Running Header: ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS

Assessment and Analysis

The Pennsylvania State University
WFED 495 C-2 -Workforce Education and Development 495 C-2
Mike Faryniak
December 2015

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Abstract

In order to maintain effective education we must constantly assess and analyze our
teaching. This would include methods, activities and content. In this course I was able to use
several different methods and activities with different content. In the following I would like to
assess and analyze these methods and activities to see how well they were suited to effective
learning and course content.

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Assessment and Analysis

The Pennsylvania State University

WFED 495 C-2 The teaching methods used were presented to a class of automotive students. These
students were all in their 3rd year of automotive and are all males.
Direct instruction many times fits the content that I deliver. I use direct instruction as a
way to introduce and educate the students before we go into the shop and perform hands on
tasks. The idea is to present the material to the students so they can gain an understanding about
the topic and what are focus is going to be for that topic. Because direct instruction is very
instructor based its very important to pay attention to the students to make sure they are engaged
in learning. I feel students respond well to direct instruction if presented properly again keeping
students engaged with questions and things like compare and contrast. It is very effective in
getting presenting information and learning theory. Since automotive is hands on in nature many
people feel that direct instruction is not a big part of how automotive is taught, however I feel it
is actually more important because I can teach any student to simply take a bolt out and replace a
part however getting them to understand why we are doing it is mostly theory which generally
comes from direct instruction. Some topics I limit to 20 minutes of direct instruction and other
topics that create a lot of conversation and controversy can go on for up to 45 minutes if students
are active in sharing their thoughts and experiences. One of the biggest weak points of direct
instruction is students becoming disengaged and its very simple limit you instruction time to a
length that is suitable for the content that is being taught as I mentioned above.
Simulation is another teaching method that I like to use very often. In many cases
simulation works well because the students feel like they are in a live situation that they have to

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figure out the problem. I use simulation very often in the shop setting while working on lab
tasks. A fair percentage of the lab tasks the students do are performed just like they were
working in a real shop. The students seem to stay very engaged in this setting and it always
seems to raise questions because while they are working they are seeing other things that need
attention. This shows me that they are actively paying close attention to the task and thinking of
everything possibly thing they can. During direct instruction I like to use simulation as I did on
assignment 4 where I simply put an electrical schematic on the overhead and put the students in a
scenario that would simulate a real problem. Students are always drawn to simulation I think
specifically for me because I use it as a story. For example I would say once a customer came in
with this complaint and give the students all the information and see if they can figure out what
the problem was. I find the students asking me to give them more of these situations which is
like asking to be taught more.
Brainstorming in certain situations can be effective. When I have content that requires
some thought and the answer may have several different aspects I find brainstorming works well.
If a student does not know the subject matter well I find that brainstorming is not as effective
because they cant think of anything and just give up. When a student knows the content well its
more effective to set up a scenario and allow them to brainstorm some possible causes of the
problem. Depending on the complexity of the content will determine whether students will
brainstorm on their own or as a group. Students seem to like brainstorming but because many
times it involves the students grouping up you can have a lack of focus, in part due to the fact
that the students get out of their seat and start to feel a little relaxed and not so formal. I like to
see students brainstorm on their own then join up with their group to collaborate their thoughts
this helps me assess each students understanding and also shows their effort. One down fall to

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brainstorming is students can find ways not to participate especially if they are in groups, so I
think using brainstorming with regard to content and level of expertise is essential.
As in assignment 11 I like to use scaffolding instruction to build resumes. The students
stay engaged because they are actively participating the entire time. The teacher instructs almost
like direct instruction but in this case I also model at the same time. While doing those things the
students are helping the teacher and following along as well. So effectively the students actually
complete the project by simply following along which gives them a great head start when they
use their own information. Because of the nature of my content scaffolding is limited, however
is very effective when used. Much of my content is hands on and while modeling in a shop on a
particular class scaffolding could be used I find that the students would basically have to
memorize as Im speaking to them which does not fit well.
Problem solving is a great way to keep students interested during instruction. My
students generally see this a challenge not a quiz per say. In order to assess their understanding
of a topic I will give them multiple problems and once they solve the problem I require not only
a solution but a reason or a rationalization as to how they came up with that solution. Problem
solving is similar to simulation heres the scenario tell me what the answer is and how you got
there. I like to use problem solving as a way to get their minds thinking and active. Hearing
each students answer helps gauge whether they know and understand the content or are just
guessing. If they come up with the wrong answer and hear the correct one often times they then
learn on their own where they went wrong in their thinking. Just like simulation the students
seem to like this method again I find them asking me to give them more examples to try to figure
out.

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I dont have the opportunity to co-teach much because there is no other teacher available.
I would on many occasions be able to effectively use co-teaching strategies. In my assignments I
used 2 methods one teach one drift and team teaching. I used one teach one drift in a lesson that
required the students to complete work as they were following along. Having another teacher
drifting to help the students with this complex content would be a great value to the students on
order to make sure they understand what is being shown and are able to follow along. I find
myself walking around the classroom trying to help students that do not understand and while
this is ok the students that do understand get bored and start to disengage from the lesson. Team
teaching can also be effective. I used team teaching in a lesson that builds upon itself but also is
long and complex in nature. Having teachers switch off teaching the content may help keep the
students engaged. When team teaching it helps if both teachers are of the same personality
because the students can easily be engaged with one teacher and not the other. Both teachers
also have to demonstrate that they are a team and share the same thought process and goals.
There are so many instances where co-teaching would create a better learning environment but
there will never be a budget to support it so I dont see it as an option for most schools.
Overall I enjoyed working with these different teaching strategies and methods.
Personally Im really not sure how you can be a teacher at all without incorporating these
strategies and methods every day. While completing these assignments I have found that I have
already been using many of these strategies. Also as I have been learning the strategies and what
their focus is I have noticed that I combine multiple strategies at the same time. Each lesson I
teach seems to have several different strategies in it. As I have learned about the strategies I
believe I do this because each strategies has a specific goal and because my course content is so
complex I find using different strategies helps transfer information and keep the students

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engaged at the same time. I think watching each strategy unfold and assessing the students
behavior and learning was quite interesting. I do feel that the students were able to follow each
strategy and effectively learn the content although again I feel using more than one strategy at a
time proves to create a better learning experience for the students. I use these strategies every
day and will continue to use them not sure how you could teach without them if you did Im not
sure they would call it teaching I think it would be more like speaking. Usually during speaking
students are disengaged, when you are teaching they are engaged this is the reason these
strategies and methods are essential to learning.