Instruction – the interaction that takes place between students, teachers, and content – isthe foundation in which learning occurs. Effective literacy instruction considers the instructionalstrategies and foundational teaching components utilized by effective and highly effectiveteachers during literacy in classrooms of high academic growth. The purpose of this mixedmethods study was to (1) determine which instructional strategies and foundational componentswere found to be the most prevalent in classrooms of teachers with high student achievementgrowth, and (2) learn how highly effective and effective teachers describe effective instruction inliteracy.In order to better understand the use of instructional strategies and foundationalcomponents, twenty-one elementary teachers from the Hessville School District were selected tobe part of this study. These teachers were chosen due to the high achievement growthdemonstrated by their students using DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early LiteracySkills) data over a period of two years or more. Through the analysis of teacher interviews andclassroom observation, several compelling findings emerged. The mid-career teachers (7 – 11 years of experience) provided instruction at a higher quality than veteran or new teachers.However, the newest teachers (0 – 6 years) demonstrated the highest instructional quality forclassroom management – a foundational component that is stressed by instructional coaches andin beginning teacher professional development. Classroom management and student engagementare foundational teaching components which were evaluated during all classroom observations.Additionally, these components were also rated in the top 4 for instructional quality. The mostveteran teachers (18 – 37 years) utilized more instructional strategies on a more frequent basisthan less experienced teachers. Teachers rated as effective demonstrated higher scores ofinstructional quality than those teachers rated highly effective on the Hessville School Districtteacher evaluation tool which evaluates teachers on the domains of instruction, professionalresponsibilities, classroom environment, and planning and preparing for learning. This studysupports the use of various instructional strategies with teachers of varying experience indifferent settings.
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