ED2135 QUESTION 1 INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Describe how you would go about selecting and applying a range of instructional strategies and resources to a lesson in your main teaching area.

The aim of instructional strategies and resources is to activate students prior knowledge through the use of engaging strategies designed to focus learning, and stimulate students intrinsically to learn.
Maslow and Glasser believed for intrinsic learning to function basic needs must be met first ie. Belonging, love, freedom security , maslow states the physical needs must be met first before deeping stronger learning can be achieved. Creating a safe , secure and aethetically appealing learning environments where students have a sense of place and a creative stimulating learning experience. This is the foundation to assist our learners into their future.

Of the ten guidelines for teaching and preparing young people for the 21st Century prepared by Australian researchers Beare & Slaughter, eight refer to important features of Steiner Waldorf education:

1. Appropriate imagery - choosing metaphors with care and imagination
2. Teach for wholeness and balance - holistic paradigm;
3. Teach identification, connectedness, integration - epistemological inter-connectedness;
4. Develop individual values - value the individual;
5. Teach visualisation - development of the picturing imagination;
6. Empowerment through active hope - distinguish between faith and hope;
7. Tell stories - use story telling and mythology as powerful teaching tool; and
8. Teach and learn how to celebrate - celebrate festivals.

Or, to summarise the spirit of the above in the words of Rudolf Steiner:

The need for imagination,

a sense of truth
and a feeling of responsibility

---these are the three forces which are the very nerve of education.

Rudolf Steiner

Now we have established a safe community that allows our students to belong with Value and worth and addressed their basic needs
The next fundamental question is to establish, what outcomes are to be achieved and how these activities and tasks will be structured to stimulate understanding and intrinsic development of the subject.
What as the teacher, will demonstrate and assess what the students are to know, do and value.
My teaching area is Visual Arts and Visual Design assistant. Stage 5 Visual Art is the subject area I have choosen
After establishing what my students are to learn, learn about and the outcomes being targeted, by accessing program, scope & sequence BOS syllabus and support material.
Now the lesson planning, sequencing and timing, activities and tasks are placed. To be effective in this planning , one cannot plan these activities and tasks without understanding how our children learn, how multiple intelligences theory effects the individual, how learning, development and understanding can be achieved and at different rates.










Gardner's Principles:

1. Individuals should be encouraged to use their preferred intelligences in learning.

2. Instructional activities should appeal to different forms of intelligence.

3. Assessment of learning should measure multiple forms of intelligence.

Vygotsky's theory that our children learn through social interaction is a very valid point and social interaction should be applied and used as a resource, and a way of building deeper understanding and learning. through group activities such as jig saw learning , mind maps, debates, discussion and social research and learning ie.computer, digital media, www.

Vygotsky's major theme is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygotsky (1978) states: "Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals." (p57).

A second aspect of Vygotsky's theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development depends upon the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD): a level of development attained when children engage in social behavior. Full development of the ZPD depends upon full social interaction. The range of skill that can be developed with adult guidance or peer collaboration exceeds what can be attained alone.
Because Vygotsky's focus was on cognitive development, it is interesting to compare his views with those of Steiner, Bruner and Piaget .

So now comes the task as the teacher to incorporate these ideals and theories in to practice. how we as teachers will use our lead , our control to stimulate learning and intrinsic construction of higher learning when the students have autonomy.

Introduction of the lesson.
this is where students settle,are greeted and introduced to the lesson, the Teacher encouraging discussion from previous lesson , a time to recap, recall, address home work questions , these activities can be done as a group out the front, in a circle,a way a picking up where students understanding is , any personal issues that may have come to the class. It gives time for deeper understanding and development from last lesson this then allows the swing back to the tasks of the day.
the teacher could mind map, play or role play to ask and stimulate discussion about artist for this discussion. Use Group work strategies to research and investigate the tasks of investigation of The Frames, analysis, interpretation and judgement tasks eg. Think, Pair, share This area of Teacher control or lead is soften and allows the swing of peer and social building of understanding and concept to the artist and art works , it gives time for deeper understanding from last lesson this then allows the swing back to the tasks of the day. Example taken from my lesson plan collect 3 - 5 objects of meaning. like artist being investigated, ( after returning sketch, draw etc in Visual Art diary, assemblage ideas and note meanings of objects, water colour or pencils or charcoals)
Presentation of assemblage, photographs for Arts diarys.
Peer and group discussion of information experienced in art making tasks, the students peer and self assess, ( Creative note taking eg. colour photocopies collages, colour and text)the students making the connections to focus artist and artworks. again this activity could be a guided activity and leading to deeper understanding of how the Frames establish undertsanding about the artist and artworks, without the teacher leading, more contributing to the communities developing understanding of the subject. This could lead to key areas that need further understanding so a group activity or Jigsaw task could build on even further as the class evaluate what's known now what's the understanding.
or as a bit of creative fun finish with group art making assemblage where each student presents meaning and reason to their placement. even this activity is a time to reflect on todays understandings and individual students.