INSTRUCTIONAL

SKILLS
Dr. Len Elovitz
Associate Professor
Classroom Responsibilities of the Teacher
 INSTRUCTION

Instruction is a process of deliberate decision

making and actions that makes learning
more probable and more predictably
successful than it would be without teaching.

Madeline Hunter
 CORRECT LEVEL OF
DIFFICULTY

• KNOWLEDGE OF PRIOR LEARNING

• USE OF QUESTIONS
• USE OF PRE-TESTS
• DIAGNOSTIC TESTING
 TEACH TO THE
OBJECTIVE
Formulate an instructional objective
Teacher actions
Give information
Ask questions
Make specific responses
Design activities
Related vs.. Relevant
TEACHER ACTIONS
Identify the teacher actions reflected in the statements below with
an I for information, Q for question, A for activity and SP for
specific response:
1. The Lenni Lenape Indians lived in New Jersey.

2. No, Trenton is a city and we are listing countries.

3. Take out a piece of paper and write down all the
states you can think of that begin with the letter "M".
4. What is the definition of photosynthesis?

5. How many syllables are in the word telegram?

6. The things you wrote in your report show me that you
understand the concept of sequence.
7. Draw a picture of what you did on your summer
vacation.
8. Yes, mineral is one of the three classifications of matter.
9. Boat could be a correct answer if we wanted all forms of
transportation, but right now we are only talking about
land transportation.

10. Tell your neighbor the definition of relevancy in your

own words
11. You can use the technique of expansion in three ways:
Words to sentences
Sentences to paragraphs
Paragraphs to composition
12. Answer the questions at the end of the chapter.
13. Jackson Township was named after President Andrew Jackson.

14. There will be 10 questions on this test and you will need
space for each one.
Which Activity is More
Relevant?
 TO PRINT THE LETTER “M”

1. Demonstrate formation of “M” on the

chalkboard

2. Have students color pictures

beginning with the letter “M”
 To locate all of the counties in
New Jersey

1. Label the counties on a map of NJ

2. Explain how all of the counties were

named
 To visually discriminate a
hexagon and pentagon

1. Label hexagon and pentagon shapes

on a ditto of assorted shapes

2. Use a protractor to measure the

angles of a hexagon and pentagon
 To predict an outcome
1. Read an incomplete story and write a
concluding paragraph.

2. Read a short story and write the

ending in your own words.
 Teaching to an Objective
– The teacher has identified a learning she/he
wishes to have kids learn. All behaviors of the
teacher promote activity that leads the learner
to achieve the objective. The teacher will make
all teaching decisions using the criterion,
"Does it promote the learning in my
objective?"
 Teaching to an Objective
Teaching to an objective means the activities
in which student are involved relate directly
to the learning the teacher wants the children
to master. In addition to the activity, the
questions the teacher asks,the way she/he
responds to the learner, and the explanation
she/he gives must all speak directly to the
learning.
 Teaching to an Objective

Teaching to an objective means to select

a topic for instruction and clearly
present it. This objective should clearly
generate learning by the student.
 Teaching to an Objective
Teaching to an objective is that part of
the teaching process in which the
teacher's actions (such as
explanations, directions, questions,
etc.)elicit relevant, observable student
behavior. This student behavior should
be relevant to or reflect the critical
attributes of the learning.
 Teaching to an Objective
The learning that takes place in a classroom
is directly related to the activities the student
does. Therefore, those activities should be
closely structured and controlled by the
teacher so everything the student does is
related to a specific learning. When the
teacher does this, he/she is teaching to an
objective.
 Teaching to an Objective

Teaching to an objective means that all

activities used to teach the objective
should be relevant to the objective.
 Teaching to an Objective
It means all teachers actions,
questions, explanations, input,
response to learners' answers and
planned activities will be directed
toward the desired learning.
 Teaching to an Objective
The teacher having students do 'things'
which are directly relevant to that which
the teacher has decided the students
are to learn. This implies the teacher
will use all kinds of input, questions,
activities,but all these 'doings' must be
relevant to the learning.
 Educational Objectives

• A goal is a long-range aim to work

toward
• An objective is statement of what the
learner will know or be able to do as a
result of the instruction
 Educational Objectives

• Curriculum Objectives: Long-range, overall

outcomes for a curriculum area, these are
also called terminal or content objectives
• Instructional Objective: Short-term, specific
objectives that state what the student will do
after the instruction has taken place, these
are also called performance or behavioral
objectives.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

• IDENTIFY WHAT THE STUDENT SHOULD KNOW OR

BE ABLE TO DO AS A RESULT OF INSTRUCTION

• Components
•Learning
•Behavior
•Conditions
 BLOOM’S TAXONOMY OF THE
COGNITIVE DOMAIN
LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY

1. KNOWLEDGE RECALL, MEMORY, FACTS

2. COMPREHENSION UNDERSTANDING, TRANSLATION

3. APPLICATION USE INFORMATION IN A NEW

SITUATION

4. ANALYSIS TAKE APART, COMPARE/CONTRAST

5. SYNTHESIS PUT TOGETHER A NEW CREATION

6. EVALUATION JUDGMENTS BASED ON MORE THAN

OPINIONS
 OBJECTIVE DEVELOPMENT USING BLOOM’S TAXONOMY

LEVEL VERB

1. KNOWLEDGE LIST, LABEL, DEFINE, NAME, STATE

2. COMPREHENSION SUMMARIZE, EXPLAIN, DESCRIBE

IN YOUR OWN WORDS, ILLUSTRATE,
PARAPHRASE, IDENTIFY

3. APPLICATION COMPUTE, DEMONSTRATE, USE, SOLVE

4. ANALYSIS BREAK INTO PARTS, CLARIFY,

OUTLINE, COMPARE/CONTRAST

5. SYNTHESIS DESIGN, REARRANGE, COMPOSE,

WRITE AN ORIGINAL ENDING

6. EVALUATION SUPPORT, DECIDE, CRITICIZE, CHOOSE

ONE AND JUSTIFY
SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

THE STUDENTS WILL DEMONSTRATE THE ABILITY TO:

-IDENTIFY THE POSITION OF THE EARTH RELATIVE TO THE

SUN, THE MOON, AND OTHER PLANETS.

-DESCRIBE THE ROTATION AND REVOLUTION OF THE EARTH

AND OTHER PLANETS AROUND THE SUN.

-DEMONSTRATE HOW THE EARTH’S POSITION AND TILT OF

ITS AXIS PRODUCE THE SEASONS.

-COMPARE THE POSITIONS OF THE EARTH, MOON, AND SUN

DURING A SOLAR ECLIPSE AND A LUNAR ECLIPSE.
 MONITOR & ADJUST
• ELICIT OVERT BEHAVIOR
• CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING
SIGNAL SAMPLE CHORAL RESPONSE
 MONITOR & ADJUST

• INTERPRET THE BEHAVIOR

• ACT ON INTERPRETATION
PROCEED PRACTICE

RETEACH QUIT
 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING

* POWERFUL TOOLS THAT TEACHERS USE TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO

EXHIBIT BEHAVIORS THAT LEAD TO INCREASED LEARNING

* RESULT FROM CONTINUOUS DETAILED RESEARCH

* TEACHER DECIDES ON WHICH, WHEN AND HOW THEY ARE USED

* USE MUST BE CONGRUENT WITH STANDARDS

* NOT NECESSARY TO INCLUDE ALL PRINCIPLES IN ALL LESSONS

 Set

Active
Reinforcement Participation

Retention PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING Motivation

Closure Transfer
 Active Participation

Aims at keeping the mind of the learner

focused on the objective. It involves consistent,
relevant engagement of all learners in the
lesson and process of learning.
It is the responsibility of
the teacher to actively:

1. engage the brain of the learner,

2. create relevant learning and activities,
3. engage students consistently throughout the
lesson, and
4. involve all students
 Types of Active
Participation
1. Overt activities are: observable, measurable,
elicited by the teacher, and relevant to the learning.

2. Covert activities are: not observable, not

measurable, elicited by the teacher, relevant to the
learning
 Most Effective Use of Active
Participation

• puts covert and overt together

• gives direction for covert activity
• allows thinking time
• followed by overt activity
• Holds learner accountable for covert - level
of concern
 Active Participation
1. Helps retention by giving immediate practice
2. Provides overt responses which allow for
monitoring and adjustment
3. Elicits student behavior when teaching to an
objective
4. Helps to determine if level of difficulty is correct
5. Establishes anticipatory set
6. Helps establish reinforcement through repetition
7. Gives knowledge of results for motivation
Indicate if the words are used to
stimulate Overt or
Covert behavior:
1. summarize to yourself
2. make a mental list
3. jot down the answers in your notebook
4. give some thought to
5. hold up your pencil
6. discuss in your group
7. show me 2 fingers
8. draw a picture in your mind
9. think of another example
10. whisper to your neighbor
 ACTIONS THAT HINDER
ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
1. call a student's name first and then ask a question
2. send one person to the board
3. say "who would like to answer a question"
4. "who can tell us"
5. raise your hand
6. what do you think?
7. round robin
8. alphabetical order in calling on students
9. call on the same people
10. answer your own questions
11. straight lecture
12. any questions?
13. silence means they've got it!
14. same routine process
 Anticipatory Set
• Provides focus
• The opportunity for the mind of the
learner to bring forward prior knowledge
to current learning.
• Must be relevant
 Anticipatory Set must:
• Involve the learners in active
participation
• Draw upon prior learning

• Relate to the new learning

 Motivation
Motivation is a state of need or desire that activates
the person to do something to satisfy that need or
desire. Motivation is a state within a person. We as
teachers cannot motivate a student, but we can
manipulate variables in the environment which may
result in increased motivation. Motivation implies that
the student is no longer in passive equilibrium, but is
activated to change his behavior in order to achieve
some goal.
 Variables of Motivation
1. Degree of tension or concern. Each student has a
different optimum level of tension. Too much
tension diverts energy off task. A moderate amount
of tension is best.
2. Feeling tone. A moderate amount of pleasant or
unpleasant tone should increase motivation. Too
much will produce debilitating tension. Absence of
feeling tone tends to decrease motivation. Positive
reinforcement leads to positive feeling tone.
 Variables of Motivation
3. Interest. If teachers make topics interesting,
student may be more motivated.
4. Success. If the task is too easy, the student
doesn't feel success If the task is too difficult
or the student is unsuccessful motivation is
decreased. Success and the correct degree
of difficulty should increase motivation.
 Variables of Motivation
5. Knowledge of results. The more specific the
feedback on performance, the more motivation
should increase.
6. Relation of activity to reward:
a. Intrinsic motivation: When the activity itself is
rewarding doing the activity will always achieve the
goal and motivation compounds.

b. Extrinsic motivation: depends on, and

changes with the specific environmental situation.
The activity produces the reward rather than being
the reward.
 RETENTION
Retention is the preservation of a learning
that makes recall and recognition possible
and relearning easier.
 VARIABLES OF
RETENTION
A. MEANING
1. One of the most important variables
2. When material is meaningful it is learned faster and
remembered long
3. The more meaningful the task, the easier
4. Meaning does not exist in the material - it is the relationship
of the student's past experience to the material which is to be
learned. The teacher must explain the use.
5. Learning is made more meaningful if we can translate it into
other forms - words, charts, diagrams
6. Mnemonic devices
 VARIABLES OF
RETENTION
B. DEGREE OF ORIGINAL LEARNING
1. anything that is not learned well is rapidly forgotten
2. Teach well - not just "once over lightly”
3. Vary examples so it's not boring
4. Vary activities:
"When I hear, I forget
When I see, I remember
When I do, I learn!"
 VARIABLES OF
C. Practice
RETENTION
1. Involves how long, how much, how well, how often
2. For new learnings:
a. Massive - many times as opposed to many
examples
b. Close together
c. Short units that have meaning
d. Intensive - mind focused
3. Review learning - Distributed practice for longer
retention
X permanent
4. Practice makes perfect
 VARIABLES OF
RETENTION
D. Feeling Tone
1. The presence of feelings, either pleasant or
unpleasant, aids retention.
2. Positive feeling tone is a better enhancer of
learning than negative feeling tone.
3. Caution should be taken not to overuse
negative feeling tone because the learner may
try to avoid that subject from there on.
4. Neutral feeling tone does not aid retention.
 VARIABLES OF
RETENTION
E. Transfer
1. Past learnings can transfer into the present and assist or interfere
with learnings.
2. The more similar the learnings, the more the transfer.
3. Positive transfer - similarity of an old learning assists a new
learning.
4. Negative transfer - the old learning interferes with the new
learning.
5. The skilled teacher constantly thinks about what a student
already knows or has experienced
 VARIABLES OF
RETENTION
F. Modeling
1. A correct model must be presented.

2. The criteria that makes the model correct must be

known before or during the learning experience.

3. Children learn patterns of behavior by observing

adult models.
 Reinforcement

THE PROCESS OF LEARNING IS

ESSENTIALLY THE PROCESS OF
CHANGING BEHAVIOR. ANYONE
ENGAGED IN THIS PROCESS WILL SEE THE
VALUE OF REINFORCEMENT THEORY.
 Positive Reinforcement
A positive reinforcer can be anything that is desired
or needed by a student. A positive reinforcer will
strengthen the behavior it follows and make the
behavior more likely to reoccur. (This interaction
between the behavior and the reinforcer is
positive reinforcement.) The positive reinforcer
must follow the behavior IMMEDIATELY to
result in positive reinforcement
 Positive Reinforcement

Whenever children behave in a way that we

want them to continue, immediate positive
reinforcement will increase the likelihood
that they will keep on doing it.
 Negative Reinforcement
A negative reinforcer can be anything unpleasant or not
desired by the student. A negative reinforcer weakens the
response it immediately follows. This can happen in two
ways:

1. Negative reinforcement strengthens the behavior that takes

away the negative reinforcer.

2. Negative reinforcement suppresses the behavior that

brought on the negative reinforcer.
 Extinction
Nothing happening (neither positive or
negative reinforcement) simply ignoring a
behavior is the action of a technique called
extinction. The principle here is that a
behavior is extinguished by withholding
reinforcement. A person will not continue a
behavior that they get nothing out of.
 Reinforcement
• Ignoring a behavior helps a child forget it

• Negative reinforcement helps a child

remember what not to do

• Positive reinforcement helps a child to know

what is continually desired
 Closure
Closure is a process which allows the mind of
the learners to summarize for themselves, their
perceptions of what has been learned. It is not an
attempt for mastery, rather it is time for the student to
study the various pieces of a learning, though the
puzzle may not fit together as yet. The entire process
of closure must be worked through by the student...,
the teacher just provides the time and means to do
this.
It is not summarizing by the teacher.