9.1MRW: Ability to support and reinforce the instruction of students in math, reading, and writing following written and oral lesson plans developed by licensed teachers.
9.2MRW: Ability to utilize effective developmental, age-appropriate, and culturally sensitive instructional strategies in math, reading, and writing that support the instruction of licensed teachers.

Introduction

Many instructional methods have been developed to respond to learning styles, classroom settings, and other student needs. As a paraprofessional, your primary instructional responsibilities are to assist the classroom teacher and to support your students’ learning. However, as you carry out this responsibility you will encounter a variety of situations. You may be asked to assist a teacher in giving instruction to an individual student, or perhaps you may even present the teacher’s lesson to a specific group of students. As you support the instructional objectives of the classroom teacher, it is important that you help your students learn in an effective way.

Students often have different skills and cognitive abilities. They have different learning styles as well. These differences can leave even the best instructors unsure about which type of instructional method is best for a student, group of students, or a learning situation. Your classroom teacher will help direct you to use an approach that is appropriate and effective. This direction will likely include materials and the instructional objectives for a lesson, as well as information on the individual needs of the student(s). Familiarity with different types of instructional methods will enable you to more easily understand what a teacher is asking of you. Knowledge of instructional methods will also enable you to carry out a teacher’s instructions with greater ease and effectiveness.

There are two basic approaches to instruction: teacher-centered and student-centered instruction. Because there are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, it is important to familiarize yourself with each method in order to understand when and why one approach may be more appropriate than another. Remember, your ability to support a teacher’s instructional efforts can be strengthened significantly through knowledge of instructional theory and practice.

In this unit, you will learn the basic theories and techniques specific to teacher-centered and student-centered instruction. In teacher-centered instruction, we will explore direct teaching, inquiry learning, and reciprocal teaching. In student-centered instruction, we will discuss assisted learning, the constructivist approach, and situated learning.

In addition to these basic instructional approaches, we will address the topic of lesson plans. Lesson plans often drive the instruction within a classroom. Therefore, it is important to understand the components of a lesson plan and its role in classroom instruction. You may be asked to refer to a specific lesson plan. This knowledge will facilitate your communication with the classroom teacher and in your work with students.

Objectives

As you read the objectives for this unit, think about and rate your current knowledge using the following scale.

1. I do not understand this.
2. I do understand this.
3. I understand this well enough to use in my work.
4. I could teach others about it and use it in my work.

Upon completion of this unit you will:

• Become familiar with different instructional methods and understand the theories behind them.
• Become familiar with the importance and components of lesson plans for instruction.

Information for this unit was gathered, in part, from the following resources:

Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T.E. (1994). Effective instruction for special education (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: PRO-ED.

Mercer, C. D., & Mercer, A. R. (1989). Teaching students with learning problems (3rd ed.). New York: Merrill.

Woolfolk, A. (2001). Educational psychology (8th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

The Para eLink is sponsored by the Minnesota Paraprofessional Consortium, in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Education, located at the Institute on Community Integration in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota.

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