Philosophy
Engaging students in learning requires that directions and explanations be delivered clearly, simply and accurately. Since most teacher direction is delivered orally, spoken direction should command the attention of a room, be direct, and use plain English. This ability is best addressed through classroom observation. In my classes, I like to strike a balance between using academic language that contains vocabulary and syntactical form that is specific to the field and more colloquial language. The academic/ formal language reflects both correct usage and is a reflection of the discourse of the discipline, while more common vernacular proves more useful for engaging students in discussion or providing directions for student activities. I make sure to call attention to when I am "code switching" between informal and formal vernacular.
When instructions are written, they should likewise be clear, legible, and contain language that students are able to understand.
Progress Self-Assessment
I take great pains to ensure that written instruction and questioning is both concise and uses language the students can understand. Within the population of our school, this task begins with providing simple, direct, and clear instructions that define a task and provide a time fram for its completion. Within my classroom, I ask for students to restate instructions to demonstrate that they have a clear understanding of what is asked of them.
I find that one of the clearest and most important elements in communicating expectations clearly to students is having a well-designed rubrics. I try to design rubrics that read like a check-list of the elements necessary for an assignment to be complete. I consider a rubric to be successful when students use it as a road map for constructing the content of an assignment, and have a clear sense of when the task has been completed. This type of rubric should also provide a vehicle for self-assessment- the student should know the degree to which she has met the expectations of the assignment long before before a grade has been assigned.
Explanation of Artifacts
Artifact 1: Blog posting rubric: I composed this rubric for use in a Computer Applications course. The class was in the midst of a desktop publishing unit and I wanted the students to create a blog based on a specific interest of each student. At first the class struggled, and I was not satisfied with the structure of the student sites, nor with the quality of their postings. I used the rubric to more clearly define the expectations to the students. I was pleased to see that after the explanation of the rubric, the students were not only able to to understand the expectation of the assignment and produce better blogs, but were also able to verbalize a clearer understanding of the purpose of blogs.
Artifact 2: Classroom Observation
Within the context of classroom, the district Director of Special Education drew attention to my use of paralingual techniques when working one-to-one with students. She suggested that the use of a polite and kind tone served to put the students at ease and consequently made them more receptive to verbal instructions.
Areas for future development
I have found that effective models the best companion to clear and and concise directions . The usual of visual examples connect with a different modality and provide a concrete instance of task completion. As I add new tasks to my curriculum, I often lack appropriate exemplars. I hope to amass additional student models that supplemental instructional directions.
