Techniques of Instruction and Assessment in Mathematics and Science

This module is based on constructivist ideas about how students learn. When teachers lecture to children from a textbook, they are passive learners. For some lessons and topics, this is appropriate, but for most lessons and topics, teachers can use constructivist strategies to activate students' curiosity, ask students to share what they think, and engage students so that they become active learners. The three phases of a teaching session or unit are: Phase I: Activate Background Knowledge, Phase II: Construct Meaning, and Phase III: Evaluate and Apply. During Phase I, the teacher helps students recall what they already know about a topic and encourages them to have a real purpose for learning new information. This phase is an opportunity to motivate students to be actively involved in learning new information. In Phase II, the teacher engages students in constructing meaning from new knowledge or skills presented in the lesson. Teachers encourage and support students as they find answers to questions, questions from the teacher, and finally, as they learn to answer their own questions. This phase includes techniques that help the teacher and student work together to evaluate the learning that has taken place. In Phase III, the teacher helps students evaluate and apply what they have learned. This phase includes techniques that help the teacher and student work together to evaluate the learning that has taken place. The teacher should also help students remember and reorganize important information, and their relationships that they have learned from the lesson. Techniques of Instruction and Assessment in Mathematics and Science The techniques of instruction and assessment in mathematics and science are based on constructivist ideas about how students learn. The three phases of a teaching session or unit are: Phase I: Activate Background Knowledge, Phase II: Construct Meaning, and Phase III: Evaluate and Apply. In Phase I, the teacher helps students recall what students already know about a topic and encourages them to have a real purpose for learning new information. This phase is an opportunity to motivate students to be actively involved in learning new information. In Phase II, the teacher engages students in constructing meaning from new knowledge or skills presented in the lesson. Teachers encourage and support students as they find answers to questions, questions from the teacher, and finally, as they learn to answer their own questions. Graphic Organizers Graphic organizers are visual representations of knowledge, concepts, or ideas. They are known to help engage students, relieve boredom, enhance recall of new information, concepts, and ideas, motivate students, clarify information, assist students in organizing their thoughts, and promote deep understanding. The KWL strategy is a technique that helps students activate what students already know before the lesson ("Know"), think about what they would like to know about a topic ("Want to Know"), and then reflect on what they have learned after the lesson ("Learned"). Think Aloud involves a person "thinking out loud," talking through their ideas as they complete a task or solve a problem. This makes one's thinking visible to others so they can share, reflect on, and evaluate the thinking process. The Concept Web helps students organize ideas and information, and see similarities and differences between different ideas or different information. A Concept Web includes a word or phrase in the center with related words arranged around the central word or phrase, connected to it with lines. A Venn Diagram helps students compare and contrast information. It can be used as a prediction technique, a graphic organizer, or a means for students to show what they have learned. A basic Venn Diagram has