Instructional Approaches: Models, Strategies, Methods

For class this week, we read the article Instructional Approaches: Models, Strategies, Methods. It simplified how to work with each faction of teaching, and how teachers need to be cognoscente of the different pieces when designing lessons.

Learning how each piece of an instructional framework fits together is important when designing diverse lesson plans. As a teacher, I want to make sure I include as many different ways as possible to reach my students on different cognitive levels. While each piece of the framework serves a different purpose, they all work together to create cohesive lessons.

Instructional models represent the broadest level of instructional practices and present a philosophical orientation to instruction. Instructional strategies determine the approach a teacher may take to achieve learning objectives. Instructional methods are the most specific ways of creating learning environments and specifying the nature of the activity in which the teacher and learner will be involved during the lesson to achieve the educational goal.

The direct instruction strategy is one option. This type of method falls under the information processing instructional model. This type of lesson is common in subjects like math, where all of the informational is factual and unchanging. However, relying solely on this strategy will reach the fewest number of learners. Students do not get to question or use higher order thinking when being presented with only facts.

Indirect instruction is student centered and particularly effective when

• "attitudes, values or interpersonal outcomes are desired;
• process is as important as product;
• the focus is personalized understanding and long term retention of concepts or generalizations;
• lifelong learning capability is desired."

This strategy can be used under multiple methods to reach a desired outcome. Students may participate in activities such as oral reading/storytelling and inquiry lessons. These lessons reach students on a higher level and require them to think more abstractly. For example, when students are researching and discovering on their own, they have to develop questions about the content and consider what is important information. This makes anything they are discovering mean more and have more value for them.

As a teacher, one of the most important things I can do is diversify my instruction. Being aware of different learners and how to engage them on all different levels of thinking will keep my class engaged and continuously learning.