INSTRUCTION, VOCABULARY AND ASSESSMENT

MELISSA ANDREWS, AMY DIVOKY, LUCAS FURLOW AND MIA JACKSON

Wilkinsburg School DistrictLiteracy Development Framework

May 2011

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Five Universal Instructional Design Principles

Scaffolding Cues, prompts, hints, modeling, direct instruction Active Engagement

Guided notes, teacher prompting, chunking, differentiated supports, activate prior learning, teamwork

Meta-cognition Thinking aloud, teacher explaining steps to a

solution, verbalization, documentation of individual thinking

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES cont’

ModelingConcept of skill clearly described, steps are explicitly modeled, think aloud utilized, cueing, questioning, checking for understanding throughout, teacher looking for concrete examples; imitation, task analysis

Explicit InstructionFrequent student response, consists of essential design components, delivery components, appropriate pacing, adequate processing, monitor responses, provide feedback, explicit instructional design components, adequate wait time

Before, During, and After Model for Effective Engagement

Before Questioning (teacher and/or students)

and Discussing, Brainstorming Extended Brainstorming + Categorizing

+ Mapping: Previewing Text Writing Enacting Constructing Viewing

Before, During, and After Model for Effective Engagement

During Teacher-directed Students independently

Before, During, and After Model for Effective Engagement

After Discussions Enactments Oral Presentations Writing Reading Constructing Viewing

Vocabulary Development Rich vocabulary instruction requires

the learner to process words, think about words, interact with words in some way and with others to promote comprehension facilitation.

General Principles for Instruction

Select challenging words: teach “above” not below spoken language knowledge.

Do not always select words contained within the text: select words that the text is about – “idea” words.

Use multiple contexts and rich examples for the students before expecting them to use the words at all.

Choosing words based on Tiers

Tier 3: Low-frequency wordsusually specific to an academic domain & best learned

in the related content area, such as isotope, photosynthesis & psychologist.

Tier 2: High-frequency words important for capable language learners to have in

their vocabulary, such as remorse, capricious, distinguished, & devious.

Tier 1: Basic Words○ rarely need to be taught, such as hair, always, dress, & laugh.

Beck, I., McKeown, M., & Kucan, L. (2002)

Assessment Four types of assessment

DiagnosticFormativeBenchmarkSummative

Definition: PDE/SAS definition “Ascertains, prior to instruction, each student’s strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, and skills. Establishing these permits the instructor to remediate students and adjust the curriculum to meet pupils’ unique needs.”

Diagnostic Assessment

Examples: Classroom Diagnostic Tools (CDT); Teacher-created diagnostics

How often? Three to four times per school year

Definition: Inform ongoing classroom instruction so that adjustments to instruction can be made

Formative Assessment

Examples: Teacher-selected, Classroom, assessments, Response cards, White boards, Random selection

How often? Every day, every class period

Definition: Determine how well students are progressing toward demonstrating proficiency on a set of designated grade-level curriculum content standards

Benchmark Assessment

Examples: Acuity, 4-Sight How often? Usually four times per school

year

Definition: Determine the degree to which students have mastered a designated set of curriculum content standards

Summative Assessment

Examples: PSSA, Keystone Exams, End of Unit/Chapter Tests, District End of Course Exams

How often? Varies depending on the assessment