Strategy Application
Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers was used as the underlying strategy in this case. The approach addresses some of the fundamental issues that affect the manner in which learning and teaching processes are done. The cues are usually used to provide hints to students about the content of a particular lesson. The process entails highlighting the issues and concepts that the students are already aware of before moving on to introduce new information. The second component of the model is the questions that are used to help students access information that they had previously learned about the topic under investigation. Furthermore, the questions help the teachers to assess the extent to which the students understand concepts that are being taught in class. In other instances, the teacher use the questions to determine the ideas and concepts that the students do not know. The third element in the strategy is the advance organizers which are usually introduced prior to the lesson. The teacher uses the advance organizers to draw the attention of the students to the main points in the lesson. In addition, it provides a basis for helping learners to know the link between lesson materials and the subjects that will be taught in class. In most instances, the effective advance organizers helps in creating a conceptual framework that can help the students understand concepts addressed in the instructional material.
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I used the Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers to teach the topic on forces and motions. The first part of the lesson entailed using cues to give the students a hint of what was to be taught in class. In this case, I focused on the hands-on experiments, simulations, and real life scenarios dealing with forces and motion. I knew that the main question that the students were going to focus on was figuring out ways of cleaning fish tank using magnets. After giving the hints, I proceeded to introduce the topic of magnetism. The primary goal is to help the learners get a hint of the relationship between magnetism and the lesson contents and material that were to be used. The next section of the teaching process was using questions to determine what the students knew and the concepts that they were not familiar with. Every student was given a copy of the KWL chart before proceeding to the details in the magnesium unit. The section labelled K in the chart was for the information on what the students already know. The W section was on the things that the student wanted to learn. Finally, the L represents what was learned. The L section was filled at the end of the lesson. The next phase of the lesson was on using the advance organizers to help the students grasp the new concepts. The KWL charts a critical tools in teaching and learning processes. In the present case, the charts were beneficial since they allowed the students to graphical organize information before and after a lesson. Another benefit of the chart is that they can be used to engage students in a new unit or topic. Moreover, the charts provide an avenue through which the teacher can active prior knowledge, monitor the learning process and share the objectives to be achieved in a unit. After filling the K and W column in the KWL chart. I introduced the students to magnetism vocabularies that were to be covered in the unit. The students were also given a chance to engage in a 5-10 minutes discussion to explore the new vocabularies that they had been introduced to during the lesson. Through the discussion session, they were able to share views and ideas about the new terms and the unit that they were undertaking.
Reflection and Evaluation
Teaching technical subjects can be a daunting task for educators. The trend is attributed to a wide range of factors, including the complexity of the concepts to be taught, lack of awareness about the subject, lack of prior knowledge and minimal student’s interest in the subjects being taught. However, teachers should strive to create methods and strategies that can help in achieving the objectives of the lessons. The strategy that the teacher choses will determine whether the unit objectives are achieved or not. In my case, I decided to use the Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers as the underlying strategy in the lesson. The approach was very effective as it allowed me to give sufficient hints about the unit, determine the things that the students knew and those that they were not familiar with, and help them to understand the link between the class materials and the content being taught. Throughout the process, my focus was on helping the learners to understand the subjects of forces and motion with a particular focus on magnetism.
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Reflecting on the lesson, I believe that the class was a success since the objectives were achieved. Although some of the students did not understand some of the magnetism vocabulary at the start, I believe that the lesson provided an excellent opportunity to introduce them to the concepts. The short discussion session also played a critical role in the success of the class since it allowed students to share information regarding the new concepts being taught. Like in any other lesson, there were certain challenges that were experienced. The first challenge was the limited time which meant that the students could only be introduced to a few concepts related to magnetism. The second challenge is that some of the students were not active in the discussion groups. Finally, there were students who struggled to fill the KWL charts. The problems notwithstanding, I believe that the lesson was a success and that the students gained vital knowledge related to magnetism.
Reference
- Dean, C. B., & Marzano, R. J. (2012). Classroom instruction that works? Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. McREL.