The Instructional Cycle

It is critical that teachers determine beforehand what they expect students to have learned
by the end of a lesson. An inexperienced teacher might begin this process by first creating lesson
plans and developing activities. This kind of instruction, however, is likely to be ineffective and
lack focus because the teacher has not first decided how to assess whether students have
mastered a set of intended learning outcomes. By contrast, an experienced teacher will have a
clear picture in his or her mind of the students’ intended learning outcomes, and will design
appropriate and effective instructional activities to guide students toward mastery of those
outcomes. There are three (3) comprise the instructional cycle stages.
Stage 1: Intended Instructional Outcomes

Effective teachers begin the instructional cycle by identifying the content standards and
benchmarks that the lesson or unit will address. Next, the content standards are translated into
measurable learning outcomes. At this stage of the instructional cycle, the teacher has a clear
idea of what students need to know, understand, and be able to do to meet the standards-based
curriculum. It is important for teachers to keep in mind how they will assess the intended
learning outcomes.

Stage 2: Planning

In the second stage, teachers should plan effective teaching strategies and instructional activities.
It is also important that teachers plan on-going formal (e.g., standardized tests) and informal
(e.g., teacher-made tests, portfolios) assessments to determine students’ progress. Once the
learning outcomes, instruction, and assessment have been planned, the teacher will carry out the
planned instruction.

Stage 3: Assessment

In this third stage, teachers actually implement their planned assessments to determine whether
students have met the intended learning outcomes. It is important to understand that assessment
is not something that occurs only at the end of the instructional cycle. Assessment is planned
when the intended outcomes are conceptualized and implemented during instruction and at the
end of instruction to determine whether students have mastered the intended learning outcomes.
 The Department of Education promotes standards and competency-based teaching with
its K to 12 Curriculum Guide. The Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA)
has been ahead of DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in the practice of
competency standards-based teaching and assessment. CHED requires all higher education
institutions in the country to go outcomes-based education (OBE) in its CHED Memo 46, s.
2012. Outcomes-based teaching and learning (OBTL) is OBE applied in the teaching-learning
process. It is equivalent to competency-based and standards-based teaching and learning.

Outcome-based Teaching and Learning (OBTL) is a student-centered education approach

where the programme’s intended learning outcomes are explicitly defined for students to
achieve. Teaching and learning activities are then carefully designed to facilitate students to
achieve these outcomes. This means that everything teachers do must be clearly focused on what
they want students to know, understand and be able to do. In other words, teachers should focus
on helping students to develop the knowledge, skills and personalities that will enable them to
achieve the intended outcomes that have been clearly articulated. ‘Constructive alignment’ is the
process that we usually follow when we build up an OBE syllabus. Which refers to the process to
create a learning environment that supports the learning activities appropriate to achieving the
desired learning outcomes. The word ‘constructive’ refers to what the learner does to construct
meaning through relevant learning activities. The ‘alignment’ aspect refers to what the teacher
does. The key to the alignment is that the components in the teaching system, especially the
teaching methods used and the assessment tasks are aligned to the learning activities assumed in
the intended outcomes.

When you apply OBTL you see to it that the intended learning outcomes (ILOs) are
aligned to the teaching-learning activities (TLAs) and in turn to the Assessment Tasks (ATs). In
other words, in OBTL you first establish your intended learning outcomes (lesson objectives).
Then you determine which teaching-learning activities (TLAs) you will use and also the
assessment tasks (ATs) you will have to use to find out if you attained your ILOs.

For me, OBTL really helps us to be more globally competitive because this OBTL where
it specifically determine to the authentic education wherein the students may execute their
learnings through performance based. This learning is beneficial to students wherein they could
use it in their real life situations. Through this OBTL students could keep track of their progress
and to know if such field is suited to them. Through OBTL, teachers can provide students with
more systematic learning experiences thus better-quality education.

The development of the lesson was in accordance with outcomes-based teaching and
learning because the learning outcomes were stated and so it was clear what was supposed to be
assessed.

The kind of questions we ask determine the level of thinking we develop. Low level questions
demand low level responses. They require responses of the simple recall or memory type of
answers. High level questions call for higher-coder thinking ability. “Why” and “how” questions
require analysis of observations. The conclusions is arrived at after weighing evidence or
establishing a pattern out of a recorded tabulation of data.

5. For Assessing Cognition This type of question is used to determined one’s knowledge in
understanding. They promote high level thinking. Divergent questions and open-ended inquiries
call for analysis and evaluation. For Verification It determines the exactness or accuracy of the
result of an activity or performance.

6. For Creative Thinking It probes into one’s originality. For Evaluating It elicit responses that
include judgment, value and choice. It also asks personal opinion about an event, a policy or a
person.

7. For Productive Thinking It includes cognitive reasoning. It analyses facts, recognizes patterns
or trends and invokes memory and recall. For Motivating Before discussing the lessons, a
number of questions about the topic can serve to arouse their interest and focus attention. In
attempts to put students in the right mood.

8. For Instructing The questions asks for useful information. It directs, guides and advise on what
and how to do an activity.

9. Questioning Skills Class interaction is dependent on your questioning skills. What skills
should you acquire to generate interaction among your student?

10. • 1. Varying type of question – ask convergent, divergent and evaluating question.
Convergent questions Convergent questions have only one acceptable correct answer. An
example is “what is the process of food manucfacture that takes place in plant called?” Divergent
question are open and may have more than acceptable answer. • 2. Asking non directing question
- Pose the question first, then call on a student to answer. Don’t direct your question to just one
students. Direct the question to all.

11. • 3. Calling on non-volunteers – Don’t just call on those who raise their hands. • 4.
Rephrasing - if you sense a question was not understood, simplify it or ask it in another way. • 5.
Sequencing logically- it is asking related questions one from simple to complex one after
another. • 6. Requiring abstract thinking- This means going beyond simple recall questions.

12. Providing sufficient wait time can achieve the following: *Motivates slow thinking students
to respond *Improves the quality of the responses made *Decreases the amount of guessing or
wrong inferences *Increases the number of correct responses’

13. • *Leads the teacher to vary her questions • *Provides the time for the teachers to evaluate
the answers given. • *Encourages the students to ask their own questions. Give students enough
time to think about the answers.

9. Assessing comprehension- ask questions to test comprehension. Now and then find out if your
students are with you.

10. Involving as many as possible- distribute your questions to as many students. Widen
participation. Don’t just call on students on students who raise their hands. By their facial
expressions, you can sense who among your students would like to recite.

How To Encourage Question from Students

20. Children are by nature curious. They think question about almost anything they see and hear
around them. They ask casual, intelligent and even funny questions. Neil Postman said, “they
come to school as question marks” but unfortunately “leave school as periods”.

21. The teacher’s reaction to their inquisitiveness can motivate or discourage them from asking
more question. Some may give honest answer, others may instantly stop them from attempting to
ask more. How can we encourage children to ask question? Here are some tips:
22. 1) The teacher’s questioning technique is the key in encouraging students to ask correct,
relevant and high level question. Her question can serve as a good examples. 2) Attend to their
question. Avoid dismissing irrelevant questions. Assist in clarifying or refocusing in order to
solicit correct responses.

23. 3)Praise the correctly formulated questions. It develops confidence and makes knowledge
search easy and satisfying. 4)Allot an appropriate time slot for open questioning. This will
encourage the slow thinker to participate freely.