Instructional Models, Strategies & Methods

In Ped II, this is the week for pondering my approach to instruction, which in a sense I have been doing since the beginning of the semester in various ways. I’m using this conceptual framework which I developed when I thought about my personal style and chosen approach to teaching. I am designing a Women’s Studies course for the community college level which meets entirely online for one semester. The decision about my methods will take into consideration the course content, course environment, and the level of the students.

My instructional model is a combination of information processing and personal. I have content that I want the students to critically think about - and as they think, write, and talk I expect that they will inform their concept of self.

I don’t intend to use an instructional strategy, but rather a constructional one. In the constructivist classroom the activity is learner-centered. The teacher and students work in partnership, actively learning together, with the role of expert shared by both. Since we’re not trying to acquire facts, but are instead seeking to make connections, our queries will be made with open-ended questions. Open-ended questions encourage students to talk about what is important to them rather than encouraging a right answer. They promote rapport, help the teacher gather information, and increase a student’s understanding of material. Click here for excellent examples of open-ended questions from Murray State University. This constructional strategy will include indirect construction, interactive construction, and independent study.

Within these strategies are the actual methods I will use. I see indirect construction as self-guided inquiry, and I plan to use reading for meaning, research and web quests. The independent study aspect will include a research project, essays, and reflective journaling. To support cooperation and interactive construction the class will be using asynchronous discussion forums and a collaborative wiki.