Connor and her colleagues also found that different students benefited from different amounts of teacher-managed (TM) instruction (i.e., instruction structured and driven by the teacher, such that the teacher is continuously present with students) and child- managed (CM) instruction (i.e., instruction during which students engage in group or independent work that is not directly guided by an adult; the teacher may occasionally check in and monitor work from afar, but they are not continuously present with students). While the magnitude varied by grade and time in the school year, Connor found that, in general, students with more knowledge or skill in a particular area benefit from more child-managed instruction, while students with less knowledge or skill in an area benefit from more teacher-managed instruction (Connor, 2011; Connor et al., 2011b). By observing and recording instruction in classrooms across diverse schools and districts, Dr. Connor generated a few important conclusions about small-group differentiated literacy instruction: 1. Different students benefit from more or less time receiving code-focused and meaning-focused instruction (Connor et al., 2007). Small-group instructional planning should focus on each group’s needs; some groups may need more instructional time than others, and instruction should not look the same for all groups. 2. It is possible for students who have at-grade-level or above-grade-level word reading skills to get too much code-focused instruction. In fact, “children with stronger skills generally show weaker reading gains the more time they spend in teacher-managed, code-focused activities” (Connor, 2011a), and more instruction in general does not consistently predict better student outcomes (Connor et al., 2011a; Connor et al., 2009b). These findings illustrate the value of using small groups to regulate not just the lesson content students receive, but also the time they spend on a particular topic. If students have already mastered a phonics skill or have not reached a level of skill or knowledge that will allow them to access the material, the precious time dedicated to this mismatched code-focused instruction will be underutilized. Unlike code-focused instruction, teacher-managed instruction on vocabulary, comprehension, language, or reading for understanding typically benefits all students and thus may be a better use of whole-class time (Connor et al., 2004).
ALIGNING PRACTICE WITH RESEARCH TOPIC PAPER 6
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs