Why Instructional Activities?

If you’re a teacher, more than likely, you’ve been there...a professional development where you just had to “sit and get.” You leave the training with a headache and maybe even thinking about how much information was just thrown at you. I’m willing to bet, there are not a lot of people who like to learn this way...I know first graders don’t for sure!

via GIPHY

Let’s face it...gone are the days where we can only teach using the “traditional method” (Nanquil, 2019). Nanquil continues to say that we have to adjust our instruction based on the needs of our learners. We should be designing appropriate lessons that improve the knowledge of our audience. As instructional designers, we must think about the way we present our lessons. Just like Brown and Green (2020) said, we have to get away from using activities that are comfortable just because we experienced it as students. We have to think about what will be best for our target audience.

Instructional Activities

There are so many instructional activities that can be used to help our audience learn. Instructional activities are defined as “the experiences designed to help students learn. These are the interactions and events in which people participate to gain new knowledge, skill, or insight” (Brown & Green, 2020, p. 143). These instructional activities are what makes the learning fun and engaging. 

My Favorites

I would like to highlight a few of my favorite instructional activities that help foster learning in my classroom.

First, I use a lot of instructional games in my first grade classroom. I love to watch my students learn through play. I feel that instructional games are effective because when students are playing well-designed and meaningful games, they really don’t realize that they are learning. I have also seen games increase student engagement.

Brown and Green (2020) referenced Gredler’s four different instructional purposes for games.

1. To practice or refine knowledge or skills
2. To identify gaps or weaknesses in knowledge or skills
3. To review or summarize the content presented
4. To illustrate and develop new concepts among concepts and principles (p. 145)

A personal favorite that I use a lot in my classroom to practice skills and to review material is Kahoot! Kahoot! is a game-based platform that helps bring learning to life. I learned about this from a professional development I attended at my school. After learning about it, I have implemented it several times in my classroom. Students love playing Kahoot! It is user friendly and even has premade games that you can use or edit. It is super easy! If you would like to learn a little more about Kahoot!, watch the video below.

A second instructional activity I use is the Jigsaw Method. This is a cooperative learning activity where every student is placed in a group and asked to become an expert in one area of the overall learning goal. After they become the expert, they bring their knowledge back to the group. Feith (2020) describes jigsaw learning as powerful because every student is actively engaged with the material instead of just passively learning and it allows students to practice skills that they will be using throughout their life. Feith (2020) believes that jigsaw learning also holds students accountable to others since they will be having to present their new knowledge. He also continues by saying that this instructional activity is also positive for the classroom environment because every student is valued and their voices are heard.

Jigsaw is an instructional activity that can be used across all grade levels. I have seen it used in kindergarten and I use it in my first grade classroom. One way I have done a version of this is when we do our research projects. For this, I allowed my students to choose an Arctic animal and I grouped the students according to the animals they chose. Since they are first graders, I give them certain questions to answer. After they research the answers, they create a presentation to share their information with the class. In the past, we have even invited other adults from our building into the classroom to see what we’ve learned. After reading more about this method, it seems that I have not been doing it correctly. Cult of Pedagogy has a great website if you would like to learn more.

I say that this is an effective activity and can be used across all grade levels because just last night, I was a part of a jigsaw activity in my graduate class. My professor structured this part of her lesson a lot like the way I structured my animal research project. The activity I participated in was very helpful because there was so much information, but I only had to become an expert on one part. Then I was able to learn from my classmates about all of the other information. Below is a short video about the Jigsaw Method.

References

Brown, A. H., & Green, T. D. (2020). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practice (4th ed.). Routledge.

Feith, J. (Host). (2020, February 20). Jigsaw learning in physical education (No. 008) [Audio podcast episode]. The #PhysEd Show. https://thephysicaleducator.com/2020/02/20/jigsaw-learning-in-physical-education/

Giphy. Bored ap bio GIF by NBC. http://gph.is/2n9P98m

Gonzalez, J. (2015, April 15). 4 things you didn’t know about the jigsaw method. Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/jigsaw-teaching-strategy/

Kahoot! (2018, September 27). What is Kahoot!? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XzfWHdDS9Q

Let’s Teach (2020, October 13). What is the jigsaw method [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS6R0kq6PyU

Nanguil, L. (2019). Making a difference through effective instructional strategies. Journal of English Teaching, 5(2), 135-143.