Christine Gatlin ELED 300-510

Module 3 Writing Competency 7 explains that teachers need to understand and apply principles and strategies for communicating effectively in varied teaching and learning contexts. Both children and adults prefer to talk than to listen, in fact it is a natural human tendency and plays a vital role in our everyday lives. It is key for teachers to provide welcoming opportunities that are appropriate for all students to be involved in the lesson. Social interaction encourages learning by inspiring students to re-evaluate their own views of the world and open their eyes to new experiences. While competency 9 discusses the need for teachers to incorporate the effective use of technology to plan, organize, deliver, and evaluate instruction for all students. Technology and communication are both necessary tools teachers must include in their classroom. In our textbook, it describes a number of effective strategies and tools teachers can use to increase communication and incorporate technology into their classroom. For instance, chapter 7 describes an effective strategy that teachers can use in the classroom called group work. It is used for promoting and sustaining high levels of student involvement by engaging students in activities where they work together to complete a task. It also promotes higher-order thinking and develops social skills. Cooperative learning is effective tool to use during group work because it describes a set of instructional strategies that have specific structures intended to teach content and develop interpersonal skills. Another way to increase communication during cooperative learning is through technology, such as using e-mail and other Internet sources, which provides opportunities for students to talk and work with students from all around the world. Technology can also be used as an information source and provides students with a quick and easy way to effectively access, gather, and share data. In chapter 8, it also discusses a beneficial tool teachers can use with their students, which is known

Christine Gatlin ELED 300-510

as direct instruction. This is a teaching strategy in which the teacher distributes clear knowledge and skills and strategically guides the learning process. Much of the success of direct instruction results from the verbal interaction between teachers and students. One way teachers can take advantage of this interaction with their students is by using scaffolding, which involves the instructional support teachers provide as students learn new content. To be effective, direct instruction needs to include opportunities to practice the skills students are learning. Technology is an excellent way to do this because it provides extended practice and sufficient opportunities for students to develop necessary skills. Chapter 9 explains how effective lecture discussions can be beneficial because they combine the flexibility of interactive teaching and use social interaction to actively involve students as they learn organized bodies of knowledge. During lecture discussions, teachers often use organizational aids in their classrooms, such as writing outlines and drawing diagrams on the overhead or whiteboard. Technology provides teachers with more flexible and adaptive ways to do this. For example, a PowerPoint outline of a lecture discussion can be very helpful because it is prepared in advance, which saves crucial class time and makes it easier during the lesson. While chapter 10 examines guided discovery, which is a learner-centered approach that actively involves students in developing understanding. It is vital for teachers to help their students understand conduction by providing them with differentiated instruction, demonstrations, and appropriate questions. Technology, such as databases, can play a valuable role in guided discovery lessons because they are great to use when teaching topics that are hard to illustrate otherwise. Lastly, chapter 11 discusses a strategy called problem-based instruction. It is an assortment of teaching strategies, which include project-based instruction, problem solving,

Christine Gatlin ELED 300-510

inquiry, and the teaching of critical thinking skills. Technology is also very helpful in teaching problem solving to your students because it is often difficult for teachers to demonstrate real-life problems in the classroom, which are often complex with several aspects and alternate solutions. Technology provides teachers with an easier way to teach students how to solve these kinds of complex, realistic problems. Clearly activities and lessons that include communication and technology are extremely effective and necessary in todays "technologically civilized" society. I use communication and technology every day, maybe hour, of my life, so of course I plan on using it every day in my classroom. I mean you would be silly not to use such amazing resources that we are lucky to have. I truly have no idea how teachers did their job without the internet!

Christine Gatlin ELED 300-510

Work Cited
Kauchak, Don & Eggen, Paul (2011). Learning & Teaching Research-Based Methods. Boston, MA: Pearson.