Application 02: Mastery Model Lesson Planning:

                        Graduated Difficulty Strategy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Submitted by Rochelle Henely

 

EDUC 6630: Instructional Models and Strategies

 

May 12, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are many different strategies of teaching that lead to the success of the learner in the classroom. What is also of great importance in education is enabling students to be successful outside of the classroom. How better can we educate our students than to teach them to assess their own abilities and make responsible choices (Silver, H. F., Hanson, J. R., Strong, R. W., & Schwartz, P. B, 2003). These are both the philosophies of the Graduated Difficulty Strategy of teaching.

The Graduated Difficult Strategy (GDS) is a method of teaching to aide the students in the practice of concepts previously learned. The difficulty of providing practice material is to find the suitable level of practice for each child. In the typical classroom there are many levels of ability. The goal of GDS is to allow the students to practice at the proper level of difficulty and strive to reach higher goals. The students need to practice at a level that is appropriate for them and have the decision-making skills to choose higher practice to develop higher skills (Canter & Associates, 1996).

The skill of factoring polynomials is essential in higher level math applications. This is a skill often put aside due to the difficulty of mastery and relevance at the Middle school level. As a result, the students entering Algebra Two do not have the appropriate skills for success in the application of simplifying polynomials. In this particular lesson, the students should be able to factor polynomials and identify special products. Having these skills are essential in the success of mastering simplifying polynomials. The end goal of the GDS lesson is to have students achieve at the highest level possible for each individual. The students will master concepts at different levels . Not all will achieve the highest level of accomplishment, but all will learn to the best of their ability.

As demonstrated in the video (Canter & Associates, 1996), the students will be given the choice of completing worksheets with different levels of difficulty. The worksheets will be color coded to assist in differentiating the levels of difficulty. The students will be given time to assess the worksheets and decide which is best for them. At the first level of difficulty the students will be asked to match products of monomials and binomials to the answers. If they recognize this as an easy task or are successful at the completion of the problems, the students may choose to complete a more difficult worksheet. At the next level the students will be asked to factor polynomials involving greatest common factor and polynomials involving simple trial and error techniques. As the students succeed, they will hopefully continue to the higher levels of factoring involving more difficult trial and error problems and recognizing special products. The students will have the choice to adjust their decisions at any time during this GDS lesson. The students will be responsible for assessing their understanding of the concepts as they check the answer sheets posted around the room. A lesson such as this will give the students pride and ownership for their learning.

The role of the teacher in the GDS is as a guide on the side. For the success of this strategy the students must know that they are not being critiqued by the teacher. The teacher wants the students to learn to take responsibility for their learning (Silver, H. F., Hanson, J. R., Strong, R. W., & Schwartz, P. B, 2003), As the students attempt various levels of difficulty, the teacher will circulate and encourage students in their work habits, choices, and accomplishments. More importantly, the students must feel comfortable in realizing that they may need to choose a lower level worksheet prior to moving forward in the review. This “comfort” will be established by the teacher and is essential in the success of this strategy..

There are various methods for the students to self evaluate their success of a goal. The most obvious will be to sporadically check answers posted around the room. The students will have to learn to check answers for understanding, not to just copy for completion. This alone is a difficult job for a young student. Another form of self monitoring will be to collaborate with classmates for clarification and understanding of a task. The second method will reinforce skills needed for success throughout life. Seeking help and assisting others in a common goal is a common task in the workplace.     Both of these forms of evaluation during the GDS reinforce the students ability to self-evaluate themselves. With the answers available to the students, the process, not the answer, will be more important to the learner. Creating a self-motivated learner is the highest goal of any educator.

Ultimately, the process of learning is in the hands of the learner. A teacher may present the most dynamic, engaging lesson possible, but if a student does not choose to engage in the learning, success is not an option. Why the GDS is an appropriate method of practice is that the students decide to better their understanding of a concept. If a student is comfortable with the level of learning achieved, than that should be acceptable to both the teacher and the student. Again, not all students will perform to the same level of learning, but if the student has mastered a concept to their best ability, than the goal of both the teacher and the student is accomplished. In the GDS the students will know their level of accomplishment. If so desired they may choose to move forward. This desire to achieve at a higher level is not easily instilled in the classroom. With careful planning and teaching, the teacher will hopefully create a classroom full of highly motivated students with the desire to achieve higher levels of learning.

References

Canter & Associates (Executive Producer). (1996). Building your repertoire of teaching strategies, Program three: New American lecture strategy[Videotape]. Los Angeles: Canter & Associates.

 

Silver, H. F., Hanson, J. R., Strong, R. W., & Schwartz, P. B. (2003). Teaching styles & strategies. Trenton, NJ: The Thoughtful Education Press.

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