Reflection 4

Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 in Slavin's book Educational Psychology discusses direction instruction and student-centered instruction. The book discussed them as individual and independent strategies. However, I think there are benefits and drawbacks for both.  I think teachers should use a combination of the two teaching methods.  Maybe this is because my scholars require both strategies on a constant basis.  My scholars need to have direct instruction on what they need to learn but also need to have some individualization of the how and pacing of the material. 


Direction instruction focuses on the teacher and what the teacher does.  There should be clear expectations, objectives, and structured lessons that allow scholars to be actively engaged. Teachers should have it all planned out. Scholars should be completing tasks that ensure they are actively learning. Direct instruction uses scaffolding to help the scholars become independent in the learning process. Lessons are goal-oriented and decided by the teacher.  Drawbacks of direct instructions can include planning that can be overwhelming to the teacher.  Scholars may find the content uninteresting and unengaging.  The scholars may also stop at the information given; meaning they don't dig deeper or try to learn more.  Teacher-led instruction doesn't take into account individual needs or expectations so the lesson may not be obtainable for the scholar.  


Student-led instruction focuses on providing lessons that are designed to be right beyond what they can do and what they are trying to learn.  There is a level of building and constructing knowledge based on individual needs. Hands-on learning and collaborative learning help the scholars develop a deeper understanding of the content.  Scholars are working on developing the information themselves instead of being given all of the information. The drawbacks of student-led instruction can be inconsistent teaching of content.  Some topics you may go super in-depth with and other topics you might barely cover.  This impacts the topics but also the amount of rigor and speed of presentation on a given topic.  Some scholars may need executive functioning skills to help with self-advocacy and time management.  


In my classroom, I use a mixture of direct instruction and student-led instruction.  I often have a detailed lesson plan but modify it based on the scholars and their needs. I often have a detailed lesson plan but modify it based on the scholars.  I use a lot of scaffolding and accommodations for my scholars.  This means that I need to be aware of how they are doing with the concept and it isn’t just a one-size-fits-all process.  I have to be intentional and allow the scholars' work to dictate what is done. There are times when I expose scholars to grade-level content but then have to adjust to fill in background skills. 


Ultimately by learning more about these topics I have become more confident in my use of both methods.  Using both has benefits that will help my scholars be successful in the way they need.  I can develop the best combination of instruction to help my scholars. 



No AI was used in this response


Slavin, R. E. (2020). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (13th ed.).  Pearson Education.

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