Research-Based Instructional Strategies

EEA 532: Instructional Leadership: Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Instructure: Brent Galloway

O’Nesseia Edmondson

May 29, 2021

“Every student can learn, just not on the same day or in the same way” - George Evans.

There are numerous effective instructional strategies that teachers use on a daily basis. They

are tools used to enhance and guide students through their learning. Instructional strategies are

used to bridge the gap between curriculum and assessment and should be more than good; they

need to be effective or even transformational. Inspiring Action on Education (2010, p. 5) states,

“Students should be able to access instruction in a variety of settings, times and at a pace that

reflects their individual needs.” For students to be able to take full advantage of their learning

opportunities they need to be emersed in conditions that are fair, and diversified. All students

learn differently, and Evans said it right when he said all children can learn but it will not be the

same. It will not be a one size fits all situation. How we engage our students will indeed impact

their learning. Students will more likely find success when they are given choices in how best to

navigate through their own learning.

A great lesson must have certain components. As I peruse the Inspiring Action on Education

document (2010 p. 8) the words, learner-centered, shared responsibility and accountability,

engagement, inclusivity, flexible, sustainable and innovative catches my focus. This is a great

place to start. Are these the only components that will make for a great lesson, of course not! It is

however, a great place to start. If we can focus on choosing instructional strategies that will

allow for these components then our students would definitely find worth in what is being

presented.

Teaching and learning in the 21st Century requires for instruction to be relevant, varied and

empowering. In addition to understanding the what, where, how and when; students need to

understand the why? They need to be able to make the connections with what is being taught and

how it will be beneficial in the world beyond their classroom walls. Thus, choosing the
appropriate instructional strategies that will effectively lend itself to allowing students to learn

through discovery will be of vital importance. Drake, Reid and Kolohon (2010 p. 93) states,

“Inquiry- based learning promotes creative problem solving. Students attempt to make sense of

their world as they formulate questions and gather evidence to solve authentic, real-world

problems.”

I chose to explore authentic learning as my instruction strategy. It was extremely enlightening

and motivational to learn about the numerous authentic strategies that exist and how each

uniquely lends itself to multiple possibilities in the delivery of instruction. Our class was

engaged in a Mathematics lesson, on Using Meter Squares to Find Area. I focussed on

Collaborative Problem Solving. I introduced this lesson by drawing on images of the Iroquois’

Longhouses and how they were great representations of using squares in the physical appearance

of their homes. Students were able to see the actual squares and tried to make connections with

previous lessons using centimeter squares to find area. Students were able to immediately say

those squares could not possibly be centimeter squares. We worked through ideas using

questioning and hypothesis to determine what size squares they might have been and just how

the Iroquois might have actually measured in order to construct their buildings long ago. The

students were quite intrigued about their methods of measurement and what they might have

used as measuring tools if they didn’t have access to meter squares or other tools.

In this lesson, students were placed in groups of twos and threes and were given sheets of

newspaper, tape and a meter rule to construct their own meter square tools for measuring. The

students did a spectacular job collaborating together and the end product was amazing. The

student’s problem solved together and ended with tools that weren’t just handed to them but

were craftly created by their own hands and imaginations. Sure, some had difficulty measuring
and taping little pieces of paper together but, “Team work, make the dream work.” As was

suspected the students were highly engaged and excited about this lesson. The buzz around the

room was, “like music to my ears.” You could hear the conversations on how to get the materials

to work. At points the teachers interceded but only did due diligence as facilitators to their

learning.

Once students had completed their meter squares, they were taken into the school

environment to measure the area of actual spaces using their tools. Each group was given a

record sheet on which they had to record, where measured, estimated area of each space and the

actual area measured. This was a great lesson that allowed the students the opportunity to create,

think and formulate answers to problems, work together cooperatively, and record information.

The students got the opportunity to make the connection with why measurement is important in

our world. Without measurement how could we build buildings, like our school, determine how

far apart to put parking areas etc.

I chose to focus my attention on authentic strategies because as the name suggests what is

being taught and how it is being delivered must indeed be authentic for optimum student benefit.

As I read through the book, Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment, most, if not all

pages had the idea of authentic learning being reinforced in one form or the other. For authentic

learning to happen, then authentic instructional strategies must be utilized. As an instructional

leader I want to ensure that my students are constantly engaged in authentic learning

experiences. A teacher has to know his/her craft in-depth and breadth to be able to adequately

plan and prepare lessons that target the “whole man.” There will always be strategies that work

well for one particular area or subject and may not work as well for another. A teacher therefore,

need to have an assortment of effective, relevant instructional strategies in their tool boxes.
 For my second instructional strategy I chose Think Pair Share. This is another very effective

instructional strategy that allows students to lead their learning (Reading Rockets, 2021). Think-

pair-share was used in a Social Studies lesson on The Canadian Shield Region. Students were

allowed to choose their partners and they were assigned a geographical aspect of this region to

research. Each pair of students were given the time to think about the information and discussed

with their partner what they understood from the information. They were given guiding questions

and they worked together to create a simplified but informative way to present what they learnt

to the class. I found that this too was a strategy that caught the students’ interest and because

they had a voice in who they worked with and their methods of presentation, the results were

amazing. Students worked really well together and the level of learning that was gained from this

experience was indeed vast.

With both of the strategies that were chosen however, time was a factor. For these strategies

to be effective, there needs to be an adequate amount of planning and implementation time. They

cannot be rushed. Students need to be given adequate time to understand and fully engage in the

tasks in order to gain the full appreciation of the content being learnt. Both strategies lend itself

to on-going assessment, which is a great aspect. I also liked that what was assessed was actually

what students produced and not a standardized test from a book. These were highly effective

strategies that caught the students’ attention and interest and held their focus throughout the

entire time allotted for the lessons. I could tell from the work produced and the excitement with

which the students approached the activities that they were learning and that they valued doing

so with others who shared the same interest.

For us to make a lasting impression on students’ learning, we must have an exceptional grasp on

how best to be instructional leaders. Like Hlebowitsh, (2005) we must maintain a strong belief
that, an educational experience must be, “by design and by operation, and ultimately, by effect

responsive to the very nature of the learner, to the values of society and to some framework of

useful and empowering knowledge.”

The Alberta Leadership Quality Standards (2020) competency number 6; Providing

Instructional Leadership states that, “A leader ensures that every student has access to quality

teaching and optimum learning experiences.” This competency will be achieved if my approach

to choosing effective instructional strategies continue to grow and expand as educational

expectations change to accommodate the changing times.

“The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.” -

Alexandra K. Trenfor
 References

Alberta Education. (2010). Inspiring Action on Education.

https://blackie.fsd38.ab.ca/documents/general/inspiring-action-english.pdf

Alberta Education. (2020, October). Leadership quality standard.   

https://www.alberta.ca/assets/documents/ed-leadership-quality-standard-english.pdf

Drake, S. M., Kolohon, W., & Reid, J. L. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom

assessment: Engaging the 21st century learner. Oxford University Press.

Hlebowitsh, P. (2005). Designing the school curriculum. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Pinterest

https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/716142778218720810/

Reading Rockets. (2021, May 29). Retrieved from

https://www.resdingrockets.org/strategies/think-pair-share