Standard 8: Instructional Strategies

The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage

learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and
to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.

Reflection:
An important aspect to this standard is that the teacher uses applicable strategies
and resources to adjust instruction to the needs of individuals and groups of
learners. Furthermore, the teacher provides multiple models and representations of
concepts and skills with opportunities for learners to demonstrate their knowledge
through a variety of products and performances. These are two key components to
this standard because they help students build skills to apply their knowledge in a
meaningful way.
I have met this standard in The Odyssey unit. After reading the epic, the students
were transitioned into watching the movie Big Fish. This movie has many parallels
to the epic and stars a protagonist that resembles many of Odysseus qualities. The
students received a movie packet that asked them to identify similarities between
the main character in the movie, Edward Bloom, and Odysseus. There is a list of
twelve epic hero traits and they have to identify how the main character resembles
these traits in addition to how Odysseus does. I saw a direct relationship with this
assignment to InTASC Standard 8, Instructional Strategies.
There are many reasons why I had the students watch this film. The first
objective was to reinforce the idea of what an epic hero is. The students had to
follow along in order to distinguish the twelve epic hero traits of Edward Bloom.
They had to identify these qualities because it helped them understand the concept
better. Furthermore, by providing the students with a movie character that would be
considered a modern day epic hero, the students were able to see the significance
of epic heroes in todays culture. Additionally, the assignment required the students
to think more critically about The Odyssey because they had to make a comparison
to the somewhat bizarre but great film in relation to the text. Finally, the film
demonstrates the significance of a text written two thousand years ago. Without
The Odyssey, epic heroes such as Edward Bloom would not be inspired.
All of the objectives align with InTASC Standard 8. The students were
encouraged to understand The Odyssey on a deeper level and identify its relevance
in todays society and culture. In doing so, they drew connections and applied their
knowledge of The Odyssey in a meaningful way. I learned that very strategized and
intentional instructional strategies will help in students engagement, participation,
and learning. I saw all of these three results when showing the film. Their ability to
articulate the epic hero traits of Odysseus were strengthened because of the
strategy that I used. They also enjoyed watching the film trying to identify the
similarities to the text. I saw a successful strategy engage students in higher
learning and am prepared to create and model similar assignments such as this one

in the future. As for my students, they have met the objectives set out for watching
the movie.
The artifact aligns with this standard as it is a students comparison between the
two characters. The student demonstrated deeper understanding on the epic hero
traits by identifying them across two different contents. This exemplifies the
building of knowledge and integrating deeper meaning on the subject.

Artifact: