The best practices in education that stand out for me are Differentiation, Ecology, Problem Development, Clear and Common Focus, High Standards and Supportive Learning in no particular order. Differentiation refers to attacking problems from different points of view and different levels of understanding. Not all students learn at the same rate or have the same learning styles. Offering students different ways to show they their understanding or to learn a lesson is critical. Ecology might be my favorite. It is taking math or any other material out of the vacuum of the text book and applying it to real-world problems or situations. Making those connections are key to answer that age old question of “why do I need to know this”. It also helps when trying to engage students. Using their interests as learning experiences helps them to internalize the information. Along with this Problem Development gets students to think backwards and reflect on where the instruction can be used. It forces them to make the connections and allows for critical thinking. Having a Clear and Common Focus, from teacher, student, parents, administrator and staff makes sure everyone effected is on the same page. Teachers as well as Students need commitment from parents and administrators because they are the support system that reinforces learning. High Standards ensures that not only is everyone held to the same standard but that each person, teachers included, are working at their best level. Students who are challenged within their Zone of Proximal Development achieve at a higher rate than students who are not. Supportive Learning provides a positive, safe environment for all students to participate and learn.
“Practice can not be separated from theory” in that what we learn must be what we teach. As we as educators teach we must constantly be learning as well. This seemingly simple idea sometimes get lost as we set into our day to day routine. Learning about our students, and their worlds, learning new strategies, learning new ways to connect our lessons to the outside world, these are ways we can continue to develop as educators. Several principles for instruction that I think are important are: Allowing for errors, provide students to learn as they go. Provide for immediate relevance and make it obvious, the connections between your lesson and the your students future. And make Instruction learner centered so that students drive the learning and hopefully demand a high quality education.
“Practice can not be separated from theory” in that what we learn must be what we teach. As we as educators teach we must constantly be learning as well. This seemingly simple idea sometimes get lost as we set into our day to day routine. Learning about our students, and their worlds, learning new strategies, learning new ways to connect our lessons to the outside world, these are ways we can continue to develop as educators. Several principles for instruction that I think are important are: Allowing for errors, provide students to learn as they go. Provide for immediate relevance and make it obvious, the connections between your lesson and the your students future. And make Instruction learner centered so that students drive the learning and hopefully demand a high quality education.
