Research paper: teaching practices and strategies

Research paper: teaching practices and strategies
1500words (exclusive references)

Task Outcome:

Write about one teaching practice/strategy that was used to support the learning of students with an intellectual impairment/disability (one of Education Queensland’s categories of disabilities) on your placement. You must describe the teaching practice/strategy and how it was used in the classroom. Then you must provide evidence from the academic and research literature about why this teaching practice/strategy is appropriate or not appropriate for students with an intellectual impairment/disability and their characteristics. This component (the justifications for the practice/strategy) is very important.
Outline
Introduction (tell the reader the main ideas and the order in which the ideas will be presented. Include here what your conclusion(s) will be in relation to the topic.)
Body (The second part comprises the most important part of the Assessment Task. It will be ½ of what you write. In this part you are presenting your descriptions, arguments and justifications. Use the academic and research literature to support your arguments and justifications.)
– Primary characteristics and needs — use research and academic literature (2005+)
– Teaching strategy/practice AND justifications/evidence for its use – appropriate/not appropriate (*important) / use research and academic literature (2005+)
Conclusion (The third part is the conclusion. No new information, citations or quotes should be included in these 1 or 2 paragraphs as this is a summary of the main ideas presented in this Assessment Task.)
1. What are teaching practices and strategies?

The topic should address ONE teaching practice/strategy that can be used and is consistent with addressing the primary characteristics of the intellectual disability or subtype of intellectual disability you have selected. It will be much more relevant to the Assessment Task if you focus on those characteristics that relate to learning academic content in the classroom (not other characteristics, e.g., washing hands, fine motor control). The two phrases teaching practices and teaching strategies are often used interchangeably in the literature and therefore I have referred to both. This task makes no distinction between them. They can be treated the same. You may refer to the textbook or other books and educational dictionaries or handbooks but the best is to refer to definitions used by authors in journal articles or books. If you wish to use a definition then you may use: “Teaching practices and strategies are instructional techniques or methods teachers use in the classroom to foster student academic learning” (van Kraayenoord, 2014). Reference for the above quote: van Kraayenoord, C.E. (2014, May 13). Re: Teaching practices and strategies [Online Discussion Board comment]. Retrieved from: https://learn.uq.edu.au/ But you might instead go directly to define and/or describe the practices/strategy itself, using the academic literature. In fact Dr CvK would recommend this. Remember throughout the research paper, the focus is on “teaching” – what the practice/strategy the teacher uses when providing instruction in order for students to learn in a classroom. It is about what the teacher does, how the teacher does something, and how the teacher teaches the use of X to get an academic learning outcome. The lecture slides of Lecture 5 “Inclusive Practices” and the textbook chapter can be good resources for a starting point. In the Lecture 5 “Inclusive Practices”, I have explained the distinctions among teaching models, approaches and strategies. Please also see the figure below. In Assessment Task 3 you should focus on a teaching practice/strategy. A teaching approach (e.g., cooperative learning) usually consists of many teaching strategies. In fact teachers use a range of teaching strategies (e.g., reciprocal teaching is one) to develop or implement the teaching approach (e.g., cooperative learning).
2. These are NOT examples of teaching strategies and practices Please note below these are NOT teaching strategies and practices and should not be used in Assessment Task
 Education Adjustment Program/Profile (EAP), Individual Learning Plans (ILP) or Individual Education Plans (IEP) – EAP is a verification process, whereas ILP or IEP is a support plan. See detail in Lecture 3.  A set of principles for inclusive practices – e.g., UDL, Differentiated Instruction or Curriculum Differentiation  A teaching model – e.g., Response to Instruction/Intervention (RTI), A Whole Approach to Support Student Learning (as used by Education Queensland)
3. These also are NOT examples of teaching strategies and practices Please note below. These are NOT teaching strategies and practices. They should NOT be used in Assessment Task 3  “working closely with the child’s parents, teacher aides and/or specialist support staff” is NOT a teaching strategy – because it is not about what a teacher does in the classroom AND is not an instructional technique that leads to an academic learning outcome.  “providing a visual aid, an image or using a technology” is not a teaching strategy, but a teaching tool. Read again the definition above or in other sources. A teaching strategy/practice means that something pedagogical is going on. So the question would be “what teaching strategy is being used with the visual aid or that technology?” That’s what you would write about (The teacher’s pedagogical action and role using this teaching tool).  “using Inspiration (software)” This is about what the learner is doing/using – it is NOT about the teacher, so this is not a teaching strategy.  “specific seating arrangement” – this is about a classroom accommodation. This is NOT an instructional technique that leads to an academic learning outcome.

4. How many Teaching Practices or Strategies

ONE

5. You may refer to a subtype of intellectual impairment/disability (please also refer to Handout A, Section 5)
 May choose a subtype of intellectual impairment/disability such as Down syndrome.  If you choose a subtype then:  In the Introduction clearly state this is the focus of the Written Task  Your arguments and justifications (use of evidence) should be tied closely to this focus throughout the paper.  You should refer to research and academic literature about this subtype throughout the paper, rather than to general intellectual impairment/disability. 4

6. Set up some parametres
 Mention the age range/developmental period and content area for this task (this will probably be based on what you saw in your Placement)  State these in the Introduction of the Written Task/Research Paper  Some of you will probably use the information about age/developmental period and the content area as part of your argumentation in the Task

7. Use inclusive language Throughout this course, we have tried to be consistent with non-discriminatory practice and be aligned with UQ’s policy.
Make sure you use “Person-first language”. That is, the “student/child” comes first, before the “disability”. Please read the Assessment Guide re Person-first language. Note this is part of the Communication criteria. You should also use this in communications and future teaching.