Instructional Decision Making

Being a student focused educator means focusing on the students. To do this effectively,
one must always be flexible in their response to student learning. What this means is, sometimes,
instruction will need to be modified. This might be mid lesson, or a change in plans for the next
class entirely, but it must happen. During this work sample, there were two distinct times when
instruction needed to be modified. The first was during Lesson #2, “Workshop &
Pre-Assessment Review” and the second was during Lesson #4, “Formal Style Review”.
During Lesson #2, it was clear that modifications needed to be made for student learning.
During lesson #2, it became apparent that not all students would be able to accurately finish their
“Selfie Organizers”. These are graphic organizers that allow students to demonstrate their
understanding of central idea and supporting evidence, or main ideas. The name comes from the
title of the organizer, “Central Idea Organizer” and the title of the article: “This is Why Your
Nose May Look Bigger in a Selfie”. During this lesson, time had been allotted for an explanation
of a corrections guide and an explanation of the pre-assessment that they had just taken. During
this lesson, the explanation and student participation for the pre-assessment “walk-through” took
much longer than anticipated. This was due to student engagement and their ability and
willingness to ask thoughtful, relevant questions throughout the “walk-through”. This meant
though, that they had less time than anticipated to finish their “Selfie Organizers”. The
instructional decision was made to continue with the “walk-through” and push their “Seflie
Organizers” back a few minutes. This also meant that students needed extra time during the next
class. This decision was not made lightly, and it was made with the best interest of the students
in mind. Their response to the pre-assessment made it clear they were eager and willing to
discuss the material, which is something that should never be taken for granted. The students’
willingness to engage with this material helped immensely when the notes for Formal Style were
introduced, as they had already begun to engage with the material in a no pressure
conversation-type situation.
Modifying instruction during this lesson plan meant that students had more time to
process and think through their pre-assessment. It also meant that they were able to transition
more easily from one activity to the next: they weren’t left feeling like their questions were not
important or that their misunderstanding was wrong. By doing this, student learning was greatly
increased around their beginning understanding of Formal Style, and they were able to ask their
“burning” questions. The next steps after modifying instructions for this lesson were to make
adjustments in future lesson plans, and reflect on why this “walk-through” took longer than
anticipated. It also provided valuable feedback on how planning could be improved so that future
lesson plans could be more accurately planned.
The second time that instruction was modified was during Lesson #4: “Formal Style
Review”. This lesson was planned to have four distinct parts: time for the agenda, a “Formal vs
Informal” writing style worksheet, a PB&J Instructions Sheet (PB&J Passage) that students
were directed to correct from informal to formal style, corrections on the PB&J Passage, and
time for workshop. While this class began on schedule, it became increasingly clear that
instructional changes needed to occur during the PB&J Passage time. Originally, 20-25 minutes
had been alloted for this activity, including time for corrections. Students began the activity at
the established time, 20 minutes in, but it became clear after about 15 minutes, that students
would not finish in the allotted time. After conferencing with Ms. Viscardi quickly, the decision
to extend work time on the PB&J Passage, to push corrections to the next class designated for
Formal Style (Friday’s were, at this time, Book Talk Fridays). Workshop became the next step
for students who finished their PB&J Passage, which many did during this class time. Students
were working diligently and taking their time to carefully correct the passage. This helped to
make the decision that students just needed more time than expected.
This instructional decision meant that students were able to continue to work hard and
grapple with the concept of working backwards on formal style. It also allowed them to work
and ask questions during class, rather than asking them to complete it for homework. It also
meant that instruction for the next class needed to be modified to accommodate student work
time. This means though, students were able to take the time to develop skills to work towards
mastery at their own pace (throughout the class), as well as ensure that all students had the
chance to finish their work, without the consequences of homework.
Modifying instruction can, and should be done for many reasons, but when done
correctly, can prove to be momentous to student learning. Student focused learning is not just in
the planning, but in the delivery of instruction. Flexibility is just that, flexible, and instruction
should fall into that category.