The beginning of Chapter 12 mentions that one strategy cannot be paramount to the others; they all have to be implemented depending on the material being taught and the goals or standards needing to be fulfilled. As I reread the strategies we discussed in class, I kept thinking "Oh, my dad uses this" and then I would read on to realize "Oh, wait, he uses this, too". I have spent an extensive amount of time in my father's classroom, both as a student and an observer; and I consistently have witnessed that the majority of his students are interested, invested, and successful in his course. He also has the highest test scores for his subject at his school. I thought I would share what I connected between the reading and his methods because it solidified, for me, the effectiveness of these strategies in a "real world" context.
My dad is a sixth grade science teacher, and he learned early on in his career that sixth grade is an important transitional year for students. They begin to transition into adolescence, they start to broaden their interest in new hobbies or friends, and what he always has stressed is that it is a year where he notices the beginning of the divide between students that feel confident and capable academically and those who begin to struggle and fall behind. He works very hard to teach in ways that encourage and challenge every student in some way.
Let me break it down:
Expository Strategy
He loves textbooks, the pictures and the clear definitions. He always made me find my vocabulary in the text, rather than cheating in the glossary. He reinforces with articles from National Geographic Kids. He is a fan of Bill Nye, he collects BBC Earth series (we watch them on family vacations), he records and makes DVDs of "How It's Made" and "Dirty Jobs". He really makes an effort to provide a variety of examples and reference resources for his students.
Mastering Learning
He uses class discussion, divides the class into groups with laminated multiple choice cards and quizzes, gives exams with questions that vary applying critical and creative thinking skills, and he does many group and individual projects (biome dioramas, periodic element paper plates, etc.).
Interactive/Collaborative and Discovery/Inquiry Learning
He has always done the group projects and group quiz competitions with his classes, and he has always had labs sparsely scheduled throughout the year to highlight certain concepts that he felt needed to be taught more hands-on. However, in the last few years, he has implemented "Fun Fridays" which are essentially lab days on Fridays. Participation for these activities is dependent on each individual student's comprehension, active participation, and behavior throughout the week leading up to each Friday. If a student does not put the effort into the more mundane coursework, they usually do supplemental worksheets during the labs and have the opportunity on random "off" Fridays to do the lab. He also considers each class as a whole and if he feels one class needs more time before experimenting, he will take the time and then allow them to do the experiments later on, as well. His students love it; they look forward to it; they focus more on the concepts early in the week so they can participate in the labs; and they work together to help each other so they all can partake in the activities.
His teaching embodies the combination of strategies that the text in the class's readings outline, and his test scores attest to the effectiveness of interchanging the different strategies. I also liked referring to him because he provides an example of each strategy being applicable to one subject; rather than relating specific strategies to specific subjects or contexts. Beginning my education courses and learning more about the system he participated in my whole life has made me more aware and very appreciative to have such good model and mentor literally where I call "home" as I begin my career.
