Activity-based Instruction: Why and How

Step 2: Reflect on this research and your practice

1. Take this multiple-choice quiz [PDF] in five minutes, and then check your answers [PDF].

   Reflect on this experience:
   
   • How did you feel about taking a “pop” quiz?
   • Do you think that the quiz was an effective review of what you learned from the readings?
   • What suggestions might you have for more effectively processing the information in the articles?
   • Traditional GED instruction has been similar to this instructional method—reading passages and completing multiple-choice questions. Based on your experience in this seminar with the quiz, what might this mean for GED instructional practices?




2. Now read this article for more ideas on processing information.

   “A Mingling of Minds: Collaboration and Modeling as Transformational Teaching Techniques.” Carol Eades, Focus on Basics, Volume 5, Issue B, October 2001.

   Summary:
   In this article, the author outlines the differences between informational and transformational teaching and describes how she teaches for transformation in a GED class by modeling and encouraging collaborative problem-solving. Eades argues that this approach, which develops social cooperation and individual and group responsibility for learning, shifts learners’ perspectives about knowledge.

   Read the entire article. (Opens new browser window. Close it to return.)
   • Use a webbing activity [PDF] in response to the phrase “activity-based instruction.”
   
   
3. Think about how the role of the teacher differs from the first activity where the student reads material and answers multiple choice questions and the use of collaborative learning.

Go to Step 3