Working with Instructional Patterns

In week three, I introduced four levels that can be used to evaluate and improve a lesson.  While new faculty may be better advised to attend to level 1 — discovering how to met the learning needs of a lessons — the more experienced teachers in the CTA may be better focused on level 2: the adaptation of pattern designs that are most like the instructional approach that they currently use.  The task is to find appropriate patterns and adapt them to the educational setting.

There are two basic sources for instructional patterns: 1) social patterns and 2) pedagogical patterns.  Social patterns are a bit more vague (and certainly more culturally sensitive).  There is, for example, the social pattern for entering a conversation well.  The study of children's play provides a nice example.  In case A, a child playing in the sand box is joined by another.  The second child asks what game is being played and immediately attempts to change it or propose an alternative.  The result is a whining or fighting.  In case B, the second child finds out what game is being played, joins it and plays within the rules before attempting any modifications.  In this case, the playmates become more friendly.  The difference, to a social scientist, is that the social pattern used in case B better met the needs of all parties.

In a similar way, teachers can act like the child in case A by inadvertently following patterns that don't meet the social needs of the others.  Likewise, they can really help a class connect to the lesson by addressing the right social pattern.  A sample of the common 5-phase social pattern of the classroom was presented in last week's reading.  There are others, like the classic group formation pattern — form, storm, norm, & perform — that can also be used to plan a lesson (or a semester) so that it draws students into relationships that support their learning.

The second kind of patterns are more precise and focused.  They map out the steps that help teachers address the learning needs of a lesson.  Student must do more than hear information in order understand it.  They must cognitively process it.  Lessons that guide students through the steps of active intellectual processing will contribute to greater learning.  Thus, teachers want to make sure that they include the right intellectual activities in their lessons.

Instructional patterns provide templates that can be used to address learning needs.  Whatever a teacher's goals or style, instructional patterns can be found that are appropriate.  That is, there is not one method of teaching that, in itself, is better.  Instead, the question is whether any teaching style follows patterns that assure that cognitive learning needs are met.

There is a list of instructional patterns provided in last week's pedagogy folder.  Read through them to find the ones that are right for you.  I have also included in this folder a general list of broader patterns that frame weeks or semesters.  Next week, you will be asked to choose one of the lesson patterns and use it to design a lesson that your wish to transform.