that meets the needs of all learners.
MTE 531 May 14, 2018 Jonathan Lewis
References (2007-2018). Child with question marks in background. [digital image]. Retrieved from https://pioneerwoman.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/inquiry-basedlearning1.jpg (2010-2017). Student-led instruction. [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.captivoice.com/capti-site/public/entry/student_led_instruction (2013). Classroom cubbie. [digital image]. Retrieved from http://msmoonskindergarten.blogspot.com/2013_06_01_archive.html (2013-2018). Child at desk with papers and apple with chalkboard and teacher in background. [digital image]. Retrieved from http://images.wisegeek.com/child-at-desk-with-papers-and-apple-with-chalkboard-and-teacher-in-background.jpg (2017). Simple Road Map. [digital image]. Retrieved from https://clipartxtras.com/categories/view/ c135bbe292e16942e1e1e9b4c6a57df2ba1af2f1/simple-road-map-clipart.html (2018). Teacher student high five. [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordlearning.com/wp-content/ uploads/2015/07/top-16-canadian-educational-websites-860x420.jpg 5 Examples of Inquiry Based Learning. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.masterofartsinteaching.net/lists/5-examples-of-inquiry-based-learning/ Cox, J. (n.d.). All About Inquiry-Based Learning. Retrieved from http://www.teachhub.com/all-about-inquiry-based-learning Curriculum mapping. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.edglossary.org/curriculum-mapping/ Eckler, R. (Photographer). (2013, April 13). Teamwork [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.mommyish.com/teamwork-for-kids-parenting-advice/ Gray, K. (n.d.). Inquiry-Based Learning: Definition, Examples & Model. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/inquiry-based-learning-definitionexamples-model.html Johnson-Gerendes, C. (Academic). (2008). Keys to curriculum mapping[Streaming video]. Retrieved from SAGE Video. Layout Ready.com. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.layoutready.com/ Lewis, M. P. (2017). The Challenges of Inquiry Based Teaching. Retrieved from http://natmonitor.com/2017/09/04/the-challenges-of-inquiry-based-teaching/ Office of Research: Education Consumer Guide. (1992). Cooperative Learning. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/OR/ConsumerGuides/cooplear.html Teachology. (n.d.). What is Inquiry Based Learning?. Retrieved from http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/inquiry/ TeachThought. (2017). 10 Benefits Of Inquiry-Based Learning. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/10-benefits-of-inquiry-basedlearning/ Tomlinson, C. A. (August, 2000). Differentiation of Instruction in the Elementary Grades. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. Weselby, C. (2018). Room 241. Retrieved from https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/examples-of-differentiated-instruction/