Methods of Science and Mathematics Teaching

PRED 356 Chapter 3:Introduction to Methods and Direct Instruction

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1.2 Direct Instruction: Lecturing and Expository Teaching

Direct Instruction refers to explicit, step-by-step instruction in which the teaching

of facts, rules, and action sequences is most efficiently is achieved. Direct
Instruction is a teacher-centered strategy in which the teachers are the major
information provider.
Main Direct Instruction models are lecturing and expository teaching.

Lecturing
Lecturing is a method for communicating theories, ideas, and facts to
students. Typically a structured presentation, a lecture should be designed to
include certain procedures in order to be effective.The basic purpose of lecturing
is the dissemination of information. Lecturing contains three main components or
parts, the Introduction, Body and Conclusion.

Introduction

 Use an introduction that will catch the listener's interest. Raise a question to be
answered by the end of the lecture. Example: "By the end of the hour, you should
be able to answer the question, 'Are essay test questions better than objective test
questions?'"
 Provide a brief overview of the lecture's content either verbally, with a handout,
or through an outline on the chalkboard. Example: "In Victorian England the
conflict between religion and science was well reflected in the literature of the
time. Today we'll look at two poems, 'In Memoriam' and 'Dover Beach,' which
illustrate this conflict."
 Tell students how you expect them to use the lecture
material. Example: "Today, I'll offer a specific model of evaluation and illustrate its
applicability in several kinds of settings. When you meet in your discussion groups
this week, you'll be asked to apply the model as you discuss the Brown vs. the
Board of Education decision."
 Define or explain unfamiliar terminology. Example: In physics, the term work has
a precise technical meaning. The work done by a force F when the object on which
it acts moves a distance [delta]s [instructor puts a diagram on the board] is defined
by [delta] W=Fs [delta]s. It is assumed that F does not change much during the
motion through the distance [delta]s. Fs denotes the component in F in the
direction of the motion and can be positive, zero, or negative. Now let's look at this
diagram and see how well you understand the definition of work.
The body of lecture
 Allow for some flexibility in the amount of content to be presented in order to
respond to student questions and comments.
 Determine the key points to be developed during the class session. When every
nuance, detail, or instance of a topic is discussed, or when too many ideas are
presented and not well developed, students often lose sight of the main idea.
 Organize material in some logical order. Suggested organizational schemes
include: Cause-Effect: Events are cited and explained by reference to their
origins. Example: One can demonstrate how the continental revolutionary
movements of the late 1700's affected British politics at the turn of the
century. Time Sequential: Lecture ideas are arranged chronologically. Rule-
Example-Rule: A rule is stated, followed by an example; then the rule is
restated. Example: A chemistry lecture may begin with the rule that atoms of
unlike charges (anions and cations) are attracted to each other. The rule would
then be illustrated using sodium (cation) and chloride (anion) which make common
salt (NaCl). The rule that cations and anions are attracted to each other would then
be repeated. Example-Example-Rule: A model or rule is preceded by appropriate
examples.
 Prepare examples to clarify and emphasize key ideas.
 Provide transitions which show the relationships between key ideas.
 Effectively incorporate audiovisual or support materials. See "Practical
Suggestions for Using Visual Instructional Aids: Chalkboard, Slides, Transparencies."
 Throughout the lecture check on student understanding by: Asking students to
answer specific questions. Example: "Okay now, who can describe in his/her own
words the theory of neuron transmission?" Checking on student understanding by
watching the class from nonverbal cues of inattention, confusion or
misunderstanding... Example: Look for puzzled expressions, loss of eye contact,
talking, clock watching, frantic notetaking, and so forth.
Conclusion
 Answer any questions raised at the beginning of the lecture.
 Provide closure for the lecture. Suggestions include:
Briefly summarize lecture material and preview what lies ahead. Example: "Today I
have identified five phases of the reflective thinking process. Tomorrow we will see
how these phases can be useful for our understanding of human learning.
Relate lecture material to past or future presentations. Example: "During the next
lesson, you will form discussion groups and get some experience applying the
evaluation model discussed in class today to the first three case studies in your file.
Ask a student to summarize the lecture's key ideas. Example: "Who can summarize
the key issues developed during today's lecture?"
 Restate what you expect the students to gain from the lecture
material. Example: "As I stated in the introduction, given the appropriate data you
should be able to plot the appropriate supply and demand curves.
 Ask for and answer student questions.
Delivery in lecturing; a speech is the way in which it is given. Nonverbal behaviors
play a significant role in effective public speaking: they can enrich or elaborate the
spoken message. There are basically two aspects to nonverbal behavior: body
language and voice.
The following four elements make up body language in delivery :
 Speaker-audience distance. The more objects and distance-psychological as well
as physical-between speaker and audience, the more formal the atmosphere. If you
desire to create a more informal atmosphere, you should reduce these barriers.
 Body movement and stance. To communicate, you must compensate for distance
by employing larger gestures and more volume. Body movement and posture can
convey messages to your audience. "
 Facial expressions. A significant portion of the emotional impact of a speaker's
message is conveyed by facial expressions. Facial expressions tell students how you
feel about them and yourself and give students cues to help them interpret the
content of the message. "
 Gestures. Purposeful movements of the head, arms, hands and shoulders
accentuate or dramatize ideas.
Voice variables allow the speaker to make a message clear and interesting. Some
of the vocal characteristics of good speaking are as follows:
 Strength. Speak loudly enough so that the audience does not have to strain to
hear.
 Enunciation. Make an effort to speak crisply, avoiding slurring or skipping parts of
words in order to limit the possibility of misunderstanding.
 Pronunciation. Meet your audience's expectations in regard to acceptable
pronunciation.
 Rate of speech. In a large lecture, with students concentrating on note taking, a
rate of 120-130 words per minute is comfortable.
 Variety. Vary the characteristics of your voice in terms of rate, pitch, stress,
pauses, volume and inflection.
 Pauses. Pauses can provide emphasis and allow students time to think and take
notes.

Expository Teaching
Expository teaching (ET) takes the form of a lecture recitation to full-class with
explanations, examples, and opportunities for practice and feedback. Its format is
a multifaceted presentation requiring not only large amounts of verbal explanation
but also teacher-student interactions involving questions, answers, review and
practice, and the correction of student errors.

Expository teaching sequence

 1.3 Expository Teaching Dimensions

It is appropriate;
 When the teacher must do partition, subdivide, and translate textbook and
workbook material into a more digestible form before it can be understood by
your students,
 When the teacher wish to arouse or heighten student interest,
 When the teacher must achieve content mastery of fundemantal facts, rules,
and action sequences that may be essential to subsequent learning.
Daily Review and Checking the Previous Day’s Work

The first ingredient in Direct Instruction, daily review and checking, emphasizes
the relationship between lessons so that students remember previous knowledge
and see new knowledge as a logical extension of content already mastered.

It also provides students with a sense of wholeness and continuity, assuring them
that was to follow was not isolated knowledge unrelated to past lessons.

Daily review and checking at the beginning of a lesson is easy to accomplish:

 Have students correct each other’s homework at the beginning of class.

 Have studens identify especially difficult homework problems in a question-
and-answer format.
 Sample the understanding of a few students who probably are good indicators of
the range of knowledge possessed by the entire class.
 Explicit review the task-relevant information that is neccasary for the day’s
lesson.
 Presenting and Structuring

The content within the lessons must be partitioned and subdivided to organize it
into small bits. The key is to focus on one idea at a time and present it so that
learners master one point before the teacher introduces the next point. For
effective presentation, the suggestions are;
 Stating lesson goal,
 Focusing on one thought,
 Giving step-by-step directions using small steps,
 Orgazing material so that one point is mastered before the next point is given,
 Having many and varied examples,
 Checking for student understanding.
Some ways of structuring content are:
 Part-Whole Relationships
 Sequential Relationships
 Combinatorial Relationships
 Comparative Relationships
Part-Whole Relationships

A part-whole organizational format introduces the topic in its most general form
and then divides the topic into easy-to-distinguish subdivisions. This creates
subdivisions that are easily digested and presents them in ways that always
relate back to the whole. For example;

Sequential Relationships

You teach the content according to the way in which the facts, rules, or
sequences to be learned occur in the real world. For example;
y=a - b + cd/e, a=10, c=-1, d=2, e=-2
1.First, let’s determine cd;
2.Now, let’s determine cd/e;
3.Now, let’s determine b + cd/e;
4.Finally, let’s determine a – b + cd/e;
Combinatorial Relationships

You bring together in a single format various elements or dimensions that influence
the use of facts, rules, and sequences. For example;

Door Bell
Automatic
Fuse
PRODUCTS Accumulator
Flora sans
Lamb
Magnetic Heat Light Chemical
THE EFFECTS OF ELECTRIC CURRENT

Comparative Relationships You place different pieces of content side by side so

that learners can compare and contrast them. For example;

Points of Comparison Real Numbers Natural Numbers

Closedness (x,+,/,-) (x,+)
Commutativity (x,+) (x,+)
Associativeness (x,+,/,-) (x,+)
Distribution (x,+,/,-) (x,+)
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