Supervision of instruction

¶ … supervision of instruction. The reference page appends three sources in APA format.

Supervision of Instruction

Education is that weapon which equips the student learning body with the right qualities essentially needed to be a success in today's cutthroat competition. It is the ultimate source of soul searching, mind healing and heart enlightening. Therefore, education has been one of the necessities throughout the human history, a fact that makes both the medium of instruction and the role of teachers and supervisors in student learning highly significant. Supervision of instruction is then the most crucial factor in determining student's comprehension and success in later years. "The supervision of instruction is by design a developmental process with the main purpose of improving the instructional program, generally and teaching, specifically. Only when this process is carefully planned and executed can success be assured" (Fischer). Hence for quality education and ameliorated student learning in classrooms at all levels, a sound approach that is expedient for student supervision by the academic mentors is the primary need.

With the help of an on-going student assessment as well as the evaluation of all teaching programs "administrators can reinforce and enhance teaching practices that will contribute to improved student learning. By skillfully analyzing performance and appropriate data, administrators can provide meaningful feedback and direction to teachers that can have a profound effect on the learning that occurs in each classroom. Because student learning is the primary function of the schools, the effective supervision of instruction is one of the most critical functions of the administrator" (Fischer). On the same account, academic counselors and supervisors have approached the instruction supervision in various useful and comprehensive ways through using different approaches. One of the most beneficial approaches towards the accomplishment of improved student learning and constant supervision is the Direct Instruction approach.

By effectively as well as adequately utilizing this approach for instruction and supervision, both administrators and teachers can assist students to well comprehend the study material. Academic counselors when first suggested this unique and easy-to-follow guide in 1990's to ensure effective teacher and student working relationship and to make assessment of instruction medium more efficient, teachers vehemently opposed the Direct Instruction approach more than ever (Fischer). These scholarly figures were upset over having to adapt to newer ways of teaching students and evaluating their performance. The DI approach was considered to be imposing and rigidly disciplined by these teachers. However, after five successful years down the lane, the direct instruction approach has proved its worth in the field of education.

Since change is seldom appreciated and welcomed in our literary realm, Direct

Instruction has been reproached for less than sound understanding among students although many researchers and scholars in the related field believe that "it might do a good job at teaching the mechanics of reading with its highly scripted instruction" (Bowler, 2001). However, conclusive evidence proves this blame put on the approach as unjustified. This is because a recent study conducted demonstrates the effective reading and learning comprehension that the teachers of the fifth- and fourth-graders in the stuffy

U.S. history classroom witnessed among their students thereby reflecting the significance of Direct Instruction method of teaching and supervision. The observation proved that the young students "had done their reading with understanding; they knew about the Lewis and Clark expedition, about slavery and even about Jefferson's gardens" (Bowler, 2001). Siegfried "Ziggy" Engelmann, the pioneer of Direct Instruction approach to learning and supervision explained the importance and efficiency of this instruction model in the following words: "...children fail to learn when instruction is unclear or poorly organized. So DI is systematic and highly structured. It's a "step-by-step procedure," says Whelchel, "so that no child can possibly fall through the cracks. You have to be a purist as far as implementing Direct Instruction" (Bowler, 2001).

Thus from the above discussion, it is evident that the Direct Instruction approach to supervision of instruction is best suited for today's highly challenging classrooms thereby assisting both teachers and the students to reap the benefits of education with fun and frolic as well as keeping creativity intact. After having proved the significance of Direct Instruction approach, let us look at what it is and how it must work in learning and an enriching environment.

Direct Instruction approach is basically a developmental and an on going as well as a step-by-step guide to better comprehension of the subject matter. It is based on a model with the following four stages:

All the steps have been taken verbatim from the research article under consideration)

I. Set: Provide Objectives, Establish Expectations and Introduce the Skill

This is the stage wherein the teacher begins his or her job of educating his or her pupil by initially introducing the topic to be taught with a thorough description and a detailed demonstration session of the skill to be inculcated. This stage has to be made most interesting as this determines the student's interest in the later stages towards the accomplishment of learning goals (Keller, 1995). This is where the students are shown how the skill under consideration is important and the related strategies. While describing and demonstrating the skill, teachers are expected to help their students relate to their learning experience to real life situations. Taking a start from the easier and simpler examples and gradually moving up to the harder ones can do this. These sessions can be made more interactive, technologically advanced and quick for the students by giving them instructions with the help of visual aids and overhead transparencies. Evoking student participation by praising them and letting them actively partake the classroom activities all constitutes this stage. (Keller, 1995)

II. Guided Practice with Feedback