2: Strategies for Direct and Indirect Instruction
Building on Lesson Plan Part I, write 4 pages paper in which you:
- Revise criteria 1-5 of the Lesson Plan Part 1 (revision based on instructor�s recommendations and/or
own decisions).
- Describe the students (total in class, grade level and ages, knowledge of content area, cultural
diversity, gender mix, learning styles, and affective needs).
- Describe and explain reasons for the selection of three to four (3-4) direct instruction strategies and
align them with one (1) or more of your stated objectives and needs of students. - Describe and explain reasons for the selection of three to four (3-4) indirect instruction strategies and
align them with one (1) or more of your stated objectives and needs of students.
[Note: If you are not working in a school as an instructor or administrator, describe a school setting with
which you are familiar and describe how you would fulfill the criteria.]
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Criteria for the Lesson Plan
The teacher’s revision plan had instructional objectives. An addition to it was standard-
based learning. The students would learn about:
• Investigating and evaluating nutritional content of different food labels.
• Applying the food guide pyramid in making correct nutritional choices.
• Identifying and relating different foods to the six major nutritional categories learned.
• Determining and calculating the association between caloric intake and energy
expenditure.
• Distinguishing between health and skill related physical activities that are important
for good health.
• Examining personal health plan and its varying compositions and differentiate
between individual and family health plans.
The teacher would give the students a random text about the topic. It would help in
assessing whether the students have understood the topic or not. Organization of instructional
plans is done to improve the student’s engagement in learning. Organization of instructional
plans would enable easy addressing of issues such as:
• Time allocation by the teacher.
• The emergence of other learning opportunities.
• Meeting of students’ needs and organization of the lesson (Ayres, 2014).
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Students’ data is also used as a guide for planning. Students’ data will enable the tutor to
know how the students have understood the topic. Student’s data establishes ways through which
learning objectives would be achieved. It also allows the tutor to address an identified student
specifically. This would ensure each student get to participate in the lesson (Ayres, 2014)
actively.
The use of knowledge of subject matter content, skills and learning procedures to plan for
student studies is a vital standard that the educator ensured to meet. Requisite knowledge related
to the topic to be taught should be acquired, as it is a necessity. The teacher also had to consider
misconceptions that the students could have about the topic. The places where students could
find it hard to learn was considered. The teacher had to, therefore, develop the best possible ways
to curb these obstacles. This empowered students to learn without difficulties (Ayres, 2014). The
subject matter of the topic to be learned had the following subtopics:
• Introduction to Health
• Personal Health Care
• Human Growth and Development
• Drug prevention and Abuse
• The Human Anatomy
• Food and Nutrition
• Human Health and Nutrition
The pedagogue designed an assessment to ensure student mastery. The designed
assessment was precisely aligned with the lesson objectives. The teacher judged mastery of the
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students over time. This was done through issuing random assessment tests and assignments to
the students. The teacher assesses students learning over time through giving the students
examinations, assignments and random test that involves the topic to be taught in class by the
teacher (Ayres, 2014).
Students
There were 45 students in the grade level. The grade level was 5th and almost half that is,
20 students were averagely 13 years of age. The rest of the students were 12 years old. The
students had little knowledge of the content area they were to learn. It was their first introduction
to the concept of investigating and evaluating nutritional content of different food labels and
applying the food guide pyramid in making correct nutritional choices. Identifying and relating
different foods to the six major nutritional categories learned and determining and calculating the
association between caloric intake and energy expenditure were also the subject matter of the
content to be taught.
The learners were also to be introduced on distinguishing between health and skill related
physical activities that are important for good health, examining personal health plan and its
varying compositions and differentiate between individual and family health plans. Most of the
Students come from the different cultural background. The classroom setting had students of
different cultural diversity based on race, gender, and sexual orientation. In general, most of
them seemed to be comfortable interacting with each other.
The class had 25 boys and 20 girls. Learners seemed to have different learning styles.
Most of them learned through logic, a system that involved the use of reasoning. Others
preferred learning through visuals. The system involved the teacher using pictures; images and
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the students used spatial understanding to learn. A few of them preferred using an individual
style of learning. Solitary style involved the students preferring to work alone and grasp the
concepts without much help from the teacher (Romanelli, 2009).
The students had several needs. One of their needs was the creation of Learning Stations
allows the teacher to provide different types of concepts of the topic to be taught by setting up
learning stations. Learning stations would enable the students to rotate in the classroom while
learning a new concept in each station.
Students also required the introduction of task cards. These cards empowered students to
get a range of content during the lesson. The task cards could also encourage students to work as
a group to solve human anatomy and its functions. The tutees also needed incorporation of the
Think-Pair-Share Strategy in their lessons (Mesquita, 2015). This strategy would enable all them
to participate actively during the lesson. The pairing of students together also makes them
discuss their results and findings during the lesson.
Students also required a technological resource, and this would be a projector and
electronic human anatomy. The projector would be used to give a visual of human anatomy.
Students will also be able to see the topic objectives. The projector would also be used to project
out examples of possible questions that could be assessed in the topic. This will enable the
learners to familiarize with such questions hence they could not have difficulties during the
random assessments and the final examinations. The electronic human anatomy would be used to
teach about various parts of the human body and their functions. The electronic human anatomy
would also make the students who preferred to learn through visuals more comfortable in class.
Direct Instruction Strategies
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Direct Instruction Strategies helps the teacher to focus on concepts and principles. The instructor
would only focus on an introduction to health and personal health care in the first lesson and
follow the content order in the other lessons. The direct approach of giving instructions is
important because students will easily develop lasting problem-solving skills that could help
them in future. It will equip the students with problem-solving skills, researching and analyzing.
This method guides students through new concepts that give them the capacity to categorize
these facts. The students would be able to evaluate and analyze the nutritional content of
different food labels (Terry, 2017).
As an educator, direct instruction strategy accredits one to be in a position of taking into
account the student’s learning profile. This will enable an educator to know the learning style of
his or her student. This will make it possible for the instructor to come up with student data,
which guides in learning objectives and achievements (Terry, 2017). The guide will help the
instructor to:
• Evaluate students’ performance
• Assess the Students effectively
• Use effective instruction strategies
• Take account of students learning the profile
• Familiarize with each students learning the style
Direct instruction strategies enable the tutor to directly target “Zone of Proximal
Development” apart from psychology that every student comes to the classroom with his or her
reserve of knowledge on the concepts to be taught. Targeting this zone makes it simpler for the
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instructor to give just enough of explanation required. Giving too much or little instruction can
prevent students from learning hence it is important to take this into account (Terry, 2017). The
students will learn one or two content in one lesson. This would ensure that they have all
understood the content to their capabilities. Besides, the instructor will be easily guided by how
much content to teach at a particular time.
Direct instruction would satisfy some of the students’ needs in the classroom. Focusing
on concepts and principles equips students with more knowledge especially when used in
learning stations (Terry, 2017). The pedagogue would only instruct students to focus on
principles and concepts of the subject matter in their respective learning stations. This would also
help learners to know exactly the areas they should focus on when they have personal studies.
The primary learning outcome of the subject matter is students should be able to identify the
basic structure and anatomy of the human body and connect the distinct functions of body parts
to their health. Students knowing this requirement would help them to know the areas they
should focus on while studying.
The rational choice for choosing this form of strategy to pass instructions is that the
students will be guided effectively by the Contents they are required to learn. Since this strategy
involves personal explanation by the tutor, it’s the most effective way to instruct the learners. It
addresses different diversities among students hence ensure they all get to learn effectively.
Indirect Instruction Strategies
Indirect instruction is a method of teaching that allows learners to develop an
understanding of concepts with minimal supervision from the tutor. Advanced Organizers
Strategy is a form of indirect strategy that will provide the learners with a visual of what an
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instructor is trying to explain. The visuals assist learners to organize and process the information
they are seeing. The study strategy indirectly explains the content of the subject matter through
the visual they offer. This will significantly help the students in studying the Human anatomy
and its functions (Mesquita, 2015).
The use of course rubric will also be used to give instructions indirectly. A printed hard
copy is distributed to students at the onset of the first lesson. The printed hard copy will entail:
• All the necessary topic objectives
• The content of the Topic
• Students requirements during the lesson
• Pictures of the Human Anatomy
• Possible questions regarding the topic
Another way that students will learn is through reviewing their performance on a given
task. Self- evaluation allows the scholars to assess themselves on their performance on a
particular assessment. As the students judge themselves based on their performance, they get to
identify their strengths and weaknesses. This enables them to know the areas of concern that they
require to improve on hence their general grades would improve. Learners will evaluate
themselves by doing the questions and assessing how they have performed on the printed hard
copy given to them by the instructor (Mesquita, 2015).
The indirect strategy also involves group discussions. Group discussion is an experience
where several learners come together to share their views on a particular concept. The goal of
this experience is to come up with one better understanding of a concept. It also enables tutees to
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think out loud and share their views about certain concepts. The instructor will put the students
in groups of five. Each group will have its objectives and will be compelled to choose its leader.
The instructor would allocate five objectives about the human anatomy, and the students will
research these groups (Mesquita, 2015).
The indirect strategy encourages the use of task cards. Through group discussions,
students will be able to solve the challenges assigned to them on the task card. The concept of
Think-Pair-Share Strategy is encouraged by the use of indirect instruction strategy. The learners
would share ideas, views, and concepts among themselves with minimum supervision from the
tutor. This will equip students with skills to solve problems in absences of the tutor. Indirect
instruction is a method of teaching that enables students to develop a significant understanding of
several concepts hence satisfying their needs (Mesquita, 2015). Learners would use this strategy
with instructor’s supervision to learn effectively about the subject matter of the content to be
covered.
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References
Ayres, J., (2014). Lesson Planning: Outcomes & Responsibilities in Planning.
