Strategies Module

In 1997, Wright, Horn and Sanders analyzed achievement scores from five subject areas (math, reading,
language arts, social studies and science) for about 60,000 students across grades 3-5. The results of this
study indicate that:
The most important factor affecting student learning is the teacher. In addition, the results showed wide
variations in effectiveness among teachers. The immediate and clear implication of this finding is that
seemingly more can be done to improve education by improving the effectiveness of teachers than by any
other single factor. Effective teachers appear to be effective with students of all achievement levels
regardless of heterogeneity in their classes. If the teacher is ineffective, students under that teacher’s
tutelage will achieve inadequate progress academically, regardless of how similar or different they are
regarding their academic achievement (Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997, p. 63).
This means that you can have an incredible impact on students in your classes. So, we'll use the next 6 or
so weeks to find, discuss, and use a systematic research process to evaluate a range of strategies that
teachers can use, differentiating instruction within the classroom, and being reflective about our
relationships with families and the community.
On the next page, I've outlined how some of what you have been doing and what we plan to do relates to
the Alabama Quality Teaching Standards. More specifically, I think it's always good to keep in mind how
Alabama has constructed a "continuum" of professional development (Links to an external site.) (click to link
to the continuum) to guide teacher's work throughout their careers. Have a look at this continuum, read
through the pdf on the next page, and then we'll start with the activities for the next few weeks.
Activities on the DB (more on next pages in the module):
Create and post outline of topic to Strategies DB
Collect appropriate articles for paper related to strategy[s] / recommended practices
Provide “substantive” reflective feedback to your group … focus on APA, how references are used, … BUT
for the highest scores on the assignment, provide additional articles (short para describing article plus
reference). etc.