Rosenshine's Principles of instruction

1. provide modles

2. check for student understanding

2.1. Another way to check for understanding is to ask students to think aloud as they work to solve mathematical problems, plan an essay, or identify the main idea in a paragraph.

2.2. Having to explain a position may help students integrate and elaborate their knowledge in new ways, or may help identify gaps in their understanding.

2.3. “Are there any questions?” and, if there were no questions, they assumed the students had learned the material and proceeded to pass out worksheets for students to complete on their own.

3. obtain a high success rate

3.1. Unless all students have mastered the first set of lessons, there is a danger that the slower students will fall further behind when the next set of lessons is taught. So there is a need for a high success rate for all students.

3.2. I once observed a class where an effective teacher was going from desk to desk during independent practice and suddenly realized that the students were having difficulty. She stopped the work, told the students not to do the problems for homework, and said she would reteach this material the next day. She stopped the work because she did not want the students to practice errors.

4. provide scaffolds for difficult tasks

4.1. Scaffolds also may be tools, such as cue cards or checklists, that complete part of the task for the students, or a model of the completed task against which students can compare their own work.

4.2. One form of scaffolding is to give students prompts for steps they might use. Prompts such as “who,” “why,” and “how” have helped students learn to ask questions while they read.

4.3. 1. Draw a central box and write the title of the article in it. 2. Skim the article to find four to six main ideas. 3. Write each main idea in a box below the central box. 4. Find and write two to four important details to list under each main idea.

5. require and monitor independent practice

6. engage students in weekly and monthly review

6.1. So having larger and better-connected patterns of knowledge frees up space in our working memory. This available space can be used for reflecting on new information and for problem solving.

6.2. The research on cognitive processing suggests that these classroom activities help students increase the number of pieces of information in their long-term memory and organize this information into patterns and chunks.

7. begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning

7.1. When planning for review, teachers might want to consider which words, math facts, procedures, and concepts need to become automatic, and which words, vocabulary, or ideas need to be reviewed before the lesson begins.

7.2. The most effective teachers in the studies of classroom instruction understood the importance of practice, and they began their lessons with a five to eight minute review of previously covered material.

8. present new material in small steps with student practice after each step

8.1. Teachers only present small amounts of new material at anytime, and then assist the students as they practice this material.

8.2. It can only handle a few bits of information at once, too much information swamps our working memory. Presenting too much material at once may confuse students because their working memory will be unable to process it.

9. ask a large number of questions and check the responses of all students

9.1. Imaginative teachers have found ways to involve all students in answering questions. Examples include having all students: • Tell the answer to a neighbour. • Summarize the main idea in one or two sentences, writing the summary on a piece of paper and sharing this with a neighbour, or repeating the procedures to a neighbour. • Write the answer on a card and then hold it up. • Raise their hands if they know the answer (thereby allowing the teacher to check the entire class). • Raise their hands if they agree with the answer that someone else has given.

10. guide student practice

10.1. An important finding from information-processing research is that students need to spend additional time rephrasing, elaborating, and summarizing new material in order to store this material in their long-term memory.

10.2. It is also important that all students process the new material and receive feedback, so they do not inadvertently store partial information or a misconception in long-term memory.

10.3. This finding suggests that, when teachers provided sufficient instruction during guided practice, the students were better prepared for the independent practice (e.g., seatwork and homework activities),