QUESTION
Write a note supervising teaching and learning
Course: School Administration and Supervision
Course Code 8616
Level: B.Ed Solved Assignment
ANSWER
Supervising Teaching and Learning
Through the effective supervision of teaching and learning,
administrators can reinforce and enhance school improvements that will
contribute to improving student learning. By skillfully analyzing performance and
appropriate data, administrators can provide meaningful feedback and direction
to teachers that can have a profound effect on the learning that occurs in each
classroom. Because student learning is the primary function of the schools, the
effective supervision of instruction is one of the most critical functions of
the administrator. If schools are to provide equal access to quality
educational programs for all students, administrators must hold teachers
accountable for providing an appropriate and well-planned program. These
programs include a variety of teaching strategies designed to meet the diverse
needs of all students in our complex society.
To enhance the professional effectiveness of the teaching
staff administrators must be skilled in these areas: (a) what to evaluate, (b)
how to observe and analyze classroom observation information and other data,
and (c) how to translate the results of observations and the summary of data
into meaningful conference feedback that guides and encourages teachers to
improve instruction. Here, evaluation and assessment of certificated employee
competency are required in four areas.
These include:
(1) The progress of pupils toward the district-adopted standards
(2) The instructional strategies and techniques utilized by the teacher
(3)
The teacher's adherence to
curricular objectives.
(4)
The establishment and maintenance of
a suitable learning environment.
The ability to assess teacher competence in the four areas
outlined in achieving educational excellence and a positive learning experience
for all students.
To assess student progress toward the established district
standards and to facilitate the planning of various types of instruction, the administration should ensure that teachers are utilizing information from a
variety of valid and appropriate sources before they begin planning lessons or
teaching. This could include data regarding students' backgrounds, academic
levels, and interests, as well as other data from student records to ascertain
academic needs and to facilitate planning appropriate initial learning. The administration needs to note that information regarding students
and their families is used by the staff for professional purposes only and is kept
confidential as a matter of professional ethics.
The beginning of each lesson provides the challenge of how
to change the focus of students’ attention from previous classes or discussions
with friends to the objective of the lesson.
Research indicates that the learning of facts is greatly
facilitated when memories of organized principles and prerequisite concepts
related to the lesson are reviewed at the beginning of the lesson. During the
opening, students need to know the direction of the instruction, and the relevance of what they are learning, and to have a sense of continuity.
Students are often not able to see the relationship between today's work and
the work from yesterday. Sharing the objective of the lesson informally with
students would include teacher statements such as “what we are going to do
today" and "the reason we are studying this concept.”
Presenting the lesson: The body of the lesson includes the
presentation of information; and the explanation-demonstration stage of the lesson. To
implement this phase of the lesson, administrators should note that teachers
have a wide variety of different styles and models of teaching from which to
choose. The larger the number of alternative teaching styles teachers are
comfortable utilizing, the more likely they will select techniques that match
the desired objectives, learning styles, and academic levels of their students.
To determine if the best teaching strategy was selected administrators should
determine if the teacher achieved the objective.
While well over a hundred instructional strategies have been
identified, there are some attributes common to all strategies (Joyce &
Weil, 1986). Classroom observers should be aware that each strategy has a set
of activities with a distinct purpose and role for the teacher and students.
Each strategy has a logical sequence which is necessary if students are to
accomplish the objective of the lesson. Therefore, the selection of an
instructional strategy is a complex task because numerous effective strategies could be used, depending on the instructional goal. Joyce and
Weil (1986) drew from a wide range of teaching studies to organize the methods
of instruction into four major categories which they refer to as families of
instruction.
Good teaching requires diagnosing student
progress during the lesson and adjusting instruction. Periodic and formal
assessments of student learning through a midterm or final examination may help formulate grades but are not frequent enough to enable the
teacher to adjust the teaching to correct misconceptions. When observing a
lesson, administrators should note points in the lesson where teachers should
monitor instruction as it progresses to enable them to immediately respond to
students' misunderstandings and ensure that all students are learning the
material. Checking for understanding can be done in large groups by having all
of the students signal the response at the same time to the same question. This
can be done with the use of their fingers to signal multiple choice answers 1,
2, or 3, the first letter of a word, or thumbs up or down to indicate true or
false (Hunter, 1982). Other techniques for group signaling include the use of
individual chalkboards, ceramic tiles, or laminated cards on which students
record their responses with a grease pencil or crayon and flash the answer. A
group choral response can also be used. Students' understanding can also be
checked through the use of brief written responses, or mini-diagnostic tests.
As students are completing the quick quiz the teacher walks around the room
monitoring the approach the students are using to solve the problems as well as
their answers, and determines if adjustment in teaching needs to be made.
Another method would be a pair share where students take turns telling each
other the answers to two different questions related to the same objective
while the teacher monitors. Although some measures may not indicate
specifically which students are confused, they do provide the teacher with the
information needed to determine if the direction or pace of the lesson needs to
be adjusted.
Teachers who monitor progress as part of their teaching have
all students perform some observable behavior congruent with the lesson's objective while they check the behavior. They analyze the correctness and
completeness of the responses and determine if it is necessary to reteach
certain segments of the lesson before they move on. Once this is completed they
proceed to the next concept--teaching, re-teaching if necessary, and providing
the necessary practice.
Conducting Practice
Session: Once students have an adequate level of understanding, research concludes
that it is extremely important that students be allowed to
practice the new skill and its application. In the initial phase, practice
should be conducted under the direct supervision of the teacher. Hunter refers
to the process as guided practice. The teacher moves about the room providing
support, encouragement, praise, individual assistance, and re-teaching. It can
be particularly effective during this portion of the lesson if the teacher
utilizes cooperative learning groups or heterogeneous grouping strategies to
form practice groups. This provides an opportunity for peer tutoring while the
teacher circulates among the groups and keeps them on task while monitoring
their level of understanding.
It is important to remember that individuals are only able
to assimilate a certain amount of information before it needs to be organized.
Otherwise, new learning interferes with the old and produces confusion. For
longer or more complicated lessons it may be critical to stop and get closure
at several points throughout the lesson as well as at the end. Students who
actively participate in the process can reorganize the material and
achieve greater retention and clarity of the information.
Before allowing the
students time for independent practice, the use of summary or review statements
helps students put the information into perspective and identify the key
points. It is also helpful if the teacher identifies how it will relate to the
lesson plan for the following day. Providing closure, at any point in the
lesson, provides students with the opportunity to consolidate and organize what
they have learned.
After providing adequate explanation and practice in a
monitored setting, students should be provided the opportunity to practice the
new skill independently. To ensure that this practice session is positive and
productive, the material must relate directly to the lesson just mastered.
Adherence to
Curricular Objectives: The third area supervisors are required to evaluate and
assess is the teacher's ability to adhere to curricular objectives. To comply
with this requirement of SB 813, administrators should ensure that teachers are
utilizing state frameworks, district curriculum guides, scope and sequence
charts, and course outlines to assist them in planning instruction. Lesson
plans should have a clearly defined objective that is appropriate to the class
learning level and consistent with established district, school, department, or
grade-level curriculum standards for expected achievement. Further, plans
should incorporate the needs, interests, and special talents of students in the
class and include enrichment or acceleration activities for students who
complete basic tasks early. Activities in the lesson should revolve around the acquisition
of new learning.
Planning should include a timeline so the teacher can
monitor the pace of instruction to ensure that the intended curricular
objectives are taught and mastered in the allocated time. Administrators should
verify that a variety of ongoing assessment measures are being utilized by the
teacher to monitor the achievement of intended objectives. Information from these
measures should be used to make adjustments to the pace, objectives, or
sequence when necessary. Teachers should utilize district-adopted and appropriate supplemental materials to meet individual students' academic needs
and learning styles.
Teachers should be encouraged by administrators to
participate in recommending texts and supplementary materials and developing
curriculum so they can utilize their knowledge of students' skills, needs, and
interests in selecting a product that will more closely meet the needs of
students in the school or grade level.
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