Teaching Strategies for Successful Learning

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Teaching Strategies for Successful Learning

• Presenter Fay Dixon
• (Shortwood Teachers
  College)
• April 11, 2007

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Introduction

• In this presentation we will address the
  following
• 1. Teaching strategies and learning
• 2. Characteristics of 3-5 year olds
• 3. Learning needs
• 4.The framework
• 5. Implementation/management of strategies

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Teaching Strategies????

• The how in ensuring that the objectives of a
  learning situation are achieved by the learners.
• It entails the methods/procedures, techniques,
  activities, media/materials eg. problem solving,
  discovery, gaming etc.

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Problem Solving

• Steps in problem solving
• I D E A L
• What activities for the children?
• Case in story form that is to be
  solved.
• What technique? Eg. Cueing/hints
• What media for solving the case? Manipulatives

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3-5 year olds ? ?

• Are developing in several areas or domains
  simultaneously and each of these areas of
  development is equally important to them.
• Not only are the developmental domains
  equally important, but are interwoven. It is said
  that the social-emotional well-being of the child
  fuels the intellect. Early brain development
  research states that social-emotional development
  and cognitive development walk hand in hand.
• (Schiller Phipps, 2002)

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Characteristics learning needs of the young child.

• Young children learn in concrete experiential
  ways rather than abstract process
• Young children naturally integrate new
  information into their previous experiences
• Young children learn best when they can go at
  their own pace.

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The framework???

• The curriculum and the contextual factors such
  as
• Parents
• Community
• School -resources, conditions, socio-political
  issues

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Features of the curriculum

• It is based on principles of hands-on, concrete
  experiences and active learning
• It builds new experiences upon existing knowledge
  and gradually extends that knowledge
• It provides a wide range of activities and
  experiences which can accommodate differences in
  childrens style and pace of learning.

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Effective teaching strategies

• Storytelling
• Questioning
• Discussion
• Problem solving
• Gaming
• Peer coaching
• Experimenting
• Simulation

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Effective techniques

• Acknowledge
• Give positive attention that tells the child you
  notice what he or she did, for example
• (You wrote your name on your picture Thanks
  for your help Dawn).

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Validate

• Offer comments or non verbal actions that promote
  the childs persistence and effort.
• (This is a hard one, but you are all coming out
  with lots of ideas
• Joshs story tells us just what the cat looks
  like -- I can really picture him )
• Rather than giving the child evaluative
  praise (Good job, Josh)

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Give Specific Feedback

• Offer specific rather than general comments on
  the childs performance
• (Thats a d, Pam, not a b- It looks like a
  b but its turned the other way, see?).

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Model

• Display for children a skill or desirable way of
  behaving.
• (whispering when you want the children to lower
  their own voices modeling cooperation and
  problem solving by saying,
• You both want the bucket, so lets search
  together for something else that would work in
  the sand).

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Demonstrate

• Show the correct way to perform a procedure that
  needs to be done in a certain way
• (e.g., how to use a hammer or wash ones hands
  thoroughly).

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Create or add Challenge

• Generate a problem or add difficulty to a task or
  step so that it is a bit beyond what children
  have already mastered
• (e.g., when the children are easily able to throw
  bean bags through a large hole in a box, rotating
  the box offering a smaller hole instead of
  having children just observe the outcome of
  mixing two substances, ask them to predict-
• What do you think will happen when?).

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Give a cue, hint, or other assistance

• Help children to work on the edge of their
  current competence
• (e.g., initially labeling work storage areas
  with both picture and print labels
• the pictures to be removed later
• helping two quarrelling children through the
  steps of conflict resolution until they can work
  through conflict on their own).

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Provide Information

• Directly give children facts
• (Bird makes nests like this one to live in),
• verbal labels
• (This is a chair), and other information.

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Give Direction

• Provide instructions for childrens action or
  behaviour
• (Move the blocks to the top of the table" "
  Pour very slowly so we dont lose any of the
  sand).

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Example

• Julene, Suzette, Diane and Joseph are in the home
  centre, Mrs. Long (the teacher) joins their play.
  Choosing a theme that she knows these children
  have experienced birthdays- she enters the
  centre and models the role of the birthday
  person. Hi, Im planning to have a party for my
  birthday. I wondered if you could help me?

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• The children quickly become interested and
  gather around. Mrs. Long sits at the table. What
  will we need for my party? she asks to prompt
  their language interaction. A cake! Balloons!
  Presents! they reply.

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• Whom shall we invite? she asks. The children
  start shouting out names, and Mrs. Long says, I
  cant remember all those names. We need to make a
  list. She creates a challenge one she knows
  will vary with the individual child by asking,
  Who can write their name on a list ?
• Paper for the list is found, and the children
  begin to take turns

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• writing their name or the name of a
• friend. For Suzette , Mrs. Long gives
• assistance in the form of name cards the
• child can copy. For Joseph, she
• demonstrates how to make the first
• letter of his name. For Julene, who can
• write at least some letters of her name on
• her own, she adds more challenge. What
• comes after your J? she asks Julene. What letter
  do you think your friend
• Daves name starts with? as the children
• write, Mrs. Long acknowledges and
• validates their efforts.

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• You made an N, she tells Julene.
• I know youve been practicing that letter every
  day.
• When the list is made, Mrs. Long adds some
  mathematics to the learning experience.
• We have a long list of people to invite, but
  dont know if we have enough plates for all these
  people. How can we find out? The children begin
  to count the people on their list and the
  plates in the cupboard.

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• Sometimes a child gets stuck, at a loss for the
  next number. Carol supplies the appropriate
  counting word or several, as needed that is,
  she provides information

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• These are some of the teaching strategies and
  techniques that are useful for successful
  learning.

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• CONTINUE THE
• EXPLORATION