INSTRUCTION

AL PRACTICE
I N TA S C # 8
ERICA CONDON
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

INTASC STANDARDS
InTASC #6: Assessment - The teacher understands and uses multiple methods
of assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress,
and to guide the teachers and learners decision making

InTASC #7: Planning for Instruction - The teacher plans instruction that
supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon
knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as
well as knowledge of learners and the community context.

InTASC #8: Instructional Strategies - The teacher understands and uses a

variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep
understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply
knowledge in meaningful ways.

INTASC STANDARD #8:

INSTRUCTIONAL
The teacher understands and uses a variety of
instructional strategies
to encourage learners to develop
STRATEGIES
deep understanding of content areas and their
connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in
meaningful ways.
Each area of the standard above can be identified throughout this presentation based on
the following color coding descriptions:
Using a variety of instructional strategies including
group work and collaboration, manipulatives, reflections and questioning,
application of content in research and real world scenarios,
technology, and fluency in algebraic skills.
Encouraging learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections
Building skills that apply knowledge in meaningful ways

DEVELOPMENTALLY
APPROPRIATE TASK
Because 14-year-olds respond well to academic variety and challenge, I
constructed an activity that would immerse my 9th grade students in our Algebra
I curriculum while giving them a hands on, developmentally appropriate
experience. 14-year-olds need as much physical release as possible and that they
find working in small groups on lengthier assignments that require research to be
more enjoyable in the classroom. To begin the activity, students are posed with a
problem and asked to reflect on what information or skills they would need to
solve and answer it. They are asked if a student throws an object out of the
classroom window, how long would it take for the object to land on the ground?
Students reflect individually and with a partner to create a list of the information
necessary to solve this problem. Sample responses include how high the
classroom window is from the ground, how fast the object is being thrown, and
This task requires students to brainstorm what
the fact that any free
falling object can be described using a quadratic function.
skills they will need to recall in order to solve the
posed problem, fostering the development of deep
understanding of the content area and its
connection to previous units.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
Technology students are rarely given the opportunity to work in the computer lab due to a lack of
resources. Because our state exam is administered via computer, the use of technology in my
classroom is an imperative strategy for me to implement. The skills that my students build in the
computer lab will be ones that they can carry with them to use in meaningful ways in the future.
Research students use inquiry based learning to determine what information they will need to
successfully derive the necessary formula for this assignment. During this time, students are building
additional meaningful skills by practicing research techniques.
Group Work and Collaboration throughout all stages of the task, students must collaborate with
their classmates in order to successfully create a device that will meet the criteria of the assignment
and that the entire group can agree upon.
Application of Content students are considering the necessary skills to solve a problem that they
will actually act out later in the assignment. Tying the content in to real-world situations encourages my
students to develop deep understanding of the topic.
Manipulatives students are using manipulatives to create something to apply the quadratic skills
learned in a meaningful way that connects the content to the real world. This particular strategy was
particularly good for my kinesthetic learners as I could see that lightbulb moment when circulating the
room.
Algebra students are given the opportunity to solve equations with single unknown variables (in this
case, the time it takes for the object to hit the ground) and to explore how functions can be used to
describe the interaction between two variables when connecting the content to its real world
application, making the skills meaningful and memorable.

MAD MINUTES
At the beginning of every class
period, students complete a
Mad Minute. This assignment
is used as a curriculum based
probe as it requires students to
recall previously learned skills
that will be necessary for
completing the lesson. Once
the two minutes are up,
students work collaboratively to
help their partner identify
where they made mistakes. By
using probing questions as an
instructional strategy, I lead my
students to develop a deep
understanding of the content.