Discussion Questions:
Each question should have a 250-300 word response backed by properly cited support from 3-5 scholarly sources.
The resources used for each answer should be listed below its respective answer.
1. Identify one learning strategy you feel best meets the needs of students with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia or dyscalculia. Identify one instructional strategy that you feel best meets the needs of students identified as gifted. Explain why you selected these strategies and how you know they work.
Resources that can be used:
http://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/
A List Of 50+ Teaching Strategies To Jumpstart Your Teacher Brain
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/5-highly-effective-teaching-practices-rebecca-alber
2. Research indicates that engagement is integral to a student’s mental readiness and motivation to learn. How might you go about noticing that students are not engaged? Explain a strategy that would help a teacher quickly monitor engagement and adjust instruction.
Resources that can be used:
http://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/
A List Of 50+ Teaching Strategies To Jumpstart Your Teacher Brain
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/5-highly-effective-teaching-practices-rebecca-alber
3. Provide an example of a technology strategy or collaborative tool you would use to promote creative and innovative thinking. Explain the potential value when effectively used in teaching and learning.
http://www.4teachers.org/tools/
4. Analyzing student assessment data is key to driving instruction. Imagine your class performed poorly on the last assessment. What questions would you ask yourself? What steps would you take next?
5. For students to be college and career ready, they must develop higher-order thinking skills. Discuss some strategies a teacher can use to promote higher-order thinking in the secondary classroom while being cognizant of the varying levels of student understanding
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104428/chapters/Higher-Order_Thinking.aspx
6. In your own words, what is metacognition? How can you develop students’ metacognitive processing skills in your specific content area? Provide two examples of what this might look like in a lesson.
7. Discuss how you can create classroom activities and discussions that promote respect of multiple perspectives. Provide an example from your specific content area.
My specific content area is Italian.
8. Social and emotional learning is often overlooked in the secondary classroom since teachers have limited time with students. Discuss a strategy or idea you could implement in your future classroom on a regular basis to help students connect with each other, build self-confidence, and create a supportive community that values everyone’s contributions.
9. There are many overarching pedagogical approaches to teaching, including a student-centered classroom, an inquiry-based classroom, a project-based classroom, a flipped classroom, and many more. Pick one pedagogical approach to teaching in your content area. Why do you like this approach? How does this approach align with your content area?
10. When planning instruction, a teacher must integrate curriculum and instructional strategies that students can relate to on a personal level. Consider the community in which you plan to teach. Describe the community’s demographics in 2-3 sentences. Discuss how you will plan instruction that considers students’ unique personal backgrounds, interests, and home lives.
