Common Mallow.
The Clock &
The Compass: Rethinking Instruction
Joe Kirby
We should focus instruction on rigorous,
content-led, subject-specific tasks
that ensure students think hard about subject
content.
It is my belief that we need to change the way we think
about planning and instruction.
In his book First Things First,
Stephen Covey suggests changing the way we think about time:
from the clock to the compass. Clock thinking is working
out how to get more and more things done. Compass thinking is working out which
things to focus on in the first place.
In teaching, it strikes me that we are stuck in clock
thinking. We think about planning
and evaluating individual, ideally ‘outstanding’ lessons.
This pursuit of the ‘outstanding lesson’
is a chimera, spawning innumerable INSETs and entire book series.
Is the road to hell paved with outstanding
intentions?
As Professor Coe has pointed out, this risks focusing our
attention on poor proxies for learning:
But there’s no point criticising without suggesting an
alternative.
Last weekend I promised a constructive alternative to
lesson planning for fun, generic activities
that risk distracting students from thinking about
subject content.
The alternative as I see it is to think about activities last of all, and design the entire core content
of the unit and its assessment first. Rather than focusing on individual lessons, we need
to refocus on entire units, and the sequencing across and between them. This is
a phenomenal amount
of work: Katie Ashford and I spent around 500 hours
between us planning and resourcing
this one unit on Oliver Twist. The
topic of my next post will be how we might evaluate such units.
Example curriculum overview: co-planned with
Katie Ashford
Example knowledge grid: Katie Ashford’s Oliver
Twist
Example lesson questions: Katie Ashford’s
Oliver Twist
Example unit sequence: Katie Ashford’s Oliver
Twist
Then, and only then, after specifying and sequencing the
unit’s knowledge, can we refocus on rigorous, subject-specific tasks
that ensure students will be thinking hard about subject content.
It only makes sense to think about activities once you
have considered what knowledge pupils need, and in which order.
What exactly do we mean by rigour? The litmus test for
each task is Professor Coe’s simple theory
of learning: will it help students think
hard about subject content?
To my mind, rigour in teaching is all about the effective transmission and retention of knowledge
in pupils’ long-term memory: if tasks
don’t focus students on subject knowledge,
then they’re not helping students learn.
For now, I just want to focus on the rigorous tasks that
I’ve found most effective for instruction
in one subject: my subject, English.
For me, task selection in English depends heavily on
which genre – whether poem, play, novel,
nonfiction or grammar – and which content –
context, author, plot, characters, themes,
language, structure, form or concept – I am teaching.
Nevertheless, here are some (non-exhaustive) tasks that I
have found most useful for English, roughly in order of increasing complexity:
Record the lesson, essay or exam question and underline
the key words.
Record a checklist of criteria and highlight the key
words.
Reading aloud in (irregular) turns, whole-class
line-by-line with a ruler.
Whole-class pose-probe-bounce stretch-questioning, no-opt-out.
Read question; then discuss in pairs; then share as a
class.
Underline key quotations, highlight key words; then
justify choices in pairs.
Write short (even one-word) answers to 20 ‘do now’
written questions.
Sequence these in order (episodes in the plot, characters
in importance)
List and collate examples (of characters, themes,
concepts) or ideas.
Listen to explanation of a concept with an
example/non-example sequence of questions.
Decide whether these (context, plot and character)
statements are true or false.
Mindmap and collate examples or ideas for characters,
themes or language.
Answer 10 or so plot comprehension questions (&
‘why?’ extensions) in full sentences.
Complete a spelling quiz or test & mark each other’s.
Match vocabulary & definitions/synonyms/antonyms, or
vice-versa.
Match dates and events in a contextual timeline.
Categorise examples (of characters, concepts etc) into
columns.
Discuss multiple-choice hinge-questions with distractors
in pairs.
Discuss hinge-question answers, misconceptions and
justifications as a class.
Complete multiple-choice quiz on core content (between 10
and 50 questions).
Free recall test on 10 context or character questions.
Create sentences with examples of concepts.
Annotate model paragraph for content/techniques/criteria.
Give peer-assessment feedback with clear criteria-based
questions.
Compare model sentences for the differences in quality of
criteria.
Write a sentence with a rigorous conjunction (although,
at first glance, overall, ultimately, etc).
Create a free sentence ready to share in pairs and with
the class.
Write answers to ‘exit ticket’ questions on concepts or
content.
Plan essay ideas in a graphic organiser (grid/matrix/flow
diagram).
Summarise the text/plot/characters’ journey in a
paragraph.
Find similarities and differences between characters with
a focus (first/last impressions).
Summarise the text/plot/characters’ journey in a
paragraph.
Compare two introductions and evaluate which works better
and why.
Compare two conclusions and evaluate which works better
and why.
Write an analytical paragraph on a character, theme or
concept.
Write a comparative paragraph on characters, themes,
concepts, chapters or poems.
Read each others’ essays and write extension questions.
Redraft the story/poem/biography/speech/essay with
corrections and improvements.
Create a (gothic/ghost/etc) short story (e.g. 200 words)
or poem (limerick/haiku etc).
Write an informative biography.
Write a persuasive speech.
Convert the speech to notes and memorise it.
Practise, rehearse then deliver the speech.
Write an analytical essay (with context).
Write a comparative essay (with context).
… and there are probably 45 other tasks you could list –
and more.
The vital distinction is in connecting these tasks to subject content to ensure students are
thinking
as hard as possible for as long as possible
about the right things. Ultimately, it is how to connect
these still-generic tasks with specific subject content that matters most.
How are these tasks more rigorous than others? They focus
pupils’ attention more on thinking carefully about subject content, and they
risk less distraction from it. They prioritise retention
rather than variety for
its own sake. Tailor the task to the content, rather than vary activities for
pupils’ supposed learning preferences. First things first: first content, then
(and only then) activities.
Of course, spelling, grammar and vocabulary are a
different story. So are creative writing
and public speaking. They require unique, tailored tasks,
beyond the scope of one blogpost.
The point is, activities are best when
subject-and-topic-specific, not generic.
From the clock to the compass: the thinking shift is from
planning lessons for engaging,
generic activities to selecting and sequencing rigorous,
content-led tasks across units. The key difference is the pursuit of the
optimal mode of knowledge transmission, retrieval and retention.
The guilty secret of the “outstanding lesson”:
a chimera that never existed at all
***
https://pragmaticreform.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/instruction/
You can TCR software and engineering manuals for spontaneously recall – or pass that exam.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
How
to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?
Perhaps
you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com gives many ways
for you to work with the stresses of life
www.ourinnerminds.blogspot.com which takes
advantage of the experience and expertise of others.
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com
just for fun.
To
quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will
know.
The
more that you learn; the more places you'll go.
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