Teaching learning cycle overview - Presenter Bev Derewianka

Summary

In this video, Bev Derevyanko presents a comprehensive teaching and learning cycle aimed at developing students' literacy. She emphasizes the importance of task-centered approaches, integrating various language resources and genres across the curriculum. By gradually releasing responsibility from teacher to student, the cycle incorporates stages such as topic introduction, supported reading, genre understanding, and collaborative writing. This framework enhances students' confidence in academic writing by scaffolding their learning through differentiated support, oral interaction, and formative assessments. Ultimately, the goal is to foster independent, capable learners who can effectively navigate diverse academic contexts.

Takeaways

• 📚 Understanding the starting point is crucial for effective literacy instruction, considering whether to focus on topics, ideas, spelling, or grammar.
• 🔄 Integrating literacy teaching through tasks is essential to address the language and literacy demands in various curriculum areas.
• 🗣️ Different tasks require specific language resources, highlighting the need for language skills in investigating, problem-solving, and evaluating.
• ✍️ Students must learn various genres relevant to their tasks, such as recounts, information reports, explanations, and evaluations.
• 🌍 Engaging students with rich, authentic content from diverse areas enhances their literacy development and community connection.
• 🔧 A teaching and learning cycle framework supports literacy development through structured stages: introduction, supported reading, genre understanding, and writing support.
• 🚀 The gradual release of responsibility helps students transition from reliance on the teacher to independent literacy skills through guided practices.
• 💬 Oral interaction plays a vital role in facilitating comprehension and understanding throughout the teaching and learning process.
• 📝 Formative assessment is key for tracking student progress, informing instructional adjustments, and providing timely feedback.
• 🔄 Reflective practice, through saving and reviewing drafts, allows students to track their growth and improvements in literacy skills over time.

Q & A

What is the primary challenge teachers face when teaching literacy?

The primary challenge is deciding where to start—whether to focus on a topic, spelling, grammar, or ideas. This can fragment literacy instruction, so a more integrated approach is needed.

How does the teaching and learning cycle address the fragmentation of literacy instruction?

The cycle integrates various aspects of literacy into tasks, allowing students to develop language skills within real-world contexts, avoiding the fragmentation of teaching spelling, grammar, and topic knowledge separately.

What are some of the language demands that students might need for different types of tasks?

Students might need language for investigating, problem-solving, evaluating, arguing, persuading, explaining, recounting, or debating, each requiring specific language resources and genres.

What are genres in the context of literacy teaching, and why are they important?

Genres refer to the different purposes of language use in academic contexts, like explaining, describing, or evaluating. They are important because each genre requires different language features and structures.

What role does scaffolding play in the teaching and learning cycle?

Scaffolding provides differentiated support to students, helping them complete tasks they cannot achieve independently. It enables students to gradually take responsibility for their own learning.

How does the teaching and learning cycle help students develop reading skills?

The cycle includes model reading, shared reading, guided reading, and collaborative reading, which help students develop strategies for understanding academic texts and improve their reading comprehension.

What is meant by 'gradual release of responsibility' in the teaching and learning cycle?

It refers to a process where the teacher initially takes the lead in guiding students through tasks, gradually reducing their involvement as students gain independence in their learning.

How is formative assessment used throughout the teaching and learning cycle?

Formative assessment occurs continuously, allowing teachers to observe student progress and adjust instruction as needed. It provides feedback to students, helping them refine their understanding and improve their work.

Why is oral interaction an essential part of the teaching and learning cycle?

Oral interaction is crucial because it facilitates discussions, encourages collaborative learning, and helps students think through their understanding of the content. It supports both the development of literacy and deeper learning.

How does the cycle help students become more independent writers?

Through a combination of guided, collaborative, and independent writing activities, students gradually learn how to organize their ideas, use appropriate language features, and revise their drafts, ultimately becoming independent in writing academic texts.