Bridging the Instructional Gap: Must-Know Pedagogy for Non Traditional Teachers

The education field contains more non traditional teachers now more than ever. This has occurred for a variety of reasons like low pay, unreasonable workload, lack of support etc. These issues have then lead to nationwide teacher shortages causing schools to hire individuals without a college degree in education as well as a lack of teaching certificate. These non-traditional teachers are referred to as alternative route to certification staff members, meaning they have to attend training to earn their teaching license while simultaneously teaching in a classroom. Not having qualified staff in a classroom means there is an instructional gap where the adult sin the room lack the pedagogy to be highly effective.

This can be quite concerning if non-traditional teachers do not learn and implement that learning quickly and correctly. However, if an adult is passionate about learning new skills, attending their alternate route certification classes as prescribed, applying new skills in their daily teaching, then they can develop competency with limited negative impact on students’ academic achievement.

This post will cover four core instructional strategies every new teacher needs, even without formal education training.

A. I Do, We Do, You Do Model

This model describes the flow of a lesson from start to finish. Teachers begin by introducing the new skill or concept to students. This portion utilizing modeling and is all teacher directed which is why it is referred to as “I Do.” Explicit modeling helps students understand expectations, following sequential steps, and seeing the big picture. After 10 minutes or so, teachers transition to doing the skill with students in a supported practice referred to as “we do” since they are doing it together. Guided practice prevents student frustrations and off-task behavior as the teacher leaders the students through the process in a slow, steady pace. After multiple rounds of group practice, it is time for students to complete the skill on their own- “you do.” Following this lesson flow allows students to learn new information, make sense of it, store it in short-term and long-term memory in order to apply it in future tasks. The official description of this instructional flow is called “gradual release” since the process of passing the learning ownership to students is gradual throughout the lesson.

B. Check for Understanding

Creating multiple stopping points in a lesson to check the level of student understanding of the topic being taught is essential. If teachers can catch misunderstanding early, they can be corrected and more students will be successful mastering the skill by the end of the lesson. Check for understanding can be quick (ie. 5-7 min) to informally assess student comprehension like:

• thumbs up/thumbs down for true or false questions
• stop and jot to explain a concept in their own words
• turn and talk to chat with a peer exchanging main points, opinions, and real-life connections
• mini whiteboards where students write down their answers to rapid fire questions
• color cards indicating level of understanding (red is confused, yellow is still have questions and green is full understanding)

Based on percentage of students accurately responding to checks for understanding determines how quickly the teacher moves on in the lesson. For example, if the majority of students understand the “I do,” then the teacher can transition to the “we do” portion of the lesson while working 1:1 or in a small group with students who need more modeling before moving into practice. This helps teachers adjust pace in real time based on the quality and depth of student answers.

C. Scaffolded Learning

Teachers should break down tasks into smaller portions adding in support as needed. Ways to do this include providing sentence starters, anchor charts or visuals, graphic organizers, examples of thinking and doing, etc. As students gain proficiency with a skill, teachers can remove supports gradually until they are no longer needed. This means teachers are responsible to the data they are collecting about the level to which students understand a concept. They can do that through checks for understanding, observations, student work, etc.

Teachers should be careful to not fall into these common pitfalls when scaffolding learning for students:

• Doing the work for students – The goal of teaching is to ensure students are able to learn the material and demonstrate mastery of those concepts. If teachers continuously model for students, then they will never reach mastery on their own.

• Slowing instruction for everyone- Not every student needs a scaffold. Watching students closely as they learn will provide insight into who needs scaffold and what type would best suit them.

• Permanent supports that never fade- If students constantly need assistance and never become independent then the supports are not successful. Using them for a short period of time and providing feedback to the student to make adjustments will increase understanding in time. Permanent supports are not the answer.

D. Clear Directions and Expectations

Strong directions and clear expectations make instruction run smoothly. Pedagogy is rooted in clarity. When teachers are clear on what to do and how to do it, it reduces misunderstandings and misbehaviors. The scaffolding just discussed will ensure teachers structure lessons so that students are doing the cognitive heavy lifting resulting in mastered learning stored in long-term memory for future use. As a result, students are on task engaging in multiple rounds of practice gaining proficiency much more quickly. 

Teachers should plan their directions in their lesson plan, post them in the classroom, share them with students, and hold students accountable for following the directions. When students know what is expected of them, they can be successful. When teachers are consistent in establishing expectations and holding students to high standards of learning, students have a greater chance at reaching mastery.

Additional Resources

The following resources will help non-traditional teachers grow in capacity quickly.

• Book
  • Always A Lesson: Teacher Essentials to Classroom and Career Success
  • EDUC 101: What They Didn’t Teach you in College
• Blog Posts
  • Lesson Design
    • 5 Myths of Lesson Design 
    • 5 Ways to Improve the Lesson Design Process
  • Classroom Management
    • 5 Myths of Classroom Management
    • 5 Ways to Reinvent you Classroom Management System
    • 3 Ways to Improve your Classroom Management Practices in the Classroom
    • Classroom Management: Moving Beyond Compliance
    • Classroom Management: How to Plan & Prepare a System
    • Crack the Classroom Management Code

• • Student Engagement
    • 5 Myths of Student Engagement
    • 4 Ways to Improve Student Engagement
    • 3 Tips to Maximize Student Engagement
  • Student Choice and Ownership
    • 5 Myths of Student Choice and Ownership 
    • 5 Benefits of Increasing Student Choice and Ownership 
    • 5 Myths of Student Choice and Ownership
• Podcast Episodes
  • 356: Beyond the Lesson Plan and How to Get Students to Care
  • 127: Classroom Management like PB & J
  • 47: Nuts and Bolts of Effective Classroom Management
  • 137: Quality Engagement is a Dance
  • 314: Incorporating Student Voice

GO BE GREAT!