Copy of `Plasmalink - Glossary of Instructional Strategies`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.

Plasmalink - Glossary of Instructional Strategies Category: Management > Instructional Strategies Date & country: 14/10/2008, USA Words: 676

Observational Learning
Albert Bandura's learning theory stating that much human learning occurs through our observation of the behavior of others. This theory is now often called 'social learning' model or theory.

Observations
Observations made by students.

Olympiads
Olympiads are formally regulated contests to stimulate interest and enthusiasm for a particular topic.

One Sentence Summary
Students are asked to write a single summary sentence that answers the 'who, what, where, when, why, how' questions about the topic.

One Word Summary
Select (or invent) one word which best summarizes a topic . Write 2-3 sentences justifying the selection of the summary word.

One-way Presentation
One-way presentation describes any format in which the learner is passive and information is presented to the learner. One-way presentation modes include video, lecture, and demonstrations.

Open Discussion
Open discussion is the least structured form of discussion. The teacher sets the boundaries by describing the general topic for the discussion, but the direction of the discussion follows student interests within that topic.

Open Text Recitation
A form of recitation in which students can use their books, notes, or other texts to support their answers.

Operant Conditioning
B. F. Skinner's elaboration of basic behaviorist beliefs. Skinner believed that individual's learned when their responses to stimuli were reinforced.

Opinion Sampling
Opinion sampling can be used either as an assignment for students. Teachers may also collect student opinions for the purpose of altering classroom structure.

Oral Presentation
Oral presentations are a form of direct instruction. Lectures are the most common form of oral presentation in the classroom. Other forms of oral presentation include talks given to describe a project or research findings.

Oral Reading
Oral reading of existing texts can be used to scaffold learning of vocabulary, pronunciation, and connections to related topics. During the writing process, oral reading becomes a proofreading strategy.

Ordering
Putting objects, concepts, or numbers in order.

Organic Model
An educational reform movement in which teachers collaborate to govern school policies and practices rather then following standardized guidelines handed down from distant policy makers.

Organizing
Organizing can include many different forms of interaction with objects and concepts. Organizing may include classifying, ordering, ranking, and comparing.

Outcome-based Learning
A school reform structure that typically requires students to pass specific exit exams or pass exit performances by the time they finish the program. Instruction is adapted to guarantee 100% of the students can meet these exit requirements.

Outlines
An outline is a skeletal version of some larger presentation or writing. Outlines usually include phrases or sentences that are critical to the topic and are arranged in the same order that the concepts will be (or were) presented in the final version. Outlines may be used to guide the creation process in writing or planning, during a lecture to he...

Outside Experts
Outside experts can be used as guest speakers, volunteer to assist during projects, or as evaluators of student work.

Paideia Approach
A school model in which all students follow the same rigorous program designed to provide a deep, liberal education. Traditional grading is discouraged and there is an emphasis on classical texts and Socratic methods.

Painting
While typically restricted to elementary classes or to art classes at the higher levels, painting can be used in a wide variety of classes to encourage creative thinking and problem-solving. At all levels, planning and executing a painting involves the integration of many skills and promotes the development of higher order thinking.

Pair Problem Solving
A problem-solving technique in which one member of the pair is the 'thinker' who thinks aloud as they try to solve the problem, and the other member is the 'listener' who analyzes and provides feedback on the 'thinker's' approach.

Pair Project
Pair projects take two basic forms. In the commonest form, two students work together to accomplish some task. The task may be to produce a tangible object (like a poster or model) or may be to make a presentation to the class. The more global form of pair project is for classes in different parts of the world to collaborate on a project. The stude...

Paired Annotations
Paired Annotations

Paired Comparisons
A structured method for comparing many objects or ideas that involves creating a matrix, comparing each pair individually, then using the paired comparisons to generate a ranked list.

Paired Verbal Fluency
A form of brainstorming. Used to 'warm- up' students before a whole class discussion. Student 1 in pair remembers while student 2 listens. Roles switch. Repeat twice.

Pairs Check
Pairs work together and check each other's work.

Panels
In a panel discussion, a small group acts as experts to answer the questions of the people in the larger group. In a classroom setting, students are selected to become experts on a topic and are given at least a day to prepare for the discussion. Panel discussions can also be held using outside experts.

Pantomime
The expression of ideas using only movement and gestures. One form of pantomime commonly used in the classroom is the narrative pantomime. In narrative pantomime, the leader (usually the teacher) reads a passage of text and the others in the groups act out the passage to demonstrate the ideas using their movements.

Paradoxes
Paradoxes are statements, or sets of statements, that appear to be contradictory. Using paradoxes in the classroom can encourage problem-solving, critical thinking, and logical thinking skills.

Paragraph Shrinking
Partners read in pairs. For the first paragraph, one reads and the other summarizes by stating the main idea of that paragraph. The partners then switch roles for the second paragraph.

Paragraph Writing Strategy
There are many different formal strategies to help students compose paragraphs. The one thing these strategies all share is that they are similar to strategies for writing larger compositions, but are sometimes more explicit about the number of ideas to use in constructing a single paragraph.

Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing involves careful reading, then rewriting the ideas of the author in your own words. Learning to paraphrase is critical to understanding how to do research from texts, then properly cite those texts without plagiarizing.

Parents
Parents can assist in learning in an infinite number of ways. By keeping parents informed about the progress of their child and how they can help, parents can be involved both inside and outside the classroom. Just a few of the roles for parents include: coaching, tutoring, chaperoning, classroom assistant, and providing physical and emotional help...

Part-to-Part-to-Part
An instructional approach in which objectives are presented to learners repeatedly, but each time parts of the curriculum are presented deeper concepts are explored.. Compare to: Chronological, General-to-Specific, Known-to-Unknown, Part-to-Whole, Part-to-Whole-to Part, Spiral, Step-by-Step, Topical, Unknown-to-Known, Whole-to-Part

Part-to-Whole
An instructional approach in which objectives are presented to learners beginning with parts of the curriculum, then relationships between the parts are presented, and finally learners can incorporate the parts as a whole.. Compare to: Chronological, General-to-Specific, Known-to-Unknown, Part-to-Part-to-Part, Part-to-Whole-to Part, Spiral, Step-by...

Part-to-Whole-to-Part
An instructional approach (often used in reading) in which objectives are presented to learners in chronological order. Compare to: Chronological, General-to-Specific, Known-to-Unknown, Part-to-Part-to-Part, Part-to-Whole, Spiral, Step-by-Step, Topical, Unknown-to-Known, Whole-to-Part

Partner Discussion
Any discussion involving exactly two people. This is a flexible strategy that allows the maximum number of students to verbally express their ideas at the same time. Typically, partner discussions are prompted by a single question, but longer partner discussions can occur if the partners are assigned a larger project.

Partner Reading
Pairs of students read together and the listener corrects the active reader. One special form of partner reading is called 'Reading Buddies.' Reading buddies are pairs whose members are several years apart.

Pattern Forming
The ability to recognize and create patterns is central to many different fields. The use of lessons with 'pattern forming' activities is typically started in pre-schools and continues into higher education.

Peer Editing
Students read and give feedback on the work of their peers. Peer editing is not only useful as a tool to improve students' analytical skills, but also provides students with an alternative audience for their work.

Peer Evaluation
Students evaluate presentations or work of fellow students.

Peer Questioning
Students ask questions of each other. Often occurs during student presentations.

Peer Tutoring
Includes a wide variety of approaches in which instruction is delivered by a person close in age or achievement to the person receiving instruction.

Peg Word System of Memorization
Uses visualization to remember words associated with particular numbers.

Penpals
A long term arrangement to exchange letters with another individual. Used in classrooms to improve literacy, encourage exploration of ideas from other cultures, and sometimes to learn new languages.

Performance Assessments
Performance assessments involve the comparison of a learner's behavior to an established guideline or rubric. The guidelines can be a single condition - or complicated multi-page rubrics with carefully described levels of performance for each action or behavior.

Performance of Skills
Skills might include touch typing, use of scientific equipment, drawing, etc.

Perspectives
Students might be asked to analyze perspectives, or take another perspective.

Phenomena maps
A structure to help students understand events and their interactions.

Phillips 66
Divide students into groups of six and give them six minutes to perform some task. Tasks may range from simple discussion to the solving of complex problems.

Phonemic Awareness
Most young children perceive words as whole, indivisible entities. As children develop, they acquire the understanding that words are made up of smaller units called syllables, and eventually that syllables are composed of even smaller units called phonemes. Once children are aware of the nature of words and phonemes and how to break words apart in...

Phonics
Reading and writing instruction that formally associates sounds with letters of the alphabet. Beginning readers are urged to 'sound out' a word by saying the sound of each letter in an unfamiliar word, then blending individual sounds to deduce the written word.

Pictorial Autobiography
Students create collages representing their interests, background, or culture. Students can either share them and explain them to the class, or post them anonymously to allow students to try to guess which collage belongs to which student.

Picture Mapping
A form of graphic organizer similar to story mapping. Instead of diagraming using keywords, however, the concepts are illustrated with pictures.

PLAN
A writing strategy by Edwin S. Ellis consisting of the following components: Preview audience, goals, & words. List main ideas & details. Assign numbers to indicate order. Note ideas in complete sentences.

Planning
Activities in which students plan some or all of the activity encourage engagement by students and help to develop metacognitive skills. Planning a hypothetical activity (like a trip to Jupiter) helps students make connections between theoretical concepts and their daily lives.

Plays
Planning and performing plays in the classroom can improve reading and performance skills and help to motivate learners who benefit from social interactions and the hands-on aspects of drama.

Poetry Writing
Because poetry encourages students to express ideas in imaginative, highly connected ways, writing poetry can be used in many kinds of classrooms.

Pop Quiz
Assessment given without notice. Usually written, and used to motivate students to study each day.

Portfolio
Portfolios are carefully selected samples of student work accompanied by formal criteria to allow the reader to judge the materials in the portfolio.. Portfolios typically include work selected by the student to show their best work, some pieces to show progress, and other work that reflects on what was learned and what remains to be learned.

Position Paper
A form of writing in which students take a position, then use information from one or more written materials to support that position.

Positive Profile
Students analyze characters from reading by completing a personality evaluation form that includes positive characteristics such as 'hobbies,' 'strengths,' and 'smartest action performed.'

Possible Sentences
A pre-reading strategy in which students are presented with vocabulary words from the reading. Students choose pairs of vocabulary words and use these two words to write sentences that may appear in the reading. After the reading students evaluate the correctness of their sentences, and sometimes correct them.

Posters
Student-created posters can be used at any stage of instruction. During early exposure to concepts, students can create 'mini-posters' providing an visual overview of what they already know of a topic. Later in instruction, assigning a poster format encourages students to organize and prioritize materials. Group posters encourage negotiating and te...

Practice
In learning cognitive skills, repeated exposure to concepts through practice increases the probability the student will remember the concept. In learning physical skills, practice not only teaches basic skills but also conditions the body to be better able to perform the motions associated with those skills.

Praise
Verbal or written expressions of approval used by teachers to motivate students. While praise has historically been viewed as an effective means to reinforce learning, recent research indicates positive effects are seen only with certain types of praise and when used with certain types of students.

Precis Writing
A form of abstraction or summary.

Precision Teaching
A method of planning and delivering instruction based on a student's own measurement of their frequency in performing (or not performing) certain observable actions.

Predict / Check / Connect
A reading strategy by Edwin S. Ellis encouraging predictions based on the beginning of a text.

Predictable Books
The use of books with predictable plot elements or other uses of repetition and pattern to enhance student engagement and encourage students to make predictions.

Prediction Pairs
Students are paired as they listen to the teacher read a passage aloud. At each pause in the reading, the teacher prompts students to discuss with their partner what they predict will happen next in the reading.

Prediction Relay
Extension of Paragraph Shrinking which partners are asked to think ahead.

Predictions
Students make predictions to indicate extended understanding of concepts.

Quickdraw
Pair activity in which students have a short period (typically 30 seconds) to share all they know by writing with symbols or drawings.

Quicktalk
Pair activity in which students have exactly 30 seconds to share all they know.

Quickwrite
Pair activity in which students have a short period (typically 30 seconds) to share all they know by writing in a graphic organizer.

Quintilian Progression
Model to guide assessment of writing in progress. 1st product: freely generated ideas and words. 2nd: student decides on organizational form of paper. 3rd (first written draft): student should aim for clarity. 4th: revise for correctness. 5th: revise for eloquence.

Random Word Method
A creativity technique.

Randomized Questioning
In situations where the teacher wants to ensure that all students have an opportunity to answer questions, the teacher creates note cards with the students' names on them, then shuffles the cards. AFTER asking each question, the teacher reveals the name of the student chosen at random to answer the question.

Raps
Songs written and presented by students.

Reaching Consensus
Reaching Consensus

Read Aloud
Teacher reads aloud to the class to improve comprehension, expose students to correct pronunciation, or to create positive feelings about reading or a particular book.

Read and Respond
Read and Respond

Reader's Theater
Students adapt some of their reading to present to other students in the form of a play. These productions can be simple or elaborate and include posters, programs, sets, and costumes.

Reading for Information
A type of reading in which learners interact with text to collect information, or to improve their understanding of specific topics.

Reading Roadmap
Map to guide students in their reading. Shows when to skim, when to read carefully, questions to consider.

Reading the Room
Reading and Writing the Room

Ready-Set-Recall
Ready, Set, Recall

Reality-Based Model
Developed by Glasser as a counseling technique. Useful in teaching students to manage their own behavior by helping them discover what they really in a situation, and socially acceptable ways of getting what they want.

Reciprocal Teaching
Students take turns being the teacher for a pair or small group. Teacher role may be to clarify, ask questions, ask for predictions, etc.

Recitation
Questions and answer session dominated by the teacher. Questions usually have a single correct answer.

Redundancy
To be learned, concepts need to be revisited many times and in a variety of contexts. Younger children may need to work with a concept twenty or more times to fully understand it, while older students and adults typically need to see and use a concept three or more times to be able to remember and properly use it.

Reflection
A metacognitive activity. Learner pauses to think about, and organize information gathered from reading, discussions, or other activities.

RELATE Table
A graphic organizer to help students connect what they learn in the classroom to real world events or issues.

Relay Summary
Team activity to summarize reading. One team member writes one sentences summarizing reading then passes page to teammate. Continues until everyone in team has added at least one sentence.

Reports
Report Writing

ReQuest
Teacher and students take turns asking each other questions about reading.

Round-Table Discussion
At a table, 4 or 5 participants informally discuss topic among themselves and with the audience.

Roundtable
Turn-based brainstorming technique.

Routines
One way to maximize teaching time, shorten delays due to transitions, and focus student behavior is to establish routines on the first day. Points to discuss include procedures for turning in work. what is expected during the first minutes of class, and what materials are needed each day.