Jamil Brown of Colorado Springs has a background in supporting the future conflict and innovation education initiatives at the US Air Force Academy Institute. His role as an Instructor and Fellow at the Air Force Academy involved leading efforts to meet the institution’s crucial goals. Now, in his current position, Major Jamil Brown remains at the forefront, orchestrating education, training, and research opportunities. In the following article, Major Jamil Brown, US Space Command delves into effective strategies for effective teaching and mentorship for students of all ages.
People often remember teachers who supportively pushed them to do things they previously deemed impossible. While some individuals look back on their time at school with anything but fondness, most recall pockets of positivity, often starring their favorite educator. This impact is dubbed the “teacher effect.”
Repeated research has shown that high-quality teachers can measurably enhance students’ learning by two to three grade levels in just 12 months. But beyond academic improvements, educators employing effective strategies have a profound effect on student’s social and emotional development, ensuring they obtain the best possible outcomes in all areas of life.
Jamil Brown of Colorado Springs says that with the evident necessity of superior teachers at the forefront of experts’ minds, they detail a few of the most effective educating and mentoring strategies professionals can use to increase the likelihood of all students achieving their full potential.
Jamil Brown of Colorado Springs Discusses Cooperative Learning
The rapid uptick of virtual learning environments throughout the coronavirus pandemic led teachers to understand one of the most crucial elements of the learning process — cooperation (otherwise dubbed cooperative learning).
Involving tasks as complex as writing a narrative to as simple as answering a multiple-choice quiz, cooperative learning involves small pupil groups working together to complete an activity.
Experts note that cooperation allows students of different abilities come together to help each other achieve their individual potential. Major Jamil Brown explains that it’s a fantastic teamwork nurturer, ensuring children understand what it means to shoulder joint responsibilities to successfully finish a task. Not to mention that it encourages classmates to support one another and do whatever necessary to make it work.
Student-Centered Inquiry
Inquiry-based learning appeals to students’ innate curiosity and focuses on their role in the overarching learning process. Teachers who incorporate this into their classrooms let pupils seek and ask questions that interest them, exploring them within a safe, educational setting.
Jamil Brown of Colorado Springs says that upon identifying an area of interest, students will be asked to research their topic and deliver a presentation. In a student-centered, inquiry-based approach, educators are merely there to provide support where necessary, like helping individuals uncover reliable online sources.
After the presentation, teachers should ask the students to look back on the entire project, prompting them to consider what went well, what could’ve been better, and what they can do differently next time. Educators looking to maximize results should urge individuals to evaluate what they learned and how they discovered it. Major Jamil Brown explains that this practice constructs independence and confidence, giving learners a clearer path to achievement.
Differentiated Instruction
Despite generally being filled with students of the same age, classrooms are never the same. Bursting with life, excitement, and learners of all personalities and abilities, there will never be a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching them. And its differentiated instruction that beautifully acknowledges and addresses that.
Jamil Brown of Colorado Springs notes specifically, this strategy takes the fact that students may be at different points in their learning journey into account. Professionals are quick to emphasize that it does not necessitate providing distinct content to suit pupils’ abilities. Instead, it advises the provision of various products, teaching aids, environments, and methods to allow all learners to succeed.
It’s important to highlight that positive, effective differentiation is difficult to achieve, especially in elementary settings, unknowingly widening the gap that requires closing. Luckily, there are several techniques that send the right message, such as interleaving and phased learning.
Metacognition
Defined as “thinking about thinking,” the EEF has recognized metacognition as one of the cheapest, most effective teaching strategies available, helping students make an additional seven months’ progress.
Major Jamil Brown, US Space Command notes that in elementary schools, metacognition tends to manifest as classroom questioning. Querying how children know the answers doesn’t just fortify their justifications, but also subconsciously helps them start thinking about their thought processes that led to the aforementioned conclusion.
Reinforcement and Recognition
Teachers should help students link the effort they put into a task to the recognition they receive as a result. It’s an imperative step in formulating a classroom deep-rooted in active learning.
Encouraging them to increase the effort without offering something in return will only work for so long. Major Jamil Brown, US Space Command says that recognition and praise are motivators that children already know — it’s simply about using them as a way to reward full effort rather than correctness.
