I remember reading -- some years ago -- the first chapter of "Beyond Monet", by Bennett and Rolheiser, and thinking, “hey, this makes sense”. What stuck out in my mind was the idea of layering instructional strategies, thereby achieving a sort of synergistic boost that would come from combining already effective tools, tactics and organizers, one on top of another.
At the time, I was still a fairly novice teacher, but I already had a few reliable standbys that I used regularly while teaching. Over the years, I have deepened my understanding and effective use of a few old favourites (for example, “think-pair-share”) and broadened my repertoire to include a few “new” instructional strategies as well.
But I often forget how effective it can be to combine strategies, a-la-"Beyond Monet"....
At the time, I was still a fairly novice teacher, but I already had a few reliable standbys that I used regularly while teaching. Over the years, I have deepened my understanding and effective use of a few old favourites (for example, “think-pair-share”) and broadened my repertoire to include a few “new” instructional strategies as well.
But I often forget how effective it can be to combine strategies, a-la-"Beyond Monet"....
The other day, I merged think-pair-share, wait time, effective questioning, visual cues and concept attainment during the “minds-on” phase of a math lesson I was teaching, introducing fractions to my Grade 3s. The result was a class full of focused, engaged learners, ready and eager to absorb the concept I was unveiling before them, and a teacher who was calm and collected as she did said unveiling!
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