Strategy Observed - Can I Use It?

Being the eternal optimist that I am, I think nearly every strategy can be used in any content area. The limiting factors are the teacher's style and preference, fitting the right strategy with the right purpose, and the age of the students.

A strategy that I observed being used in one of the social studies classrooms I visited involved cooperative learning groups. Students' desks were arranged in groups of 4 or 5. Students were to discuss certain questions among each other then respond during the lecture which took the form of a class discussion. There were many elements that I appreciated such as having an interactive lecture. That format engaged most of the students. It was interesting to hear what other students were thinking in response to the information the teacher gave them. I'm not sure if using cooperative learning groups would necessarily be effective in the science classroom. Students work together in groups for labs anyway and I think that if I used cooperative learning groups for lecture or assignments, I would be overusing them. On the other hand, there may be appropriate lessons to have groups work together depending on what science class I'm teaching. I can see groups working together in an interactive lecture in a science classroom using think-pair-share or some other strategy that promotes entire group particpation. I think the key is to be very organized, have clear directions, and ensure all students are participating and learning.

For me, I prefer using videos to supplement lectures. My current cooperative teacher has this down to a fine science (pun intended). He streams in relevant videos when introducing new topics. The students have a worksheet to fill out as they watch the video and he pauses the video often to elaborate, explain in better detail, answer student questions, and discuss the content. It is a great strategy that I used a couple of times in my last placement and will definately do this when I have my own classroom. On the other hand, my A placment teacher preferred to use the whiteboard and diagrammed as he lectured. Both strategies delivered the information visually, orderly, and effectively. The way the strategies were used depended on the teaching style of the teacher. Besides, when I try diagramming things, they end up being a mess - I'm terrible at sketching!! My A placement teacher had excellent handwriting and could draw quite well.

Interactive lectures using cooperative groups seem to take a lot of effort to set up, maintain, and may not be the most efficient use of time. However, some students may learn best this way and by working through the lecture content more slowly, there may be higher comprehension rates among the students. I guess it's a matter of teaching slowly once or teaching at a faster pace a few times over using different modes.