Learning and Teaching

Preface
XI
~ I Research and Teaching

Defining Good Teaching
Research in Teaching: An Historical Perspective

4
Studies ~f 'Teacher Characteristics

The Search for the Right Method
5
School-Level Research
6
'Teacher Effectiveness Research: Teachers Do Make a Difference

Beyond Effective 'Teaching: A Focus on Student Learning
7
Contemporary Views of Teaching and Learning

8
From Behaviorist to Cognitive Perspectives

8
Constructivism: Students as Creators of Understanding

Learner- Centered Psychological Principles
9
Text Themes
10
The Diversity if Our Learners

10
Hiays ~f Enhancing Learner Motivation

11
The Use ~f 'Technology for Increasing Learning
12
Learning to Teach
13
Knowledge of Subject Matter

13
Pedagogical Content Knowledge

13
Knowledge if 'Teaching and Learning

14
'Teaching Strategies
15
'Teacher Decision Making

16
Learning to 'Teach in an Era of Reform

18
Standards-Based Professional Development

19
Developing a Prcfessional Portfolio

23
~ 2 Student Diversity
31
Capitalizing on Cultural Diversity

33
Multicultural Education: The Challenge

Theories ~f Minority Achievement
34
Culturally Responsive 'Teaching

37
34
III
IV
www.ablongman.com/kauchak4e
CONTENTS
Language Diversity
40
English Dialects
40
English Language Development Programs
41
Students Placed at Risk: Teaching the Children of Poverty

Students Placed at Risk: Understanding the Problem
44
45
Resiliency: Capitalizing on Student Strengths

'Teaching Students Placed at Risk
46
48
Motivation: The Needfor Challenge

Teaching Students with Different Learning Abilities
Intelligence: What Does It Mean?
50
Multiple Intelligences: The lMJrk if Howard Gardner

Intellectual Diversity: Implications for 'Teaching
51
43
49
51
Learning Styles
56
Field Dependence/Independence
56
Conceptual 'Tempo: Impulsiue and Reflective Learners

57
Classroom Learning Styles: The Work if Dunn and Dunn

57
Learning Styles: Implications for 'Teaching

58
Students with Exceptionalities

59
lMJrking with Students with Exceptionalities: Supportfor Classroom 'Teachers

61
The Exceptional Student Population

62
The Teacher's Role in lMJrking with Students with Exceptionalities

63
Adapting Instruction for Students with Exceptionalities

Technology as a Molfor Inclusion
64
~ 3 Teacher Planning: Research and Reality

Planning: A Functional Analysis
72
75
Variables in Instructional Planning

77
The 'Teacher
77
Learners
78
Motivation: An Integral Part if Planning

Content
80
Teaching Context
80
Materials and Resources

83
Time
84
79
The Linear Rational Model: A Sequential Planning Model

Goals: A Beginning Pointfor Teacher Planning
85
85
Kinds of Goals: The Three Domains

87
Long-'Term Planning
Unit Planning
91
84
60
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CONTENTS.
Lesson Planning
98
Instructional Alignment: A Key to Learning
101
Integrating the Curriculum: Interdisciplinary and Thematic Units

An Integrated Continuum
102
Designing and Implementing Integrated Units

Research on Integrated Planning
103
104
Research on Teacher Planning
I05
Planning for Diversity: Individualized Instruction

Vilrying Time
109
Vilrying Learning Objectives
110
Adapting Instructional Materials
110
Offering Different Learning Activities
108
110
Ifchnology as a ToolJor Individualizing Instruction
111
1-
119
Effective Teaching: The Research Base
Classroom Climate: A Prerequisite to Learning
122
Acceptance and Caring: The Human Diversity oj Ifaching

A Safe and Orderly Learning Environment
A Learning-Focused Classroom
124
125
Effective Teaching and the Concept of Time

Allocated Time: Priorities in the Curriculum
126
126
Instructional Time: TimeJrom a Learner's Perspective

Engaged Time: Time Jrom a Learner's Perspective
Academic Learning Time: The Role oj Success
A General Instructional Model

130
Effective Communication
138
Effective Lesson Beginnings

Focus
139
Ending Lessons Effectively

Closure
Assessment
139
139
Developing the Lesson

143
144
134
134
Effective Communication: ImplicationsJor Teachers
Review
128
129
130
Teacher Attitudes, Learner Diversity, and Motivation
Organization
127
129
Characteristics of Effective Teachers

Teacher Attitudes
123
141
142
138
101
VI
CONTENTS
~ 5 Increasing Learning through Student Involvement
152
Student Involvement: A Key to Learning and Motivation

Student Involvement: The Need for Clear Goals
159
159
Student Involvement: The Role of Content Representations

Effective Content Representations: Using Technology
Effective Content Representations: Accommodating Learner Diversity
Increasing Student Involvement: Teacher Questioning

Functions of Teacher Questions
Elements of Effective Ouestioning

Questioning Frequency
167
Equitable Distribution
167
Prompting
164
164
Questioning: The Influence on Student Thinking
164
166
168
IijJective Questioning: Increasing Student Motivation

Tfait Time
171
173
Repetition for Emphasis

174
175
Effective Questioning: Diverse Students
Classroom Ouestions: Additional Issues
175
High-Level versus Low-Level Questions
176
Bloom's 'Taxonomy: A Sequential Questioning Strategy

Selecting Students
Callouts
177
181
181
Choral Responses
182
~ 6 Creating Productive Learning Environments:
Classroom Management
189
The Importance of Classroom Management

Classroom Management: A Definition
190
191
192
Management Goals: Learning and Self-Regulation

193
Creating Responsibility-Oriented Classrooms

Management: An Historical Perspective
193
Planning for Classroom Management

Student Characteristics
The Physical Environment
195
196
196
Classroom Rules: Establishing Standards for Behavior

Procedures: Creating an Efficient Learning Environment
Implementing Management Plans
203
. Implementing Plans: The First 10 Days
204
160
162
198
201
163
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CONTENTS
Learner Diversity: Challenges to Home-School Communication

The Relationship between Management and Instruction
Management Interventions
Difining Misbehavior
209
212
213
Dealing with Individual Problems
215
Serious Management Problems: Violence and Aggression
216
~ 7 Constructivist Approaches to Instruction

Constructivism: A View of Learning
Characteristics of Constructivism
223
230
231
232
Learners Construct Understanding
233
New Learning Depends on Current Understanding

Social Interaction Increases Learning
233
Authentic Tasks Promote Understanding
233
234
235
Constructivist Learning Activities and Student Motivation

Misconceptions about Constructivist Learning Activities
Planning for Constructivist Learning Activities

Identifying Clear and Precise Goals
PlanningJor Social Interaction
236
236
Multiple Representations if Content
237
240
241
PlanningJor Productive Learning Environments

241
PlanningJor Assessment
Conducting Constructivist Learning Activities
if Social Interaction
Ongoing Assessment
242
245
The Influence if Existing Understanding

The Role
207
212
An Intervention Continuum
Lesson Focus
VII
245
246
246
Learning and Teaching Concepts
Understanding Concepts
255
Concepts: Categories that Simplify the VVorld

Theories if Concept Learning
252
256
257
Representing Concepts: Examples and Nonexamples

What Makes Concepts Easy or Hard to Learn?
258
261
Concept Learning: Misconceptions and Conceptual Change

Making Concepts Meaningful: Superordinate, Coordinate,
and Subordinate Concepts

262
261
VIII
CONTENTS
Planning for Concept Learning and Teaching

Identifying Precise Goals
265
Goals and Examples

265
264
Teaching Concepts: Involving Students in Learning

266
Deductive Concept 'Teaching: A Teacher-Centered Approach

266
Inductive Concept 'Teaching: A Learner-Centered Approach

268
A Comparison if Deductive and Inductive Approaches to Concept 'Teaching

Spontaneous Concept 'Teaching
272
269
Understanding Relationships among Concepts: Generalizations, Principles,
and Academic Rules

273
Teaching Generalizations, Principles, and Academic Rules

275
Planning jor 'Teaching Generalizations, Principles, and Academic Rules

275
Implementing Lessons for Teaching Generalizations, Principles, and Academic Rules

Accommodating Diversity in Concept Learning and Teaching
Utilizing Technology in Concept Learning
277
~ " Capitalizing on Social Interaction
284
Social Interaction: Theoretical Perspectives

Developmental Theories
286
Elaboration Theory
287
Motivation Theory
288
286
Using Groupwork to Facilitate Learning

288
Organizing and Conducting Groupwork Activities

VVc>rking in Pairs: Introducing Groupwork
290
VVc>rking with Larger Groups

290
Combining Pairs
290
Groupwork with Higher-Level Tasks

292
289
Cooperative Learning
292
Cooperative Learning: TIle Essential Components

294
Cooperative Learning: Getting Started

295
STAD: Student 'Teams-Achievement Division

297
Jigsaw II
301
Group Investigation
303
Computer-Mediated Communication: Using 'Technology to Facilitate
Cooperative Learning
306
Using Cooperative Learning to Capitalize on Diversity

308
Discussions
309
Using Discussions to Promote Student Growth

310
Promoting Cognitive Growth with Discussions: Planning

311
276
275
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CONTENTS.
Promoting Cognitive Growth with Discussions: Implementation

313
315
Affective Discussions: Promoting Ethical and Moral Growth

Peer Tutoring: Students as Resources
Research on Peer Tutoring
318
A Basic Peer Tutoring Model

319
PlanningJor Peer Tutoring

319
Implementing Peer Tutoring Activities
~ 10 Problem,Based Instruction
275
317
320
326
Problem'Based Learning
327
Problem-Based Instruction: An Overview

327
Problem-Based Instruction: Theoretical Foundations
329
Project'Based Learning
330
Essential Components
330
Implementing Project-Based Instruction in the Classroom

Research on Project-Based Instruction
335
332
Problem Solving
336
VVell-Difined and Ill-Defined Problems

338
A Problem-Solving Model
338
341
Helping Learners Become Better Problem Solvers

Anchored Instruction: 'Technology as a TOol to 'Teach Problem Solving
Inquiry Strategies
346
Identifying a Question
348
Forming Hypotheses
348
Gathering Data
349
Assessing Hypotheses
350
Generalizing
352
352
Analyzing the Inquiry Process
~ II Teacher,Centered Instruction
357
Teacher-Centered and Learner-Centered Instruction

Characteristics of Teacher,Centered Instruction
Types of Teacher-Centered Instruction
361
Direct Instruction
361
Procedural Skills
362
Direct Instruction: The Research Base

363
Goals if Direct Instruction

364
Planning for Direct Instruction

366
Implementing Direct Instruction Lessons

368
361
360
344
IX
CONTENTS
Lecture Discussions: Teacher-Centered Strategies for Teaching
Organized Bodies of Knowledge

375
Organized Bodies if Knowledge: Integrating Facts, Concepts, and Generalizations

Using Lectures to 'Teach Organized Bodies if Knowledge
379
Lecture Discussions: An Alternative to Standard Lectures
380
Planningfor Lecture Discussions
380
Implementing Lecture Discussion Lessons
382
~ IZ Assessing Learner Understanding

Classroom Assessment
397
Measurement and Evaluation
397
398
398
Functions of an Assessment System

Characteristics
395
if Effective Assessment
'Teachers' Assessment Patterns
400
Using Traditional Assessment Practices to Promote Learning

Preparing Students
Administering 'Tests
405
Examining Results
406
Research on Classroom 'Testing: Implicationsfor 'Teachers
Alternative Assessment
408
412
Accommodating Diversity: Reducing Bias in Assessment

Provide Practice with 'Test Iaking
'Teach 'Test- Iaking Strategies
413
413
Consider Use if Language in Items
414
Make Provisionsfor Nonnative English Speakers
Designing an Assessment System

Grades and Grading
Communication
414
415
417
Using Technology in Assessment
422
Planning and Constructing 'Tests
422
Analyzing 'Test Data
425
Maintaining Students Records
References
434
Author Index
452
Subject Index
458
407
408
Peformance Assessment
Portfolio Assessment
401
404
427
414
413
378
1Chak4e
378
Research continues to highlight the central role teachers play in determining the
quality oflearning in classrooms. Teachers do make a difference in how much students
learn, and this difference depends on how they teach. The influence of teachers on
both student achievement and motivation is even more convincingly documented in
the research literature than it was in 1989, when the first edition of this text was pub
lished. Knowledge of research continues to be the primary way teachers become ef
fective professionals. The goal of this text is to translate the results of research into
methods that preservice and in-service teachers use to increase learning and student
motivation.
This book brings together two areas ofthe educational literature. One is the research
on how teaching influences learning, which includes a wide range of studies conducted
since the early 1970s. While originally grounded in the research on effective teaching,
this literature has expanded to include topics such as teacher and student cognition, con
structivism, teaching for understanding, and the importance of social interaction in
learning.
Teaching methodology is the second area addressed in this book. Methods texts
typically stress teaching procedures viewed as desirable, based on the state of the art at
the time. The emphasis in these texts is on classroom application, with less emphasis on
research.
This edition attempts to combine the best of these two areas. We apply the research
on teaching to strategies that are theoretically sound, yet practical and usable.
This interpretation of the literature has been enriched by our work in the schools;
as we've used this book in our classes, teachers and students have helped us ensure that
our applications are effective and true to the complexities of today's schools and
students.
GOALS OF THIS TEXT

We have two goals in combining these areas:
To change how teachers think about teaching
To change how they actually teach
Researchers studying the way people learn to teach focus on two areas: (1) teacher
thinking, and (2) teacher knowledge (Borko & Putnam, 1996). The way teachers
think and what they know are the two major factors that influence how they actually
teach. And the way teachers think depends on what they know; in other words,
teacher thinking and teacher knowledge are interdependent. So, to meet our goals,
we attempt to help teachers acquire the background knowledge that will influence
both their thinking and the way they actually work in classrooms. This knowledge is
grounded in the rapidly expanding research base that is making teaching increasingly
professional.
XI
XII
PREFACE
Without the research to provide a conceptual foundation, methods become me

chanical applications of rules implemented without understanding. On the other hand,
without practical suggestions for teaching practice, the research literature remains ab
stract and irrelevant. In this edition we again try to avoid both pitfalls by emphasizing
the conceptual underpinnings of the research and the implications of this research for
actual classroom practice.
PORTFOLIOS AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH

As we've moved into the twenty-first century, increased emphasis is being placed on
teacher professionalism (Cochran-Smith, 2001). Professionals are not only knowledge
able and skilled but are also able to reflect on their growth as educators. This emphasis
is reflected in the increased use of teacher portfolios-collections of work over time
to document their professional growth.
We have added two features in this text to assist you in using portfolios. A section
in Chapter 1, Developing a Professional Portfolio, describes what portfolios are and
how you can use this text to begin developing a portfolio. Portfolio Activities at the end
of each chapter provide concrete suggestions for portfolio entries as well as questions for
reflection. The combination of portfolio activities and questions are designed to help
you integrate and personalize text content as you grow professionally.
TEXT THEMES
Tcday's schools are changing and these changes present both opportunities and chal
lenges. To address these changes, we have organized the fourth edition around three
powerful and pervasive forces in education. These forces provide the basis for three
themes that are integrated and applied throughout the text. They are:
The diversity of our learners
Ways of enhancing learner motivation
The use of technology for increasing learning
The diversity of our learners reflects the growing diversity of our country. This di
versity has important implications for the way we teach. In addition to an entire chapter
on diversity (Chapter 2), we also address the topic of diversity in the following chapters:
CHAPTER
3
4
5
6
9
12
DIVERSITY SECTION
Planning for Diversity: Individualized Instruction

Effective Questioning: Involving Diverse Learners
Accommodating Diversity: Reducing Bias in Assessment
Learner motivation is receiving increased attention both in the schools and in the
research literature. The development of motivated and self-regulated learners is becom
PREFACE.
xiii
ing ever more important to both teachers and researchers. We describe different per
spectives on motivation in the following chapters:
CHAPTER
2
3
4
5
7
10
11
MOTIVATION SECTION
Motivation: The Need for Challenge

Motivation: An Integral Part of Planning
Effective Questioning: Increasing Student Motivation
Motivation and Problem-Based Instruction
The Motivational Benefits of Effective Feedback
Technology is the third theme of this edition. Technology is changing the way we
live as well as the way we learn and teach. Various forms of technology, including com
puters, the Internet, videodiscs, videotape, and educational television are all influencing
the ways we teach. Tomorrow's teachers need to know how to integrate technology
into their teaching. We address applications of technology in the following chapters:
CHAPTER
2
3
7
8
9
10
12
TECHNOLOGY SECTION
Technology as a Tool for Inclusion

Technology as a Tool for Individualizing Instruction
Using Technology to Represent Content: Databases
and Construct Knowledge
Utilizing Technology in Concept Learning
Computer-Mediated Communication: Using Technology
to Facilitate Cooperative Learning
Anchored Instruction: Technology as a Tool to Teach Problem
Solving
Using Technology in Assessment
As we used this text in our classrooms and listened to the suggestions of our col
leagues, we have made the following pedagogical additions to the fourth edition:
Developing a Professional Portfolio
Portfolio Activities
Outcomes-Based Education
National Reforms
Standards-Based Professional Development
INTASC Standards
National Board Certification
Assistive Technology
Working with ESL Students
Expanded Coverage of Project-Based Learning
These changes reflect the changing realities of modern classrooms as well as the new re
sponsibilities that today's teachers carry.
XlV
PREFACE
We sincerely thank our colleagues who reviewed the previous editions as well as
new manuscript; their experience, insights, criticisms, and suggestions assisted our de
cisions concerning diversity, motivation, and technology: Alan A. Block, University of
Wisconsin-Stout; John-Michael Bodi, Bridgewater State College; Randy Brown,
University of Central Oklahoma; Greg Bryant, Towson State University; Marjorie
Checkoway, Madonna University; Thomas A. Drazdowski, King's College; Mary
Dean Dumais, Kean University; Margaret Ferrara, Central Connecticut State Univer
sity; Dee Ann Holmes, Emporia State University; Susan Johnson, Northwestern Col
lege; Daniel Kain, Northern Arizona University; James Koper, Western Kentucky
University; Robert Locatelli, University of Nevada-Las Vegas; Marc Mahlios, Uni
versity of Kansas; Mary E. Outlaw, Berry College; Laura M. Stough, Texas A&M
University; Suzanne M. Tochterman, Colorado State University. We hope our new
and revised edition helps you prepare for the challenges of teaching in the twenty-first
century.
D.K.
P. E.
auchak4e
s well as
our de
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Brown,
1aJjorie
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FE.
I. Defining good teaching

II. Research in teaching: An historical
perspective
A. Studies of teacher characteristics
B. The search for the right method
C. School-level research
D. Teacher effectiveness research: Teachers
do make a difference
E. Beyond effective teaching: A focus on

student learning
III. Contemporary views of teaching and
learning
A. From behaviorist to cognitive
perspectives
B. Constructivism: Students as creators of

understanding
C. Student-centered psychological
principles
IV Text themes
A. The diversity of our students
B. Ways of enhancing student motivation
C. The use of technology for increasing
learning
V Learning to teach
A. Knowledge of subject matter
B. Pedagogical content knowledge

C. Knowledge of teaching and learning
D. Teaching strategies
E. Teacher decision making
E Learning to teach in an era of reform
G. Standards-based professional
development
H. Developing a professional portfolio

VI. Using this book to learn to teach
hi s book is about teaching and the different ways teachers help students learn. Next
to the students themselves, teachers are the most important influence on school
learning. This chapter begins by examining the concept of effective teaching, briefly
outlining its history, and illustrating how research can be used to improve the way you
teach and how students learn. In this chapter we also describe the different components
of learning to teach. Pedagogical content knowledge enables teachers to present topics in
understandable ways. Knowledge if basic principles {if teaching and learning helps teachers un
derstand connections between their actions and student achievement. Teaching strategies
translate research into classroom-oriented plans for action. These three components are
tied together by teacher decision making, which integrates them into purposeful
teacher actions.
Finally, in this chapter we introduce the themes that run through this text. These
themes remind us of the diversity of our learners, why learner motivation is critical, and how
technology can be used to increase achievement.
When you've completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to meet the
following objectives:
Explain how research contributes to the process oflearning to teach.
Describe different views oflearning and explain how they influence teaching.
Describe the process oflearning to teach in terms of pedagogical content
knowledge, knowledge of teaching and learning, teaching strategies, and
teacher decision making.
Implement lessons that accommodate learner diversity, increase motivation, and
capitalize on the benefits of technology.
----------------Three middle
school teachers were eating lunch together on their 40-minute break be
tween classes. After weather andlocal politics, the conversation turned to teaching, or,
more specifically, to students.
"How are your seventh graders this year?" Paul Escobar asked. "I can't seem to get
them motivated."
Stan Williams replied with a frown, "I've got three basic math classes, and I've spent
the first two months reviewing stuff they're supposed to know already. They don't seem to
want to think," he concluded, turning to the others with an exasperated look.
"Mine aren't so bad," Leona Foster replied. "In fact, the other day we had a great dis
cussion on individual rights. We were discussing the Bill of Rights, and some of them actu
RESEARCH AND TEACHING.
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some of their comments."
"But how am l going to get them to think if they don't even know how to multiply or
divider Stan answered in frustration.
"l know what you're talking about, Stan," Paul Escabar interjected. T m supposed to
teach them to write, but they don't even know basic grammar. How am I supposed to
teach them subject-verb agreement when they don't know what a noun or verb is?"
"Exactly!" Stan answered. "We've got to teach them basics before we can teach
them all the other stuff, like problem solving and thinking skills."
T m not so sure about that," Paul replied. "I had a real eye opener the other day....
Let me tell you about it. I've been going to workshops on using writing teams to teach
composition. ] tried it out, putting high- and low-ability students on the same team. They
were supposed to write a critical review of a short story we had read, using television
movie critics as a model. We talked a little about basic concepts like plot and action,
watched a short clip of two movie critics arguing about a movie, then] turned them loose.
] couldn't believe it-some of the kids that never participate actually got excited."
"That's all fine and good for English classes, but I'm a math teacher. What am] sup
posed to do, have them critique math problems? 'Oh, ] give this math problem two thumbs
up!' Besides, these are supposed to be middle school students. I shouldn't have to sugar
coat the content. They should come ready to learn. My job is to teach; theirs is to learn.
It's as simple as that."
DEFINING GOOD TEACHING

"It's as simple as that" ... Or is it? Teaching has always been a challenging profession,
but changes both within and outside classrooms have made it even more challenging.
Schools are being asked to teach thinking and problem-solving skills at the same time
that students come from increasingly diverse backgrounds. Definitions of good or effec
tive teaching are becoming not only more crucial but also more complex.
But, what is effective teaching? How does effective teaching relate to learning?
What responsibilities do teachers have to motivate their students? What are the implica
tions of student diversity on the teaching/learning 'process? How can teachers use new
technologies to promote learning? AJ.-e "basics" the best path to thinking skills, or
should thinking skills be used as a vehicle to teach basics?
These are important questions for anyone in education because they center around
the question "What is good teaching?" These concerns are particularly important to de
veloping teachers because your answers to these questions will influence the kind of
teacher you become. As you ponder these questions, thinking about yourself and the
classrooms you've experienced, each of you will form a personal definition of effective
teaching. This individual response is as it should be: Each teacher is as unique as each
student. But beyond this individual uniqueness, some strands exist that pull these ques
tions together.
Let's consider conunonalities a bit further. Does your definition of effective teach
ing apply to all levels? For example, do effective kindergarten and high school teachers
teach in similar ways? What about students? Would your definition of good teaching
apply equally well to low- and high-ability learners? And how about subject matter?
Does an effective history teacher teach the same way as effective English or art teachers?
CHAPTER 1
WINW.ablongman.com/kauchak4e
Finally, how does time influence your definition? Do effective teachers teach the same
way at the beginning of the school year as at its close, at the beginning of a unit as at the
end, or even at the beginning of a lesson and at its completion?
Each of you will wrestle with these questions, either imphcitly or exphcitly, as you
begin and continue with your teaching career. The purpose of this book is to help you
resolve these questions based on the best information available to the profession.
The field of teaching is at a particularly exciting time in its history. Education has
always been one of the most rewarding professions, but at the same time it continues to
be one of the most challenging. An effective teacher combines the best of human rela
tions, intuition, sound judgment, knowledge of subject matter, and knowledge of how
people learn-all in one simultaneous act. This task is extremely complex, and one of
the factors making it particularly difficult has been the lack of a clear and documented
body of knowledge on which to base professional decisions.
The situation has changed. Education now has a significant and rapidly expanding
body of research that can guide teaching practice and the training of teachers. That's
what this text is all about; it is a book about teaching practice that is founded in and
based on research. As you study the chapters, you will be exposed to a detailed body of
research, and you will learn how this research can be applied in your classroom.
We developed this text around a series of themes that will be introduced in this
chapter. As your study continues, you will see how research helps teachers as they make
their professional decisions. This research, as with all research, is not perfect, but having
it as a foundation is a giant step forward. Despite some weaknesses and even some con
troversy, this research marks a major advance in education. It is already finding its way
into tests used to certify teachers (Darhng-Hammond & Cobbe, 1996) and into both
preservice and in-service programs for teachers (Sikula, 1996). Your study of this text
will provide you with the best information available to the profession at this time.
RESEARCH IN TEACHING: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Historically, teaching has been 'a profession in search of a body of knowledge that could
inform classroom practice. In the past, educational practice and educational reforms
were often based on the views and intuition of prominent thinkers rather than on re
search evidence (Slavin, 1989). Because of the stature of these people and the power and
eloquence of their positions, their assertions often were translated into practice despite
the lack of evidence to support the practice.
For example, the post-Sputnik years spawned a national wave of curriculum revi- -,
sion in math and science during the 1960s and early 1970s. The view held by promi
nent scientists and mathematicians was that the content in those areas was inappropriate
because it did not accurately reflect the "structure" and research methods of different
disciplines. Curriculum revision was aimed at correcting these deficiencies. The
changes sounded good, and enormous amounts of money, time, and effort were
pumped into the revision efforts. While the programs enjoyed modest popularity, they
were clearly not as successful as the original developers had hoped for nor as effective as
the millions of dollars poured into them promised (Fensham, 1992).
One of the reasons for this lack of success was that programs were developed with
out a coherent body of knowledge on which to base curricular decisions, such as con
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RESEARCH AND TEACHING
siderations of the intellectual development of the learners who would study the materi
als, the extent to which the materials would be motivating for students, and whether
they were usable by teachers. Many of the strategies required skills teachers didn't have
and materials not readily found in classrooms. A lack of information about the realities
of teaching and learning in classrooms was a primary reason these projects were only
marginally successful.
Studies of Teacher Characteristics

As researchers began to seek connections between teaching and learning, they initially
focused on teacher characteristics, such as neatness, sense of humor, or cognitive flexibil
ity (Rosenshine, 1979). Initial research asked whether or not teachers having these desir
able traits resulted in increased learning. For example, do students taught by a teacher
with a good sense of humor learn more and/or have better attitudes than those taught by
a more serious teacher? In hindsight, we see that the question was oversimplified; mag
nificent teachers of many different personalities can be found.
In addition to problems with focus, the research also had problems with methodol
ogy, Researchers seldom spent time in classrooms to see if a teacher rated high in a cer
tain trait taught any differently from those rated low in the trait. They merely assumed
that a difference existed. For example, if a teacher scored high on a test of cognitive flex
ibility, researchers failed to determine whether this trait influenced how the teacher
taught or interacted with students. Unfortunately, this line of research led nowhere.
Gage, a prominent researcher in the field, reviewed over 10,000 studies in this area and
concluded in 1960 that few, if any, generalizations could be made about the results.
In hindsight, the research on teacher characteristics was not completely misguided.
Two teacher characteristics-teacher experience and understanding of subject matter
have proved to be powerful variables influencing how teachers understand events in the
classroom and explain content (Berliner, 1994; Shulman, 1987). Veteran teachers are
able to use their experience to interpret the complex events that occur in classrooms and
to make the many split-second decisions that are needed every day. Similarly, subject
matter expertise allows effective teachers to frame and explain ideas in ways that make
sense to students. We will return to both of these ideas later in the chapter.
The Search for the Right Method

During the 1960s, the next wave of research focused on global methods and attempted
to link certain teaching strategies, like inquiry instruction or discovery learning, with
student outcomes, such as scores on standardized achievement tests (Dunkin and Bid
dle, 1974; Medley, 1979). This research was characterized by a belief that a particular
type of teaching, such as discussion, was better than an alternative, such as lecture. To
investigate this question, teachers were trained in a particular technique and then asked
to teach their students by this method. The performance of their students was compared
to the performance of students taught by an alternate method.
Like research on teacher characteristics, this line of research was also flawed. The
methods were often poorly defined and poorly taught to teachers, few classroom obser
vations were made to determine if the methods were actually used, and often no sound
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www.ablongman.corrv'kauchak4e
relationship existed between the methods and the tests used to measure outcomes. For
instance, a research study might ask if discussion was superior to lecture, but a paper
and-pencil recall test was used to measure student learning. A paper-and-pencil test ig
nores many of the benefits of discussions, such as improved communication skills or the
development of critical thinking. In addition, the strengths of discussions are their abil
ity to get students to think critically about ideas, something best measured by an essay
test. As might be expected, this line of research also proved unproductive.
School.. Level Research

A third line of research focused on variables such as school size, training level of teach
ers, and aptitude or socioeconomic status of the students. These studies tried to deter
mine the effects of these variables on student achievement and attitude. The most
notable study of this type was the famous Coleman Report (1966), which involved
4,000 schools and 654,000 students. The study analyzed data at the school rather than
the classroom level-thereby masking individual teacher differences-and concluded
that teachers made Iittle difference in how much students learned. Understandably, this
research had a dampening effect on efforts to identity effective teaching practices; the
study concluded that factors outside teachers' influence, such as the background of the
students and the curriculum, were more important than the teacher.
Subsequent researchers questioned some assumptions and procedures involved in
these schoolwide studies and, as a consequence, their results as well. For example, in
these studies, standardized test scores of student achievement for each individual class
were averaged with those of the other classes in a school to get a school-wide score.
These averages masked results that would provide valuable information about individual
teachers. As we all know, individual teachers within a school vary considerably in their
teaching effectiveness. Prominent researchers pointed out these problems (Alexander
and McDill, 1976; Good, Biddle, and Brophy, 1975), and a new wave of research was
launched.
Teacher Effectiveness Research: Teachers Do Make a Difference

As a consequence of the results or, more accurately, the nonresults of earlier efforts, re
search on teaching finally focused on teachers' actions in classrooms, attempting to find
links between these actions and student learning (Good, 1996). These studies marked a
new way of thinking about research in education. Unlike previous work, this research
focused on the teacher and the kinds of interactions teachers had with students (Shul
man, 1986). Researchers identified teachers whose students scored higher than would
be expected on standardized tests and other teachers whose students scored as expected
or below for their age and ability level. They then went into classrooms, videotaped lit
erally thousands of hours of instruction and tried to determine what differences existed
in the instructional patterns of the teachers in the two samples. These studies were la
beled process-product research because they attempted to find a link between teacher ac
tions or behaviors (processes) and student learning outcomes-primarily scores on
standardized achievement tests (products) (Gage, 1985). Finally, researchers were focus
ing on what teachers actually did that made a difference in what students learned.
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student outcomes were related, but the researchers did not know if the results were ac
tually caused by the teacher actions. The complexities of attributing causal relationships
with correlational research are illustrated with the problem of teacher disapproval (Gage
and Giaconia, 1981). Researchers found an inverse relationship between teacher disap
proval and student achievement; teachers who were more negative in their classroom
had students who achieved at lower levels than teachers who were more positive (see
Figure 1.1). However, it was unclear whether disapproval caused or was the result oflow
achievement, or whether it was related to a completely different variable such as class
room management problems. For example, one way to explain this inverse relationship
is that teachers, frustrated over their students' lack oflearning, resorted to disapprovals
more often. An alternate explanation is that poor classroom management led to more
disapprovals by teachers trying to survive a chaotic classroom, which also led to de
creased learning. Note that none of these possible explanations directly or causally
linked disapprovals to lowered achievement. The point here is that correlational findings
may suggest cause-and-effect relationships but do not in themselves prove them. To ad
dress this problem directly, the next wave of research was experimentally designed to
find causal links, if they existed (Gage and Giaconia, 1981).
These experimental studies trained teachers to use the specific behaviors identified
in the correlational studies (e.g., waiting a period of time after asking a question before
calling on a student to respond). In addition, investigators observed the trained teachers'
classes to determine whether the teachers were actually implementing the desired be
havior in the classroom. Finally, classes of trained and untrained teachers were com
pared. Because these efforts focused on differences between less and more iffective teachers, it
became known as the teacher effectiveness research. A number of significant differ
ences were found, many of which we'll describe in later chapters.
Beyond Effective Teaching: A Focus on Student Learning

The literature on effective teaching made an invaluable contribution to education be
cause it both confirmed the critical role teachers play in student learning and provided
irts,
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Achievement
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CHAPTER 1
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"education with a knowledge base capable of moving the field beyond testimonials and
unsupported claims toward scientific statements based on credible data" (Brophy, 1992,
p. 5). It provides, however, only a threshold or a baseline above which all teachers
should be. Expert teachers go beyond this threshold to construct lessons that help stu
dents learn content in a meaningful way.
Despite impressive results, critics also identified shortcomings in the teacher effec
tiveness research. Critics charged that it focused too much on lower-level learning and
tended to break knowledge into small pieces, thus reinforcing students for overt perfor
mance at the expense of meaningful learning (Marshall, 1992; Stoddart et a1., 1993). In
addition, critics contended that the research was decontextualized and failed to take stu
dents, their backgrounds, and the classroom environment into account (Goodenow,
1992). In essence, the critics were reminding us that students and student learning
should be our primary focus in discussions about teaching. These criticisms resulted in
fundamental changes in views of effective teaching methods with major shifts from
teacher-centered to learner-centered approaches.
CONTEMPORARY VIEWS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

At the same time that perspectives on teaching were changing, similar changes were
occurring in the way researchers viewed learners and learning. Behaviorist views of
learning, which emphasized external influences in the form of rewards and punish
ment, gradually gave way to more cognitive perspectives. These cognitive perspectives
emphasized active internal processes that students used to organize, store, and retrieve
information (Bruning, Shraw, and Ronning, 1999). More recently, research has em
phasized the critical role that learners play in constructing new knowledge (Eggen and
Kauchak, 2001). We analyze these changes in the sections that follow.
From Behaviorist to Cognitive Perspectives

For the first half of the twentieth century behaviorist views oflearning predominated in
education (Mayer, 1996; Reynolds, Sinatra, and Jelton, 1996). Behaviorism empha
sized the importance of observable, external events on learning and the role 'of reinforcers in influ
encing those events. The goal of behaviorist research was to determine how external
instructional manipulations affected changes in student behavior. The role of the
teacher was to control the environment through stimuli in the form of cues and rein
forcement for appropriate student behavior. Students were viewed as empty receptacles,
responding passively to stimuli from the teacher and the classroom environment.
Over time, researchers found this perspective on learning to be oversimplified and
perhaps misdirected. While learners do indeed react to stimuli from the environment,
research revealed that students were not passive recipients but instead actively changed
and altered stimuli from the environment as they attempted to make sense of their en
vironments. Student characteristics such as background knowledge, motivation, and the
use oflearning strategies all influenced learning (Bruning et a1., 1999). The role of the
teacher also changed from dispenser of rewards and punishment to someone who
helped students organize and make sense of information. These differences between be
haviorism and cognitive psychology, whichfocuses on thoughtprocesses within learners, are
summarized in Table 1.1.
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OF LEARNING
View of Learning
View of Learner
View of Teacher
Behaviorism
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meaning making; teacher of
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strategies
Constructivism: Students as Creators of Understanding

In about the last twenty years, constructivism-a recent development in cognitive
psychology-has focused our attention on the central role that learners play in con
structing new knowledge. Influenced by the work ofJean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky as
well as linguistics and anthropology, constructivism is an eclectic view qflearning that em
phasizesfour key components:
1. Learners construct their own understanding rather than having it delivered or
transmitted to them.
2. New learning depends on prior understanding and knowledge.
3. Learning is enhanced by social interaction.
4. Authentic learning tasks promote meaningful learning.
Constructivism has fundamentally changed the way we view teaching and learning. As
opposed to passive recipients of information, learners become active meaning makers,
building upon current knowledge. To facilitate the process, teachers design learning sit
uations in which learners can work with others on meaningfulle~rningtasks. Many of
the teaching strategies that you'll learn about in this text are based upon constructivist
views of learners and learning.
Learner-Centered Psychological Principles

In an attempt to summarize these recent changes in perspectives on learning, the Amer
ican Psychological Association published Learner- Centered Psychological Principles: Guide
lines for School Redesign and Reform (Presidential Task Force on Psychology in Education,
1993). As the title implies, these principles are designed to provide guidance to teachers
and administrators working to reshape learning in the schools. A summary of these
principles can be found in Figure 1.2
These generalizations remind us as teachers of the centrality of our students in the
learning process. We need to consider our students' background knowledge, develop
ment, and motivation as we plan for instruction. In addition, we need.to actively encour
age students to think about their own learning and make our classrooms comfortable and
stimulating places to learn-places where students feel part of a community oflearners.
10
CHAPTER 1
Students' prior knowledge influences learning.
~tudents need to think about their own

learning strategies.
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Generalizations about Learning and Teaching
In addition to these broad, general changes in views about teaching and learning,
content-specific ones have also arisen. The National Council for the Teaching ofMath
ematics has developed new guidelines that stress student involvement in meaningful
problem-solving activities (NCTM, 1989, 1991). The field of science has also published
guidelines that call for deeper, more thoughtful and intensive study of science topics
(American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993). In the language arts,
moves toward literature-based approaches to reading and process-oriented writing em
phasize the need for active student involvement and learning (McCarthy, 1994). Com
mon to all of these is refocused attention on the learner and what teachers can do to
help students learn.
The combination of all these lines of research is what make this an exciting time to
study education. Researchers are uncovering a number oflinks between teacher actions
and student achievement. Because of this and other related research, our views of ex
emplary teaching practice and the professional development of teachers have changed.
Our goal in preparing this text is to conununicate these findings and their implications
to prospective teachers and practicing teachers in the classroom.
TEXT THEMES
In response to recent developments in education, three themes appear throughout the text:
The diversity of our learners
Ways of enhancing learner motivation
The use of technology for increasing learning
Because these topics influence so many different aspects of teaching, they are integrated
throughout the text. Let's examine them briefly.
The Diversity of Our Learners

The students attending America's schools are becoming increasingly diverse. For exam
ple, teachers will encounter students with a wide range oflearning abilities. The prac
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11
tice of inclusion, which attempts to accommodate the learning needs of all students in
as regular an educational setting as possible, results in the presence of more students with
exceptionalities in regular classrooms. About 10 percent of the student population is in
cluded in this group, and exceptionalities range from mild learning disabilities to phys
ical disabilities such as deafness and blindness (US. Department of Education, 2001).
Ethnicity and culture also contribute to diversity. More than 7 million people im
migrated to the United States during the 1970s, and another 7 million came during the
1980s. Between 1980 and 1994, the Mrican-American student population grew by
25 percent, the Hispanic student population by 46 percent, and the Asian-American
student population grew by 100 percent (US. Census Bureau, 1996).
More than 100 ethnic groups and 170 Native American groups live in the United
States. Experts estimate that by the year 2020 our country will see considerable increases
in the numbers of Hispanic and Mrican-American students, and a dramatic increase in
Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaskan Native populations will occur (US.
Census Bureau, 1998b; Young and Smith, 1999). Each of these groups brings a distinct
set of values and traditions that influence student learning.
This growth in immigration is also resulting in an increase in language diversity.
Currently there are approximately 3.2 million children in US. schools whose home lan
guage is other than English. California has 1.4 million of these English as a Second Lan
guage (ESL) students, comprising nearly 40 percent of the student population in that
state (US. Department of Education, 1998; Stoddart, 1999). In the Los Angeles School
District, more than 81 languages are represented, with as many as 20 found in some
classrooms. Nationwide, the number of students whose primary language is not English
is expected to triple during the next 30 years. The most common language groups for
these students are Spanish (73%), Vietnamese (4%), Hmong (1.8%), Cantonese (1.7%),
and Cambodian (1.6%).
Poverty and student differences in socioeconomic status also present challenges to
teachers. Consider these statistics:
Seven out of ten women with children are in the workforce.
The divorce rate has quadrupled in the past 20 years; the number of single
parent families is estimated at 25 percent and is expected to increase.
Sixty-eight percent of all births to teenagers occur out of wedlock
The incidence of poverty among single-parent families is between seven and
eight times higher than in families headed by married couples.
Sixty percent of teenage families live in poverty as compared to 14 percent of
the total population.
Children, while only 27 percent of the total population, constitute 40 percent
of the poor.
Poverty is more prevalent among minorities than nonminorities
(More Families in Poverty, 1993; Us. Census Bureau, 1998b).
These conditions create challenges for both teachers and students. Teachers need to be
prepared for this diversity when they enter tomorrow's classrooms.
Ways of Enhancing Learner Motivation

Motivation, the second theme of the text, is a challenge for beginning and veteran
teachers alike. In a review of over 83 studies involving beginning teachers from nine
12
CHAPTER I
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countries, Veenman (1984) found that only classroom management ranked ahead of
motivation as a beginning teacher concern. Experienced teachers usually come to grips
with classroom management, but they continue to wrestle with the problem of motiva
tion. In his classic study of classrooms, Jackson (1968) found that a teacher's greatest
source of satisfaction or joy in teaching came from seeing an individual child make
progress, especially one who was initially unresponsive or unmotivated.
Motivation is aforce that energizes and directs student behavior toward a goal. Our chal
lenge as teachers is to increase student motivation and direct it toward the school-related
tasks that students need to learn.
Student motivation is critical for learning (Wang, Haertel, and Walberg, 1993; Wein
stein, 1998). In addition, increased motivation results in improved student attitudes
about learning, fewer classroom management problems, and greater satisfaction with
school for both teachers and students. It is a powerful factor influencing the total learn
ing environment.
The Use of Technology for Increasing Learning

The third theme for this text is technology. Technology has changed the way we live and
has also changed the way we learn and teach. Some examples of the dramatic growth of
technology in schools include:
Currently, there are over 9 million computers in American schools-about one
for every 5.7 students.
Seventy-five percent of public schools have access to some kind of telecommu
nications.
More than 50 percent ofpublic schools are linked to the Internet.
Almost every school in the country has at least one television and videocassette
recorder.
41 percent of teachers have a TV in their classroom.
(Teachers and Technology, 1995; Schrum and Fitzgerald, 1996; Fatemi, 1999)
Probably the most dramatic growth has occurred in the area of computer technol
ogy. Initially, computer literacy, or preparing students for life in the age of computers,
was the focus of most computer use in the schools. Over time, instructional uses of
computers have expanded to include:
Computer-assisted instruction, including simulations, multimedia instruction,
drill and practice, and tutorials
Information tools for students, including spreadsheets, databases, and other ca
pabilities for information retrieval, processing and multimedia learning
Computer-managed instruction, including student record keeping, diagnostic
and prescriptive testing, and test scoring and analysis
Design of instructional materials, including text and graphics
Technology in general, and computers in particular, are being viewed as essential
parts of instruction to help students develop critical thinking skills (Roblyer and Ed
wards, 2000). Today's teachers need to know how to use these technologies to help stu
dents learn.
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13
LEARNING TO TEACH
This book is written to assist you in the lifelong process oflearning to teach. Becoming
an expert teacher is a complex, multifaceted process that continues throughout an indi
vidual's professional lifetime. It requires intelligence, sensitivity, experience, and hard
work. It also requires several different kinds of knowledge-knowledge of subject mat
ter, such as history, literature, or algebra; knowledge of how to illustrate and represent
abstract ideas in understandable ways; knowledge oflearners and how they learn, and an
understanding of how teachers can help in this process.
Let's turn now to a closer look at the different kinds of knowledge it takes to be
come an expert teacher.
Knowledge of Subject Matter

We can't teach what we don't understand ourselves. This simple statement is self
evident, and it is well documented by research examining the relationships between
what teachers know and how they teach (Shulman, 1986; Wilson, Shulman, and
Richert, 1987). To teach effectively about the American Revolution, for example, a so
cial studies teacher must know not only basic facts about the event but also how it re
lates to other aspects of history, such as the French and Indian Wars, our relationship
with England prior to the Revolution, and the characteristics of the individual colonies.
The same is true for any topic in any other content area.
Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Knowledge of content-no matter how complete-is not enough, however; it is a nec
essary but not sufficient condition for effective instruction. An effective teacher must
also represent that information in ways that learners will understand. The ability to do this is
called pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1986). For example, consider the
concept of mammal, which is typically taught in different ways to students at different
levels. At the elementary level, the teacher might use pictures and concrete examples
(e.g., a gerbil or guinea pig) to emphasize characteristics like "covered with hair" and
"warm blooded." At the junior high level, teachers build on this foundation by empha
sizing additional characteristics like "live birth" and "four-chambered heart." Finally, at
the high school level, biology teachers discuss characteristics like mammals' ability to
adapt to their surroundings, different classes of mammals, and what it means to be a
primitive (e.g. the duck-billed platypus) compared to an advanced mammal. The same
concept is taught in different ways at each of these levels to accommodate the back
ground, interests, and capabilities of students.
When teachers plan, one of their greatest challenges is to figure out ways of mak
ing abstract topics understandable. To illustrate this idea, let's examine one teacher's
thinking as he wrestles with teaching the concept of theme to a high school English class.
As he plans, he first defines it for himself as "an idea or thought that a story explores or
treats." He realizes that this definition is abstract; if students are to understand it, he will
need to illustrate it with concrete examples.
I'm trying to think of an everyday example so as to "get into it," with the stu
dents .... What things are repeated in your life-but are never the same each time?
14
CHAPTER I
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Seasons, school, sunrises, meals, etc .... for example: A baseball game has a pattern
that we can anticipate-9, 3-out innings. However, it is how that pattern is varied in
each of its nine repetitions that gives a game meaning; that tells us who wins or loses.
We know that a school year has a planned pattern of 2 semesters and four grading pe
riods. But it is the variation within that pattern that gives the school year meaning for
you or for me. (Wilson et al., 1987, pp. 115-116)
He unsuccessfully teaches the lesson; students don't grasp the parallels between his
examples and a theme, nor are they able to identify one in a piece ofliterature. His ex
amples of a baseball game and school semesters don't work, so he plans again.
My frustrations led me to look for a better image, a better metaphor that I could
give ... for tracing and understanding theme. What I came up with was the trailing
of a wounded animal by a hunter. Here the hunter discards all or most of the infor
mation the scene before him presents. He concentrates only on that which pertains
to the animal he is searching for. Now some of the clues might be from the animal
itself-blood or hair-just as the word or words of a theme appear outright in any
given passage. But also a hunter must see the broken grass, the hoofprint, the things
that are indicators.
(Wilson et al., 1987, pp. 116-117)
Throughout the transformation of content from an abstract idea to the analogy of

trailing a wounded animal, the teacher tries to help his students understand the process of
finding a theme in literature. Effective teachers use their knowledge of content and their
pedagogical content knowledge to help students make connections like this every day.
Knowledge of Teaching and Learning

Learning to teach not only involves understanding content and how to translate that
subject matter into an understandable form, it also requires knowledge about the process
of teaching and learning themselves. Knowledge of teaching and learning involves a
general understanding oj instruction and management that transcends individual topics or subject
matterareas (Borko and Putnam, 1996). To understand how knowledge of teaching and
learning is a central component of learning to teach, let's look at a teacher who has
taught her students the process for adding fractions and is now reviewing with them.
"Class, look at this fraction on the board. What do we call the number on the bottom?
Celena?"
"Uh ... denominator."
"Good, Celena. And what do we call the number on the top, Carl?"
"We talked about this yesterday, Carl. Remember, it tells us the number of parts in the
fraction. Think about the term that it is derived from, number."
"Oh yeah, numerator."
"Excellent, Carl. Now, look closely at this addition problem. It says to add liz and 1/3.
What do we have to do first? Think for a moment, because this is important. Look up at
the pies that I've drawn on the board to represent these different fractions."
This teacher was trying to help her students do several things in her review. First, she
wanted them to remember the names for the top and bottom numbers in a fraction-two
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15
concepts that she had already taught. When Carl could not answer, the teacher provided
a prompt that helped him respond correctly. After students recalled the terms numerator
and denominator, the teacher referred them to a problem on the board. She illustrated the
abstract problem with a concrete example to promote their understanding of the process.
Finally, she told them to pause for a moment-an idea called "wait time"-encouraging
them to take some time to think about why changing the denominator was important.
Review, concept, prompting, concrete example, and wait time are all pedagogical con
cepts-concepts about: teaching and learning. As such, they are part of a professional
body of knowledge that helps us analyze and understand the teaching process. Your
teacher education program is designed to help you understand these and many other
pedagogical concepts, which will help you recognize and appreciate effective teaching
when you observe it and ultimately help you plan and implement effective lessons in
your own classroom. Each of the chapters in this text includes information about con
nections between teaching and learning.
Teaching Strategies
Research on effective teaching has established links between teacher actions or behav
iors and student learning. Research on wait time, for example, indicates that giving stu
dents time to think about a question both increases the quality of their immediate
responses and increases long-term achievement (Tobin, 1987). Research also tells us that
providing students with concrete examples to illustrate abstract ideas improves students'
ability to understand those ideas (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001). An expert teacher is one
who understands the relationships between teacher actions and student learning and can
implement these actions with students.
In our work with teachers, we have found that sharing research with them is not
enough. Research results must be translated into teaching strategies directly related to
classroom practice, and teachers must be given opportunities to practice the strategies
and receive feedback about their efforts. Teaching strategies are a third component of
learning to teach. A teaching strategy is an interconnected set if teaching actions designed
to accomplish specific goals. Teaching strategies can be thought of as research translated into
integrated teacher actions.
To illustrate the idea of a teaching strategy, let's return to the teacher wrestling with
the concept of theme and look at one way to teach this abstract idea.
"Class, today we're going to learn about the idea of theme. It's an idea that will help us un
derstand and appreciate the literature we read. Look up at the overhead and read the defi
nition there.
A theme is an idea that reoccurs or repeats itselfthroughout a story.
"Let's see if we can understand how theme relates to a story, Hemingway's The Old
Man and the Sea, which we've Just finished. One of the major themes in that book was
the struggle of man against nature. Hemingway introduced this theme at the beginning
when he told us about the old man's struggles to make a livingcatching fish. He worked
hard every day but went for weeks without catching a decent fish. That's one place where
the theme-man struggling against nature---occurred. The fisherman represented man,
and the sea that wouldn't let him catch fish was nature. Who can give me a second exam
ple of this theme where man struggled With nature? Deena?"
16
CHAPTER I
"Well, like when the old man hooked the fish and had to fight with it for a long time."
"Good, Deena. Go ahead and explain how that illustrates the idea of this theme."
"I ... I'm not sure ... but I'll try. The theme ... the theme is man's struggle against
nature and the fish is nature, so he's struggling with it."

"Good thinking, Deena. Note, everyone, how the same idea-man against nature-is
repeated in the story. That's why it's a theme. Who can think of another place where this
theme reoccurred or repeated itself? Eddie?"
" ... How about the shark attack?"
" ... Well, after he caught the fish, he tried to bring it back to sell it, but the sharks
wouldn't let him. So he ... "
"What was he struggling with-besides the sharks?"
"Oh, okay, nature. He was struggling with nature."
How does this illustrate a teaching strategy? A teaching strategy consists of coordi
nated teacher actions designed to reach a particular goal~in this case, helping students
understand the concept of theme. The teaching strategy used by this teacher involved
three basic steps.
Defining the concept .
Illustrating the abstract idea with specific examples taken from the story
Questioning to promote students' active involvement in learning and to help
them connect the examples to the concept
Research indicates that this is an effective strategy when we want students to un
derstand abstract concepts (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001). Defining the idea provides a
frame of reference for the rest of the lesson, the examples illustrate the concept and give
it meaning, and questioning involves students in the learning process. In Chapters 7
through 11, we describe a number of teaching strategies ranging from learner-centered
constructivist strategies that capitalize on social interaction to teacher-centered ap
proaches, such as direct instruction and lecture-discussions. Each has a specific set of re
search-based procedures designed to accomplish specific goals.
Teacher Decision Making

Teachers must know the content they teach and know how to transform this content into
a form students can understand. They must also understand how teachers can help stu
dents learn and how to translate this knowledge into teaching strategies. We call these
four components oflearning to teach knowledge of subject matter, pedagogical content
knowledge, knowledge of teaching and learning, and teaching strategies. But learning to
teach involves even more than a thorough understanding of these components. Expert
teachers not only have a repertoire of knowledge and strategies, but they also understand
when specific teacher actions are appropriate and why. For example, the teacher-centered
approach to teaching concepts described earlier, which results in increased understanding
of concepts, may not be appropriate for teaching other important goals, such as social in
teraction skills like active listening and building on others' ideas or attitudes, and values,
such as openness to alternate points of view. These goals need different approaches that
require student-student interaction and encourage learner initiative (Slavin, 1995). Un
v'kauchak4e
nne."
inst
Ie-IS
E:
this
)f coordi
~ students
. involved
'o help
to un
rovides a
and give
hapters 7
-centered
ered ap
set ofre
derstanding how to implement knowledge of teaching and learning and when and how
different teacher strategies are appropriate is an important dimension of effective teach
". ing, requiring a great deal of expertise. This dimension is called professional decision
making, a process that governs and guides the other four components.
~ Decision making involves the application ifprifessional judgment in deciding when, where,
how, and why to use the other components if teaching. As shown in Figure 1.3, decision making
is an executive function that governs the application of the other teaching components.
Professional decision making can be thought of as a filter that helps determine
when and where research findings should be used. Educational research needs to be ap
plied selectively and strategically, with the goals of teaching and with students' well
being continually in mind; this is the essence of professional decision making. Let's see
how decision making influences teaching in the classroom.
A kindergarten teacher has just distributed materials for an art project and is now surveying
the room to see if everyone has started. She notices that Jimmy is staring out the window
with his thumb in his mouth and tears in his eyes. It is the beginning of the school year, and
Jimmy still isn't used to the idea of being away from home. Should the teacher wait a
minute and see if the art materials will do the trick, or should she intervene?
A middle school teacher is getting more and more frustrated. Mary is obviously more inter
ested in her friends than in English, and the teacher can't keep her from talking. He calls
on her; she doesn't hear the question. Should he reprimand her, repeat the question, or go
on to another student?
Its
tent into
help stu
.all these
content
irning to
. Expert
derstand
centered
standing
ocial in
i values,
:hes that
15). Un-
17
A high school teacher has just distributed an assignment. She goes over the work in some
depth, explaining its importance and how it should be done. She concludes by reminding
the class that the grade for the assignment counts as one-fourth of the semester grade. A
barely audible "Who cares?" follows. Should the teacher ignore it and go on, or should
she respond?
Learning to Teach
Decision Making
(integrates)
Knowledge of
Subject Matter
Pedagogical
Content
Knowledge
Knowledge of
Teaching and
Learning
r~ 1.3 Components of Learning to Teach
Teaching
Strategies
18
CHAPTER I
vvww.ablongman.comlkauchak4e
We all remember our educational psychology texts' admonitions about the effects
of reinforcement and punishment on behavior. These are documented research find
ings. But what do the findings tell the classroom teacher in the preceding examples? In
each case, direct intervention might cause as many problems as it solves. Ignoring the
problem raises similar issues. To make the situation more complex, these decisions must
be made immediately.
The number of decisions-conscious or otherwise-that teachers must make every
day is staggering. Jackson (1968) suggested that more than 800 decisions per day are
made in elementary classrooms. Murray (1986) estimated the number at 1,500. Even
using the more conservative figure, that translates into more than 130 decisions per hour
in a 6-hour teaching day!
Before you get discouraged, remember that effective teachers not only make these
decisions but also make them well. Research also shows that expert teachers structure
their classrooms to run efficiently, so more time and energy can be devoted to impor
tant decisions-decisions that affect learning (Doyle, 1986; Leinhardt and Greeno,
1986).
Learning to Teach in an Era of Reform

You are becoming a teacher in one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of
American education. Critics, both inside and outside the profession, are calling for re
forms, which are suggested changes in teaching and teacher preparation intended to increase the
amount students learn. To implement these reforms, teachers must be well prepared, and
leaders in education are saying that we need to professionalize teaching (Blair, 2000).
We examine the implications of these reform efforts for your professional development
as a teacher in this section.
Reform: What Does It Mean? To place recent reform efforts in perspective, we should
point out that the process of change and reform has been a part of education through
out its history. From colonial times to the present, schools and the teachers in them have
been fair game for outside critics.
The modern reform movement is often traced to 1983, when the National Com
mission on Excellence in Education published A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Edu
cation Reform. This widely read document suggested that America was "at risk" of being
unable to compete in the world economic marketplace because our system of education
was inadequate. The terms at-risk students and more recently students placed at risk can
also be traced back to this document; these students were at risk of not acquiring the
knowledge and skills needed for success in our modern society. Since 1983, a great
many suggestions have been made for improving our nation's schools and the teachers
who work in them.
Changes in TeacherPreparation. Reforms in teacher education focus on upgrading the
knowledge and skills of teachers. These reforms include:
Raising standards for acceptance into teacher-training programs

Requiring teachers to take more rigorous courses than they have in the past
Requiring higher standards for licensure, including teacher tests
Expanding teacher-preparation programs from four years to five
rbuchak4e
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arch find
mples? In
oring the
ions must
ake every
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(1(1. Even
,per hour
:T
ake these
structure
o Imp orGreeno,
19
Requiring experienced teachers to take more rigorous professional develop

ment courses
(B/air, 2000)
Some of these suggestions are almost certainly going to affect you. We'll describe
two as examples. First, you will likely be required to take more courses in English, math,
science, history, and geography than have been required of teachers in the past. In addi
tion, there is a movement to require all teachers, elementary and secondary, to major in
a content area for their undergraduate degree. The rationale behind this push is related
to both knowledge of content and pedagogical content knowledge-that teachers can't
teach what they don't know themselves.
Second, you probably will be required to pass a test before you're awarded your
teaching license. At the present time:
Thirty-nine states require prospective teachers to pass a basic skills test.
Twenty-nine states require high school teachers to pass tests in the subjects they
plan to teach.
Twenty-seven states require principals to evaluate new teachers.
(0/5011, 2000)
ustory of
g for re
urease the
ared, and
r, 2000).
-lopment
e should
:hrough
tern have
al Com
for Edu
of being
:lucation
risk can
ring the
a great
teachers
ding the
The American Federation of Teachers, the second largest professional organization

for teachers in the U.S., recently proposed that prospective teachers pass both tests
aimed at basic content, such as math and English, as well as tests designed to measure
teachers' knowledge of teaching principles (Blair, 2000). This proposalsignals a change
in policy from the past and suggests that teacher testing is not only here to stay, but
likely to increase.
The National Teachers Examination (NTE), also called the Core Battery ofthe Praxis II
(Educational Testing Service, 1999) is the most commonly used teacher test. The Praxis
Series (praxis means putting theory into practice) is currently being used in 35 states and
consists of three components (Educational Testing Service, 1999):
Praxis I: Academic Skills Assessments-designed to measure basic or "en
abling" skills in reading, writing, and math that all teachers need.
Praxis II: Subject Assessments-designed to measure teachers' knowledge of
the subjects they will teach. In addition to 70 content-specific tests, Praxis II
also includes the Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) test and the Pro
fessional Knowledge test.
Praxis III: Classroom Performance Assessments-use classroom observations
and work samples to assess teachers' ability to plan, instruct, manage, and un
derstand professional responsibilities. In addition, Praxis III assesses the teacher's
sensitivity to learners' developmental and cultural differences.
You are most likely to encounter Praxis I during your teacher preparation, Praxis II after
its completion, and Praxis III during your first year of teaching.
Standards'Based Professional Development

past
One important outcome of the reform movement in education is the increased use of
standards to focus curriculum and instruction on important learning goals. Standards
based education is changing K-12 education, as you'll read about in Chapter 3 when we
20
CHAPTER 1
discuss teacher planning. It also is changing the kinds of experiences you'll have in your
teacher education programs.
Beginning Professional Development: INTASC Standards. In the past, learning to teach

was easier and the demands on beginning teachers were not as great. This situation has
changed (Berliner, 2000). A rapidly ex-panding body of literature consistently demon
strates that teaching now requires professionals who are highly knowledgeable and skilled.
The profession is responding. Created in 1987, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment
and Support Consortium (INTASC, 1993) was designed to help states develop better
teachers through coordinated efforts of support and assessment. INTASC has raised the
bar by setting rigorous standards for new teachers in important areas such as planning,
instruction, and motivation. These standards describe what you should know and be
able to do when you first walk into a classroom.
At this point general standards organized around 10 principles have been prepared,
and subject area standards and a Test for Teaching Knowledge (TTK) are being developed.
These principles are outlined in Table 1.2.
The principles are expanded by describing the knowledge, dispositions, and perfor
mances teachers are expected to demonstrate. For instance, with respect to the first prin
ciple, teachers should understand how students' misconceptions in an area---such as
believing that the earth is closer to the sun in the summer (in the Northern Hemisphere)
can influence their learning (knowledge of the subject matter and how it influences stu
dent learning). In terms of dispositions, teachers should be committed to continuous
learning (disposition to continually grow as a professional). Finally, teachers should be
able to use a variety of ways to illustrate ideas to make them understandable to students,
such as using demonstrations, pictures, technology, and classroom discussion to illustrate
the seasons (performance-using the knowledge and dispositions to increase student learn
ing). Similar knowledge, dispositions, and performances exist for each principle.
The INTASC standards are demanding, but this is as it should be. If you expect to
be treated as a professional, you should have the knowledge and skills that allow you to
make the decisions expected of a professional. Being able to meet the INTASC stan
dards is a good beginning.
Advanced Professional Standards: National Board Certification. Licensure is the process
states use to ensure that teachers meet minimal professional standards. In comparison,
national board certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
(NBPTS) seeks to strengthen teaching as a profession and raise the quality of education
by recognizing the contributions of exemplary teachers, compensate them financially,
give them increased responsibility, and increase their role in decision making. National
Board Certification is directed by five core propositions which are outlined and de
scribed in Table 1.3.
National board certification has five important characteristics:
It is designed for experienced teachers. Applicants must have graduated from
an accredited college or university and must have taught at least three years.
Applying for national board certification is strictly voluntary and independent
of any state's licensure. It is intended to indicate a high level of achievement
and professionalism.
.-\auchak4e
21
ve in your
g to teach
uation has
~. demon
ad skilled.
r.s:
THE INTASC PRINCIPLES
Principle
1. Knowledge
of subject
1ssessment
op better
raised the
planning,
'" and be
2. Learning and human

development
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of

inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches
and can create learning experiences that make these aspects
of subject matter meaningful for students.
The teacher understands how children learn and develop
and can provide learning opportunities that support their
intellectual, social, and personal development.
3. Adapting instruction
The teacher understands how students differ in their

approaches to learning and creates instructional
opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.
4. Strategies
The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional

strategies to encourage students' development of critical
thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.
prepared,
eveloped.
d perfor
irst prin
-such as
:llsphere)
nces stu
ntinuous
iould be
Description
5. Motivation and
management
The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group

. motivation and behavior to create a learning environment
that encourages positive social interaction, active
engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
6. Communication
skills
The teacher uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal,

and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry,
collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.
7. Planning
The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of

subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum
goals.
;C stan
8. Assessment
process
Janson,
The teacher understands and uses formal and informal

assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the
continuous intellectual, social, and physical development
of the learner.
9. Commitment
The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually

evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others
(students, parents, and other professionals in the learning
community) and who actively seeks out opportunities to
grow professionally.
students,
illustrate
at learn
xpect to
v you to
tandards
ucation
mcially,
[ational
uid de
rom
IrS.
ident
~nt
10. Partnership
The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues,

parents, and agencies in the larger community to support
students' learning and well-being.
Source: From Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium. (1993). Model stan
dards for beginning teacher licensing and development: A resource for state dialogues. Washington, D.c.,
Council of Chief State School Officers. Reprinted by permission.
22
CHAPTER I
~ (.~ PROPOSITIONS OF THE NATIONAL BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL

TEACHING STANDARDS
Proposition
Description
1. Teachers are
committed to
students and
their learning.
Accomplished teachers believe that all students can learn, and they treat
students equitably.
Accomplished teachers understand how students develop, and they use
accepted learning theory as the basis for their teaching.
Accomplished teachers are aware of the influence of context and culture on
behavior, and they foster students' self-esteem, motivation, and character.
2. Teachers know
the subjects they
teach and how
to teach those
subjects to
students.
Accomplished teachers have a rich understanding of the subject(s) they

teach, and they appreciate how knowledge in their subject is linked to
other disciplines and applied to real-world settings.
Accomplished teachers know how to make subject matter understandable
to students, and they are able to modify their instruction when
difficulties arise.
Accomplished teachers demonstrate critical and analytic capacities in
their teaching, and they develop those capacities in their students .
3. Teachers are
responsible for
managing and
monitoring
student learning.
Accomplished teachers capture and sustain the interest of their students

and use their time effectively
Accomplished teachers are able to use a variety of effective instructional
techniques, and they use the techniques appropriately.
Accomplished teachers can use multiple methods to assess the progress of
students, and they effectively communicate this progress to parents.
4. Teachers think
Accomplished teachers are models for intellectual curiosity, and they

display virtues-honesty, fairness, and respect for diversity-that they
seek to inspire in their students.
Accomplished teachers use their understanding of students, learning, and
instruction to make principled judgments about sound practice, and they
are lifelong learners.
Accomplished teachers critically examine their practice, and they seek
continual professional growth.
systematically
about their
practice and
learn from
experience.
5. Teachers are
members
oflearning
communities.
Accomplished teachers contribute to the effectiveness of the school, and

they work collaboratively withtheir colleagues.
Accomplished teachets evaluate school progress, and they utilize
community resources.
Accomplished teachers work collaboratively with parents, and they
involve parents in school activities.
Source: Reprinted with permission from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. VVhat
Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do, 1994. All rights reserved.
Acquiring national board certification requires that teachers pass a set of exams
in their area of specialty, such as math, science, early childhood, or physical ed
ucation and health.
Additional evidence, such as videotapes of teaching and a personal portfolio,
are used in the assessment process.
r'kauchak4e
iIONAL
ley treat
ulrure on
aracter,
s}
they
ked to
standable
esin
s.
udents
ictional
ogress
of
ts.
hey
they
ing, and
23
The primary control of the NBPTS is in the hands of practicing teachers,

which increases the professionalism of teaching.
Since the NBPTS is for veterans, why are we providing this information in this
book-one studied by preservice teachers early in their programs? There are four rea
sons. First, national board certification can provide a long-term career goal combined
with financial incentives for you as a new teacher. Thirty-nine states and nearly 200
school districts have spent millions of dollars to reward teachers who successfully com
plete the process; by late 2000 nearly 5,000 teachers had done so, with another nearly
10,000 awaiting word on whether or not they had passed (Blair, 2000). California
teachers who successfully complete this certification process receive a $10,000 bonus; in
North Carolina, the state pays the entire $2,000 application fee and rewards successful
applicants with a 12 percent increase in the state's portion of salaries paid to teachers
(Feldman, 2000).
Second, the criteria in Table 1.3 emphasize the pedagogical content knowledge, gen
eral pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of learners and learning that we discussed
earlier in the chapter. The NBPTS recognizes that increasing professionalism requires
teachers who are both highly knowledgeable and skilled in their areas of specialization.
Finally, evidence indicates that national board certification makes a difference. A
study comparing teachers who had successfully completed the process to those who had
attempted but failed to achieve national board certification found that the nationally
certified teachers scored higher on nearly all measures of teaching expertise. The study
involved at least 75 hours of observation of each teacher, together with interviews and
samples of student work (Blair, 2000). National board certification is a long-term goal
that is well worth pursuing and one we're encouraging you to keep in mind as you
begin your career.
Developing a Professional Portfolio
nd they
seek
01. and
exams
'al ed-
The interview was going okay, but I was uneasy. The principal I was interviewing with
was cordial, but she certainly wasn't enthusiastic. "I've had it," I thought to myself She
even quit asking me questions after about 20 minutes. I really wanted the job, too.
As I was about to leave, I happened to mention, "Would you like to see my portfolio?"
She looked at it for a couple minutes, and then she started asking some probing questions.
When she stuck my CD-ROM in her computer and saw me teaching, she really lit up. I
got the job! (Shannon, a recent graduate and new teacher)
As you begin this section you might wonder, "Why are they talking about inter
views and portfolios now, in the middle of my teacher education program? Jobs and in
terviews may be months, even years, away. The answers are simple. The sooner you start
assembling your professional portfolio, the better, and professional portfolios are one of
the best ways to document and reflect on your growth as a teacher. A professional
portfolio is a collection if workproduced by a prospective teacher. Just as artists use portfolios
of produced work to illustrate their talents and accomplishments, teachers use portfolios
to document their knowledge and skills.
The reason you should start now in thinking about your portfolio is that you may
want to include products that you complete throughout your program, including assign
ments for the course you're in now. For instance, suppose you teach a particularly good
24
CHAPTER I
lesson for one of your methods classes. You may want to include a copy of the lesson
plan, a videotape of you teaching the lesson, and student work samples to document the
lesson's effectiveness and your growth as a developing teacher. Though this experience
will have occurred long before you actively seek ajob, it can be a valuable entry never
theless. The sooner you start thinking about what to include in your portfolio, the less
likely you are to omit valuable or important entries.
Portfolios also provide tangible benchmarks that you can use for reflection; and re
flection, or thinking about your actions and beliefs, can accelerate your growth as a pro
fessional. For instance, suppose you have yourself videotaped teaching a lesson for one of
your teaching methods courses. The videotape is a concrete indicator ofyour skills at that
point and provides a tangible basis for your reflection. Later, you may complete another
videotaped lesson during an internship experience or student teaching. A comparison of
your performance in the two lessons provides a concrete measure of your progress.
Possible Porifolio Entries. The contents of a professional portfolio can take many forms.
Some possible suggestions are included in Table 1.4.
These types of portfolio entries provide different perspectives on your growth as a
professional.
Preparing a Porifolio. Preparing a portfolio typically involves five steps (Martin, 1999):
1. Specffy a goal. For example, you're probably taking this course because you've ei
ther decided that you want to teach, or you're at least considering teaching. Find
ing a satisfying job would be a likely goal.
2. Determine how both past andfuture experiences relate to the goal. You might choose to
tutor a student with a reading problem, for example, to get professional experi
ence that will make you more marketable.
3. Strategically collect items thatprovide evidence if your developing knowledge and skill. A
video clip of you working with the student would be a excellent entry, for instance.
7Jte, 1.9
POTENTIAL PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO ENTRIES
Lesson plans
Community involvement
Unit plans
Grading policies
Videotapes oflessons taught
Transcripts
Student work samples
Volunteer work
Student projects
Technology competence
Action research projects
As a teacher:
Principal evaluations
Supervisor evaluations
Classroom management plan

Classroom rules
Communications with parents
Source: Adaptedfrom Bullock and Hawk (2001).
ir\auchak4e
the lesson
ument the
sperience
uy never
0, the less
n: and re
as a pro
for one of
aDs at that
r another
parison of
1
ress.
ny forms.
25
4, Decide what items among your collection best illustrate your knowledge and skills. For ex
ample, since a prospective employer is unlikely to view a bulky collection or series
of videotapes, a videotaped lesson is likely a better entry than is a clip from a tu
toring session.
5, Determine how to best present the items to the person orpeople connected to yourgoal,
such as the personnel director of a school district in which you want to teach.
In addition to planning for your professional portfolio, you also need to construct
one. All professional portfolios have four components:
Purpose: To document a particular aspect of your growth as a teacher, such as

your ability to plan or implement a specific type of lesson.
Audience: This can vary from a professor or instructor to a prospective employer.
Evidence: Consists of work samples that document accomplishments and growth.
Reflections: Thoughts about the evidence and how they document professional
growth.
(Bullock and Hawk, 2001)
owth as a
D.
1999):
rve ei
g. Find
oose to
rperi
~A
nstance.
Just as professional portfolios have different components, they also have different pur
poses (Bullock and Hawk, 2001). Process portfolios are designed to showcase a teacher's
growth over a period oj time. For example, a process portfolio on assessment would contain
student assessments and work samples that document your developing ability to assess stu
dent learning progress in a number of different ways.
A second type of portfolio, a product portfolio, contains a specific set oj evidence de
veloped over a short period of time to meet a desired outcome. For example, a product portfolio
on planning might include a unit plan integrating several content areas around a common
theme. A product portfolio documents professional growth through a final product.
A third type of portfolio, a showcase portfolio, contains collections oj a person's best
work as chosen by that person. For example, a showcase portfolio on teaching writing
would document your ability to use different approaches to writing instruction together
with work samples of students. Showcase portfolios are often used for job interviews
and may contain elements of the other portfolio types.
As we said earlier, the sooner you start making these decisions, the more complete
and effective your portfolio will be. As you begin, we offer three suggestions:
Initially, err on the side of including too much in the portfolio. If you think
you might use it, include it now. You can always remove an item, but including
an item you've discarded is difficult, if not impossible.
Always date the entry. If you want to organize your portfolio chronologically,
the dated items will make organizing the information simpler.
Make all entries and supporting information with clear communication in
mind. You're trying to convince a potential employer that you're knowledge
able and skilled, and you want to make his or her decision as easy as possible. A
well-organized portfolio creates a positive impression; the opposite occurs with
a disorganized one.
ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIOS. As we move farther into the information age, the

development of electronic portfolios is becoming more commonplace. They include
everything a paper-based product includes, but they do it more efficiently. For example,
26
CHAPTER 1
one CD-ROM disk can hold the equivalent of 300,000 text pages (Lankes, 1995).
Typed documents can be scanned into word processing flies and stored on floppy disks
or CD-ROMs, and video can be digitized and also stored on CD-ROMs. This saves
both time and energy. People who want to view a video episode in a paper-based port
folio must find a VCR, review the tape and put it back into the correct portfolio con
tainer. In contrast, video footage in an electronic portfolio can be augmented with text
and graphics and accessed with the click of a mouse. This is what got Shannon her job.
The principal was impressed with both her teaching and the fact that the information
in her portfolio was so easy to access.
Electronic portfolios require sophisticated computer equipment and software as well
as skilled users. In spite of these obstacles, however, it is likely that the expansion of
technology will eventually make paper-based portfolios obsolete, so the sooner you de
velop your technology skills in these areas the more effective your portfolio will be.
ORGANIZING YOUR PORTFOLIO. You will want to organize your portfolio to

make it accessible to an evaluator. As an organizational guide, put yourself in evaluators'
shoes. Remember, they don't know much about you, you want them to, and you want
to make it as easy for them as possible. Let communication and ease of access be your
guide for organizing the information in your portfolio.
Regardless of whether your portfolio is paper based or electronic, you will want to
start with a title page followed by a table of contents. Then you'll want to include the
most impressive entries, followed by those less significant. Work samples and evidence
of performance, such as video clips, are always treated more significantly than testimo
nialletters, which are often essentially disregarded.
USING THIS BOOK TO LEARN TO TEACH

This book can help you in your efforts to become an expert teacher in several ways. Per
haps most importantly, it describes research findings that connect teacher actions to stu
dent learning. Some of this research is described as concepts that are highlighted in
boldface type and defined in italics to identity them as important ideas. These important
concepts, with page numbers, are also found at the end of each chapter to aid you in
your study. Other research findings appear as teaching strategies designed to accomplish
specific goals. Our intent in presenting this information is to provide you with the con
ceptual tools you need to analyze your own and others' teaching and to plan and im
plement effective lessons in your own classroom.
Case studies are used throughout this book in an attempt to bridge theory and prac
tice. We begin each chapter with a case that frames important concepts and major issues in
the chapter, and we end each chapter with an additional case for you to analyze called "Re
flecting on Teaching and Learning." These case studies serve several functions. First, they
illustrate abstract ideas, attempting to help you understand what these ideas look like in
classrooms. We used brief case studies in the previous section to illustrate teacher decision
makin~an abstract and potentially difficult to understand concept. In addition to being
useful illustrations, case studies show how important ideas can be applied in classrooms. You
should know that the Praxis II series, described previously, uses case studies such as these to
test beginning teachers' knowledge. Your familiarity with the use of cases to illustrate com
plex ideas will assist you on this test. These cases are based on our experiences in the real
world of schools and are an attempt to provide you with a realistic slice of classroom life.
om'1<auchak4e
nkes, 1995).
tloppy disks
i_ This saves
-based port
folio con
ed with text
IOn her job.
intormation
1ll,';lre as well
rpansion of
ner you de
will be.
portfolio to
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rill want to
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d evidence
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ways. Per
ms to stu
lighted in
i:mportant
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.complish
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27
Discussion questions are also found at the end of each chapter. They invite you to
go beyond the content, to look for relationships in the material, and to integrate the
material in a personal way. The answers to some of these questions can be found within
the text, while others are more open ended, asking you to use your own experience and
judgment. Hopefully, they will stimulate your growth in professional decision making.
The third set of exercises, Portfolio Activities, is designed to assist you in develop
ing your own professional portfolio by applying research findings in actual classrooms
through assignments that demonstrate the implications ofresearch findings for classroom
practice. These portfolio activities appear in three forms. Some ask you to interview
teachers, to discover how expert teachers think about and solve real-world problems.
Research suggests that studying the thoughts and actions of expert teachers is a produc
tive way to learn about teaching (Berliner, 1994) and reflecting on the thoughts and ac
tions of others provides you with a concrete frame of reference to construct your own
developing personal philosophy of good teaching. A second kind of activity asks you to
observe teachers in action, based on information you've studied in this book. You'll
watch teachers teach, analyze the strategies they use to help students learn, and reflect
on their effectiveness, not only for these students, but for the students you'll be teach
ing. The third kind of activity invites you to try these ideas for yourself. It involves
structured teaching experiences designed to help you apply concepts and strategies in
real classrooms with real students and reflect on their effectiveness. If at all possible, we
recommend that you use all of these to make the content of this text personally mean
ingful and document your growth as a teacher.
Defining Good Teaching. The central role of research in informing teaching practice
has changed the way we think about teaching and learning. Research now provides us
with ways to analyze teaching to maximize learning.
Research in Teaching: A Historical Perspective. Initially, research on teaching fo
cused on teacher characteristics and later moved to a search for one effective method.
Both lines of research failed to link teacher actions to student learning. School-level re
search, focusing on out-of-classroom variables, also ignored the role of teacher actions
in promoting student learning. The teacher effectiveness research established that teach
ers do indeed make a difference in students' learning.
r ISSues in
!led "Re
they
.k like in
me
er decision
to being
JD1S. You
i these to
are com
l the real
un life.
Contemporary Views of Teaching and Learning. As research has shifted from behav
iorist to cognitive views of learning, teaching has focused on active ways to involve stu
dents in learning. Constructivism and learner-centered approaches to instruction both
stress the central importance of student's active involvement in learning.
Text Themes. Recent developments in education influenced three major content
themes for this text-diversity, motivation and technology. A focus on diversity explores
ways to capitalize on student differences in the classroom. Motivation reminds us of the
importance of energizing and directing student learning. Technology provides us with
electronic tools to enhance student learning.
28
CHAPTER I
Learning to Teach. Learning to teach is a complex process involving many compo

nents. Teachers need to know their subject matter but also need pedagogical content
knowledge---knowledge of how to translate this content into forms that are understand
able by students. Knowledge of teaching and learning, which addresses the relationship
between teachers' actions and student learning, needs to be combined with teaching
strategies aimed at specific goals. Teacher decision making combines all of these compo
nents in effective teaching. Learning to teach in an era of reform will require teachers to
demonstrate their competence to teach throughout their professional careers.
Using This Book to Learn to Teach. A number of features in this book are designed
to help you learn to teach. Important concepts are highlighted in bold and listed at the
end of each chapter. Cases provide access to classrooms and encourage you to connect
important ideas to students and learning. Discussion questions invite you to go beyond
the content in the book and link this content to your own experiences. Finally, portfo
lio activities suggest ways that you can use chapter concepts to observe, analyze, and im
plement ideas in classrooms.
Behaviorism 8
Cognitive psychology 8
Constructivism 9
Decision making 17
Knowledge of teaching
and learning 14
Motivation 12
Pedagogical content knowledge
Process portfolio 25
Product portfolio 25
Professional portfolio 23
Reforms 18
Showcase portfolio 25
Teacher effectiveness research
Teaching strategy 15
13
1. Rank order the following teaching strategies on a continuum oflearner centered

to teacher centered. Explain how each involves students in the learning processes.
Cooperative learning groups
Discussion
Drill and practice
Homework
Lecturing
Student projects
2. Reexamine the information in Table 1.1, comparing behaviorist and cognitive

views of learning. Which view do you think is more motivating for students?
Why? Which view is more demanding for teachers? Why?
3. Think about your own experiences in schools. How would those experiences
have been different if the learner-centered principles in Table 1.2 were being
used? Try to be as specific as possible.
llauchak4e
, compo
content
drrsrand
bIionship
I Ir.1Ching
e compo
:achers to
29
4. In terms of effective teaching, research suggests that content mastery is an essen

tial component. Is this component equally important at all grade levels? In all
subject-matter areas?
5. How does your definition of good teaching vary in terms of high- and low
ability students? Are there more similarities or differences between the two
groups? What would you do with one group that would be different from
what you would do with the other?
6. What kinds of diversity did you encounter in the schools that you attended? What
designed
at at the
'connect
beyond
t ponfo
.and im-
Dtered
xesses.
IIII\-e
1lS?
ICes
ng
types of diversity do you anticipate encountering in the classrooms you'll teach in?
How can student diversity be both an asset and a challenge to your teaching?
7. Reread the case study at the beginning of this chapter. What is the teacher's re
sponsibility in terms of motivation? Do you agree with Stan Williams? What
about the question regarding basic skills versus thinking strategies: Do basic skills
need to precede thinking skills? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this
approach?
8. What forms of technology did you encounter in the schools that you attended?
How was it used to promote learning? What types of technology are you en
countering in your teacher education program? What is the biggest challenge
involved in using technology in your teaching?
9. Research has shown a correlation between teacher enthusiasm and student
learning. Explain this correlation in two ways, then design an experiment to test
one of these explanations.
10. One of the problems in learning to teach is that good teaching often appears ef
fortless. Think back to some of the good teachers that you've had. What specific
things did they do that made them effective? Compare these behaviors with
other, less effective teachers.
1. Effective Teaching: The Teacher's Perspective. How do experienced teachers think

about effective teaching? Interview two teachers and ask the following questions:
What is effective teaching?
How do they know when it is occurring in their classroom?
What are some ways to measure effective teaching?
What factors (e.g. students, content area) influence the definition of good teaching?
Compare the response of the two teachers with your own ideas about effective
teaching.
2. Effective Teaching: The District's Perspective. How does the district evaluate its teach
ers? In your interview with the teachers in Exercise 1, find out how they are eval
uated. If a form or instrument is used, ask to see it.
What criteria are used?
How is the form used? That is, how many times is the teacher observed with it?
What does the teacher think of the process?
30
CHAPTER I
How will the process of being evaluated as a teacher influence your professional
development?
3. Effective Teaching: The Student's Perspective. The bottom line in our teaching is its
effect on students. This exercise is designed to make you more sensitive to the
learning process from a student's perspective.
Identify six students to observe; three should be male and three should be fe
male. Also, one should be a high achiever in the class, one a medium achiever, and
one a low acheiver. If you are using another teacher's classroom, an ideal way to do
this is to have the teacher select the students but not identify their status. This pro
vides you with an opportunity to infer classifications from behavior and responses.
Position yourself at the side of the classroom and toward the front so that you
can see the students' faces. Observe the six students as they enter the class, at the be
ginning of the lesson, during the major part of the lesson, and during any seatwork.
Which students are most attentive?
Which students take notes?
Which students participate the most in the lesson?
Is there any relationship between teacher behaviors (e.g., questioning) and student
engagement rates?
If possible, interview the students and ask them what kinds of things the teacher
does to help them learn.
What implications do the students' perspectives have for you as a teacher?
4. Diversity. Observe a classroom and note the diversity you find there. How do stu
dents in the class differ in terms of:
a. gender
b. ability
c. culture and ethnicity?
Do all students participate equally in the class? Interview the teacher and ask him
or her how diversity influences their teaching. What opportunities and challenges
will student diversity provide you as a developing teacher?
5. Motivation. Observe a classroom and try to determine:

a. Students' level of motivation during the lesson. (How can you tell?) Does it
seem to vary during the lesson?
b. Different students' levels of motivation. Is there any pattern? How does loca
tion in the room influence this?
c. The teacher's strategies to influence student motivation.
If possible, discuss your observations with the teacher afterward. How do you plan
to motivate students in your own classroom?
6. Technology. What kinds of technologies are being used in the classroom you are in?
What other types of technologies are available in the school? Interview the
teacher and ask:
a. How does technology enhance learning and teaching?
b. What influence does it have on student motivation?
c. What obstacles are there to the teacher's greater use of technology?
d. How did the teacher learn to use this technology?
e. How will you use technology in your classroom?
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tessional
iog is its
to the
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way to do
This proresponses.
o that you
at the be
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lallenges
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it
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are in?
I. Capitalizing on cultural diversity

A. Multicultural education: The challenge
B. Theories of minority achievement
C. Culturally responsive teaching
II. Language diversity
A. English dialects
B. English language development
programs
III. Students placed at risk: Teaching the

children of poverty
A. Students placed at Risk: Understanding
the problem
B. Resiliency: Capitalizing on student
strengths
C. Teaching students placed at risk

D. Motivation: The need for challenge
IV. Teaching students with different learning
abilities
A. Intelligence: What does it mean?
B. Multiple intelligences: The work of
Howard Gardner
C. Intellectual diversity: Implications for
teaching
V. Learning Styles
A. Field dependence /independence
B. Conceptual tempo: Impulsive and
reflective learners
C. Classroom learning styles: The work
of Dunn and Dunn

D. Learning styles: Implications for
teaching
VI. Students with exceptionalities
A. Working with students with
exceptionalities: Support for Classroom
teachers
B. The exceptional student population

C. The teacher's role in working with
students with exceptionalities
D. Adapting instruction for students with
exceptionalities
E. Technology as a tool for inclusion
/J 11 hen we walk into classrooms across the country, one fact is obvious-there is
.W amazing diversity in the students we teach. This diversity appears in a variety of
forms, ranging from obvious differences in physical appearance to the ways different stu
dents respond to instruction. In a single grade we have learners who are mature for their
age and others who are slower in developing. Some will be poised and self-confident
while others will be shy and hesitant. A number will have traveled extensively and still
others will have spent most or all of their lives in one small neighborhood. All of these
differences influence our students' ability to profit from our teaching.
In this chapter we examine different aspects of student diversity and discuss ways
that teachers can adapt their instruction to best meet the needs of all their students. In
the process we look at the influence that culture, language diversity, learning ability and
learning styles, socioeconomic status, and learner exceptionalities have on learning.
When you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to meet the
following goals.
Define the concept of culture and explain how it influences learning.
Explain how language influences learning.
Describe how different teaching strategies can be used to accommodate differ
ences in learning ability.
Identify factors that influence at-risk students and describe effective teaching
practices for these students.
Explain how students with exceptionalities can be integrated into the regular
classroom.
Shanda Jackson watched as her first graders streamed into the room on the first day of
school. Though she had read the class rolls, she couldn't believe the different shapes, col
ors, and sizes before her eyes. Some were tall-looking almost like second graders-while
others were tiny. A few were husky and well developed; others were short and skinny.
"I wonder if all their parents know about the free breakfast program?" she silently
asked herself. And the names-she hoped she'd be able to remember them and pronounce
them all correctly. There were Jones and Lees and Wongs and Hassads and Trangs and
Jamals. This was going to be an interesting class.
As she learned about her students, she also noticed differences in the way they acted
and learned. Some came to class bright and eager, while others looked like they hadn't got
ten enough sleep. Several knew how to print and read their names; others acted as if they
STUDENT DIVERSITY.
~with
-t:here is
Driety of
irent stu
~fDr their
ponfident
r and still
had never held a book before. A few used their fingers to count and even add, and others
began sucking on them when they became tired or discouraged.
"They're lovable," Shand a thought as she smiled to herself "but how am I ever going
to get them all to learn?"
How indeed? One of the facts of modern teaching is the increasing diversity of our
students. They not only come in different sizes and levels of maturity, as they always
have, but now more than ever they come to our classes speaking different languages and
bringing with them different cultural and background experiences.
As we saw in Chapter 1, research is a powerful tool to help teachers teach more ef
fectively, and it can also help us capitalize on these differences in our students. Research
can identify general teaching strategies that are effective with all learners and suggest
ways to modify our teaching to meet the needs of different learners. One of the most
important dimensions of diversity that teachers deal with is culture, which we discuss in
the next section.
CAPITALIZING ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY
I of these
To begin this section, let's look in on Shanda again as she works with her students.
:uss ways
dents. In
lilityand
Shanda sat back on the bus and breathed a sigh of relief-s-twenty-six students there and
twenty-six students back. Success! There were moments at the zoo when she had won
dered if she would get them all back on the bus, but now that the head counting was over
she could relax.
Was it worth all the trouble, she wondered? It was a fun trip and many of her first
graders had never been to the zoo. It also gave Shanda a chance to see her students in ac
tion in a different setting. She couldn't believe how different they were.
It wasn't just how different they looked. Shanda knew when she signed her contract
to teach in this large inner-city school district that her students would be diverse, but she
wasn't prepared for this---eleven different cultures and six different languages. She jokingly
referred to her class as her "Little United Nations." They not only responded differently in
class but also on this field trip. Some were active and assertive and led the way in explor
ing the zoo; others hung back, clinging to her for moral and physical support. Some eagerly
asked questions while others listened shyly. She knew some of these differences came from
what they were used to at home, but she hadn't quite figured out how to capitalize on
these differences in the classroom.
brning.
lDeetthe
diH"er
:bing
gular
33
The cultural backgrounds of our students is an ever-increasing source of diversity.

The United States has always been a nation of immigrants, and this immigration has
produced a country of many cultures. Over 14 million people immigrated to the United
States during the 1970s and 1980s. Between 1980 and 1994, America's classrooms saw
the following changes:
An
An
An
An
increase
increase
increase
increase
in
in
in
in
Asian-American students of almost 100%

Hispanic-American students of 46%
Mrican-American students of 25%
Caucasian students of 10%
(U. S. Census Bureau, 1996)
34
CHAPTER 2
Experts estimate that by the year 2020 our country will see considerable increases
in the number of Hispanic and African-American students, and a dramatic increase in
Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaskan Native populations will occur. At
the same time, the white student population will decrease by 9 percent (U.S. Census
Bureau, 1998b; Young and Smith, 1999). Each of these groups brings a distinct set of
values and traditions that influences student learning.
This diversity has been hailed as one of our country's strengths, bringing new ideas
and energy to the country. But it also poses challenges to teachers as they attempt to
teach children with different attitudes, values, and languages. In this section we discuss
cultural diversity and examine ways that culture can be used to enhance classroom
learning.
Multicultural Education: The Challenge

Culture refers to the attitudes, values, beliefs, and ways d acting and interacting that characterize
a social group. It includes the foods we eat, the clothes we wear, how we play, the music
we listen to and the kinds of churches we attend. It also includes the attitudes and be
liefs we have about learning and the beliefs we have about schools and classrooms.
Multicultural education examines ways that culture influences learning and attempts to
find ways that students' cultures can be used to complement and enhance learning. It attempts to
help teachers become more aware of and sensitive to the subtle and not so subtle ways
that students' cultures can affect the way they approach learning.
Economic changes in our country also underscore the need for effective multicul
tural education. In the past, immigrants and members of minority groups easily found
jobs in factories, farms, and other areas requiring little formal education. In our tech
nological society these jobs are rapidly declining, and reading, writing, computing,
problem solving, and decision making are becoming increasingly important for eco
nomic survival. Students who exit our schools without these skills are considered at risk,
a topic we'll return to later in this chapter.
Theories of Minority Achievement

The data on minority student achievement indicate that schools are not doing an effec
tive job of educating and integrating minority students into the mainstream ofAmerican
life. Whether the measures are achievement test scores or dropout rates, statistics indicate
that minority students underperform in schools (Macionis, 2000). Why is this so?
The Cultural Deficit Theory. According to the cultural deficit theory the linguistic,
social and cultural backgrounds d minoritychildren prevent themfrom peiforming well in the class
room (Villegas, 1991b). Minority children come to school lacking cultural capital, the ac
cumulation of common experiences in the early years that schools use and build upon.
According to the cultural deficit theory, minority students do poorly in school because
what they bring to school is inadequate compared to what the majority population
brings.
Critics charge that there are two major problems with this theory (Villegas, 1991b).
The first is that it points the finger of blame at minority children, absolving the schools
STUDENT DIVERSITY.
e mcreases
mcrease in
occur. At
S, Census
iIk., set of
Dew ideas
lIempt to
~ discuss
classroom
35
from responsibility for their success. In one sense it's as foolish as saying, "I taught them,
they just didn't learn." If they don't learn, then we didn't teach them. In the same way,
it is our professional responsibility to take students, regardless of their backgrounds, and
teach them as much as possible.
The second problem with the deficit theory is that-theoretically-once students
get to school, the school should be able to "reduce" the deficit, filling in areas where
the students are deficient. By spending increased periods of time in the schools, minor
ity students should gradually "catch up." However, just the opposite occurs; as the num
ber of years in school increases, the gap in achievement grows wider and wider.
The Teacher Expectations Theory. A second theory used to explain underachievement

in minority students focuses on lowered teacher expectations. Teacher expectations
include the attitudes and beliefs that teachers hold about students' abilities to learn which influence
student achievement. As we will see in Chapter 4, positive teacher expectations form a
baaerize
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xns.
JlUmpts to
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merican
indicate
)?
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ac
I upon.
because
ularion
me
1991b).
schools
powerful foundation for learning. Teachers' beliefs that all students can learn exert a
powerful and positive influence on learning. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true.
Negative expectations impact learning in both explicit and implicit ways. Explicitly,
they influence minorities through tracking and grouping practices that diminish learn
ing. Research indicates that a disproportionately higher percentage of minorities are
found in lower groups and tracks (Good and Brophy, 2000). When cultural minorities
find themselves in low-ability groups in the elementary grades, they are often headed
down a one-way street to an inferior education throughout their school lives.
Teachers must be aware of the expectations that they have for students and must
continually monitor their actions to ensure that positive expectations are communicated
to all students. We examine ways to do this in Chapter 4. But what else can teachers do
to increase learning for students from different cultures?
The Cultural Difference Theory
A second-grade class in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was reading The Box Car Children
and was about to start a new chapter. The teacher said, "Look at the illustration at the be'
ginning of the chapter and tell me what you think is going to happen."
A few students raised their hands. The teacher called on a boy in the back row.
He said, "J think the boy is going to meet his grandfather."
The teacher asked, "Based on what you know, how does the boy feel about meeting
his grandfather?"
Trying to involve the whole class, the teacher called on another student--one of four
Native Americans in the group-----even though she had not raised her hand. When she
didn't answer, the teacher tried rephrasing the question, but again the student sat in silence.
Feeling exasperated, the teacher wondered if there was something in the way the les
son was being conducted that made it difficult for the student to respond. She sensed that
the student she had called on understood the story and was enjoying it. Why, then,
wouldn't she answer what appeared to be a simple question?
The teacher recalled that this was not the first time this had happened, and that, in
fact, the other Native American students in the class rarely answered questions in class dis,
cussions. She wanted to involve them, wanted them to participate in class, but could not
think of ways to get them to talk. (Villegas, 1991 b, p. 3)
36
CHAPTER 2
Why don't Native Americans eagerly respond to teacher questions? Are they inter
ested in the same kinds of topics and issues as other students? Do they feel that answer
ing questions in class is important? Could the questions have been asked differently to
encourage their participation? The cultural difference theory provides answers to these
and other related questions about the influences of culture on learning.
The cultural difference theory if learning attributes academic problems if minority
students to cultural differences or discontinuities between home and school. Probably the most
important of these is in the way that language is used. When home language patterns,
are congruent with school patterns, learning is enhanced; when they aren't, conflict oc
curs. Let's see how this works by analyzing the language patterns in two different "cul
tures"---school and Native American families.
Language use patterns in schools are amazingly homogeneous, not only over time
but across grade levels and different parts of the country (Cazden, 1986; Cuban, 1984) .
. . . the dominant form of interaction is the teacher-directed lesson in which the in
structor is in control, determining the topics of discussion, allocating turns at speak
ing, and deciding what qualifies as a correct response. Verbal participation is required
of students. Implicitly, teaching and learning are equated with talking, and silence is
interpreted as the absence of knowledge. Students are questioned in public and bid for
the floor by raising their hands. They are expected to wait until the teacher awards the
floor to one of them before answering. Speaking in turn is the rule, unless the teacher
specifically asks for choral responses. Display questions prevail. Individual competition
is preferred to group cooperation. Topics are normally introduced in small and care
fully sequenced steps, with the overall picture emerging only at the end of the teach
ing sequence. (Villegas, 1991a, p. 20)
Contrast this pattern with one uncovered by an anthropologist working in the Warm
Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon. Philips (1972) found that Native American chil
dren grew up being supervised by older children rather than adults. Learning from adults
was more through observation rather than direct verbal instruction. Question-and
answer sessions between adults and children seldom, if ever, occurred. Children would
observe adults and then try things out on their own, receiving praise and feedback not
from adults but from other children.
When we contrast the culture of the classroom with that of their home, we can see
why these students were reluctant to ask and answer questions in front of the whole
class. Over time they became less and less involved in classroom activities and fell fur
ther and further behind in achievement. Sensitized to these differences, teachers found
that when these students were placed in peer learning situations, like group projects or
peer tutoring, they spoke freely with their peers and participated in classroom activities;
this was something they were used to doing.
A similar problem of cultural language discontinuity was discovered by Shirley
Heath (1983) in her study of rural African-American students in the Piedmont area of
the Carolinas. Like the Native Americans from Oregon, these children also struggled
with the teacher-centered question-and-answer format found in most classrooms. Both
teachers and parents were perplexed and frustrated about these students' failure to par
ticipate in school. As Heath studied the language patterns found in Mrican-American
homes in her study, she discovered why.
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answer
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2S to these
In
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to par
ierican
STUDENT DIVERSITY.
37
Heath found that their parents did not regard children as legitimate conversational
partners until they were older, instead tending to give directives rather than questions.
When questions were used, they were "real" questions asking for "real" information
(e.g., "Where you been?") rather than designed to test the child's knowledge. Or they
were more the "open-ended story-starter" type (e.g., "What you been doin' today?")
that did not have a single, convergent answer. These patterns contrasted with those
found in schools, where teachers asked many convergent questions, testing students'
knowledge and providing specific practice and feedback. When these students went to
school, they were unprepared to participate in the active give and take of convergent
question-and-answer sessions.
When teachers were made aware of these differences, they incorporated more
open-ended questions in their lessons. For example, in an elementary social studies unit
on "our community," teachers would show the class photographs of different aspects of
local communities and ask questions like, "What's happening here?" "Have you ever
been here?" and "Tell me what you did when you were here." This not only fit African
American students' home language patterns more closely but also provided safe, nonre
strictive opportunities for students to tell what they knew about a topic. Teachers also
helped these children become more comfortable and competent with answering factual
questions. Effective bridges were built between students' natural, culturally learned in
teraction styles and the schools.
Culturally Responsive Teaching

What does this suggest to us about our teaching? Should minority students be made to
fit in with schools as they exist today? It hasn't happened to this point, and it isn't likely
to occur in the near future. Should schools be completely overhauled to match the
learning patterns of a particular cultural group? Probably an impractical idea, since most
classrooms contain several different cultural groups. Logistics alone preclude the use of
anyone particular strategy or adaptation.
What is required is a general approach of acceptance and valuing, which can create
a positive classroom climate that invites all students to learn. In addition, teachers in
multicultural classrooms need to understand the cultures oj the students they teach, communi
cate positive attitudes aboutcultural diversity, and employ a variety oj instructional approaches that
build upon students' cultural diversity. These strategies, which comprise culturally re
sponsive teaching (Gay, 2000, Villegas, 1991a) are listed in Table 2.1 and discussed in
the next section.
Learning about the Cultures of Our Students. Culture affects learning, and one of the
most effective ways of capitalizing on this factor is to find out about the cultures that your
students bring to school. One principal did this by attending a special ceremony at a local
church to honor Pacific Islander students, a significant minority population in her school.
She arrived a few minutes early and was seated on the stage as a guest of honor. She set
tled down and waited for the ceremony to begin-and waited and waited-until it fi
nally began nearly an hour late. She didn't quite know what to make of this.
The ceremony itself was warm and loving, showcasing each child, who was ap
plauded by the group. Mter the ceremony the kids returned to their seats for the
38
CHAPTER 2
~ 2./ STRATEGIES FOR WORKING IN

MULTICULTURAL CLASSROOMS
Strategy
Examples
Learn about the cultural

resources in your
classroom.
Accept and value student

diversity.
Emphasize mutual respect for all types of diversity.

Encourage students to share cultural patterns and norms
with each other.
Build on students'
cultural backgrounds.
Teach about different cultures.

Use different strategies (e.g., peer tutoring or cooperative
learning) to accommodate different cultural styles.
Eliminate grading practices that emphasize competition and
differences among students.
Visit homes and talk to parents.

Observe students both in and out of school.
Read literature by writers who are members of other cultures.
Talk to teachers of other cultures.
remainder of the meeting, which involved adult concerns. For a while, they were fine;
then they got bored and started fidgeting. The principal describes the rest:
Fidgeting and whispering turned into poking, prodding, and open chatting. I became a little
anxious at the disruption, but none of the other adults appeared to even notice, so I ignored
it, too. Pretty soon several of the children were up and out of their seats, strolling about the
back and sides of the auditorium. All adult faces continued looking serenely up at the speaker
on the stage. Then the kids started playing tag, running circles around the seating area and
yelling gleefully. No adult response-i-l was amazed, and struggled to resist the urge to quiet
the children. Then some of the kids got up onto the stage, running around the speaker, flick
ing the lights on and off, and opening and closing the curtain! Stillnothing from the Islander
parents! It was not my place, and I shouldn't have done it, but I was so beyond my comfort
zone that with eye contact and a pantomimed shush, I got the kids to settle down.
I suddenly realized then that when these children, say, come to school late, it doesn't
mean that they or their parents don't care about learning or that they're a little bit lazy
that's just how all the adults in their world operate. When they squirm under desks and
run around the classroom, they aren't trying to be disrespectful or defiant, they're just
doing what they do everywhere else. (Winitzky, 1998, p. 123)
Our students bring with them sets of attitudes, values, and ways of acting that may
or may not be conducive to learning in traditional unidimensional classrooms. We saw
this in the examples oflanguage conflict and we can see it in the example of the Pacific
Island students. Teachers in multicultural classrooms need to make an active effort to
enter into students' lives to understand their values and ways of acting and behaving.
Some effective ways to do this include the following (Peregoy and Boyle, 2001):
Take time at the beginning of your class to introduce yourself, and ask students
to do the same.
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tier cultures,
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,nonns
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STUDENT DIVERSITY
39
Make yourself available before and after school to help students with assign
ments as welJ as talk with them about their lives.
Use dialogue journals to encourage students to share facts about themselves.
Set aside a given time every day and provide journal starters like "favorite
foods" or "favorite hobbies." Collect these periodically and respond to them.
Begin the school year with a unit on family origins, supplemented with a
world map with string connecting each child's name and birthplace to your
city and school.
Activities such as these can redefine your classroom from a place where students come
to learn content to one in which they are all part of a learning community.
Accepting and Utluing Student Diversity

ln one third-grade classroom with a predominantly Central American student population,
youngsters are greeted most mornings with the sound of salsa music in the background, in
struction takes place in both English and Spanish, magazines and games in both languages
are available throughout the classroom , ' . and every afternoon there is a Spanish reading
lesson to ensure that students learn to read and write in Spanish as well as English.
(Shields and Shaver, 1990, p. 9)
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Our students need to know that we understand their home cultures and that we
value the diversity that they bring to our classrooms, We do this by openly discussing
cultural differences, emphasizing its positive aspects both in classrooms and in society as
a whole. We also communicate positive attitudes about diversity by encouraging stu
dents to bring their cultures into the classroom, including their music, dress, and differ
ent foods. In addition, recognizing and celebrating different holidays like Martin Luther
King Day, Muslim holy days, Mexican Independence Day, and the Jewish holidays
communicates that students' cultures are important and valued. We also teach positive
attitudes by emphasizing mutual respect for all cultures and ensuring that all cultural
groups are treated with respect.
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Building on Students' Cultural Backgrounds

Maria Sanchez, a fifth-grade teacher in a large urban elementary school, walked around her
classroom, helping her students with their social studies projects, which they were working
on in small groups. Maria's class was preparing for Parents' Day, an afternoon in which par
ents and other guardians would join in the class's celebration of the different countries that
students came from, Student projects, focusing on these different countries, were designed
to provide information about the countries' history, geography, and cultures. The class had
been studying these countries in social studies all year long, and a large world map with pins
and yarn on it marked students' country of origin with a picture of each student. While
many of the pins were clustered in Mexico and Central and South America, there were also
many students from allover the world. Each student had been encouraged to invite some
one from their family to come and share a part of their native culture, Some were bringing
food, while others were bringing music or native dress from their different homelands,
Effective teachers also learn about their students' cultures and use this information
to promote personal pride and motivation in their students. The benefits of building on
40
CHAPTER 2
students' cultural backgrounds are felt in both the classroom and the home. In addition
to increased student achievement, parents become more positive about school, which in
turn enhances student motivation (Shumow and Harris, 1998). Maria recognized this
when she invited parents and other caretakers to share their cultural heritage with her
class. Students bring to school a wealth of experiences embedded in their home cul
tures. Sensitive teachers build on these experiences, and all students benefit.
LANGUAGE DIVERSITY
In addition to cultural differences, increased immigration has resulted in increasing
numbers of students with limited backgrounds in English entering our classrooms. The
number of non-English-speaking and limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in
creased by more than 50 percent between 1985 and 1991, and between 1991 and 1993
the language minority population increased 12.6 percent compared to an increase of
only 1.02 percent in the general population (Weaver and Padron, 1997).
The diversity in language is staggering. Currently, there are over 3.2 million stu
dents in U.S. schools whose first language is not English. California has 1.4 million of
these English as a Second Language (ESL) students, comprising nearly 40 percent of the
student population in that state (U.S. Department of Education, 1998; Office ofBilin
gual Education and Minority Language Affairs, 1999; Stoddart, 1999). Nationwide, the
number of students whose primary language is not English is expected to triple during
the next 30 years. The most common language groups for these students are Spanish
(73%), Vietnamese (4%), Hmong (1.8%), Cantonese (1.7%), and Cambodian (1.6%).
This language diversity poses a challenge to teachers because most instruction is verbal.
How should schools respond to this linguistic challenge? Let's examine this question,
beginning with the topic of dialects.
English Dialects
Mrs. Caplow says, "Let's write a story about our school tour."
Andrea says, "1 write no story."
"I no want to," Mike adds.
Mrs. Caplow responds, "I know you do not want to, but we must learn how to read
and write."
Joe says, "l want to make horseshoe."
Mrs. Caplow says, "Not now, Joe."
She then writes on the top of the chalkboard, "Our School Tour," and continues,
"Okay boys and girls, what did we do on our school tour?"
"Went outside," Laura responds.
"Did we take a tour?"
After hearing no response she continues, "What is a tour?"
Laura says, "A trip."
"Okay. Let's write, 'We took a trip and we met our school helpers: rr (Actually they
met no one.)
She then says, "That is a short story."
Susan calls out, "l ain't got no paper."
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STUDENT DIVERSITY.
41
Mrs. Caplow responds, "Oh no, Susan, let's not say 'ain't.' Let's say, ] haven't any
paper: n
Susan says, "l haven't no paper." (Rise 1973, pp. 79-80)
Anyone who has traveled in the United States can confirm the fact that our coun
try has many regional and ethnic dialects. A dialect is a variation if standard English that
is distinct in vocabulary, grammar, orpronunciation. Everyone in the United States speaks a
dialect; people merely react to those different from their own (Banks, 2001). Some di
alects are accepted more than others, however, and language plays a central role in what
Delpit (1995) calls "codes ofpower," the cultural and linguistic conventions that control
access to opportunity in our society. What does research say about these dialects?
Research indicates that students' use of nonstandard English results in lowered
teacher expectations for their performance (Bowie and Bond, 1994), lowered assess
ments of students' work, and lowered self-assessments by the students themselves (Tay
lor, 1983). Teachers often confuse nonstandard English with mistakes during oral
reading (Washington and Miller-Jones, 1989), and some critics argue that dialects, such
as Black English, are substandard. Linguists, however, argue that these variations are just
as rich and semantically complex as Standard English (Labov, 1972; Rickford, 1997).
So, what should a teacher do when a student says, "I ain't got no pencil;' bringing
a nonstandard dialect into the classroom? Opinions vary from "rejection and correc
tion" to complete acceptance. The approach most consistent with culturally responsive
teaching is to accept the dialect and build on it (Speidel, 1987). For example, when the
student says, "I ain't got no pencil; the teacher (or adult) might say, "Oh, you don't have
a pencil. What should you do then?" Although results won't be apparent immediately,
the long-range benefits make the effort worth it.
Language differences don't have to form barriers between home and school. Bidi
alecticism, the ability to switch back andforth between a dialect and Standard English, allows
access to both (Gollnick and Chinn, 2002). For example, one teacher explicitly taught dif
ferences between Standard and Black English, analyzing the strengths of each and spec
ifying respective places for their use. The teacher read a series of poems by Langston
Hughes, the African-American poet, focusing on the ability of Black English to create
vivid images. The class discussed contrasts with Standard English and ways in which dif
ferences between the two languages could be used to accomplish different communica
tion goals (Shields and Shaver, 1990). In this way students were made aware of
differences in dialects, the strengths of each, and when different dialects should be used.
English Language Development Programs

In many instances our students come to us speaking a language other than English.
There are many terms used to describe students whose first language isn't English (Pere
goy and Boyle, 2001). English learners, English language learners, nonnative English speakers,
and second language learners are all used to refer to students learning English as a second
language. The term limited English projicient (LEP) is also used to refer to students who
range from beginners to intermediates in learning English. There are also several terms
given to educational programs for these students, with English as a Second Language
(ESL) and English Language Development (ELD) the most common.
42
CHAPTER 2
There are numerous approaches to teaching English as a second language.

Though all are designed to teach English, they differ in how fast English is introduced
and to what extent the first language is used and maintained. True bilingual programs
offer instruction to nonnative English speakers in two languages: English and their
primary language. They attempt to maintain and enhance the native language while
building on it to teach English. Other programs place more emphasis on English ac-
quisition. We look at three of these English language development programs: mainte
nance bilingual programs, transitional bilingual programs, and English as a second
language (ESL) programs.
Maintenance Bilingual Programs. Maintenance bilingual programs teach in both the

native lan.guage and English, maintaining and building on the students' native language (Banks,
2001; Gollnick and Chinn, 2002). These programs are found primarily at the elementary
level and occur in areas where there are large numbers of students who speak the same
language, like the southwest United States. Their purpose is to develop students who are
truly bilingual-that is, who can speak, read, and write in two languages. While mainte
nance programs help maintain and build students' language, and culture, they are difficult
to implement because they require groups of students with the same native language and
bilingual teachers who speak this language. They are also controversial, with critics
claiming they fail to teach English quickly enough. This criticism led voters in Califor
nia to pass Proposition 227, which drastically curtailed the use of maintenance bilingual
programs in that state (Schnaiberg, 1999b).
Transitional Bilingual Programs. Transitional bilingual programs use the native lan
guage as an instructional aid until English is proficient. In transitional programs, instruction
begins in the native language and English is gradually introduced. However, the transi
tion period is sometimes too short, leaving some learners ill prepared tor instruction in
English (Gersten and Woodward, 1995; Spencer, 1988).
English as a Second lAnguage (ESL) Programs. Since theyfocus ultimately on the mastery if
English, all bilingual programs are actually English as a second language (ESL) pro
grams. ESL programs differ from the other programs in their emphasis on teaching stu
dents English and mainstreaming them into regular classrooms. Often ESL programs place
students in regular classesfor most of the day and pull them out for separate instruction in
ESL classrooms for the remainder. These ESL classes are often called sheltered instruc
tion and are designed to provide students with content instruction along with English language de
velopment. ESL programs are common when classes contain different students who speak
a variety oflanguages, thus making maintenance or transitional programs difficult to im
plement. They are also common at the high school level, where the logistical problems of
students going from one content classroom to the next make other alternatives impossible.
Teachers can assist LEP students in bilingual programs through sensitivity and aware
ness and by taking advantage of opportunities to facilitate language development. Re
search indicates that a surprising number of teachers are unaware of the home languages
that students bring to school; one study found that teachers recognized only 27 percent
of the nonnative English speakers in one sample of Asian students (Schmidt, 1992).
Teachers can't adjust their teaching to meet the needs ofLEP students if they aren't aware
that these students exist.
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STUDENT DIVERSITY.
43
~ Z.Z EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION FOR ESL STUDENTS

1. Use examples and learning activities to provide a concrete frame of reference.
2. Write key concepts and terms on the board and refer to them during discussions.
3. Use interactive questioning strategies.
4. Use groupwork to provide opportunities for linguistic and academic development.
A second way to help LEP students is through the use of instructional strategies that
encourage student language use and development (Fitzgerald; 1995; Ravetta and Brunn,
1995). These are outlined in Table 2.2 and described in the following paragraphs.
When teaching ESL students teachers need to provide concrete examples of the
ideas they are presenting. For example, a lesson on ecosystems in science becomes much
more meaningful when it begins with pictures of different ecosystems. In a similar way,
a first-grade story on hats becomes more meaningful when the teacher brings in several
hats to share during the lesson. These concrete examples and pictures can then serve as
a frame of reference for key concepts and terms that the teacher writes on the board to
provide both focus and information about how important words are spelled. Interactive
questioning provides opportunities to actively involve students while assessing their un
derstanding of new vocabulary. Groupwork provides further opportunities for students
to practice their language skills of listening and speaking while also learning new con
tent. All of these strategies have proven effective for learners in general (Eggen and
Kauchak, 2001); for ESL students they are essential (Peregoy and Boyle, 2001).
STUDENTS PLACED AT RISK: TEACHING

THE CHILDREN OF POVERTY
Today's students are different in yet another way. Never before have schools attempted
to teach so many students who are physically and mentally ill-prepared to learn. A com
bination of economic and social forces threaten the ability of many students to profit
from their educational opportunities.
Consider these statistics:
Seven out of 10 women with children are in the workforce.
The divorce rate has quadrupled in the past 20 years; the number of single
parent families is estimated at 25 percent and is expected to increase.
Sixty-eight percent of all births to teenagers occur out of wedlock.
The incidence of poverty among single-parent families is between seven and
eight times higher than families headed by married couples.
Sixty percent of teenage families live in poverty as compared to 14 percent of
the total population.
Children, while only 27 percent of the total population, constitute 40 percent
of the poor.
Poverty is most common in families headed by single mothers.
Poverty is more prevalent among minorities than nonminorities.
(A1ore Families in Poverty, 1993;
us.
Census Bureau, 1998a)
44
CHAPTER 2
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When we compare these figures with life in middle-class America, they paint a picture
of a different kind of diversity-a diversity in terms of economic and social opportunity.
Students placed at risk are those in danger offailing to complete theireducation with the
skills necessary to survive in modern society (Slavin, Karweit, and Madden, 1989). The term
is borrowed from medicine, where it refers to individuals who don't have a specific dis
ease but are likely to develop it, such as an overweight person with high blood pressure
being at risk for a heart attack. It became widely used after 1983 when the National
Commission on Excellence in Education proclaimed the United States a "nation at
risk" (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), emphasizing the
growing link between education and economic well-being in today's technological so
ciety. For example, between 1979 and 1996 the real earnings of 25-34 year old male
dropouts fell by 28 percent (Murnane and Tyler, 2000). Compounding the problem is
the fact that the percentage of 18-24 year olds who left school without a diploma in
creased from 21.2 percent in 1994 to 25.3 percent in 1998.
Economic and social ills combine to produce the following educational problems:
Poor attendance
High dropout rates
Low achievement
Low motivation
Management problems
Dissatisfaction with and disinterest in school
Low involvement in extracurricular activities
High rates of drug use
High criminal activity rates
(Barr and Parett, 2001)
Children placed at risk often come to school underfed and without proper care.
They may not be eager to learn because their emotional needs for safety and security
have not been met. At-risk students can be difficult to teach and can pose serious edu
cational problems for teachers. To deal with these challenges, we need to understand how
economic and social factors interact to impact learning.
Students Placed At Risk: Understanding the Problem

How does poverty, and the myriad of ills that go with it, result in decreased learning and
motivation? Sociologists offer us one way to understand the connection. They use so
cioeconomic status (SES) as a concept to describe a family's relative position in the
community. SES is determined by a combination ofparents' income, occupation, and level of ed
ucation. SES consistently predicts not only performance on intelligence tests but also
classroom performance, achievement test scores, grades, truancy, and dropout and sus
pension rates (Macionis, 2000). Children of wealthier parents, parents who have white
collar jobs, and parents with higher levels of education generally perform better on all
of these school-related measures. Of the three, the best predictor of a student's academic
performance is the level of schooling attained by the parents. We'll see why shortly.
SES influences learning in a number of ways. First, SES impacts learning at a basic
needs level; students who don't receive adequate nutrition and medical and dental care,
for example, come to school physically unprepared to learn. Free breakfast and school
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STUDENT DIVERSITY.
45
lunch programs for low-income families are one government response to this problem.
Many teachers in low-income neighborhoods keep a box of crackers in the desk for stu
dents who come to school without breakfast.
SES also influences the kinds of experiences students bring with them to school.
High-SES students are more likely to travel extensively, to visit museums and zoos, and
to talk about these experiences with their parents. When they come to school, they are
more likely to know concepts like big and small, up and down, and left and right. Why are
these concepts important? Think for a moment about teaching the differences between
d and b, p and q, and a capital C and a small c without these concepts. All learning builds
on prior experiences. Low-SES students' early years often fail to provide the experi
ences needed to help them succeed in school.
The impact ofSES is also transmitted through parental attitudes and values. Is learn
ing important? Are schools essential for learning? How do hard work and effort con
tribute to learning? Why is homework important? These attitudes and values are
learned in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
Learning to read is a classic example. High-SES homes have books, magazines, and
newspapers around the house, and parents model the importance of reading by reading
themselves and reading to their children. They develop "print awareness" in their young
children by holding up cereal boxes, pointing to stop signs, and putting the child's name
on the door to his bedroom. When their children enter school, they not only know
about the power of the printed word, they are eager to read.
The opposite is also true. The homes of poverty are less likely to have books and
magazines lying around. The television set plays continually, competing with quiet
reading and homework time. The parents are less likely to read, and when the young
child comes to school, reading is more a mystery than an exciting challenge.
In reviewing differences between high- and low-SES students, one researcher
reached these conclusions:
High socioeconomic status students are likely to be confident, eager to participate, and
responsive to challenge. They typically want respect and require feedback, but do not re
quire a great deal of encouragement or praise. They tend to thrive in an atmosphere that
is academically stimulating and somewhat demanding. In contrast, low socioeconomic
status students are more likely to require warmth and support in addition to good instruc
tion from their teachers, and to need more encouragement for their efforts and more
praise for their successes. It appears to be especially important to teach them to respond
overtly rather than to remain passive when asked a question, and to be accepting of their
relevant call-outs and other academic initiations when they do occur. (Brophy, 1986,
IV-I 46)
As with working with culturally different students, these instructional modifications
adapt instruction to build on students' needs and strengths.
Resiliency: Capitalizing on Student Strengths

Recent research on students placed at risk has focused on the concept of resilience. Re
silience results in a heightened likelihood of success in school and in other aspects of life despite en
vironmental adversities (Wang, Haertel, and Walberg, 1995). The idea of resilience focuses
46
CHAPTER 2
on young people who thrive in spite of the obstacles encountered with students placed
at risk. Resilient children set and meet goals, they expect to succeed, they feel as if they're
in control of their own lives, and they have well developed interpersonal skills (Bernard,
1993; Wang et al., 1995).
Resilient children acquire these abilities from families that are caring while holding
high moral and academic expectations for their children. Schools that are both demand
ing and supportive also help promote resilience; in many instances, these schools serve
as homes away from home (Haynes and Comer, 1995). Let's look more closely at what
schools can do.
Teaching Students Placed At Risk

Research offers some suggestions for helping students placed at risk. These students
need greater structure and support both in their instruction and for motivation. They
need to experience success and need to understand that effort results in achievement.
Let's see how this works in a first-grade classroom.
Instructional Adaptations for Students Placed At Risk. To examine instruction that is

effective with students placed at risk, let's return again to Shanda Jackson's classroom and
see how she works with her first graders.
Shanda began her math lesson by having students from each row come up to distribute the
baggies of beans. When all the students had these, she began.
"Class, I need to have everyone's eyes up here. Good. Today we're going to learn a
new idea in math. It's called subtraction. Can everyone say subtraction? Good! Subtraction
is when you take away. Let's look up here at the overhead and the felt board.
"Kereem had four cookies in his lunch. He sat down next to his friend, Jared. Jared
didn't have any, so Kareem gave him two ofhis. How many are left?
"Let's do that up here on the felt board. Hmm, four cookies-see how they're
round-take away two cookies, leaves how many cookies? Let's count them. Four minus
two equals two. That's subtraction."
"Now I want each of you to take out four beans from your bag and do the same."
As the students did this, Shanda moved around the room to make sure they were
doing it correctly.
"Excellent, everyone. Now I have another problem for you. Let's pretend the beans
are pieces of candy. Who likes candy? (All hands go up.) Cassie had three pieces of
candy. Everyone take out the right number of beans to show how much candy she had."
Shanda circulated again to make sure every student had three beans out.
"Now Cassie's two friends came along and each of them wanted a piece, so Cassie
gave one to each. Can you take away two beans, one for each of her friends? Now who
can tell me how many pieces of candy Cassie had left?"
Teaching students placed at risk is not fundamentally different from teaching stu
dents in general. It utilizes general principles of effective teaching and refines them to
provide high structure and strong support for learning. The increased structure and sup
port appear in several forms, as we see in Table 2.3 (Brophy, 1986; Peterson, 1986).
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STUDENT DIVERSITY.
47
~ Z.3 EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS

PLACED AT RISK
Strategy
Description
Active teaching
The teacher explains concepts and skills through

interactive teaching.
Use of concrete examples
Abstract ideas are illustrated with examples and concrete

manipulatives.
Interactive teaching
Teachers use questioning to actively involve students in

learning activities.
Practice and feedback
Students have opportunities to practice the concept or

skill they're learning.
High success rates
Students are successful as they practice skills and concepts.
Let's look again at Shanda's lesson in the context of these elements. Active teach
ing means that the teacher assumes responsibility for explaining and modeling the idea to be
learned. Shanda did this when she called the class together and told them that they were
learning a new skill today and then explained the skill at the feltboard.
She then used manipulatives and questioning to help her first graders learn the process
of subtraction. Note that she didn't just write numbers on the board like 4 - 2 = 2. In
stead, she illustrated the process with real-life examples using cookies and candy-exam
ples that 6 year olds could understand and identify with. In addition, she actively involved
students, having all students do the physical operation at their own desks.
Interactive teaching also involves all students through questioning. This not only al
lows all students to participate but also provides the teacher with an opportunity to in
formally check students' comprehension. Shanda used interactive teaching in at least
three ways. For example,
She asked students to say subtraction.
She asked who liked candy.
She asked how many pieces of candy Cassie had left.
These questions both encouraged student involvement and helped Shanda diagnose her
students' attention and developing understanding.
Interactive teaching methods are essential. In a comparison of more and less effec
tive urban elementary teachers, researchers found that less effective teachers interacted
with students only 47 percent of the time versus 70 percent of the time for their more
effective counterparts (Waxman et al., 1997). Interactive teaching is characteristic of
good instruction in general; its importance with students place at risk is crucial (Glad
ney and Greene, 1997; Hudley, 1998; Wang et al., 1995).
Effective teaching also allows students opportunities to actively tryout their devel
oping ideas. To be effective, opportunities for practice and feedback should be available
to all students. For example, all of Shanda's students had beans to add and subtract with,
and she moved around the room to make sure all students were involved and on task.
48
CHAPTER 2
Student success is critical in the process. Because they may not have a history of
successful school experiences, lack of success can result in frustration for students placed
at risk and can further detract from motivation that may already be low. Shanda ensured
high success rates by taking small instructional steps and monitoring learning progress as
the lesson proceeded.
By now you might be saying to yourself, "Wait a minute. Aren't these procedures
for students placed at risk just good teaching?" If you did, you're absolutely correct. Ef
fective instructional practices for students placed at risk are not qualitatively different
from those for regular students. The same principles of good teaching that work in the
regular classroom also work with students placed at risk. It is, however, all the more crit
ical that they be applied conscientiously and thoroughly with students place at risk. Col
lectively, these practices provide an instructional safety net that minimizes the possibility
for frustration and failure, two factors that are especially damaging for students placed at
risk.
Motivation: The Need for Challenge

While increased structure and support are important when teaching these students, ad
ditional research has highlighted the importance of challenge. A study of at-risk high
school students in one blue-collar community found that many characteristics of ef
fective practices were being implemented (Miller, Leinhardt, and Zigmond, 1988).
However, researchers also found that academic expectations for students were lowered,
little emphasis was placed on higher-order thinking and problem solving, students
spent an inordinate amount of time on worksheets, and boredom and apathy were
common. The increased structure and support had resulted in a program that lacked
rigor and excitement.
Several programs have been developed to provide challenge for students placed at
risk. The Accelerated Schools Program builds on student strengths by combining high ex
pectations with an enriched curriculum focusing on a language-based approach in all
academic areas (Levin, 1988; Rothman, 1991). The Higher Order Thinking Skills Program
(HOTS) focuses on teaching students skills such as inferencing and generalizing to help
them realize the importance of critical thinking in learning (Pogrow, 1990).
Results from both programs have been encouraging. One Accelerated Schools site
in San Francisco registered the highest achievement gains on standardized test scores in
the city, and spring-to-spring comparisons of achievement gains in one HOTS program
showed students were 67 percent above the national average in reading and 123 percent
higher in math (Rothman, 1991).
Common to both programs are high expectations, emphasis on enrichment versus
remediation, and the teaching of higher-order thinking and learning strategies. These
strategies are integrated into the regular curriculum so that students can see their use
fulness in different content areas (Means and Knapp, 1991).
What does this suggest for teachers? First, it reminds us that high expectations and
emphasis on higher-order thinking are as important for at-risk students as for other stu
dents. Second, it makes teachers' ability to use challenging teaching strategies all the
more important. We examine these strategies in detail in Chapters 4 through 10 of the
text.
Jm'kauchak4e
a history of
:tents placed
ada ensured
~ progress as
procedures
correct. Ef
Iy different
.-ork in the
more crit
r risk. Col
, possibility
rs placed at
idents, ad
-risk high
tics of ef
ld, 1988).
: lowered,
students
uhy were
tat lacked
placed at
high ex
ach in all
's Program
g to help
1001s site
scores in
program
percent
it versus
These
.eir use
i.
ons and
her stu
all the
) of the
STUDENT DIVERSITY.
49
TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT

LEARNING ABILITIES
Melanie Parker, an intern from a nearby university, was ready to teach her first math lesson
in Mrs. Jenkins's middle school math class. The topic was the decimal system, and she had
preplanned with Mrs. Jenkins, who had suggested a review of place value, such as identi
fying three lOs and two Is in a number like 32. Though she was nervous at the beginning,
everything went smoothly as she explained the concept and used interlocking cubes to il
lustrate it. As she passed out practice worksheets, Mrs. Jenkins walked over to Melanie
and whispered, "You're doing great. I need to run down to the office. I'll be right back."
The students quickly went to work, since they were accustomed to having interns and pre
interns in the class and didn't react when Mrs. Jenkins left.
Melanie's nervousness calmed as she circulated among the students, periodically mak
ing comments. She noticed that some were galloping through the assignment, others
needed minor help, and a few were totally confused. As she worked with the students, she
noticed that the quiet of the classroom was turning into a low buzz.
'Joel, why aren't you working?" Melanie asked as she turned to a student near her.
"I'm done."
"Hmrn?" she thought as she looked around the room.
"Beth, finish your assignment and stop talking," Melanie said, turning to another stu
dent visiting with her neighbor.

"I can't do this stuffl"
Melanie looked at the clock and saw that there were still I0 minutes to the bell. From
the fidgeting and talking, it appeared that several of the students had completed their as
signment, while others had barely begun. Panic! What to do?
Just then Mrs. Jenkins walked in the room, surveyed the class and looked at the clock
as she walked over to Melanie.
"How is it going?"
"Fine, but half of them are done and the other half need extra help."
Mrs. Jenkins then turned to the class and said in an authoritative voice. "Class, if
you're done with your work, put it away in your homework file for tomorrow. Then you
can either do the math exercises on the computer in the back of the room or find a partner
for one of the math games. Let's get busy now."
As Melanie quickly learned, the students we teach differ in their ability to profit
from our instruction. As one of our colleagues jokingly estimates, "In any lesson, prob
ably a third already know it, another third are really learning it, and the rest don't know
what you're talking about." While probably overstated, there is some truth in what she
says. The students in most classes vary considerably in their ability to learn, and this has
important implications for instruction.
What does this variability look like in the classroom? In a typical second-grade class
room, for example, students will range from below first grade to beyond the fourth in
reading ability, meaning that some will still be working on beginning reading skills, such
as sounding out words, whereas others will be ready to focus on complex comprehension
abilities (Elwall and Shanker, 1989). In higher grades the range of abilities is even greater.
The amount of time it takes students to master new content is another way of
thinking about the variability in student learning ability. Melanie's experience illustrates
50
CHAPTER 2
this idea; some students understood the topic quickly, while others struggled to under
stand it at all. In many classes it can take slower students more than five times longer to
master a topic than their faster peers (Bloom, 1981).
While reading grade levels and time required for learning are alternate ways of de
scribing learner variations in learning ability, it is still most commonly expressed in
terms of intelligence or intellectual ability. For example, estimates suggest that you're
likely to have students with intelligence test scores ranging from 60 or 70 (IQ) to 130
or 140 in an average, heterogeneously grouped classroom (Hardman et al., 1999). This
range is so great that students at the lower end would be classified as mildly handicapped
and would be eligible for special help, while students at the upper end might be con
sidered gifted and/or talented. In the next section we examine the concept of intelli
gence and discuss how it influences teaching.
Intelligence: What Does It Mean?

We all have an intuitive idea about intelligence. In everyday language it's how "smart"
or "sharp" people are, how quickly they learn, the insights they have, or even the wide
range of-sometimes trivial-knowledge they possess. More formally, intelligence is
measured by standardized tests that produce the well-known IQ or intelligence test
score. The two most popular intelligence tests used today are the Weschler Intelligence
Scale for Children (WISe) and the Stanford-Binet.
What do these tests actually measure, or perhaps more appropriately, what is intel
ligence? When a thousand experts were asked the second question, they identified in
telligence as having three components:
Abstract thinking and reasoning

Problem solving ability
Capacity to acquire knowledge (aptitude)
(Snyderman and Rothman, 1987)
When we examine these dimensions, we can see why intelligence is an important con
cept for educators and why scores on intelligence tests correlate moderately well (.50 to
.70) with school performance (Sattler, 1992).
Despite this correlation, the concept of intelligence is controversial, with contro
versies focusing on three issues. First is the "nature-nurture" controversy, with some au
thorities arguing that intelligence is genetically determined and essentially fixed at birth
(jensen, 1987)-the nature position. Others take the nurture position, contending that
intelligence can be influenced both indirectly (e.g., through diet and access to medical
care) and directly through educational interventions (Sternberg, 1986). This issue has
important implications for how we view our students. Do they come to us with their
intellectual ability fixed and unchangeable, or are there things that teachers can do to
improve intelligence? An optimistic view of education, called the interactionist position,
holds that students come to our classrooms with genetic potential and that we as teach
ers can do much to help learners reach that potential.
A second controversy focuses on the issue of cultural bias. Some experts argue that in
telligence tests are culturally embedded and influenced by both language and a learner's
past experiences (Anastasi, 1988). This issue has important implications for the use of these
tests with minority populations. Research has found that an overreliance on intelligence
am'kauchak4e
:d to under
ES longer to
V."';lys of de
:xpressed in
that you're
(lQ) to 130
1999). This
DIldicapped
~r be con
of intelli
1J'o'- "smart"
~ me wide
dligence is
ligence test
Inrelligence
1m is intel
~rified in
lt.llltcon
rell (.50 to
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nding that
D medical
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with their
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ae that in
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se ofthese
telligence
STUDENT DIVERSITY.
51
tests with non-English-speaking populations resulted in the classification of a dispropor

tionate number of these students as mentally retarded (Mercer, 1973; Fine, 2001)
Multiple Intelligences: The Work of Howard Gardner

The third controversy relates to the concept of single versus multiple dimensions of in
telligence. Historically, intelligence tests produced a single score that indicated a general
measure of intellectual functioning; later, tests such as the WISC provided two scores,
one verbal and the other performance; now there is considerable interest in the concept
of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983; Sternberg, 1986). Theories of multiple intel
ligences suggest that there are several kinds of "smarts" rather than just one. For exam
ple, Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences breaks intelligence into eight different
areas: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, and spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, in
trapersonal, and naturalist.
Gardner's work is intuitively sensible. We all know people, for example, who don't
seem particularly sharp at school tasks but have a special ability to get along well with
others, or they appear to have insights into their own strengths and weaknesses. Gard
ner would describe these people as being high in interpersonal and intrapersonal intel
ligence, respectively. In other cases we see people who excel in English but do less well
in math-linguistic versus logical-mathematical intelligence-and we've all seen exam
ples of gifted musicians and gifted athletes who don't excel in the other areas. These dif
ferent dimensions are summarized in Table 2.4.
Viewing intelligence as multidimensional suggests that teachers should create learn
ing environments in which different kinds of students can excel. Giving learners choices
is consistent with this view. For example, a middle school English teacher breaks assign
ments down into required and optional. Seventy percent of the assignments are required
for everyone; the other 30 percent provide students with choices about what to read and
do and they negotiate with the teacher on the specific assignments. Other ways of pro
viding students with learning options are discussed in the next section.
Intellectual Diversity: Implications for Teaching

Intellectual diversity is a fact of teaching life. You will encounter a range of learning
abilities in your classrooms. In responding to this diversity a teacher has a number of op
tions, some of which are the following:
1. Create multidimensional classrooms. Design learning tasks that encourage and
capitalize on intellectual diversity.
2. Make time requirements flexible. Adjusting time requirements allows slower stu
dents more time to complete assignments.
3. Group students according to their ability. This allows teachers to teach to a partic
ular ability level but carries with it other problems.
4. Provide strategy instruction for slower students. Strategy instruction increases stu
dents' ability to learn by teaching them more efficient ways of performing acade
mic tasks.
5. Use peer tutoring and cooperative learning. These strategies use students as re
sources and capitalize on the benefits that social interaction in learning can provide.
Let's examine these options more closely.
52
CHAPTER 2
~ Z.9- GARDNER'S DIMENSIONS OF INTELLIGENCE

Dimension
Example
Application
Linguistic intelligence and

effectiveness: Sensitivity to the
varied uses of language
Poet,
journalist
How can I get students to talk or

write about an idea?
Logical-mathematical intelligence:
The ability to reason and to
recognize patterns in the world
Scientist,
mathematician
How can I bring in number, logic,
and classification to encourage stu

dents to quantify or clarify the idea?
Musical intelligence: Sensitivity

to pitch, melody, and tone
Composer,
violinist
How can I help students use

environmental sounds, or set ideas
into rhythm or melody?
Spatial intelligence: The ability

to perceive the visual world
accurately, and creatively modify
the world perceptively
Sculptor,
navigator
What can I do to help students

visualize, draw, or conceptualize
the idea spatially?
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: A
fine-tuned ability to use the body
effectively and creatively
Dancer,
athlete
What can I do to help students

involve the whole body or to use
hands-on experience?
Interpersonal intelligence:
A sensitivity to others' thoughts
and feelings
Therapist,
salesperson
How can peer, cross-age, or cooperative learning be used to help

students develop their interactive
skills?
Intrapersonal intelligence: An
understanding of self
Self-aware
individual
How can I get students to think

about their capacities and feelings to
make them more aware of themselves
as persons and learners?
Naturalist intelligence: Recognizing

similarities and differences in the
physical world
Naturalist,
biologist,
anthropologist
How can I encourage students to

observe and think about the world
around them?
Adaptedfrom Armstrong (1994); Gardner and Hatch (1989); Chekles (1997).
Creating Multidimensional Classrooms. To capitalize on students' strengths, learning

tasks need to be adapted so that all members of the group can participate and succeed.
For example, in one social studies project that focused on ways that historians learn
about our past, students had a number of learning options.
[D]ifferent groups of students study castle floor plans and pictures of ruins. listen to record
ings of Crusade songs, analyze the text of a speech by Pope Urban, and examine half
human pictures of infidels in the Crusaders' Handbook. To grasp the deeper concepts of
how historians learn. students spend several days on this project so they can experience
each of the media in turn: text. music, and spatial-visual material (Cohen, 1991, p. 5).
In addition, students were also provided with options about how they could demon
strate what they learned.
llm''kauchak4e
Ie
talk or
STUDENT DIVERSITY
Each group presents products which require a variety of creative intellectual abilities. Stu
dents create their own version of a Crusader castle and show how it can be defended,
write a song about current events that echoes the purpose of the music of the Crusades,
and perform a skit illustrating how the Crusader Handbook was used to recruit naive vil
lagers. As students present these products, the teacher stimulates a general discussion on
the different sources used by historians. (Cohen, 199I, p. 5)
Iber. logic,
Multi-ability classrooms like this allow all students to contribute to the group. As
opposed to narrow, convergent tasks that have only one right answer, multi-ability
tasks:
stu
~ the idea?
IIIr.lge
.use
.. set
ideas
adents
pmalize
53
Are open-ended, involving general answers or several ways to solve problems.

Provide opportunities for different students to make different kinds if contributions.
Use a variety of skills and call on a wide range of knowledge.
Incorporate reading, writing, constructing, and designing skills.
Incorporate the use of multimedia.
(Cohen, 1986)
to
Multi-ability classrooms promote learning for all students. In a comparison ofa multi
ability approach to learning high school social studies, students who used these strate
gies learned more than students who merely discussed the same content (Bowers, 1990).
The advantages were more apparent for lower-ability students, who often have problems
with tasks, such as lectures, that focus primarily on passive verbal instructional strategies.
use
or co
d to help
~cnve
Flexible Time Requirements. When the amount of time available for learning is the
same for all students, the gap between faster and slower students grows wider and wider
(Bloom, 1981). One way to accommodate these differences in learning ability is to pro
vide extra time for slower students. For this strategy to work, the classroom needs en
richment activities available to students who complete their assignments quickly. Mrs.
Jenkins did this by making computers and math games available when students com
pleted their assignments early. Alternate enrichment options are described in Table 2.5.
think
[ittlings to
f themselves
liems to
he world
learning
d succeed.
rians learn
IL
-cord-
---*"'_.. . ."'". ._. -------------------------------

~ 2.5 ENRICHMENT OPTIONS FOR FASTER STUDENTS
Enrichtnent Option
Description
Free reading
A shelf of books or magazines, (e.g. Ranger Rick, National Geographic T1Iorld)

are kept in the back of the room for students to use.
Games
A part of the room is sectioned off for students to play academic games
on the floor.
Computers
A menu of computer software games and simulations provides student choice.
Learning centers
Learning materials with objectives, directions, and.learning activities

guide students.
Individual research
projects
Students choose long-term projects to investigate; teachers assistby helping

to gather individual books and other resources.
Peer tutoring
Structured learning activities help students assist each other.
54
CHAPTER 2
Ability Grouping
Adrienne Foster sat back and thought as she finished checking her third-grade students'
math quiz. The scores were bimodal; half of her class understood multiplication with carry
ing and half were stillstruggling. If she continued with multiplication, half the class would
be bored; if she went ahead with division, the other half would be lost. What to do?
The next day she began her math class by explaining that some students were ready for
division and some needed some more work on multiplication. She gathered the students still
working on multiplication around her in one corner of the room and gave them a sheet with
additional problems on it. She told them that they would get back together as soon as she in
troduced division to the other group. As she worked with the division group, she kept one
eye on them and the other on the group doing their multiplication. Some hands went up,
but she had to tell them to wait a few minutes until she was done with the division group. It
wasn't an easy jugglingact, but she didn't know what her alternatives were.
Grouping is a common instructional response to student diversity, especially at the
elementary level, and it can take several forms (Good and Brophy, 2000). Between
class ability grouping divides a class of 75 third graders, for example, into three groups: one
high, one medium, and one low. Grouping across grade levels, also called the Joplin Plan,
mixes, for example, third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students of similar reading ability in
the same reading class. These students then return to their own classrooms for the other
subjects. Within-class grouping breaks students in an individual class into different groups
for specific subjects. Adrienne Foster did this in her third-grade class.
Despite its popularity, grouping has several problems:
Teachers have inappropriately lowered expectations for students in lower
groups, and instruction in these groups is often poorer than that for high
ability groups (Good and Brophy, 2000). As a result, low groups fall farther
and farther behind.
Students in low groups often develop problems with lowered self-concept and
motivation.
Ability tracks tend to stabilize, which permanently labels students as "slow" not
only within a grade level but also from year to year (Oakes, 1992).
Teaching multiple groups is very demanding, and off-task behavior is a com
mon problem for students who are not in direct contact with the teacher.
Sometimes, however, as Adrienne concluded, groups are necessary. This often oc
curs in subjects that are hierarchically organized such as reading and math, where later
skills build on prerequisite ones. When grouping is used, experts recommend the fol
lowing precautions:
1. Only use grouping when necessary; avoid grouping in subjects that are not hierar
chical (e.g. music, art, science, social studies).
2. Assess frequently, keep groups flexible, and reassign students when their learning
progress warrants it.
3. Make sure that the quality of instruction to low-ability students is comparable to
that provided for high-ability students.
4. Constantly be aware of the potential negative consequences of grouping.

(Hallinan, 1984)
_\auchak4e
STUDENT DIVERSITY.
Strategy Instruction. Research indicates that a major difference between high- and
low-ability students is their knowledge and use of learning strategies (Turnbull et al.,
1999). In addition to richer content backgrounds, high-ability students use this knowl
edge more efficiently in learning new information than do their lower-ability peers. For
example, consider the thinking of a high-ability student faced with the task oflearning
a list of 10 spelling words for a quiz.
15
-carry,
,DUk:I
~for
still
with
i f t in'
lone
t up,
roup. It
55
9S
lEl
rially at the
Between
Okay ... 10 words for the quiz on Friday. That shouldn't be too hard. I have two days to
learn them.
Let's see. These are all about airports. Which of these do I already know-airplane,
taxi, apron, and jet? No problem. Hmm.... Some of these aren't so easy, like causeway
and tarmac. I don't even know what a tarmac is. I'll look it up .... Oh, that makes sense.
It's the runway. I'd better spend more time on these words. I'll cover them up and try to
write them down and then check'em. Tonight, I can get Mom to give me a quiz and then
I'll know which ones to study extra tomorrow. (Eggen and Kauchak, 200 I, p. 200)
~ groups: one
plin Plan,
This student's actions were strategic in several ways. She assessed the task and
adapted her studying to match it; she spent more time and effort on the words she
didn't know; and she monitored her progress through quizlike exercises. Low-ability
students, by contrast, passively approach the task, reading the list with little thought to
what they know or ways of improving. They spend time on words they already know
and make little effort to test themselves in order to receive feedback to direct their fu
ture efforts.
Research suggests efforts to teach learning strategies to our students are productive
(Turnbull et al., 1999). This instruction should include talking about the strategy, mod
eling it while thinking out loud, and providing opportunities for practice. For example,
a teacher trying to teach the spelling strategy could have all students take a pretest and
talk about the importance of the differences between words they know and don't know.
Then she might suggest different ways of practicing, such as self-quizzes, peer quizzes,
and flash cards. Finally, she could do long-term follow-up by reminding students from
time to time when strategies are appropriate. Some examples of strategies in different
areas are found in Table 2.6.
ability in
the other
,ere1lt groups
Ig
)f
highfarther
acept and
"slow" not
,a com
rher,
often oc
vhere later
nd the fol
Strategy Area
Examples
lot hierar
General memorization
tasks
Selectively rehearsing important information; categorizing;

grouping; imaging
All content areas
Note taking, outlining, selectively underlining, self-quizzing
Reading
Summarizing; outlining; underlining
learning
arable to
if
~Z.6 LEARNING STRATEGIES IN DIFFERENT CONTENT AREAS
Math
Identifying givens in word problems; selectively rehearsing math facts
Writing
Outlining; considering the audience; illustrating ideas with facts; making

coherent transitions
56
CHAPTER 2
Peer Tutoring and Cooperative Learning. A final way to deal with learning diversity in
your classroom is to use students themselves to help each other. Peer tutoring places stu
dents in one-to-one pairs and supplies them with structured learning materials for prac
tice and feedback. Cooperative learning strategies place students of differing abilities on
the same team and uses group rewards to encourage cooperative learning. The research
on both of these practices is so positive (Top and Osguthorpe, 1987; Slavin, 1995) that
we'll return to them in Chapter 8 and provide a detailed discussion of ways to imple
ment them in your classroom.
LEARNING STYLES
One thing Nate Crowder remembered from his methods classes was the need for variety.
He had been primarily using large-group discussions in his junior high social studies class,
and most of the students seemed to respond OK. But others seemed disinterested, and
their attention often drifted.
Today, Nate decided to try a small-group activity involving problem solving. They had
been studying the growth of big cities' problems.
As he watched the small groups interact, he was amazed at what he saw. Some of the
quietest, most withdrawn students were leaders in the groups.
"Great]" he thought. But at the same time, he noted that some of his more active stu
dents were sitting back and not getting involved.
The differences Nate encountered in his class may be the result of learning styles.
Learning styles, also called cognitive styles, are the different approaches students havefor
learning, problem solving, andprocessing information (Snow, Como, and Jackson, 1996). Stu
dents with different learning styles perceive, understand, and try to solve learning tasks
in different, relatively stable ways. The stability of learning styles is important; it allows
the teacher to identify them and adapt instruction accordingly.
Field Dependence/Independence
Field dependence/independence is the ability if an individual to select relevant from ir
relevant information in a complex and potentially confusing background (Witkin, Moore,
Goodenough, and Cox, 1977). For example, when encountering math word problems,
a field-independent person is more likely than a field-dependent individual to extract
and use relevant information-while ignoring irrelevant information-in solving the
problem. Field dependence/independence is typically measured by presenting people
with geometric figures embedded within other figures to see if they can pick out the
disguised form in the larger context. Field-independent students are able to break the
complex display down into its subcomponents; field-dependent students experience
more difficulty and are more influenced by surface features.
Field dependence/independence is influenced by development (Farr and Moon,
1988); older children are less dependent on surface appearances, for example. Some re
search suggests that because of this analytical ability field-independent students have an
advantage in math and science courses that require the ability to distinguish between
relevant and irrelevant information (Davis and Williams, 1992).
am 1tauchak4e
~ diversity
in
stu
iak tor prac
~ abilities on
I"he research
L. 1995) that
~ (0 irnple
~ places
STUDENT DIVERSITY.
57
Differences in field dependencelindependence influence classroom performance.

For example, researchers have found that field independent students take notes that are
better organized and had more key ideas than those taken by field-dependent students
(Frank, 1984). Field-independent students were also better at restructuring problems to
fit end goals. They typically prefer to work alone and do well in individualized systems.
Field-dependent students, by contrast, are more sensitive to context cues and attack
problems more globally (Saracho, 1990). They are more socially dependent and look to
others for cues. As a result, they work better in groups and are more responsive to
teacher praise and other forms of social reinforcement. They also benefit more from
teacher efforts to structure new content and experience more difficulty with inductive
or open-ended activities (Meng and Patty, 1991).
lIiIl1ery.
dass,
nd
Conceptual Tempo: Impulsive and Reflective Learners
leY had
P:
of the
e Sill-
Ding styles.
have for
1996). Stu
nning tasks
Ill: it allows
!IlLS
IImC from
ir
in. \10 ore,

I problems,
I to extract
iOhing the
ing people
ck out the
I break the
experience
nd Moon,
. Some re
Its have an
h between
Students also differ in the rate at which they respond to questions and problems. TI1is is called
conceptual tempo (Kagan, Pearson, and Welch, 1966; Messick, 1994). Impulsive stu
dents rush to blurt out answers, and njlective students analyze and deliberate before an
swering. Error rates correspond to these differences. Reflective students think more
before they answer; impulsive students take more chances and make more mistakes. Im
pulsive students perform better in speed games in which the target is low-level factual
information; reflective students have an advantage when high-level problem solving is
the task. Research in reading shows that reflective students are better at identifying in
consistencies in text; their more impulsive counterparts are more likely to read past or
skip over them (Walczyk and Hall, 1989).
Self-instruction training is one strategy that can be used to help students under
stand the impact of conceptual tempo on their learning (Meichenbaum, 1986). Self
instruction training teaches students to monitor their thinking by talking themselves
through a problem solution, such as "Now, let's see ... the problem asks for the dis
tance around the circle. That's the circumference. Now, what's the formula for cir
cumference?" By making students aware of their own thought processes, we reduce
their tendency to be impulsive and also improve their general problem-solving skills.
Research on self-instructional training suggests that one of its limitations is its inability
to generalize to other learning situations. To address this problem, we should actively
involve students in learning about the process, making them aware of when, why and
how the process will help them learn (Diaz and Berk, 1992).
Classroom Learning Styles: The Work of Dunn and Dunn

One of the most popular approaches to applying learning styles in classrooms was for
mulated by Rita and Kenneth Dunn (1978, 1987). These researchers identified a num
ber of preferred learning style dimensions, including the following:
Modality--does the student learn better through listening or reading?
Structure/support-does the learner need high structure or is he or she an inde
pendent learner?
Individual!grou~does the learner work best independently or in groups?
58
CHAPTER 2
Motivation-is the student self-motivated, or does he or she require external

rewards?
Environment-how do light, temperature, noise, and time of day influence
learning?
(Dunn and Dunn, 1978)
The existence ofthese different preferences or styles makes intuitive sense. We've all
heard people say, "I'm a morning person" or "Don't try to talk to me until I've had my
cup of coffee." In terms oflearning modalities, we've also heard, "I'm a visual person. I
need to be able to 'see' it;' meaning someone who learns most effectively through vi
sual representation of concepts and other ideas. Other people tend to be more auditory,
learning best through oral presentations. A few are tactile; they have to "feel" it.
To identify students' different learning styles, these researchers developed the Learn
ing Style Inventory (Dunn, Dunn, and Price, 1985). This inventory asks students to re
spond to statements such as "I study best when it is quiet" and "I can ignore sound
when I study" with a Likert scale (i.e., strongly agree, agree sometimes, disagree,
strongly disagree). The instrument provides both individual and class profiles, which can
be used to accomplish the following:
Create special learning environments for individual students.
Group students on the basis of similar learning styles.
Design optimal learning environments for a particular class.
Learning Styles: Implications for Teachers

Teachers encountering these learning styles for the first time often ask, "How can I pos
sibly adapt my teaching to fit every learning style?" You probably can't for every one,
but Dunn and Dunn (1987) offer suggestions about different ways to change the regu
lar box-crate classroom into a more flexible environment, designed to meet the needs of
different students. For example, if a teacher finds that noise is a significant factor in a
student's learning, she or he might move the student away from traffic and high-activity
areas, put carpeting in study areas to minimize classroom noise, recommend cotton or
soft rubber earplugs or nonfunctioning earphones to limit distractions, or allow ear
phones for a student who prefers music when learning. Probably as important as the ac
tual changes is the message that the teacher is sensitive to students as individuals.
Research on the effectiveness of matching classroom environments to students'
learning styles is mixed. Some research suggests that the match enhances learning (Dunn
and Dunn, 1987), while other research finds either no effect (Snider, 1990) or negative
effects (Knight, Halpen, and Halpen, 1992).
Unquestionably, individual students come to us with different ways of attacking the
tasks oflearning and solving problems. The key question is, "What should we as teach
ers do in response to these differences?" and perhaps a more realistic question might be,
"What can we do about these differences?"
One position would take all instruction and tailor it to the distinctive needs and
predispositions of individual students (Witkin et al., 1977). Field-independent students,
for example, would be allowed to work on independent projects, while field-dependent
students would be allowed to work in small groups. The opposite position (Shipman
and Shipman, 1985) strives for balance and would attempt to make impulsive students
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STUDENT DIVERSITY.
59
more reflective and vice versa (e.g., "Now think a minute before you answer. Don't just
blurt out the answer!"). Unfortunately, neither of these positions is realistic in a class of
30 students.
So where does this leave us? Is there no value in considering learning style as one
element of pupil individuality? Probably not. We believe the concept oflearning styles
has two important implications for teaching. The first, and perhaps most important,
suggests the need to vary our instruction. We have often heard that teachers who vary
the way they teach are more effective than those who instruct the same way all the time.
Instructional alternatives such as individual projects, small group discussions, coopera
tive learning, and learning centers provide flexibility in meeting individual learning
styles. The importance of instructional variety is supported by research (Rosenshine,
1971). The existence of different learning styles helps us understand why.
The second implication is that the concept oflearning style reminds us that our stu
dents are indeed different and helps us become more sensitive to differences in their be
havior. In turn, we are less apt to interpret the differences as unimportant or inappropriate.
The classroom becomes a model of tolerance, and the learning climate improves. Teach
ers need to use a variety oflearning strategies while still remaining sensitive to individual
students. A challenge, yes, but something that good teachers do on a daily basis.
STUDENTS WITH EXCEPTIONALITIES

Jim Kessler circulated around the room while his sixth-grade students worked on their unit
test. Most were working smoothly, writing an answer and then looking up to think. Others
were obviously struggling and Jim could only shake his head in both understanding and
frustration. It was like this during regular class time.
There was quiet Samantha-barely said a word in class-shy, slow, she seemed to
struggle in every subject. She was a sweet girl; never complained, tried her hardest. Next
to her was Jake. Even now his feet were shuffling and his pencil beat a rhythm on the
desk. He was energy looking for a destination. Though he did all right in math, he strug
gled in any subject in which he had to read. Jim had to cajole and coerce him just to pick
up a book. Next to Jake was Steven, the playground terror. Steven did all right in the class
room, when other students left him alone, but he had a temper with a short fuse that
seemed to ignite at just the slightest provocation. Once Jim got him settled down again,
he'd do fine, but it took some doing.
What a collection! Ifhe didn't have the resource teacher to help him he didn't know
what he'd do.
Samantha, Jake, and Steven are students with exceptionalities. Students with ex
ceptionalities are those who require special help to reach their full potential, and you will al
most certainly have some of them in your classes (Heward, 1996). This is the result of
Public Law 94-142, the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), which
was passed in 1975 with the goal of ensuring a high-quality, free public education for all
students with exceptionalities.
Inclusion. In the past, students with exceptionalities were often placed in separate class
rooms and facilities. As educators realized that segregated classes and services were not
60
CHAPTER 2
meeting the needs of students with exceptionalities, they wrestled with alternatives.
One of the first was mainstreaming, the practice of moving students with exceptionalities
from segregated settings into regular classrooms. Popular in the 1970s, mainstreaming had ad
vantages and disadvantages (Hardman et al., 1999). Mainstreaming began the move away
from segregated services and allowed students with exceptionalities and other students
to interact. However, students with exceptionalities were often placed into classrooms
without the necessary support to help them succeed.
As educators grappled with these problems, they developed the concept ofthe least
restrictive environment (LRE), one that places students in as normal an educational set
ting aspossible while still meeting their special academic, social, andphysical needs. Broader than
the concept of mainstreaming, the LRE can consist of a continuum of services ranging
from mainstreaming to placement in separate facilities. Mainstreaming into a regular
classroom occurs only if parents and educators decide it best meets the child's needs.
Central to the LRE is the concept of adaptive fit, which is the degree to which a student
is able to cope with the requirements of a school setting and the extent to which the school accommo
dates the student's special needs (Hardman et al., 1999). Adaptive fit implies an individualized
approach to dealing with students having exceptionalities; it can only be determined after
an analysis of a student's specific learning needs. As educators considered mainstreaming,
the LRE, and adaptive fit, they gradually developed the concept of inclusion.
Inclusion is a comprehensive approach to educating students with exceptionalities
that advocates a total, systematic, and coordinated web of services (Heward, 1996; Turn
bull et al., 1999). The inclusion movement has three components:
1. Placing students with special needs in a regular school campus

2. Creating appropriate support and services to guarantee an adaptive fit
3. Coordinating general and special education services
Inclusion is both proactive and comprehensive; it makes all educators responsible
for creating supportive learning environments and leaves open the possibility of services
being delivered in places other than the regular classroom. Its basic thrust is to include
students with exceptionalities in regular classrooms whenever possible, but it also allows
for delivering services in other places (Bradley and Switlick, 1997; Larrivee, Semmel,
and Gerber, 1997).
Working with Students with Exceptionalities:

Support for Classroom Teachers
The practice of inclusion often places students with exceptionalities in regular class
rooms, and teachers are expected to help in meeting the needs of these students. They
are not alone, however. While school districts are sometimes short of funds and teach
ers don't always receive all the help called for, support systems such as the following can
assist the regular classroom teacher in adapting instruction to meet the learning needs of
students with exceptionalities:
.
1. Specially trained special educators and school psychologists meet with the class
room teachers to help adapt instruction.
2. If warranted, students with exceptionalities receive extra assistance in pullout re
source rooms.
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STUDENT DIVERSITY.
61
3. Assistance or collaborative consultation teams (Heward, 1996) bring special educa

tors into the regular classroom to help the classroom teacher in the following ways:
a. Meet with the classroom teacher to identify and define any learning problems.
b. Observe a student's classroom behavior.
c. Collect work samples from the classroom.
d. Cooperatively design specific instructional changes with the teacher.
e. Team teach with the regular teacher.
A major outcome of these meetings is the construction of an Individualized Edu
cation Program (IEP). Mandated by law, the IEP outlines an individualized plan if action
for each exceptional student. Each IEP must contain the following components:

The child's present levels of educational performance

Annual goals and short-term instructional objectives
Specific educational services to be provided
The extent to which the child will participate in regular education
Projected date for initiation of services
Expected duration of those services
Objective criteria and evaluation procedures
(Smith and Luckason, 1992)
eptionalities
1996; Turn-
The classroom teacher's input during both planning and implementation is essential to
the program's success.
The Exceptional Student Population
responsible
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to include
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ents. They
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How common are students with exceptionalities in the classroom? Approximately

11 percent of the school age population is classified as exceptional, and the majority of
these (about 70 percent) are taught either in the regular classroom or in a regular class
room with assistance from a resource room (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). If
your class is typical, you will have two or three students with exceptionalities needing
extra help. We describe characteristics of these students in this section.
Students with Mild-Moderate Disabilities. The vast majority of students with excep
tionalities are students with mild-moderate disabilities. Students with mild-moderate
disabilities learn well enough to remain in the regular classroom but have enough problems with
learning to warrant special help. The three major subcategories of mild-moderate disabilities
are mental retardation, learning disability, and behavioral disorder. Let's look at them.
Students with mental retardation have limited intellectual ability, resulting in prob
lems in adapting to classroom tasks. The majority of these students are mildly or educable
mentally retarded and have IQs ranging from 50 to 70 (an average IQ is around 100).
This lower level of intellectual functioning requires that classroom requirements need to
be adapted to match the learner's capabilities.
In contrast, students with learning disabilities have normal intellectual capabilities
but haveproblems with specific classroom taskssuch as listening, reading, writing, spelling, or math
operations. This category is the largest group of handicapped students, constituting al
most 45 percent of the total exceptional student population (Heward, 1996). Behavior
patterns include hyperactivity and fidgeting, problems with attention, disorganization,
and lack of follow-through and uneven performance in different school subjects.
62
CHAPTER 2
The third category-behaviorally disordered, emotionally disturbed, or

emotionally handicapped-display persistent behaviors that intefere with their classroom
work and interpersonal relations. Students with behavioral disorders fall into two general
categories-the acting out child, (externalizing) and the quiet, withdrawn child (inter
nalizing). (Hallahan and Kauffman, 2000). The acting out child can be physically ag
gressive and display uncooperative, defiant, and even cruel behaviors. The quiet,
withdrawn child is much less visible and is often timid, shy, and depressed, and lacks self
confidence. Experts warn that virtually all students act like behaviorally disordered stu
dents sometime in their school years; the key characteristic is that the behavior pattern
is chronic and persistent.
In addition to the students we have just discussed, you may have learners in your
classes with impaired sight, hearing, or speech. If you see indicators of these disabilities in
any of your students, immediately bring them to the attention of your principal, school
nurse, school psychologist, or guidance counselor, who can have the student tested.
Teachers' Roles in Working with Students Having Exceptionalities

Toni Morrison had been working with her class of second graders for a week trying to get
them into reading and math groups that matched their abilities. Marisse, a transfer student,
was hard to place. She seemed to understand the material but lost attention during differ
ent parts oflessons. When Toni worked with her one on one, Marisse did fine, but Toni
often noticed her staring out the window.
One day as Toni watched the class work in small groups, she noticed that Marisse
held her head to one side when she talked to the other side of the classroom. Toni won
dered.... She spoke to the principal, who recommended that Marisse be referred to the
school psychologist for possible testing.
Two weeks later, the school psychologist came by to discuss her findings. Marisse had
a hearing problem in one ear that would require a hearing aid as well as special help from
Toni.
In a few days, Marisse came to school with her hearing aid. She obviously felt funny
about it and wasn't sure if this was a good idea. Toni moved her to the front of the room
so she could hear better, made sure to give directions while standing in front of Marisse's
desk, and double-checked after an assignment was given to ensure that the directions were
clear to her.
After a couple of days, Toni took Marisse aside to talk about her new hearing aid.
Marisse could hear better, but she stillfelt a little strange with it. Some of the kids looked at
her funny. and that made her uneasy. Toni had an inspiration: Why not discuss the hear
ing aid in class and let the others try it? This was a risky strategy, but Marisse reluctantly
agreed to it.
It worked. During show-and-tell, Marisse explained about her new hearing aid and
gave the class a chance to try it out themselves. The strange and different became under
standable, and Marisse's hearing aid became a normal part of the classroom. (Eggen and
Kauchak,1992,pp.204-205)
In working with students with exceptionalities, teachers have three major roles
identification,jostering acceptance, and modifying instruction. Because they are able to observe
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STUDENT DIVERSITY
63
students on a day-to-day basis, teachers are in the best position to identify learning
problems in their students. If instructional modifications aren't proving successful, the
teacher can then refer the student to a special educator or school psychologist for for
mal evaluation.
A second role that teachers perform in working with exceptional children is foster
ing acceptance. Perhaps the most difficult obstacles students with exceptionalities face
are the negative attitudes of other students and the impact these attitudes have on their
own confidence and self esteem (Hardman, et al., 1999). Having a disability and being
different is often not well understood or accepted by other students, and just placing
students together in inclusive classrooms is often not sufficient to bring about attitude
change and acceptance. The teacher's active efforts are necessary to change attitudes and
bring about acceptance.
Teachers can help by modeling acceptance, by actively teaching about diversity, and
by making every possible effort to ensure that these students experience success and feel
needed and wanted. Toni Morrison did this by adapting her classroom to meet Marisse's
special learning needs and by emphasizing that Marisse was a valued and integral part of
the classroom learning community. This may be the most important contribution a
classroom teacher makes for these students. Teachers also help by helping other students
understand the nature of the learning problem. Toni did this when she had Marisse ex
plain her hearing aid to other students.
rani
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Adapting Instruction for Students with Exceptionalities

Many classroom teachers are apprehensive when faced with adapting instruction for stu
dents with exceptionalities. Probably the term exceptional has much to do with this ap
prehension. This is unfortunate because research shows that many of the basic approaches
that work with regular students also work with mainstreamed students (Hardman et al.,
1999; Heward, 1996). These include:
Warm academic climate

Effective use of time
Effective classroom management
High success rates
Effective feedback
The biggest challenge teachers face in working with students with exceptionalities
is adapting instruction to ensure success. Teaching topics at a slower pace, providing
more opportunities for practice and feedback, giving shorter assignments (e.g., 10 ver
sus 15 problems), and breaking assignments into smaller parts (e.g., 20 problems into
four groups of five) all can help in this process.
Reading assignments pose special problems for mainstreamed students because
available texts are often inappropriate for their reading level. Some ways of adapting reg
ular reading materials include:
Setting goals at the beginning of an assignment
Using advance organizers that structure or summarize the passage
Introducing key concepts and terms before students read the text
64
CHAPTER 2
Creating study guides with questions that focus attention on important

information
Asking students to summarize information in the text
(Graham and johnson, 1989)
These adaptations also work with regular students; their use with students with excep
tionalities provides extra structure and support to help ensure success.
Technology as a Tool for Inclusion

Technology can be a valuable aid in teaching students with exceptionalities, but the same
problem encountered with mainstreaming also applies (Hativa, 1988; Male, 1994). Sim
ply placing students with exceptionalities in front of computers will not automatically
solve their learning problems. Computers need to be integrated into the regular instruc
tional program and used when they are more effective than other forms of instruction.
Three areas, though, appear promising.
.:.
Computers: One Avenue to Automaticity. Computer-assisted instruction (CAl) can

help develop automaticity-the ability to perform routine operations, such as multiply
ing whole numbers or adding suffixes to words, with little mental effort-in basic skill
areas (Roblyer and Edwards, 2000). For example, research indicates that students with
mild learning disabilities depend heavily on finger-counting strategies in computing
math problems, which then becomes a bottleneck when they move to more complex
skills. Work with computers can help students overcome this tendency.
Effective computer programs begin by pretesting to determine students' entry skills.
They then build on the skills by introducing new math facts at a pace that ensures high
success rates. When students fail to answer correctly, the program provides the answer and
retests that fact. To develop automaticity (and discourage finger counting), presentation
rates are timed, and students' response times are shortened as their proficiency increases.
Computers have also been used to provide practice and feedback during reading
lessons (Golden, Gersten, and Woodward, 1990). Middle school students in remedial
reading classes who used computers to practice inferencing skills in reading compre
hension lessons scored higher than comparable control students on both immediate and
maintenance tests of inference skills.
Assistive Technology
Jaleena is partially sighted, with a visual acuity of less than 20/80 even after corrective
glasses. Despite this disability, she was doing well in her new fourth-grade class. Tera
Banks. her teacher. had placed Jaleena in the front of the room so that she could better see
the chalkboard and overhead and had assigned several students to work with her on her
projects. Using a magnifying device, she was able to read most written material, but the
computer was giving her special problems. The small letters and punctuation on things like
website addresses made it very difficult for her to learn to use the computer as an informa
tion source. Tera worked with the special education consultant in her district to get a spe
cial monitor that magnified content several times. She knew it was working when she saw
Jaleena quietly working alone at her computer on the report due next Friday.
_\a.uchak4e
STUDENT DIVERSITY.
65
Assistive technology, which includes adaptive tools that help students with disabilities
learn and peiform better in daily lift tasks, is affecting the ways students with exceptionali
.-ith excep
ties learn. These adaptive tools include motorized chairs, remote control devices that
turn machines on and off through a nod of the head or other muscle action, and ma
chines that amplify sights and sounds. Probably the most widespread contribution of as
sistive technology is in the area of computer adaptations. These adaptations include
either alternative input or output devices (Lewis and Doorlag, 1999).
Adaptations to Computer Input Devices. To use computers effectively, students must be

. . the same
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able to input their words and ideas. This can be difficult if not impossible for those with
visual or other physical disabilities that don't allow standard keyboarding. One adapta
tion includes devices that enhance the keyboard, such as making it larger and easier to
see, arranging the letters alphabetically to make them easier to find, or using pictures for
nonreaders. Additional adaptations completely bypass the keyboard. For example, stu
dents with physical disabilities that don't allow them to use their hands to input infor
mation, use switches activated by a body movement, such as a head nod, to interact with
the computer. Touch screens allow students to go directly to the monitor screen to in
dicate their responses.
Adaptations to Output Devices. Adaptations to the standard computer monitor either

bypass visual displays or increase their size. Size enhancement can be accomplished by
using a special large screen monitor, such as the one Jaleena used, or by using a magni
fication device that increases screen size. For students who are blind, speech synthesiz
ers can read words and translate them into sounds. In addition, special printers can
convert words into Braille and Braille into words.
Speech/voice recognition technologies are rapidly developing and can assist students
with exceptionalities in several ways (Newby et aI., 2000). Speech recognition systems
can translate speech into text on the computer screen, bypassing the need for keyboard
inputting. These systems can be invaluable for students with physical disabilities that af
fect hand and finger movement. Other devices translate printed words into speech, al
lowing nonspeaking students to communicate verbally.
These technologies are important because they prevent disabilities from becoming
obstacles to learning. Their importance to students with exceptionalities is likely to in
crease as technology becomes a more integral part of classroom instruction.
Computers: Tracking the Progress of Students with Exceptionalities. A third way that
technology has proven useful in working with students with exceptionalities is in mon
itoring and improving student IEPs (Mercer and Mercer, 1993). Because they are able
to store and update information, computers can:
Modify existing IEPs
Track learning progress
Analyze and interpret test data
A number offirms presently market software programs that perform these functions (see
Mercer and Mercer, 1993).
66
CHAPTER 2
Capitalizing on Cultural Diversity. Students in today's classroom are more diverse

than they have ever been, and this diversity poses special challenges and opportunities
for teachers. Diversity appears as differences in cultural and language backgrounds, so-
cioeconomic status, and learning abilities and style.
The cultural backgrounds of our students influence their ability to profit from in
struction. Cultural deficit, teacher expectations, and cultural differences are three
prominent theories that attempt to explain differences in achievement among cultural
groups. Teachers can capitalize on cultural diversity by using the cultural resources of
their students, communicating positive attitudes about diversity, and employing teach
ing strategies that build upon diversity.
Language Diversity. Language diversity results from large numbers of students immi
grating to this country and from dialect differences in different sections of the United
States. In dealing with a dialect, the most effective strategy is to accept and build on it.
Different language development programs emphasize retaining native languages to
differing degrees. Maintenance bilingual programs attempt to nurture and retain the
native language; transitional bilingual programs use the native language as an instruc
tional aid until English is proficient. ESL programs focus primarily on the mastery of
English.
Students Placed at Risk: Teaching the Children of Poverty. Students placed at risk
are in danger of failing to complete their education with the skills necessary to survive
in a modern technological society. Economic and social problems combine to produce
conditions that detract from learning. These include nutritional and health problems
and experiential differences that fail to provide a firm foundation for learning. Effective
teaching for students placed at risk is not fundamentally different from good teaching in
general. Teachers are also becoming increasingly aware of the need for high expectations
and challenge.
Teaching Students with Different Learning Abilities. Current views hold that in
telligence is alterable, culture embedded and multifaceted. Flexible time frames, group
ing, strategy instruction, and peer tutoring and cooperative learning activities are all
ways teachers adapt their instruction for students of different abilities.
Learning Styles. Field dependence/independence describes differences in students'

ability to focus on detail and separate relevant and irrelevant information. Conceptual
tempo describes some students as impulsive and others as reflective. Other work focuses
on preferred modes oflearning. Research on learning styles reminds us to treat all stu
dents as individuals and teach with a variety of instructional strategies.
Students with Exceptionalities. Students with exceptionalities require special help to
reach their full potential. Teachers help these students through identification, fostering
acceptance, and modifying instruction to meet their special needs.
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STUDENT DIVERSITY.
Active teaching 47
Adaptive fit 60
Assistive technology 65
At-risk students 44
Behavioral disorders 62
Between-class ability grouping 54
Bidialecticism 41
Conceptual tempo 57
Cultural deficit theory 34
Cultural difference theory 36
Culturally responsive teaching 37
Culture 34
Dialect 41
Emotionally disturbed 62
Emotionally handicapped 62
English as a Second Language
programs (ESL) 42
Field dependence/independence 56
Gardner's theory of multiple
intelligences 51
Inclusion 60
Individualized education program

(IEP) 61
Intelligence 50
Joplin plan 54
Learning styles 56
Least restrictive environment 60
Mainstrearning 60
Maintenance bilingual programs 42
Multi-ability tasks 53
Multicultural education 34
Resilience 45
Socioeconomic status 44
Students with exceptionalities 59
Students with mental retardation 61
Students with learning disabilities 61
Students with mild-moderate
disabilities 61
Teacher expectations 35
Transitional bilingual programs 42
Within-class grouping 54
Sharon Beasley didn't know what to expect. Though she had been teaching for several
years, enrollment shifts in her district resulted in her being transferred from a wealthy, vir
tually all Caucasian school in the district to the central part of the city. She looked forward
to the change with both enthusiasm and apprehension. She had confidence in herself as a
teacher and believed she had been doing a good job with the second graders in her classes
but she didn't quite know what to expect at Webster Elementary.
She started the school year as she always did-with pretesting. She used the same
pretests that she had used previously and was eager to see how her new class performed.
As she graded the pretests, her face took on a concerned, if not bewildered, look. Some of
her students were right where she thought they should be. However, a large part of her
class was well below grade level, needing work on basic skills that they should have
learned last year in first grade. "There is no way I'll be able to teach them all the same
way," she thought to herself, "so I better break them into groups to match their abilities."
The next day she formed four reading and math groups. Interestingly, they consisted
of just about the same students, even though the content areas were different. She de
cided to go very slow with her two lowest groups so as not to lose them. Many of them
were struggling with English as a second language, and this posed problems for them in
language arts. The two top groups she pushed hard and was pleased with the results. For
67
68
CHAPTER 2
logistical and practical reasons, she decided not to group for the other subjects. Instead
she utilized whole group lessons that gave her a breather from the complexities of running
four groups at a time. Most of the lessons went well, but she noticed that the same stu
dents who did well in math and reading also excelled in subjects like science and social
studies. Her A students seemed to have answers for all of her questions, but the students
in her lower groups seemed bored and unengaged. When she graded her quizzes and
homework. she noticed that many of her students handed in partial work or didn't hand
in any at all. She sent a letter home to all students explaining her grading system and ask
ing parents to help their children but received replies from only half of the parents. When
she asked students why their parents didn't respond, she only received shrugs. This was
discouraging.
She thought that perhaps motivation was a problem, so she decided to design a the
matic unit with learning activities around Christmas, a holiday that she believed all students
were excited about. She wrote some math story problems around Christmas shopping,
made a crossword puzzle using Christmas terms, and designed a social studies unit around
Christmas around the world. This seemed to make some difference, but still there were
students who she felt were on the fringe of the class.
Sharon talked to her principal and some other teachers, and they suggested that per
haps she needed some outside help with her slower students. After consulting with the
special education specialist in her school, they decided to have five of her students tested.
As Sharon had suspected, each of the five had some type of learning problem. Interest
ingly, four of the five came from homes where English wasn't spoken at home.
With the help of the specialist, she designed learning activities for these five that could
be reinforced in the resource room, where the five went for special help for one half hour
every day. At the suggestion of the specialist, she designed lessons that began with con
crete examples and were more interactive for her entire lower group. Sharon asked many
more questions and made sure that students had plenty of time to answer, When students
didn't seem to understand her question, she'd rephrase it or have one of the other students
ask it in Spanish. She also did more groupwork, with the students helping each other.
Sharon's class was working better, but still she wondered if there was more she
could do.
Questions for Analysis

1. Analyze Sharon's use of grouping. Which grouping practices were supported by
research? Which weren't? What could she have done to make her grouping more
effective?
2. How well did Sharon use interactive questioning strategies to involve her stu
dents? What alternatives might she have tried?
3. How effective was Sharon's communication with her students' parents? What
might she have done to improve her communication?
4. Comment on the choice of Christmas as the focal point for her thematic unit.
5. Provide an alternate explanation for the composition of her five resource students.
How well did Sharon do in adapting her instruction for these students?
6. What other suggestions do you have to improve student learning in Sharon's
class?
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STUDENT DIVERSITY.
69
1. What cultural groups live in the areas where you will be teaching? What do you
know about these cultures? How do their cultural beliefs and attitudes influence
learning?
2. What important differences exist between the cultural difference theory and the
other two theories? Why are these differences important for teachers and students?
3. How were the interaction patterns of the Warm Springs Native Americans simi
lar to those of rural African Americans in the Carolinas? Different? What impli
cations do these similarities and differences have for instruction?
4. How are the different instructional approaches to teaching English similar? Dif
ferent? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
5. How are students placed at risk similar to culturally different students? Different?
What implications does this have for instruction?
6. Students placed at risk used to be called underachievers or potential dropouts.
Why is at risk a more appropriate term, and how does the use of this term signal
changes in society?
7. What is the SES of the students you will likely be teaching? What indicators did
you use to reach this conclusion? How will this influence your teaching?
8. Which of Gardner's multiple intelligences is most emphasized in school's today?
Least? Which do you think should be emphasized more? Why?
9. What are the pros and cons of teachers attempting to change students' learning
styles? Which learning style difference is most important to you? Why?
10. How do learning styles relate to Gardner's multiple intelligences? Do you think
these differences are genetically or environmentally influenced? Explain.
11. Think about the dimensions of intelligence identified by ex-perts: (a) abstract
thinking and reasoning, (b) problem-solving ability, and (c) capacity to acquire
knowledge. Which do you think is more important in today's world? Least? Why?
12. Of the four strategies listed to accommodate diversity-creating multidimen
sional classrooms, flexible time, grouping, and strategy instruction-which have
the most positive long-term potential for students? Least? Why?
13. How are the three categories of mild-moderate disabilities-intellectual disabil
ity, learning disability, and behavioral disorder-similar? Different?
. stu
~t
unit.
students.
on's
1. Teaching Multicultural Students. Observe a class using interactive teaching. In ob

serving this classroom, analyze the class for any differential participation rates by
minority students. To do this, identify a comparable number of minority and
nonminority students to observe (three or four of each is optimal). Observe them
during the lesson noting the following:
a. How do their attending rates compare-that is, are they participating in the
lesson and listening to the interaction?
70
CHAPTER 2
b. How often do students from each group raise their hands to answer a teacher
question?
c. How often do students from each group get called on?
What implications do your results have for your teaching?
2. Teaching Students Placed At Risk. Identify a class with considerable numbers of stu
dents placed at risk. Observe a lesson in that class and analyze it in terms of the
following strategies:
a. active teaching
b. use of manipulatives and examples
c. active student involvement
d. interactive teaching
e. practice and feedback
f. high success rates
What else does the teacher do to teach these students effectively? What implica
tions do your findings have for you as a teacher?
3. Differences in Learning Ability: Student Perspectives. Observe a class working on an

in-class assignment. As you do this, circulate around the room so you can observe
the work progress of different students. As you do so, note the following:
a. Beginning times-Do all students get immediately to work, or do some take
more time starting?
b. On-task behaviors-What percentage of the class stays on task throughout the
assignment?
c. Completion times-When do the first students complete the assignment?
When do the last students finish?
d. Teacher monitoring-What does the teacher do during the seatwork? How do
students signal that they need help?
e. Options-What options are there for students who complete their assignments
early?
What strategies can teachers use to accommodate students with different learning
abilities?
4. Differences in Learning Ability: Teacher Perspectives. Interview a teacher to investigate
the teacher's use of the following strategies to deal with differences in learning
ability: (a) flexible time requirements, (b) grouping, (c) strategy instruction,
(d) peer tutoring and cooperative learning. Ask these questions:
a. Are differences in learning ability a problem for the teacher? Why or how?
b. Does the teacher use any of the strategies mentioned in this book? Which ones
work and why? Have any been tried that didn't work?
c. Does the teacher employ any other strategies for dealing with differences in
learning ability?
How do you plan to deal with differences in learning ability in your classroom?
5. Students with Exceptionalities. Interview a teacher about students with exceptionali

ties in the classroom. Ask the following questions:
a. Which students are classified as exceptional? What behaviors led to this classifi
cation? What role did the teacher play in identification?
.\auchak4e
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me
STUDENT DIVERSITY
b. In working with students with exceptionalities, what assistance does the class
room teacher receive from the following people?
(1) special education teacher
(2) school psychologist or school counselor
(3) principal
c. What does an IEP look like? How helpful is it in working with exceptional
students in the classroom?
e. What strategies does the teacher use to help these students in the classroom?
What implications do the teacher's responses have for you as a teacher?
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71
I. Planning: A functional analysis
II. Variables in instructional planning

A. The teacher
B. Learners
C. Motivation: An integral part of planning
D. Content
E. Teaching context
E Materials and resources
G. Time
III. The linear rational model: A sequential
planning model
A. Goals: A beginning point for teacher
planning
B.
C.
D.
G.
H.
Kinds of goals: The three domains

Long-term planning
Unit planning
Lesson planning
Instructional alignment: A key to
learning
IV Integrating the curriculum:

Interdisciplinary and thematic units
A. An integrated continuum
B. Designing and implementing integrated
units
C. Research on integrated planning
V Research on teacher planning
lomains
,ey to
Pbnning for diversity: Individualized

1IlSUUction
."- Varying time
B. Varying learning objectives
C. Adapting instructional materials

D. Offering different learning activities
E. Technology as a tool for individualizing

instruction
The intercom breaks into the middle of a teacher's class and blares, "Teachers, don't forget
in your plans for next week before you leave this afternoon."
10 10m
A teacher, responding to another's question about her summer, replies, 'T m going to be
writing curriculum for the district the first two weeks, and then I' m going to rest, rest, rest!"
Two friends discuss their plans for the weekend.
In the broadest sense, each of these examples involves some element of planning.
Planning is a human endeavor that spans a broad spectrum of activities; its basic func
tion is to simplify the environment and allow for strategic, goal-oriented activity. The
importance of planning in teaching cannot be overemphasized.
Why do teachers plan? How do they actually plan for their instruction? How does
it help them in their professional decision making? How important is planning for ef
fective teaching?
We try to answer these questions in this chapter. We discuss traditional approaches
to planning, including topics such as preparing year-long, unit, and lesson plans and the
historically revered linear rational planning model. We also discuss planning for inte
grated units, and the chapter concludes with research examining teacher planning, its
effects on effective instruction, and planning for diversity. When you have completed
your study of this chapter, you should be able to meet the following goals:
Identify major variables that influence instructional planning.
Describe similarities and differences between taxonomies in the three domains.
Explain how long term, unit, and lesson planning relate to each other and ful
fill different planning needs.
Identify advantages and disadvantages of integrated and thematic units.
Describe research that has examined teacher planning and its effects on
instruction.
Describe different planning strategies for individualization.

To introduce the topic of teacher planning, consider the following teachers
volved in classroom planning.
mirs
.integrated
mg
Peggy Stone, a student intern in a large middle school. was scheduled to be observed by
her university supervisor. While understandably a bit apprehensive at the prospect of being
evaluated, she eagerly anticipated the experience because she had carefully planned her
lesson the night before.
As the students filed in the room, she handed her supervisor the following copy of her
lesson plan.
111
74
CHAPTER 3
Unit Title: Mathematical Operations
Goal: To have students understand the order of mathematical operations and how they are
used.
Objective: Students will understand the order of arithmetic operations, so when given a se
ries of problems involving the four operations, they will solve each correctly.
Rationale: Students need to understand the order of operations so they can accurately sim
plify and solve algebraic expressions.
Content: Arithmetic operations are completed in the following sequence:
1. Multiply and divide (left to right).
2. Add and subtract (left to right).
Procedures:
1. Show the students the following problem:
l4/7x2+5-6
Ask what the right answer is. Encourage multiple answers.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Explain to the students that we're beginning the topic "Order of Operations."
Ask the students to explain what operation means. Clarify if necessary.
Present the rules for order of operations. Write on board.
Demonstrate a solution to the problem, referring students to rules for order of op
erations as the demonstration proceeds.
6. Show students the following problem:
6+9x4/3-7
7. Solve the problem with the help of students, calling on individuals to verbally de
scribe each step.
8. Present several other problems and solve them as a group.
9. Present students with the attached worksheet and guide them through the First
two problems.
10. Have students work the remaining problems on the sheet as I monitor the class.
11. Give homework assignment, all odd-num bered problems on page 194 of their text.
Assessment: Present students with problems involving order of operations. Have them
solve the problems.
Materials and Aids: Sample problems, worksheet, text.
Now, let's look at a second teacher.
Jim Hartley, a veteran of 10 years experience teaching secondary American history,
walked into his room early, as he always did, and pulled out his plan book. He looked to
see what he had written in anticipation of the day's work, nodded to himself. and headed
off to the media center. His plan appeared as follows:
British Exploration
Religious freedom, secular, nongovernment sponsored
Ibuchak4e
TEACHER PLANNING: RESEARCH AND REALITY.
75
Spanish Exploration
yare
3 Gs-gold, God, glory

More integration with natives, slave labor
a se
op
~d
(Film on Spanish and Mexican fiesta)

Were these two teachers' lessons well planned? Was Peggy Stone's class better
planned than Jim Hartley's? Do their plans alone or together represent the scope of
teacher planning? What does teacher planning mean? We attempt to answer these ques
tions in the paragraphs that follow.
We answer the last question first. Definitions of instructional planning range from the
simple products that appear on paper or in a planning book, such as those of Peggy and
Jim, to complex psychological processes in which a teacher "visualizes the future, inven
tories means and ends, and constructs a framework to guide his or her future action"
(Clark and Peterson, 1986, p. 260). The future might be as long away as a year or as near
as the next day. In both cases, teachers consider how content, goals, materials, and activi
ties will influence student learning. With year-long planning, this thinking is more gen
eral and abstract, while daily lesson planning involves more specific and concrete thinking.
Beginning education students often think of planning simply as writing an objec
tive and preparing a lesson plan. It is much more than that, however, and it is also much
more than the information that appeared in either Peggy's or Jim's respective plans. For
example, Jim planned to use a film to encourage a comparison of Spanish and Mexican
fiestas and ultimately lead to questions about cultural similarities and differences. He
wanted his students to think about why there were differences, in spite of the fact that
the two groups had many similar origins. He then planned to compare the Spanish with
English settlers in terms of their interactions with the Native Americans. Jim had much
more in mind in terms of content, sequence, and method than appeared on paper. Typ
ical of veteran teachers, his actual plans were much more complex than what appeared
on paper (Morine-Dershimer, 1979). In contrast, Peggy was much more detailed in her
written plans. This is typical of beginning teachers; because of inexperience and anxi
ety they structure their lessons in greater detail and write more things down (Neale,
Pace, and Case, 1983).
Planning includes all the instructional decisions teachers make prior to actually teaching.
Content, activities, learner motivation, grouping of students, projects, grading practices,
and classroom management are all considered in this process. We discuss planning for
classroom management in greater detail in Chapter 6, and we examine the role of plan
ning for assessment in Chapter 12.
PLANNING: A FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

Why do teachers plan? The answers to this question are the focus of this section. No
two teachers teach in the same way; similarly, no two teachers plan in exactly the same
way. Teaching is a higWy personal and idiosyncratic process, and planning allows teach
ers to personalize the curriculum-in a sense, to make it their own. In this regard plan
ning serves three important functions:
It allows teachers to anticipate instructional needs in advance so materials can
be gathered and organized.
76
CHAPTER 3
It provides a "script" that directs interactions with students.

It provides a form of emotional or psychological security, which bolsters teach
ers' confidence and helps reduce the normal anxiety associated with teaching.
(Clark and Yinger, 1979; McCutcheon, 1982)
Let's look at these functions in practice.

Janet Evans is a new faculty member in a math department at a magnet school designed to
attract diverse high-ability students throughout the city. Because her transcript revealed a
few computer courses, she was assigned to teach a second-year programming course for
which she has little background. She is experiencing considerable anxiety, both because
she is new and because she lacks confidence in her understanding of the content. She
spends hours every day studying but is quite dissatisfied with her plans as she enters the
classroom each day.
One day she enters the teachers' lounge with an extra bounce in her step; her conver
sation is more animated, and she is more enthusiastic.
"You're in a good mood today," remarks another rookie who has become her confidant.
"I've found the secret," she replies. "It's transparencies. When I have to present new
material, I just write my outline down on the transparency with questions or problems for
students. I use them to remind me where I am, and then I can keep the flow of my presen
tation going."
She added with a grin, "It takes seven transparencies to make it through a whole class."
Consider another example.
"Irina Arnold is an elementary teacher planning a lesson on invertebrates.
"The kids don't like science," she thinks to herself. "I even heard two of them saying how
boring it is. What am I going to do?"
As she tried to think of ways to make her unit more motivating, she seized on the idea of
bringing in some real animals to class. On her way home from school that evening, she stopped
in at a fish market and bought a crab, a clam, and a small fish. The next day she took all three,
plus her daughter's hamster, into class. During the lesson, students examined and compared
the four animals, analyzing their similarities and differences and, using the chart shown in Fig
ure 3.1, compared vertebrates and invertebrates. As they worked, she noticed a level of energy
and excitement that she hadn't seen in them before.
Examples
Similarities
Differences
Vertebrates
Invertebrates
r~ 3.1 Matrix Comparing Vertebrates and Invertebrates
lI1Vkauchak4e
77
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of energy
"That's the best science lesson I ever did," she concluded to herself afterward. After that
experience, Trina tried to bring something interesting to class and involve students actively
in each science lesson.
Consider how each of the planning functions manifested themselves in these two
scenarios. We said that planning organizes instruction and helps teachers feel more con
fident and secure. Janet Evans's experience illustrates these functions. By structuring
content on her transparencies, she was able to organize and personalize it, emphasizing
some topics and deleting others. In addition, the transparencies provided a script for her
interactions with students; she no longer had to keep all the information in her head.
Finally, the transparencies bolstered her confidence and helped ease her anxiety because
she felt well prepared.
We have all been in situations where we feel nervous or uncertain in anticipating a
teaching challenge. The content may be unfamiliar, we are unsure of our audience, or
we have had a bad experience in the past. The tendency in these cases is to plan in more
detail and to write more information on paper. This also helps explain why Peggy Stone
had more extensive written plans than did Jim Hartley; she was an intern, in contrast to
his 10 years of experience.
Our second example is quite different from the first. While Janet used her planning
time to identify and organize topics that helped her feel more secure, Trina Arnold used
her planning time to consider the motivation and "involvement of her students.
Does planning actually affect the way teachers teach? Research results suggests that
it does. Researchers have found a positive correlation between the number of planning
statements teachers made about content and their tendency to remain focused on the
topic they were teaching (Peterson, Marx, and Clark, 1978). They further found that
written statements about teaching procedures were related to the way teachers inter
acted with their students. Planning is functional, influencing the ways teachers carry out
their plans once they are made.
What factors influence the shape teacher plans take? This question is the focus of
the next section.
VARIABLES IN INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

A number of variables-teachers and their personalities, the learners we teach, content,
the instructional context, resources, and available time--affect the planning process.
These are illustrated in Figure 3.2 and in the sections that follow.
The Teacher
The most significant variable in the planning process is the teacher. Teachers' beliefs about
the role of schools and what children should learn, their own capacity to help students,
and their general philosophical approach to teaching and learning all affect the decisions
they make (White and Williams, 1996). A teacher's philosophical position, while seem
ingly remote and abstract, is important for learning. Teachers who feel a sense of mission
and believe all students can and will learn are more active in their role, have higher ex
pectations, and work harder to help students achieve (Ross, 1995). Teachers with philo
sophical commitments to excellence take more personal responsibility for student failures
78
CHAPTER 3
MOTIVATION
(How can I actively
involve students
in learning?
What interests
students?)
THE TEACHER
(Who am I?
What do I know?
How do I teach
most effectively?)
LEARNERS
(What do they know?
How do they prefer
to learn?)
MATERIALS AND
RESOURCES
(What resources
are available to
facilitate learning?
How can I access
these resources
and materials?)
CONTENT
(What are the most
important ideas?
What essential
skills and strategies
do my students need?)
CONTEXT
(How does my
class fit into
the larger picture?
What do my
school and district
expect me to teach?)
TIME
(How much time
do I have to teach
different topics?
How are the school
day and year
divided in terms of time?)
r~ ~.Z Factors Influencing Teacher Planning

and increase their efforts to help underachieving students. Less committed teachers are
more likely to attribute lack of achievement to student shortcomings (pintrich and Schunk,
1996).
Teachers' understanding of the content they teach also affects the planning process.
Research indicates that teachers unfamiliar with lesson content ask lower-level ques
tions, stick closer to the text, and discourage students from asking questions (Carlsen,
1987; Dykstra, 1996; Shulman, 1987). The implications of this research are clear: De
veloping your understanding of the content you teach is an essential part of planning.
When you are teaching unfamiliar content, you need to spend extra time studying to
ensure that the lessons you develop will be effective.
Learners
Karen Passey, a kindergarten teacher, sat down to plan her next week's lessons. "Hrnm.
let's see, figures and shapes. I better plan on something active for my afternoon group, or
they'll go bonkers after 5 minutes of sitting quietly."
Pam Shepard looked at her planning book to refresh her memory about the topics for her
next semester. "Hmm. Shakespeare. My honors classes should be able to handle it without
any problems, but I'll have to really plan carefully with my third period class."
rbuchak4e
79
As we saw in Chapter 2, learners exert a powerful influence on our instructional

decisions, and many of these decisions occur during the planning process. The age of
our students, their background knowledge, motivation, and interests all affect decisions
we make as we plan for instruction.
Learners' ages are among the most powerful variables affecting planning. Age is
closely related to attention span, which determines-at least in part-how long an ac
tivity within an individual lesson can be (Berk, 1997). One teaching adage recom
mends, "Don't plan any single learning activity longer than the age of your students."
Karen Passey, in planning for her kindergartners, made sure that any quiet listening time
wouldn't exceed 5 minutes. A middle school teacher might be able to stretch this to 12
or 15 minutes, but beyond that would probably be pushing it.
Students' background knowledge is another powerful factor influencing planning.
All new learning builds upon current understanding (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001). For
example, a lesson on writing paragraphs depends on skills such as writing grammatically
correct sentences, organizing ideas, and presenting information succinctly and accu
rately. In a later section, we'll describe how task analysis can be used to determine pre
requisite knowledge.
Motivation: An Integral Part of Planning
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Learner motivation is another important variable influencing planning. Motivation is

the second greatest concern of beginning teachers, exceeded only by management
(Veenman, 1984). For experienced teachers, motivation is often their greatest concern;
they continue to wrestle with it long after management concerns are resolved (Zahorik,
1996).
Student motivation occurs at two levels-global and lesson specific. At a global
level, student motivation represents the cumulative effects of past learning experiences.
If they have been successful, students come to us confident, alert, and eager for new
learning. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true.
The second type of motivation-lesson specific-is more malleable and more sub
ject to the immediate influence of the teacher. Lesson-specificmotiv;tion can be in
creased in many ways. We look at three ways teachers can increase motivation through
their planning here.
First, teachers can plan to capitalize on students' interests (Zahorik, 1996). Teach
ers describe the importance of student interest in this way:
Student interest is a major interest to me in planning sessions. I don't think kids have to love
everything I'm teaching, but if they are "sleeping" before I even get into the lesson, they
don't get a chance to see where the lesson was going. (Elementary teacher)
Student interest is the major concern after the mandated curriculum. I try to take each
thing I have to do and find some way to relate it to the students, or find an aspect of it
which will really grab their attention. (Secondary history teacher) (Zahorik. 1996, p. 559)
xn
Effective teachers use student interest as a springboard to pull them into lessons. For ex
ample, elementary teachers use children's fascination with Halloween to teach writing,
80
CHAPTER 3
wvvw. ablongman .com/kauchak4e
poetry, art, and music. In a similar way, effective middle school and high school science
teachers capitalize on teenagers' fascination with their changing bodies to teach biology
and health concepts. Strategic planning integrates motivation into every lesson.
A second way to plan for student motivation is to design activities that arouse stu
dents' curiosity, draw them into lessons, and keep them there (Eggen and Kauchak,
2001). One researcher called these motivational strategies "catch factors" because they
capture students' attention and increase their interest in the topic (Mitchell, 1993). Ask
ing open-ended or rhetorical questions is one strategy for capitalizing on curiosity and
increasing motivation. For example, a lesson on dinosaurs might begin with, "Consider
the dinosaur-the largest and most fearsome of all land animals, some as big as a house.
Suddenly they became extinct. Why?" In a similar way, a lesson might begin with a dis
crepant event-an event that is puzzling to students. For example, a home economics
lesson on baking might begin with two loaves of bread, one perfect and the other flat.
The teacher would begin thc lesson by saying, "These two loaves started out the same
way and had the same ingredients. One turned out like this; the other this way. Why do
you suppose? . .. We'll find out in this lesson."
A third strategy for increasing motivation is to design lessons that actively involve
students (Zahorik, 1996). Using manipulatives, games, simulations, role playing and
drama projects, problems, and puzzles are all techniques used to increase involvement.
In planning motivating lessons, effective teachers consciously avoid activities that place
students in passive roles.
Content
The type of content we're teaching also influences the planning process. For example,
if we're planning to teach a concept, we'll need to gather positive and negative exam
ples to illustrate it. If we're teaching a skill, such as solving math word problems in
volving addition, we'll need to find or construct a number of these problems so
students can practice on them. If we're teaching integrated bodies of knowledge with
interconnected ideas, we need to organize them in a way that is meaningful to stu
dents. We'll return to this idea in Chapters 7 through 11, when we discuss different
teaching strategies.
Teaching Context
Another powerful factor influencing planning is the context in which teaching and
learning occur. Teaching context includes state and district guidelines, school policy, and
leadership. For instance, McCutcheon (1982) described two school districts in Virginia;
both had adopted the same basic text, but the first encouraged teachers to adapt freely,
and the second required teachers to cover all the content in the book before turning to
supplementary materials. Teacher autonomy and initiative had different meanings in the
two districts.
The school principal also affects the planning process. In her study of elementary
teachers' planning, McCutcheon (1982) found that even though all the principals she
studied required written plans, their definition of plans varied greatly in detail, format,
and length of time. Some inspected plans every week, others monthly, and still others at
random intervals.
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81
One principal sent out the following memo:

Each teacher is expected to keep daily lesson plans of classroom activities. Good teacher
planning is essential for effective teaching. In case of teacher absence, lesson plans are to
be available in the top desk drawer for the substitute teacher. This is a must. Detailed Jes
son plans should be kept a week in advance.
Lesson plans should be kept in a looseleaf notebook. These notebooks will be
checked from time to time by the principal. (McCutcheon, 1982, p. 263)
Clearly, the plans written at this principal's school will be quite different from those in
a school where planning is considered to be an individual, professional activity.
Standards-Based Education. Planning is also influenced by national, state, and district

guidelines where teachers are held accountable for their students' achievement on stan
dardized tests (Darling-Hammond and Snyder, 1992). When teachers feel pressured to
cover certain content and topics because the information will appear on a standardized
test, their planning and teaching are affected. Standards-based education, which is the
process iffocusing curriculum and instruction on predetermined standards) is presently exerting a
powerful influence on teacher planning both through the goals or standards they suggest
as well as the tests that follow from them. The following are examples of national stan
dards for middle school math students created by the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics.
Number and Operations Standard for Grades 6-8: Instructional programs from pre
kindergarten through grade 12 should enable all students to compute fluently and make
reasonable estimates.
ln grades 6-8 all students should:
Select appropriate methods and tools for computing with fractions and decimals
from among mental computation, estimation, calculators or computers, and paper
and pencil, depending on the situation, and apply the selected methods;
Develop and analyze algorithms for computing with fractions, decimals, and inte
gers and develop fluency in their use;
Develop and use strategies to estimate the results of rational-number computations
and judge the reasonableness of the results;
Develop, analyze, and explain methods for solving problems involving proportions,
such as scaling and finding equivalent ratios. (National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics, 2000, p. 214)
States also publish standards to guide learning in different content areas:
Science: In Science, students in Missouri public schools will acquire a solid foundation
which includes knowledge of ... properties and principles offorce and motion." (Missouri
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. 1995)
Reading; (Grades 6-8) "Demonstrate inferential comprehension of a variety of printed ma
terials." Grade 8 benchmark: "Identify relationships, images, patterns or symbols and draw
conclusions about their meaning." (Oregon Department of Education, 1996)
82
CHAPTER 3
Social Studies: (Grade 5) "The student will describe colonial America, with emphasis
on ... the principal economic and political connections between the colonies and
England."
(Virginia Board of Education, 1995)
As you can see, these standards are often general and vague. Not until they are translated
into specific learning activities or test items do teachers or students have a clear idea of
what should be learned or how it will be measured. This is another reason why teacher
planning is so important.
The standards movement is widespread; virtually all states have specified standards
for at least some of the content areas, and students as well as teachers are being held ac
countable for meeting these standards.
usting. As you begin reading this section, you might wonder, "What does testing have
to do with teacher planning?" The answer is, a great deal. A powerful way that states and
districts attempt to influence what is taught is through the tests they give. One elemen
tary teacher, reassigned to a different grade level, found out about her new curriculum
in this way:
When I came up to fifth grade, I really didn't know everything that would be covered in
the fifth grade, so one of the teachers said, "Well, this skill will be on the achievement test,
and you'll find this on the achievement test, and you'll find this on the test." And I know to
teach my children survival skills that I had to teach those. Let's just face it, that's just the
way it is. You know, I tell them, "This may be on the achievement test and this is some
thing that I really want to stick." (Brown, 1991, pp. 102-103)
Tests provide concrete guidelines about what should be taught, and principals and
other teachers often pressure teachers to "cover" all of the knowledge and skills that will
be tested sometime during the year.
As enthusiasm for accountability has increased around the country, all but two states
have adopted statewide testing systems (Olson, 1999). It is virtually certain that the cur
riculum in your school will be influenced by a standardized test developed or adopted at
the state or local level. As a beginning teacher, you need to be aware of the different kinds
oftests your students will be required to take. Armed with this information, you can make
wise professional planning decisions about what curriculum is best for your students.
Outcomes-Based Education. An additional way that states and districts attempt to in

fluence curriculum is by specifying and testing for specific objectives. Outcomes
based education (OBE) attempts to describe curriculum in terms if objectives or results. OBE
attempts to go beyond the listing of topics to be learned by specifying specific outcomes
for a course of study. OBE tries to put teeth in these outcomes by testing whether stu
dents have attained these goals.
Proponents claim that OBE makes sense; if we want students to attain certain
knowledge or skills, we should specify exactly what these are, teach them, and test for
them (Manno, 1995). Critics contend that many of the most important skills (like crit
ical thinking or communicating with others) can't be specified in behavioral terms and
~s
l
83 ./
trying to do so promotes minimal academic standards and "dumbing down" of the cur
riculum. As you can imagine, working in an outcomes-based environment will radically
affect the way you plan and teach.
Materials and Resources
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Materials and other resources also have a major impact on teacher planning. Textbooks
are first among them. Beginning teachers depend heavily on text materials to help them
decide the topics to be taught, sequencing, depth, and even the test items they give their
students (Blumenfeld, Hicks, and Krajcik, 1996). As teachers acquire experience, they
become more independent, adding and deleting topics and generally personalizing their
curriculum. However, even veterans rely heavily on available materials and often voice
frustration when topics covered by district or state objectives do not appear in their text
books (Clark and Elmore, 1981).
While textbooks will strongly influence your planning decisions, you shouldn't de
pend on them completely. The following are some reasons why.
Needs. The topics presented in textbooks may not be consistent with the spe
cific needs of your students, school, or district. Following a textbook too
closely then fails to meet these needs as effectively as possible.
Scope. To appeal to a wide market, textbook publishers include a huge number
of topics, more than you can possibly teach in the time available. So you will
need to be selective in the topics you teach. Curriculum experts advise,
"Schools [and teachers] should pick out the most important concepts and skills
to emphasize so that they can concentrate on the quality of understanding
rather than on the quantity of information presented" (Rutherford and Algren,
1990, p. 185).
Quality. Textbooks are sometimes poorly written, lack adequate examples, or
even contain errors of fact. One study of history textbooks, for example, found
that "Content is thinner and thinner, and what there is, increasingly deformed
by identity politics and group pieties" (Sewall, 2000). One analysis of middle
school science texts concluded, "It's a credit to science teachers that their stu
dents are learning anything at all" (Bradley, 1999, p. 5). Similar problems have
been found in other areas (Manzo, 2000). Following a textbook too closely can
lead to shallow understanding or even faulty ideas that detract from learning.
What does this information suggest for you as a teacher? Nowhere in teaching is
professionalism more important than in teacher planning. This is particularly true re
garding textbooks. It's easy to allow textbooks to make professional decisions for you,
such as teaching the next chapter because it's there, and this is what many teachers un
fortunately do.
Textbooks can be a valuable resource, and they will certainly influence your deci
sions. However, don't be afraid to deemphasize, or even eliminate, topics and chapters
in the text and include other topics that aren't in it. Curriculum decision making such
as this requires professional understanding, effort, and energy. Teachers report that the
process of curriculum planning can be one of the most creative and satisfying aspects of
teaching (Clandinin and Connelly, 1996).
~----~--~~------------------------
84
CHAPTER 3
The availability of other materials also influence planning. If the film had not ex
isted, for example, Jim Hartley's approach to his lesson comparing Mexican and Span
ish customs would necessarily have been quite different. Reaching his goal would have
been difficult; the goal might even have been revised. In fact, some research indicates
that teachers first consider activities when they plan (Clark and Peterson, 1986), and
their activities are usually based on available materials.
Time
Finally, time is an important variable that affects planning (White and Williams, 1996).
First, planning can consume a great deal of teacher time--up to 20 hours a week, in
some cases (McDaniel-Hine and Willower, 1988)-and beginning teachers, who are
learning to survive, usually spend the most time in planning. Time also interacts with
other variables; for example, teachers of young children spend much of their planning
time gathering and arranging the physical materials that students will use in learning ac
tivities (Hill, Yinger, and Robbins, 1981).
Time also serves as a frame of reference, helping teachers structure their planning.
The school year is divided into grading periods, the grading periods into weeks, and
courses and units are framed in terms of these time periods. Breaking time down into
manageable chunks makes the task of planning manageable. We discuss this process in
the next section of the chapter.
THE LINEAR RATIONAL MODEL:
A SEQUENTIAL PLANNING MODEL
Planning has been heavily influenced by Ralph Tyler and his book, Basic Principles oj
Curriculum and Instruction, first published in 1949. Tyler described the process of plan
ning as a logical and sequential process of starting with goals, processing to teacher ac
tions and learning tasks, and ending with student outcomes. These steps are illustrated
in Figure 3.3. Tyler's major contribution to the process of planning was to frame it as a
series oflogical actions requiring thought and reflection.
In this section of the chapter we will use this logical, sequential framework to con
sider a comprehensive model of planning that takes us from long term planning, en
compassing months and even an entire school year, to specific lesson plans for a particular
day. This process begins with goals.
Goals
~
Teacher Actions
+
Student Outcomes
U!i
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II
ex
85
Goals: A Beginning Point for Teacher Planning

Goals provide a useful starting point in the planning process; they identify what we hope
to accomplish in our classrooms in broad, general terms. Some examples of goals that
teachers use to guide their instructional planning include:
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Third-grade students should understand plants and how they contribute to our
lives.
Second-grade students will know their math facts.
Students should develop an appreciation for the rights of others.
Seventh-grade health should develop in students an understanding of their
bodies and how they work.
Students will understand how to read critically and analytically.
Though different in their focus, each goal gives us a sense of direction for our instruc
tion. In the next section we discuss different kinds of goals, and the implications the dif
ferences have for teaching.
Kinds of Goals: The Three Domains

Three physical education teachers were comparing their goals for a unit on exercise. Carol
commented, "I'm trying to develop muscle tone, strength, and flexibility so that no matter
how they use their bodies in other activities, they'll have a good foundation." "I'm inter
ested in that, too," added Sharon, a second-year teacher, "but I'm more concerned that
they know about the different kinds of exercise. They need to know the difference be
tween aerobic and anaerobic exercise and how each affects their bodies." "Both of those
are important," Tanya acknowledged, "but I'm concerned about what happens after they
leave school. We've got too many couch potatoes out there already. I'm trying to get them
turned on to exercise for the rest of their lives."
Which of these goals is most important? What kinds oflearning should schools focus
on? How will your particular class contribute to the overall growth of your students?
Questions like these are not easy to answer. Part of the reason for this difficulty is that
schools attempt to accomplish a broad spectrum ofgoals, and individual teachers must se
lect from this broad array in selecting goals for their classrooms and their students.
Two conceptual tools help teachers think about their goals during the planning
process. The first divides goals into areas or domains-cognitive, affective, and psy
chomotor-that correspond to the kinds of learning that are intended. Each of the
physical education teachers had one of these domains in mind when she talked about
her goals for the exercise unit. Within each domain, goals can be classified further into
levels that correspond to the specific kinds of performance outcome common to differ
ent areas oflearning in the schools today. Let's look at these domains and levels.
The Cognitive Domain. The cognitive domain deals with the acquisition of knowledge
and skills. Sharon's unit focused on the cognitive domain because it targeted students'
knowledge about different kinds of exercise. Presently, other cognitive skills, such as
study strategies, problem solving, and higher-order and critical thinking, are receiving
increased attention because of their importance in a technological society. One way to
86
CHAPTER 3
~.:5.f THE COGNITIVE TAXONOMY

Level
Description
Knowledge
At the knowledge level, the student can recognize, define, or recall

specific information. This might include remembering important names,
dates, capitals, or even the equation for a formula.
Comprehension
This level targets whether students understand content. Ways of

demonstrating comprehension include summarizing, translating, or
providing examples of a concept.
Application
The application level focuses on whether students can use information

to solve problems. Examples of application-level goals include having
students solve math word problems and using punctuation properly in
written communication.
Analysis
This level involves asking students to break something down to reveal

its organization and structure. Students perform analysis when they
discuss why a short story "works" or when they identify the component
parts of a science experiment.
Synthesis
Students employ synthesis when they create a unique (for them) product.
This might include writing a poem, painting a picture, or creating a
computer program.
Evaluation
In the highest level of the taxonomy, students judge the value or worth
of something by comparing it to predetermined criteria. We ask students
to evaluate when they critique a plan to solve a pollution problem or
when we ask students to assess a writing sample.
differentiate these cognitive goals is to use a classification system, called the cognitive tax
onomy (Bloom et al., 1956), which divides goals into six levels. These levels are outlined
in Table 3.1.
The cognitive taxonomy reminds teachers that knowledge is only one of several
important goals, it supplies them with alternate goals, and it provides them with a tool
to analyze the plans they make. We'll discuss the cognitive taxonomy again when we
discuss questioning strategies in Chapter 5.
The Affective Domain. As Tanya suggested, sch ools exist for more than just making stu
dents smarter. We also want them to develop into happy individuals with healthy views
about themselves and others (Nucci, 1989). The affective domain (Krathwohl,
Bloom, and Masia, 1964) focuses on the development of attitude and values and divides this
process into five levels that correspond to the degree to which attitudes and values are
internalized by the individual. A taxonomy for affective goals it outlined in Table 3.2.
As with the cognitive taxonomy, the affective taxonomy provides teachers with a
conceptual tool to analyze their planning. Ifrespect for the rights of others is one of our
goals, do we just want students to nod when we talk about the importance of respect,
or do we want students to respect each other, helping to create a classroom where
wchak4e
87
~ ~.Z THE AFFECTIVE TAXONOMY
ill
Level
Description
Receiving
At this level, the student is willing to listen passively to or attend to some

message. Students who listen to a speaker talking about drugs without
tuning him out are acting at this level.
Responding
Beyond just receiving a message, students must also react to it. Students
react by obeying, discussing, or responding to the attitude or value.
Valuing
When students respond at this level, they show their preference for an
idea by voluntarily displaying it. For example, a health class has been
talking about nutrition. A student turns to his friend in the cafeteria and
says, "Those french fries aren't good tor you. They've got too much fat."
Organization
Organization occurs when students take an attitude or value and

incorporate it into a larger value system. In the health example, this
would occur when the student looks at his own diet and examines
implications for himself
Characterization
At the highest level of the affective domain, students not only reorganize
their own thinking but also act consistently with their beliefs. A student
who actually changes the way he or she eats over a long period of time
would be operating at this level.
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The Psychomotor Domain. A third area that serves as a source of goals for our teach
ing is the psychomotor domain, which involves the development of coordination and phys
ical skills. Carol's goal to develop her students' muscle tone, strength, and flexibility
would fall into this domain. Though we typically associate the psychomotor domain
with physical education, other areas like typing, music, art, and home economics are
also involved. In addition, preschool, kindergarten, and the lower elementary grades
focus on psychomotor goals through activities like cutting and pasting, coloring, print
ing, and writing. Like the other areas, the psychomotor taxonomy (Harrow, 1972)
shown in Table 3.3 proceeds from simple to complex and from externally to internally
controlled.
In the linear rational model goals in the three domains form a logical starting point
for the planning process. We discuss this sequential process in the next section.
Long-Term Planning
In previous sections, we discussed the nature ofplanning, the functions it serves, and how
goals in different domains influence instruction. We now want to extend this informa
tion to describe a comprehensive model of planning that is practical and complete. This
88
CHAPTER 3
~~.~ THE PSYCHOMOTOR TAXONOMY

Level
Description
Reflex movements
Behaviors outside the conscious control of the learner
Basic fundamental movements
Behaviors learned at an early age (e.g., grasping, walking) that

form the foundation for later growth
Perceptual abilities
Coordination of muscular movements with the outside world

through feedback with the sense organs
Physical abilities
The development of strength, endurance, flexibility, and agility
Skilled movements
Complex physical skills (e.g., skipping rope, shooting a basket) that

utilize the first four levels
N ondiscursive communication
The use of our bodies to express feelings or ideas
planning model occurs in three stages-long term, unit, and lesson planning. When
doing long-term planning, teachers survey available resources, including texts and state and
district curriculum guides, and outline a year's or semester's instruction. During unitplan
ning, teachers translate these broad outlines into interrelated lessons focused on a central
topic or a theme. Finally, during lesson planning, specific activities for a given day are con
sidered. Let's see how this works. These different time frames are illustrated in Figure 3.4.
Long-term planning involves preparingfor a year orsemester and serves primarily as a

framework for later planning grorts. Long-term planning serves the following purposes:
It adapts the curriculum to fit the teacher's knowledge and priorities.
It helps the teacher focus on the structure and content of the new curriculum.
It develops a practical schedule for instruction. (Clark and Elmore, 1981)
Note how these functions are similar to the general functions ofplanning discussed earlier.
In addition to framing content issues, long-term planning also serves to establish
routines for how the school year will run. The structure provided by routines plays
Long Term Planning (year-long or spanning a semester or term)
--------------------------------------------+
Unit Planning (can span 2 weeks to several months)
--------------------------~
Lesson Planning (addresses daily planning needs)
xxxxxxxxxx
--------------+
September
g
December
March
June
wr
r~~.~ Time Frames in Instructional Planning
89
"such a major role in the teacher's planning behavior that planning could be character
ized as decision making about the selection, organization, and sequencing of routines"
(Yinger, 1977, p. 165). One elementary classroom routine that was effective in produc
ing high math achievement looked like this:
Monday starts with a longer than usual review to compensate for the long weekend. Each
subsequent day begins with homework checking and then proceeds to presentation of new
material, and then group and individual practice. Friday's session wraps up the week with
further review and a quiz. Students know what to expect each day as math begins, and
there is a natural rhythm to the tempo of the classroom during the week. (Good, Grouws,
and Ebmeier, 1983, p. 44)
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Establishing routines during long-term planning provides a superstructure that helps

guide both teacher and student actions for the entire school year.
Much of the initial effort during long-term planning involves covert mental activ
ity, which is often continual, occurring at strange times and places, such as late evening
or while driving to school or watching a football game on television (McCutcheon,
1982). As one teacher described it, "The subconscious does a lot ofsorting for you. You
can think of many things simultaneously. The sorting is rapid, not logical or sequenced,
and is different for different reasons" (McCutcheon, 1982, p. 265).
A major focus during long-term planning is selection of content. To aid this
process, teachers turn to a number of sources, including curriculum guides, textbooks,
teachers' guides, notes from college courses, and other teachers' experiences. They
often do a lot of scribbling, sketching, and note taking, making lists of topics, sequenc
ing them, and then adjusting the sequence. Secondary teachers focus primarily on
content when they plan, and content decisions are typically the ones made first (Peter
son et aI., 1978; Sardo, 1982). Elementary teachers are more likely to rely upon state
or district guidelines and think in terms of student activities. Let's see how all this might
work.
Janine Henderson, a third-grade teacher, starts her beginning-of-the-year planning for sci
ence by browsing through materials. She notes that the state curriculum guide has identi
fied plants as one of the topics to be covered during the school year. More specifically, the
guide outlines the following goals as desirable learning outcomes:
PLANTS
57. Identify the parts of a plant: root, stem, and leaf.

58. Identify environmental conditions necessary for plant growth.
59. Identify the stages of growth of a plant as seed, seedling, and
mature plant.
GRADE
3
3
3
With these goals as a guide, Janine then turns to her third-grade science text and finds
that "Seeds and Plants" comprise two chapters in the text. (This is more than coincidence;
state curriculum writers relate their goals and objectives to content covered in state
adopted texts, and text writers are sensitive to the kinds of content in state curriculum
guides.)
90
CHAPTER 3
A quick check of the contents of these chapters reveals the following topics:
seeds
embryo
germination
seedlings
seed plants
roots
stems
leaves
flowers
plant life cycle (adapted from Sund, Adams, Hackett, and Moyer, 1985)
The text appears to be a definite resource. Janine then turns to the teacher's edition. Here
she finds a number of aids, including:
I. Classroom activities, such as drawing plants at different stages of development
2. Lab activities (e.g.. planting seeds, measuring plant growth), including materials
needed
3. Duplication masters for worksheets
4. Enrichment activities, including out-of-class projects
5. lest items
6. Additional books to read (for both the teacher and students)
Satisfied with the topic, the direction she is headed, and the availability of resources, Ja'
nine jots down, "Plants and Seeds, April and half of May," and moves on to the next gen
era! topic.
As we can see from this example, long-term planning is only concrete enough to
provide a framework for more specific unit planning. Day-to-day learning activities
usually are not considered at this point, nor is extensive study to refresh content back
ground. Too much specificity can be counterproductive, as two teachers observed:
If I plan too far ahead, [the curriculum is] not flexible enough to incorporate children's in'
terests and the needs I see while teaching.
I have to do so much reteaching because kids are absent or gone for band or some,
thing that [too much specificity] gets in the way of long-range planning. It interrupts the
flow. (McCutcheon, 1982, p. 267)
Products of Long-'Term Planning. As teachers proceed with long-term planning, they

produce lists in different content areas that arc framed in terms of time. These lists are
refinements of the scribblings and random thoughts that occur in the beginning of the
long-term planning process. For example, the products of a seventh-grade geography
teacher's long-term planning might appear as follows:
WORLD GEOGRAPHY (FIRST SEMESTER)
1. Basic concepts (September/October)
Maps, landforms, water and waterways, elements of climate, population patterns
2. Cultural change and development (November 1-15)

3. Anglo-America (Canada and United States) (November 15-December 15)
4. Latin America (Mexico, Central America, South America) (December 15
January 15)
While brief, the outline simplifies later planning efforts by reducing the number of
decisions that must be made. At this point, the teacher thinks of general content, possi
91
ble goals, and resources, such as ordering films or videos that require advance schedul
ing. Otherwise, teachers typically wait until the topic approaches before unit planning.
Later, the teacher merely refers to these sketchy plans and notes, for example, "Ah, yes.
I'll be starting Anglo-America next week, so I need to get ready." The specifics are a
function of unit planning.
185)
Unit Planning
Once a general framework is established in long-term planning, teachers find it useful
to convert this framework into specific units. A unit is a series <1 interconnected lessons fo
cusing on ageneral topic. It can last anywhere from a week or two to a month or more de
pending on the topic itself and the age level of the students. Some examples of unit
topics in different content areas are shown in Table 3.4.
Unit plans bridge the gap between long-term and day-to-day lesson planning.
They help teachers convert broad general topics into specific plans of action. Units are
also functional for students because the components-including goals or objectives,
content, and activities-are tied together in a logical, coherent manner, providing struc
ture for the new material to be learned.
Unit planning, like all aspects of planning, is a personal process, and no two teach
ers construct units that are exactly alike. The system shown in Table 3.5 can be used as
a starting point for this process. You should experiment, and as you gain experience,
adapt and develop a process that works most effectively for you.
Jito
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~~. Lf UNIT TOPICS IN DIFFERENT CONTENT AREAS

Art
Horne Economics
Physical Education
Music
Watercolors
Nutrition
Aerobic exercise
Rhythm
Perspective
Fabrics
Tennis
Jazz
Pottery
Money management
Body conditioning
Wind instruments
Prin tmaking
Baking
Swimming
Classical era
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~~.5 UNIT COMPONENTS

Components
Function
Overview/ general goal
Summarizes the general purpose of the unit
Rationale
Answers the question, "Why is this topic important?"
Objectives
Describes the specific outcomes expected from the unit
Content
Identifies and organizes the topics that are included in the unit
Learning activities
Describes the experiences that will be used to help learners reach

the unit objectives
Evaluation
Identifies ways that learning will be assessed
92
CHAPTER 3
Although these components are listed sequentially, the process is not necessarily lin
ear or sequential. Teachers sometimes start with goals, at other times with content or
learning activities. The components continually interact in the planning process.
Let's look at a sample elementary language arts unit on library skills.
Overview/ Goal
This unit is intended to develop fourth graders' ability to use references files, both in paper
form and on computer. This unit will focus on titles, authors, and subjects files.
The overview or goal describes the general purpose of the unit and serves as a starting
pointfor the unit planningprocess. If the teacher's ideas about the unit are clear, it can serve
as a conceptual organizer for the rest of the process. If the teacher is somewhat unclear,
it can serve as a reference point to be returned to later. It can also help communicate in
structional intents to students, other teachers, and instructional leaders.
Rationale. The rationale in a unit explains why the unit is important and how it will bene
fit students. For example,
Understanding reference systems and how they're organized is necessary for students to
use library resources efficiently. The content of this unit will enable them to independently
locate desired materials to use in research projects. Since most libraries have both physical
and computerized cataloging systems, students should understand how to function in both.
The rationale is important for several reasons. First, simply asking "Why am I
teaching this unit?" encourages the teacher to be thoughtful and reflective during the
planning process. The rationale can also help connect the new content to other topics
in the curriculum. Sharing the rationale with students helps them understand why the
topic is important and can help increase motivation to learn.
Objectives. Sooner or later in the planning process teachers need to grapple with the
question, "Specifically, what do I want my students to learn?" This involves translating
general goals into more specific objectives. Objectives are desired educational outcomes
stated in specific terms. Objectives typically have two elements: (1) description of a con
tent area or skill, and (2) a statement ofwhat students will be able to do when they reach
the objectives.
When objectives first came into widespread use in education, they were enor
mously controversial. Proponents suggested that because they translated sometimes
vague learning activities into specifically defined learning outcomes, they would be
come an educational panacea for a host of educational problems. Advocates' zeal further
fueled the controversy. Opponents were equally adamant; their complaints centered on
the argument that truly meaningful education could not be broken down into a num
ber of specific objectives. For example, how could you put into concrete terms goals
like aesthetic appreciation of art or growth in self-concept or self-regulation? While
some debate continues today, the issue is insignificant compared to the past, and the use
of objectives is widespread in materials such as district curriculum guides and state-level
curriculum framework.
TEACHER PLANNING
linor
It
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bene-
RESEARCH AND REALITY.
93
Objectives serve a number of important functions:

They provide focus for instruction.
They are helpful in communicating our goals to students, parents, and other
classroom teachers.
They provide a first step in thinking about assessing student learning.
In addition, wrestling with objectives often helps teachers clarity their own thinking
about what they are trying to accomplish in their classrooms.
The use of objectives in planning was first popularized by Ralph Tyler (1949), who
suggested that objectives be expressed in terms that identity both the kind of behavior
to be developed in the student and the content or area oflife in which this behavior is
to operate. Later Robert Mager (1962) published Preparing Instructional Objectives, a
highly readable book, which suggested that an objective ought to have three parts: (1) an
observable behavior, (2) the conditions under which the behavior will occur, and
(3) criteria for acceptable performance. The following are examples of objectives writ
ten according to Mager's format:
1. Given a ruler and compass, geometry students wiJl construct the bisector of an
angle within one degree of error.
2. From a list of sentences, language arts students will identity 90 percent of the
prepositional phrases in the sentences.
3. Based on a written argument, the advanced composition student will outline the
logic of the presentation, identifying all assumptions and conclusions.
am I
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irther
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In the examples, the conditions respectively are: (1) "Given a rule and compass";
(2) "from a list of sentences"; and (3) "based on a written argument." The observable
performances are: (1) "will construct," (2) "will identity," and (3) "will outline"; the re
spective criteria are (1) "within one degree of error," (2) "90 percent," and (3) "all as
sumptions and conclusions."
An alternate and increasingly popular approach to stating objectives was suggested
by Norman Gronlund (1995). He believes objectives should first be framed in terms of
general goals such as "understand," "appreciate," "know," "evaluate," or "apply," which
are then followed by observable behaviors specifying evidence that the learner has met
the objective. Using the same content as illustrated in the Mager examples, Gronlund's
objectives would appear as follows:
General Objective:
Specific Behavior:
General Objective:
Specific Behavior:
num
goals
While
re use
'-level
General Objective:
Specific Behavior:
Applies rules of geometric constructions

1. Constructs bisectors
2. Constructs prescribed shapes
Understands prepositional phrases
1. Provides examples of prepositions
2. Identifies prepositional phrases in sentences

3. Writes sentences, including prepositional phrases
Assesses persuasive communications
1. Outlines logic
2. Identifies assumptions
3. Identifies conclusions
94
CHAPTER 3
In comparing the two approaches we see that in addition to including a general

goal, Gronlund's objectives do not include conditions and criteria. He asserts that con
ditions and criteria are useful for programmed instruction and mastery testing in simple
training programs. Used for regular classroom instruction, however, they result in long
cumbersome lists that restrict the freedom of the teacher. Most teachers agree. Mager's
work is significant because of its historical impact, but most of the written curriculum
guides you will encounter use Gronlund's approach or a modification of it.
Some examples of objectives for the unit on library skills written according to
Gronlund's format are:
General Objective:
Spedjic Behavior:
General Objective:
Specific Behavior:
General Objective:
Specific Behavior:
Knows differences between title, author, and subject indexes

1. Explains the purpose of each in their own words
2. Identifies which would be most appropriate with a given
goal and amount of information provided
Understands different indexing systems
1. Locates books using the three different indexing systems
2. Produces a list of references when provided with either a
topic, title, or author's name
Understands the Dewey Decimal System
Locates a book using the Dewey Decimal System
Content. The content of the unit describes what students will actually be studying, the
information students will know or understand, or the skills they will develop. The way
the information is organized is also included in the content section of the unit.
Schematic diagrams, hierarchies, and outlines are all effective ways of organizing and
communicating the content organization. The exact type of organizational scheme will
depend on the type of content being taught. Outlines are useful in teaching large bodies
of interrelated knowledge. Like hierarchies, they help communicate the major ideas of a
lesson as well as the relationships among the ideas. For example, an outline for a high
school social studies unit covering the causes of the Civil War might appear as follows:
CIVIL WAR
1. Causes of the Civil War
A. Historical antecedents
1. Westward expansion
2. Missouri compromise
3. Dred Scott decision
4. John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry
B. Conflicting philosophies
1. Industrial versus agrarian
2. State's rights versus federal rights
3. Slavery
C. Election of 1860
D. Fort Sumter
The outline helps the teacher clarify his or her own thinking, and it communicates to
students the relationship of ideas to be dealt with in the unit.
uchak4e
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95
An outline for the unit on index systems might look like this:
INDEX SYSTEMS
1. Purposes
A. To find a specific book
B. To locate books by an author
C. To find out about a topic
II. Types
A. Title
B. Author
C. Subject
III. Using the index, etc.
A second way of organizing the content of a unit is through conceptual hierarchies.
In organizing a content area hierarchically, the teacher is attempting to communicate
the relationship between major concepts or ideas. For example, consider the hierarchy
in Figure 3.5.
Organizing content in this way raises useful questions for instruction. For example:
Should I deal with index systems and the Dewey Decimal System separately, or does it
make more sense to integrate them? Or will integrating them overwhelm and confuse
the students? What about the alphabetical organization of index systems? Students know
how to use a dictionary; should I review that skill before plunging into the alphabetical
organization of the index systems?
A third way to organize content is through task analysis. Let's look at this process.
Task Analysis: A Planning Tool to Organize Activities. Through task analysis, the
teacher examines content and tries to determine which content or skills are prerequisite
to other ideas. It helps answer questions, such as, "How should learning activities be se
quenced?" "Which activities come before others?" and "What will students need to
know to participate successfully in a lesson?"
Library Skills
Organization of Library
I
I
Dewey Decimal System
I
I
Author
Title
Components
Subject
r~ 3.5 Conceptual Hierarchy for Library Skills
How to Use
96
CHAPTER J
Task analysis is the process ofbreaking down a topic or skill into its prerequisite skills or
parts. For example, a task analysis for the skill of changing a tire could be broken down
into subskills ofjacking up the car, loosening the wheel nuts, taking off the flat, replac
ing it with the spare, replacing the wheel nuts, and lowering the car. Breaking a com
plex skill into simpler subskills helps teachers plan for instruction.
Task analysis involves the following four steps:

Specify terminal behavior.

Identify prerequisite skills.
Sequence subskills.
Diagnose students.
Task analysis begins by specifying the terminal behavior or objective that we want
students to reach. Objectives stated in behavioral terms are especially valuable here. In
identifying prerequisite skills, the teacher is attempting to specify the subskills that lead
to the terminal behavior. Sequencing helps the teacher by providing an order for teach
ing and provides learners with a structure for learning. In the final phase of task analy
sis, diagnosis, the teacher attempts to find out which of these subskills are already
mastered by students. Let's see how these steps help a teacher in the planning process.
Jerilyn Mcintire stared at the stack of writing assignments on her desk and didn't know
where to begin. Her seventh-grade English students weren't afraid to write, but it seemed
like half of them had never heard of punctuation. There were sentence fragments, run-on
sentences, sentences without periods, and commas and semicolons were virtually nonexis
tent. Where should she start?
In considering the problem, Jerilyn came up with one specific starting point
punctuating simple sentences. As she thought about this, she identified the following ter
minal behavior:
Students will be able to write a simple sentence with correct end-of-sentence
punctuation.
Using her terminal goal as a guide, Jerilyn wrote down the skills she felt were prereq
uisite to the terminal behavior:
Being able to differentiate between complete sentences and sentence fragments
Knowing the difference between declarative, interrogatory, and imperative
sentences
Knowing whether periods, question marks, or exclamation marks go with each type
of sentence
Correctly using these marks to punctuate different kinds of sentences
As she wrestled with the problem of ordering these prerequisites, Jerilyn decided that the
sequence of subskills as written made sense. First, students had to understand what sen
tences were. Then she could work on helping them understand the different kinds of sen
tences and how they were punctuated. Finally, she wanted them to write and punctuate
their own sentences.
Jerilyn faced a final problem: How many (and which) students had already mastered
the prerequisites? In attempting to diagnose her students, Jerilyn designed a simple quiz
.uchak4e
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down
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97
that she would administer the next day. ln the first part, students would have to differenti
ate between sentences and sentence fragments. In the second, they'd have to punctuate
different kinds of sentences, and in the third, they'd have to write their own sentences and
punctuate them.
Task analysis works for several reasons. First, it encourages us to examine our goals
and state them in specific terms. Like the process of writing objectives in general, this
helps clarify our thinking. Task analysis also encourages us to break complex skills into
smaller, more teachable subskills. Finally, task analysis shifts our attention from abstract
concepts and skills to our students and encourages us to ask, "What do they already
know and where should I begin teaching them?" Each of these steps is helpful in
preparing and organizing learning activities.
Learning Activities. This component may be the most important part of the whole
unit, because it brings students into contact with the important ideas and skills con
tained in the unit. The connection between content and activities is so crucial that
Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of this book are devoted to the topic. In those chapters,
we will develop the idea that what you are trying to teach (your objectives) should in
fluence how you teach it and how students should learn it. For example, contrast ob
jectives 1 and 3 for the unit on library skills. Objective 1 requires students to know
something-the three different ways a book can be indexed in a reference system,
whereas Objective 3 asks students to be able to do something (locate a book using the
Dewey Decimal System). Locating a book is a skill and requires modeling by the
teacher and practice by students. The first objective, in contrast, requires understand
ing and retention. We discuss these important differences and the implications for in
struction in Chapters 7 through 11.
Evaluation. The final phase of constructing a unit involves evaluating student learning.
Evaluation is essential for at least two reasons. First, it provides students with feedback
about their learning progress, and feedback facilitates learning (Eggen and Kauchak,
2001). Second, it provides teachers with information about students' learning progress,
which allows them to make decisions about what to do next. This might include
reteaching, teaching in a different way, or moving on to the next topic. Although it ap
pears at the end of our list of unit components, evaluation is integrally connected to
other parts. How you will assess student learning depends on what you want students to
learn (your objectives) and the learning activities you involved them in. For example,
contrast the following measurement items:
A. What are the three different kinds of reference systems?
98
CHAPTER 3
B. Go to the card catalog and locate the author's name and call number for each title
here.
TITLE
AUTHOR
CALL NUMBER
Ramona the Pest
Where the Red Fern Grows
The Little House on the Prairie
The first type measures knowledge, while the second requires students to apply infor
mation. Each evaluation procedure corresponds to a different objective. In the evalua
tion component of a unit, teachers should test what they have planned for and taught.
We will return to this important idea in Chapter 12, when we return to the topic of
assessment.
Lesson Planning
Long-term planning helps organize the school year into manageable chunks. Unit
planning is a vehicle through which sometimes vague and unconnected ideas are trans
lated into concrete and interconnected learning experiences. Lesson planningfocuses
teachers' planning rfforts on a specific day and class. At the middle and high school levels, a
lesson plan corresponds to a given period; at the elementary levels, lesson length in
self-contained classrooms may vary from 15 minutes to an hour or more, depending on
the topic, activities, and maturity of students.
As with other dimensions of planning, each teacher approaches lesson planning in
unique, personal ways. In addition, the process varies with the topic; if you are familiar
with and confident about a subject, you will plan differently than if you are hesitant
about it. Experience, too, makes a difference, not only in general terms (i.e., experi
enced teachers plan differently than beginning teachers) but also in terms of whether
you have taught the specific topic before. We saw this in the beginning of the chapter
in the different ways that Peggy Stone and Jim Hartley planned for their teaching.
With these ideas in mind, we examine two different models of lesson planning. As
you think about them, we encourage you to adapt selectively from them to fit your in
dividual needs.
A Basic Lesson Plan Model. A lesson plan needs to be specific enough to provide struc
ture for the lesson but general enough to provide flexibility when the situation warrants.
Few lessons proceed exactly as planned. This fact makes teaching both challenging and
potentially bewildering at times.
Writers in this area (jacobson et al., 2002; Orlich et al., 2001) suggest the lesson
plan outlined in Table 3.6 as an optimal blend of structure and flexibility.
As we can see, this lesson plan begins by linking the individual lesson to the unit in
which it is embedded. Goals and objectives are then stated, and a rationale is considered.
This rationale is more specific than the unit rationale and can be used to introduce the
lesson to students (e.g., "This lesson on punctuation will help us write sentences that are
clear and understandable"). This is followed by the content, instructional procedures,
and assessment procedures for the lesson. Finally, materials and aids are noted to serve as
d1ak4e
TEACHER PLANNING
II ritle
99
~rrrwrwrzettrtf'tM'"f&(fW~
~ ~.6 ELEMENTS OF A BASIC LESSON PLAN
mtor
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pic of
Component
Function
Unit title
Helps identify the relationship between this lesson and others

in the unit.
Instructional goal
Identifies the broad goal for the lesson.
Objective(s)
Identifies specifically what the students should learn.
Rationale
Explains why the lesson is important.
Content
Identifies and organizes the major ideas/skills in the lesson.
Learning activities
Describes the learning experiences that will be used to help

the students reach the objective(s).
Assessment procedures
Specifies how student learning will be assessed.
Materials and aids
Identifies the equipment and supplies that will be needed.
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rels, a
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ogon
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last-minute logistical reminders tor the teacher. We saw an example of this model at the
beginning of this chapter with Peggy Stone and her math lesson.
A shorter variation of the basic lesson plan model is outlined in Table 3.7. This
model eliminates the unit component, the goal statement, and the rationale, on the as
sumption that a teacher keeps these in mind during the planning process.
;pen
mer
gpter
Lesson Plan Reality. This chapter's title promised research and reality. With respect to
reality, our discussion of lesson planning would be incomplete without considering the
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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _' t t e _
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~~. 7 AN ABBREVIATED LESSON PLAN MODEL

Component
Function
Objective(s)
Identifies specifically what students should learn.
Content
Identifies and organizes the major ideas/skills in the lesson.
Learning activities
Describes the learning experiences that will be used to help

students reach the objective(s).
Assessment procedures
Specifies how student learning will be measured.
Materials and aids
Identifies the equipment and supplies that will be needed.
ill
ered.
~ the
It are
ores,
Source: Kim and Kellough, 1983.
100
CHAPTER 3
teacher plan book, a mainstay of classrooms throughout the country. In its basic form,
these commercially prepared guides typically appear as follows:
Date
Period 1
Period 2
Period 3
Monday
September 24
Tuesday
September 2S
Wednesday
September 26
Thursday
September 27
Friday
September 28
The date on the left identifies the day; the numbers at the top correspond to lessons
or periods, depending on whether the form is being used in elementary or secondary
classrooms. The boxes are small; typically, they average 1 x 2 inches. There is room only
for brief comments, such as:
Homework
Review place value
(Text, pp. 217-222)
Do problems 9-14 on board (p. 228)
Fri. quiz, Chpt. 9
Homework, p. 228, nos. 15-30
Seeing this format raises two questions: (1) Why is this planning form so popular,
and (2) how does it relate to the other formats we have discussed? The answer to the first
question is simple; the format takes little time and effort, and it's functional. Teachers'
days (and nights) are packed with things to do. When they are not actually teaching,
teachers plan, grade papers, and do a myriad of other professionally related things. A
plan book provides them with a quick and efficient way of recording and keeping track
of their planning thoughts. A teacher can plan on Friday, go home and enjoy the week
end, and return on Monday secure in the knowledge that the week is under control.
The answer to the second question isn't quite as straightforward. The brief notes
that we see in planning books such as this belie the complexity of teachers' thinking
when they plan. We see that this plan is similar to Jim Hartley's at the beginning of the
chapter. Because ofJim's 10 years of experience, many of the components of the more
detailed lesson plans were implicit and unstated. For example, he-and all effective
teachers-could quickly tell what his specific objectives for the lesson were, why they
were important, and how he planned to help his students reach them. Because these
components were unstated doesn't means that they didn't exist.
However, not all veteran teachers are effective. Would more detailed planning with
more specific written information help? This is a question that remains unanswered.
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101
Instructional Alignment: A Key to Learning

Regardless of whether or not teachers' plans are detailed or brief, it is critical for in
struction to be aligned. Instructional alignment ensures a match between goals, learning
activities, and assessment. Instructional alignment is a simple enough and intuitively sensi
ble idea-it makes sense, for example, to design learning activities that are consistent
with goals. As with many other ideas in learning and teaching, however, the idea isn't as
simple as it appears on the surface. For example, many teachers say they encourage
higher-order and critical thinking in their students, but their primary way of teaching is
to lecture. As another example, suppose a teacher wants students to be able to write ef
fectively, but learning activities focus only on punctuation and grammar rules, with no
opportunities for students to write and receive feedback. In these cases, the instruction
is out of alignment.
Alignment is critical if learning is to be maximized, and teachers should guard
against the possibility that their learning activities and goals may be inconsistent. If they
are, some adjustment in their planning needs to be made.
INTEGRATING THE CURRICULUM:

INTERDISCIPLINARY AND THEMATIC UNITS
Earlier in the chapter we saw how Janine Henderson, a third-grade teacher, did her
long-range planning. Let's return now to her work as she moves along in the planning
process.
During a weekend Janine was planning for the remainder of the school year. Looking at
her long-range plan, she saw that her unit on plants was coming up. The timing was right,
spring was on the horizon, and her students often brought her plants and flowers to iden
tifY and talk about.
As she looked at her long-range plans in other areas, she noticed that graphing was an
upcoming topic in math. "Hmm." she thought, "1 wonder if! could combine the two and
have students graph something on plants?" She recalled some of the experiments she'd
done with bean seeds, investigating the effects of different amounts of water, sun, and fer
tilizer. She jotted down, "Graph plant growth."
She also noticed that she had listed "State economy" in social studies. She got out a
piece of paper and drew the information shown in Figure 3.6.
Much of the school curriculum is divided into separate subject matter areas. At the
elementary level, teachers divide the school day into time frames allocated to different
areas such as math and reading, and these content divisions are reflected on report cards.
At the secondary level, subject matter divisions become even more prominent, with stu
dents taking different classes from experts in different content areas.
This division of the curriculum into discrete content areas has both advantages and
disadvantages. Advantages include:
The simplicity of disciplinary boundaries, which makes them understandable
and acceptable to parents
Being able to make efficient use of subject matter "experts"
102
CHAPTER 3
MATH
(Graph plant
growth)
SOCIAL STUDIES
(Relate to state and
local economies)
ART
(Sketch plant
growth)
SCIENCE
(Teach experimental
method)
r~ ~. 6
Planning for Integration of Content Areas
Use of content areas to help students understand how different disciplines are
structured in terms of major concepts
Understanding of the processes of inquiry unique to different disciplines
Despite these advantages, dividing the curriculum up into discrete and isolated subject
matter areas also has disadvantages:
Artificial distinctions between disciplines encourage students to see knowledge
as fragmented and disconnected.
Opportunities for inter-disciplinary problem solving are lost.
As students study math and science, for example, they often fail to see connections be
tween the two areas and opportunities to see how one area connects with the other are
lost.
An Integrated Continuum
To address this problem, curriculum designers have identified several options that teach
ers have in organizing their curriculum. These vary from truly separated discipline
oriented units on the left to fully integrated ones on the right (jacobs, 1989). These are
illustrated in Figure 3.7 and discussed in the following paragraphs.
At the far left end of the continuum we have discipline-based organization.
Much of the instruction in schools is based on disciplines, or separate subject areas. Ja-
Discipline Based
Interdisciplinary
Integrated
r~~. 7 Options for Integrating the Curriculum
chak4e
103
nine Henderson's initial planning was discipline based as she thought about her planning
in terms of separate content areas.
Interdisciplinary planning involves the creation of units in which several subject
areas focus their content around a theme. Janine moved to an interdisciplinary approach
when she used plants as a focal point and investigated the topic from math, science, and
social studies perspectives. Middle school teachers often do this when subject matter
teachers maintain their separate disciplines but agree to focus them on a common topic.
As we'll see in Chapter 10, this is quite common in project-based instruction and other
forms of problem-based learning.
In a truly integrated approach, subject matter lines blur and even disappear. Stu
dents are encouraged to pursue topics holistically, drawing from different subject matter
areas when they prove useful. Here, real-life problems or topics that are meaningful and
interesting to students become most prominent and disciplines are called upon only as
tools to understand or solve the problem.
:rre
Curriculum integration centers the curriculum on life itself rather than on the fragmented
information within the boundaries of subject areas. It is rooted in a view of learning as the
continuous integration of new knowledge and experience so as to deepen and broaden
our understanding of ourselves and our world. (Beane, 1995, p. 622)
bject
Designing and Implementing Integrated Units

dge
rare
In designing thematic or integrated units, the teacher's first task is to identify a focal
point for student investigations. Themes or topics can serve as starting points for inter
disciplinary or integrated units. janine Henderson used plants as the theme to structure
and organize her planning. Some additional examples of themes include:
Inventors and inventions
Space exploration
Discovery and exploration
Seasons
ach
me
00.
Ja-
These broad topics provide a cognitive menu for students, giving them specific options
to pursue under the theme's broad umbrella.
Problems can also serve as focal points for thematic units. Some examples include:
What can we do about pollution?
What could be done to increase voter participation and turnout?
How could school lunches be made more appealing and nutritious?
Where did present day popular music come from? What are its origins?
In planning for thematic units, some type of organizing web or network is useful.
Teachers typically start in the center, with a topic or problem in the middle, and then
branch out from there with additional topics or questions. These topics or questions
again provide students with options to pursue in their study. An example of one net
work can be seen in Figure 3.8.
104
'NWW.ablongman.com/kauchak4e
CHAPTER 3
LANGUAGE ARTS
Biographies: Wright Brothers
Amelia Earhart
Astronauts
ARTS
Da Vinci's designs
Kite construction
Films on flight
MATH
Angles for landing
and takeoff
Speed and flight times
Fuel capacity and range
SCIENCE
Aerodynamics
Insects and birds that fly
Space flight
?~ 3.8 Sample Network for Integration

In using interdisciplinary and thematic units, the teacher's role changes dramatically.
Instead of being an information provider, the teacher becomes a facilitator, helping stu
dents investigate topics of interest. Instruction becomes much less teacher centered.
Student roles also change. Interdisciplinary and thematic units provide opportuni
ties to pursue areas of interest in a coherent and integrated way. Instead oflistening, tak
ing notes, and answering questions, students are actively engaged in researching topics.
The products that they produce will appear in various forms, including:

Written research reports

Posters
Bulletin boards
Models
Dioramas
Videotapes
Oral presentations
Research on Integrated Planning

Integrating the curriculum, while intuitively sensible, is controversial. Proponents make
the following arguments:
Integrating curriculum increases the relevance of content by making connec
tions among ideas explicit (Barab and Landa, 1997; Diem, 1996).
Integrating curriculum improves achievement (Furtado, 1997). Since integrat
ing curriculum is a common feature of block scheduling, it leads to fewer tran
sitions, leaving more time available for instruction (Furtado, 1997).
Integrating curriculum promotes collaborative planning, which increases com
munication among teachers (Haschak, 1992).
lak4e
105
Opponents of curriculum integration counter with the following arguments:

Integrating curriculum results in a deemphasis on some important concepts,
since teachers don't have a deep understanding of all the content areas that are
to be integrated (Carter, 1997; Roth, 1994).
Planning and instruction for integrating curriculum are inordinately time con
suming (Brophy and Alleman, 1991; Beane, 1997).
really.
?; stu
a.
tuni
, tak
opics.
Integrated curriculum is most popular at the elementary level, where a single teacher
can relate several topics, and at the middle school level, where teams of teachers peri
odically meet to interconnect content areas. It is least common at the high school level,
where a disciplinary approach to curriculum is entrenched. National standards driven by
subject matter areas, as well as increased emphasis on testing, are likely to encourage this
trend at the high school leveL
However, one study examining the effects of integrating geometry and art at the
high school level found positive results. Teachers integrated these two areas through a
unit that culminated in constructing greeting cards that contained elements of both
(Schramm, 1997). Comments from students attest to the motivational benefits of inter
connected topics: "Geometry has become real to me, not just a subject in school," and,
"I took geometry but had a hard time understanding. Now I see how the Pythagorean
Theorem relates to a three dimensional work of art" (Schramm, 1997, p. 7).
An important question is, "Is there comprehensive evidence that integrating cur
riculum increases learning?" At present, the answer is mixed, with research (Portner,
2000) finding both positive and negative results. For example, one study found that ele
mentary teachers who integrated reading with science or social studies produced greater
reading comprehension in their students (Portner, 2000). Experts explained the results in
terms of students being more motivated to read about interesting topics like pirates and
motorboats. Other research is mixed, however, finding either no benefits or negative re
sults (Carter and Mason, 1997; Senftleber and Eggen, 1999). Advocates of curriculum
integration counter this negative evidence by arguing that the measures presently avail
able are inadequate, unable to assess the "subtle and difficult-to-measure improvements
in student learning" (Vars, 1996, p. 151). The debate is likely to continue.
RESEARCH ON TEACHER PLANNING

The great tragedy of science--the betraying of theory by an uglyfact.
T. H. Huxley
make
tee
grat
rran
com-
Research on teacher planning highlights an interesting paradox. Time and effort in

teacher training programs are spent on processes experienced teachers apparently sel
dom use. The accumulating evidence suggests that experienced teachers do not prepare
written objectives and detailed lesson plans (Morine-Dershimer and Vallance, 1976; Pe
terson et al., 1978; Zahorik, 1975), and our experience in the schools supports these
findings. Further, teachers believe the linear rational model is useful primarily for inex
perienced teachers, and student teachers use it only when required to do so by their
university supervisors (Neale et al., 1983). Other researchers found that only the least
experienced teachers planned according to the linear rational model (Sardo, 1982), and
106
CHAPTER 3
many teachers prepare written plans of any kind only because of administrator demands
(McCutcheon, 1982). Finally, researchers found little teacher focus on evaluation dur
ing the process of instructional planning (Taylor, 1970). The only elements of the linear
rational model that tend to appear in the plans of experienced teachers are brief de
scriptions oflearning activities.
Why don't teachers write out objectives when they plan? Elementary teachers in
one study cited several reasons (McCutcheon, 1982). First, objectives already exist in
most curriculum guides and texts. To write them again would be redundant and a waste
of time. Second, objectives for an activity are often embedded in the activity itself. For
example, a kindergarten lesson on geometric shapes would have as an implicit goal the
children's ability to identify the different shapes. Similarly, the goal for lessons on single
digit addition could be inferred from the problems used in the activity. Third, objectives
are often embedded in criterion-referenced math and reading tests. One teacher com
mented, "It seems ludicrous to list objectives. They wouldn't be doing the work unless
it was aimed at an objective, because the test is all objectives based" (McCutcheon,
1982, p. 263).
Other possible reasons that teachers don't write objectives might simply be that it is
just too difficult or it requires too much work. Attempting to write an objective at the
beginning of the planning process may be an overwhelming task. It requires teachers to
wrestle simultaneously with content and assessment. Juggling both of these components
while still trying to articulate a goal or specific outcome for an activity may be over
whelming at this planning juncture.
Finally, considering all the demands on their time and energy; writing out objectives
might simply be too much work. If teachers wrote specific objectives for each lesson they
taught over the course ofa year, the time required could be overwhelming. In this regard,
we need to remember that planning is a means to an end, the end being student learn
ing. If teachers can plan and teach effectively without writing out formal objectives,
more time and energy are left for other teaching activities such as interacting with stu
dents, providing them with feedback, and a myriad of other professional activities.
The research literature also suggests that, contrary to the Tyler model, the planning
process is not discrete and linear but rather a continual, nested process. It begins some
time before the school year starts and continues throughout the year. In other words,
teachers continually plan, even before the school year starts and at different times dur
ing the school year. Planning is a cyclical process in which general ideas undergo pro
gressive elaboration (Yinger, 1977). The germ of an idea for a lesson or unit,
encountered in the summer, becomes changed and detailed over time. As the time to
teach a particular class grows closer, teachers fill in more and more details, using not
only feedback that they have gathered from the present year's students but also informa
tion from previous years (Kauchak and Peterson, 1987).
Finally, planning for instruction is not a standard process that is uniform for all
teachers. Instead, it is quite variable and subject to influences from a number of
sources; the strongest of these is the teacher's experience (Sardo, 1982). Experienced
teachers have last year's curriculum to call on, and the planning process may be more
adaptation or modification than construction from the ground up. As one teacher put
it, "We go with ideas that worked well in the past. We know what those are like" (Mc
Cutcheon, 1982, p. 264). When we asked a group of experienced elementary teachers
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to estimate the amount of overlap of this year's curriculum with last year's, they gener
ally agreed it was 70 to 80 percent. Teachers retain the best ideas that worked, adding
new ones to replace those that did not. This ability to call on past experiences is a
major difference between experienced and beginning teachers (Berliner, 1994). Be
cause experienced teachers have a wealth of past experiences to rely on (not to men
tion handouts, worksheets, and tests), their workload is reduced. Beginning teachers,
in contrast, start from scratch, as attested to by the countless hours spent planning dur
ing student teaching and the first year on the job (Bullough, 1989).
Another factor working to make planning a variable process is the content area itself.
Elementary teachers report that 85 to 95 percent of the activities in math are adapted
from teacher guides (McCutcheon, 1982). This adaption process is not a passive one;
teachers screen these instructional activities with dual criteria: (1) Had the activity
worked in the past? and (2) Would it work with this particular group? In contrast, plan
ning in other elementary content areas such as science and social studies is much more
individualized and teacher centered. Teachers chose isolated units, and interest and avail
ability of materials were primary factors for inclusion of a topic (Zahorik, 1996).
Within the framework of state and county curriculum guidelines, teachers teach
what they like and know. The weaker the teacher's content background and the more
inexperienced the teacher, the more the published curriculum in the form of text and
teachers' guides influences the curriculum. Beginning teachers should not feel guilty
about using these aids; as they become more experienced, they will personalize the cur
riculum, making it their own. Finally, logistical considerations such as the availability of
lab materials, videotapes, and books have major influences on how a course is taught.
One major conclusion from this research is that planning is not a uniform process
and instead depends on a number of related factors (e.g., teacher experience, content,
and the availability of curriculum materials). Also, research underscores the functional
nature of teacher planning-teachers plan to get the job done, to maximize student
learning given the constraints of the situation.
Because teachers do not write objectives, do not plan according to the linear ratio
nal model, and are unlikely to change, should the process be abandoned? Probably not.
First, while written objectives are often not the starting point for teacher planning, it
does not mean they are ignored. Teachers use objectives, but they come later in the
process rather than first, as dictated by the Tyler model (Zahorik, 1975; Peterson et al.,
1978). Our experience supports this research finding. Even though objectives are un
written, effective teachers know exactly what they want their students to know or un
derstand. When asked, they are able to state precisely what their goal is. The issue seems
to be more one of writing the objective down than it is thinking about objectives. Second,
understanding objectives is important because of their Widespread use in state and dis
trict curriculum materials, textbooks, and achievement tests. Evaluation procedures to
assess objectives are also tied directly to them and are designed according to the princi
ples of the linear rational model.
Further, in addition to being users of already prepared objectives, teachers are often
asked to participate in curriculum development projects in which goals and objectives are
major products. This might be at the grade level, where team planning is involved; at the
school level, where intergrade articulation of a curriculum is concerned; or even at the
district or state level, where curriculum guides are produced. Also, with the continuing
108
CHAPTER 3
emphasis on educational accountability, teachers are being required to tie learning activ
ities, objectives, and competency tests to performance. Professionals should understand
both the strengths and weaknesses of connecting instruction to objectives. In addition,
objectives can be a useful communication tool for talking with other teachers as well as
students and parents. In sum, knowing how to write and use objectives should be a skill
in every professional educator's repertoire.
As teachers plan and record their planning efforts and products, they often do so in
a shorthand, cryptic fashion in plan books much like the example with Jim Hartley at
the beginning of the chapter. The brevity of these directions belies the thought and en
ergy that goes into the plans. McCutcheon (1982) likened them to shopping lists; the
items on a grocery list represent considerable implicit planning and coordination for dif
ferent menus. This planning and coordination are not evident from a brief inspection of
the shopping list. In a similar way, the brief description of activities in a plan book do
not do justice to the considerable amount of mental planning that precedes them.
At the beginning of this chapter, we said that planning entails more than the writ
ten products of this process. Planning includes all the professional decisions teachers
make over a broad time frame. The shortened notes placed in planning books are just
summaries of a number of decisions made earlier. When they plan, professional teach
ers consider things like rationale and objectives, the needs of children, and how a par
ticular lesson relates to others. Because of time and energy, these deliberations do not
show up on paper.
One value oflengthier planning models, such as the linear rational model, relates to
teachers' development as they first learn to plan; these models provide an initial struc
ture. As teachers become more proficient, many of the processes become essentially au
tomatic, and these concrete reminders are no longer necessary. For example, effective,
experienced teachers automatically ask, "Now what do I want them to know? Why is
this important? How will I evaluate whether they learned it or not?" Conscious prac
tice as you're learning how to plan helps develop this automaticity.
Finally, from a practical perspective, the ability to put your planning decisions on
paper and describe them to others is fast becoming a prerequisite to entrance to the
teaching profession. The ability to plan is one of the INTASC standards we discussed in
Chapter 1. In short, as you develop as a professional you will be asked to plan and exe
cute lessons and justify your decisions to college professors and supervisors, directing
teachers during internships, and administrators supervising you during your first years
on the job. The increased emphasis on accountability in education requires beginning
teachers to be able to demonstrate their ability to make professional decisions. Effective
lesson planning is an important part of professional decision making.
PLANNING FOR DIVERSITY: INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION

In this chapter we stressed the functional value of planning and how it can be used to
organize instruction and promote reflection. The process of planning also provides op
portunities for teachers to accommodate diversity through individualization. Individu
alized instruction adapts instruction to meet the specific learning needs ofeach student (Eggen
and Kauchak, 200 1). In the first part of this section we examine individualization strate
gies that keep objectives constant for all students and vary either the time or resources
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109
available to students. Then we examine strategies that provide different learning options
for students. Finally we examine ways that technology can be used to help individualize
instruction.
Varying Time
Learners differ in the amount of time needed to master a topic; research indicates that
the amount of time needed to master a content area may vary from two to four times as
much for slower students (Slavin, 1987). Teachers accommodate this difference in group
instruction by giving a common assignment and providing extra time for students who
need it. To make this work, teachers provide enrichment activities for students who
complete their assignments early. These can include:
Learning centers
Computer games and simulations
Free reading
Academic games
Individual research projects
In addition to flexible time requirements embedded in whole group instruction, two

other instructional formats-mastery learning and team-assisted individualization
keep objectives constant but vary the time and resources available to students.
Mastery Learning. Mastery learning is a system of instruction that allows students to

progress at their own rate through a unit of study (Guskey and Gates, 1986). Objectives spec
ify the essential learning outcomes for the unit. Formative quizzes are used to provide
feedback about learning progress. When students pass the quizzes, they are allowed to
continue; when they don't pass, they are moved into alternate learning activities. Sum
mative final exams are used to document final mastery of the content. Individual differ
ences are accommodated by allowing students extra time to master objectives and by
providing corrective instruction to remedy learning problems.
Research on mastery learning is generally positive, especially when the criterion
measure is specific to the content covered, and these gains are especially positive for low
achievers (Slavin, 1987). However, a major obstacle to implementing mastery learning
is logistical; finding the extra time to work with students who need it can be a difficult
balancing act when large numbers of students are working at different points in the cur
riculum. Team-assisted individualization addresses this problem.
Team-Assisted Individualization. Team-assisted individualization is a hybrid of mas
tery learning and cooperative learning (Slavin, 1985) (We discuss cooperative learning in de
tail in Chapter 9). In it students work on individualized learning materials in mixed-ability
learning teams. These teams provide structure and support through teammates helping
with and checking assignments, and team rewards provide motivational incentives for
team members. Within this structure the teacher provides direct instruction to small
groups of students who are working on the same topic or skill. This teacher-led direct
instruction provides quality instruction to all students; the cooperative learning teams
provide support and assistance for students pursuing individual objectives.
ItO
CHAPTER 3
Research on this instructional strategy has yielded positive results (Slavin, 1985). In
six studies involving elementary math, students in team-assisted individualization gained
significantly more in computational skills than students in traditional programs.
So far we've looked at strategies that keep objectives constant for students and ex
amined ways that teachers can accommodate different learning rates. In the following
sections we look at ways that teachers can individualize not only objectives but also
learning materials and activities.
Varying Learning Objectives

Every Friday Carlos Torres gave his class half an hour to confer with him and work on
their term papers. He wanted each of his high school English students to read an author in
depth, and this semester-long project provided students with an opportunity to learn more
about an author and read more of his or her works.
Another way of individualizing instruction is to offer students choices in the learn
ing objectives they pursue. Special projects, term papers, and individual experiments all
offer students the opportunity to choose topics that interest them personally. Personal
ization is an important factor in motivation, and student choice is a way of capitalizing
on personalization (Stipek, 1998). Carlos Torres accommodated student interest by de
signing his course so that 70 percent of the grade was based on core content while the
other 30 percent was based on projects. This division allowed him to cover essential
content while still providing opportunities for student choice.
Adapting Instructional Materials

When students in Alicia Maxwell's second-grade classroom finished their math assign
ment, they put it in their folders and went to the back of the room to find a math game.
Many of these were on the three computers located in one corner of her room. Some of
the other games had dice, others had playing cards, and still others used flash cards. All
were designed to reinforce the math skills on which the students were working.
Individual differences can also be accommodated by altering instructional materials,
such as using texts written at different levels. If these adapted texts are not available, read
ing passages can be made more accessible by providing study guides that identify key ideas
and conducting prereading discussions focusing on key concepts (Tierney and Readence,
2000). Some teachers even eliminate the text altogether and use high-interest articles
from magazines and student periodicals. In other areas, materials such as math games and
flashcards can be used to provide learning alternatives for students.
Offering Different Learning Activities

Camille Robertson circulated around the room as her eighth graders discussed their science
projects. Each group was responsible for investigating a science project and reporting on it
to the rest of the class. Some were doing written reports, others were growing seeds under
different kinds of light, and still others were experimenting with batteries and light bulbs.
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111
As we saw in Chapter 2, the way students prefer to learn varies. Some are good lis
teners and profit from teacher presentations, while others prefer to read or discuss an
idea with their peers. The easiest way to address these preferences is to use a variety of
teaching strategies. Another is to provide a number of learning options. Camille
Robertson did this by allowing a variety of activities to satisfy her science investigation
requirement. Other examples of accommodating different learning preferences include
typing notes from good note takers and sharing them with others, placing chapters on
cassettes and making these available at listening centers, and allowing students to work
in teams on group projects. One of the most effective types of alternative learning ac
tivities are those that provide corrective instruction, and are specifically designed to help
students correct earlier encountered problems (Slavin, 1987). For example, a first-grade
teacher who has discovered that several of her students are having problems with letter
sound correspondence might design a learning center with tape recorders and interac
tive materials to remedy the problem. The center would specifically target the problem
content area while providing success experiences for students. Providing learning op
tions makes sense both instructionally and motivationally.
Technology as a Tool for Individualizing Instruction

Technology offers another way to individualize instruction. In the last twenty years the
growth of technology has greatly expanded the instructional tools available to teachers
(Roblyer and Edwards, 2000). Computers, video discs, integrated learning systems, and
video recorders provide teachers with more effective ways to meet the needs of all stu
dents. In this section we focus on computers as alternate instructional tools that allow
teachers to individualize assignments and provide additional instructional support.
Computers as Reinforcement Tools. Computers have proven to be a valuable resource

in providing extra practice and reinforcement for students who need it. Computers'
strength lies in their ability to provide adaptive instruction, speeding up when students
have mastered basic facts and slowing down when error rates indicate learning prob
lems. Unfortunately, experts estimate that 85 percent to 90 percent of schools' use of
computers focuses on drill and practice, a fairly primitive use of computers (Wirth,
1993).
Tutorials: Adaptive Instruction. Tutorials are computer programs that introduce new
information using text, graphics, and exercises with feedback. Adaptive computer tuto
rials not only present new information but also provide informative feedback that is spe
cific to learner needs (Forcier, 1996).
A tutorial on high school accounting, for example, might first explain the formula "annual
depreciation = cost/expected life" and then ask, "If an electric pasta machine costs $400
and is expected to last four years, what is the annual depreciation?" In response to the an
swer "$100," the computer would say, "Good," and go on to the next problem or concept.
A student who typed $400 might be told, "Sorry, but you're probably not ready to work
for H &- R Block. $400 is the cost. To find annual depreciation, divide this figure by the ex
pected life (four years). Please type the correct answer."
112
CHAPTER 3
In providing new information, computer tutorials are adaptive without being re

dundant. So, for example, if students already understood depreciation, the computer
could move them to the next concept. This feature allows faster students to move ahead
while providing additional help for students who need it.
The most effective tutorials pretest students at the beginning to identify strengths
and weaknesses (Forcier, 1996). Using this information, teachers can then use the turo-s e
rial to remediate background weaknesses or accelerate students past information they al
ready know. Effective tutorials also provide teachers with detailed information about an
individual student's learning progress so the teacher can adapt instruction accordingly.
The Apple Learning Series: Early Language is an example of a tutorial software pro
gram that creatively combines a number of technological features to teach beginning
reading and writing (Drexler, Harvey, and Kell, 1990; Guthrie and Richardson, 1996).
The different components can:
Provide practice in letter, number, shape, and color recognition and matching
of upper and lower case letters.
Teach the concept of one-to-one correspondence.
Use voice synthesizers to develop letter/sound correspondence.
Teach writing and composition skills through word processing and a program
that allows children to hear the letters, words, and sentences they've written.
This program appears especialJy promising for teaching limited-English-proficiency
students. One teacher observed:
The new Spanish-speaking student sat at the computer for a while and stared at it and
then at the observer, who finally gave him a few simple directions in Spanish. He took off
and with no more help began mastering the games on Muppetville. While working on
"Zoo," it was evident that he didn't know all his numbers by sight. The observer showed
him how to find the right number by counting on the screen and keyboard. He did this, got
the right answer, and clapped his hands with glee. He really enjoyed his successes. He had
the same problem during a different game-he could count and add but not always recog
nize the numbers. Without assistance, he transferred the same counting strategy he used at
the "Zoo" and got the correct answers. Later, he had no trouble using this strategy again.
Each time he was correct, he clapped and smiled. He was one happy boy by the end of
his half hour, uninterrupted computer use time. (Drexler, Harvey, and Kelt 1990, p. 9)
By combining a rich instructional menu with opportunities to experiment with new
learning in a supportive, nonthreatening way, computers can provide a productive learn
ing environment for students from diverse backgrounds.
Planning: A Functional Analysis. Planning to teach is more complex than it appears.

In addition to the written products that are produced, it involves decisions about con
tent, students, learning activities, and evaluation procedures. Well-planned lessons may
be detailed, or they may consist of brief sketches outlining topics and instructional rna
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113
terials. Planning serves a number offunctions, ranging from providing security and con
fidence to simplifying instructional decisions.
Variables in Instructional Planning. A number of factors affect the planning process.
Foremost of these is the teacher; who you are, what you know, and your values and be
liefs about teaching all influence your planning. The learners you teach also have a cen
tral influence on planning; effective teachers consider students' developmental and
motivational needs as they plan for instruction. Standards-based education, with its em
phasis on accountability, is changing how teachers plan for instruction. Content, teach
ing context, materials, resources, and time also frame planning decisions.
The Linear Rational Model: A Sequential Planning Model. Long-term planning
represents teachers' first attempts to place planning decisions within a time frame, and it
usually amounts to lists of topics together with notes and thoughts. Unit planning
bridges the gap between long-term planning and lesson planning. A unit plan begins
with a general goal that summarizes the general purpose of the unit. A rationale is an
explanation of the unit's value and can be shared with students as a motivational tool.
Objectives specify the major outcomes of the unit, and the content section outlines and
organizes major ideas. Instructional activities translate content and objectives into learn
ing and teaching strategies, and the assessment component describes how learning will
be evaluated. Together, these components make up a tangible plan of action for the
teacher to follow in the weeks to come.
Lesson planning is the final step in the planning process and generates specific plans
of action for a specific class period. The form that specific lesson plans take will vary
with the teacher and the situation, but all deal, either explicitly or implicitly, with the
fundamental questions of what to teach, how to teach, and why. In this process, in
structional alignment, the matching oflearning activities and evaluation procedures to
goals, is essential. The thoughtful decision making of expert teachers is often masked by
the ease with which they produce thoughtful plans for strategic action.
Integrating the Curriculum: Interdisciplinary and Thematic Units. Often the cur
riculum is presented to students as an array ofseparate subjects. While separate discipline
based instruction has some advantages, it fails to help students see connections between
different subject matter areas. Interdisciplinary planning allows students to see how dif
ferent disciplines can be focused on a common problem. An integrated approach to plan
ning deemphasizes subject matter boundaries and instead focuses students' attention on a
problem or theme.
Research on Teacher Planning. Research on teacher planning reveals a number of
interesting findings, many of which question the use of the linear rational model as a
primary planning tool for experienced teachers. In addition to discovering that plan
ning was not a discrete, sequential process, researchers found that written objectives
often were not the starting point for planning activities, nor was assessment a major con
cern prior to instruction.
Instead of beginning with objectives, teachers often begin their planning by con
sidering topics or learning activities. Time, effort, and the fact that objectives often exist
114
CHAPTER J
in curriculum materials or are embedded in learning activities are major reasons that
teachers don't explicitly write them.
Planning is not a uniform process and is instead dependent on a number of related
contextual factors (e.g., teaching experience, content, and the availability of curriculum
materials). Research underscores the functional nature of teacher planning: Teachers
plan as they do to get the job done and to maximize student learning, given the con
straints of the situation.
Planning for Diversity: Individualized Instruction. Teachers can help accommodate

the diversity in their students by individualizing instruction. Instruction can be individ
ualized by varying time available for learning, the materials and resources provided,
learning activities, or objectives. Technology can also be a valuable tool for individual
ization, with adaptive tutorials providing practice and feedback that is geared to each
student's individual needs.
Affective domain
Cognitive domain
Discipline-based planning
Interdisciplinary planning
Lesson planning
Long-term planning
Mastery learning
Objectives
Outcomes-based education
Planning
Psychomotor domain
Rationale
Standards-based education
Task analysis
Teaching context
Team-assisted individualization
Thematic planning
Tutorial Programs
Unit
Angie Becker, a middle-school teacher with a class that is self-contained in the morning but
switches in the afternoon, was wrestling with a pile of books on her desk. "Maybe I
shouldn't do a unit on nutrition," she thought to herself. "It's not something I'm an expert at
and it's going to take a lot of work. But, the kids really need it-I can't believe the stuff they
eat for lunch. Oh, well, here goes."
As Angie checked her notes in her planning folder she saw the following:
Food pyramids
Food groups
Analyze lunches
Change eating habits
"Well, this is a start," she continued. "What I need to do is grab their attention. Once I get
them into the unit, they'll be okay. It's that first activity that makes or breaks a unit. And
since I'm not real solid on this stuff, I'd better make it a good one. Hmm, what I really
want them to do is eat healthier but first they need some basic concepts. I'd better write
Eauchak4e
TEACHER PLANNING
sons that
these down or I'll forget them." She continued by writing the following terms on the sheet
of paper in front of her:
)f related
rriculum
Teachers
the con
calories
food groups
vitamins
minerals
carbohydrates
nmodate
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"I think I know where I want them to go, but I'm not sure how to get there. They need to
be able to analyze their own diets and come up with positive suggestions for improving it.
But first things first. I need to teach them some basic concepts."
As Angie continued to sketch out ideas, her face brightened. "I've got it! I'll talk to the
school dietitian and see if she has any ideas. Also, Harvey, the biology teacher, might still
have that video on the digestive system. That might be fun."
On the first day of her unit, Angie began the class by writing "Nutrition" on the board
and asking students what it meant. After several half-hearted student attempts at defining it,
Angie brought out a cafeteria tray with the day's lunch on it. Her students responded im
mediately.
"Yuck."
"Gross."
"Cafeteria food."
"Smells good to me."
"Okay, class, settle down. Good, Now is this a nutritious meal?" she asked, pointing to
the pizza, salad, milk, and jello.
Students looked at the tray and exchanged puzzled looks with each other. Finally,
Rashad offered, "Yeah, it's nutritious---else they wouldn't feed it to us. But that doesn't
mean it's any good."
"Interesting, class, Do you all agree? Is this a nutritious meal? Most of you are nodding
your heads 'yes: but how do you know? Well, that's what we're going to learn about in
our health class for the next couple of weeks."
Angie then had each student write down all the things they had eaten in the last 24
hours and asked them to write a short analysis of this diet. When they had completed this
task, she asked them to hand it in so she could read them that evening.
The next couple of days Angie spent talking about different food groups. At the end of
the week, she gave the class a quiz that measured whether they knew basic concepts. She
began the next week's class with a diary assignment. Students were to write down every
thing they ate that week and turn their analyses in on the next Monday.

1. What evidence do we have that Angie did any long-term planning? Was her
long-term planning congruent with patterns found by researchers?
2. What factors discussed in this chapter influenced Angie's planning behaviors?
115
116
CHAPTER 3
3. What goals did Angie have for her unit? How were these written? How could
they be rewritten using Gronlund's format?
4. Analyze Angie's objectives in terms of domains and levels.
5. In what ways were Angie's planning behaviors consistent with research?
6. What evidence do we have that Angie considered motivation in her planning?
7. How did Angie assess her students' background knowledge?
8. If Angie had terminated her unit after the quiz on Friday, would her unit have
been aligned?
1. A colleague of yours claims that teacher planning behaviors are heavily influ
enced by a teacher's personality. To get at this, he suggests asking two questions:
How do you plan for a trip? How are your socks arranged in your drawers? He
claims that people who make long travel planning lists and who sort their socks
by color tend to be overplanners. How much does personality affect planning?
What does your personality say about how you'll approach the planning process?
2. Is including motivation in the planning process becoming more or less impor
tant? How important is firsthand knowledge of students in planning for motiva
tion? Why?
3. The chapter mentioned three strategies to increase student motivation-interest,

curiosity and motivation. What other ways can teachers plan for student motiva
tion? How is planning for motivation influenced by grade level? Content area?
4. In the text, the potential influence on teachers' planning of curriculum guides
and texts, both student and teacher editions, was stressed. What advantages are
there in using these? What disadvantages?
5. The following arguments have been raised against the practice of writing objec
tives in performance terms:
a. Only trivial objectives can be written in performance terms.
b. They stifle teacher flexibility and responsiveness to students.
c. They encourage narrowness; that is, teachers will teach to the objects and
students will study the objectives.
How valid are these criticisms? Are they more valid in some areas of the curricu
lum (e.g., art or literature) than others? What can teachers do to minimize these
potential problems?
6. Are objectives easier to write in some areas of the curriculum than others? What
about grade levels? Within a curriculum area, is it easier to write objectives for
some types of goals? What can be done in areas where objectives are hard to write?
7. Some people have suggested that education could be improved if the planning
process were a centralized process, occurring at the state or district level. Teach
ers would then be responsible for implementing preplanning units of study. This
method would save teachers' time, ensure uniform content, and provide for co
ordination between teachers at different grade levels. Is this a good idea? What
advantages does it have? What disadvantages?
TEACHER PLANNING RESEARCH AND REALITY.
117
8. You are a substitute teacher who has been called at the last minute to take over a
class. How will the following influence your teaching?
a. The teacher's long-term plans
b. The teacher's unit plan
c. The teacher's lesson plan
IS:
Ie
b
9. Is interdisciplinary or thematic planning more appropriate at some grade levels

than at others? Why? Is interdisciplinary or thematic planning more beneficial for
high- or low-ability students? What do your responses to these questions tell you
about your view of the relative importance of content in planning and teaching?
10. Of the methods described for individualizing instruction, which are the most
labor intensive for teachers? Least? What implications does this have for your
teaching?
11. How are tutorial programs different from regular instructional programs? What
obstacles do you anticipate in using technology as an individualization tool?
What could you do to eliminate or minimize these obstacles?
1. 'Teacher Planning. How do experienced teachers plan? Interview a teacher to find

out how he or she plans. Some possible questions might include the following:
:c-
ICU
ese
Ite:
:b
his
'O
a. Where do you begin?

b. What help are state and district curriculum guides?
c. Is there a teacher's edition, and, if so, how is it useful?
d. Do you coordinate your planning activities with other teachers?
e. What does your administrator expect of you in terms oflesson plans?
f. What do the products of the planning process look like?
How do the teacher's responses compare with the research described in this chap
ter? What implications do these responses have for you as a teacher?
2. 'Teacher Planning: Contextual Factors. Analyze a teacher's syllabus or outline for a

course or a unit within a course. In doing this, compare it with:
a. State guidelines
b. District guidelines
c. The text being used
d. Your college courses in this area (either subject matter, text, or special methods
courses)
What things are missing? What things are there that you wouldn't do? How
would your syllabus look different?
3. Curriculum Guides. Analyze either a state or district curriculum guide in one area
of the curriculum (or compare two levels).
a. How recent is it?
b. Who constructed it?
c. How is it organized (e.g., chronologically, developmentally, topically, etc.)?
d. How do the topics covered compare with a text for this area?
118
CHAPTER 3
e. How many objectives are listed for a particular course of study?

f. How many objectives per week are implicitly suggested? Is it a realistic number?
g. What types oflearning (e.g., memory versus higher levels) are targeted?
How could you use a guide like this in your instructional planning?
4. Teacher's Editions. Examine a teacher's edition of a text. Does it explain how the
text is organized? Does it contain the following aids?
a. Chapter overview or summary
b. Objectives
c. Suggested learning activities
d. Ditto or overhead masters
e. Test items
f. Enrichment activities
g. Supplementary readings
How helpful would these aids be to you as a teacher? How could you integrate
them into your instructional planning?
5. Objectives. Write an objective for a lesson you might want to teach. Share it with a
fellow student. Is it clear? (Could he or she construct a complete lesson plan based
on it?) How could it be made clearer?
6. Objectives and Measurements. Take the objective you wrote in exercise 5 and con
struct a measurement item for it. How else might you evaluate your goal?
7. Task Analysis. Using the objective you wrote for exercise 5, do a task analysis on
it. This should include the following:
a. Prerequisite knowledge and skills
b. A sequence for these prerequisites
c. Some type of diagnostic instrument to let you find out what students already
know
d. How useful is task analysis for planning instructional activities?
8. Lesson Planning. Using one of the models discussed in this chapter, construct a
complete lesson plan. Share it with a fellow student and ask him or her to critique
it in terms of clarity. (Use the substitute teacher's test-if they had to come in and
substitute teach for you, would they know what to do?) What did you learn from
this planning exercise?
9. Planning and Microteaching. Microteaching is a teaching technique that allows

prospective teachers to focus on one aspect of their teaching at a time. This exer
cise focuses on planning. Take the lesson you constructed in Portfolio Activity 8
and teach it for 10 to 15 minutes to either a small group of your peers or a small
group of real students. Audio or videotape the lesson. Listen to or watch the tape
and answer these questions:
a. Were you over- or underprepared?
b. How well did the planning model you chose fit your personal needs?
c. In hindsight, what should you have done differently in the planning process to
improve your teaching?
n:
~~
a
ed
ue
!ld
c-
to
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Classroom climate: A prerequisite to
learning
A. Acceptance and caring: The human

dimension of teaching
B. A safe and orderly learning
environment
C. A learning-focused classroom
II. Effective teaching and the concept of time
A. Allocated time: Priorities in the
curriculum
B. Instructional time: Time from a

teacher's perspective
C. Engaged time: Time from a learner's

perspective
D. Academic learning time: The role of
success
III. A general instructional model

IV Characteristics of effective teachers
A. Teacher attitudes
B. Teacher attitudes, learner diversity, and
motivation
C. Effective communication implications
for teachers
D. Organization
V Effective lesson beginnings

A. Review
B. Focus
VII. Ending lessons effectively

A. Closure
B. Assessment
VI. Developing the lesson
() n Chapter 3 we saw how teachers plan and how planning affects the ways they ac
t tually teach. We also looked at different types of planning and how they affect stu
dent learning.
We now turn to instruction. As a way of thinking about the content of this chapter,
imagine going into a number of classrooms, sitting at the back of the room and watching
effective teachers at different grade levels and in different content areas work with their
students. They could be at the first, fifth, eighth, tenth, or any other grade level. In some,
students will be learning more than would be expected for their age and ability level,
whereas in others they will be learning less than would be expected. For years, researchers
have looked at differences in the way teachers operate in the high-achieving classes com
pared to teachers in the low-achieving classes, and they've found significant differences
(Shuell, 1996). For instance, as two simple examples, researchers found that teachers of
high-achieving students use their time much more efficiently, and they ask many more
questions of the students, than do teachers of low-achieving students. The study of differ
ences in the behaviors qfhigh-achieving students' teachers compared to low-achieving students' teach
ers is sometimes called teacher effectiveness research. Our goal in writing this chapter
is to help you understand this research and assess the extent to which Kathy Johnson, the
teacher in the case study that follows, applied it in her work with her fifth graders.
In an effort to make the descriptions of this research more meaningful for you, we
have organized them into a general model of instruction that applies to most classroom
situations.
When you've completed your study of the chapter, you should be able to meet the
following goals:
Explain how caring, safety, and positive teacher expectations contribute to a
positive learning environment.
Describe teacher characteristics associated with increased learning and
motivation.
Identity ways effective teachers begin lessons to promote learning.

Describe ways that effective teachers guide learning as lessons are developed.
Identity ways that effective teachers bring lessons to closure.
Kathy Johnson is a fifth-grade teacher in an urban Midwestern city. About half of her
twenty-seven students are considered to be placed at risk, coming from mostly low- to
middle-income families. A veteran of six years, she is at her desk working on a unit on the
northern and southern states prior to the Civil War.
"Hey, what's up?" her friend Marisse asks as she walks in Kathy's room.
"I'm working on this social studies stuff" Kathy responds. "I know a Jot of these kids
don't have a lot of background in some ways, but in others, they're actually sharp. I know
EFFECTIVE TEACHING: THE RESEARCH BASE.
yac
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:hers
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, the
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that if I can get their thinking channeled a little, I can get them to understand a whole lot
more than I'm getting out of them now."
"Such as ... rr
"Well, you know that I've been going to this series of workshops to upgrade my cer
tificate, and they are emphasizing student thinking and involvement so much ... and at first
I was skeptical, you know, 'This won't work with my kids' stuff, but I said I'd give it a
shot ... and the kids actually are doing well ....That's what I mean when I say that
they're actually sharper than we give them credit for.
"Anyway, I've got them working in teams and doing some research on different states in
the North and South, and we've put the information in a big chart. We're going to start ana
lyzing it tomorrow to see how it might have affected the Civil War. Some of them are a little
uncertain, but most of them are doing really well. ... Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes."
Marisse waves goodbye and Kathy goes back to her work.
We join Kathy the next morning near the end of her morning break. She typically
schedules her day as follows:
8: 15-9: 15
9:15-10:45
10:45-11 :00
II :00-11 :30
11:30-12:00
12:00-1:25
1:25-1 :35
1:35-2:00
2:00-2:45
Math
Language Arts
Break
Social Studies
Lunch
Reading
Break
Science
(Art, Music, PE, Computers)
Kathy is standing at the door at 10:55 as the students file in from recess. "Nice shirt,
Jerome," she smiles. "I didn't notice it before.
"Come up here, Simone," she motions quietly, guiding him to her desk. "You've
missed the last two math assignments .... I want you to come in tomorrow morning as
soon as the bus gets here, and we'll work on them .... Okay? Don't forget now."
Kathy smiles as Simone nods shyly, and she watches him as he moves to his desk. Si
mone has recently come to this country from Haiti, and English is still difficult for him.
The students are in their desks and settled at 11:0 I, and Kathy says, 'T m pleased to
see that you're ready to go. We never have enough time, and I appreciate your help."
"Look over there," she says, referring the students to a large chart taped to the side
wall of the room. It appears as follows:
l.
Northern states
PEOPLE
LAND AND CLIMATE
ECONOMY
Small towns
Many trees
Syrup
Religious
Remains of glaciers
Rum
Valued education
Poor soil
Lumber
Cooperative
Short growing season
Shipbuilding
Cold winters
Fishing
Mountains
Small farms
121
122
CHAPTER 4
Southern states
PEOPLE
LAND AND CLIMATE
ECONOMY
Aristocratic
Good soil
Large farms
Isolated
Hot weather
Tobacco
Social class
distinction
Large rivers
Cotton
Long growing season
Unskilled workers
Coastal plain
Servants and slaves
Now, as you look at it, let's think about what we've been doing for the last week.
Latisha?"
Someone go ahead and describe what we've been doing
we worked together ...
" ... We looked up stuff about the different states, and
and we wrote it down, and we turned it in."
"Good," Kathy smiles, "and what were some of the things you found? ... Michael?"
" ... We found that in the South, like Mississippi and Georgia they had big farms and
grew cotton, and ... "
"And in New Hampshire and up there, they had little farms," Jason jumps in, pointing
to the map of the United States at the front of the room.
"That's good information, Jason, but remember that we don't interrupt our classmates
when they're talking."
"What else? ... Kristi?"
" ... They had servants and slaves in the South but not so much in the North."
"Good, everyone," Kathy waves. "Now, you heard what Latisha and Michael and
Jason and Kristi have said. Keep that in mind as we look at our chart. The information you
gathered is all in it, and I added a little of my own. Now, looking at the chart brings up
some questions.... How are these states different, and why, since all these states are part
of the same country-s-our United States-why are they so different? . .. That's what
we're going to try and figure out today. lfwe work hard, I'll bet we come up with some
really important ideas.... Everybody ready? . " Let's go."
Let's stop now and see what research says about effective teaching and effective
teachers and how this research can help us understand the actions of Kathy Johnson.
CLASSROOM CLIMATE: A PREREQUISITE TO LEARNING

Think back to some of your own school experiences, and consider classes in which you
were comfortable and looked forward to going to compared to those you disliked, in
which you were uneasy or perhaps even felt were a waste of time. What were the dif
ferences between these two types of classrooms?
One likely and important difference can be explained with the concept classroom
climate, which describes the emotional and academic tone in classrooms. Classrooms with a
positive climate are emotionally safe, orderly, and focused on learning. In classrooms
with a negative climate students are disruptive, they worry about being criticized or
ridiculed, and learning doesn't seem to be emphasized.
A positive classroom climate is crucial if all students are to learn as much as possi
ble. Because classroom climate is so essential, we begin our discussion of the research
examining effective teaching with it.
4e
EFFECTIVE TEACHING
,,t
THE RESEARCH BASE.
123
Creating a Positive
Classroom Climate
'----1- - 1 - - 1
Accepting
and caring
teachers
.:r~
9. r
A safe and
orderly learning
environment
A learningfocused
classroom
Creating a Positive Classroom Climate
A positive climate is created in three ways, which are outlined in Figure 4.1. Let's
look at them.
Acceptance and Caring: The Human Dimension of Teaching
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1.
YOU
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earch
Sean Williams surveyed his eighth graders as he passed out his unit exam. The desks were
spread apart and there was a feeling of anticipation in the air as they began the test. As
Sean moved around the room, he noted with satisfaction that most of his students had
plunged into the test and were working diligently. Tony, however, was sitting at his desk
and staring out the window.
Sean didn't initiallysay anything, but when Tony still hadn't started the test after
5 minutes, Sean went over to him, bent down and quietly said, "Tony, you still haven't
started the test. Is something wrong?" Tony turned away to avoid looking at Sean and said
nothing.
"Please come out in the hal]," Sean said to him. When they got there, he could see
that Tony was close to crying-something for which rough and tough boys aren't noted.
Tony hesitantly described a fight between his parents the night before, which ended with
Tony's dad storming out of the house. As Tony described the incident, tears came to his
eyes and Sean decided that the test wouldn't do Tony any good at this time.
"Go wash your face," Sean smiled. "Then, come back into the room until the period
ends. We'll make the test up tomorrow before school. ... You okay?"
Tony managed a weak smile and a nod, then headed to the boys' bathroom.
When classroom climate is positive, students know that they are valued as human
beings, regardless of their appearance, personality, or achievement. One of the most im
portant ways that teachers communicate that students are valued is through acceptance
and caring (Marzano, 1992). Caring rejers to teachers' abilities to empathize with and invest
in the protection and development of young people (Chaskin and Rauner, 1995). Sean was
empathetic when he listened to Tony describing the fight between his parents, and he
invested in Tony's protection.
The most important way teachers invest in the protection of students is with time.
For instance, Sean asked Tony to come in to take the test the following morning. Nor
mally, Sean used this time to do some final organization tasks for his day, but he gave Tony
the time instead. Everyone has 24 hours a day, and choosing to allocate some of this time
to another person communicates caring better than any other way.
Students quickly recognize the differences between teachers who care and those
who don't. A fourth grader commented, "If a teacher doesn't care about you, it affects
124
CHAPTER 4
your mind. You feel like you're a nobody, and it makes you want to drop out of school"
(Noblit, Rogers, and McCadden, 1995, p. 683).
In addition to spending time with students, caring can be demonstrated in at least
four ways:
Treating students with respect, listening to their comments and questions, and
being responsive to legitimate needs for second chances and extra help.
Treating students as individuals, noticing and commenting on changes in dress,
habits, and behavior.
Being willing to listen to students concerns about personal problems and other
nonacademic concerns.
Going the "extra mile"-being willing to provide extra help with classwork,
providing guidance in personal matters, and working on extracurricular activities.
In the introduction to the chapter, we said that we are focusing on the research base
for effective teaching, so let's see what research has to say about this somewhat elusive
concept called caring.
Since the early 1990s, researchers have been investigating the effects oflearners' re
lationships with teachers and peers on their motivation and learning. They focused on
the concept of relatedness, which is students' need tofeel connected to others in a social envi
ronment and tofeel worthy and capable oflove and respect. It is a basic need in all people, they
argue (Connell and Wellborn, 1990). Teachers who are available to students and who
like, understand, and empathize with them have learners who are more emotionally,
cognitive1y, and behaviorally engaged in classroom activities than teachers rated lower in
these areas (McCombs, 1998; Skinner and Belmont, 1993). Also, students who feel like
they belong and perceive personal support from their teachers report more interest in
their classwork and describe it as more important than students whose teachers are more
distant (Goodenow, 1993). These findings suggest that caring teachers-who value all
students regardless of academic ability or performance--are essential for both learning
and motivation (Stipek, 1996).
A Safe and Orderly Learning Environment

The teacher says, "We have a little filmstrip on weather." And she quickly overviews the
content on the filmstrip. which is called "The Weather Is Poetry." As the teacher arranges
the filmstrip in the machine, she says. "Before we start this, we're going to turn out the
lights, but you can finish your work anyway. We're going to pick it up afterwards." Greg
says, "Miss, I can't see to finish." The teacher says, "Yes, you can. Your eyes will adjust."
Andrew is yelling, "Lights off, lights off" four times. Finally, the teacher starts the filmstrip,
which is a sound filmstrip. Someone turns the lights off Everyone starts yelling, "I can't
see. It's dark in here." The teacher assures everyone that their eyes will adjust. As the film
is running, the students talk. move around. Apparently, two of them go outside to work, al
though the observer did not notice until later. Some move desks. Observer notes that no
one can hear the movie. Joe comes in from the hall and stands at the front of the room to
watch. The class finally settles a little. About half are watching the film, and half are work
ing on the assignment in the dark. The teacher walks out of the room. And then she walks
about the room. She says, "In a few minutes, you're going to see the part about the mud.
That's my favorite part. They describe the sound of people walking in the mud." Greg
auchak4e
school"
says, "Turn on the lights." The teacher ignores him. During the filmstrip there is a steady
exchange of students with restroom passes. Susan comes in, Joe goes out. The teacher
goes out. Robert calls after her sarcastically, "You missed the mud." (Carter, 1986,
pp.33-34)
at least
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and
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arning
125
This is a description of an actual middle school classroom. How much learning is

likely to occur in this kind of environment?
Positive classroom environments require teachers who care, but caring, while fun
damental, isn't enough. Students can't learn if their classmates are disruptive. A safe and
orderly learning environment is the second component of a positive classroom climate.
Research indicates that an essential precondition for teaching all kinds ofstudents
bright, slow, white, minority, low SES or high-is an orderly classroom where students
know what to expect and what is expected of them (Levine and Lezotte, 1995; Doyle,
1986). This dimension is so crucial to teaching effectiveness that we devote all of Chap
ter 6 to the topic.
A Learning-Focused Classroom
Effective teachers believe that their most important role is to promote as much learning
as possible in their students. While extracurricular activities are important, they don't
take precedence over learning. Effective teachers, for example, don't allow students to
use class time to discuss club events, and socializing is done out of class, not during time
when students should be completing seatwork.
One study investigating the effects oflearning-focused classrooms concluded, "Stu
dents learn more in schools that set high standards for academic performance, that use
their instructional time wisely, and that use student learning as a criterion for making
decisions" (Lee and Smith, 1999, intra).
Teachers communicate that learning is the primary reason students are in schools in
several ways:
Modeling a belief in the importance of study, effort, and learning
Clearly communicating learning goals and reasons for the goals
Using time effectively
Preventing disruptions that interfere with learning
Thoroughly and frequently measuring students' understanding with quizzes
and alternative assessments
Providing timely (i.e., the day after they're given) feedback about performance
on the assessments

Kathy communicated a learning focus with her students in at least three ways. First,
social studies was scheduled to begin at 11, and she began within a minute of that time.
Second, she immediately reacted to Jason's disruption by saying, "That's good informa
tion, Jason, but remember that we don't interrupt our classmates when they're talking."
Third, she said, "Now, looking at the chart brings up some questions. How are these
states different, and why, since all these states are part of the same country-our United
States-why are they so different? That's what we're going to try and figure out today.
If we work hard, I'll bet we come up with some really important ideas." Her comment
set an academic tone and provided a clear goal for the lesson.
126
CHAPTER 4
We've just seen that effective teachers create positive classroom climates and that the
way they use their time is a factor in the process. Let's look at the use of time in more
detail.
EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND THE CONCEPT OF TIME

Dost thou love lije? Then do not squander time,Jor that is the st!!iJ liIe is made of
Benjamin Franklin
Poor Richard's Almanac, 1775
Ben Franklin recognized the importance of time all the way back in 1775, saying it
is the stuff of life. It's the stuff of teaching life as well, because it's precious and, unfor
tunately, often used inefficiently.
In introducing this chapter we suggested that you ask yourself what you would ex
pect if you observed effective teachers at any grade level. One feature they would have
in common is that they use their available time efficiently.
That time is critical in learning is suggested by the fact that students in many other
industrialized countries typically spend more time in school than do American students,
and these students also score higher on standardized tests than do American youngsters.
This has led to suggestions that the American school year and school day be lengthened.
These suggestions are simplistic, however, because the length of the school year or
day is only one dimension of time. A more complete picture examines how teachers use
their available time and how this influences learning. In analyzing classroom time use,
we'll focus on the four dimensions outlined in Table 4.1. Let's examine them.
Allocated Time: Priorities in the Curriculum

Allocated tirne is simply the amount of time teachers assign to different content areas or topics.
If we look back at Kathy's schedule, for instance, we see that she allocates an hour and
a half for reading, almost as much for language arts, and an hour for math. By contrast,
social studies gets only a half hour and science a mere 25 minutes. These allocations are
typical and reflect the fact that elementary teachers emphasize reading, language arts,
and math more strongly than social studies and science.
~ ~. ( DIMENSIONS OF CLASSROOM TIME

Allocated time
The amount of time a teacher or school specifies for a

content area or topic
Instructional time
The amount of time available for teaching time after

routines and administrative tasks are completed
Engaged time
The amount of time students are attending and involved

in learning activities
Academic learning time
The amount of time students are involved in learning

activities during which they're successful
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EFFECTIVE TEACHING
THE RESEARCH BASE.
127
While it appears that elementary teachers have more control over time allocations
than do middle or secondary teachers, this isn't necessarily the case. For instance, a mid
dle school English teacher could choose to emphasize writing by spending a great deal
of time on it, while another might devote that time to grammar instead.
Research indicates a positive but weak correlation between allocated time and
learning (Karweit, 1989). As a way of thinking about this correlation, imagine that we
double the allocated time for a certain subject. While we would expect students to learn
more, they would not learn twice as much. In fact, they only learn slightly more than
they did with the previous allocation.
Instructional Time: Time from a Teacher's Perspective

The bell had rung and Dennis Orr's eighth graders were filing into his class. Dennis was at
the back of the room working on some equipment as the students moved to their seats.
In a few moments he moved to the front of the room and said, "Now, let's see who's
here today." He glanced at the top of his desk looking for his roll book and, not seeing it,
looked in his desk drawer. "I let some ofyou look at your averages yesterday," he called out
to the class. "Did you return my book?"
"We put it in your file cabinet," one of the boys responded.
"Ah, yes, here it is," Dennis said quietly as he looked in the drawer and saw the book.
Having finished taking roll, he said to the class, 'T m going to show you a demonstra
tion today. Get your books and notebooks out while I finish getting this set up."
The students, basically well behaved, did as he suggested as he began to take equip
ment from a nearby shelf and assemble it. A few minutes later, he signaled the class.
"Okay, everyone, let's take a look at what we have here." He began the demonstration,
having the students make observations of the equipment and the phenomenon taking place.
Suddenly he said. "Oh. I almost forgot. All of you in the band will be released 10 minutes
early today so you can gather your instruments for the trip to Seaside Junior High."
md
ast,
Now, let's look at another eighth-grade teacher in essentially the same situation.
are
res.
Steve Weiss, Dennis's colleague across the hall, was sitting at his desk as his students
walked in. As they sat down, they got their books and notebooks out of their backpacks
and put them on their desks. As they moved toward their seats, Steve checked their names
in his roll book.
"I see Jim isn't here. Has he been absent all day?" he asked as the last student was sit
ting down.
"He's sick," a classmate volunteered, and with that Steve signed the roll and hung it
on the clip on his door. As he walked, he pointed to an announcement on the board. 'All
band students go to the band room immediately after school to get your equipment ready
for the trip to Seaside."
Walking back to the center of the room, Steve began. "We studied the concept of
pressure yesterday, and today we want to look at how pressure changes under different
conditions. I have a demonstration for you. Everyone take a look at the cart."
With that, he rolled a cart to the center of the room with some equipment assembled
on it. "What do you notice on the cart, Tony?" he asked as he began the lesson.
128
CHAPTER 4
In comparing the two teachers we see that Dennis spent several minutes taking roll,
searching for his grade book, preparing his demonstration, and making an announce
ment, whereas Steve took roll as students came in the door, made his announcement as
he hung up his roll slip, and had his demonstration prepared in advance. Dennis spent
more time on noninstructional activities than did Steve.
Instructional tim.e is the amount of time available for learning activities. As Dennis's
case illustrates, significant portions of time are frequently lost to noninstructional activ
ities, often more than a third of teachers' allocated time (Karweit, 1989). Further, some
teachers seem to be unaware of the value of time as a resource, thinking of it as some
thing to be filled, or even "killed" rather than an opportunity to increase learning
(Eggen, 1998; Wiley and Harnischfeger, 1974). With instructional time so important,
teachers must do everything they can to maximize the amount they have. Significantly,
when noninstructional lapses are decreased, learning increases (Stallings, 1980).
Instructional time is important for another, more subtle reason; disruptions that de
tract from classroom climate are most likely to occur during noninstructional activities.
Well-run classrooms with high rates of instructional time are places with fewer manage
ment problems (Emmer, Evertson, Clements, and Worsham, 2000; Evertson, Emmer,
Clements, and Worsham, 2000).
Engaged Time: Time from a Learner's Perspective

While instructional time is important, engaged tim.e, the proportion of instructional time
that students are focused and on task, is even more important.
A comparison of high- and low-achieving students demonstrates the importance of
engaged time, or "time-on-task." High-achieving students are typically engaged for 75 per
cent of the time or more, while low achievers often are engaged less than 50 percent of
the time (Evertson, 1980; Fredrick, 1977). Further, researchers have found that the en
gaged time for students of effective teachers is much higher than that for students of less
effective teachers (Berliner, 1987; Shuell, 1996). Engaged time is a tangible measure of
a teacher's impact on students and, not surprisingly, when principals and other school
leaders observe in classrooms, one of the first things they look for is student engagement
rates, or the extent to which students are paying attention and doing their assigned work.
How can we tell if students are on task? Or, more specifically, what kinds of things
would you look for in determining if your students are with you? One of the best indi
cators is eye contact-are they watching you during a teacher-led discussion, and dur
ing individual work do their eye movements suggest that they are reading and actually
responding to the materials they're studying?
Interestingly, research indicates that the link between on-task behaviors and
achievement is more complex than it appears at first glance. High- and low-ability stu
dents differ not only in the amount of time they're engaged but also in when they're off
task (Rusnock and Brandler, 1979; Smyth, 1979). High-ability students finish their aca
demic tasks and then go off task; low-ability students go off task before and during their
academic tasks.
The issue, then, is not as simple as merely allocating more time to a particular sub
ject, nor does increasing efficiency so that instructional time is maximized solve the
problem. If students aren't paying attention during learning activities or doing searwork
when it's assigned, learning won't occur regardless of how well organized and efficient
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a teacher is. (Because involving students is so essential to learning, we devote all of

Chapter 5 to the topic.)
Academic Learning Time: The Role of Success

Research indicates that part of the reason that low achievers go off task relates to frus
tration (Anderson et al., 1985). The work they're assigned is often beyond their present
capability, making it nearly impossible to complete. As a result, they often give up and
go off task. This leads us to the concept of academic learning time, which we saw in
Table 4.1 is the amount of time students are successfully engaged.
Student success is important for at least three reasons:
It indicates that the new learning is building effectively on what students al
ready know (Fisher et al., 1980).
Success is reinforcing; it is much more rewarding to get questions and problems
right than wrong.
Success builds confidence, preparing students for future learning.
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The importance ofsuccess is confirmed by the teacher effectiveness research. A study of

250 classrooms showed that students in classes where success was the dominant pattern
not only learned more but also felt better about themselves and the material they were
learning (Fisher et al., 1980).
How high should success rates be? The answer depends on the situation. Research
suggests that students in interactive question and answer sessions should be about 80 per
cent successful (McGreal, 1985), but in homework assignments, where the potential for
confusion and frustration is higher, success rates should be 90 percent or higher (Berliner,
1984, 1987).
As with engaged time, success rates are not as simple as they appear on the surface.
Younger students, low achievers, and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds
typically need more success than do their older, higher-achieving, or more advantaged
counterparts. These students often lack a robust history of classroom success and tend to
become easily frustrated or discouraged.
Content is also a factor. Topics that build on previous knowledge and skills--such
as some parts of math and reading-require higher success rates than other less cumula
tive and structured areas, such as Kathy's social studies lesson.
As we move from allocated time to academic learning time, the correlation with
learning becomes stronger and stronger (Nystrand and Gamoran, 1989). Our goal
should be a well-organized classroom that has students successfully engaged in mean
ingfullearning activities. While this isn't easy, with effort it is attainable. We begin our
discussion of ways to accomplish the goal in the next section.
A GENERAL INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL

In our introduction to the chapter, we said that we would organize the research base for
effective teaching into a general instructional model. Our goal in doing so is to make
the information more meaningful for you, so it is easier to remember and apply in your
own teaching.
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CHAPTER 4
Teacher Characteristics
Positive teacher attitudes
Effective communication
Organization
I
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Lesson Beginnings
Introductory review
Introductory focus
Lesson Development
Representing content
Involving students
Practice and feedback
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Lesson Endings
Closure
Assessment
iii
A General Instructional Model
Our efforts are represented in Figure 4.2 and discussed in the sections that follow.
As you study these sections, remember that the model summarizes research that applies
in all classrooms, regardless of grade level, content area, or specific topic.
CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEACHERS

As we would expect, characteristics of effective teachers such as their attitudes, the way
they communicate, and how they organize their learning activities influence the total
lesson cycle-its beginning, development, and ending. This is why these characteristics
are connected to each phase in the model. In each phase we analyze the specific actions
that research indicates are effective. Let's see how these components interact to increase
student learning.
Teacher Attitudes
In looking again at Figure 4.2, we see that teachers' attitudes are listed first. We did this
on purpose, because teachers' attitudes and beliefs have a powerful impact on their abil
ity to promote student learning (Calderhead, 1996; Good and Brophy, 1997). These at
titudes are often demonstrated subtly, but their positive influence on learning is clear.
Let's look at an example.
Lorna Davis, a veteran with fourteen years of experience, teaches three sections of Ad
vanced Placement biology and two sections with students of below average to average
ability. We look in on one of her average classes.
"We better get moving," Clarice says to Leroy as they approach the door of the class
room. "The bell is going to ring and you know how Davis is about this class."
"Yeh," Leroy smiles wryly. "She thinks all this genetic stuff is sooo important. She
thinks she can make scientists out of all of us."
"Did you finish your homework?"
Lk4e
131
"Are you kidding," Clarice returns. "You miss a homework assignment in this class and
you're a dead duck."
"Right," Leroy confirms. "Nobody messes with Davis."
"I didn't know what she wanted on that explanation about attached and detached ear,
lobes, so I went to her help session after school yesterday, and she went over everything
again," Clarice continues. "She really tries to help you get it."
From this short episode we can infer a great deal about Lorna and her attitudes
about learners and learning. These attitudes and beliefs consist of the following three
elements:
Personal teaching efficacy
Teacher modeling and enthusiasm
Teacher expectations
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Personal leaching Efficacy. To begin this section, let's look again at Lorna's teaching.
Leroy commented, "She thinks she can make scientists out of all of us." While we can't
be sure about her goals based on this short vignette, Leroy's reaction gives us some infor
mation about Lorna's attitudes. She is high in personal teaching efficacy, which is the
beliefthat teachers and schools have an important positive effect on students (Bruning, Shraw, and
Ronning, 1999). High-efficacy teachers increase learning more than do low-efficacy
teachers. They tend to use praise rather then criticism, to persevere with low achievers,
to use their time well, and to accept students and their efforts to answer. Low-efficacy
teachers, in contrast, spend less time in learning activities, "write off" low achievers, and
criticize students to a greater extent than do their high-efficacy counterparts (Kagan,
1992). High-efficacy teachers also tend to be flexible, more willing to try new curricu
lum materials and strategies (poole, Okeafor, and Sloan, 1989).
Kathy Johnson also demonstrated the characteristics of a high-efficacy teacher. Her
comment, "I can get them to understand a whole lot more than I'm getting out of them
now," suggests that she believes her students can learn and she can influence it. In addi
tion, her remark, "At first I was skeptical, you know, 'this won't work with my kids'
stuff, but I said I'd give it a shot," reflects a willingness to try new ideas. Positive profes
sional beliefs such as these strongly influence the effort teachers make in trying to pro
mote learning.
Teacher Modeling and Enthusiasm
"I see you have David in class too," one teacher said to another. "He sure is a good kid,
isn't he?"
"I'm not surprised," the second one responded. "Have you ever met his parents?
They're both super people, too----enthusiastic and supportive. David probably picks up his
attitude from them."
Modeling is the display of behaviors that are imitatedby others (Bandura, 1993; Pintrich
and Schunk, 1996). The two teachers in our example are suggesting that David is imi
tating the attitudes and behaviors of his parents, and we see the effects of modeling in a
great many other cases. People imitate the hair styles of figure skaters and princesses;
the clothing of rock musicians, first ladies and professional athletes; and exercise patterns
132
CHAPTER 4
demonstrated by movie stars. Students pick up attitudes and expressions from the thou
sands of hours of TV they watch. Observing and imitating the behaviors of others is an
important way that all people learn (Bandura, 1986, 1993).
Teachers strongly influence students through their modeling (Good and Brophy,
2000). However, the process is often subtle, and the effects of modeling can be out of a
teacher's conscious control. For instance, if a teacher claims to encourage free thinking
but disapproves when students offer novel or occasional off-the-wall ideas, they will
soon say only what they think she wants to hear. If teachers are inconsistent in what they
say and do, children imitate their behavior rather than their spoken words (Bryan and
Walbeck, 1970).
Teachers also teach attitudes toward learning through their actions. For example,
teachers who modeled persistence in attempting to solve problems had students who
strongly persisted in their own efforts, whereas students who saw a teacher persist only
minimally actually declined in persistence (Zimmerman and Blotner, 1979). Further,
when teachers made statements of confidence about their ability as they persisted, their
students had increased estimates of their own ability (Zimmerman and Ringle, 1981).
Clarice's and Leroy's conclusion that "Davis thinks this stuff is sooo important," was
the result of Lorna's modeling. It wasn't anything in particular that she said; it was the
way she approached her class. Students who see their teachers study and examine-or
even struggle with-ideas are acquiring important ideas that they can apply to their own
learning. They see that effort, struggle, and persistence, are positive and desirable.
Enthusiasm is one of the most important things that teachers model. This is intu
itively sensible. We react well to enthusiastic people, and we find them attractive and
enjoy being around them. Research confirms the effects of enthusiasm on learners.
Teachers who present information enthusiastically increase learning, self-confidence,
and achievement more than do less enthusiastic teachers (Perry, 1985; Perry, Magnus
son, Parsonson, and Dickens, 1986).
How do we demonstrate enthusiasm? Teacher enthusiasm shouldn't include pep
talks or unnecessary theatrics; rather, teachers should clearly communicate why they
find topics interesting and meaningful to them (Good and Brophy, 2000). Teachers
communicate enthusiasm both verbally and nonverbally, using body language and ex
citing language to communicate their genuine interest in a topic.
Teacher Expectations. To introduce the topic of teacher expectations, consider the fol
lowing scenario, based on an actual classroom incident.
Mary Willis looked around the room as her fourth graders put away their math books and
took out their language arts workbooks. When she saw that all books were out, she said,
"Class can I have everyone's eyes up here.... Good. Today we're going to learn a new
skill, how to alphabetize. This is an important skill that you will use again and again, not
only this year, but every year of your life. If you don't know the meaning of a word, it will
help you find it in the dictionary. ) know that all of you will learn how to do this and we'll
practice until we're all good at it. Now let's turn to page 47 in our workbooks and see
how we begin."
As the class opened their books, Mary noticed Will leaning forward to poke Steve
with his pencil. She walked down the aisle, looked Will in the eye, and asked, "Will, have
you found the page yet? Quickly now. This is too important for you to be wasting time
monkeying around."
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EFFECTIVE TEACHING
THE RESEARCH BASE.
133
The lesson continued with Mary explaining and modeling the skill at the board and
then asking students to come to practice with new lists of words. With each she asked for
a show of hands to see who was performing the skill correctly. When she was confident
that most students understood, she gave an assignment that all students were to complete
before free reading. As they worked on the lists, Mary moved around the room checking
papers and answering questions.
Effective teachers clearly communicate their expectations for learning. They tell
students that something is important, and they explain why it's important. They openly
communicate that they expect all students to learn, as Mary did when she said, "1 know
that all of you will learn how to do this and we'll practice until we're all good at it."
Sometimes teachers' communication efforts are more subtle. They monitor the
class for misbehavior, communicating that it is unacceptable because it interferes with
learning, as Mary did when she said, "Quickly now. This is too important for you to be
wasting time monkeying around." They provide practice that allows all students to prac
tice new skills and receive feedback. Finally, they communicate positive expectations by
holding all students accountable for learning.
Teacher expectations are the inferences teachers make about students' future academic
achievement, behavior, or attitudes (Good and Brophy, 2000), and they strongly influence
teachers' behaviors-and ultimately student learning. Unfortunately, teachers tend to treat
students they perceive as high achievers much better than those perceived as lower in abil
ity. This differential treatment occurs in four areas: (1) emotional support, (2) teacher ef
fort and demands, (3) questioning, and (4) feedback and evaluation. These differences are
outlined in Table 4.2 (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001; Good and Brophy, 2000).
Do students sense this differential treatment? One study concluded: "Mter 10 sec
onds ofseeing and/or hearing a teacher, even very young students could detect whether
the teacher talked about, or to, an excellent or a weak student, and could determine the
extent to which that student was loved by the teacher" (Babad et al., 1991, p. 230).
Think about the cumulative effects of different teacher expectations over the course of
a school year!
----.........._---_..."'"---------------------
~ Lf.Z CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENTIAL
TEACHER EXPECTATIONS
Characteristic
Teacher Behaviors Favoring Perceived High Achievers
Emotional support
More interactions; interactions more positive; more smiles;

more eye contact; stand closer; orient body more directly; seat
students closer to teacher
Teacher effort and

demands
Clearer and more thorough explanations; more enthusiastic

instruction; more follow-up questions; require more complete
and accurate student answers
Questioning
Call on more often; more time to answer; more encouragement;

more prompting
Feedback and
evaluation
More praise; less criticism; more complete and more lengthy

feedback; more conceptual evaluations
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CHAPTER 4

As we saw in Chapter 2, our learners are becoming more and more diverse and some
feel alienated from school and teachers. Teachers' attitudes toward the differences in
learners are crucial in making all learners feel welcome and involved in all aspects of
school.
The implications for learning and motivation are clear. We need to demonstrate
that we care about and value all learners in our classrooms, regardless of gender, culture,
ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or ability. Further, we want to communicate appropri
ately positive and high expectations for every student in our classroom.
We saw some specific ways that teachers communicate caring earlier in the chapter.
What else might we do? Research offers some suggestions. One program trained teach
ers to treat students as equally as possible. They learned to call on all students equally,
give equivalent feedback, and maintain positive verbal and nonverbal behavior. The re
sults were dramatic. Researchers found that not only did the achievement level of the
students go up, but the number of discipline referrals and absentees went down (Ker
man, 1979)!
Based on these research results, we make the following suggestions:
Make an effort to call on all students equally. This means calling on boys and
girls, cultural minorities and nonminorities, high and low achievers, and learn
ers from high and low socioeconomic backgrounds all as equally as possible.
Calling on all learners communicates that you believe all students are capable
learners and you expect them to participate and learn.
When students are unable to respond, rather than redirecting questions to oth
ers, prompt them until an acceptable answer is given. This also communicates
that you expect all learners to be able to answer.
When girls, cultural minorities, or low achievers give incorrect answers, pro
vide as much information about why answers are incorrect as you would for
boys, nonminorities, or high achievers.
Make eye contact with all the students, and orient your body directly toward
all individuals as you talk to them.
Change seating arrangements of students in your classes so everyone is periodi
cally near the front. Move around so you are physically near all the students as
much as possible.
Use the "two-minute intervention" (Wlodkowski, 1987) with all students.
This means taking a minute or two to discuss something personal with them,
such as a question about the family, special interest, or recent accomplishment.
As people, we all are pleased when someone pays individual attention to us,
and school-aged learners are no exception.
Effective Communication
To this point we have discussed time and positive teacher attitudes. Just as they're im
portant for promoting learning, regardless of grade level, content area, or specific teach
ing method, effective teachers at all levels communicate clearly.
Let's look at an example.
135
This mathematics lesson will enab . . . will get you to understand number uh. number pat
terns. Before we get to the main idea of the, main idea of the lesson, you need to review
four concepts ... four prerequisite concepts (Smith and Land, 1981, p. 38).
r.
While this example seems extreme, it is an actual quote from a teacher. False starts,
halting speech, redundant words, and phrases that don't make sense all detract from
learning.
Now, let's compare that example with the following:
The purpose of this lesson is to help you understand number patterns. Before we begin
the number patterns themselves, however, there are four concepts we want to review.
Theyare ...
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Here the purpose of the lesson is stated clearly and precisely, increasing the likelihood
that students will know what the lesson is about and where it's going.
Teachers' language is one of the most widely researched variables in the area of
teaching (Cazden, 1986; Dunkin and Biddle, 1974). As evidence has accumulated, a
clear link between clarity oflanguage and student achievement has been found (Cruick
shank, 1985; Snyder et al., 1991), and effective communication is also linked to positive
student attitudes (Hines, Cruickshank, and Kennedy, 1985; Snyder et al., 1991).
But what does clear communication mean? Researchers have identified five
components:
Precise terminology
Connected discourse
Transition signals
Emphasis
Congruent verbal and nonverbal behavior
Precise 1Crminology. Precise terminology means that teachers eliminate vague and ambigu
ous words andphrases in their communications with their students. For example, researchers have
found that vague terms such as might, a little more, some, usually, and probably detract from
learning (Smith and Cotten, 1980). Also, teachers who use vague language are perceived
by their students as disorganized, unprepared, and nervous (Smith and Land, 1981).
Connected Discourse. Connected discourse, a second element of teacher clarity, means
that the teachers' presentation is logically connected and leads to a point. By contrast, scrambled
discourse includes loosely connected ideas that occur when a teacher rambles, interrupts
the direction of the lesson by including irrelevant material or sequences the presentation
inappropriately.
Compare the two following examples:
We've been studying the countries on the Arabian peninsula as part of our unit on the
Middle East. As we know, these countries make most of their money on oil; they were the
ones who were most responsible for the Arab embargo that pushed our gas prices up in
the I970s. Venezuela and other oil producers were involved too. That contributed to our
inflation rate. These countries also have a problem with water. Most of the people live on
136
CHAPTER 4
the coast or near water, although the holy city of Mecca is inland. Three major religions,
Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, have their roots there. The people tend to overextend
their water supply, and often there isn't enough water to extract and refine the oil.
We've been studying the countries on the Arabian peninsula as part of our unit on the
Middle East and have continually stressed the importance of oil in this area of the world.
As we know, these countries make most of their money on oil, which they use to buy
goods and services from the western economies. However, as precious as oil is, water
looms as even a bigger problem. Most of the people live near water and overextend the
available supplies, in some cases even extracting and refining the oil has been hampered by
the lack of water.
In the first example the point is uncertain; is the theme the water problem, religion,
or the oil embargo? With the added information about Venezuela and the inflation rate,
it isn't even clear whether or not the focus is on the Middle East. Though essentially free
of vague terms, the presentation is still unclear.
In the second example, the discourse is clear, logically connected, and leads to a
point, with increased learning as a result (Smith and Cotten, 1980).
Transition Signals. Teachers also contribute to the clarity of their presentations through
clear transition signals (Hines et al., 1985). A transition signal communicates that oneidea
is ending and another is beginning and explains the link between the two. Using our illustration
with the countries of the Arabian peninsula, a teacher might say, "We've been discussing
the problems these countries have with water. Now let's talk about the countries of
North Africa and see if the situation is similar," or "We're going to stop talking about
the countries on the Arabian peninsula for now, and turn to those in North Africa." In
either case, the teacher clearly indicates that a shift in the topic is being made. This sig
nal allows students to mentally structure the content as the lesson develops. Our chap
ter headings serve the same purpose.
Emphasis
"When you're solving equations remember that whatever you do to one side of the equa
tion, you must also do exactly the same thing to the other side."
We said that one of the characteristics of the Jackson era was the rise of the common
man."
These two statements are examples of emphasis, which communicates that an idea or
topic has special significance. It is a form of effective communication that helps students de
termine the relative importance of the topics they're covering.
Emphasis can be accomplished in four different ways, which are often combined.
They are illustrated in Table 4.3.
Research indicates that each form of emphasis increases achievement (Maddox and
Hoole, 1975; Mayer, 1983). If there is something in the lesson that is essential for stu
dents to learn, we ought to tell them it is important! Emphasis does that.
Congruent Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior. "It's not what you say; it's how you say it."
We've all heard this maxim, and it refers to nonverbal cornrnunication, which is the
Ie
137
FORMS OF EMPHASIS IN THE CLASSROOM
Type
Example
Verbal statements
"Be sure to get this,"

"Now remember ..."
Nonverbal behaviors
Raised or louder voice

Gestures or pointing to specific information
Repetition
"What did Heather say about our first example?"
Written signals
"As you'll see on the board, the three functions

of the circulatory system ..."
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part of our messages that we convey without spoken words. Nonverbal channels include
the tone, pitch, and loudness of our voices, our gestures, body orientations, facial ex
pressions and eye contact. It even includes our use of space, such as moving close to a
student.
Nonverbal communication is important because people assess the sincerity of our
motives and attitudes through these channels. For example, modeling, enthusiasm,
commitment to teaching, expectations for students, and caring are primarily communi
cated nonverbally. Even young children are capable of reading and judging the nonver
bal messages of teachers (Babad et al., 1991).
It's impossible to communicate clearly if our verbal and nonverbal behaviors are in
consistent. Leroy's conviction that Lorna "thinks this genetics stuff is sooo important,"
and Clarice's conclusion, "She really tries to help you get it," were based more on
Lorna's nonverbal behavior than her words. There is little Lorna could have said to con
vince her students that biology is important ifher nonverbal messages were inconsistent
with her words.
Nonverbal behavior is also important in classroom management.
David Inez is helping Tyrone with a problem as the class is doing seatwork. Behind him,
Steve and Tony are whispering loudly.
"You boys stop talking and get started on your problems," David says glancing at the
boys over his shoulder.
The boys slow their whispering briefly, but don't actually stop, and soon they're at it
as loudly as ever.
"I thought I told you to stop talking," David repeats again over his shoulder.
This time Tony and Steve barely slow down. David, his back to the boys, doesn't
seem to notice.
What message did David send? His words said stop, but his body language said that
he didn't really mean it. He spoke over his shoulder, turned his back to them, and didn't
follow through to be sure they actually stopped. David's verbal and nonverbal commu
nication were inconsistent, so his words lacked credibility. This pattern is common for
teachers who have classroom management problems.
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CHAPTER 4
Effective Communication: Implications for Teachers

The research on effective communication has two important implications for teachers.
First, we must thoroughly understand our content, and when our understanding is in
complete or uncertain we need to spend more time studying and preparing. Teachers who
fully understand the content they teach use clearer language and their discourse is more
connected than those with weaker backgrounds (Carlsen, 1987; Cruickshank, 1985). This
makes sense. Teachers with a deep understanding of their content are more likely to use
precise language, present ideas logically, and emphasize appropriate points. They model
enthusiasm and confidence, and their students feel more confident as a result.
Second, we should try to monitor our own communication-literally listen to our
selves talk as we teach-to try to be as clear and concise as possible. Seeing ourselves on
videotape can be eye opening. Even veteran teachers are often surprised when they see
and hear themselves on tape. Other processes, such as peer coaching, where a colleague
observes a portion of a lesson and provides feedback, can be very helpful (Glickman,
1990). Whatever the method, the increase in clarity (and student learning) is worth the
effort.
Organization
The term organizatioll) as with time, is one that we use in discussing both teaching and
our everyday lives: "I've got to get organized," "My new year's resolution is to be bet
ter organized this year," "He would be good at the job, but he is so disorganized." These
are familiar-sounding statements, and we all struggle to be better organized. We write
lists; we arrange elaborate filing systems that we don't use; we pick up the same piece of
paper several times before we do anything with it. Each example underscores the fact
that organization seems quite simple but in reality can be a major stumbling block to ef
ficiency. This is particularly true in classrooms.
Earlier in the chapter we saw that Steve Weiss, an eighth-grade science teacher,
used more of his available time for instruction than his colleague, Dennis Orr. This was
primarily the result of more effective organization. A comparison reveals three impor
tant differences between the two, which are outlined in Table 4.4.
In examining these differences, we see that each aspect of organization increases in
structional time, which both increases learning and reduces classroom management
~ '9.'9 CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATION

Aspect of Organization
Example
Starting on time
Steve Weiss began class when the bell stopped ringing. Dennis
Orr moved to the front of the room after several minutes.
Materials prepared
in advance
Steve's demonstration was prepared in advance. Dennis finished

preparing his demonstration while the students waited.
Established routines
Steve's students knew what to do when they came to class.

Dennis had to tell his students how to get started.
Ie
EFFECTIVE TEACHING THE RESEARCH BASE.
139
problems (Emmer et al. 2000; Evertson et al., 2000). Organization is so important that
we return to it in Chapter 6 in our discussion of classroom management.
Having looked at the characteristics of effective teachers, let's see what research tells
us about the ways effective teachers begin, develop, and end their lessons.
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EFFECTIVE LESSON BEGINNINGS

An effective lesson introduction draws students into the lesson, focuses their attention
el
on the topic, and relates the new material to content they already understand. Let's see
how this occurs.
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Review
ile
Review examines information that has been covered in earlier lessons, activates learners' back
ground knowledge, and sets the stage for the new topic. Research examining the way students
n.
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learn helps us understand the value of reviews. When we learn new information, we in
terpret it based on what we already know (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001): "People are not
recorders of information but builders of knowledge structures. To know something is
not just to have received information but also to have interpreted and related it to other
knowledge" (Resnick & Klopfer, 1989, p. 4).
Review helps learners determine what they already know, which then provides an
anchor for the new information to come. Let's look at an example:
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Ken Thomas has begun a unit on the Crusades and wants to examine their effects on the
Western World. He begins his lesson by saying, "We've been discussing the Crusades,
Let's think for a moment now about what we learned yesterday. First, identify some rea
sons the Crusades occurred in the first place. David?"
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l35
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Dorothy Williams's students have studied gerunds and participles and now she wants to
move to infinitives. She begins her lesson by saying, "We talked about gerunds and partici
ples yesterday. Give me an example of each. Jeff?"
In both cases, the teachers used the students' existing understanding as the frame
work for the day's lesson. Students can then connect the new learning to the old
Dorothy's students related infinitives to gerunds and participles, for example-which
makes both more meaningful.
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Focus
Focus is theprocess teachers use to attract and maintain students' attention during a learning activ
ity. For instance, rather than merely saying, "Today we're going to discuss the northern and
southern colonies," Kathy Johnson introduced her lesson by referring to the chart and say
ing, "Now, that brings up some questions.... How are these states different, and why,
since all these states are part ofthe same country-our United States-why are they so dif
ferent? ... That's what we're going to try and figure out today. If we work hard, I'll bet
we can come up with some really important ideas .... Everybody ready? . . . let's go!'
140
CHAPTER 4
By introducing her lesson with her chart and questions to be answered during the
lesson, Kathy provided an effective form of focus.
Let's look at some additional examples.
As an introduction to the topic of cities and where they are located, Jim Edwards, a fifth
grade teacher, passed out a map of a fictitious island. On it were physical features such as
lakes, rivers, mountains, and bays. The map also included the latitude, prevailing winds,
ocean currents, and rainfall for the island. He began, "We have been sent to this island to
settle it. Based on the information we have here, we need to decide what would be the
best place to start our first settlement."
Susan Wood began a unit on heat and atmospheric pressure with her science students by
putting a cup of water in an empty duplicating fluid can, heating the can with a hot plate,
and capping it. As the students watched, the can collapsed, almost "magically." Susan then
commented, "Now keep what you saw in mind, and we'll be able to figure out why it
happened as we study this unit."
Jessie Andrews began his math lesson on percentages by displaying the following question
on an overhead: "Who's the best hitter in baseball today?" After a number of opinions had
been offered by students, Jessie continued, "Do you want to learn one way to find out?
Let's look at percentages and see how they can tell us who is the best hitter."
We see in each of the examples that the teachers provided students with something
to see, which helped attract their attention. (While something to see is most powerful,
something to hear, feel, smell, or even taste, can also be used effectively.) The need for
something sensory to attract attention is based on cognitive learning theory (Eggen and
Kauchak, 2001); all learning depends on the extent to which students pay attention to
important information in the lesson.
A variety of techniques can be used as forms of focus. For instance, a series of sen
tences on the chalkboard or equations on an overhead projector would work in an Eng
lish or algebra class. In addition, outlines, hierarchies, or objectives are also effective.
When visual forms of sensory focus are used, writing the information on the board
or displaying it on an overhead projector is more effective than the same information
given to students on individual sheets. If students are looking down at their desks, the
teacher can't tell if they're looking at the sheet or are looking down because they are not
paying attention. When the focus is at the front of the room, the teacher can monitor
students' attention through eye contact, which is one of the most effective ways to as
sess student engagement.
Using Focus to Increase Student Motivation. Researchers have found that curiosity can be
a powerful source ofintrinsic motivation in learners (Lepper and Hodell, 1989). Some of
the best forms offocus capitalize on the effects of curiosity to grab and hold students' at
tention. Teachers can capitalize on the effects of curiosity in at least three different ways:
Presenting information or ideas that are discrepant from their present under
standing or beliefs and that appear surprising or incongruous
(Pintrich and Schunk, 1996)
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he
EFFECTIVE TEACHING
THE RESEARCH BASE.
141
Asking paradoxical questions

Presenting ideas in concrete form
For example, a teacher might have students hold two pieces ofpaper parallel to each
other and blow between them. Because ofBernoulli's principle (the principle that helps
us understand how airplanes are able to fly), the papers come together instead of mov
ing apart. This event is surprising and inconsistent with learners' expectations.
In another case, a teacher might ask, "Why have most of the powerful civilizations
throughout history eventually collapsed and ceased to remain powerful?" or as Kathy
Johnson asked, "Why, since all these states are part of the same country-our United
States-why are they so different?" She purposely worded her question in a paradoxical
way in an attempt to increase her students' intrinsic motivation.
As another example, imagine the attention-getting power of bringing someones
pet snake, guinea pig, or hamster to class during a science lesson. Each would be much
more effective than drawings or even colored pictures in arousing interest.
Planning for increasing learner motivation doesn't have to be difficult or labor in
tensive. Asking a student to bring a hamster to class is simple, for example, and Kathy's
question required nothing more than some thought. Despite this simplicity, many prob
lems with students' inattention and lack of motivation can be traced directly to lack of
focus at the beginning of a lesson. Effective focus is not a panacea, of course, but it can
make an important contribution to student motivation and, in turn, learning.
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DEVELOPING THE LESSON

To begin this section, go back to Kathy's lesson. Recall that she asked her students why
the northern and southern states should have been so different, since they were all part
of the United States. Let's see how she develops the lesson.
"Now, before we start trying to answer our questions, Where are all these states com
pared to where we live? ... Jo?"
" ... They're over here," Jo answered, motioning to the right with her hand.
"Yes, they're generally east of us," Kathy added, as she walked quickly and pointed to
the map at the side of the room, identifying the general location of the states relative to
their location with a wave of her hand. "As we look at our chart, keep the map in mind to
remind yourselves about where we are and where these states are.
"And about how long ago are we talking about, a few years or a long time? ...
Greg?" she continued.
"A long time. Like when our great-great grandfathers and grandmothers might have
lived, I think," Greg responded hesitantly.
"At least," Kathy smiled and nodded. "We're talking about time during the early and
middle 1800s."
"We also talked about some important ideas, like 'economy,' " Kathy continued.
"What do we mean by economy? ... Carol?"
" ... It's ... the way they make money, like when we said that the economy here is
based on manufacturing, like making cars and stuff and stuff for cars," Carol responded
haltingly.
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CHAPTER 4
"Good idea, Carol." Kathy waved. "You identified auto manufacturing as an important
part of our economy, and that's a good example."
"Now, look here," Kathy directed, pointing to the column marked 'Economy.' I want
you to work with your partner and I want you to write down at least three things that are
different about the economy in the North compared to the economy in the South .... You
have 4 minutes. Ready? ... Go ahead."
The students, seated next to their partners, turned to each other and began working.
The classroom quickly became a buzz of voices and questions, such as, "How many differ
ences?" "Three differences?" "Is likefishing in the North different from the South? There's
no fishing there," "Bigfarms and small farms is a difference, isn't it?" and many others.
Kathy patiently answered their questions among comments of encouragement and ad
monitions to work quickly, since they didn't have much time.
At the end of the 4 minutes, Kathy said, 'All right everyone, look up here .... Let's
see what we have .... Go ahead. Does some group want to respond? ... Go ahead, Ann
Marie."
" ... The farms were big in the South but they were little in the North."
"Okay, good observation," Kathy nodded energetically. "Now why might that have
been the case? Jim?"
" ... Would you like me to repeat the question?" Kathy asked, knowing that Jim had
not heard her.
"Yes," Jim responded quickly, with a look of relief.
"Why might the farms have been so much bigger in the South than in the North?"
" ... They ... had good soil in the South, but poor soil in the North," Jim said
slowly, peering intently at the chart.
"Good, Jim," Kathy smiled. "Any other possible reason, anyone?"
" ... They had mountains in the North," Nataly volunteered after looking at the chart
for several seconds... .You can't farm the mountains."
"Excellent," Kathy nodded. "Let's look at another difference.... Go ahead, Stephanie."
Kathy continued guiding the students' analysis of the information on the chart, in the
process finding relationships between the geography, climate, and economy. When stu
dents were unable to answer, she rephrased her questions and provided cues to help them
along. She then had them consider why the economy of their city might be the way it is.
Now, let's consider this portion of Kathy's lesson and analyze what made it effective.
There are three important aspects oflesson development.
The way content is represented
The extent to which learners are involved
The kinds of practice and feedback learners are given
Because these ideas are so essential and interrelated, we devote all of the next chapter to
them.
ENDING LESSONS EFFECTIVELY

An effective lesson ending brings closure to the lesson, wrapping up loose threads and
preparing students for future learning. To begin this section, let's return once more to
Kathy's work with her students.
EFFECTIVE TEACHING
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THE RESEARCH BASE.
143
"You have done very well, everyone," Kathy smiled, pointing her finger in the air for em
phasis. "Now, everyone, get with your partner again, take 2 minutes and write three sum
mary statements about what we've learned here today .... Quickly now, get started."
As earlier in the lesson, the classroom quickly became a buzz of voices as her students
started peering and pointing at the chart, then began writing. ln some cases they stopped,
crumpled their papers and began again. As they worked, Kathy walked among them offer
ing encouragement and periodic suggestions.
At the end of2 minutes Kathy announced, "One more minute, and we're going to
look at what you've written.
"Okay, let's see what you've got," she continued. "What did you and Linda conclude,
David?"
" ... We said that the weather and the land had a lot to do with the way the different
states made their money."
"Excellent! That's good. How about someone else? ... Danielle, how about you and
Tony?"
Kathy had several other pairs offer their summary statements, they further developed
the statements as a whole group, and then Kathy collected the papers.
At II :28 she announced, 'Almost lunchtime. Please put away your papers."
The students quickly put their books, papers, and pencils away, glanced around their
desks for any waste paper, and were sitting quietly at 11:30.
Just as effective lessons begin by drawing students into the activity and providing a
reference frame for new material, effective lessons end by tying the different parts of the
lesson together and assessing students' understanding. Closure encourages students to
summarize the major ideas in the lesson, 'and assessment tells both the teacher and stu
dents what has been learned and what needs further work.
Closure
"We're near the end of the period, so we'll stop here and pick it up tomorrow."
"That's all for now. Put your stuff away and get ready for lunch."
.e.
to
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We have reviewed previous material, have provided an attention-getting lesson be

ginning, and have carefully developed the lesson with high levels of student involvement
and appropriate feedback. The positive effects of these efforts are diminished, however,
if we abruptly end the lesson, as we see in the two examples above.
Closure is theprocess if summarizing a topic and preparingforfuture learning. Closure al
lows students to leave the class with a sense of the day's content and what they were sup
posed to have derived from it. It also provides a springboard for their further study at
home.
Closure is important because learners instinctively structure information into pat
terns that make sense to them (Carnine, 1990). If they leave a learning experience with
uncertainties, the ideas they intuitively form may be invalid, and because new learning
builds on old, these misconceptions can detract from future learning.
The notion of closure is common and intuitively sensible. Perhaps you have even
used the term in a conversation, saying something like, "Let's try and get to 'closure' on
this."
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CHAPTER 4
Let's look at another classroom example.

Mary Eng had developed the process for factoring the difference of two squares in her Al
gebra I class. She noted, "It's near the end of the period, so let's go over what we've cov
ered so far. First, give me an example that is the difference of two squares.... Katilya."
In finishing a lesson on "main idea," Harry 500 said, "Class, I want you now to tell me in
your own words what the main idea of a story is. Define it for me."
Teresa Bon had finished a lesson relating the pitch of a sound to the length, thickness, and
tension of the object producing the sound. She completed her lesson by saying, "Now let's
write a statement that tells us in one sentence what we've found today."
Asking students for additional examples of the ideas they've studied or forming a
defmition or summary can all be used to tie the different pieces of the lesson together.
Research indicates that each of these forms of closure increases learning (Tennyson
and Cocciarella, 1986). We will discuss specific forms of closure in more detail in
Chapters 7-11, where we present specific teaching strategies.
Assessment
"They seem to be able to solve percent increase problems, but I wonder if they really un
derstand how these are different from percent decrease problems."
"Most of them are getting some ideas down on paper, but they don't seem to elaborate
very well. I wonder if I should work more on that, or if I should start having them work a
little harder now on the mechanics of their grammar?"
"The homework looked good on solving density problems, but how many of them just put
the numbers in the formula without knowing what they were doing?"
These are valid questions. Teachers are constantly asking themselves if their students
really "get it." They're determining how fast they can cover the content, identifying
problems and misconceptions, and deciding whether or not they should go on to the
next topic. Assessment helps teachers answer these questions.
Assessment is theprocess ofgathering information and making instructional decisions based
on the information. Its purpose is to gauge learner progress and provide feedback for both
the teacher and students. It can take several different forms, such as:
Seatwork and homework exercises
Observations of student performance
Answers to teachers' questions
Samples of student work
Quizzes and tests
We examine the assessment process in detail in Chapter 12.
This completes our examination of the general instructional model. The model is de
signed to serve as a framework for the content of Chapters 5 through 11. Our hope is that
the information presented here will serve as a foundation for your study of those chapters.
Ie
EFFECTIVE TEACHING THE RESEARCH BASE.
145
Classroom Climate: A Prerequisite to Learning. A positive climate invites students

into your classroom, communicates that they are valued as individuals, and focuses on
learning. Students need to know that they are accepted and that their teachers care for
each of them individually.
Positive classroom environments are safe and orderly; students cannot learn as much
as possible when their classmates are disruptive.
Classrooms with a positive climate focus on learning. While social development
and extracurricular activities are important, they don't take precedent over learning.
Teachers who focus on learning provide students with tasks that they find interesting,
meaningful, and challenging.
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Effective Teaching and the Concept of Time. A major thrust of the chapter is
captured with the question: If we watch effective teachers regardless of grade level,
content area, or topic, what would we expect to see? One answer to the question lies
in their use of time-they allocate their time wisely, they limit the time spent on non
instructional activities, and they design learning activities in which students are en
gaged and successful.
A General Instructional Model. The general instructional model includes teacher
characteristics together with the features of effective lesson beginnings, well-designed
lesson development, and clear lesson endings.
Characteristics of Effective Teachers. Effective teachers display personal character

istics that promote student learning. They care about their students, they are high in
personal teaching efficacy, they have high expectations for learning, and they are posi
tive and enthusiastic models.
In addition, effective teachers communicate with clear language, logical presenta
tions, appropriate emphasis, and consistent verbal and nonverbal behaviors.
Effective teachers are also well organized. They begin learning activities promptly,
have materials prepared in advance, and have well-established, time-saving routines.
Effective Lesson Beginnings. Effective teachers begin their lessons with reviews of
previous work; this activates students' background knowledge and helps them connect
new topics to content they already know. They also plan for student motivation, hop
ing to capture and maintain student attention.
Developing the Lesson. As their lessons are developed, effective teachers represent
content by using a variety of examples and applications while maintaining high levels of
student involvement. They provide students with accurate feedback about their progress
and provide practice to reinforce learning.
Ending Lessons Effectively. Effective teachers end their lessons with a thorough re
view to summarize the topics they've studied, and they have a well developed assessment
system to provide information about learning progress.
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CHAPTER 4
Academic learning time

Allocated time
Assessment
Caring
Classroom climate
Closure
Connected discourse
Emphasis
Engaged time
Focus
Instructional time
Modeling
Nonverbal communication
Personal teaching efficacy
Precise terminology
Relatedness
Review
Teacher expectations
Teacher effectiveness research
Transition signal
Dan Kaiser, a veteran with fifteen years of experience teaching social studies, is sitting
over a cup of coffee in the teachers' lounge on a Thursday. He is moving into a unit on
Ancient Greece and the Age of Pericles in his world history classes, and he is working on
his planning.
"You look deep in thought," Ann Stoddard, one of his colleagues, comments, seeing
him hunched over his work. "You must be studying the sports page."
"Yeah, right," he nods. "That would be a heck of a lot more fun than what r m actu
ally doing .... Seriously, I'm starting ancient Greece on Monday, and the kids hate it. I
want them to understand how Greece has impacted us in modern Western civilization,
but they think it's about funny old people wearing sheets .... I know it's tough for them,
but I think this stuff is important. ... They always have a hard time with it."
We rejoin Dan on the following Monday. The bell rings at 9:35, signaling the begin
ning of third period as the last of the students scurry through the door to beat the tardy bell.
"Get to your seats quickly, now," Dan calls over his shoulder. "Andrew, you're just
about late.... Settle down, and we'll get started."
As the students talk while getting settled, Dan shuffles through the materials on his
desk, looking for the transparency he prepared over the weekend.
"All right, settle down," Dan says again to some of the students at the back of the room
who are talking, as he adjusts the overhead.
At 9 :42 he displays the transparency with an outline of the unit on it. "We're going to
be studying ancient Greece during this week," he comments. "We'll look at some of the
great thinkers and the great ideas of the age. We'll refer to the outline as we go along.
Have paper and pencil ready, because you need to take careful notes on this information."
Dan then begins by identifying and describing some of the main historical figures of the
period, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. As he begins, most of the students are looking
a\. h\ffi, bu\. eshe c.at\\'\t\\les, se\lera\ start \aak\r\~ autth.e w\r\daw or dawr\ at the\r desks. A.
few are busily writing notes.
"Did you know," Dan asks with a slight smile, moving over to sit on a stool at the front
of the room, "that Socrates in some ways was sort of shiftless? He was often in trouble
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EFFECTIVE TEACHING
THE RESEARCH BASE.
147
with his wife because he wouldn't work; he wanted to spend his time talking to his stu
dents about whatever."
As he proceeds with his description of Socrates' problems at home, some of the stu
dents who were looking away turn back to the front of the room.
Dan continues, telling the class that the Greeks have had a major influence on today's
language, thinking, culture and architecture. As he talks, he writes terms on the board, such
as "Language influence," "Cultural influence," and "Influence on architecture." Some of
the students continue taking notes; others seem somewhat listless.
"Let's slow down for a second," Dan suggests, " ... and see what you know about
Greece
Where is it located? ... Juanita?"
"
Sort of over there," she says, pointing toward the map of Europe Dan has hang
ing on the side of the room. "Over there, sort of by Italy."
"Okay," Dan responds, stepping down from the stool and moving over to point to the
map to confirm the location. "What is its capital? ... Calvin?"
"Got me," Calvin shrugs.
"Anyone?"
"Athens," Jerome calls out from the side of the room.
Dan continues for a few more minutes, asking questions such as, "What are some fa
mous Greek plays?" "What is the geography of Greece like?" and "What is the name of a
famous Greek landmark?"
Some of the students eagerly try to respond, whereas others appear disinterested. The
answers to most of the questions come from a relatively small group of students.
Dan then continues presenting additional information about the geography of Greece,
pointing out that Athens was a thriving commercial center, which allowed trade with other
parts of the known world at the time and which helped it become a center of intellectual
activity.
Again, after a few minutes, he notices the inattention of several of the students and
comments, "You know, I've given you an awful lot of information. Let's slow down again.
Based on what I've told you thus far, what do you personally find most interesting about
the ancient Greeks?"
Several students offer comments, although they tend to be the same ones who had an
swered the earlier questions. Two of them get into a slight argument over whether or not
the Greeks had slaves. Dan waves his hand to stop the argument and tells them that the
Greeks did indeed have slaves.
Seeing that there are only 10 minutes left in the period, Dan says, "There are just 10
minutes left, so we'll stop here for today.... I have your papers here from last week. If
you have any questions on the papers, see me."
He then returns papers the students had written for an earlier unit. Each has a let
ter grade on the front of it. The students quickly scan the papers and put them in their
notebooks. He then tells the students to talk quietly among themselves until the bell
rings.

Let's analyze Dan's lesson now in the context of the information in the chapter. In com
pleting your analysis, you may want to consider the following questions. In responding
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CHAPTER 4
to the questions, be specific and take information directly from the case study to docu
ment your conclusions.
1. In Chapter 3, we discussed the concept of instructional alignment. To what extent
was Dan's instruction aligned? Defend your comments with information taken di
rectly from the case study.
2. Analyze Dan's organization. Was it effective? What could he have done to make it
more effective? Provide evidence to support your response.
3. Based on the discussion of instruction and motivation in the chapter, how effec
tive were Dan's attempts to motivate the students? What could he have done to
make the lesson more motivating?
4. How effective was Dan's lesson beginning? What could he have done to make the
beginning more effective?
5. How effectively did Dan develop the content of his lesson? What could he have
done to develop it more effectively?
6. How effective was Dan's lesson ending? What could he have done to improve the
effectiveness of the lesson ending?
7. Now provide an overall assessment of Dan's lesson. If you believe the lesson could
have been made more effective, offer specific suggestions for doing so.
1. Some authorities suggest lengthening the school day or school year, supporting
their position by citing the relationship between allocated time and achievement.
How would you respond to these people? What are some arguments for and
against this approach to increasing learning?
2. In research studies, engagement is often inferred from the expressions and actions
of students. What are some behaviors that suggest student engagement? Lack of
engagement? What are some problems involved in inferring attention from
behavior?
3. The ideal engagement rate is, of course, 100 percent. What is a realistic engage
ment rate for students you work with? (Estimate a percentage.) How does this en
gagement rate vary with the type of students? Time of day? Different times within
the same class period? What can be done to increase engagement rates? What fac
tors outside the teacher's control will affect student engagement rates?
4. This chapter focused on enthusiasm from a teacher perspective. What are some
indicators of students enthusiasm? lack of enthusiasm? Are these low- or high
inference behaviors?
5. Are positive teacher attitudes more important at some grade levels than others?
Why? In some curriculum areas and/or content areas? Why?
6. Review the fmdings on teacher expectations with respect to teacher effort and
questioning behaviors. What might be some explanations for the reason teachers
treat high achievers and low achievers differently in terms of these two categories
of behaviors?
7. The model of teaching described in this chapter is teacher centered. For what
kinds of goals is a teacher-centered most desirable? Least desirable?
ak4e
149
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1. Allocated Time. Contact several teachers teaching at the same grade level or in the
same content areas. If they are elementary teachers, ask them how much time they
devote to different subject matter areas, and if they are middle or secondary teach
ers, to topics within their content area. Ask them why they have decided on these
allocations. Bring the information back to class. Compare the rationales these
teachers offer to those uncovered by researchers (e.g., how much they like the area
or topic, how much preparation it requires, and how difficult they perceive it to be
for their students). Finally, describe what you personally believe to be an optimal
time allocation plan for the grade or subject, and justify your answer.
2. Instructional Time. Observe (or tape) a complete lesson and note the amount of
time spent in each of the categories below.
LESSON SEGMENT
AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT
a. Introduction to lesson
b. Development (main part of lesson)
c. Summary
d. Seatwork or practice
e. Total
Analyze the use of instructional time in the lesson. In your analysis, discuss the
following factors:
Context (type of school, grade level, characteristics of the students)
Pace (Did the lesson move too fast or too slow?)
Student reactions to the lesson
3. Student Engagement. In this exercise, you will be measuring student engagement
through a time-sampling technique. Select four students to observe, two high
achieving and two low-achieving (ask the teacher for help in selecting the stu
dents), and seat yourself so that you can observe their faces during the lesson.
Focus on each student at IS-second intervals and decide whether the student was
attending to the lesson. A Y indicates yes, an N indicates no, and a question mark
indicates that you cannot tell. At the end of the 20-minute observation period,
compute averages for each student and the group as a whole.
STUDENT A
STUDENTB
STUDENTC
STUDENTD
Minute 1
Minute 2
Minute 3
Minute 20
rs
res
a. Were the engagement rates similar for each student? If they varied, suggest a
reason why.
b. Did the engagement rates vary during the course of the presentation? If so,
why?
c. Were there any specific teacher behaviors that appeared to produce high or low
engagement rates? Explain.
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d. Were the engagement rates for the high- and low-achieving students different?
e. Observe the same students for three days and see if any patterns emerge.
f. Observe several classes (or subjects) taught by the same teacher and see if en
gagement rates are similar.
g. Select students who are physically close to where the teacher spends most of
his or her time during lessons and compare engagement rates with those of
students farther away.
h. Does the type of activity influence student engagement rates? Find out when
the teacher is going to be using two different types oflessons and observe stu
dents during each.
i. Compare your responses with your classmates. How can you use engagement
rates to improve your effectiveness as a teacher?
4. Success Rates. Observe (or tape) a lesson during an interactive teaching session and
count the number of questions asked, the number answered correctly, the number
answered correctly with prompting, and the number answered incorrectly or not
at all. Comment on the success rate in terms of what you have learned in this
chapter.
5. verbal and Nonverbal Behavior. This exercise investigates the relative amounts of in
formation gained from verbal and nonverbal channels. Have a class first observe a
videotape of a teacher teaching a lesson with the sound off; then turn the volume
on and watch the tape again. As you listen to and watch the videotape, list the
nonverbal behaviors that give you clues about the following characteristics:
a. Teacher warmth and empathy
b. Enthusiasm
c. Modeling
d. Expectations
Were there any instances when the two separate channels produced incongruent
messages? How can you use nonverbal communication to improve your effective
ness as a teacher?
6. Enthusiasm. Identity an "enthusiastic" college teacher by asking your fellow stu

dents. Obtain permission to sit in on a class, situating yourself so that you can also
observe students. Analyze the teacher's behavior using Collins's (1978) operational
definitions listed here. You will find that you are often inferring some dimension
rather than directly observing precise behaviors. This reaction is characteristic of a
concept like enthusiasm, which is a high-inference measure.
Varied vocal delivery
_
Animated eyes, eyebrows, eye contact
Head, arms, body gestures
Body movement, position change
Demonstrative facial expressions
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EFFECTIVE TEACHING
THE RESEARCH BASE.
151
Descriptive word selection
Acceptance of ideas
Based on these findings, to what extent should enthusiasm be a concern for you
as a teacher?
7. Effective Communication. Make a videotape of yourself teaching a lesson. Then
watch the tape and note when vague, ambiguous terms; mazes; and other distract
ing speech mannerisms occur. Is there any pattern to their occurrence? Do more
of them occur at the beginning or end of a lesson? Do transitions or interruptions
affect these speech mannerisms? If possible, teach another lesson to the same
group and try to eliminate these distractors. What did you learn about yourself
from analyzing yourself on tape?
1e
8. Student Involvement. This exercise examines patterns of interaction in a classroom.

Observe a class during an interactive teaching session after sketching a seating
chart with boxes large enough to allow you to put numbers in them. Code the
teacher's first interaction with a student with a 1 in that student's square. The sec
ond student called on gets a 2, the third a 3, and so on. You now have a running
tally of who got called on and in what order.
Is there any pattern to the interactions? Do all students participate? Does
location make a difference? Is there any pattern to the sequence of interactions?
Discuss your analysis in terms of the teacher expectations research.
9. Feedback. Observe a class or make an audiotape of a lesson you have taught. Using
the following instrument, note the kind of feedback that follows students' re
sponses to questions for a 10-minute segment of interactive teaching. Then an
swer the questions that follow.
It
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QUESTION
STUDENT ANSWER
TEACHER RESPONSE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
a. What is the most common form of teacher response to a student answer?
b. Does the teacher verbally acknowledge every response? If not, what effect does
this appear to have on students?
c. How does the teacher deal with either an incomplete or partial response?
How could the use of feedback be modified to improve student learning?
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Student involvement: A key to learning
and motivation
II. Student involvement: The need for clear
goals
III. Student involvement: The role of content
representations
A. Effective content representations:
Utilizing technology
B. Effective content representations:
Accommodating learner diversity
IV Increasing student involvement: Teacher
questioning
A. Functions of teacher questions
B. Questioning: The influence on student

thinking
V Elements of effective questioning
A. Questioning frequency
B. Equitable distribution
C. Prompting
D. Effective questioning: Increasing
student motivation
E. Repetition for emphasis
f Wait time
G. Effective questioning: Involving diverse

students
nt
C. Selecting students
D. Callouts
VI. Classroom questions: Additional issues

A. High-level versus low-level questions
B. Bloom's taxonomy: A sequential
questioning strategy
E. Choral responses
tJ n Chapter 4 we summarized the research describing effective teaching in a general

I model that applies to nearly any teaching situation. In looking back at the model, we
see that student involvement is an essential part of the lesson development phase.
Research thoroughly documents the relationship between student involvement and
learning (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001; Lambert and McCombs, 1998), and your own ex
periences will corroborate its importance as well. In which do you learn more, classes
in which you're asked questions and are actively involved in learning activities, or those
in which the teacher gives long lectures as students sit passively? In the latter, many
learners-including college students-become inattentive in a matter of minutes.
Because student involvement is so essential for learning, we are devoting this entire
chapter to the topic. When you've completed your study, you should be able to meet
the following goals:

Explain why clear goals are essential for student involvement.

Create representations of content that promote interest and understanding.
Identify the elements of effective teacher questioning.
Explain how teacher questioning can be used to increase learner motivation.
Explain how teacher questioning can be used to accommodate learners with
diverse backgrounds.
Jose Alvarez is a fourth-grade teacher with a class of 30 students ranging widely in ability.
The class is labeled average and is composed primarily of lower- to lower-middle-class
students. Keith, Tyrone, Latisha, Jason, and Ginny are the five lowest achievers in his
group.
Jose typically teaches science for 30 minutes each day. In this lesson, he wanted his
students to understand that heat makes substances expand by increasing the movement of
molecules and making the molecules move apart. The students had studied molecules in
earlier lessons, so they had a basic understanding of their characteristics.
He began his activity by displaying two soft drink bottles with balloons covering them,
and a coffee pot two-thirds full of hot water, as shown in Figure 5.1.
"Now look at these bottles," he began as he held them up. "What can you tell us
about them? ... Keith?"
"You drink out of them."
"Fine, Keith.... Beverly?"
"They're sort of green."
"Yes, they are," Jose smiled. "What else? ... Lavonia?"
" ... They look like they're the same size."
"Yes, indeed. They certainly do. Very good, Lavonia."
"What's in the bottles? ... Nikki?" he went on.
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-----------,------------------
W'
?~ 5./ Bottles with Balloons on Top
"They're empty."
"Wave your hand in front of your face, Nikki," Jose prompted. "What do you feel?"
" ... I ... feel the air on my face."
"Yes!" he exclaimed. "So what do you think might be in the bottles?"
" ... AJ.r?"
"Yes indeed. Good conclusion, Nikki. What was one of the characteristics of air that
we've discussed? ... Christy?"
"It's all around us," Jason interjected.
"That's right. AJ.r is all around us. Well done, Jason."
"Now look at the balloons on these bottles," Jose went on, holding the bottles up again.
"How would you compare the balloons? ... Leroy?"
"One is red and the other is yellow."
"Yes. Good, Leroy. What else? ... Rachel?"
"They look like they're made out of rubber."
"Yes, they are rubber balloons. How would you compare their sizes? ... Michael?"
"They look like they're the same size."
"Good, Michael. They are the same size.
"Now look at the balloons and bottles, everyone," he continued. "What did Lavonia
say about the bottles themselves? ... Cliff?"
"We drink out of them."
"Yes, we do," Jose smiled. "How do the sizes compare? ... Alfredo?"
"They're the same."
"Good, Alfredo. We said they were the same size. And how about the balloons? ...
Linda?"
"They were the same size, too?"
"And what is in the bottles? ... Steve?"
'Air."
"So, now what do we know about the amount of air in each system? Kathy?"
INCREASING LEARNING THROUGH STUDENT INVOLVEMENT.
"How did the two bottles compare?"

"They're the same size."
"So, what does that suggest about the amount of air in each. "It's the same."
"And how do we know, "Tyrone?"
"What did we say about the sizes of the balloons and bottles? ... Tyrone?"
" ... They ... were ... equal."
"Good," Jose nodded. "So how do we know the amount of air in each is the same?"
" ... The bottles and balloons ... are the same size."
"Yes, "Tyrone. Good thinking."
"Now watch what I do." Jose said, scanning the room and placing one of the bottles
in the coffee pot. Then he asked, "And what did we say about the amount of air in each
of the systems, everyone?"
"IT IS THE SAME," everyone shouted in unison.
';Just watch now," he said with anticipation.
As the students watched, the balloon began to slowly rise above the bottle placed in
the hot water, as shown in Figure 5.2.
The students began to giggle as they watched. As the balloon popped up, the stu
dents were laughing openly, and Jose laughed with them.
"Now," he said, taking advantage of their interest, "work with your partner, and make
as many comparisons as you can of the two bottles. As always, write them down. Work
quickly now. You have 3 minutes."
r~ 5.2 Bottles with Expanded Balloon
155
156
CHAPTER 5
The students, all of whom were sitting next to their partners, turned to each other and
immediately went to work. In seconds, a hum of activity could be heard throughout the
room as the students began talking, pointing at the two bottles and balloons, and writing
statements on their papers. Jose walked among them as they worked, periodically stopping
to make brief comments to individual pairs.
"Okay, everyone, all eyes up here," Jose directed at the end of the 3 minutes. He
paused a few seconds as the groups stopped their writing and turned their attention to him.
"Good, everyone," he smiled. "Let's see what you came up with. Give us one of your
comparisons. Judy?"
"The bottles are the same size."
"Yes, the size of the bottles hasn't changed," Jose responded, smiling. 'And what
else? . . . Jim and Latisha?"
"The red balloon is sticking up," Latisha answered for the pair.
"And what else? . " Stacy and Albert?"
"We think that the amount of the air has increased in the first bottle," Stacy answered.
"Interesting thought," Jose smiled. "Now, when you mean amount of air, do you
mean volume or do you mean mass? ... Think about it for a moment, everyone....
Okay, what do you think?"
"We think volume."
Now, how do the
"Great! Super thinking," Jose enthused. "Outstanding work.
Robin?"
masses compare? What did you and Leroy come up with there?
" ... We think the masses are still the same."
"Excellent thinking again," Jose smiled and shook his head. "Boy, you people are
sharp today."
"Now, let's look at some other things," he continued. ':.Jim and Latisha said the red
balloon was sticking up. Why do you suppose it is sticking up? Mike?"
"It was heated." Mike responded quickly.
"How do we know it was heated? . .. Ginny?"
" ... I, er, I didn't hear the question," she answered sheepishly.
"What did I do with this bottle, Ginny?" he asked, holding up the bottle with the red
balloon.
"You put it in the coffee pot."
"Yes I did, Ginny. Good. And how do we know the coffee pot was hot? ...
Rosemary?"
"I saw steam coming off from it."
"Very good observation, Rosemary," he smiled. "So what can we say happened to the
balloon? ... Jill?"
"It stuck up."
"What else might we say?" he continued, forming semicircles with his hands and
spreading them apart.
Hesitantly, Jill responded, "It got bigger."
"Yes, excellent, Jill. Now, everyone, I'm going to give you another word for gets big
ger. It's called expand. Everyone say expand."
"EXPAND!" they all shouted in unison.
"So what happens when we heat something? . .. Deandra?"
"It expands," Deandra responded instantly.
"And what expanded in this case? . .. Toni?"
Ie
"The balloon."
"And what else?"
"What is in the bottles and balloons?"
"Air," Toni blurted out.
"Good. So what is expanding in addition to the balloon?"
"The aid" Toni proclaimed.
"Yes! The air is expanding. And what did we say made that happen? ... Keith?"
"We heated the bottle?"
"So now let's make a statement about heat and expansion. Give it a try.... Gary?"
"What does heat do to things?"
" ... It makes them expand," Gary answered finally.

"Good! Now let's write that down." With that, Jose wrote the statement on the
board as he had the class repeat it.
Jose then brought out two drawings (see Figure 5.3). He established with the students
that the arrows in the drawings were there to help visualize the direction of movement of
the air molecules, and the marks that looked like parentheses around the dots were there to
help visualize the motion of the molecules (two sets of parentheses suggesting that the mol,
ecules were moving faster than one set of parentheses). He also led students to conclude
that the drawing on the left represented the bottle that had been put into the hot water.
Bottle 1
(Heated)
Bottle 2
(Not Heated)
r~ 5.15 Drawings with Molecules
157
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CHAPTER 5
Jose continued, "Now work again with your partner. As you did with the actual bot
tles, again make as many comparisons as you can about the two drawings, and write them
down. You have 2 minutes. Go ahead right now."
Again, the students quickly began talking, pointing at the drawings, and writing on
their papers.
At the end of the 2 minutes, Jose announced, "Okay, stop. Everyone, eyes on me."
The students quickly stopped working and turned their attention to the front of the
room. Jose began, "Good, now give us a comparison.... Roy and Barbara?"
"The molecules in number one are moving faster than the ones in number two."
"Good! And what did we do to the air in number one? ... Della and Jim?"
"We heated it!" Della nearly shouted.
..
"Excellent, Della. So now let's make a statement describing heat and the speed of mol
ecules. Go ahead, Jason."
"Do you want me to say that again?" Jose asked.
"Yes," Jason replied, looking relieved.
"Let's try and make a statement relating heat and the speed of molecules," he repeated.
"Look at these drawings, Jason. What did we say about the molecules in each?"
"They were moving," Jason responded.
"Yes, they were," Jose smiled patiently. "And which ones were moving faster?"
"Those," Jason responded, pointing to bottle I.
"Good, Jason," Jose smiled reassuringly. "And what did we do to the molecules in this
one? ... Vicki?"

"Is this the one we put in the hot water, or is it the one that we left out?"
"Put in the hot water."
"Yes. So what did heating the molecules do?"
"Made them move faster."
"Fine, Vicki. Yes! Heat makes molecules move faster," Jose said, and he wrote, "Heat
makes molecules move faster" immediately below his statement "Heat makes materials
expand."
"What else did you notice about the molecules in number one and number two? ...
Steve and Kim?"
"We thought the molecules in number one were farther apart than those in number
two."
"Yes! Good, both of you. And why do you suppose they're farther apart?"
"What did we do to these molecules?"
"We heated them," Kim said hesitantly, after conferring briefly with Steve.
"Good. So what does heating molecules do to them? Kelly?"
" ... It makes them move farther apart."
"Yes! Now here's a tough one. What did we say expand meant? Ginny?"
" ... Gets bigger!" Ginny responded after thinking a few seconds.
"So what actually happens when something expands? Leroy?"
"What happens to the molecules in the material?"
159
" ... They move."

"Do they move apart or do they move together?"
"Apart."
"So what does expand mean, Leroy?" Jose encouraged.
"The molecules move apart," Leroy smiled as the realization struck him.
"Yes! Exactly! That's excellent thinking, everyone. Now let's review what we've
found out today." He erased the first two statements on the board. He then proceeded to
help students make these statements:
"Heat makes materials expand."
"Expand means the molecules move apart."
"Heat makes molecules move faster."
Looking at the clock, Jose saw it was 11:25, so he asked the class to tell him where in
the room the air molecules would be moving the fastest. They concluded that over by the
window would be the fastest, reasoning that it was the hottest over there. They further
decided that the molecules would be farther apart at the ceiling than they would be at the
floor. Jose praised them for their thinking and then finished the lesson.
STUDENT INVOLVEMENT: A KEY

TO LEARNING AND MOTIVATION
We know from our own experiences that we are more motivated and we learn more in
classes where the instructor involves us in the learning process, and research into the
ways students learn supports this contention. Students learn more and retain informa
tion longer when they are put in active roles than they do when passively receiving in
formation from others (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001).
You're studying this book because you're involved in a teacher-preparation pro
gram. Your purpose in going through the program is to learn how to teach effectively,
and your purpose in studying this chapter is to learn how to increase your students' in
volvement in the lessons you teach.
Research examining the processes you go through in learning to teach focus on two
factors: teacher knowledge and teacher thinking (Barko and Putnam, 1996). Let's look
now at the ways expert teachers think as they design lessons intended to involve their
students as much as possible. In doing so, we focus on three aspects of instruction:
The need for clear goals
The role. of high-quality representations of content
The importance of teacher questioning
These aspects of instruction are strongly interrelated, and we examine them in the sec
tions that follow.
STUDENT INVOLVEMENT: THE NEED FOR CLEAR GOALS

The focus of this chapter is on the need for student involvement. However, this idea isn't
as simple as it appears on the surface. To illustrate this point, let's look back at Jose's les
son. His students weren't involved merely for the sake of involvement. Instead, their in
volvement was directed toward a specific goal. After the topic has been selected and
students' needs are considered, this is where the thinking of expert teachers begins.
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CHAPTER 5
Jose's goal was clear and precise; he wanted his students to understand that heat
makes substances expand by increasing the movement of molecules and making the
molecules move apart. The clarity and specificity of his goal guided his thinking both as
he made decisions about how to illustrate the topic and as he conducted the lesson.
As we saw in Chapter 3, effective teaching begins with clear goals. This is particu
larly true as we work in a standards-based teaching environment. Clear and precise goals
are essential for three reasons. First, if teachers aren't sure what they wamIearners to un
derstand or be able to do, how can they guide their students' developing understanding,
and how will they be able to determine what students have accomplished?
Second, clear goals help teachers frame decisions about ways to represent content
for learners; the examples teachers use help students understand the abstract ideas they
are trying to learn. Jose Alvarez did this with the Coke bottles and balloons he used.
Third, clear goals provide the framework for the interaction that is so essential if stu
dents are to learn as much as possible (Eggen, 2001).
So we see that involvement is not an end; it is a means to an end. Involvement in
creases the likelihood that students will reach the goals that have been established by the
thinking of expert teachers.
STUDENT INVOLVEMENT: THE ROLE

OF CONTENT REPRESENTATIONS
To begin this section, let's think again about both Jose's lesson and Kathy Johnson's les
son in Chapter 4. The students were very involved in both cases, but this involvement
didn't just happen. It occurred in large part because the teachers represented their topics tffec
tively. Jose had his bottles, balloons, and hot water; Kathy had her chart that compared
the northern and southern states. In both cases, the teachers were able to involve stu
dents because the information students needed to understand the topics was displayed
for them. They didn't have to recall important information; they could see it.
The emphasis on "seeing" important information captures the essence of effective
representations. The ideal that we strive for is: The information students need to understand
the topic exists in the representations. For instance, Jose first wanted his students to under
stand that heat makes substances expand. His students were able to see this relationship
by observing the balloon expand when the bottle was put in the hot water. They didn't
have to know or remember this relationship; they could seeit. Then Jose used his drawings
of the bottles, balloons, and molecules to help the students visualize the movement ofthe
molecules in the two bottles. An effective content representation provides students with
something to think about and gives the teacher a focal point for dialoguing with students.
Effective representations exist in a variety of forms. Some of them include:
Examples-the "real thing"

Demonstrations
Charts and matrixes
Models
Vignettes and case studies
The type of representation depends on the teacher's goal, which illustrates again
why goals are so essential. Teachers can't decide what representation to find or create if
they haven't thought about what they want the students to understand.
.4e
eat
he
as
u
7Jte-5./
Type of Representation
Goal
Example
Example
To understand the characteristics

of the concept arthropod
A real lobster
Demonstration
To understand that heat makes

materials expand
Jose's demonstration with

the expanding balloon in the
hot water
Charts and matrixes
To understand the differences

between the northern and
southern states
Kathy Johnson's chart

showing the differences
between the states
Model
To understand that heat increases

the movement of molecules
Jose's drawings of the bottles,

balloons, and molecules
Vignette
To understand the characteristics

of the social studies concept
mercantilism
Vignettes illustrating
mercantilism
als
n
19,
:nt
ey
:d.
un
he
es
:nt
ec
ed
u
ed
ve
nd
-r
Some sample goals and illustrations of each representation are outlined in Table 5.1.
Let's look at the information in Table 5.1 a bit more closely. For instance, pictures
can be effective representations when getting the "real thing" is difficult or impossible.
Many young children are very interested in dinosaurs, for example, but using real di
nosaurs is obviously impossible, so pictures are a reasonable compromise.
Models are representations that allow us to visualize what we can't observe directly, and
they're particularly useful in science, where topics such as the structure of the atom and
combinations of atoms into molecules are being studied. Jose's drawings were models
because they helped the students visualize the idea that the molecules in the heated bot
tle were moving faster than the molecules in the bottle not heated.
Vignettes can be effective representations for topics difficult to illustrate in other ways.
For instance, consider the following vignettes that illustrate the concept mercantilism.
lip
n't
19s
he
th
In the mid 1600s the American colonists were encouraged to grow tobacco, since it wasn't
grown in England. The colonists wanted to sell tobacco to France and other countries but
were told not to. ln return, the colonists were allowed to import textiles from England but
were forbidden from making their own. All the materials were carried on British ships.
ts.
Early French colonists in the New World were avid fur trappers and traders. They got in
trouble with the French monarchy, however, when they attempted to make fur garments
and sell them to Spain, England, and others. They were told that the produced garments
would be sent to them from Paris instead. The monarchy also told them that traps and
weapons would be made in France and sent to them as well. Jean Forjea complied with
the monarchy's wishes but was fined when he hired a Dutch ship to carry some of the furs
back to Nice.
in
if
161
India was a 'Jewel in the Crown" of the nineteenth-century British empire. The Indians
produced large quantities of materials such as raw linens, foodstuffs, and salt. As the Indians
162
CHAPTER 5
became more nationalistic, however, trouble began. England wanted to produce the cloth,
ing from the raw materials in the home islands, and when the Indians tried to establish
stronger ties with other countries to increase the scope of possibilities for their trade, this ef
fort was quickly squelched. The British argued that their homeland was more than capable
of providing for India's needs, and further, they had a large and efficient fleet. This policy
eventually led to Indian protest and ultimately to independence. (Eggen and Kauchak,
2001, p. 24).
In comparing these examples, we see that in each case a relationship between a
mother country and a colony existed, and the colony was required to produce raw mate
rials, ship the raw materials to the mother country on the mother country's ships, and buy
manufactured goods back from the mother country. These are the characteristics of the
concept mercantilism. Like a lobster for the concept arthropod and Jose's demonstration for
the relationships between heat, expansion, and the movement of molecules, the represen
tations provided students with information that the teacher could use to help students
construct new knowledge. This is essential for involving students and increasing learning.
The importance of effective content representations is impossible to overstate, and
once clear goals have been established, much of the thinking of expert teachers focuses
on ways to represent topics in ways that are understandable for students. This leads us to
the use of technology, one vehicle for representing content.
Effective Content Representations: Utilizing Technology

Some of the topics we teach are difficult to represent, and the fact that they're hard to
represent is what makes them hard to learn. For instance, it's easy to demonstrate that all
objects fall at the same rate regardless of weight---simply drop two objects, such as a pen
cil and a book, to demonstrate that they hit the floor at the same time. It's much more
difficult to illustrate the acceleration of an object as it falls, however. In these cases, tech
nology can be a powerful tool. For example, Figure 5.4 illustrates the position of a falling
object at uniform intervals oftime. We see that the distance between the images is greater
and greater, which illustrates the fact that the object is falling faster and faster. This visual
representation makes the concept of acceleration much more meaningful than it would
be, and without technology it's virtually impossible to represent in a meaningful way.
A similar program, called Ballistics, allows physics students to see how initial veloc
ity, angle of projection, and drag medium (such as air) influence the flight of a projec
tile (Forcier, 1996). Because the program is interactive, students can manipulate the
different variables and observe their effect on a projectile's path illustrated on a computer
monitor. The computer program is able to bring the complexities of the real world into
the classroom and make them accessible to students.
Computers, videodiscs, CD-ROMs, videotapes, and films are all forms of technol
ogy that can be used to represent otherwise hard-to-illustrate ideas. As another exam
ple, a film illustrates the concept of dominance by showing the behavior of chickens as
a "pecking order" is established.
Simulations provide another opportunity for students to see abstract ideas interact
in realistic settings. For example, Science 2000, a multimedia science curriculum with a
hypertext database tied into videodiscs, allows students to experiment with different
variables in the environment. In one unit students focus on ecology by studying an
163
y
e
rr
ts
,.
T
d
:s
o
r~ 5. <'f Representation of a Falling Object
II
l
e
1
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-r
o
LS
~~
ecosystem impacted by a community. As members of the community, students play dif

ferent roles, such as farmer, developer, and naturalist and use information from a data
base to study how their actions influence the ecology of a lake.
You have also probably encountered videos of real classrooms in your teacher edu
cation program. These videos represent attempts by your instructors to bring the real
world of teaching into your college classroom. They allow you to see how abstract con
cepts related to teaching and learning relate to the real world of classrooms.
Effective Content Representations: Accommodating Learner Diversity

A great deal has been written about the diversity in today's students. However, while
this is certainly true, students have always come to classrooms with vast differences in
their background knowledge--what they already know. Teachers can best accommo
date these differences in the way they represent their topics. For instance, if a teacher
brings a real lobster to class, it doesn't matter if a student is Mrican American, Asian
American, Hispanic, bright, slow, a boy or a girl, or a student with a special learning
need. They can all feel the lobster's cold, hard shell, sec the different body parts, and no
tice the jointed legs. When these are combined with other examples such as a crayfish,
beetle, and grasshopper, students can form an accurate concept of arthropod despite dif
ferences in background knowledge.
Unquestionably, teachers must be sensitive to differences in students' attitudes, val
ues, and motivations, many of which are culturally dependent. However, in terms of the
way students learn, effectively representing the topics they teach is a powerful way to ac
commodate student diversity.
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CHAPTER 5
INCREASING STUDENT INVOLVEMENT:

TEACHER QUESTIONING
Teacher questioning is the single most effective and most generally applicable strategy
teachers have for promoting student involvement. Regardless of grade level, content
area, or topic, being able to guide your students with questions is the most important
teaching skill that you can possess.
Research supports this assertion (Wang, Haertel, and Walberg, 1993). Effective
teachers ask more questions than their less effective colleagues (Hamilton and Brady,
1991; Henderson, Winitzky, and Kauchak, 1996), and large numbers of questions are in
dicators of effective organization and clear goals (Shuell, 1996; Good and Brophy, 2000).
Because questioning is so essential for involving students, we are devoting the rest
of the chapter to this topic.
Functions of Teacher Questions

The effectiveness of questioning can also be explained by the functions they perform.
These functions include:
Assessing current understanding
Increasing student motivation
Guiding new learning
Let's look at them.
Assessing Current Understanding. Research examining the ways individuals learn sug
gests that students' existing knowledge is a powerful factor in how (and whether) new
information will be learned. Also, student misconceptions and prior beliefs often inter
fere with understanding new content (Guzetti and Hynd, 1998). Questioning allows
teachers to informally assess students' current grasp of the topics they're studying, be
cause students' answers to the questions reveal their conceptions.
This is an intuitively sensible idea. Even in informal conversations, we assess other
people's understanding of a discussion topic by the way they respond to questions and
statements. In classrooms, questions can provide teachers with continual feedback about
the learning progress of their students.
Increasing Student Motivation. Effective questioning can also increase student curiosity
and interest-two important aspects of motivational activities (Pintrich and Schunk,
1996). Effective questions engage students, challenge their thinking, and pose problems
for them to consider. For example, Kathy Johnson (in Chapter 4) didn't introduce her
lesson with a statement like "Today we're going to discuss the northern and southern
colonies." Instead, she used the questions, "How are these states different, and ... why,
since all these states are part of the same country-our United States-why are they so
different?" The questions were purposely designed to capitalize on the effects of cu
riosity in increasing student motivation.
Guiding New Learning. Instruction is the third important function of questioning. Ef
fective questions help students interrelate ideas and integrate new learning with their
current understanding.
I
~
165
To illustrate these ideas, think back to Kathy Johnson's lesson in Chapter 4 and Jose's
in this chapter. In both cases the entire lessons were conducted with questioning. Most
learning theorists accept the idea that students construct their own understanding rather
than recording it as presented by a teacher or some other source. The process of con
structing understanding requires careful guidance of expert teachers, and questioning is
the most important skill teachers have for providing this guidance. CWe introduced con
structivism in Chapter 1 and describe it in detail in Chapter 7.)
These functions again demonstrate why clear goals are so important. Teachers assess
current understanding so they can best link new learning to what students already know,
and they can only guide new learning effectively if they're clear about where the lesson
is headed-that is, clear about their goals.
Questioning: The Influence on Student Thinking

To be effective, teachers' questions must have an impact on student thinking. The best
planned and executed questioning sequence is worthless if it doesn't cause students to
think, relate ideas, and construct new knowledge.
In answering a teacher's question, students should engage in five separate mental
operations (Gall, 1984). They're outlined in Figure 5.5 and discussed in the paragraphs
that follow.
Learning begins with attention (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001); without attention, the
other mental operations can't take place. The most thoroughly planned and well
thought-out lesson becomes ineffective if students aren't paying attention. Questions
draw students' attention away from distractions, such as the clock, window, and each
other, and invite them into the lesson.
Second, once they're paying attention, students must understand and interpret the
meaning of the question. This isn't always easy; the intent of the question may be clear
to the teacher, but it may be misperceived by students. This again illustrates the impor
tance of questioning as a way of assessing current understanding. Teachers will know if
a student misperceives a question because the answer will be incomplete or inaccurate.
Then the teacher can intervene.
Question Asked
Student Attends
Question Is Understood
Covert Response Is Generated
Response Is Verbalized
-----------_. ------------
Response Reinforced or Modified
_."'._.
.:r~ 5.5 Student Mental Operations Elicited by an Effective Question
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CHAPTER 5
Third, the question should elicit a covert response from each student. Though teach
ers typically call on one student to answer, our goal should be to have all students think
about and mentally react to our question. We discuss techniques to promote covert re
sponses later in the chapter.
Fourth, covert responses are put into words when the teacher calls on a student to
answer. Research examining ways students learn emphasizes the value of students at
tempting to put their understanding into words (Bruning, Shraw, and Ronning, 1999).
Verbalizing an answer helps clarify the content in students' minds and make connections
with other ideas. Verbalizing an answer takes time and effort, especially if the question
is a complex or demanding one. Effective teachers provide students with the time to re
late interconnected ideas through wait time, which we'll describe later in the chapter.
Finally, based on the teacher's feedback, students conclude that the response was
complete and accurate, or they generate a revised response. A correct answer is recog
nized and reinforced; an incorrect answer is modified. This entire process occurs in a
few seconds and is repeated dozens of times a day in many classrooms.
The sequence we just described is the ideal we strive for, but it doesn't always occur.
Not all students attend, some don't understand the question, others don't generate a
covert response, students don't always listen to the answers of their classmates, and they
may not revise their original thinking. When these alternatives occur, learning suffers.
Understanding the mental operations questions are intended to elicit, help us see why
the elements of effective questioning, which we discuss next, are so important.
ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING

As we saw earlier in the chapter, effective questioning depends on two essential factors.
The first is clear and precise goals. The goals may not be written in a plan book, and
teachers may have to modify them during lessons if students' current understanding re
quires it, but effective teachers, nevertheless, begin their lessons knowing what they
want their students to accomplish.
The second is effective representations of content, which also depend on clear
goals. Expert teachers use content representations that help students reach goals, and
they guide their students to the goals through their questioning. Keep these ideas in
mind as you study this section.
Effective questioning is a sophisticated set of abilities, and you won't become an ex
pert overnight. However, they can be developed with practice, and if you persevere, re
search indicates that-just as experts in other areas develop their abilities-you can
develop your own questioning expertise (Rowe, 1986).
The research base for effective teaching that we described in Chapter 4 acts as a
foundation for effective questioning. For example, effective teachers for all students use
their time wisely; display positive personal characteristics; and begin, develop, and end
their lessons effectively. Similarly, there are essential questioning strategies that effective
teachers, regardless of grade level or topic, demonstrate. They include:
Questioning frequency
Equitable distribution
Prompting
Repetition for emphasis
Wait time
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167
ik
FREQUENCY
Actively involves students in learning

and encourages students to connect ideas
EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION
Communicates that all are invited and

expected to participate
PROMPTING as
m
Assists students and contributes to

a positive learning environment
REPETITION -
Emphasizes important ideas and

encourages key connections
WAIT TIME -
Provides opportunities for thought and

reflection
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These strategies are outlined in Figure 5.6 and discussed in the following sections.
IV
Questioning Frequency
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Questioning frequency rifers to the number of questions that teachers ask over a period of
time, and research indicates that effective teachers ask more questions than do those who
are less effective (Hamilton and Brady, 1991; Hendersen et al., 1996). Student involve
ment is essential for learning, and large numbers of questions increase involvement.
We saw the effects of questioning frequency in Kathy Johnson's lesson in Chapter 4
and Jose's in this chapter. Both asked a large number of questions and guided their stu
dents to their goals with their questions.
Equitable Distribution
Equitable distribution describes a questioning pattern in which all the students in the class are
called on as equally as possible (Kerman, 1979; Good and Brophy, 2000). Equitable distrib
ution runs counter to two common teaching patterns. First, in typical classrooms, about
two-thirds of all teacher questions are undirected, meaning that students who volunteer
are allowed to answer, and those who don't are allowed to remain passive (McGreal,
1985). This practice detracts from achievement (Shuell, 1996; Good and Brophy, 2000),
because the involvement of students who don't volunteer decreases.
Second, we saw in Chapter 4 that teacherstreat students differently based on their
expectations, and teachers tend to call on students they perceive as having high ability
much more frequently than on low-ability students. This is easy to understand. They
expect high-ability students to be able to answer, and getting correct answers is rein
forcing for teachers, so they fall into patterns of calling primarily on high-ability stu
dents (Good and Brophy, 2000).
In contrast to these patterns, Jose called on all the students in his class as equally as
possible and by name. He had 30 students in the class, and they all responded at least
once. (In the actual lesson we observed, each student answered several questions.)
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CHAPTER 5
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While it's hard to illustrate in a written case study, we want to emphasize that Jose
called on his students whether or not they had their hands up. Students in Jose's class knew
that they were certain to be called on and, as a result, their level of attention was very high.
In cases where students "drifted off," Jose intervened immediately, as was illustrated in the
segment with Ginny when she was momentarily inattentive. Let's take another look.
jose: How do we know it [the bottle] was heated? ... Ginny?"

Ginny: L er, I didn't hear the question [answering sheepishly].
jose: What did I do with this bottle, Ginny [holding up the bottle with the red balloon]?
Ginny: You put it in the coffee pot.
jose: Yes I did, Ginny. Good. And how do we know the coffee pot was hot? ...
Rosemary?
This simple sequence took less than 5 seconds, but it served two important functions.
First, it got Ginny back into the lesson, and second, it contributed to a positive classroom
climate. Ginny knew that Jose had caught her not paying attention, but he didn't ad
monish or criticize her. Instead, he simply rephrased his original question and went on.
This sequence communicated that Jose was on her side, wanting her to contribute and
learn. This helped to create a positive climate in his classroom for all students.
In a review of the literature in this area, experts concluded that teachers should call
on volunteers less than ten to fifteen percent of the time (Gage and Berliner, 1988).
Think about that figure. The researchers suggested that 85 percent to 90 percent of all
teacher questions should be directed to students who do not volunteer! Equitable dis
tribution communicates that the teacher expects all students to attend and that each stu
dent will be able to and assisted to answer. If teachers practice equitable distribution as
a day-to-day pattern, student involvement and learning can dramatically increase.
While it seems simple, establishing a pattern of calling on all the students in your
classes is very demanding; it's easier to merely let volunteers answer. However, the more
you practice, the easier it will become and, in time, you'll be able to direct questions to
individuals virtually without thinking about it.
Prompting
In the last section we emphasized that all students should be called on as equally as possi
ble. We also know that specific goals are essential, which means that students must supply
"right answers" as the lesson moves toward the goal. Student involvement and success are
no less important at this point than they are in the beginning, however, so teachers must
have a tool for maintaining successful interaction. Prompting-cues teachers provide orother
questions they ask when students are unable to correctly answer the original questiml-is that tool.
Research indicates that prompting in reaction to a student's inability to give a cor
rect response provides benefits to learning not found in other options (such as turning
to another student for the right answer) (Shuell, 1996). Done effectively, prompting can:
Create a climate of support in the classroom.
Communicate positive expectations for success.
Assist students in thinking through and answering a specific question.
169
Let's take another look at a questioning sequence from Jose's lesson.

I.
jose: What's in the bottles, Nikki?

Nikki: They're empty.
jose: Wave your hand in front of your face, Nikki ... What do you feel?
Nikki: Well, I feel the air on my face.
jose: Yes, so what do you think might be in the bottles?
Nikki:
... Air?
Here, Jose asked a question for which only one answer-air-was acceptable. However,
Nikki said the bottles were empty. Jose then provided a cue by asking her to wave her
hand in front of her face, which led Nikki to conclude that air was in the bottles.
In this example, Jose prompted with a cue. Now let's look at another segment
where he prompted by asking additional questions.
jose: So now what do we know about the amount of air in each system? Kathy?
Kathy: It's the same.
jose: And how do we know, "TYrone?

Tyrone: '"
jose: What did we say about the sizes of the balloons and bottles, "TYrone?
'Tyrone: They ... were ... equal.
jose: Good. So how do we know the amount of air in each is the same?
Tyrone: The bottles and balloons ... are the same size.
When Tyrone was unable to answer his original question, Jose simply rephrased it by
asking, "What did we say about the sizes of the balloons and bottles?" This prompt was
efficient, since it was established earlier in the lesson that the sizes were the same.
The Alternate Question. One option a teacher has when a student is unable to give an
acceptable response is to ask the original question in a different way, ask another related
question that is simpler, or give a directive that leads to a successful response. This is
what Jose did when he told Nikki to wave her hand in front of her face, and this is
what he did again when he asked Tyrone what he knew about the sizes of the balloons
and bottles.
An alternative question helps in cases where students misunderstand the original
question. As teachers, we all know what we want when we ask a question, but our in
tent may not be obvious to students. The simplest solution to this problem is to rephrase
the question in different terms. Additional examples include:
First Question:
Follow-Up:
First Question:
Follow-Up:
How are plot and characterization related in this novel?

How does the development of the story line help us understand
the major actors in our story?
How does the carrying power of a river vary with the speed of
its current?
Will a fast river carry more or less silt than a slow one?
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CHAPTER 5
As in the second example, an effective prompt sometimes rephrases the question in

more concrete terms. In addition, effective prompts often narrow the range of response
options. For example:
ORIGINAL QUESTION
REFORMULATION
What are these people doing?

What kind of an elephant is this?
What else did you see?
How did they travel?
What color was it?
What are they planting?
Was he happy or sad?
Did you see any furniture?
Did they go by air or water?
Was it a bright or subdued color?
In each of these reformulations, the teacher attempted to help students by not only
rephrasing the question but also making the question easier by making the answer more
concrete and obvious. This tactic serves two functions. From the individual student's
perspective, it takes the pressure off the nonresponding student by making the answer
ing task easier. From a lesson perspective, it not only approaches the content in a slightly
different way but also helps to maintain the continuity and momentum of the lesson.
Teachers can also prompt by inserting supplementary information to steer the di
rection of the lesson. Consider the following excerpt, taken from an actual fifth-grade
classroom.
Teacher: What we're going to talk about today is the punctuation that tells when someone
is speaking. How do we know, when we are reading, that someone is speaking?
Student: When it is has a ... urn ... two parentheses around them.
Teacher: All right. [Draws a set of quotation marks on the chalkboard.] "These are
called .... Does anybody know what these are called?"
Student: Commas.
Teacher: Not commas. Not when they're up in the air like this.
Student: Brackets.
Teacher: Not brackets. These are brackets. [Draws a pair of brackets on the chalkboard.]
Student: Parentheses.
Teacher: Not parentheses. These are up in the air above the words. .. [points to the
words within the quotation marks.]
Student: Oooh. ooh, oooh! Quotation marks!
Teacher: Perfect. These are quotation marks. And quotation marks, when you run across
them in a story, tell you that someone is speaking directly. (Duffy et al., 1985)
Note how the teacher's response builds on the student's answer, assessing areas of mis
understanding and clarifying areas of understanding. The way in which the teacher re
sponds to a student answer not only provides feedback about the adequacy of the
student's reply but can also set the direction for subsequent interactions.
For example, with a correct answer, the teacher not only can affirm the correctness
of the answer but also can stress important aspects of the answer:
Teacher: Can anyone give me an example of a mammal?
Student: A dog's a mammal because it gives birth to its young live.
Teacher: Good, Johnny, live birth is one of the essential characteristics of mammals. Let's
talk about that one for a while....
"
171
In addition to verifying that an answer is correct, the teacher can add more information,
explain the response more fully, or frame the response in a larger context. All of these
strategies improve the informational quality of the response (DuffY et al., 1986). In a
similar way, a teacher's response to an incorrect or partially correct answer provides the
teacher with the opportunity to (1) ignore the incorrect part of the answer, (2) empha
size the correct part, and (3) prompt for the part of the answer that was not given.
The point here is that teachers do not need to be afraid of steering the direction of
the lesson through the interjection of comments or additional information as they
prompt their students. The teacher knows where the lesson should go; responses to stu
dent answers provide one opportunity to steer the lesson in that direction.
Effective Questioning: Increasing Student Motivation

Research indicates that students' beliefs about their capability of accomplishing learning tasks
a concept called self-efficacy-is a powerful factor in increasing motivation to learn
(Pintrich and Schunk, 1996). In other words, if students believe that they can succeed
on challenging tasks, they develop a sense of self-efficacy, and their motivation is likely
to increase.
In developing self-efficacy, student success is crucial. The combination of effective
representations of content and open-ended questions is one of the most powerful tools
teachers have for assuring success and increasing learner motivation.
Open-Ended Questions. Open-ended questions are questions for which a variety of an

swers are acceptable, and Jose used a number of these in his lesson.
Let's look at some dialogue.
jose: Now look at these bottles [holding up the two bottles] What can you tell us about
them? ... Keith?
Keith: You drink out of them.
jose: Fine, Keith .... Beverly?
Beverly: They're sort of green.
jose: Yes, they are. What else? ... Lavonia?
Lavonia: They look like they're the same size.
jose: Yes, indeed they certainly do. Very good, Lavonia.
In this case, Jose asked a description question, which is an open-ended question that asks
students to make an observation.
In addition to descriptions, cotnparison questions, open-ended questions that ask
students to compare and contrast different items, can also be used effectively. Let's look at
some examples.
jose: Now look at the balloons on these bottles [holding up the bottles]. How would you
compare the balloons? ... Leroy?
Leroy: One is red and the oilier is yellow.
jose: Yes. Good. Leroy. What else? ... Rachel?
Rachel: They look like they're made out of rubber.
jose: Yes, they are rubber balloons. How would you compare their sizes? ... Michael?
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CHAPTER 5
Michael: They look like they're the same size.

Good, Michael. They are the same size.
Jose:
Open-ended questions are powerful tools for involving students first, because they
invite participation in a nonthreatening way. For instance, we saw that Jose asked one
simple question, "What can you tell us about them?" and he was able to get acceptable
answers from three students in a matter of seconds. He did virtually the same thing when
he asked students to compare the balloons. Because open-ended questions are easy to ask
and easy to answer, accomplishing equitable distribution is less demanding. It is very dif
ficult to call on all students in a large class without asking some open-ended questions.
Second, open-ended questions are very effective prompts. For instance, if Tyrone
had still been unable to answer when Jose asked, "What did we say about the sizes of the
balloons and bottles?" He could have held up the bottles and asked an open-ended
question such as, "Look at these bottles again, Tyrone. What do you notice about
them?" In this case it would have been virtually impossible for Tyrone to give an unac
ceptable answer. This is a powerful technique for involving students, particularly those
who don't have a pattern of successfully answering.
Asking questions that don't have specific answers may seem like a waste of time;
why don't we merely tell the students or ask more direct questions? In addition to mak
ing equitable distribution and prompting easier, open-ended questions are useful for
several other reasons:
Because a variety of answers are acceptable, students are virtually assured of
success, which in turn increases motivation. This is particularly important for
students who have a history of low achievement and a past history of failing to
answer many of the questions teachers commonly ask.
Because students are assured of success, they learn to feel "safe" in question
and-answer sessions. A sense of safety also contributes to positive classroom cli
mate and student motivation (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001).
Open-ended questioning-particularly ones requiring comparing and
contrasting-promotes critical thinking.
Open-ended questions are effective in working with cultural minorities, who

sometimes lack confidence in fast-paced, convergent question-and-answer ses
sions (Langer, Bartolome, Vasquez, and Lucas, 1990).
Open-ended questions allow informal assessment of students' current under
standing, which was one of the functions of teacher questions that we discussed
earlier in the chapter.
Let's look at this last point in a bit more detail. For example, in a class that has re
cently studied adjectives, the teacher displays the following sentence:
Ter! moved quickly to remove the hot dish from the stove.
and asks, "What can you tell me about the sentence?" If students understand the con
cept, they will identify hot as an adjective in one of the first few responses. If they don't,
it suggests that they are less sure of the concept than they should be, and the teacher can
provide additional instruction.
The power of open-ended questioning as an instructional tool is confirmed by our
experiences in schools. We have seen students who were nearly hostile and openly re
173
fusing to respond at the beginning of a class period begin to volunteer responses to

questions by the end of the sameciass period, all because they could see that students were
able to successfully respond. Open-ended questioning was the strategy used to induce
this change. This is a powerful and exciting change in students that occurred very
quickly. Imagine the impact of assured success on participation and motivation over an
extended period of time!
Finally, open-ended questions address the objections of teachers who are reluctant
to call on nonvolunteers, because they are afraid to embarrass students if they're initially
unable to answer. Because students are assured of giving an acceptable response, they can
be "put on the spot" without danger of embarrassment or anxiety. When students are
put in a situation where they know they will be called on and are almost certain of being
able to answer, their attention and motivation sharply increase. We have observed the ef
fectiveness of these techniques at all grade levels and curriculum areas.
Using open-ended questions as prompts also illustrates again why effective repre
sentations of content are so essential as a tool for promoting student involvement. In Ty
rone's case, for example, he could see that the bottles were the same size; it wasn't
something he had to know or recall from a previous lesson. The combination of effective
content representations and open-ended questions give teachers tools that help them
elicit successful responses from virtually all students under nearly any conditions. They
are among the most effective techniques that exist for involving students.
In closing this section, let us share an incident we encountered in a classroom. In an
earlier paragraph we stated that open-ended questions are effective because learners are
virtually assured of success. Anything can happen in a classroom, however. We were ob
serving a first-grade teacher who was using open-ended questioning with her students.
She held a shoe up for the students to observe, and she began, "Tell me about the shoe."
"It's red," Mike responded.
The shoe was black. There was no sign of red on it anywhere! As we all know,
young children occasionally give off-the-wall responses, and the teacher handled this
one very well. She simply smiled and said, "The shoe is actually black. Now, Mike, tell
me something else about it." Quick thinking.
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Repetition for Emphasis

In Chapter 4, we discussed the importance of emphasis in highlighting important con
tent, and identified repetition as one type. A very effective form of emphasis is a repe
tition question, which simply asks students to reconsider a question or point that has been
made earlier in the lesson. Repetition questions have an advantage over repetitious state
ments by the teacher because they provide emphasis and focus, they help maintain in
teraction between teacher and students, and they give the teacher a quick estimate of
whether they" got it" earlier. We have all had the experience of periodically getting lost
as a teacher develops a topic, and while this problem is impossible to completely avoid,
it can be minimized with strategic repetition questions.
The following segment illustrates Jose's use of repetition.
Jose:
Now, look at the balloons and bottles, everyone. What did Lavonia say about the
bottles themselves? Cliff?
Cliff: We drink out of them.
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CHAPTER 5
Jos/:: Yes, we do .... How do the sizes compare? Alfredo?

Alfredo: They're the same.
At this point Jose wanted to emphasize that the bottles were the same size, and he asked
Cliff what Lavonia had said about them. The need for repetition is illustrated by Cliff's
response, "We drink out of them," suggesting that he had wandered, losing the focus of
the lesson, which was to establish that the two bottles were the same except for their
temperature and the air molecules inside of them. Without the repetition, Cliff, and
probably others, would have been uncertain about where the lesson was headed.
Jose used repetition extensively, and some might even conclude that he used it ex
cessively. This is a matter of judgment, but it is clearly better to refocus students too
often than not often enough. Our experience in working with teachers of K-12 stu
dents indicates that repetition is not merely a positive teacher action but is, in fact, es
sential in helping students follow the direction of complex lessons.
Wait Time
What's the square root of256? Quick! Some ofyou probably answered the question im
mediately while others fidgeted with a paper and pencil first. Still others may have seen
the "Quick!" and given up immediately.
This problem is analogous to situations that occur in classrooms. Research indicates
that teachers, after asking a question, typically wait less than 1 second for students to re
spond before interrupting, prompting, giving the answer themselves, or calling on an
other student (Rowe, 1974, 1986). In addition, Rowe found that teachers tend to cut
off students' responses rather than letting them think through and construct their an
swers as fully as possible. Both of these problems are more pronounced when students
are perceived as low achievers, and cross-cultural studies also indicate that the phenom
enon is not unique to American classrooms (Tobin, 1983; Chewprecha et al., 1980).
In contrast, when teachers pause and give students time to think about their an
swers, the quality of student responses increases significantly (Rowe, 1974, 1986). The
pause between a question or the pause after a student aHSwer and a teacher interruption or inter
jection is called wait time.
A number of benefits result from lengthening wait time (Rowe, 1986, 1974). Ex
tending wait times to longer than 3 seconds improves both the teacher's effectiveness
and students' performance in the following ways:
Lessons are smoother and more focused (40we, 1986).
Teachers become more responsive to students by matching the wait time to the
difficulty of the question, improving equitable distribution, and increasing par
ticipation from minority students (Rowe, 1974, 1975).
The length and quality of student responses increase, resulting in more higher
order and critical thinking (Rowe, 1986; Anderson, 1978).
Failures to respond are reduced, the variety of students participating voluntarily
increases, and the number of disciplinary interruptions by the teacher decreases
(Tobin, 1987).
Finally, and perhaps most important, achievement increases (Tobin, 1987;
Tobin and Capie, 1982).
(Pause)
(Pause)
(Wait Time I)
(Wait Time II)
175
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Effective wait-times occur at two points in the questioning sequence, as illustrated

in Figure 5.7.
The first pause in Figure 5.7, called Wait Time I, gives everyone in the class time to
think about the question and generate the covert response we described in our discussion
of the influence of questioning on student thinking. The second pause, Wait Time II,
gives other students time to think about and react to the student's answer. Wait time can
be thought of as "think time," providing students with opportunities to think about the
content they are learning.
As with any technique, wait time must be implemented with professional judg
ment. For example, in the cases of drill and practice where overlearning and automatic
ity are desired (such as multiplication facts), quick answers are desirable (Rosenshine and
Stevens, 1986) and wait times should be short. On the other hand, when students are
making comparisons, forming conclusions, providing evidence, and demonstrating
other higher-order abilities, wait times should be longer.
Effective Questioning: Involving Diverse Students

Questioning is one of the most effective tools teachers have for communicating that
they value all students and welcome them in their classrooms. Equitable distribution and
prompting, in particular, are essential. Used effectively, they communicate, "I don't care
if you're a boy or girl, n\nority or nonminority, or high or low achiever; I want you in
my classroom, I believe )\,u're capable oflearning, and I will do whatever it takes to en
sure that you're successful." This practice sends a powerful message to students. In addi
tion to conveying positive teacher expectations it also communicates caring and
concern for student learning.
Students are sensitive to these practices. They quickly come to interpret your ef
fort to distribute questions to cultural minorities and nonminorities equally, for ex
ample, as an indication that both groups are expected to achieve, and the effect on
classroom climate is very positive. Prompting all students as equally as possible rein
forces this message.
CLASSROOM QUESTIONS: ADDITIONAL ISSUES

Each of the essential questioning skills we've discussed in this chapter-frequency, equi
table distribution, prompting, repetition, and wait time--are well documented by re
search, as are the relationships between questioning, student diversity, and motivation.
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CHAPTER 5
Research has examined some additional issues that often surface in discussions of
questioning, and we want to consider them in this section. They include:
High-level versus low-level questions
Questioning patterns: Selecting students
Callouts
Choral responses
Let's look at them.
High-Level versus Low.. Level Questions

In our discussion of wait time, we found that the kind of question affects the amount of
time a teacher should wait for a response. This observation leads to a related issue. How
does the level of teacher question affect student learning? In this section, we want to
consider the benefits of low-level questions (e.g., "Who wrote Hamlet?) versus high
level questions ("Why is Shakespeare's Hamlet considered a tragedy, in the classical sense
of the term?"). Let's see what research says about the issue.
The levels of teacher questions have been widely researched, but the results are sur
prisingly mixed (Good and Brophy, 2000). Some studies have found a significant, positive
correlation between higher-level questions and achievement (Redfield and Rousseau,
1981), others found no relationship (Rosenshine and Furst, 1973; Winne, 1979), and still
others identified a negative correlation between the two (Dillon, 1981; S\u!ings, 1975).
What explains these contradictory findings?
\
The answer again illustrates the importance of clear goals. Goals that are appropri
ate for the topic, the age of the students, and their backgrounds should determine the
level of questions. For instance, if the goal is fact-level learning with young children,
such as knowing that 7 x 9 = 63, a high percentage oflow-level questions is appropri
ate. For more complex goals, such as understanding the impact of Columbus's discov
ery of the new world, higher-level questions are more desirable. Students with limited
backgrounds about a topic will-at least initially-be asked many low-level questions,
and the number of high-level questions will increase as their background improves.
This is the only sensible approach to determining question level. With the com
plexities of teacher-student interaction, teachers shouldn't consciously decide, "I will
now ask a high-level question," or "It is now the time for a low-level question." The so
lution is to have a clear and precise goal in mind prior to the lesson and to be alert, sen
sitive, and responsive to students as the lesson develops. The appropriate level of
questions will then take care of itself.
This was illustrated in Jose's work with his students. As we saw earlier in the chapter,
his goal was very clear; he knew exactly where he wanted the lesson and students to go.
The responses of the students and his goal, rather than preconceived decisions about
level, guided his questioning. For example, he began his lesson with simple descriptions
and then moved to higher-level questions as he asked the students to make comparisons.
However, knowing that he wanted to establish and confirm that the two systems were the
same size, he asked a much higher-level question when he asked Tyrone how they knew
the amount of air was the same in each system? (Note also that Jose didn't reserve his
higher-level questions for his high achievers. All students were treated equally.) When he
called on Tyrone, he was not thinking, "I will now ask a high-level question." Instead, he
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177
was working toward a goal, which we saw in the segment where Jose prompted Tyrone.
This goal-driven flexibility is the essence of expert teacher questioning.
Bloom's Taxonomy: A Sequential Questioning Strategy
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As we saw in Chapter 3, Bloom's taxonomy is a hierarchical classification system based

on the cognitive processing demands placed on students. Its value in structuring class
room questions centers on this hierarchical structure. Hierarchical means that the upper
levels are dependent on and subsume the lower. This characteristic is important for
questioning strategies because it suggests that teachers build an informational base at
lower levels before proceeding to higher ones.
Let us illustrate these ideas by looking at the six levels in the taxonomy and consid
ering how they function in a classroom setting.
Knowledge. The knowledge category, the lowest in Bloom's taxonomy, helps build an in
formational base for subsequent questions. Processes involved in the Knowledge cate
gory include recognition and recall. Some examples of knowledge-level questions
include:
Who wrote Uncle TOm 5 Cabin?
u,
What is the chemical symbol for iron?
How many minutes in a basketball game?

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Comprehension. Comprehension asks students to process information so that the mean

ing is clear. If the meaning of information being taught isn't clear, then the teacher
needs to slow down or even back up to make sure students understand. Students show
that they comprehend something when they can translate it into a different form (e.g.,
verbally describe numerical data presented in graph form), interpret it (e.g., explain why
a phenomenon occurs), or extrapolate it (e.g., project a trend beyond the data given).
Having students provide examples is another type of comprehension question. Com
prehension questions attempt to determine if students understand information in a
meaningful way. For example,
Can you tell us, in your own words, the major events in the story so far?
The book says rust occurs when iron is oxidized. What does that mean?
if
r.
).
It
IS
..
Who can find an example of an oxymoron in our poem?
Application. The third level of Bloom's taxonomy asks students to take information
they have learned and apply it to a new situation. Solving new or novel word prob
lems in math would be an example here. The process of application actually occurs in
two phases. In the first phase, some abstraction, formula, equation, or algorithm is
learned; in the second, students encounter a new situation or problem and are asked
to apply the previously learned information. Teachers who try to get students to apply
information at a later date verify that this second phase is a difficult one. Practice is es
sential, and classroom questions provide an excellent opportunity for this practice. For
example,
Who can apply what we've learned about sonnets and finish this poem?
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CHAPTER 5
N ow we're trying to find the length of this diagonal line. Any ideas? What for
mula should we use?
So we want the fish to be crisp on the outside but not overdone on the inside.
How should we cook it?
Notice how in each of these examples students are being asked to use or apply infor
mation they've acquired previously.
Analysis. Analysis questions develop students' ability to take apart some complex phe
nomena to show how it works. The medium involved in the analysis will vary with the
content area involved. In English, it could involve the examination of a speech, a poem,
or a book and some type of explanation of how the work holds together and how the
different components add to the power of the work. In the area of art, the process of
analysis could focus on a painting and show how various components such as color, line,
and texture interact to produce an effect. Similar examples occur in every area of the
curriculum where student understanding of something is dependent on an understand
ing of how the interrelated components or parts work together. Some examples of
analysis questions include:
Let's write down the major events that have occurred in the Middle East. Then
let's ask how these are interrelated and why we are where we are today.
Let's look at this table and try to determine why it's so sturdy and why it has lasted
so long.
Who can analyze this paragraph and explain why it is such a powerful way to start
this paper?
Synthesis. Synthesis questions are different from those in the other levels in several im
portant ways. As opposed to the other levels, which focus more on analytical skills, the
synthesis category focuses on creativity. In addition, the synthesis category is product
oriented; typically a tangible product results from the synthesis operation. Although
most often associated with the fine arts areas of art and literature, synthesis questions also
have applications in other areas. For example, creativity can be a central dimension in
the design of a science experiment. In the area of home economics, synthesis-level skills
can also focus on clothes or food preparation. In other vocational areas creativity can be
a central component of woodworking and other vocational classes. Note how each of
these questions asks students to be creative in producing some product or plan.
Okay, we know that garbage is a major problem for big cities. What are some cre
ative ways to solve this problem?
Remember, we're on a limited budget for this meal. What are some ways we can
stretch our dollars and still produce an exciting menu?
You've viewed the first half of the game on videotape. What would you do differ
ently in the second half to turn your team around? Be creative.
Evaluation. The highest level of Bloom's taxonomy is evaluation) which involves judg
ing the merit or worth of some object or work. The process of evaluation occurs in two
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179
steps: the first is the establishment of some criteria, and the second is the application of
these criteria to some object or idea. For example, in social studies, we can ask students
to evaluate a proposed solution to world hunger. This process would involve first some
description of the specifics of the problem-givens, resources, and limitations to work
with-and then an analysis of the extent to which the proposed solution addressed these
parameters. In literature, students can evaluate a written work, describing its strengths
and weaknesses. In other areas, such as physical education and home economics, stu
dents can evaluate a game plan or a plan of operation such as a menu. Some examples
of evaluation questions include the following:
How well did the North use their resources in the Civil War?
:he
of
Was Hemingway a great American writer? When you answer that, you'll have to
define greatness first.
ne,
We've read several theories about why the dinosaurs disappeared from the earth.
Which makes the most sense? Why?
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The Taxonomy: A Classroom Example. The following is an excerpt of a teacher using

Bloom's taxonomy to structure a lesson on Shakespeare's Romeo andJuliet. Note how the
teacher uses lower levels of the taxonomy to serve as a foundation for higher levels. To
help you do this, we've labeled the level of the question in brackets.
Lynn Bell's junior English class had been reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for sev
eral weeks. Although they had known it was a tragedy, the class was disturbed at the gory
ending. Lynn was trying to get them to pull it all together and to view the play in the larger
context of a tragedy.
Lynn: Class, it's been a long weekend, so let's review some of the major characters in the
play and try to remember some of the major events. [K] Someone? Jack?
Jack: WelL the most important characters were Romeo and Juliet. They fell in love, and
that's how all the trouble started.
Lynn: Good, Jack. That's a good starting point. Let's follow up on that. What houses did
they belong to? [K] Sandy?
Sandy: Juliet was a Capulet and Romeo was a Montague.
Lynn: Okay, now why is that information important to the play? [C] Anyone? Cassy?
Cassy: Because these two houses had been feuding for a long time.
Lora: And, in terms of Romeo and Juliet, they shouldn't have fallen in love.
Lynn: Good. Now let's return to an idea we discussed briefly earlier. What is a tragedy?
[K] Shawn?
Shawn: It's a story that ends unhappily?
Lynn: Anything else? [K] Franco?
Franco: The people in it can't help what's happening.
Lynn: Why is that important? [C] Brad?
Brad: Because the people in the audience can see what's happening but the characters in
the play can't. They're just kind of swept along by the events.
Lynn: Any other characteristics of a tragedy? [K] Pam?
Pam: In my notes, it says there is often "growth toward knowledge."
Lynn: Good note taking, Pam. What does that mean? [C]
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CHAPTER 5
Pam: Beats me. I just wrote it down.

Lynn: Who can help her out? Did growth toward knowledge occur in this play? [C] Ken?
Ken: WelL at the end the Montagues and Capu!ets got together and agreed to stop the
feuding.
Lynn: Excellent, Ken. Now let's take this one step further. Romeo and Juliet got married.
Was it Act [I, Scene 5? [K] Scene 6, okay. Now I want each of you to take a few min
utes to devise another ending for the story that would still make it a tragedy. [App]
When you're done with that, we'll share these with the rest of the class and they'll
have to decide if your ending qualifies as a true tragedy. [An]
Let's analyze the lesson. First, note how the teacher began with knowledge-level
questions and, after establishing a factual base, proceeded to comprehension questions
that checked for understanding. Then, after she felt confident that her students under
stood the concept of tragedy, she asked them to apply this information to develop a dif
ferent ending. Finally, the lesson ended with an analysis question, asking students to
examine one another's new endings to determine if these were truly tragedies.
Now, a confession. Actual classroom lessons do not proceed this smoothly. They
progress instead in fits and starts, and teachers need to exercise that flexibility stressed
earlier, adjusting questions to the background of students and the direction and mo
mentum of the lesson. The lesson recorded here was provided as a prototype so that you
could see the progression of ideas.
Though somewhat unrealistic, this prototype illustrates several important ideas.
One is the value of the taxonomy as a guide to sequencing questions. A second related
idea is the importance of using lower-level questions to (1) involve a number of stu
dents, (2) establish an informational base, and (3) warm the class up at the beginning of
the lesson. Also, note at the end that as the teacher asked an application question re
quiring more thinking, she provided the class with the necessary wait time (actual min
utes) to apply the information they had learned.
Finally, if the lesson had continued, how might the teacher have used the synthesis
and evaluation categories to think about the play further? We offer these as possible al
ternatives but invite you to construct your own.
SYNTHESIS
Write a version of Romeo and Juliet for the twenty-first century. Find a present-day story
with the potential to be a tragedy. Flesh out the story in enough detail so that your thinking
is evident.
EVALUATION
Some people call Romeo and Juliet a love story; others consider the playa tragedy.
Which label do you believe is more correct, and why?
Some critics call Shakespeare a master of settings, getting the most from his plays by
having the scenes set in dramatic places. Do you agree with this assessment? Defend your
answer with examples from Romeo and Juliet.
Bloom's taxonomy can provide a useful conceptual tool for asking higher-level
questions. It can help us sequence these questions, building on prior knowledge and
..
181
using previous skills as the foundation for later ones. It can also help us understand why
students have problems with questions requiring higher-level questions. Finally, it can
serve as a reminder of the breadth and variety of cognitive tasks available to us as we in
volve our students in the process of thinking through classroom questioning.
Selecting Students
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Whom should we call on when we ask a question? As we saw earlier, teachers tend to
simply call on students who volunteer, but this is less effective than calling on both vol
unteers and nonvolunteers.
The most desirable alternative is to call on students randomly, and expert teachers
manage this process by mentally monitoring who they've called on as the lesson pro
ceeds. As the activity develops, if you've lost track of who you've called on, simply ask,
"Whom have I not called on yet?" When students are in an environment where large
numbers of questions are being asked and the teacher supports the students in their ef
forts to answer, being called on is desirable and they will freely admit it if they haven't
been called on (or one of their classmates will point it out). Further, a simple, straight
forward question, such as "Who haven't I called on," promotes a comfortable climate of
open communication.
An alternative to mentally monitoring who has been called on is to use a deck of
cards with all of the students' names and to shuille them at frequent intervals to prevent
sequential patterns from occurring. This cumbersome way of distributing questions can
be helpful for beginning teachers, but expert teachers rarely use the technique.
Research has also examined the relative effectiveness of first asking the question and
then identifying a student versus first identifying the student and then asking the ques
tion. Asking the question first is preferable (Good and Brophy, 2000), and this is the pat
tern we saw in Jose's questioning. Asking the question, pausing, and then calling on a
specific student communicates that the question is meant for all students and everyone
is expected to pay attention and think about the answer.
If the teacher selects a student before asking the question, the rest of the students
are less likely to generate a covert response, an important mental operation elicited by ques
tioning. However, exceptions to this rule can occur for management or motivational
reasons. For example, "John, what did we say yesterday about the relationship of Hem
ingway's early life to his later writing?" can communicate that John ought to refrain
from his conversation with a classmate, or that John made a comment yesterday that was
especially pertinent to the topic. The fact that this sequence violates the teacher's regu
lar one, as well as the inflection in the teacher's voice, communicates the intent of the
message.
Callouts
A callout is an answer given by a student bifore the student is recognized by the teacher. We have
all been in classes where teachers have said, sometimes pleadingly, "Now, don't shout out
answers," or "Don't answer until you're called on." These are efforts to eliminate callouts.
In general, callouts should be prevented. This is most effectively accomplished by
establishing and consistently enforcing a rule requiring students to be recognized before
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CHAPTER 5
answering. Allowing students to respond without being called on is undesirable because

callouts usually come from higher-achieving or more aggressive students in the class.
These students can dominate the interaction, and slower or more reticent students are
forced out of the game. In addition, callouts also increase management problems and
decrease the amount of time other students have to think about answers.
However, exceptions to these patterns have been found in studies with minority
students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. With these students, who
sometimes lack confidence and may be reluctant to respond, allowing at least some call
outs has been positively linked to increased learning (Good and Brophy, 2000).
We saw this illustrated in Jose's lesson. Let's take a look.
jose: So what do you think might be in the bottles? [after prompting Nikki]
Nikki: Air.
jose: Yes indeed. Good conclusion, Nikki. What was one of the characteristics of air that
we've discussed? ... Christy?
jason: It's all around us.
jose: That's right. Air is all around us. Well done, Jason. Now look at the balloons on
these bottles. [holding the bottles up again] How would you compare the
balloons? ... Leroy?
In this sequence Jose allowed Jason to interject a response without admonishing

him, because Jason was one of the lowest achievers in his class. With more confident and
aggressive students, however, callouts result in shorter thinking times and an unequal
distribution of opportunities to respond, both conditions that detract from achievement.
So here, as with many instructional issues, teacher judgment is necessary. The abil
ity and confidence of the student, the goals of the lesson, and the orderliness of the class
room are all factors that need to be considered in deciding whether to allow a student
to call out an answer.
Choral Responses
The entire class answering a question at the same time is termed choral responding. Choral
responses are effective for practicing skills, terms, and facts that should be overlearned
and available for immediate recall. It is commonly used in foreign language classes,
where students need to repeat words and phrases in the new language, and it's some
times used in math classes, where automaticity is being developed. Jose appropriately
called for a choral response when he taught his students the term expand.
jose: Yes, excellent, Jill. Now, everyone, I'm going to give you another word for gets big
ger. It's called expand. Everyone say expand.
Class: EXPAND!
In this case Jose was teaching a new term and wanted everyone in the class to repeat it.
In contrast, choral responses are inappropriate for open-ended or higher-level ques
tions. Imagine a choral response to a question such as, "Who do you think was our most
effective President, and why do you think so?"
It.
11
183
The disadvantages of choral responding relate to timing and participation; unless all
students answer at the same time, slower students can hesitate and parrot or mouth the
answers of the quicker students. A solution to this problem is the use of a standard ex
pression or signal, such as "Class," that follows a question and signals time for participa
tion. Some researchers advocate a blend of choral and individual responding to provide
opportunities for both wide participation and diagnosis of individual strengths and
weaknesses (Becker, 1977).
As we've seen in this chapter, teacher questioning can be a powerful strategy for en
couraging student involvement, accommodating the background diversity of our stu
dents, and increasing motivation to learn. It is most effective, however, if the questions
direct students to clear goals, and builds upon effective topic representations.
Additional ways to promote involvement also exist, and we discuss them in detail in
Chapter 8, where we discuss Peer Interaction Strategies For Teaching.
Student Involvement: A Key to Learning and Motivation. In Chapter 4 we found

that students must be actively involved to learn most effectively. Involving students ef
depends on three factors: clear and precise goals, high-quality representations
of co~ent, and skilled questioning by teachers.
fect~y
Student Involvement: The Need for Clear Goals. Teacher thinking begins with
clear and precise goals. The ways teachers choose to represent their content, and the
kinds of questions they ask as they guide students through their lessons, depends on their
goals. Without clear goals, effective lessons are virtually impossible.
nt
ral
ed
es,
Student Involvement: The Role of Content Representations. High-quality repre

sentations of content are essential for involving students, because the information they
need to answer teachers' questions and understand the topics is displayed for them. Effec
tive content representations provide a concrete focal point for dialoguing with students.
Effective representations exist in a variety of forms. Some of them include exam
ples (the "real thing"), pictures, demonstrations, charts and matrixes, models, and vi
gnettes and case studies. The type of representation depends on the teacher's goal.
Le
ely
Increasing Student Involvement: Teacher Questioning. One of the most effective

tools teachers have for promoting involvement is questioning. Questions can be used to
assess students' current understanding, increase motivation to learn, and guide students
as their understanding develops. Expert teachers efficiently manage all three functions as
they help students reach clear goals. In using questions, it is essential to think about their
effect on students' attention and thought processes.
it.
es
ost
Elements of Effective Questioning. Effective teachers ask many questions, use repe
tition to emphasize important points and make connections appropriately, direct ques
tions equally to all students in the class-whether or not they volunteer-and give
individuals adequate time to think about their answers. They first ask the question, pause
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CHAPTER 5
briefly, and then call on an individual by name to answer. When students are unable to
respond, or respond incorrectly, expert teachers provide cues or other questions that help
students give acceptable answers, instead ofleaving them in favor of other students. In all
cases, questions are designed to help students reach clearly thought out goals.
Distributing questions equally to all students communicates that everyone, regard
less of personal characteristics, background, or ability, is welcome in the classroom,
should be involved, and is expected to learn. Questioning is one of the most effective
ways to accommodate student background differences. Open-ended questions are a par
ticularly effective way of ensuring success, increasing student self-efficacy, and promot
ing student motivation.
Classroom Questions: Additional Issues. The appropriateness of high- versus low

level questions depends on the teacher's goal. Bloom's taxonomy provides one way to
sequence questions so that they build upon students' developing knowledge base. Call
outs generally detract from achievement but in some cases are acceptable, and a mix of
choral and individual responses may be desirable. Appropriate use of each depends on
the context of the lesson and the teacher's goal.
Callout
Choral responding
Comparison questions
Description questions
Equitable distribution
Model
Open-ended questions
Prompting
Questioning frequency
Repetition questions
Self-efficacy
Wait time
Carol Woodward, a second-grade teacher, is preparing a unit on place value for her sec
ond graders. As she gets ready for the lesson, she takes a box filled with popsicle sticks
down from a shelf in her room. Many of the popsicle sticks are gathered in bundles of 10
bound together by a rubber band. Carol counts the bundles and mumbles, "Better make a
few more," to herself, as she looks around for additional sticks.
We join Carol in the morning at the beginning of her math class.
"Okay, everyone, we're going to be good thinkers today and try to figure out some im
portant ideas," she begins as she walks around the room putting two bundles of 10 sticks /
together with a single stick on each student's desk.
After giving her students their materials, she continues, "Okay, tell me what you have
in front of you .... Just tell me what you see."
" ... Sticks," Jerome offered.
"Popsicle sticks," Nakisha added.
"They have a rubber band around them," Andy put in, beginning to take the band off.
"Yes, good, Andy," Carol smiled, "but leave the band on for me. It's there for a reason."
"Now, what else?" Carol continued. "Gloria?"
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185
" ... There's another one," she responded, holding up the single popsicle stick.
"Now, what does this number represent?" Carol queried.
"
"How many sticks do we have?"
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"How many bundles do you have?"

"Two," several students answered at once.
"Good, and how many other sticks do you have?"
"One," they responded again.
"So, how many do we have altogether?"
" ... Three?" Andrea responded hesitantly with a question in her voice.
"No, not three," Carol shook her head. "Someone try again."
" ... Thirty," Simone guessed.
"Where did you get that?" Carol wondered with a slight smile on her face.
Simone sat for a few seconds and then shrugged his shoulders in an "J don't know."
"Someone else?" Carol urged. "Come on ... think about it."
::L~t;s"look
C~
at them,"
said after a few seconds. "How many sticks in this bun
dle?" she asked, holding up one of the bundles.
" ... Nine," Kevin answered.
"No, 10," Kathy retorted.
"Good!" Carol responded quickly. "There's 10 here.... So there's 10 in the other
bundle as well. ... So, how many do we have altogether?"
" ... 21," Juanita, one of the highest achievers in the class responded after several
seconds.
"Yes, excellent!" said Carol enthusiastically. "We have 21. We have two groups of 10
and we have one more, so we have 21 altogether.
"Now I'm going to give you some more materials, and I want you to tell me how
many we have this time."
Carol quickly put another bundle of sticks on student's desks and added two more sin
gle sticks. She then repeated the process she had used in the first activity.

1. How was Carol's method of involvement similar and different from the way
Jose Al~arez involved his students? Be specific and concrete in making your
compansons.
2. Teacher questioning is one of the key topics in this chapter. Analyze Carol's ques
tioning in the context of the information in the chapter. In any instances where
you believe her questioning could be improved, make specific suggestions for
doing so.
3. Assess Carol's activity in terms of student motivation. If you believe that the lesson
might have been more motivating, offer specific suggestions for improvement.
4. How effective was Carol's lesson for students with diverse backgrounds? Be spe
cific in your response.
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CHAPTER 5
S. In Chapter 3, we discussed the concept of instructional alignment. Was Carol's in

struction aligned? Explain your answer with information taken directly from the
case study.
6. It appeared that the students in Carol's class were having some difficulty understand
ing what she was trying to accomplish. Offer one or more possible explanations for
why they were having a difficult time. Make specific and concrete suggestions for
what she might have done to help the students better understand the topic.
1. How might the following factors influence the ideal number of questions asked in
a class?
a. Grade level
b. Content area (e.g., math versus art)
c. Subject-matter expertise of teacher
d. Ability level o~W.dents
e. Goals of the less~
f. Place of the lesson in a unit (e.g., beginning or end)
2. With respect to using questions to informally assess student understanding, what

are the advantages and disadvantages of teacher-centered questioning? What alter
natives could you recommend?
3. How would the importance of questioning as a way of assessing student under
standing vary with:
a. Time of school year (e.g., beginning vs. end)
b. Place in a teaching unit (e.g., beginning or end)
c. Diversity in terms of student ability
d. Type of content (e.g., difficult vs. easy)?
4. Why should the success rates for questions be relatively high? Are there times
when this should vary?
S. In general, researchers hypothesized that higher-level questions would encourage
more learning than lower-level ones. Why might higher-level questions be more
effective than lower-level ones? In what circumstances wouldn't they be?
6. Analyze the effects of the following questioning decisions with respect to lesson
pace, or the tempo of a lesson.
a. High-level versus low-level
b. Calling on volunteers versus calling on students randomly
c. Wait time
d. Redirected questions
1. Questioning Frequency. Observe or videotape two different lessons. Record the

number of questions asked in each minute of each lesson.
a. How many questions were asked in each lesson (the total number of questions)?
187
b. During which time in the lesson (beginning, middle, end) were the most ques
tions asked in each lesson?
c. In which lesson were the students most attentive and involved?
d. Which lesson was most briskly paced? How did the number of questions influ
ence the pace of the lesson?
e. What suggestions do you have for increasing the effectiveness of the question
ing in each lesson?
il
lOS)?
2. Difficulty Level. Tape a class in which questioning plays a significant role (this
might be your class o~meone else's). Listen to the tape and count the number
of times:
. ,
a. The original question 'was answered correctly.
b. The original question was answered partially correctly.
c. The original question was answered incorrectly.
d. The original question elicited no response.
Add the number of questions in a through d. Divide the number in a by this
total. This gives you the average success rate of questions. Now respond to these
questions:
e. Was the difficulty level appropriate for this type of class?

f. What do the numbers in b, c, and d tell you about the effectiveness of the ques
tions? What could be done differently to make the questioning more effective?
3. Questioning Level. Tape a lesson in which questions playa major role. Play the tape
and jot down the questions in the order they were asked. Now classify these ques
tions in terms of whether they are low level (knowledge) or high level (compre
hension and above). What is the ratio of high to low? Is there any pattern in terms
of the sequence (e.g., LLLH or LHLH)? How did the teacher use questioning
level to reach his or her goals? What might the teacher have done differently to
use the level of questions to increase learning?
4. Choosing a Student to Respond: Volunteers. Tape a questioning lesson in which vol

unteers are used to respond. Listen to the tape with a seating chart in front of
and mark the nurnber of times different students are called on. Respond to the
following questions:
ym;
a. Were the questions evenly distributed in terms of ability level?

b. Were the questions evenly distributed in terms of student gender?
c. How did student location in the classroom affect participation rates?
d. What suggestions do you have for increasing the effectiveness of the selection
process?
5. Choosing a Student to Respond: Random Selection. Teach and tape a lesson with a
questioning format, and randomly select students by using a deck of cards with
the students' names to call on them. (Tell students beforehand what you are doing
and why.) Analyze the tape in terms of these questions:
a. Was this lesson harder or easier to teach than one in which you selected stu
dents in some other way?
b. Did the pace of the lesson differ from the first? How?
c. Comment on students' attentiveness. Was it higher or lower? How could you
tell?
188
CHAPTER 5
d. What changes in your questioning style did you have to make to adapt to this
modification?
e. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using this method to select a stu
dent to respond?
6. QuestioninJ: Strategies. Plan a sequence of questions leading up to some point or

conclusion. Record yourself on video or audiotape as you implement this se
quence in the classroom. Analyze the tape afterward, and compare the sequence
that occurred with the one ~u planned. What caused you to change this se
quence? How helpful is pla~~g a questioning sequence prior to a class?
7. JiVtlit Time. Tape yourself (or another teacher) as you use questions in a lesson, and
then listen to yourself and try to determine how long you wait after asking a
question before calling on a student, how long you wait for a student to answer
before intervening, and how long you wait for the student to complete his or her
answer. Also, identify the student selected to respond and whether he or she was a
high or low achiever. Then respond to the following questions.
a. What was your longest wait time? What type of question did it follow?
b. What was your shortest wait time? What type of question did it follow?
c. What was your average wait time?
d. Did your wait times differ for students of different abilities?
Teach and tape another lesson and consciously try to respond to any problems un
covered answering the above questions. Were you able to do this? What difficul
ties did you encounter in trying to modify your wait times?
8. Callouts. Interview a teacher about the presence of or absence of callouts in their

room:
a. How does the teacher feel about callouts?
b. What does the teacher do to encourage or discourage them?

c. Are there ever any situations in which they allow or encourage callouts? How
will you deal with callouts in your classroom?
9. Choral Response. Interview a teacher about the use of choral response in their
room.
a. Does the teacher ever use choral response? When and why?
b. What do they feel are the advantages and disadvantages of choral response?
c. What suggestions do they have for maximizing the instructional benefits of
choral responding? How will you use choral responding in your classroom?
4e
1. The importance of classroom management

II. Classroom management: A definition
A. Management goals: Learning and
self-regulation
B. Creating responsibility-oriented
classrooms
C. Management: An historical perspective

III. Planning for classroom management
A. Student characteristics
B. The physical environment
C. Classroom rules: Establishing standards
for behavior
D. Procedures: Creating an efficient
learning environment
IV Implementing management plans

A. Implementing plans: The first 10 days
B. Learner diversity: Challenges to
home-school communication
C. The relationship between management

and instruction
V Management interventions
A. Defining misbehavior
B. An intervention continuum
C. Dealing with individual problems
D. Serious management problems:
Violence and aggression
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CHAPTER 6
() f you are uneasy about being in front of s~dents for the first time, you're not alone.
{ This apprehension is common among in rns, first-year teachers, and even some
veterans. Often the concern results from uncer .nty about their ability to prevent dis
ruptions and maintain an orderly learning environment. In this chapter, we examine the
topic of classroom management and what teachers can do to create productive learning
environments. When you've completed your study of this chapter, you should be able
to meet the following objectives:
Explain how classroom management relates to the goals of student responsibil
ity and self-regulation.
Describe factors that influence planning for classroom management.
Describe strategies for implementing management plans.
Define misbehavior and describe strategies to deal with it.
Explain how classroom management contributes to instructional goals.
Maria Perez looked around her empty classroom and tried to imagine what it would be like
with 27 live first graders. This was "Planning Week," the time teachers had to prepare for
the year ahead.
Maria had completed her student teaching internship in a school not far from this one.
She had worked all summer on unit and lesson plans and was comfortable with what she
wanted to teach.
She wasn't sure about her classroom management plans, however. "How in the
world willI get all those rambunctious kids to sit quietly and pay attention?" she wondered.
She had watched veteran teachers and saw that they were able to keep the lid on, but she
wanted to do more; she wanted to help the children grow-in every sense of the word.
Jeff Thompson, a third-year middle-school teacher, walked around his classroom, trying to
~~~M~e~~
"The room looks great," he thought. Having survived two years of up-and-down
teaching, Jeff wanted this year to be different. Students liked his science classes, but more
noise and confusion than appropriate was common. He realized that some noise was in
evitable, but his students seemed to be constantly testing him. If only he could get them to
willingly cooperate. If only....
THE IMPORTANCE OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Historically, both teachers and the public at large have believed that creating an orderly
classroom is essential for learning. For example, from the 1960s until the end of the twen
tieth century, national Gallup polls identified classroom management as one of the most
important and challenging problems facing teachers (Elam and Rose, 1995; Rose and
Gallup, 1999). It's the number one concern of beginning teachers (Rose and Gallup,
1999), and research indicates that disruptive students are an important source of teacher
stress (Abel and Sewell, 1999). Nearly half of the teachers who leave the profession during
the first three years do so because of problems with managing students (Curwin, 1992).
Classroom management has also been a major concern ofschool policy makers, par
ents, and the public at large (Elarn and Rose, 1995). Now, as we've moved into the
twenty-first century, concerns for safety and order have further increased, in reaction to
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CREATING PRODUCTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.
191
highly publicized incidents of school violence. Although incidents involving school vio
lence receive enormous press coverage an\:rouse fear and concern in both parents and
students, incidents such as these in schools ~, rare; it's the day-to-day job of establishing
and maintaining orderly, learning-focused classrooms that requires so much teacher effort.
Commonly overlooked in discussions of management and discipline is the role of
effective instruction. Research indicates that it is virtually impossible to maintain an or
derly classroom in the absence of good teaching and vice versa (Doyle, 1986).
To emphasize this important relationship, in this chapter we'll emphasize teachers'
ability to create a productive learning environment, which is a classroom that is orderly
andfocuses on learning. In it students feel safe, both physically and emotionally, and the
day-to-day routines-including the values, expectations, learning experiences, and spo
ken and unspoken rules and conventions-are all designed to help students learn as
much as possible (Tishman, Perkins, and Jay, 1995).
In productive learning environments, classroom order and effective instruction are in
terdependent (jones andJones, 2001). We discussed effective instruction in Chapters 4 and
5, and now we focus on classroom management, the other component of this relationship.
The importance of classroom management for learning is difficult to overstate. In a
comprehensive review of factors influencing learning, researchers concluded, "Effective
classroom management has been shown to increase student engagement, decrease dis
ruptive behaviors, and enhance use of instructional time, all of which result in improved
student achievement" (Wang, Haertel, and Walberg, 1993, p. 262). Students learn more
in an environment that is clean, orderly and safe, and an orderly environment is one of
the characteristics of an effective school (Teddlie and Reynolds, 1988).
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT: A DEFINITION

Classroom management consists if all the teacher thoughts, plans, and actions that create an
orderly learning environment. As examples of the broad array of teacher actions that fall
under this umbrella, consider the following:
'\,
Jacinta Cortez has her first graders practice the routines of finishing seatwork and putting it
in folders in front of the room. She has them finish a short assignment and then walks them
through the process of taking the paper, filing it efficiently, and returning to their desks.
Gary Evans has a list of five rules written on a piece of poster paper in the front of the
room. Each morning, he gives his fourth graders an open envelope with three slips of
paper in it. When a rule is broken, he first warns the student. The second time the student
breaks a rule, he goes to the student's desk and takes one of the slips. Any students who
lose all three slips in a day write notes home explaining why they must stay after school.
Students who lose no more than two slips during the week are given a free hour Friday af
ternoon when they can bring treats and play games.
Rose Sosa always carefully prepares each morning for her American history class. "These
kids are sharp, and their disagreements are animated," she comments to a colleague in the
faculty workroom. "If I'm not prepared, they know it, and their discussions get a little out of
hand. They're good kids, though, so all I have to do is tell them to tone it down a little, and
they're fine."
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CHAPTER 6
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Each of these situations is different from the ~ers, but they're all part of the man
agement process. Jacinta teaches small children wh~need to learn classroom routines;
Gary developed a plan for systematically enforcing rules; and Rose spent much of her
effort in planning for instruction. Planning and organization, routines and procedures,
and systems for handling disruptions are all part of effective classroom management.
Management Goals: Learning and Self-Regulation

We have two goals when we attempt to create productive learning environments. The
first is to promote as much learning as possible, and teachers should continually ask them
selves if their management system contributes to student learning (Morine-Dersheimer
and Reeve, 1994). Our second goal is to develop in students the ability to manage and
direct their own learning. The classroom environment becomes "one vehicle for the en
hancement of student self-understanding, self-evaluation, and the internalization of self
control" (McCaslin and Good, 1992, p. 8).
To accomplish both of these goals, teachers should try to communicate a responsibility
rather than an obedience orientation (Curwin and Mendler, 1988). An obedience model
of management teaches students tofollow rules and obey authority, using rewards and punish
ment. The goal is conformity. By contrast, a responsibility model ofmanagement helps
students make appropriate choices and learnfrom their actions and decisions. Teachers help students
learn to be responsible by explaining the reasons for rules and applying logical conse
quences, which are effects that are conceptually linked to behaviors. Let's look at an example.
Jason, a high-energy sixth grader, for some unknown reason decided to spit on the door
of his bedroom. His mother, Vicki, wanted to make him wash the door. Matt, his father,
wanted to punish him by restricting his freedom.
Washing the door is a logical consequence. Jason spit on it; he washes it. The act
and the consequence are conceptually linked. In contrast, restriction isn't related to the
action; it's not a logical consequence. Restriction might result in conformity. but it
doesn't directly teach Jason that he's accountable for his actions.
Logical consequences communicate to students that the world is a sensible and or
derly place, that actions have consequences, and that we are responsible for our actions.
Let's look at another example.
The kindergarten boys found a lovely mud puddle in the playground during recess. They
had much fun running and splashing and then came back into the room wet and dripping
and proceeded to leave muddy footprints allover the room. Their teacher, using logical
consequences rather than punishment, called them aside for a conference.
"Boys, we have two problems here. One is that you have made our classroom very
dirty and it needs to be fixed so that the other children don't get wet and dirty. What can
you do to fix it?" One little boy suggested that they could mop the floor.
"Good idea!" said the teacher. "Let's find our custodian, Mrs. Smith, and you can get a
mop fi-om her and mop the floor. Now what about our other problem, your dirty clothes?"
"We could call our mothers and ask them to bring us clean clothes!" suggested one
boy.
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"Another good idea," said the teacher. "But what if

are not home?" This
was a tougher problem.
"I know," one boy finally said, "we could borrow some clean clothes from the lost and
found box!"
"Good thinking," said the teacher. 'And what can we do so that you don't lose so
much time from class again?"
"Stay out of mud puddles!" was the reply in unison. (McCarthy, 1991, p. 19)
By helping students see the relationships between their actions and the problem, the
teacher was not only solving the inunediate problem but also teaching students how to
take responsibility for their actions. Research shows that children who are helped to un
derstand the consequences of their actions on other people become more altruistic and
are more likely to take actions to make up for their misbehavior (Berk, 2000).
Creating Responsibility..Oriented Classrooms

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search on parenting styles and their effects on children provide us with some guidelines.
Three distinct parental interaction styles were identified, and these patterns had
clear effects on children (Baurnrind, 1973, 1991). Authoritarian parents valued confor
mity, were emotionally detached, didn't explain their reasons for rules, and discouraged
discussions about issues related to behavior. Their children tended to be withdrawn, and
they worried more about pleasing their parents than solving problems.
Permissive parents, by contrast, had few expectations for their children and gave them
total freedom. This freedom didn't result in happiness or growth, however. Children of
permissive parents were immature, lacked self-control, and were anxious and uncertain.
Authoritative parents were firm but caring. They had high crPectations, were con
sistent, and explained the reason for rules. Their children were more confident and se
cure, had higher self-esteem, and were more willing to take risks.
Similar styles have been identified in teachers; effective teachers tend to be more
authoritative than authoritarian or permissive. They establish rules and procedures and
take the time to explain why they're necessary. They have high expectations for their
students, and they're supportive as students attempt to meet their expectations. When
disruptions occur, effective teachers quickly intervene, solve the problem, and return
just as quickly to the learning activity. Like authoritative parents, they are firm but car
ing, they establish rules and limits, and they expect students to demonstrate self-control.
In time, students in their classrooms become self-regulated learners.
Management: An Historical Perspective

Before continuing, let's put classroom management into historical perspective and see
how research has affected the views we hold today.
Leaders in the area haven't always focused on the teacher as a manager of classroom
activities and creator of productive learning environments. Early research viewed the
teacher as either a clinical practitioner or an effective disciplinarian (Doyle, 1986; Jones
and Jones, 2001).
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CHAPTER 6
teacher'~
The clinical practitioner view stressed the

as counselor/therapist. Ac
cording to this view, if the teacher understood the causes of disruptive behavior, they
could be solved. This approach proved inadequate for two reasons. First, it considered
the teacher's primary management role to be a counselor and therapist. While every
teacher needs to be sensitive and responsive to students, and teachers should be caring
listeners, counseling is not teachers' primary role. Rather, they arc expected to promote
learning and responsibility in their students.
The second reason was logistical. It's impossible for elementary teachers with 25 or
more students, or secondary teachers with up to 150 students, to spend the time needed
to work on each student's individual problems. That's what school counselors and psy
chologists are hired to do. This doesn't suggest that teachers never deal with manage
ment problems on a one-to-one basis. As a general approach, however, it's impractical.
A second perspective viewed classroom managers as disciplinarians. An effective
manager, for example, would be one who could quickly quiet a class down when they
get too noisy or get kids back in their seats after a disturbance. Research, however, didn't
support this view, and the story behind this research is interesting.
Jacob Kounin (1970) is primarily responsible for turning our attention away from
discipline or intervention strategies to more preventive management-oriented ap
proaches. But he didn't do so without some fitful starts. He began his inquiry with the
hypothesis that effective classroom managers use "desist" strategies that both stop the
immediate misbehavior and have a "ripple effect" on other students. In examining these
strategies, he focused on teacher variables such as language clarity and the intensity of
the desist. For example, 'Johnny, please stop talking" is clearer than the statement
"Class, pay attention," and "Get to work, now," is firmer than "I think we better get
working." Tone of voice and the length of the reprimand were also studied as part of in
tensity. He then measured the amount of time students were attentive and the number
of disruptions in the classroom. However, no relationship between the ~t strategies of
less and more effective classroom managers was found.
Reanalysis of the data provided some interesting information. In a study of 40
first- and second-grade classrooms from both suburban and inner-city classrooms, he
identified a variable called "withitness," Teachers exhibit withitness if they are aware of
the total classroom environment and can work with a student individually without losing track of
the rest if the class. Kounin described this skill as having" eyes in the back of the head."
Actually, awareness is only part of it; the other part involves communicating this abil
ity to students. Teachers do so by continually watching for obstacles to learning and
nipping problems in the bud before they interfere with the class as a whole. "Withit"
teachers are constantly scanning the room and monitoring students' learning progress
and behavior.
What is the opposite of a "withit" teacher? We've all seen teachers who talk to a
student with their backs to the rest of the class, lecture to the ceiling while several indi
viduals are daydreaming or talking to each other, or sit with paperwork at their desk
while students who are supposed to be doing seatwork are going wild. Other problems
include reprimanding the wrong student for misbehavior or correcting a less serious in
fraction while overlooking a more serious one. Some of us have probably been punished
for retaliating after we have been poked, while the original perpetrator gets off free.
Each of these examples suggests that the teacher is not aware ofwhat is going on in the
classroom-that is, isn't "withit,"
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Beyond the immediate variables it identified, Kounin's work strongly influenced the
classroom management studies that followed. Earlier research had framed questions in
terms of simple cause-and-effect relationships; that is, if the teacher reprimanded a stu
dent, for example, then the student either did or did not stop the misbehavior. Research
following Kounin's work viewed classrooms as complex systems in which teacher actions
determined only part of the flow. Philip Jackson's book Life in Classrooms (1968) also was
influential in helping researchers understand the complex tasks that teachers face. In ad
dition, researchers switched to more detailed observational systems that examined the
ways that effective teachers orchestrated the complexities of their classrooms.
One of the problems researchers encountered was the near invisibility of an effec
tive teacher's actions in a productive learning environment; they were so efficient that it
was difficult to pinpoint specific actions that made a difference. In hindsight we see that
this was one of the most important findings of this literature. Effective classroom man
agement doesn't involve simple formulas or single actions. Rather, it's the interaction of
multiple factors and strategies, many of which have been considered in advance. This
leads us to the topic of planning for efficient management.
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PLANNING FOR CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Few veteran teachers would think of getting up in front of a group of students without
planning for what they were trying to accomplish. As we saw in Chapter 3, they write
less on paper than they did when they began teaching, but they are very clear, never
theless, about what they want to accomplish and how they will go about it.
The need to plan for classroom management is no less important, but beginning
teachers often fail to consider plans for managerJnt (Weinstein, Woolfolk, Dittmeier,
and Shankar, 1994). This oversight is a major mistake. Effective teachers plan and con
sider strategies for management with as much effort as they put into lessons. This proac
tive planning makes their interactions with students both easier and more enjoyable.
In planning for management, a long-term goal should be the development of stu
dents who assume responsibility for their own behavior. Research on learning (Brun
ing, Shraw, and Ronning, 1999) and motivation (Pintrich and Schunk, 1996) highlights
me importance of students' belief in themselves as self-regulated and capable students.
Let's see how teachers at different levels attempt to teach this.
Felicia Perez works with inner-city first graders. She describes her goals in this way: "I try
to teach each student a sense of individual responsibility. We have choice time in the after
noon, when students get to select an activity or game and pursue it. They're on their own
and I'm trying to get them to think about and take responsibility for their own behavior."
Jeff Thompson teaches middle school science. His management goals are "to develop in
them the ability to manage their own learning. I purposefully give them free time to work
on individual projects. I want them to experience freedom and responsibility. Labs are es
pecially difficult for them because there is all that equipment to mess around with. But we
talk about it beforehand and we work with it. I'll even leave the room for a minute or two
and stand outside in the hall and listen. I want to give them the feeling that they're in
charge. Does it always work? No, but we're making progress."
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CHAPTER 6
self-co~
don't just happen. They develop over time

Individual responsibility and
through the efforts of teachers who plan for and teach these goals. Your plans for man
agement should consider three aspects of your classroom environment:
The characteristics of your students
The physical environment in your room
Classroom rules and procedures
Your classroom's physical arrangement and your rules and procedures will depend
on the characteristics of your students, so we consider this factor first.
Student Characteristics
Whom you teach determines how you teach, and this is also true for management. As
we saw in Chapter 2, some students pose greater management challenges than do oth
ers. In studies of lower elementary classrooms, for example, researchers found high
achieving students to be on task almost twice as much of the time as low-achieving
students (Levin, Libman, and Amaid, 1980; Shimron, 1976). In addition, low achievers
were idle or involved in inappropriate activities almost three times as often as high
achievers. Some children learn to discipline themselves and take responsibility even
when they're young, whereas others don't, and this accounts for some of these differ
ences. Other differences result from the quality of the instruction and its match with
students' needs and abilities. Whatever the reason, different students pose different man
agement problems, and rules and procedures must be adapted to these differences. For
example, classes composed of mostly low achievers will need to be more highly struc
tured than will classes composed of mostly high achievers.
The developmental age of the learner also influences the management plans a
teacher makes (Charles, 1999). Children at different stage~derstand and interpret rules
and procedures in different ways. Some of these differences are outlined in Table 6.1.
Although these differences between developmental stages and ability groups suggest
different emphases and approaches, the same basic principles that work with one type of
student work with others. All students-high or low achievers, cultural minority and
nonminority, and high or low socioeconomic status-need understandable sets of rules
and procedures that are consistently enforced. And research examining learners with ex
ceptionalities who are mainstreamed into regular classrooms suggests they respond to
the same supportive and structured approach (Hardman et al., 1999). In addition, all
students require a management system that is systematic and comprehensive, begins on
the first day of class, and is maintained throughout the school year.
The Physical Environment

"l can't see the board."
"I didn't get a worksheet. Kevin didn't pass them back."
"What did she say? I couldn't hear her!"
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197
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Stage
Description
Stage 1:
Lower primary
Students in the lower primary grades are generally compliant and oriented toward
pleasing their teacher; their attention spans are short, and they tend to break rules
more from simply forgetting or not fully understanding them than for other
reasons. Rules must be carefully and explicitly taught, modeled, practiced, and
frequently reviewed with students at this age. Role playing and positive
reinforcement for compliance can help solidify the rules in students' minds.
Stage 2:
Middle
elementary
This level is characterized by children who understand the game of schooling and
generally are still interested in pleasing the teacher. Many elementary teachers
believe this age group is the easiest to teach and manage because of these
characteristics. Rules are easier to (re)teach at this level, and the teacher's central
management task becomes one of maintenance and monitoring.
Stage 3:
Middle and
junior high
This stage spans grades seven through about nine and includes the tempestuous
period of adolescence. As students become more oriented toward their peers,
authority is questioned more often, and more disruptions result from attention
seeking, humorous remarks, horseplay, and testing oflimits. Classroom
management can be demanding at this stage. Motivating students and maintaining
compliance with the rules are the teacher's major tasks.
Stage 4:
High school
In the later high school years, students mature, becoming more personally
adjusted and more oriented toward academic learning. Management becomes
easier, and more time and energy can be devoted to instructional tasks.
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The physical environment is a second planning consideration, and the question we're
trying to answer is, "How can I arrange the room to maximize order and learning?"
Several guidelines aid our decisions. First, all students must be able to see the board,
overhead projector screen, maps, and other instructional aids. Su~prisingly, some teach
ers don't consider this factor. For example, they display information on an overhead, but
the projector itself obstructs the view of several students. As a result, those who can't see
crane their necks, bumping other students in the process (who protest out loud), or they
shout from the back of the room that they can't see. In other cases, the material dis
played on the overhead (or information written on the board) is too small to be seen
clearly by all the students. Both management and learning suffer.
In addition, the room should be arranged so the teacher can move from one instruc
tional aid to another, such as from the overhead to a map, without students having to turn
their desks or, if possible, even to shift their bodies. Something as simple as rotating 90 de
grees in a desk can disrupt the flow of an activity for a lively, rambunctious student.
Materials, such as paper and scissors, should be accessed with a minimal amount of
disruption, and procedures for using the drinking fountain, sink, and pencil sharpener
should be specified. Many teachers make their desks and storage areas off limits without
permission.
Seat arrangements have been researched and, not surprisingly, researchers have
found that the best arrangement depends on the learning situation. In some studies,
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CHAPTER 6
effectiv~nnett
and Blundell, 1983), whereas clus

rows have been found to be most
ters of four or five desks, or circle patterns, are more desirable in others (Rosenfield,
Lambert, and Black, 1985). Teachers should try different arrangements and select the
one that works the best for them. Consider the following problem encountered by a
seventh-grade teacher.
PriscillaLopez had 33 seventh graders in a room designed for a maximum of27, and as a
result the students were very close together. She tried arranging the desks in her room in a
two-ring semicircle with the outer row behind the inner.
She soon moved the desks back to their original positions. She explained the move in
this way, "They weren't trying to be disruptive," she told us. "But as they faced each other
across the front of the room, they would inaudibly mouth questions like, 'What are you
doing tonight?' or they would be pinching each other on the rear ends. They couldn't han
die it, so I went back to a standard arrangement of rows. Interestingly, my advanced kids
were okay. Once I told them, it was enough."
This example illustrates the need to consider both the physical arrangement of the
room and the characteristics of the students as we plan for management. Priscilla exper
imented with different arrangements and found the one that was most effective for her
students.
Where individual students should sit is another issue. Several factors affect this ques
tion. First, for students in the fourth or fifth through the eighth or ninth grades, the so
cial aspects of schooling increase, and who sits next to whom becomes important.
Second, research has identified an "action zone" in classrooms; students seated in the
center or front of the classroom tend to interact more frequently with the teacher; the
number of behavioral problems increases as students sit farther away (Adams and Biddle,
1970). Students in the back and corners of the room are more likely to be off task than
those close to the front or the teacher's desk.
In response to these factors, some teachers change their room arrangement and stu
dent seating charts on a regular schedule, both for the sake of variety and to put differ
ent students at the front of the room. They use seat assignments strategically as a
management tool to help students become involved and to maintain that involvement
throughout the day. Many effective teachers begin the school year with arbitrary seat as
signments, planning to make changes after they've had several weeks to observe the pat
terns of behavior that evolve.
Should students be allowed to sit where they want? If you are a new teacher, a bit
anxious about management, or have had management problems in the past, this proba
bly isn't desirable. Later, it can be used as a reward for good classroom behavior with the
condition that the good behavior continue. In short, student choice is a privilege, not a
right, and it may not be possible in the lower elementary grades, where self-control hasn't
yet developed.
Classroom Rules: Establishing Standards for Behavior

Classroom rules establish standards for acceptable student behavior. The process of creating
rules presents an opportunity to help learners think about their rights and responsibili
CREATING
PRO~TIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.
199
ties in your class. By establishing standards for behavior they help make the classroom
predictable and eliminate uncertainty.
The value of rules is well documented. When they're clear, specific, and enforced,
student behavior improves (Emmer, Evertson, Clements, and Worsham, 2000; Evert
son, Emmer, Clements, and Worsham, 2000). As Kounin discovered, effective managers
prevent misbehavior rather than eliminate problems after they occur. Rules, established
in advance, are a cornerstone in this process.
Some ways of establishing rules are better than others. Guidelines are outlined in
Figure 6.1 and discussed in the paragraphs that follow.
We see "student involvement" at the top of Figure 6.1. Involving students in the
process is consistent with a responsibility model of management and has three impor
tant benefits:
It promotes a sense of ownership, increasing the likelihood that students will

follow the rules.
It emphasizes student self-control and personal responsibility.
It treats students as moral thinkers, helping them see the values, such as respect
for others, behind rules.
As teachers have worked with their students, they've found it helpful to refer to the
Golden Rule, emphasizing how rules establish broad guidelines for treating others in
the same way we want to be treated.
Rules must be consistent with the policies of the school and district. This statement
may be obvious, but we include it as a reminder to check these policies before you pre
pare your own classroom rules.
Your list of rules should be as short as possible. No specific number exists, but five is
often cited as a guideline. The number of rules to follow should be short enough for stu
dents to remember. Interestingly, the most common reason students break rules is simply
because they forget. This tendency is particularly true with young children, but it is often
r~ 6. ( Guidelines for Developing Rules
200
CHAPTER 6
the case with older students as well. For example, middle school and high school students
are sometimes given legal-size sheets of paper with long lists of single-spaced rules, the
rules are discussed on the first day of class, and they aren't referred to again until they're
broken. Under these conditions, we all would forget. The solution is to identify a short
list that you intend to enforce consistently. Some examples might include:
Speak only when given permission by the teacher.

Remain in your seat until given permission to leave.
Bring all materials to every class.
Keep hands and materials to yourself.
Treat the teacher and your classmates with respect.
These rules pertain to most if not all classrooms. For example, researchers have
found that up to 80 percent of classroom management problems involve students talk
ing inappropriately, and much of the remaining 20 percent are related to students' being
out of their seats without permission or failing to bring books, pencils, or notebook
paper to class (Jones and Jones, 2001).
Teachers, particularly at the middle and junior high levels, also complain about stu
dents' tendencies to hit, poke, shove, grab, and "fiddle" with each other and each other's
belongings. If the rules we identified were consistently enforced, most management
problems would cease to exist.
In discussing rules with students, state them clearly and specifically. For example,
compare the following rules:
a. Always come to school prepared.

b. Bring your book, notebook, paper, and pencil to every class.
Rule b is specific in describing the desired behavior; its meaning is clear. In contrast,
rule a requires additional interpretation; interpretation adds to uncertainty, and, in ex
treme cases it can lead to misunderstanding and controversy. When rules are stated in
more general terms, such as "Treat the teacher and your classmates with respect," ex
plain and provide examples of obeying the rule and other examples that illustrate break
ing the rule.
In presenting rules, carefully explain the reasons for them. Providing reasons for rules
may be the most important guideline that exists. It demonstrates that rules aren't arbitrary,
and as we emphasized earlier, it communicates that the world is a sensible and orderly
place. This might be as simple as explaining why one person talking at a time is necessary
for learning, or it could involve a longer discussion about the need to respect the rights of
others. It's impossible to implement a "responsibility model" of management without ex
plaining the reasons for rules, and we can't emphasize its importance too strongly.
Finally, plan consequences. Plan for what you will do when students break rules,
and communicate these consequences to the students. Many teachers have difficulty
with management because they're uncertain about how to respond when rules are bro
ken. Planning helps eliminate much of this uncertainty.
In considering consequences, student characteristics are important. High school
students may need only a simple reminder, and consequences may be unnecessary. On
the other hand, with younger students you may have to consistently enforce rules with
specific consequences until they're socialized into your classroom routines.
CREATING PROD,CTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.
201
~ 6.Z SAMPLE CONSEQUENCES FOR BREAKING

OR FOLLOWING RULES
Consequences for Breaking Rules
First infraction
Name on list
Second infraction
Check by name
Third infraction
Second check by name
Fourth infraction
Halfhour of detention
Fifth infraction
Call to parents
Consequences for Following Rules
A check is removed for each day that no infractions occur. If only a name remains
and no infractions occur, the name is removed.
All students without names on the list are given 45 minutes of free time Friday
afternoons to do as they choose. The only restrictions are that they must stay in
the classroom and must not disrupt the students who didn't earn the free time.
Source: L. and M. Canter(1992).
Assertive Discipline. In their very popular but controversial approach, Assertive Disci
pline, Lee and Marlene Canter (1992) advocate planning consequences for both breaking
and following rules. The system describes specific reinforcers that are given for following
the rules and punishers that are administered for breaking them. A sample set of rein
forcers and punishers is illustrated in Table 6.2.
Plans can vary, of course, and the consequences you choose depend on your pro
fessionaljudgment. These differences aren't important. What is important from an as
sertive discipline perspective is the fact that teachers specifically plan consequences for
each infraction.
Assertive discipline is controversial. Critics charge that it's punitive, pits teachers
against students, and stresses obedience and conformity at the expense of learning and
self-control (Curwin and Mendler, 1988; McLaughlin, 1994). Supporters disagree, con
tending that its emphasis on stated rules and positive reinforcement is proactive and ef
fective (Canter, 1988).
Regardless of the controversy, the program has been widely used. It is difficult to
find a school district in the country that hasn't had at least some exposure to assertive
discipline; estimates suggest that more than 750,000 teachers have been trained in the
program (Hill, 1990).
Procedures: Creating an Efficient Learning Environment

Procedures establish thepatterns that learners willfollow in theirdaily activities. As opposed
to rules, which are few in number, the typical classroom will have procedures for all
202
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CHAPTER 6
routine classroom activities. For instanc\ procedures will exist for putting materials in
folders, passing in and returning work, bathroom passes, changing activities, going to
lunch, and many other activities. With high school students, who understand the
game of school, establishing procedures is quite simple and planning for them is fairly
easy. In contrast, planning procedures for a kindergarten or first-grade class requires
careful consideration. They must be taught, explained, and monitored carefully at the
beginning of the school year.
As procedures become established, they become routines. This is your goal. Rou
tines are invaluable to both teachers and students. They simplify teachers' days by re
ducing the number of decisions they must make and allowing them to devote their
emotional and physical energies to instruction. They help students by communicating
expectations and making the environment predictable. As a simple example, if students
know they are to come in and get out their homework while the teacher checks atten
dance, the teacher doesn't have to spend time or energy reminding them.
Some general areas where procedures need to be considered are listed in Table 6.3.
Planning for them is essential for the smooth functioning of your classroom.
To illustrate the amount of detail needed in considering procedures, we've broken
down one area-beginning of class-into subareas (see Table 6.4). While the amount of
detail may seem overwhelming, it is important to think about these factors, considering
the ages of your students, and the school you teach in. Talking to other teachers can be
invaluable here. Find out what procedures teachers in earlier grades and other class
rooms use and build on this foundation. Don't feel obligated to follow other teachers'
procedures, but when you deviate from those regularly used in your school, make sure
you take the time to teach and explain these differences to your students.
As with planning rules and consequences, the specific procedures aren't essential;
thinking about and planning for them in advance is.
~ 6.3 AREAS FOR CONSIDERING CLASSROOM PROCEDURES

Procedural Area
Concerns
1. Entenng classroom!beginning
of period
What should students do when they enter

the classroom?
2. Large-group instruction
What are the rules for participation (e.g., should

students raise their hands to respond)?
3. Individual! small-group
instruction
What should students do when they need help?

When they're done?
4. Materials and equipment
How are papers handed in and back? What about

tape and scissors?
5. End of period
How do students leave the classroom (e.g., does the

bell or the teacher signalpermission to leave)?
6. Out-of-room policies
How do children receive permission

bathroom or go to the main office?
to
use the
203
Area
Questions
1. Entering class
Should students go directly to their seats when they enter the

class? Can they talk? Can they walk around the room? Is there
an assignment on the board?
2. Attendance
How will the teacher take attendance? What about tardies (e.g., do
they go to the office to remove their names from the absentee list)?
3. Previous absences
Is a note from parents required? What about missed work (e.g.,

homework and quizzes)?
4. Logistics
What about lunch count? Milk money? Special schedule for the
day (e.g., assemblies, PE, etc.)?
IMPLEMENTING MANAGEMENT PLANS
II is August 29, Yolanda's first day ofkindergarten. She has been to the school before to see
her brother in a play and to attend the Fall Carnival. She has heard about school from her
brother and parents, but still she is not sure what to expect. Her dad walks her to school,
and she feels good. The sun is warm, and she is excited. As she gets closer to school. she
notices all the people and cars. Her dad helps her thread her way through the crowds to
her classroom. She sees some familiar faces of neighborhood playmates, but most of the
people are strangers. The teacher approaches her, smiles, welcomes her, and takes her to
her desk just as the bell rings. She sits down, apprehensively, not sure what to do next.
Jim, too, is excited about his first day of school. He is in fifth grade and is looking forward to
playing on the playground before school and seeing all of his old friends. When he arrives at
school. the playground is just as he expected---chaos. He goes over to the baseball diamond
where some of his friends are playing catch and halfheartedly trying to get a game going.
Soon the bell rings, and the students funnel into the school. Jim knows the name of
his teacher and the location of the classroom. Reputation has it that he is strict but good.
The teacher stands at the door and directs each student to find the desk with his or her
name on it. As the teacher moves to the front of the room, Jim thinks, "I wonder what this
year will be like."
Delia is beginning her junior year of high school. In addition to the rest of her schedule, she
laking advanced placement American history, even though she was in standard world
history as a tenth grader. She is excited to be in school this first morning but somewhat anx
IOUS about the honors class. After the perfunctory homeroom discussions of pep rallies and
"mer activities, the bell sends her to first period, where Mrs. Perez waits. As she enters the
class, she notes a sign on the board: "Seat yourself and fill out the card on your desk." For
better or for worse, she is in advanced placement American history.
IS
These examples have two things in common. First, each involves students beginning
the first day of school with expectations and apprehensions. The expectations result frorn
204
CHAPTER 6
past experience or descriptions of e\.eriences from others, and the apprehensions result
from uncertainty about what is explted.
Concern in response to uncertainty is universal. We all feel more comfortable when
we know what is expected of us. Teachers address this need when they plan for class
room management and communicate these plans to students.
Second, each illustrates the beginning of school. This crucial period sets the stage
for the remainder of the year.
Implementing Plans: The First 10 Days

The beginning of the year is crucial for classroom management. It sets the tone and lays
the foundation for the rest of the year. A disorganized first two weeks corrununicates
uncertainty to students and drains the energy and resolve of the teacher.
Suggestions from a number of studies can be summarized in one word-simplify
(Erruner et al., 2000; Evertson et al., 2000)! Treat the first day as distinct and view it as
the beginning of a long-term effort to teach your rules and procedures. Resist the urge
to jump into content; instead, spend the necessary time organizing the class for the rest
of the year.
Research offers some suggestions. They're illustrated in Figure 6.2 and discussed in
the paragraphs that follow (based on work by Vasa, 1984).
Plan for Maximum Contact and Control. Plan instructional activities during the first
two weeks of class with management concerns a high priority. Use whole-class instruc
tion rather than small-group work, minimize work with individual students, and keep
the number of transitions from one activity to another low. Stay in the classroom and
don't allow yourself to become distracted by parents or new students.
Teach Rules and Procedures. We cannot overemphasize the importance of explicitly
teaching rules and procedures. Teachers often simply "present" their rules, which is much
like teaching a concept or principle in the abstract. Students construct understanding of
r~ 6.2 Guidelines for the First Day of Class
205
~erstanding
rules and procedures, just as they construct

of any concept, principle, or
generalization. So just as you would provide examples to teach the concepts arthropod or
metaphor, for example, you must provide examples to help your students understand rules
and procedures.
Let's look at how one teacher does this.
A second-grade teacher begins her first day of class by having students write their full name
on a card and taping the name tag to their shoulder with masking tape. Her instructions to
her class begin.
Teacher: Now, everyone, when I teach I have some rules that are necessary. My first rule
is that when we're having a discussion, it is very important to me that you wait and
stay completely quiet untill calIon you. I will calIon each ofyou as we go along, so
you must wait your turn. Now, what is the first rule, Sidney?
Sidney: ... We don't talk until you calIon us.
Teacher: Yes, exactly, Sidney. So if I calion Sharon and she is having a hard time answer
ing the question, what do you do? Carlos?
Carlos: I ... wait. I don't say anything.
Teacher: Yes, excellent, Carlos. And why do you suppose this rule is so important? Kim?
Kim: If ... if we shout out answers, other kids can't hear.
Teacher: That's right, Kim. That's very important. And it's also important that we all get a
chance to think about and practice on the ideas we're learning. So, we must wait our
turn.
The teacher in this case actually "taught" students the rule, much in the same way
she would teach any concept. She presented and explained it, followed with an exam
ple, and explained why the rule was important. Time and effort is well spent on this
process. It eliminates problems before they begin and results in a more smoothly func
tioning classroom throughout the year.
Some teachers display the rules on a front bulletin board, a portion of the chalk
board, or some other prominent place. Others prefer to hand out rules on a sheet of
paper and discuss them. How the rules are displayed isn't an important issue; the essen
tial factor is that they are carefully taught, reviewed, and reinforced. Our goal is for all
students to be aware of all our rules at all times.
Teaching procedures is similar to teaching rules. Researchers have found that effec
tive primary teachers actually have young children practice "dry runs" on procedures
like putting papers in folders at the front of the room and using and returning materi
als, such as scissors (McGreal, 1985). They do two or three dry runs each day for the first
few days, and the patterns then become firmly established.
Some essential procedures that should be considered the first few days include:
Entering and leaving the classroom

Using materials and facilities, such as the pencil sharpener
Using the bathroom
Turning in assignments
Enforce Rules with Consistency. Monitor and enforce rules with complete consistency
during this period. Your goal is to make the management environment completely
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CHAPTER 6
predictable. You want all students to know what the rules are and that you will inter
vene immediately when a rule is broken. For instance:
The second day of class, Glen Stancil began reviewing problems for finding the area of
rectangles with his sixth graders. He knew that they had covered the topic in fifth grade,
but he wasn't sure of their understanding. He displayed a problem and began, "What's
the first step in the solution? ... ToniT
"We multiply," Susan jumped in.
Glen turned directly to Susan and asked firmly but evenly, "Susan, what was the first
rule we discussed?"
"We ... don't talk until you call on us."
"Yes, exactly. Very good. Thanks, Susan. Now, what are we asked for in the prob
lem, ToniT
Despite a teacher's careful efforts to teach rules in the first few days, students will
still break them, usually because they simply forget or slip up. Each time this happens,
successful teachers take the time to stop and immediately remind the students of the rule
and why it is important. This is what Glen did.
While most students comply with the rules when they are carefully taught and re
viewed, some students test us; in these cases, it is even more important that rules are
monitored thoroughly and consistently. We pass the test by dealing with the infraction
before continuing on with our instruction.
Instruction may be disrupted by these management interventions during the first
few days of the year. However, we cannot state too strongly how important it is to estab
lish the patterns you expect for the remainder of the year during this period. Unfortu
nately, we've seen many examples of teachers near the end of the first or second grading
period who are still trying to teach over students who are visiting with each other in the
back of the room, goofing off, or even sitting with their backs to the teacher. Learning
can't occur under these conditions. Time spent establishing desired patterns during the
first two weeks will pay enormous dividends during the rest of the year.
Communicate Openly and Congruently. Communicate openly and congruently with

your students. Notice, for example, that Glen intervened directly and firmly when
Susan broke the rule. In Chapter 5, we discussed the need for congruent verbal and
nonverbal behavior. This congruence is particularly important in dealing with manage
ment issues. Telling students to be quiet as we glance over our shoulders at them com
municates a different message than moving toward them, facing them directly, looking
in their eyes, and then telling them to stop talking.
There is, however, no place in the classroom for threats and ultimatums. They de
tract from a positive climate and reduce the teacher's credibility. Open and honest com
munication makes the teacher accessible and human without reducing authority. It
enhances the dignity of both the students and the teacher.
Involve Parents. Research indicates that students benefit from home-school coopera
tion in several ways:
More positive student attitudes toward school as evidenced by better atten
dance rates
207
Higher academic achievement and greater willingness to do homework

Increased understanding and s\pport from parents
(Cameron and Lee, 1997; Lopez and Scrib'" 1999)
One teacher's efforts to involve parents from the beginning ofthe year are illustrated
in Figure 6.3. This communication serves at least three functions. First, the students'
parents are made aware of important rules and procedures. As a result, when students
leave the house in the morning, parents will be more inclined to say, "Do you have your
homework with you?" or "Do you have paper?" Unfortunately, not all parents will be
helpful or cooperative, but if the letter increases the support in only a few, you are ahead
of where you would have been.
Second, the letter communicates that the teacher is accessible to parents. It also
paves the way for further communication should the teacher need to call parents about
some issue later in the year.
Finally, the signature at the bottom symbolizes a form of commitment to the rules
and procedures on the part of both the student and their parents; it's a type of contract.
As a result, serious infractions are less likely to take place.
Communication can be enhanced in other ways. A simple handwritten note sent
home with a child who has been doing particularly well takes only a minute and can do
much to promote a positive home-school partnership. Periodic phone calls, while ad
mittedly time consuming, can help with both management and achievement problems.
This pattern can also be established in the first two weeks. Getting a phone call during
the first two weeks of school communicates that the teacher is on top of things and that
he or she cares about the student. The most common parental complaint we hear is
"Why weren't we told he was misbehaving?" or "We never knew he was having trou
ble in history." You are much more likely to have problems with parents by not com
municating than you are by being a little overzealous at the beginning of the school year.

Student diversity is an asset; it provides opportunities for students to learn about them
selves and others. However, diversity can also present barriers to a teacher wanting to
establish links between home and school. Some include:
Economic barriers
Cultural barriers
Language barriers
Economic Barriers. Communication and the development of links between home and
school take time. Parents working two jobs and struggling to make ends meet, for ex
ample, may not have the time or energy to become fully involved in their child's school
ing (Ellis, Dowdy, Graham, and Jones, 1992). Child care and lack of transportation are
other potential obstacles. Research indicates that parents do care about their children's
education but that schools need to be flexible in working with them (Epstein, 1990).
Cultural Barriers. Many of our students' parents experienced a very different educa
tional system than the one their children are in, and they may not understand our
goals, rules, and procedures in the way we intend. For example, one study found that
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CHAPTER 6
September 30, 2001
Dear Parents and Students,
It was a pleasure meeting so many of you during our open house. Thank
you for your cooperation and help in making this year the best one
ever for your youngster.
I am looking forward to an exciting year in geography, and I hope
you are too! In order for us to work together more effectively, some
guidelines are necessary. They are listed below. Please read through
the information carefully and sign the bottom of the page. If you
have any questions or comments, please feel free to call Lakeside
Junior High School (272-8160). I will return your call promptly.
This sheet must be kept in your student's notebook and/or folder
all year.
Sincerely,
Survival Guidelines
1. Treat your classmates and the teacher with respect.
2. Be in class, seated, and quiet when the bell rings.
3. Bring covered textbooks, notebook, and/or folder, paper, pen, and

pencils to class every day.
4. Raise your hand for permission to speak or to leave your seat.
5. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
Homework Guidelines
1. Motto: I will always TRY, and I will NEVER give up!
2. I will complete all assignments. If the assignment is not finished
or is not ready when called for, a zero will be given.
3. Head your paper properly---directions were given in class. Use
pen or pencil---no red, orange, or pink ink. If you have questions,
see Mrs. Barnhard.
4. Whenever you are absent, it is your responsibility to come in

early in the morning (8:15-8:50) and make arrangements for makeup
work. Class time will not be used for this activity, Tests are
always assigned 3 to 5 days in advance. If you are absent the
day before the test, you should come prepared to take the test as
announced.
5. No extra credit work will be given. If you do all of the required
work and study for the tests, there should be no need for extra
credit.
(student)
_
XXf"
r~ 6.~ Letter to Parents
(parent)
I
I
209
Puerto Rican parents believed S~OIS in the United States were too impersonal and
that teachers didn't demonstrate at they cared for children enough (Harry, 1992).
Misinterpretation can occur in oth directions. Asian and Latino parents often defer
to the school and a teacher's authority in matters of discipline, believing schools are the
proper place for handling management problems. Teachers sometimes view this defer
ence as apathy, not realizing that parents care, but feel that the school's authority shouldn't
be questioned (Harry, 1992). This again illustrates the need for open communication.
Language Barriers. Language can be another obstacle to home-school cooperation.

Some parents speak only halting English, making communication through letters and
phone calls difficult and making it hard for parents to help their children with home
work (Delgado-Gaitan, 1992). The following are some strategies for overcoming lan
guage barriers:
Ask other teachers or parents to translate letters into parents' native languages.
Use older students in the school to help translate letters.
Involve students in three way parent-student-teacher conferences.
Research consistently indicates that parents want to help and become involved
(Hoover-Dempsy, Bassler, and Burow, 1995). Teachers need to capitalize on this desire
by making every effort to open and maintain communication with parents.
The Relationship between Management and Instruction

At the beginning of the chapter we said that productive learning environments are or
derly and focus on learning. We also said that it is virtually impossible to maintain an or
derly classroom in the absence of good teaching and vice versa. We want to revisit this
relationship now.
By establishing expectations, rules, and procedures early in the school year, we can
devote more of the remaining time to instruction and to monitoring the rules and pro
cedures we've created. An important measure of a productive learning environment is
the extent to which it allows instruction to take place with as little disruption as possi
ble. If instruction is effective, the need for management interventions sharply decrease.
We focus now on three instructional factors that help minimize the likelihood of
management problems: orchestration, momentum, and smoothness.
Orchestration. Orchestration refers to the teacher's ability to maintain theflow if a lesson

while addressing human and management concerns. A student blurting out, "Can I go to the
bathroom?" or the teacher having to say, "Sarah, please turn around," can be disruptive
to the lesson. Effective teachers accommodate these potential disruptions without los
ing the flow of the lesson.
Well-established procedures help orchestration. If a procedure for going to the
bathroom has been taught and practiced, for example, a quick nod of the head to the
one student and a quiet "Sarah, please turn around," can be smoothly integrated into
the overall lesson.
Overlapping, orthe ability to monitor more than one variable at a time (Kounin, 1970),
is closely related to orchestration. It is especially important in elementary classrooms,
210
CHAPTER 6
where, for example, it is com~n for most of the students to be working at their desks
individually while the teacher onducts a small reading group.
At the secondary level, tea hers can lose the class while they're dealing with indi
vidual problems, such as students who were late or absent the day before. Effective
teachers have procedures for dealing with these situations, and in cases where contin
gencies arise they give the class a task and quickly deal with the incident while simulta
neously scanning the room. In short, they can do two things at once. This isn't easy, but
with practice and effort it can be learned.
Momentum. Momentum provides the lesson with strength and direction. Lessons with mo
mentum move at a brisk pace, fast enough to keep learners involved, but not so fast that
they get lost. The questioning strategies we discussed in Chapter 5 are important tools
teachers can use to help maintain momentum.
Momentum can be thought ofas a vector-a line that indicates the strength and di-'
rection of a force. Just as forces have direction and strength, so do lessons. Some lesson
vectors are weak, barely maintaining the teacher's interest, much less students'. Success
fullessons actively involve students; they're swept along by the lesson's momentum.
Here we again see how management and instruction are interdependent. Students
are much less likely to be disruptive when they're actively involved, and it's easier to in
volve students when the classroom is orderly.
Let's see how one teacher established and maintained lesson momentum with a po
tentially dry topic.
I was starting a lesson on the Crusades in my World History class, and I knew that it was
deadly last year. The students could have cared less about that old stuff.
So 1decided that I would try something different. 1went into the room and said, "I
have an announcement. The school administration has just decided that all extracurricular
activities will be eliminated in the school. They decided that the benefits didn't warrant the
cost, and the purpose of school is for learning, not extracurricular activities."
They, of course, were outraged. I let them talk for a few minutes and then [ asked
what we might do about it. Well, one thing led to another, and we finally decided that we
would be on a "crusade" to get extracurricular activities back into the school. I used it as a
framework, and we kept referring back to it as an analogy as we studied the real Crusades.
By involving students in the lesson and relating the content to students' own back
grounds and concerns, the teacher created a powerful lesson vector that carried through
the whole unit,
Events that drain energy away from the thrust of a lesson detract from momentum.
For example, a fire bell during a class in which the novel Old Yeller is being read orally
and is corning to its heart-rending conclusion is an example of an out-of-class obstacle
to momentum. Teacher-related sources are found in Table 6.5.
Smoothness. Smoothness describes a lesson's continuity. When teachers allow lessons to

wander or spend too much time interrupting lessons to reprimand students, problems
with smoothness occur. Smoothness relates closely to the concept connected discourse,
which we discussed in Chapter 4. Some obstacles to smoothness are shown in Table 6.6.
211
7Jte-6.5
OBSTACLES \0 MOMENTUM
Behavior
Example
Behavior
overdwelling
Nagging or preaching. Continuing to talk about a misbehavior after

it stopped. For example, "How many times do I have to tell you to
stop that talking?" or "This is the third time today that I've told you
to stop playing with your pencils."
Content
overdwelling
Staying on task well after students have mastered it. For example, teaching
the concept of odd numbers by having the class name all odd numbers
up to 100.
Fragmentation
Having single students or small groups do work that the whole group
could do. (If this is the case, why not do the activity as a whole and save
time and effort?)
Source: Adapted from Kounin, 1977.
7Jte- 6.6
OBSTACLES TO SMOOTHNESS
Behavior
Examples
Distractions
Calling attention to a piece of paper on the floor in the middle of explaining

a math problem. (This may be important, but should it occur now?)
Intrusions
In the middle of a reading lesson, the teacher says, "I just noticed that Sally
isn't here. Does anybody know why she's absent?" (The teacher should write
a note to himself or herself and find out later.)
Flip-flops
Returning to an activity after it is done. After science books are put away
and social studies has begun, the teacher says, "Oh, yeah, I just remembered
one more thing about arthropods."
Source: Adaptedfrom Kounin, 1977.
The keys to maintaining smoothness are well-planned lessons with aligned instruc
tion together with a well-established system of rules and procedures that help maintain
order.
In summary, orchestration, momentum, and smoothness help produce a productive
learning environment. They contribute to learning and facilitate management.
Classroom Management: Situational Variables. Certain types of activities are intrinsi

cally harder to manage than others. For example, researchers found that engagement
rates were highest for teacher-led small groups and lowest for pupil presentations
(Gump, 1967). In addition, engagement rates for whole-class activities, such as discus
sions and question-and-answer sessions, were higher than those during seatwork, and
the more often seatwork was used, the lower engagement rates were (Burns, 1984).
212
CHAPTER 6
Other studies have found similt patterns in favor of teacher-led work (Kounin and
Sherman, 1979; Rosenshine, 19~).
Lesson momentum helps us understand these results. Brisk question-and-answer
sessions, which are typical of whole-group activities, help maintain momentum,
whereas students must establish their own pace and momentum during individual as
signments and seatwork. These are reasons we suggested using whole-group instruction
at the beginning of the school year.
This doesn't imply that only teacher-led strategies should be used, however. As stu
dents get used to your routines and the patterns for the year are established, you can
gradually move to more student-centered lessons. As you plan for them, be aware that
different types of activities put different management demands on teachers and different
self-management requirements on students.
Also, be aware that beginnings of classes, transitions from one activity to another,
and ends of classes are times when management problems are most likely to occur.
Being aware of these possibilities helps you plan strategically for them.
MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS
The best laidplans if mice and men often go awry.
Robert Burns
Management interventions are teacher actions designed to eliminate unwanted student

behaviors. In our discussion of management during the first 10 days of school, we briefly
discussed the need for interventions when students break rules. The purpose in those
interventions is to establish desired patterns of behavior early in the school year and re
duce problems later on. This strategy works. Despite the teacher's best efforts, however,
management incidents will inevitably occur. When this happens, teachers must inter
vene. These interventions are often as brief as "Jerry, pay attention please" and occur as
frequently as 16 times per hour in the typical classroom (White, 1975). In learning en
vironments that aren't productive, however, frequent interventions chew up valuable
time, interrupt momentum, bother students, and wear out the teacher. In a reanalysis
of his 1970 data, Kounin (1983) found that some teachers had engagement rates of only
25 percent and accumulated nearly 1,000 interventions in one day. Whew!
Defining Misbehavior
Interventions occur as a result of misbehavior. This isn't as simple as it appears on the
surface, however, because what is viewed as misbehavior in one classroom can be ac
ceptable in another. And the same behavior in two different contexts can result in dif
ferent reactions from the teacher (Doyle, 1986). For example, a teacher is more likely to
overlook students who are offtask near the end ofa lesson than at the beginning or mid
dle. Also, some talking between students is generally accepted during transitions but not
during the main part of a lesson. So how can teachers, much less students, understand
what is meant by misbehavior?
Two factors are important-the context in which the behavior occurs and the im
pact of the behavior on learning (Charles, 1999; Jones and Jones, 2001). For example,
talking during a transition is a different context than talking during a learning activity;
213
talking during the transition h'\.ically doesn't interfere with learning, unless it makes the
transition so long that instru~~~al time is lost.
Researchers have identified five broad categories of misbehavior that appear here in
increasing order of seriousness:

Private inattention and off-task behavior that doesn't bother others

Talking or off-task behavior that bothers other members of the class
Defying authority or refusing to obey the teacher
Behaving immorally, such as cheating, lying, or stealing.
Behaving aggressively, including verbal or physical attacks on the teacher or
other students (Charles, 1999)
We examine interventions for these misbehaviors in the sections that follow.
An Intervention Continuum
Disruptions vary widely, from an isolated incident (such as a student briefly whispering
to a neighbor during quiet time) to chronic infractions (such as someone repeatedly
poking, tapping, or kicking other students). Because infractions vary, teachers' reactions
should also vary. To maximize instructional time and minimize disruptions, our goal is
to keep interventions as unobtrusive as possible. A continuum designed to reach this
goal is illustrated in Figure 6.4 and discussed in the following sections.
Praising Desired Behavior. Teachers are commonly encouraged to "catch 'em being
good," and since our goal in any classroom is to promote positive actions, "praising de
sired behavior" is a sensible beginning point, particularly as a method ofpreventing mis
behavior. Elementary teachers praise openly and freely, and middle and secondary
teachers often quietly comment to students after class, "I'm extremely pleased with your
work this last week. You're getting better and better at this stuff. Keep it up."
Interestingly, praise for desirable behavior occurs less often than we might expect,
probably because desired behavior is taken for granted, whereas misbehavior attracts at
tention. Making an effort to change these patterns and acknowledge desired behavior
and good work can significantly contribute to a productive learning environment.
Ignoring Inappropriate Behavior. If an incident of misbehavior is brief, we're often better
off simply ignoring than calling attention to it. This strategy is appropriate, for example, if
Minor
Infractions
Serious
Infractions
--1------ ------------ --------

Praising
desired
behavior
Ignoring
inappropriate
behavior
Using
indirect
cues
:r~ 6.9 An Intervention Continuum
Using
desists
Applying
consequences
214
CHAPTER 6
two students whisper to each other but soon stop. Combining praise and ignoring misbe
havior can be very effective 'with minor disruptions (Charles, 1999;Jones and Jones, 2001).
Using Indirect Cues. Teachers can use indirect cues, such as proximity, methods if redi
recting attention, and praising other students, when students are displaying behaviors that
can't be ignored but can be stopped or diverted without addressing them directly. For
example, suppose Chris has poked Tanya, and you hear her mutter, "Stop it, Chris."
You can move near Chris and call on him, which is likely to bring him back into the
lesson and eliminate his poking. Your proximity and question redirect his attention.
Praising other students can also be an effective management tool. Teachers, espe
cially in the lower grades, use statements like, "I really like the way Armondo is work
ing so quietly," which uses Armondo as an example for the rest of the students.
Using Desists. A desist occurs when a teacher tells a student to stop a behavior (Kounin,
1970). "Clenys, we don't leave our seat without permission," "Glenys!", a finger to the
lips, or a stern facial expression are all desists, and they're the most common teacher re
action to misbehavior (Humphrey, 1979; Sieber, 1981).
Clarity and tone are important in the effectiveness of desists. For example, "Randy,
what is the rule about touching other students in this class?" or, "Randy, how do you
think that makes Willy feel?" are clearer than "Randy, stop that," because they link the be
havior to a rule or the consequences of the behavior. Students react to these subtle differ
ences, preferring rule and consequence reminders to teacher commands (Nucci, 1987).
The tone of desists should be firm but not angry. Research indicates that kinder
garten students handled with rough desists actually became more disruptive and that
older students felt uncomfortable in classes in which rough desists were used (Kounin,
1970). In contrast, gentle reprimands and the suggestion of alternative behaviors, com
bined with effective questioning techniques, reduced time off task by 20 minutes a day
(Borg and Ascione, 1982). (Here again we see the interdependence of management and
instruction.)
Clear communication (including congruence between verbal and nonverbal behav
ior), an awareness of what's happening in the classroom (withitness), and the character
istics of effective instruction are essential in effectively using desists to stop misbehavior.
However, even when these important elements are used, desists alone sometimes don't
work.
Applying Consequences. Careful planning and effective instruction will eliminate much
misbehavior before it starts. Some minor incidents can be ignored, and simple desists will
stop others. When these strategies don't stop disruptions, you must apply consequences.
Logical consequences are preferable because they treat misbehaviors as problems
and demonstrate a link between the behavior and the consequence. Classrooms are busy
places, however, and it isn't always possible to solve problems with logical consequences.
In these instances, behavioral consequences are acceptable:
Damon is an active sixth grader. He loves to talk and seems to know just how far he can go
before Mrs. Lopez gets exasperated with him. He understands the rules and the reasons
for them, but his interest in talking takes precedence. Ignoring him isn't working. A call to
215
his parents helped for a while, but soon he was back to his usual behavior-never quite
enough to require a drastic response, but always a thorn in Mrs. Lopez's side.
Finally, she decides that she will give him one warning. At a second disruption, he is
placed in timeout from regular instructional activities. She meets with Damon and explains
the new rules. The next day, he begins to misbehave almost immediately.
"Damon," she warns, "you can't work while you're talking, and you're keeping others
from finishing their work. Please get busy."
He stops, but 5 minutes later he's at it again. "Damon," she says quietly as she moves
back to his desk, "I've warned you. Now please go back to the timeout area."
A week later, Damon is working quietly and comfortably with the rest of the class.
(Adapted from Eggen and Kauchak. 200 I)
1.
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Damon's behavior is common, particularly in elementary and middle schools, and

this type ofbehavior is what drives teachers up the wall. Students like Damon cause more
teacher stress and burnout than threats of violence and bodily harm. He is disruptive, so
his behavior can't be ignored; praise for good work helps to a certain extent, but much
of his reinforcement comes from his buddies. Desists work briefly, but teachers burn out
constantly monitoring him. Mrs. Lopez had little choice but to apply consequences.
The key to handling students like Damon is consistency. He understands what he is
doing, and he is capable of controlling himself. When he can-with absolute cer
tainty-predict the consequences of his behavior, he'll quit. He knew that his second
infraction would result in timeout and, when it did, he quickly changed his behavior.
There was no argument, little time was used, and the class wasn't disrupted.
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Dealing with Individual Problems

So far, we have approached classroom management primarily from a group perspective.
Periodically, however, we will have one or more students who don't respond like the
rest of the class, and concentrated individual action is warranted.
One approach to this problem is both humanistic and informational, based on the
works of Gordon (1974) and Glasser (1969,1977). These authors stress the importance
of clear and open communication between teacher and students. Gordon emphasized
active listening in which both teachers and students acknowledge each other's message
by restating it to communicate understanding. Glasser (1977) emphasized helping stu
dents understand the roles and obligations of everyone in the classroom and outlined 10
sequential steps to dealing with behavior problems. The steps range from simple inter
vention to contact with an outside agency. The process stops as soon as the behavior im
proves. Since the procedure is labor intensive, it should primarily be used as a last resort.
The steps are outlined as follows:
1. Identify the student and list typical responses (interventions) to his or her past
behavior.
2. Look at the list, discard ineffective interventions and focus on those that are
more productive.
3. Try to make the student feel accepted. Talk to the student, give him or her spe
cial responsibilities, and use extra encouragement.
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CHAPTER 6
4. If progress isn't made, discuss the problem with the student and require the stu
dent to describe the behavior in his or her own words. When you're satisfied
that the student understands why the behavior is a problem, ask that he or she
stop it.
5. Again, confer with the student and have the student describe the behavior and
state whether or not it is against the rules. Ask the student what he or she should
be doing instead.
6. Repeat step 5, but call attention to the fact that previous attempts haven't been
successful. Require that a plan of action be drawn up that will solve the prob
lem. This plan must include the student's commitment to the plan.
7. If the student doesn't follow the plan, take action. Isolate the student or use
timeout procedures. During this time, the student is responsible for devising a re
instatement plan intended to solve the problem. The plan must be approved by
the teacher.
8. Place the student in in-school suspension. Because the student has not been able
to behave acceptably, the principal is called in. Return to the classroom is con
tingent upon following the rules.
9. If a student cannot be integrated back into the classroom, the parents are called
in to discuss the problem and made aware that the student will be sent home.
One-day home suspensions are used when students continue to ignore the rules.
10. If the student still does not respond, it may be necessary to refer him or her to
another agency.
As you can see, the process is time consuming. When other approaches fail, how
ever, teachers should look for alternate solutions such as these to problems that are both
stressful and detract from productive learning environments.
The cooperation and participation of the principal is essential. Talk the problem
over with your principal, and ifhis or her intervention is necessary, ask for it in advance.
Also, recruit parents' assistance; most are eager to work with teachers in creating posi
tive environments for their children.
Serious Management Problems: Violence and Aggression

Class is disrupted by a scuffle. You look up to see that Ron has left his seat and gone to
Phil's desk, where he IS punching and shouting at Phil. Phil is not so much fighting back as
trying to protect himself. You don't know how this started, but you do know that Phil gets
along well with other students and that Ron often starts fights and arguments without
provocation. (Brophy and Rohrkemper, 1987, p. 60)
This morning several students excitedly tell you that on the way to school they saw Tom
beating up Sam and taking his lunch money. Tom is the class bully and has done things like
this many times. (Brophy and Rohrkemper, 1987. p. 53)
What would you do in these situations? What would be your immediate reaction?
How would you follow through? What long-term strategies would you employ to try
and prevent these problems from recurring? These questions were asked of teachers
identified by their principals as effective in dealing with serious management problems
217
(Brophy and McCaslin, 1992). In this section, we consider their responses together with
other research examining violence and aggression in schools.
Problems ofviolence and aggression require both immediate actions and long-term
solutions. Let's look at them.
Immediate Actions. Immediate actions involve three steps: (1) Stop the incident (if pos
sible), (2) protect the victim, and (3) get help. For instance, in the case of the classroom
scuffle, a loud noise, such as shouting, clapping, or slamming a chair against the floor
will often surprise the students enough so they'll stop. At that point, you can begin to
talk to them, check to see if Phil is all right, and then take them to the administration
where you can get help.
If your interventions don't stop the fight, immediately rush a student to the main
office for help. Unless you're sure that you can separate the students without danger to
yourself or them, attempting to do so is unwise.
Yc>u are legally required to intervene in the case of afight. If you ignore a fight, even on
the playground, parents can sue for negligence, on the grounds that you are failing to pro
tect a student from injury. However, the law doesn't say that you're required to physi
cally break up the fight; immediately reporting it to the administration is an acceptable
form of intervention.
Long-Term Solutions. In the long term, students must first be helped to understand the
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severity of their actions, that aggression will not be allowed, and they're accountable for
their behavior (Brophy, 1996; Limber et al., 1998). In the incident with the lunch
money, for example, Tom must understand that his behavior was reported, it's unac
ceptable and won't be tolerated.
As a preventive strategy, students must learn how to control their tempers, cope
with frustration, and negotiate and talk rather than fight. One approach uses problem
solving simulations to help aggressive youth understand the motives and intentions of
other people. Research indicates that these youngsters often respond aggressively be
cause they misperceive others' intentions as being hostile (Hudley, 1992). Following
problem-solving sessions, aggressive students were less hostile in their interpretation of
ambiguous situations and were rated as less aggressive by their teachers.
Other approaches to preventing aggression include teaching students to express anger
verbally instead of physically and to solve conflicts through communication and negotia
tion rather than fighting (Burstyn and Stevens, 1999; Lee, Pulvino, and Perrone, 1998).
One form of communication and negotiation is learning to make and defend a position
to argue effectively. Students taught to make effective arguments-emphasizing that argu
ing and verbal aggression are very different-become less combative when encountering
others with whom they disagree. Learning to argue also has incidental benefits: People
skilled at arguing are seen by their peers as intelligent and credible.
Experts also suggest the involvement of parents and other school personnel (Brophy,
1996; Moles, 1992). Research indicates that a large majority of parents (88%) want to be
notified immediately if school problems occur (Harris, Kagay, and Ross, 1987). In addi
tion, school counselors, school psychologists, social workers, and principals have all been
trained to deal with these problems and can provide advice and assistance. Experienced
teachers can also provide a wealth ofinformation about how they've handled similar prob
lems. No teacher should face persistent or serious problems ofviolence or aggression alone.
218
CHAPTER 6
In conclusion, we want to put problems of school violence and aggression into per
spective. Though they are possibilities-and you should understand options for dealing
with them-the majority of your management problems will involve issues of coopera
tion and motivation. Many can be prevented, others can be dealt with quickly, and some
require individual attention. We all hear about students carrying guns to school and inci
dents of assault on teachers in the news. Statistically, however, considering the huge num
bers of students that pass through schools each day, these incidents remain infrequent.
The Importance of Classroom Management. The importance of classroom man

agement is difficult to overstate. It is the number one concern of beginning teachers,
and disruptive students are an important source of teacher stress. It has historically been
a major concern of school policy makers, parents, and the public at large.
Effective management is strongly linked to achievement. Students learn more in en
vironments that are orderly and safe.
Classroom Management: A Definition. Research has identified several important

factors related to classroom management. First, classroom management and instruction
are interdependent; one cannot exist without the other. Second, effective teachers pre
vent, rather than solve, most classroom management problems. Third, effective class
room management is hard to analyze because smoothly run classrooms mask the
considerable time and effort needed to produce them.
Planning for Classroom Management. Planning for management is as essential as
planning for instruction. Developmental differences in students and the physical envi
ronment both influence the ways teachers plan their management systems.
Rules and procedures are the threads that structure the social fabric of the class
room. Rules should be relatively few in number and provide standards for acceptable
behavior. Procedures describe efficient ways of completing a myriad of classroom tasks.
As procedures become established, they develop into routines that make the classroom
operate smoothly.
Implementing Management Plans. The beginning of the school year is crucial for
classroom management. Rules and procedures are established during this time, and teach
ers need to conununicate and enforce their expectations clearly and consistently. These
expectations often need to be explicitly taught and illustrated for younger students; older
students, who have been socialized to schools may only need to be reminded.
Effective managers orchestrate their classrooms so that routines and procedures
complement instruction. Lesson momentum creates a positive vector that pulls students
into lessons and involves them in learning. Smoothness maintains the direction of the
lesson while minimizing internal and external distractions.
Management Interventions. Misbehavior depends on both the context and the
amount of disruption it causes. Teachers need to help students understand what consti
tutes misbehavior and how they're responsible for behaving appropriately.
219
In responding to misbehavior, the match between the problem and its conse
quences is important. Minor problems must be dealt with quickly and efficiently to
minimize their effects on the lesson.
More serious or persistent breaches of conduct need to be dealt with firmly and di
rectly. In dealing with problem students, expectations should be clearly defined and en
forced in agreed-upon contracts. If this approach doesn't work, other adults, including
principals and parents, need to be called in to ensure that the problem does not detract
from learning.
Classroom management
Classroom rules
Desists
Indirect cues
Logical consequences
Management interventions
Momentum
Obedience model of management
Orchestration
Overlapping
Procedures
Productive learning environment
Responsibility model
of management
Smoothness
Withitness
Selina Moreno sat at her desk during planning week, the week before students returned
from summer vacation, and looked out the window.
"This year has got to be better than last year," she thought, and then with a half smile
she mumbled audibly, "How could it be any worse?"
Selina had been hired in the middle of the school year to replace a fifth-grade
teacher who left for "health reasons." Some of Selina's colleagues implied that the other
teacher had quit because of frustration, and Selina soon found out why. The classroom
was a mess, the previous teacher seemed to have no rules, and the students couldn't de'
scribe any routines that they were used to following. In addition to the lack of structure,
the class had more than its share of"problem students," whom the other teachers nick,
named the "Wild Bunch." It didn't take Selina long to figure out who these students
were, but it took her the rest of the school year to try to figure out what to do with them.
This year was going to be different, she vowed, and she started making plans to ensure
that it happened.
On the first day of class, she greeted her fifth graders with a stern but pleasant face.
She told them that their names were on their assigned seats, and directed them to quickly
find the seats and sit down quietly.
When they were settled, she began, "Good morning, class. My name is Miss Moreno
and I'm glad to have you in my class this year. Every class needs rules and I've written
some up here on this bulletin board. I'd like to go over them briefly. Who can read the first
one?
Andrea?"
"
Talk only when called on by the teacher," Andrea read hesitantly.
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CHAPTER 6
www.abfongman.com/kauchak4e
"Good, Andrea. You need to be quiet unless you raise your hand and I call your name.
Who can read the second one? ... Javier?"
"Don't leave your seat without permission."
"Good, Javier. We can't just wander around the classroom. You need to stay in your
seat unless I tell you you can leave it."
The discussion of rules continued until Selina summarized by saying, "Class, these
rules are important. Ifyou follow them we'll get along fine. If not, you're going to have
trouble in here and you don't want that, do you?"
Selina then spent about 5 minutes on procedures. After that she outlined the schedule
for the day and the week and launched into her first lesson of the year. Initially, the class
was a little disorganized, but after a couple of weeks they were doing what Selina wanted.
About a month later, Selina was sitting in the faculty lunch room when her friend,
Freddie, another second year teacher, came by.
"How's it going?" Freddie asked as she looked into her lunch bag. "Ugh, not yogurt
and fruit again. This diet is getting real old."
"I know what you mean. My class is kind of like that."
"What do you mean?" replied Freddie with a puzzled look.
"Well, it's a Jot better than last year. At least the kids aren't driving me nuts, but they
don't seem very excited about coming to class."
"Why not?" prompted Freddie between spoonfuls of yogurt.
"Well, we're doing whole class instruction, just like the management books say to do
at the beginning of the year, but the kids seemed bored. I tried to do some small-group
work, but Tony, the class clown, spoiled it for everybody, so I told them we couldn't do
small-group work anymore. That went over like a lead balloon."
Freddie nodded sympathetically.
"Then I tried a structured reward system for the class. Between you and me, the class
didn't need it. It was designed to rein in Tony. So I told them that any day that we got
through with any of the three tokens left over, we'd do learning centers at the back of the
room for the last half hour of the day. They really like to play the math and word games.
So true to form, Tony messes it up just about every other day and the class gets mad at
him. I thought peer pressure would work, but Tony seems oblivious. Sometimes I think he
even likes the negative attention. Needless to say, I'm a little bummed. Any suggestions?"
Freddie thought for a while before responding.

1. Was Selina's class more obedience or responsibility oriented? What evidence do
you have for your conclusion?
2. Analyze the way Selina established rules and procedures in her classroom. How
could the process have been improved?
3. Comment on the effectiveness of Selina's strategies for teaching procedures. How
might they be improved?
4. Comment on the relationship between Selina's instruction and management.
How could this relationship be improved?
5. Analyze the effectiveness of Selina's structured reward system. How could it be
improved?
221
1. How can a teacher tell if students have developed responsibility? How might the
definition of responsibility change with grade level? What types of instructional
and managerial strategies promote responsibility? What types discourage the de
velopment of responsibility?
2. How do the following factors influence the number of procedures that operate in
a classroom?
a. Grade level
b. Subject matter
c. Type of student (e.g., high versus low achiever)
d. Type of instruction (e.g., large group versus small group)
3. What advantages are there to seeking student input on rules? Disadvantages? Is
this practice more important with younger or older students? Why?
4. If you were a substitute teacher (or a student teacher) and were going to take over
a class mid-year for the rest of the year, what kinds of things would you need to
know and do in terms of classroom management?
5. Explain the statement "Misbehavior is contextual." Give a concrete example.
Why might this idea be difficult to understand for some students? Why is it im
portant that students understand it? What can teachers do to help students under
stand this idea?
6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the following interventions?
a. Praising desired behavior
b. Ignoring inappropriate behavior
c. Using indirect cues
d. Using desists
e. Applying consequences
1. Management: The 'Teacher's Perspective. Interview a teacher to find out his or her
views about management. The following questions might serve as a framework:
a. What are your goals for classroom management?

b. How have these changed over the years?
c. How does the particular class that you teach right now influence either your
management goals or how you implement your management plans?
d. How do your management strategies change over the school year?

e. What is the most difficult or challenging aspect of classroom management?
Analyze these responses in terms of the contents of this chapter.

2. Classroom Rules and Procedures. Interview a teacher about the rules and procedures
in his or her classroom.
a. What are they?
b. How are they communicated to students?
222
CHAPTER 6
c. What are the biggest problem areas?
d. How have these changed over the years?

e. What management advice does the teacher have for a heginning teacher?
Analyze the teacher's responses in terms of the contents of this chapter.
3. School Rules. Observe students as they move and interact in the halls. Infer what
the rules are in regard to dress, appropriate hall behavior, and tardiness and the
bell. Discuss these topics with a teacher and compare your conclusions. What role
will you play in enforcing school rules?
4. Classroom Rules. Interview two high- and two low-ability students in a class and
record their answers to the following questions:
a. What rules do you have in your class?
b. Which ones are most important?
c. Why do you have them?
d. What happens if they are not followed?
Compare the responses of the two groups of students. What do their responses
suggest about working with different kinds of students?
5. Classroom Procedures. Observe a class for several sessions and try to identify the pro
cedural rules which are functioning for the following activities:
a. Entering the class
b. Handing in papers
c. Sharpening pencils and accessing materials
d. Volunteering to answer a question
e. Exiting class
Discuss your findings with a student (or teacher) to check the accuracy of your
findings. Which of these procedures would you use in your classroom?
6. Interactive Management. Tape and observe a classroom lesson. Identify places in the
lesson where the teacher either verbally or nonverhally exhibited the following
behaviors/ characteristics:
a. Withitness
b. Overlapping
c. Accountability
d. Momentum
e. Smoothness
How did these contribute to the lesson's effectiveness?
I. Constructivism: A view oflearning

II. Characteristics of constructivism
A. Learners construct understanding
B. New learning depends oh current
understanding
C. Social interaction increases learning
D. Authentic tasks promote understanding
E. Constructivist learning activities and
student motivation
E Misconceptions about constructivist
learning activities
III. Planning for constructivist learning activities

A. Identifying clear and precise goals
B. Multiple representations
of content
C. Planning for social interaction

D. Planning for productive learning
environments
E. Planning for assessment
IV Conducting constructivist learning
activities
A. Lesson focus
B. The influence of existing
understanding
C. The role of social interaction

D. Ongoing assessment
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CHAPTER 7
() n Chapter 4 we described the research base that describes effective teaching, and we
{ summarized this research in a general model of instruction. Research indicates that
teacher enthusiasm and high expectations, together with the ability to conduct effective
reviews, provide focus and feedback, and reach meaningful closure at the end of a les
son increase learning in students of all ages. In Chapter 5 we focused on ways teachers
can promote learning by actively involving students in learning activities, and in Chap
ter 6 we discussed the characteristics of productive learning environments, with special
emphasis on classroom management. Those chapters described abilities that all teachers
and classrooms-regardless of grade level, content area, or topic-should have.
This section of the book builds on the foundation we've developed, and we're now
going to focus on teaching models that can be used to reach specific goals. In some cases
the goals are primarily cognitive, whereas in others they're more oriented toward social
development.
The framework we're using in this chapter is constructivism-a view of learning
suggesting that learners create (construct) their own understanding of the topics they
study rather than having that understanding delivered to them by teachers or written
materials. When you've completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to
meet the following goals:
Describe the characteristics of constructivism.
Identify the characteristics of constructivism in case studies of classroom
instruction.
Develop learning activities based on constructivist views oflearning.
Explain how groupwork can be used to enhance learning.
Lucy Zuniga. a sixth-grade teacher with 28 students in her class has been working on a
unit on heat transfer. The students have been involved in activities on convection and radi
ation, and she now wants them to understand conduction. The students have also studied
matter, the particles that make up matter, and the characteristics of solids, liquids. and
gases.
On Monday evening Lucy is planning for the week's science activities as she thinks to
herself, 'Til do this tomorrow ... and also the wire and wax activity-that will give them
one more way to think about conduction.... Yeah, let's see if I have everything."
She then glanced over to a shelf where she had a coffee maker with a glass coffee pot
sitting on it. She got up, went over, and looked in a drawer for a long spoon, a piece of
heavy copper wire, some wax, and an alcohol burner. Seeing the materials there, she went
back to her planning.
At 10: 59 on Tuesday morning, Lucy walked among her students as they finished their
math assignment. She glanced at the clock and said, "AIl right, everyone, put your work in
your folders. Those of you who haven't already completed your work, finish it tonight and
put it in your folders as soon as you come in the room in the morning. Now let's get ready
for science."
Several of the students got up, put their papers in their folders, and returned to their
desks.
At I I :0 I Lucy began, "Now ... let's look at what we have here," and she brought
down the coffee maker, pot, and spoon, as shown in the following drawing.
CONSTRucLsT APPROACHES TO INSTRUCTION.
"Let's feel the coffee pot and the spoon," Lucy suggested. "C'mon up, Serafina," she
gestured to Sarafina, who was sitting near the front of the room.
"How do they feel?"
"Smooth."
"Okay, ... how else do they feel?"
" ... Cold."
"Okay, good .... Sarafina says that the spoon and coffee pot feel smooth and cold,"
Lucy turned to the rest of the class. "Now l'm going to pour some water in the coffee pot
and put the spoon in it."
She filled the coffee pot about a third fiill, put the spoon in it, and plugged it in, so it
appeared as follows:
r.
225
226
CHAPTER 7
"Now," Lucy continued, "Let's review for a few minutes while we watch the coffee
pot. ... We've been talking about heat and energy. What is one way that heat is trans
ferred, Bharat?"
" ... Radiation?"
"Yes, good, Bharat." Lucy smiled at Bharat. "Who can give us an example .... Bev?"
" ... Well ... like when you hold your hand over a hot burner on a stove, your hand
gets warm."
"Good, Bev ... and explain why that's an example ... Dominique?"
" ... Your hand gets warm, but ... it's up above the burner, and ... there's nothing
between your hand ... well, there's air between the burner and your hand, but it wouldn't
matter.... Anyway, your hand gets warm because the waves go up and heat it."
"Yes, very good explanation," Lucy smiled. "How about another example? Jim?"
" ... When we stand out in the sun, it warms us up."
"And what else do we know about radiation, Lakasha? ... Think about what Do
minique said."
" ... It goes even if there's no air.... Like from the sun to the earth."
"Good, Lakasha." Lucy smiled. "Can you add a little more to that? What do we mean
when we say 'no air'?"
" ... Like ... a vacuum?" Lakasha responded hesitantly.
"And what's that have to do with what Dominique said?"
" ... She said there was no air ... no ... she said it wouldn't matter if there was no
air."
"Yes, good, both of you."

" ... It travels in waves," Ramon interjected, keying on what Dominique had said.
"Yes, Ramon, good .... Now remember, everyone, radiation is a form of heat energy
that travels in waves, and it doesn't need any matter to travel through. We can't see the
waves, but they move, such as going from the burner to our hand. We know the waves
moved because our hand gets warm."
Lucy went through a similar process as she guided the students in a review of convec
tion, in the process emphasizing that convection requires matter, such as gases and liquids,
and the particles of the gas or liquid actually move from one place to another, such as a
convection current in the ocean, and the movement of the air in a convection oven.
"Now let's look at this again," Lucy directed, pointing to the coffee pot. Now carefully
come up and touch the top of the spoon," she directed to Serafina, who came up and felt
it.
"lt's hot," Sarafina said quickly.
"It's hod" Lucy repeated. "Now ... that brings up a question. It was cold before, and
now it's hot.... hmm? Now I want you to be very good observers and thinkers, and I
want you to work with your partner and try to explain why the spoon got hot. ... Now
before we start, what do we know for sure?"
" ... The coffee pot did it," Jeremy suggested, referring to the coffee pot and spoon.
"Sure, we know that heating up the coffee pot is important. ... But we want to think
about exactly how it did it. ... And, what are you going to keep in mind as you work on
our problem?
"What have we been discussing?"
CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACHES TO INSTRUCTION.
" ... Stuff about heat," Leeman volunteered.

"What about heat?"
" ... Radiation and convection," Jessica added.
"Yes, very good ... Keep radiation and convection in mind when you work on your
explanation.... Now go ahead."
The students, who were seated next to their partner, slid their desks together and
started talking. The room quickly became a buzz of voices as students worked. Lucy
moved among them, sometimes listening to their comments and moving on, and at other
times, stopping to make a comment or suggestion of her own. Several of the students got
up, went and looked more closely at the coffee maker and spoon, and with warnings from
Lucy about being careful with the hot pot, held their hands near the system, felt the end of
the spoon, and talked briefly to each other.
Lucy allowed the students to continue working for about 5 minutes and then an
nounced, "All right, everyone, I think you've been doing some good thinking, so let's share
some of our ideas."
"I have a question, Mrs. Zuniga," Elizabeth asked. "When I put my hand near the
burner, I could feel some heat. ls that radiation?"
"Good question, Elizabeth. Did everyone hear Elizabeth's question? What do you
think ... anyone?"
The students briefly discussed Elizabeth's question and concluded that it was indeed
an example of radiation.
"This is the kind of thinking we're looking for," Lucy went on. "Elizabeth is relating
what we're doing here to what we did yesterday. Excellentl"
"Okay, let's go on .... Which group wants to volunteer?"
"We think it's radiation," Jason volunteered. "The waves go up the spoon and make
it hot, ... like our hand over the burner."
"Go ahead, Sonja," Lucy encouraged, seeing her shaking her head.
" ... No, I don't think so," Sonja said uncertainly.
"Why not?" Jason wondered.
"Radiation doesn't need something to travel through ... like we said before ... when
we put our hand over the burner, there wasn't anything there."
"There was air there."
"Yeah, but radiation can go through air. It can't go through something hard ... like a
spoon."
'Jason asks a good question," Lucy commented. "How do we know that radiation
can't go through solids, or at least doesn't go through them very well?"
Suppose you're out in the hot sun, and you move into the shade.... How do you
feel?"
" ... Cooler," Kathy offered after a few seconds.
"Why do you suppose?"
"The tree ... or whatever blocked the sun."
"What's your reaction to that?" Lucy turned to Jason.
"I ... guess so.... Yes, that's true."
The class discussed the possibilityof radiation making the spoon hot for a couple more
minutes, finally concluding that it probably wasn't radiation.
227
228
CHAPTER 7
They turned to a discussion of convection and concluded that while convection could
have heated the water in the pot, convection couldn't have heated the spoon, since the
particles in the spoon couldn't move from one place to another.
Lucy displayed the following drawing on the overhead.
"Let's take a look at this drawing," Lucy directed. "What do you notice about it?"
" ... There's a bunch of little dots with arrows on them in the spoon," Simone
offered.
"And what do you suppose they're supposed to represent?" Lucy probed.
" ... The particles of the spoon," Juanita suggested.
"Good, and how about the arrows?"
"What do you notice about the arrows? .. , Michael?"
"Some are long and some are short ... and they're pointing in all different directions."
"Good, so what might they represent?"
"The particles moving?" Michael offered with a question in his voice.
"Sure," Lucy confirmed. "Remember, we used the dots and arrows to help us visual
ize the movement of air particles .... But there's an important difference here .... What is
it?"
"What is an important difference between gases and solids?"
"Solids are heavy and gases aren't," Dennis noted.
"Okay, and what else? ... What about the way they move?"
" ... Air molecules move around, but solids don't," Toni responded, seeing Lucy look
at her.
Lucy guided the students into noticing that the spoon was in contact with the pot.
Then she had eight of the students come up to the front of the room, blindfolded
them, and told them to move around slowly. In the process, and with considerable laugh
ter from the rest of the class, they bumped into each other a few times. She then directed
them to move around more quickly, and as they did, they bumped into each other harder
and more often. She then had them stop and return to their desks.
"Now," Lucy continued after the class had settled down, "what did you observe?"
"They ran into each other," Jenny commented.
"They ran into each other harder when they moved faster," Larry added.
229
Lucy continued her questioning, and through her guidance they concluded that the
students represented particles of matter, and heated particles moved fast, "bumped" un
heated particles, and made them move fast as well.
"Now, what does all this have to do with the spoon?" Lucy asked. "Let's see if an
other example will help. I'd like everyone to look at this," Lucy continued, as she took out a
piece of wire with three pieces of wax stuck on it.
"We're going to heat the wire with this burner," she continued, placing the unlit
burner under one end of the wire, so it appeared as follows:
J2
I
"What do you think will happen?" Lucy continued. Some of her students predicted
the wire would get hot. Others said the wax would melt. Lucy prompted them by asking,
"If the wax melts, which will melt first?" From students' quizzical looks she could tell they
were thinking.
"Well, let's see. Watch carefully," she continued, lighting the burner and putting it
under one end of the wire. As the wire heated, the piece of wax closest to the flame
started to droop, then fall. The other two followed in order.
"What happened?" Lucy asked.
After students discussed the fact that the hot wax globs fell in sequence, Lucy encour
aged them to compare this demonstration with the spoon example.
She then introduced the term conduction and through her prompting helped students
conclude that conduction has the following characteristics:
1. It is a form of energy transfer.
2. It occurs by having molecules move and interact.
She dosed the lesson by asking students as their homework assignment to predict what
would happen if they replaced a piece of wood or a butter knife for the piece of wire.
To begin our discussion, let's think about Lucy's lesson in the context of the re
search base we summarized in Chapter 4 and our discussion of student involvement in
Chapter 5. We see that she first reviewed radiation and convection, and then provided for
focus by displaying her coffee maker and spoon and asking students to explain why the
top of the spoon got hot. This attracted her students' attention and provided a frame
work for the rest of the lesson.
Lucy was well organized. First she showed the coffee maker and spoon, then turned
to her review while they were heated, which allowed her to maximize her instructional
time. She communicated clearly throughout the lesson, stayed focused on the topic, used
clear language, and emphasized important points with repetition.
One of the most important aspects of her instruction was the way she represented
her topic. The students saw a concrete demonstration-the coffee maker and spoon, a
simulation where the blindfolded students illustrated bumping into each other, a model
that helped them visualize a similar process in the spoon, and the demonstrations with
230
CHAPTER 7
the wire and wax. She also asked them to predict differences between the piece ofwood
and a butter knife.
Her students were highly involved throughout the lesson, both as they worked with
their partners and in the whole-class discussion. She asked many questions, distributed
them to a variety of students, and prompted where appropriate. She applied both the ef
fective teaching research and strategies for involving students throughout the lesson.
In carefully examining Lucy's lesson, however, we see that a more detailed analysis
is necessary to fully understand how she promoted learning in her classroom. This
analysis is the topic of our chapter.
CONSTRUCTIVISM: A VIEW OF LEARNING

Over the past 25 years, a rapidly expanding literature has changed our views of the ways
that students learn and develop (Eggen, 2001), and this understanding has moved the
focus in teaching away from the teacher and toward the students (Bransford et al., 2000;
Lambert and McCombs, 1998). This doesn't imply that teachers have less important
roles in promoting student learning, however. In fact, their roles are even more impor
tant than they were once believed to be.
Let's see why this is the case. It is now widely believed that learners create their own
understanding of the topics they study (Mayer, 1998; Phillips, 1997), and the term used to
describe this process of creating understanding is constructivism, a view if learning in
which learners usetheir own experiences tocreate understanding that makes sense to them rather than
having understanding delivered to them in already organizedforms (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001).
As a way of helping us clarify the idea of constructivism, think about a tape
recorder. It captures the exact wording of a speaker, stores it, and plays it back in pre
cisely the form in which it was spoken. As learners, we don't behave like tape recorders.
Rather than recording and storing exact copies of what we hear or read, we modify the
information so that it makes sense to us. So what we store in our memories is the result
of our own efforts to understand what we've experienced. To illustrate this process,
consider the following conclusions often held by students:
Summer is warmer than winter [in the Northern Hemisphere] because we're
closer to the sun in summer. 0Ne are, in fact, slightly farther from the sun.)
The forces forward on a car traveling at a steady speed of 50 miles per hour are
greater than the forces backward. (The forces are equal.)
All Muslims are Arabs. (Only about 18 percent of the world's Muslims are Arabs.)
Geography is primarily a process of naming locations and making maps. (The
study of geography includes the study of culture, economics, and politics,
among many other topics.)
In addition, other conclusions that children form are not only inaccurate but also
humorous:
Syntax is all the money the church collects from sinners.

Trousers is an uncommon noun because it's singular on the top and plural on
the bottom.
Most of the houses in France are made of plaster of Paris.
-CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACHES TO INSTRUCTION.
231
Obviously, no teacher wanted students to make these conclusions, nor did students
"record" them from a teacher's description or book. The conclusions can only be ex
plained by saying learners constructed them. No other theory oflearning is able to offer
an acceptable explanation for learner misconceptions such as these.
These examples help us see why we said earlier that teachers' roles are even more
important than they were once believed to be. If students did indeed record under
standing, teaching would be simple. Teachers would merely present information, stu
dents would record and store it in the form in which it was presented, and they would
use it later when necessary.
Since students don't record information, however, learning is much more complex.
Students' experiences, together with their existing background knowledge, strongly in
fluence the understanding that they construct. For instance, we've all had t~ experi
ence of holding our hands close to a candle or burner on a stove. The closer we are to
the heat source, the hotter it feels. So, based on these experiences, concluding that we
(in the Northern Hemisphere) are closer to the sun in the summer makes sense.
We can even see how kids can come up with some of the off-the-wall conclusions
that they create. They make objects from plaster of Paris, for example, and they learn
that Paris, the city, is in France. When we see these connections, we realize that the leap
to the conclusion that houses in France are made ofplaster of Paris is actually quite sen
sible for a young child.
This also helps us understand why teaching is much more complex than simply ex
plaining information to students. For example, in addition to clearly explaining topics,
we must ask them a large number of questions because their answers reveal their cur
rent understanding. When their answers indicate that their understanding is incomplete
or invalid, we must intervene with additional questions and examples to try and help
them construct more complete or valid ideas.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM
While different constructivists disagree on some aspects of the knowledge construction
process, most agree on the characteristics listed in Figure 7.1 (Eggen and Kauchak,
2001; Good and Brophy, 2000). Let's take a look at them.
...
r~ 7. / Characteristics of Constructivism
232
CHAPTER 7
Learners Construct Understanding

The basic principle of constructivism is that learners construct (create), rather than
record, their understanding, and this is the idea we discussed in the last section.
Let's look at some dialogue from Lucy's lesson to illustrate this process.
Jason: We think it's radiation. The waves go up the spoon and make it hot ... like our
hand over the burner.
Lucy: Go ahead, Sonja.
Sonja: No, I don't think so.
Jason: Why not?
Sonja: Radiation doesn't need something to travel through ... like we said before ...
when we put our hand over the burner, there wasn't anything there.
Jason: There was air there.
Sonja: Yeah, but radiation can go through air. It can't go through something hard ... like a
spoon.
Lucy: Jason asks a good question. How do we know that radiation can't go through
solids, or at least doesn't go through them very well?
Lucy: Suppose you're out in the hot sun, and you move into the shade.... How do you
feel?
Kathy: Cooler.
Lucy: Why do you suppose?
Kathy: The tree ... or whatever, blocked the sun.
Lucy: What's your reaction to that?
Jason: I ... guess so.... Yes, that's true.
Jason initially thought radiation caused the spoon to get warm. As the lesson devel
oped, his understanding gradually evolved to the point where he believed that some
thing else caused the warming.
We can also see from students' comments that they didn't "receive understanding"
from Lucy. Until Jason was faced with the example of being cooler in the shade, he was
unwilling to give up his ideas about radiation. Until his ideas about radiation no longer
made sense to him, he was unwilling to consider a different explanation. This process
of individuals creating their own personal meaning is the core of constructivism.
Lucy played an essential role in the process. She could have simply explained the
concept of conduction, and this is what teachers commonly do. But these verbal explana
tions often do little to help ideas "make sense," and learners frequently develop under
standings that are immature and incomplete. Research supports this view:
Cognitive research is revealing that even with what is taken to be good instruction,
many students, including academically talented ones, understand less than we think
they do. With determination, students taking an examination are commonly able to
identify what they have been told or what they have read; careful probing, however,
often shows that their understanding is limited or distorted, if not altogether wrong
(Rutherford and Ahlgren, 1990, p. 185).
Lucy demonstrated a great deal of expertise as she guided students to an under
standing of conduction. We examine her instruction in more detail later in the chapter.
233
New Learning Depends on Current Understanding

A second essential characteristic of constructivism is that all new learning depends upon
previous learning. The importance of learners' background knowledge is both intu
itively sensible and well documented by research (Bruning et al., 1999). Constructivists
see new learning interpreted in the immediate context of students' current understand
ing, not learned first as isolated information that is later related to existing knowledge.
This aspect of constructivism is important for several reasons. First, it helps explain
why some students learn faster or easier than others; they have more background
knowledge. It also explains why reviews are effective at the beginning oflessons; it helps
activate students' background knowledge. It also explains why teacher questioning is es
sential; it helps teachers assess students' background knowledge, allowing them to con
nect new information to what students already know.
We see the importance of background knowledge illustrated in Lucy's lesson. Jason
interpreted the heating of the spoon in the context of his understanding of radiation; he
didn't simply add new understanding to old. His understanding of radiation influenced
his interpretation of the heating of the spoon, and different understanding would have
resulted in a different interpretation. During the lesson Lucy's students, with her guid
ance, gradually developed a more mature understanding of heat transfer, based on their
previous understandings. This is the foundation of knowledge construction.
Social Interaction Increases Learning

Lucy's lesson also illustrates the central role of social interaction in constructivist views
oflearning. Social interaction in a constructivist context refers to content-focused discussions
if the topic students are studying. Constructivist teachers encourage students to verbalize
their thinking and refine their ideas by comparing them with others. Social interaction
was an important component of Lucy's lesson, both as students worked in their groups
and when the class as a whole discussed the results. For example, when students worked
in their groups, Jason and his partner concluded that radiation heated the spoon, and he
retained this idea until it no longer made sense to him. His understanding changed as a
result of interacting with other students.
Lucy played an essential role in facilitating the social interaction so that it resulted
in student learning. For example, she offered the example of being in the hot sun and
then moving into the shade, and she askedJason what his reaction was to Kathys com
ment about the tree blocking the sun. She \lIovided enough guidance and SU\l\lOIt to
help her students make progress, but not so much that she reduced their active role in
the learning process. This is a sophisticated form of instruction requiring a great deal of
teacher expertise (Brown, 1994) .
../
Authentic Tasks Promote Understanding

A final characteristic of constructivism is that it engages students in realistic learning sit
uations. Let's think about Lucy's lesson once more. Her goal was for students to under
stand the concept of conduction, and she helped her students reach the goal with concrete
objects-a coffee maker, the pot, and the spoon, and the real-world problem of ex
plaining why the handle of the spoon got hot. This problem illustrates an authentic
234
CHAPTER 7
~ 7. { AUTHENTIC TASKS IN VARIOUS CONTENT AREAS

Content Area
Example
Math
Students go to a supermarket as a source of comparison-shopping problems.
English
Students write persuasive essays for a school or class newspaper.
Algebra
Students write algebraic equations to help them make precise solutions composed
of solids (chemicals) and liquids.
Geometty
Students solve for the dimensions of buildings, using similar triangles.
Biology
Students explain why some members of the class have attached earlobes, while
others' earlobes are detached.
Geography
Students explain why some cities, such as San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, and
New York, are large and economically important, whereas Minot, North Dakota,
and Oxford, Mississippi, remain relatively small.
History
Students examine the origins of their home town and relate them
to the history of the region, state, and country at the time.
Art
Students create an original piece of art.
Technology
Students use technology to design or solve work problems.
task, a learning activity that requires understanding similar to the understanding required in the
real world (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001; Needels and Knapp, 1994).
With some thought, many ideas can be made more realistic by embedding them in
authentic tasks, as we see in 'Table 7.1.

Constructivism also has important imphcations for student motivation. For instance,
let's look again as some of the features of Lucy's lesson:
Students were faced with a question-what caused the spoon to get hot?
which served as a focus for the lesson.
Students were active throughout the lesson, both in their groups and in the
whole-class discussion.
Students were given the control and responsibility to work on their own.
Students developed understandings that made sense to them.
Students acquired understandings that can be applied in the everyday world.
\oj
Each of these factors contributes to motivation. Building lessons around problems

and questions can stimulate curiosity, and curiosity is one of the characteristics of in
trinsically motivating activities (Lepper and Hodell, 1989). Active involvement in learn
ing activities is more motivating than being passive (Zahorik, 1996), and student control
and responsibility are associated with increased motivation (Lepper and Hodell, 1989).
Finally, developing understanding that is practical and makes sense increases students'
sense of self-efficacy, their beliefin their capability of accomplishing specific tasks (Pintrich
and Schunk, 1996). Constructivism and learner motivation complement each other.
235
Misconceptions about Constructivist Learning Activities

While an enormous literature examining constructivism has evolved over the last 25
years, a number of misconceptions about classroom applications of constructivism have
evolved (Eggen, 2001). The result is that constructivism is often misinterpreted and
misapplied by classroom teachers (Airasian and Walsh, 1997; Osborne, 1997). Three of
the most common misconceptions are outlined in Figure 7.2 and discussed in the fol
lowing paragraphs.
Misconception 1: Since constructivist learning activities are student centered, clear goals and care
ful preparation are less important than they are with traditional instruction.
This is false. In reality, clear goals are even more important in planning lessons based
on constructivist views of learning, because they provide teachers with a framework
that guides both their choice of content representation and the kinds of questions they
ask (Eggen, 2001). As students build on their current understanding, teachers may mod
ify their goals, but clear goals are crucial nevertheless.
Misconception 2: If learners are involved in discussions and otherforms of social interaction,
learning automatically takes place.
This isn't necessarily true. Teachers need to carefully monitor discussions, and if stu
dents head down blind alleys or develop misunderstandings about the topic, teachers
must intervene and redirect the discussion (Brown and Campione, 1994). Lucy, for ex
ample, carefully monitored both the groupwork and the whole-class discussion, inter
vening when she felt it was necessary in order to keep the students on track. Let's see
how she did this by examining some of the dialogue that occurred after Jason and his
partner concluded that radiation caused the handle of the spoon to get hot.
feel?
Kathy: Cooler.
Social interaction
and discussion
automatically
result in learning.
r~ 7.Z Misconceptions about Constructivism
236
CHAPTER 7
lNWW.ablongman.comlkauchak4e
Kathy: The tree ... or whatever, blocked the sun.
Lucy: What's your reaction to that?
Jason: I ... guess so.... Yes, that's true.

Lucy's question, "Suppose you're out in the hot sun, and you move into the shade.
How do you feel?" that led to Kathy's conclusion, "The tree ... or whatever, blocked
the sun," was essential. Without this intervention Jason would have continued to be
lieve that the handle of the spoon was heated by radiation, and he would have con
structed an inaccurate understanding of the concept conduction.
The professional judgment required to know when and how extensively to inter
vene is very sophisticated. Not enough intervention leaves students with incomplete or
inaccurate understandings; too much intervention puts them in passive roles, which also
decreases learning as well as motivation.
Misconception 3: Since teachers are not lecturing and explaining when teaching based on con
structivism, their roles are less important than in traditional instruction.
As we just saw, teachers' roles are both more important and more difficult when
teaching based on constructivist views of learning. Guiding students into genuine un
derstanding is a sophisticated process; there are no rules that tell us when to intervene
or how extensive the intervention should be. Teachers must make these decisions on
their own based on their knowledge of the content and their past experiences.
Keeping these misconceptions in mind, let's turn now to planning for constructivist
learning activities.
PLANNING FOR CONSTRUCTIVIST LEARNING ACTIVITIES

As we've seen, learning activities based on constructivist views of learning are student
centered, and this shift in emphasis from the teacher to the students requires careful
thought. The elements of the planning process are outlined in Table 7.2 and discussed
in the sections that follow.
Identifying Clear and Precise Goals

In Chapter 5 we saw that clear and precise goals are essential for all forms of teaching.
For grounding instruction in constructivist views oflearning, they're even more irnpor
tant. In addition to guiding decisions about ways to represent content for learners, they
provide the framework for the kinds of learning activities teachers plan and the ques
tions they ask.
This point is crucial. As we've said repeatedly, grounding instruction in construc
tivist views oflearning is very sophisticated and demanding. Monitoring student behav
ior for evidence of understanding, maintaining classroom order and the flow of the
lesson, and forming and directing questions to students places an enormous demand on
teachers' memories (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001). Monitoring students as they work in
cooperative groups is little easier. Teachers often respond to this memory load by re
ducing instruction to lecture.
A much more effective way of reducing the memory load is to have very clear and
precise goals in mind before beginning the lesson. With a precise goal, questioning be
I
I

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._
. . . . ._
.....
.....
237
l i ~
~ 7.Z CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENT-CENTERED PLANNING

Planning Elernent
Rationale
Identifying clear and

precise goals
Clear goals provide the framework for representations of content
and questioning.
Multiple representations
of content
Students construct understanding based on the representations
of content.
Content representations help accommodate student background
differences.
Planning for social

interaction
Social interaction provides feedback for teachers and students and helps
students' individual constructions to converge.
Planning for productive

learning environments
Constructing understanding requires learning environments that are safe,
orderly, and learning focused.
Planning for assessment
To accommodate differences in student understanding assessment must
be an integral part of the teaching-learning process.
comes clearly focused, which frees teachers' memories to monitor student behavior for
evidence of understanding and to modify goals when evidence indicates that students
aren't developing an understanding of the topic. So setting clear goals in advance is even
more essential with constructivist approaches to teaching than it is with traditional
views of instruction.
Multiple Representations of Content

We saw in Chapters 4 and 5 that one of the most important factors in promoting learn
ing is the way teachers represent the topics they teach. This is true for teaching at all lev
els and in all content areas. Now, using constructivist views oflearning as a framework,
we can see why content representations are so important.
First, in the natural world, people have a great many specific experiences, and these
experiences are what they use to construct their understanding ofhow the world works.
A's young children play together, for example, they gradually construct understandings
of socially acceptable and socially unacceptable behavior based on their encounters
with-and the responses of-their peers. The same basic experiential processes are at
work in much of what both children and adults learn. Effective teachers facilitate this
learning process by designing focused learning experiences that provide examples of the
ideas being learned.
Second, modern theories of learning and development attribute a great deal of im
portance to learners' background knowledge. Direct physical experiences as well as
books, movies, travel, and conversation all provide representations people use to con
struct the vast array of understandings that they develop. Learners who have a rich his
tory of experience have been exposed to more representations that support their learning
and development than those whose backgrounds are less rich. While constructivists may
differ philosophically on issues such as the role of social interaction and the validity of the
learners' constructions, all constructivists endorse the importance of these experiences.
238
CHAPTER 7
In an ideal world, learners would be able to use these natural processes to construct
functional understandings of their world. Since this isn't realistic and doesn't always
occur, teachers can capitalize on these same processes by bringing representations of the
world into the classroom for students.
Let's see how Lucy incorporated these ideas in her planning. Her representations of
the concept conduction included:
The coffee maker and spoon-a concrete example
The model of the molecular motion in the spoon-a way of helping students
visualize conduction
The blindfolded students-a simulation that helped them see the way the par
ticles inthe spoon "bumped" each other

The burner, wire, and wax, which combined the concrete representation with
the models that further illustrated conduction
Her assignment involving the piece of wood and metal knife
Each was intended to illustrate an aspect of conduction or represent conduction in
a way that was slightly different from the others. In planning this way, Lucy attempted
to capitalize on an idea called multiple representations of content. As learners construct un
derstanding, each case or example adds different perspectives that others may have
missed. For instance, the coffee maker and spoon will be meaningful to some students,
whereas Lucy's model will be more meaningful to others. The same is true for the sim
ulation and the wire with the wax pieces.
One way ofvisualizing multiple representations and their meaningfulness is to think
of "criss-crossing" a conceptual landscape (Spiro et al., 1992). Each representation helps
fill in pieces for the others. Providing an array of examples acknowledges the unique
ness of students and provides multiple paths for making ideas meaningful.
In Chapter 5 we also saw that effective content representations have one essential
characteristic-the information learners need to understand the topic exists in the representations,
and we see this characteristic illustrated in Lucy's examples. Regardless of their back
grounds, the combination of examples Lucy used contained sufficient information to
allow all the students to acquire a meaningful understanding of conduction.
Usjng 1echnology to Represent Content: Databases. In Chapter 5 we saw that technol

ogy can be used to represent topics that are hard to otherwise illustrate. It has other ap
plications as well. Let's look at an example.
Jan Harrison's high school social studies class was in the middle of a unit on factors influ
encing economic growth. Students in the class had divided up into groups of two or three
and were doing in-depth research on a specific country. They were also bringing their re
sults back to the class for discussion, trying to identify factors that contributed to economic
growth. As students shared their information with each other, a lively debate ensued.
"I think it's population density. In the country we're studying, EI Salvador, there are
671 people per square mile and the average income is only $700 per person," Hee-Vvon
asserted.
"I'm not so sure," Simon replied. "We've got data from the old USSR and the popula
tion density was only 33 people per square mile and their per capita income was only
$3,000 per person. But their defense budget was 17 percent of their total GNP"
239
"Good points, Hee;Won and Simon. Cassie, didyou want to add something?"Jan in;
teriected to acknowledge Cassie, who had been waving her hand.
"We found that literacy rate has a lot to do with it. We're studying India and it has a
literacy rate of 36 percent and its aYera~e income perperson is only ~300."
'Also interesting data, Cassie. Class, what are we going to do with all this information
we have? How can we organize it systematically so we can make sense of all this data?"
After considerable discussion the class decided that they needed to organize the infer
mation in some way so they could make cross-country comparisons. The class struggled
for a while with key elements and finally decided that each group would provide the fol
lowing information:
Size of country
Population
Density
Gross national product (GNP)
Defense budget
Average personal income
Literacy rate
When they brought this information back to class, they struggled with how to organize it
so that it made sense.
Further discussion resulted in the following table, which Jan helped them place into
the database outlined in Table 7.3.
A database is a computerized record-keeping system that organizes large amounts if infor
mation (Forcier, 1996). In developing a database, students learn to organize information,
and the analysis of the data gives them practice with critical thinking skills. For instance,
Jan's students refined their vocabulary, conducted research, verified the accuracy of data,
noted similarities and differences among data, and explored relationships (Forcier,
1996). Organizing and using databases is consistent with constructivist views oflearn
ing (jonassen, 1996). Students are faced with meaningful tasks, and the process is facili
tated by working with others.
~ 7.~ USING A DATABASE TO INVESTIGATE ECONOMIC GROWTH

Country
Size
Pop.
EI
Salvador
India
USSR
Source: Adaptedjromjonassen, 1996.
Density
GNP
Defense
Literacy
Average
Income
240
CHAPTER 7
Lucy, in her unit on different types of energy transfer, might have used the follow
ing database to help her students see relationships in their data.
Examples
Explanation for
Heat Transfer
Movement
of Molecules
Radiation
Convection
Conduction
The advantage of using a database in her lesson would be that all the information and
experiences students had encountered over a number of days was organized and dis
played in a single file. The relationships are made more apparent, which makes the in
formation more accessible and meaningful.
As in designing any learning activities based on constructivist views of learning,
teacher decision making is required at a number of points when using databases. Some
questions that must be answered include:
How much direction should the teacher provide?
When and how should the basic idea of a database be introduced?
Who should have responsibility for organizing and constructing the outline of
the database?
Who should take responsibility for analyzing the information in the database?
These decisions are a matter ofjudgment. Greater teacher direction provides faster
lesson pace, but students' "learning to learn" on their own is reduced. Decreased
teacher intervention gives students a greater chance to learn on their own, but lack of
direction can cause frustration and boredom. A good source for helping you learn to in
corporate databases into your instruction is Roblyer and Edwards (2000).
Planning for Social Interaction

The need for interaction between teacher and students and students with each other is
widely accepted as important in helping learners construct understanding. This empha
sis is valid for three reasons. First, constructing understanding is ultimately an individual
process, and, because ofbackground differences, emotional and cultural factors, and per
ceptions, individuals' constructions will vary. The only way teachers can determine the
extent to which students are correctly interpreting the representations they use is to dis
cuss them. Ultimately, we want individual learners' constructions to converge, and dis
cussion is a major vehicle that ensures this convergence.
Second, discussion provides feedback for both teachers and students. It helps learn
ers understand the extent to which their constructions are valid, and it provides them
with additional information that helps them continue to construct and reconstruct their
understanding. Discussion also provides teachers with information that allows them to
assess the extent to which students are progressing toward their learning goals.
Third, interaction accommodates the limitations of learners' memories. If their
memories become overloaded with information, it will be apparent to the teacher, who
can immediately intervene.
IS
19,
ne
241
Planning for interaction is essential, and this is why clear goals and effective repre
sentations of content are so important. Without them, the lesson lacks focus, and
pseudolearning or "anything goes" constructivism can result.
Too often, planning for social interaction simply means "put the students into
groups." It isn't that simple, however. If groupwork isn't carefully planned, it can result
in confusion and wasted time. Effective groupwork requires specifying tasks clearly,
teaching students how to work together effectively, and careful monitoring by the
teacher.
In whole-group activities, social interaction is facilitated by teacher questioning.
The questioning skills we discussed in Chapter 5 are essential. Without these, discus
sions tend to revert to minilectures, and the benefits of social interaction are lost.
The quality of the representations teachers use also influences student interaction.
Effective representations provide students with the information they can use to con
struct understanding, so they give students focal points for discussing and exchanging
ideas. This is why authentic learning tasks and multiple representations of content are so
important. If the representations are ineffective, virtually no amount of teacher guid
ance will result in meaningful discussions.
Planning for Productive Learning Environments
ster
!Sed
k of
IID
rer is
pha
idual
per
e the
) dis
l disearn
them
their
em to
. their
~ who
In Chapter 6 we found that productive learning environments are safe, orderly, and
learning focused. A productive learning environment is crucial if learning activities
based on constructivism are to be successful. Constructivist learning requires that stu
dents feel free to offer conclusions, conjectures, and evidence without fear of criticism
or embarrassment. It also requires students who are willing to listen to each other, wait
their turn, and consider and reconsider their own ideas while others are talking. Stu
dents may not have these abilities or inclinations when constructivist instruction is first
introduced, so teachers need to help them learn to take responsibility for their own be
havior. Conscious planning helps identify the specific skills to be developed and the
strategies, such as modeling, that will be used to teach them.
Planning for Assessment

Basing instruction on constructivism also has implications for assessing learning. Rather
than answering questions about abstract and isolated problems, students demonstrate
their understanding in real-world contexts. Lucy's students, for example, were asked to
predict what would have happened if they had used a piece of wood or a butter knife
instead of a wire for the demonstration with the burner and wax. In addition to assess
ing students' ability to apply the information they've learned, teachers can gather in
formation about students' thinking in the process. rwe discuss assessment in detail in
Chapter 12.)
In summary, when teachers plan for learning activities based on constructivism,
they identify goals, organize and sequence learning activities, and assess learning just as
they would when using traditional approaches. Planning for constructivist activities,
however, requires more care in the way content is represented, as well as conscious
planning for social interaction and the learning environment. In addition, teachers need
to be more flexible in their thinking, adapting goals and strategies as instruction unfolds.
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CHAPTER 7
CONDUCTING CONSTRUCTIVIST LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Having examined planning based on constructivism, let's turn now to the learning ac
tivities themselves. These processes are illustrated in Figure 7.3.
The model in Figure 7.3 helps us visualize four important aspects oflessons based
on constructivism:
Constructivist lessons typically begin with a problem or question that must be
solved or answered.
The lesson focuses on the solution to the problem or the answer to the ques
tion. The explanations and answers come from learners, not from teachers. The
link in Figure 7.3 is from learners, to answers, to the question. There isn't a di
rect link from teachers, to answers, to questions.
Explanations and answers derive from content representations and social
interaction.
Teachers help students construct understanding by guiding the social inter
action and providing the content representations.
, PROBLEM OR QUESTION
I
Requires Thinking to
Provide an Answer
LEARNERS
-:
<,
Use
Use
-:
<,
SOCIAL
INTERACTION
CONTENT
REPRESENTATIONS'
-:
<,
Guides
<.
Provides
-:
TEACHER
to Facilitate Knowledge Construction
r~ 7.3 Conducting Constructivist Learning Activities
243
Let's look now at the way Lucy conducted her lesson. As we analyze it, we'll focus
on her thinking, because some of what she did was subtle but important for promoting
thorough understanding in her students. For example,
Lucy: Now ... let's look at what we have here (displaying the coffee maker, pot, and
spoon). Let's feel the coffee pot and the spoon. C'rnon up, Sarafina.... How do they
feel?
Sarafina: Smooth.
Lucy: Okay ... how else do they feel?
Sarafina: Cold.
Lucy: Okay, good .... Sarafma says that the spoon and coffee pot feel smooth and cold.
The dialogue you just read illustrates what we mean by "subtle but important." We
saw earlier that lessons based on constructivism typically begin with a problem or ques
tion. Lucy, however, modified this procedure slightly. To understand conduction, the stu
dents needed to know that the spoon was initially cold. Lucy could have set up her
demonstration in advance and simply told the students that the spoon was initially cold
and then pose her question, but this would have been less meaningful. This is why the
model in Figure 7.3 shows the link from the teacher to the content representation, and
from the representation to the students, rather than directly from the teacher to the
students-it was important for the students to see for themselves that the spoon was ini
tially cold. This also illustrates the statement, "The explanations and answers come from
learners, not from teachers." The teacher's role in constructivist-based lessons is to facil
itate this explanation and meaning making.
Having set up her demonstration and asking Sarafina to confirm that the spoon was
cold, Lucy then assessed the students' current understanding with additional question
ing. Let's see how she did this.
Lucy: Now let's review for a few minutes while we watch the coffee pot .... We've
been talking about heat and energy. What is one way that heat is transferred, Bharat?
Bharat: Radiation.
Lucy: Yes, good, Bharat. Who can give us an example.... Bev?
Bev: Well ... like when you hold your hand over a hot burner on a stove, your hand gets
warm.
Lucy: Good, Bev ... and explain why that's an example ... Dominique?
Dominique: Your hand gets warm, but ... it's up above the burner, and ... there's nothing
between your hand ... well, there's air between the burner and your hand, but it
wouldn't matter. ... Anyway, your hand gets warm because the waves go up and
heat it.
Lucy: Yes, very good explanation. How about another example? Jim?
Jim: When we stand out in the sun, it warms us up.
Lucy: And what else do we know about radiation, Lakasha? ... Think about what Do
minique said.
Lakasha: It goes even if there's no air.... Like from the sun to the earth.
Lucy: Good, Lakasha.... Can you add a little more to that? What do we mean when we
say"no air"?
244
CHAPTER 7
Lakasha: Like ... a vacuum?
Lucy: And what's that have to do with what Dominique said?
Lakasha: She said there was no air ... no ... she said it wouldn't matter if there was no air.
Ramon: It travels in waves.
Lucy: Yes, Ramon, good .... Now remember everyone, radiation is a form of heat energy
that travels in waves, and it doesn't need any matter to travel through. We can't see
the waves, but they move, such as going from the burner to our hand. We know the
waves moved because our hand gets warm.
Students' responses indicated they had a valid understanding of radiation, and Lucy also
assessed their understanding of convection the same way.
Then Lucy used her demonstration to focus students' attention on her problem.
Let's see how she did this.
Lucy: Now let's look at this again (pointing to the coffee pot). Now carefully corne up and
touch the top of the spoon (directed to Sarafina, since she had confirmed that the
spoon was initially cold).
Sarafina: It's hot.
Lucy: It's hot! ... Now that brings up a question. It was cold before, and now it's hot. ...
hrnrn? Now I want you to be very good observers and thinkers, and I want you to
work with your partner and try to explain why the spoon got hot .... Now before we
start, what do we know for sure?
Jeremy: The coffee pot did it (referring to the coffee pot and spoon).
Lucy: Sure, we know that heating up the coffee pot is important. ... But we want to think
about exactly how it did it. ... And what are you going to keep in mind as you work
on our problem?
Lucy: What have we been discussing?
Leeman: Stuff about heat.
Lucy: What about heat?
Jessica: Radiation and convection.
Lucy: Yes, very good.... Keep radiation and convection in mind when you work on your
explanation.... Now go ahead.
This dialogue illustrates the point, "Constructivist lessons focus on explanations and
answers to questions." Lucy posed the question ofwhy the spoon got hot and reminded
her students that they were trying to answer the question in the context of what they
already understood-radiation and convection.
Reminding students that they should keep radiation and convection in mind is an
other "subtle but important" feature of Lucy's lesson. Students often think about topics
in isolation, and when they later encounter topics they've previously studied, they fail
to connect and often become confused. This could have been the case with Lucy's stu
dents. Had they not been reminded to keep radiation and convection in mind, they
might have later confused them with conduction.
Jason's initial suggestion that radiation is what heated the spoon illustrates this po
tential confusion.
245
Jason: We think it's radiation. The waves go up the spoon and make it hot ... like our
hand over the burner.

Go ahead, Sonja (seeing Sonja shaking her head).
No, I don't think so.
Why not?
Radiation doesn't need something to travel through ... like we said
before....when we put our hand over the burner, there wasn't anything there.
Jason: There was air there.
Sonja: Yeah, but radiation can go through air. It can't go through something hard ... like a
spoon.
Lucy:
Sonja:
Jason:
Sonja:
feel?
Kathy: Cooler.
Kathy: The tree ... or whatever blocked the sun.
Lucy: What's your reaction to that (turning to Jason)?
Jason: [ ... guess so.... Yes, that's true.
We've now seen four excerpts of dialogue from Lucy's lesson. They illustrate five
important features ofleaming activities based on constructivism:
Lesson focus
The influence of existing understanding
The role of social interaction
Ongoing assessment
Let's look at them.
Lesson Focus
Ld
:d
:y
Lucy's entire lesson focused on her initial problem (why the spoon got hot), and it was
based on her content representations (her demonstrations, model, and simulation).
None of the discussion was conducted in the abstract. Her clear goal and her represen
tations provided the framework that allowed her to guide students as they attempted to
figure out why the examples worked as they did.
The Influence of Existing Understanding
cs
iii
u
ey
0
We see the influence of existing understanding illustrated in Jason's attempt to use ra

diation as the explanation for why the spoon got hot. This is easy to understand. Lucy
encouraged students to keep radiation and convection in mind, so his attempt to use
one or the other as an explanatory framework is sensible. Lucy anticipated this possi
bility, and she was able to intervene as we saw in the dialogue. This helped eliminate
Jason's initial confusion and helped all students relate the three methods of heat trans
fer to each other. Had Lucy not encouraged them to keep radiation and convection in
246
CHAPTER 7
mind, the likelihood of confusion later on would have been greater. This again illus
trates the sophistication of Lucy's thinking as she planned and conducted the lesson.
The Role of Social Interaction

Each of the excerpts of the preceding dialogue illustrates why social interaction is so es
sential. While explaining ideas is potentially easier for teachers, it simply doesn't work
very well for promoting deep understanding of the topics students study. This doesn't
imply that teachers should never explain ideas to students; rather, it suggests that we
should be skeptical of how much understanding is promoted through explanation alone.
Interaction encourages students to form and revise their ideas as the lesson progresses.
Ongoing Assessment
Finally, we see that assessment in Lucy's lesson was ongoing. The students' answers to
her questions gave her continual indicators of their understanding, which allowed her
to intervene when necessary, as she did when Jason tried to use radiation as an explana
tion for the spoon getting hot.
Each of these features helps teachers make four ongoing decisions while conduct
ing learning activities based on constructivism:
When to intervene to guide the lesson in the direction of the goal

How extensively to intervene
When to provide additional representations of the topic
When and how to bring the lesson to closure
We sawall four of these decisions illustrated in Lucy's lesson. With practice, you'll
become better at making these decisions. As you develop, keep one essential question in
mind as you interact with the students-"What is the goal?" This question will help
you maintain the focus ofthe lesson, it will guide your questioning, and it will help you
decide whether or not your initial goal should be modified.
Constructivism: A View of Learning. Constructivism views learning as an individ

ual process in which learners develop their own understanding of the topics they study
rather than receive understanding in an already organized form. New learning exists in
the context of current understanding and is facilitated by social interaction as learners
work with authentic tasks, problems, and questions. Constructivism is becoming in
creasingly influential in learning and teaching, influenced by research indicating that
learners often fail to understand the topics they study in more than a superficial way.
Characteristics of Constructivism. Constructivist lessons have four characteristics.
First, they emphasize active student construction of new ideas. Second, constructivists
believe that all new learning is embedded in and dependent on current understanding.
Third, learning is facilitated by social interaction, both between students and in whole
group discussions. Finally, learning is enhanced when new content is embedded in real
istic or lifelike learning activities.
247
Constructivist activities are motivating for students in several ways. Since they begin
with a question or problem, they activate students' curiosity. Constructivist lessons ac
tively involve students and use social interaction to examine and challenge ideas. In ad
dition, because they focus on student learning and understanding, students' efforts
during the lesson can increase students' sense of self-efficacy.
Planning Constructivist Learning Activities. Constructivist lessons require a clear

content goal that acts as a cognitive compass for the teacher during the lesson. In addi
tion to designing authentic learning tasks, teachers also need to design ways to represent
abstract ideas in multiple ways to provide alternate perspectives to students. Another
planning task is to provide opportunities for student interaction, which not only allows
the teacher to assess current student understanding, but also enhances learning.
Conducting Constructivist Learning Activities. Constructivist learning activities
begin with a question or problem that provides the focal point for the lesson. Learn
ers utilize different content representations and social interaction to grapple with the
question or problem. The teacher assists this process through strategic questions and
timely additions of new examples that assist students in their attempts to develop new
understanding.
Authentic task
Constructivism
Database
Self-efficacy
Social interaction
As you've studied this chapter, you've seen how teachers can design and implement in
struction based on constructivist views of learning. Read the following case study now
and consider how effectively the teacher implemented the ideas discussed in the chapter.
n
:s
It
S.
ts
g.
le
1
Kelly Lang has her students involved in a unit on different kinds of poetry, she has exam
ined several different forms of poetry, and she wants to have her students understand
Haiku.
She began the class by saying, "We've been studying poetry for several days now, and
I want us to look at another form .... Look up here at what I've displayed on the over
head," and she displayed the following:
Deep in a windless
wood, not one leaf dares to move ...
Something is afraid.
Into a forest
I called ... The voice in reply
was no voice I knew.
248
CHAPTER 7
I called to the wind
"Who's there?" ... Whoever it was
still knocks at my gate.
"Now go ahead and work with your partner for a few minutes, and I want the two of
you to write down as many things as you can that these three excerpts have in common.
When you're fmished, we'll discuss them."
"Do we turn our papers in?" Omar wondered.
"Yes," Kelly smiled. "Remember, we said that you always turn your papers in, unless [
tell you otherwise.... Okay ... go ahead. You have 4 minutes."
The students, who were seated next to their partners, turned together, and a buzz of
voices soon rose in the room. As the students worked. Kelly moved up and down the aisles
glancing at what the students had written and making periodic comments, suggestions, and
reminders about what they were supposed to do.
At the end of the 4 minutes, Kelly announced, "Okay, everyone, turn back this
way .... Now ... let's go ahead and see what we've come up with .... Tell us one thing
you have written down.... Go ahead, Latasha."
" ... Three lines in each one."
"Good .... Dale?
"The middle line is longer than the top one and the bottom one."
"Toni?"
" ... There's three little periods in each one."
"What are those little periods called?" Kelly queried, "and what do they mean? ...
Anyone?"
"No one? ... Okay, ['II tell you
They're called 'ellipses' and they're used to indi
cate that something is left out of the line
See, you learned something new," she smiled.
"Now, ... back to what we're doing. What else? ... Nita?"
"Everybody already took ours."
"Ohh, no," Kelly prompted. "Look a little more carefully. What are each of the exam
ples about? ... I mean what kind of a theme do they have?"
"They're like ... I'm not sure what you mean."
"Well, what's the first one about?"
" ... The woods?"
"Yes, each of the excerpts is about nature," Kelly waved. "Good, Nita.
"Now, if you look" she continued, "you'll see that they're also each expressing some
form of emotion, ... likein the first one it says that something is afraid.... The emotion
may be unstated, but it's there, nevertheless.
"So, let's go on.... What else do you see in the examples? ... Anyone?"
"How many syllables in the first line of each poem? ... Look carefully.... How
many?"
" ... There's five in the first and second one, ... and ... six in the third one," Jamie
said after studying the examples for several seconds.
"Not quite," Kelly smiled. 'Actually, there's five in the third one as well. Maybe you
Now ... if you look at the
thought 'called' has two syllables, but it's really iust one
third line, you'll see that it also has five syllables in it.
Everyone take a good look ... Do
249
you all see? ... Very good .... Okay, let's take a look at the second line of each. How
many syllables there? ... Look carefully."
" ... I think ... seven," Noreen offered hesitantly.
"Excellent, Noreen! ... Indeed it is seven
So we have a pattern in the exam
ples
Go ahead and summarize it for us
Somebody want to volunteer?"
"
I will," Tony waved. " ... they have five syllables in the fIrst line, ... and ... in
the third line, and ... seven in the middle line."
"Good, and can someone add to that ... what are they about?"
" ... Nature," Juan noted.
'All right, and one more part.
Someone?"
" ... They tell about ... some
emotional something," Donna added, "But I don't
really get that. ... I don't see it."
"It is a little hard to see," Kelly acknowledged. "It's sort of unstated, but if you look
carefully, you can kind of see that it's there."
Kelly then went on, "Now, what I want you to do is get together again, and compose
a poem similar to the ones we've been studying.... Then, we'll share them ....
Okay? . .. Go ahead."

Let's look at Kelly's lesson now based on the information in this chapter. In doing your
analysis, you may want to consider the following questions. In each case, be specific and
take information directly from the case study in completing your analysis.
1. The chapter focused on instruction based on constructivist views oflearning.

How effectively did Kelly apply the characteristics of constructivism in her lesson?
If you believe her lesson could have been more constructivist, make specific sug
gestions for doing so.
2. Multiple representations of content are important when teaching based on con
structivist views of learning. How effectively did Kelly implement the idea of
multiple representations of content? Be specific in your response.
3. The ability to ask questions that guide learners' developing understanding is criti
cal in constructivist approaches to instruction. How effective was Kelly's question
ing? If you believe it could have been more effective, identify specific instances in
the case study where it could have been improved.
4. As in many classes, Kelly's students had diverse backgrounds. How effectively did
her lesson accommodate the background diversity of her students? Again, be spe
cific in your response.
1. Think about your present beliefs about good teaching. Where did they come
from? What kinds of experiences did you use to form those beliefs? What kinds
of experiences are you finding most valuable in your teacher education program
in terms oflearning to teach? What do your answers to these questions tell you
about constructivism as it applies to learning to teach?
250
CHAPTER 7
2. Are all kinds of social interaction equally valuable? What factors influence the ef
fectiveness of social interaction as a learning tool?
3. What types of authentic tasks do you encounter in your teacher education pro
grams? What makes them authentic? How does their authenticity influence their
effectiveness in promoting growth?
4. Should all learning tasks be authentic? Why or why not? What obstacles do
teachers face in attempting to incorporate authentic tasks in their teaching?
5. What can teachers do to make the following teaching activities more construc
tivist and learner centered?
a. lectures
b. Jearning from text
c. labs
d. drill and practice
6. As technology becomes increasingly prominent in schools, will constructivism be
come more or less important? Why?
1. Constructivism in the Classroom. Observe an interactive lesson in which a teacher is

teaching a new idea or concept. To what extent does the lesson incorporate these
components of constructivism:
a. Learners construct their own understanding.
b. New learning depends on current understanding.

c. Learning is facilitated by social interaction.
d. Authentic tasks promote learning.
What could the teacher have done to make the lesson more constructivist?
2. Constructivism: The Learner's Perspective. Interview several students individually after
observing a lesson. Ask:

a. What did they learn (ask them to explain in their own words)?
b. How is this idea or skill related to other ones?
c. Why is it important?
What do their responses tell you about what students take away from a lesson?
3. Social Interaction. Observe a class for several hours and note the number of oppor
tunities students have to talk with each other. Are these opportunities structured
or unstructured? Are they sanctioned by the teacher? Then interview the teacher.
Some questions you might ask are:
a. How important is student interaction for learning?
b. How does it promote learning?

c. What strategies does the teacher use to structure or encourage social interaction?
d. What problems are encountered when using social interaction as a learning
tool?
How do you plan to use social interaction to promote learning in your classroom?
251
4. Authentic Learning 'Tasks. Examine a teacher's edition of a text in a content area

that you are going to teach in. How adequately does the text translate abstract
ideas into authentic tasks? How does the content area influence the kinds of au
thentic tasks used? How could the teacher supplement the text to make learning
more constructivist?
5. Constructivism: Planning. Plan a lesson using the guidelines found in this chapter.
a. How did you accommodate or include:

Student construction of understanding
Student background knowledge
Social interaction
Authentic learning tasks?
b. How does the planning process differ from planning a different kind oflesson?
c. What was the most difficult aspect of planning? The easiest? How is planning a
constructivist activity different from other types oflessons?
6. Constructivism: Implementation. Teach the lesson that you planned for in activity 5
above.
a. How did your role as a teacher change? Was it easier or harder?

b. How did students respond to the lesson?
c. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson?
d. What would you do differently next time?
er
-r,
n:
m:?
I. Understanding concepts
A. Concepts: Categories that simplify the
world
B. Theories of concept learning
C. Representing concepts: Examples and
nonexamples
D. What makes concepts easy or hard to
learn?
E. Concept learning: Misconceptions and
conceptual change
F. Making concepts meaningful:
Superordinate, coordinate, and
subordinate concepts
II. Planning for concept learning and teaching

A. Identifying precise goals
B. Goals and examples
III. Teaching concepts: Involving students in
learning
A. Deductive concept teaching: A teacher
centered approach
B. Inductive concept teaching: A learner
centered approach
C. A comparison of deductive and
inductive approaches to concept
teaching
D. Spontaneous concept teaching
rv. Understanding relationships among

concepts: Generalizations, principles, and
academic rules
V Teaching generalizations, principles, and
academic rules
A. Planning for teaching generalizations,
principles, and academic rules
B. Implementing lessons for teaching
generalizations, principles, and

academic rules
VI. Accommodating diversity in concept
learning and teaching
VII. Utilizing technology in concept learning
oncept learning represents an important part of the curriculum at all levels, includ
() ing college. In fact, concept learning is a central focus of this text, as indicated by
the fact that important concepts are given in bold type in the body of the chapters, and
they're listed at the end of each.
Students use concepts to help them understand and organize their world, and
teachers support the process by providing clear examples and helping students see how
the examples illustrate the concept's characteristics. In this chapter, we examine concept
learning and describe ways that teachers can help learners construct concepts that are
meaningful to them. When you've completed your study of this chapter, you should be
able to meet the following goals:
Explain the role that concepts play in the school curriculum.
Describe how examples contribute to concept learning.
Identify the relationships between superordinate, coordinate, and subordinate
concepts.
Describe similarities and differences between inductive and deductive ap
proaches to teaching concepts.
Describe the relationships between principles, generalizations, and academic
rules and how to teach each.
Terry Marsden, a high school social studies teacher, finished taking roll, hung the atten
dance sheet on the door and began:
"Class, let's continue our unit on research techniques in history. Remember, we're trying
to understand where the content in our history books comes from, and what it is that histori
ans do. To do that I'd like us to look at two headlines that might have appeared in 1770."
LONDON TIMES
Boston Mob Attacks British Soldiers. Five Killed and Eight Wounded by British
Tr-oops Attempting to Quell Riot.
BOSTON GLOBE
Massacre in Boston! BritishTr-oops Fire on Innocent People. Five Innocents Killed
and Eight Wounded in Military Massacre.
Terry continued, "What's going on here? Jacinta?"
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CHAPTER 8
"We ... we have two different versions of the same event."

"Which one is correct?" Terry asked. "Or perhaps more importantly for our purposes
today, how could we find out? ... Let's leave the Boston Massacre for a second and talk
about two important ideas in historical research: ... primary and secondary sources.
Today we are going to learn the difference between these two." With that, she drew the
diagram that appears in Figure 8.1 on the board.
She continued, "Primary data sources are original documents; the person describing
the event was actually there. Original means firsthand and unchanged. For instance, take a
look at this. What is it? ... Duk?" and she then held up a piece of homework that one of
the students had turned in the day before.
"It ... looks like our homework."
"Yes, exactly, Duk?" Terry smiled. "It is your homework. And if someone wanted to
do an analysis of the homework in this class, this would be a primary source.... It is an
actual, unmodified piece of homework.
'An example of a primary source in our Boston Massacre situation could be a letter
from someone who had actually witnessed the event, or a newspaper columnist who was
there and wrote an article about it.
"A secondary source, by contrast, is a description by a person who was not there but
who got information from someone who mayor may not have directly observed the event,
"So what would be a secondary source in the case of our homework? . .. Kyung?"
"It would be like ... like someone in the class describing the kind of homework that
you usually give in here."
"Good, Kyung.... Now, let's write these definitions on the board so we won't forget
them."
Terry wrote the definitions on the board and said, "Let's stop here for a second, and
think about why the differences between the two types of sources is important. ... Any
one? . ,. Steve?"
"With ... a primary source there's less of an opinion involved. A secondary
like the newspaper headlines."
source ... has interpreted it
We can think of a secondary source as a filter that the in
"Good thinking, Steve
formation has passed through. So distortion or inaccuracy increases when secondary
sources are used. Let's see how this works by looking at some different types of data and
see if we can tell whether they are primary or secondary. How about this one?" and she
held up a small book.
"What is it?" Jed asked.
Research Methods in History
I
Data Sources
,_ _ 1_-----.
Primary
r~
Secondary
9. r
Research Methods
LEARNING AND TEACHING CONCEPTS.
255
"Good question.... It's a diary.... So what do you think? ... Yolando?"

"It's ... a primary source."
"Why?" Terry probed.
" ... Because it was written by the person himself"
"Good," Terry nodded smiling. "In fact, historians have used the diaries of historical fig
ures extensively in their analysis of historical events. Let's label that one primary with a big P.
"How about another one? ... This is Fawn Brody's biography of Thomas Jeffer
son." Terry held up the book. "Would that be a primary or secondary source? ... Sarah?"
"Secondary ... because she was a modern biographer and wasn't there at the time
that it occurred."
"Good, let's put an 5 to indicate 'secondary' by it.
"Now, how about this one? ... Let's pretend we're writing a history of the student
government in our high school. Would the minutes of the student government meetings be
primary or secondary? . . . Taeko?"
"I'm ... not sure."
"Let's think about it," Terry continued. "Remember, one of the important ideas about
primary sources is that the person writing them had to be there."
"Ohh ... okay. The secretary taking the minutes would be there so it would be a pri
mary source."
"Good. Let's write that up here. Now can anyone give us an example of a secondary
source using the same topic? . " Bill?"
"How about a school newspaper article written from the minutes. The person who
wrote the article wouldn't have been actually there."
They continued for several more minutes, with Terry giving some additional examples
and also asking the students to supply some of their own. Then she returned to the Boston
Massacre headlines and her outline of research methods in history.
UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS
We have two goals when we teach concepts. The first is to have our students understand
what the concept is. This is done through the use of exampJes that illustrate or contain
the essential characteristics that define the concept. Terry helped her students under
stand primary and secondary data sources by presenting them with concrete examples
of these concepts and analyzing these examples through interactive questioning. The
second goal is to help students understand how the concept relates to other concepts.
This prevents students from learning and remembering concepts as isolated categories.
We want concepts to be connected to what students already know and to be differenti
ated from closely related concepts. Terry accomplished this second goal by linking pri
mary and secondary sources to data sources and research methods in history and by
comparing the two concepts to each other. When we accomplish these two goals, we
have meaningful concept learning.
Think about some of the topics that you've studied in this book so far. Among
many others, you examined behaviorism and teacher-effectiveness research in Chapter 1, at
risk students and culture in Chapter 2, affective domain and objectives in Chapter 3, and aca
demic learning time and modeling in Chapter 4. Similar examples could be found in
Chapters 5, 6, and 7.
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CHAPTER 8
Each of these topics is a concept. Forming concepts is one of the most important
forms oflearning that exists, both in and out of school. They're essential units of human
thought; they guide our communication and help us understand our environment. For
example, when we read a newspaper columnist and conclude he or she has a strong con
servative bias, we are using the concepts conservative and bias. These concepts allow us to
understand the author and help us communicate our understanding to others.
The next section looks at how concepts help us understand the world and commu
nicate that understanding to others.
Concepts: Categories That Simplify the World

As we see from the preceding examples, concepts represent a major portion of the
school curriculum, and much of teachers' efforts are directed at teaching them (Klaus
meier, 1992). Concepts are mental categories, or classes, ~f objects, events, or ideas, illustrated
by examples and defined by common characteristics. For example, if students saw the polygons
in Figure 8.2, they would describe them all as squares, even though the shapes vary in
size and orientation. Square represents a mental category or class into which all exam
ples of squares can be placed.
Concepts help us simplify the world. The concept square, for example, allows peo
ple to think and talk about the examples in Figure 8.2 as a group instead of as specific
objects. Having to remember each object separately would make learning impossibly
complex and unwieldy.
Similarly, the concepts primary source and secondary source helped Terry's students
simplify their study. For instance, rather than looking at George Washington's diary, a
letter written at the time of the Boston Massacre, and a newspaper article written by an
eyewitness, as documents to be studied and understood separately, students could clas
sify all three as primary sources, making their study much easier and their understanding
of the world more complete.
Additional examples of concepts in language arts, social studies, science, and math
are listed in Table 8.1. This is only a brieflist, and you can probably think of many more
for each area. Students also study major scale and tempo in music, perspective and balance in
-f~ 8.Z Squares
257
~ O.( CONCEPTS IN DIFFERENT CONTENT AREAS

Language Arts
Social Studies
Science
Math
Gerund
Culture
Acid
Composite number
Noun
Republican
Conifer
Equivalent fraction
Plot
Conservative
Compound
Square
Simile
Mercantilism
Force
Multiplication
Direct object
Gross national product
Momentum
Ellipse
art, and aerobic exercise and isotonic exercise in physical education. In addition, we teach
many other concepts in school that don't neatly fit into a particular content area such as
honesty, justice, love, internal conflict, and our previous example with bias.
From our discussion, we see that some concepts, such as square or noun, are simple
and can be taught to young children, whereas others, like mercantilism, are more diffi
cult, requiring more mature students.
Let's examine concepts a bit further. Consider the italicized words in each of the
following sentences.
Anya runs very fast.
I studied for this test for four hours.
You are reading the information in this section.
Beena drove the ball out of the park.
Kathy is a good math student.
We see that the italicized words are quite dissimilar-their spellings are different,
some indicate an event in the past while others are in the present, one involves two ital
icized words, and some suggest more energy than do others. However, desER:eir dif
ferences, they are similar in that they all describe an action ora state <if being. B cause of this
common feature, we put them in a category that includes all words that in '~;e action
or state of being. We have formed theFoncept verb. This illustrates one view Of the way
concepts are formed.
/
J
Theories of Concept Learning
Think again about the concept verb, and also think about concepts that we commonly
hear on the news, such as environmentalist, Republican, and lobbyist. How did you learn
those concepts and how do you use them?
Rule-Governed Theories of Concept Learning. Some concepts, such as primary source in

Terry's lesson, or verb or square, have clear and precise characteristics (sometimes called
attributes or features), which are a concept's difining elements. Square, for instance, has four
characteristics-closed, plane, equal sides, and equal angles, and students can identify ex
amples of squares based on the rule saying that squares must have these attributes. Other
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CHAPTER 8
www.ablongrnan.com/kauchak4e
characteristics, such as size, color, or orientation, aren't essential, so students don't have
to consider them in making their classifications. They don't alter the concept. Similarly,
the concept verb has two characteristics: It either shows action or a state of being, and,
as with square, students can classify parts of speech as verbs based on this rule. The in
dividual word isn't important in the classification.
Early concept learning research (e.g., Hl:~ner, Goodenow, and Austin, 1956) found
that learners can quickly identify the essential characteristics of a concept and classify
examples accordingly. Concepts are differentiated from one another on the basis of the
rules for each. For example, learners differentiate a square from a rectangle based on the
rule for squares, compared to one for rectangles, indicating that rectangles must be plane
closed figures with equal angles but with opposite sides equal in length, rather than hav
ing all sides equal.
More recent research emphasizes the constructive nature of the process. As we saw in
Chapter 7, learners construct-rather than record-their understanding of concept
rules (Confrey, 1990; Greeno, Collins, and Resnick, 1996).
Prototype Theories of Concept Learning. An alternative to this rule-based view of con
cept learning emphasizes examples. To illustrate this perspective, let's look at another
concept, such as Republican. What are its characteristics. Some might suggest that fiscal
and social conservativism, lowering taxes, small governme ,a a pro-business orien
tation are important features. However, some Republican presid nts have raised taxes
and significantly increased the size of government through military spending. So what
is the rule we follow for classifying people as Republicans?
Proto~ theories of concept learning don't assume a classification system based on
a strict rule for inclusion as a member of the concept (Wattenmaker, Dewey, Murphy,
and Medin, 1986). Rather, learners construct a prototype, which is the best representative
if its category (Busmeyer and Myung, 1988; Nosofsky, 1988; Schwartz and Reisberg,
1991). For example, George W Bush might be a prototype for a Republican in this
country. Or, in many instances, a prototype isn't a specific, physical example, such as
George W Bush. Rather, it is a mental composite constructed from encountering sev
eral examples which the learner combines in the mind. To illustrate this idea, think of
the conceptQird. The image that you generate is frequently a prototype based on previ
ous examples you've encountered.
Representing Concepts: Examples and Nonexamples

Whatever your view of concept learning-rule governed or prototype--examples are es
sential for learning and understanding concepts. In Chapter 5 we said that effective rep
resentations of content were essential for promoting the involvement of students, and in
Chapter 7 we again emphasized the role of representations in helping students construct
understanding of the topics they study. This emphasis is equally important for concept
learning, where specific examples-typical members oj the class-and nonexamples
nonmembers !!f the class-are essential. Regardless of a concept's complexity, the key to
concept learning is a carefully selected set of examples and nonexamples (Tennyson and
Cocchiarella, 1986).
To illustrate the importance of examples, let's look at a simple illustration oflearn
ing a concept such as dog, as it occurs naturally. Children learn about dogs by encoun
259
tering collies, terriers, poodles, chihuahuas, and other examples. Parents and other
adults help with statements such as "Look, Anya, there's a dog!" As with the illustration
of the concept verb, the collies, terriers, and others are dissimilar in many ways. Having
been told that all are dogs, however, children identify similarities among them, and they
begin to construct the concept.
The process is also aided by nonexamples such as cats and bears and, later, more
closely related nonexamples such as coyotes, wolves, and foxes. In these instances, learn
ers are told, "No, Matt, that's not a dog. It's a kitty. Listen to him meow," or, "No. It
looks like a dog, but it's a wolf. It lives in the wild and not with people."
The examples tell us what a concept is by illustrating its essential characteristics or
providing an effective prototype, and the nonexamples help us discriminate the concept
from closely related concepts. Consider the following examples:
Sammy, the running back, was a freight train moving down the field.
As a running back, Sammy was like a freight train moving down the field.
Obviously, the two statements are closely related. However, they illustrate two dif
ferent concepts. The first is a metaphor, which involves-a nonliteral comparison, and the
second is a simile, which also makes a nonliteral ~mparison but includes the word like
or as in it. The essential characteristics of metapho~atedin the first example,
and a key discriminating characteristic is shown in the nonexample. As students learn
the concept metaphor, nonexamples such as similes are crucial to prevent them from over
generalizing and including inappropriate examples in the category. The same process
occurs when we tell young children that foxes and wolves are not dogs.
From this discussion we see that concept learning as it occurs naturally and concept
learning in formal school settings are similar. Learners encounters examples and nonex
amples in either day-to-day experience-as in the case with dogs-or are presented ex
amples and nonexamples-as demonstrated with verbs, metaphors, and similes. In both
cases the concept is learned by identifying its essential characteristics and discriminating
them from closely related concepts. What differentiates the two types oflearning is the
teacher's conscious effort to provide students with adequate examples.
DYJerent 1j!pes of Examples. We know examples are the key to representing concepts
effectively, but finding effective examples for our instruction can be difficult. For in
stance, how might you illustrate concepts such as atom, or culture? When teachers have
difficulty finding or creating good examples, they often revert back to definitions alone,
which students then memorize. The memorized definitions then exist in isolation, un
connected to other ideas they've learned or the real world in which they live.
Table 5.1 of Chapter 5 illustrated a variety of ways that content could be effectively
represented. Two of the topics-arthropod and mercantilism-were concepts, and a real
lobster and a vignette, respectively, were suggested as examples to illustrate them.
Table 8.2 includes some additional forms of examples that can be used to teach
concepts.
The ideal in illustrating any concept is the real thing, and teachers should try to use
actual objects and demonstrations whenever possible. Sometimes this is impractical,
however, and other alternatives need to be used. A model is a concrete representation to
help us visualize what we cannot observe directly. Models are especially useful in science for
a variety of topics ranging from molecules to atomic structure.
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CHAPTER 8
~ !J.e TYPES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF EXAMPLES

Realia
(the real thing)
A real heart from the butcher shop to be cut open and shown to students
Paragraphs in which parts of speech are embedded
Models
A plastic model of the solar system with the order and sizes of planets represented
A plastic heart illustrating the heart's structure
Pictures
Pictures of the Rockies and Appalachians to illustrate young and mature

mountains
Simulations
A mock trial to illustrate the judicial system at work
Pictures of firefighters and postal workers to illustrate community helpers

A debate in which students are asked to take conservative and liberal positions
on issues
Case studies
Written dialogue between two people, illustrating opinion versus fact

The case studies that introduce the chapters of this book
The case study illustrating mercantilism i ;6hapte
Just as models are useful in science, simulations are commonly used in social stud
ies to illustrate concepts impossible to illustrate in other ways. Several social simulations
are now available on video disk to help students understand complex processes. One,
Oregon Trail, designed to illustrate the difficulties and complex decisions faced by pio
neers, places students in the role ofpioneers traveling across the plains, making decisions
about supplies, trails, and mode of travel. Another, Sim City, allows students opportuni
ties to construct a city, in the process investigating factors such as transportation and the
placement of utilities.
The use of case studies is another powerful instructional tool that can be used to il
lustrate difficult concepts. We introduce each of the chapters of this text with case stud
ies to illustrate the abstract concepts that help you understand learning and teaching.
Without them, the content would be much less meaningful to you as developing pro
fessionals. Case studies form the backbone of much of the instruction in many teacher
education programs as well as courses in business and law (Shulman, 1992).
Case studies are especially effective for illustrating many complex concepts taught
in our schools today. As an example, consider the following:
Pedro is a boy living in a small Mexican village. Every day he rises early, for he must walk
the 2 miles to his school. He has a breakfast of beans and bread made from ground corn,
leaves the house, and begins his trek. He likes the walk because he can wave to his papa
toiling daily in the cornfields that provide the food and income for the family.
When Pedro comes home from school, he often plays soccer with his mends in the
village. After dinner, his mother usually plays songs on a guitar while Papa sings, but this
evening she must go to a meeting of the town council, where they are trying to raise
money for a new addition to the school. No decisions can be made without the approval
of the council.
261
Ryoko is a young girl livingin a city in Japan. Ryoko is up early and helps her mother with
breakfast for her younger brothers and sisters. Ryoko loves the rice smothered in a sauce
made from fish that she often eats in the morning.
Ryoko skips out the door, bowing to her father as she goes. He is preparing tools to go
to the docks where he will meet his partner for their daily fishing expedition. He has been
a fisherman for thirty years.
Ryoko comes home from school, finishes her work and then goes down the street to
play ping pong with the rest of the neighborhood boys and girls. She is the best one in the
area. Before bed, Ryoko listens to stories of the old days told by her grandfather, who lives
with them.
These elementary social studies case studies illustrate.the concept culture and provide
a form of semiconcrete experience for students tflat they would not get otherwise.
Often when we teach a concept such as cultur~ung children, we describe it verbally
as consisting of factors such as the food, work, recreation, and music of a people. Rarely,
however, do we actually illustrate these characteristics, and as a result the concept is less
meaningful for learners. Case studies help learners build that meaning by illustrating the
interplay of complex characteristics.
What Makes Concepts Easy or Hard to Learn?

The ease oflearning a concept is directly related to the number of characteristics it has and
how concrete they are (Tennyson and Cocchiarella, 1986). Square is easy to learn, for ex
ample, because it has few characteristics and they're concrete. Liberal or conservative, in con
trast, are much harder. Their characteristics are more abstract, and there are many more of
them. This helps us understand why many people have difficulty precisely describing what
makes a conservative a conservative and how liberals and conservatives are different.
These differences are reflected in where concepts are placed in the school curricu
lum. Simple, concrete concepts, such as squares and other shapes, are taught in kinder
garten or before, while many abstract concepts don't appear until the middle school
years or later.
Concept Learning: Misconceptions and Conceptual Change

The effect ofbackground knowledge on learning was a theme emphasized in Chapter 7
when we discussed instruction based on constructivist views of learning, and it is im
portant for concept learning as well (Greeno, Collins, and Resnick, 1996). While learn
ers construct understanding of concepts on the basis of examples and nonexamples,
their background knowledge, expectations, beliefs, and emotions also influence their
thinking (Dole and Sinatra, 1998). Learners develop many intuitive understandings of
the topics they study and, once formed, these understandings are extremely resistant to
change (Leander and Brown, 1999; Shuell, 1996). For instance, in science, students
often confuse reptiles with amphibians and spiders with insects; in geography students
have problems with longitude and latitude; and in language arts students have difficulty
differentiating between figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, and personification.
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CHAPTER 8
To develop more valid understandings, researchers have found that learners must
become uncomfortable with their present understanding, and a new conception must
be understandable and more capable of explaining their experiences than their original
ideas (Dole and Sinatra, 1998; Nissani and Hoefler-Nissani, 1992). This can only be ac
complished if their intuitive (and often inaccurate) understandings are directly con
fronted (Chinn and Brewer, 1993). Let's look a~X;mple of how teachers do this.
Elaine Madison has been working with her middle-school students on basic science con
cepts and has defined force as any push or pull and work as the combination of force and
movement. She knows that students often incorrectly think that work is done if effort is ex
pended, regardless of whether movement occurs.
To try to eliminate these misconceptions, she suggested. "Kari, stand.up and hold up
the chair."
Kari stood, lifted the chair that was at the side of the room, and remained standing
motionless.
"Now." Elaine continued. "Is Kari doing any work?"
"Yes," Jared volunteered.
"What did we say the definition of work is?" Elaine probed.
"The combination of force and movement," Natalie offered.
"Okay, is Kari doing any work?" Elaine went on.
"If she stands there for a while, she'll get tired. and you get tired when you work."
Jared persisted.
"But she's not moving," Kathy added. "For work to be done, there has to be movement."
"That doesn't make sense," Jared continued. "That means you can get tired without
doing any work."
"What actually makes you tired?" Elaine queried.
"Holding up the chair."
"Sure. So, the effort of holding up the chair would make any of us tired. Effort is the
force we're exerting, and exerting a force can make us tired."
The class continued to discuss the example, noting that Kari actually did do work
when she first lifted the chair. They then discussed additional examples, noting that be
cause of their day-to-day experience they tend to equate effort, work, and being tired. As a
result of this discussion, Jared finally concluded that the idea that work requires movement
made sense. (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001)
This example illustrates how difficult it is to change misconceptions. They exist
because they make sense to us, and changing them requires reorganizing our existing
understanding. It's also possible that a student like Jared will revert back to his earlier
thinking-work equals effort-even though he accepted the definition; additional ex
amples and discussion will be required for him to permanently restructure his ideas.
Alert teachers are aware of this possibility and provide additional experiences.
Making Concepts Meaningful: Superordinate,

Coordinate, and Subordinate Concepts
Rather than learning concepts in isolation, we want students to link or connect them to
other concepts (Glover et al., 1990). For example, students learn that metaphor is afigure if
"
263
speech, and that other figures of speech also exist, such as simile, onomatopoeia, personification,
and alliteration. Students go even further to find that th e are special kinds of metaphors.
We can summarize these connective links ~s' g the idea of superordinate, coor
dinate, and subordinate concepts. Superordinate concepts are larger categories into which
the concept fits, coordinate concepts a;~ "parallel" concepts-thatfit into the same superordi
nate category, and subordinate concepts are subsets if the concept we're focusing on. The'se
relationships are illustrated in Table 8.3.
Superordinate concepts serve two important functions. First, they provide a lin]; to
the concept being learned. What is a dog? A dog is a mammal. What is a metaphor? A
metaphor is a figure of speech. Mammal and figure if speech are superordinate to dog and
metaphor. If we understand the superordinate concept, it provides a mental hook to which
the concept can be attached. Superordinate concepts help make a concept meaningful by
providing associations between it and related concepts (Gage and Berliner, 1998).
Second, superordinate concepts allow us to make inferences about examples that we
have not yet encountered. For instance, if we learn that kayaks and yawls are both boats,
we can make some conclusions about their characteristics, even if we have no experi
ence with them. We know, for example, that they are designed for travel on water,
they're probably large enough to carry people, and they are watertight.
Understanding coordinate concepts is useful because they provide links to closely
related concepts and can also be used as nonexamples. For instance, in looking at the co
ordinate concepts in Table 8.3 we see that metaphor, simile, personification, and alliter
ation are all coordinate to each other. They are all differe'nt kinds of figures of speech,
making that concept richer or deeper for students. Examples of similes, alliteration, and
personification can also be used as nonexamples for the concept of metaphor.
Similarly, subordinate concepts provide greater information about the concept we
are teaching and can also help determine additional examples. For instance, action verbs
and linking verbs are both subordinate to the concept verb, and the examples we choose
when teaching should include cases of each.
I
,
~ !J.~ THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUPERORDINATE,

COORDINATE, AND SUBORDINATE CONCEPTS
Concept
Superordinate
Concept
Coordinate
Concept
Subordinate
Concept
Dog
Mammal
Dog, horse, cat
Beagle, collie
Verb
Part
Noun, adjective
Action verb,
linking verb
Square
Plane figure
Rectangle,
triangle, circle
Large square, .
colored square
Conservative
Political phil?sophy
Liberal
Economic conservative,
social conservative
Metaphor
Figure of speech
Simile, alliteration,
personification
Types of metaphors
oS speech
264
CHAPTER 8
Difi.ning Concepts. An efficient way of making a concept meaningful is to summarize

it in a definition, which is a statement relating the concept, a superordinate concept, and char
acteristics. For instance we define verb as follows: "A verb is a part of speech that describes
an action or state of being." Verb (the concept) is linked to part of speech (a superordinate
concept) and action or state of being (characteristics).
Concept Name. As we introduced this section, we provided a list ofconcepts in Table 8.1.
Technically, we provided a list of labels or terms we use to name concepts. This distinc
tion is important because teachers sometimes tacitly assume that they're teaching a con
cept by simply using the name in a definition. For instance, how much do we learn
about the concept oxymoron from the following description?
oxymoron is a statement that uses contradictory language or terms juxtaposed in
the same sentence.
1\11
The answer is, typically, not much. Names are simply labels used for communication.
When one person uses the term metaphor, for example, it communicates meaning to an
other person if they both understand the concept.
This is the key idea-urtderstanding the concept-and this is the reason we are em
phasizing the difference between the concept itself and the name of the concept. Un
derstanding can only be achieved by studying examples and nonexamples. For instance,
when learners see examples such as "The cruel kindness of an insincere kiss," or "The
sweet pain of a remembered love," the concept oxymoron begins to become meaningful.
This meaningfulness is impossible to achieve using a name and definition alone.
PLANNING FOR CONCEPT LEARNING AND TEACHING

In one sense, teaching concepts is actually quite simple; in another, it can be very difficult.
Let's explain what we mean by that statement. Research indicates that concepts are
learned most efficiently when students are provided with examples (and nonexamples)
and a definition that identifies essential features and a superordinate concept (Tennyson
and Cocchiarella, 1986). This makes sense. We know that when we teach concepts, we
need to provide students with examples and either give or help them form a definition
that identifies essential characteristics. The problem is that many concepts are hard to il
lustrate, and, as a result, they are hard to learn. This is not a problem for concepts like
square, 11Oun, or mammal. However, consider again the concepts conservative and culture.
These concepts are difficult to illustrate. As other examples, consider the concepts Repub
lican and Democrat. How many of us can precisely describe the differences between the
two? Usually not many, and yet these concepts are at the foundation of our political sys
tem. One reason people have difficulty with these concepts is that they have loose bound
aries and often have never been precisely illustrated or defined. Labels are commonly used
instead, and they are often defined with abstract terms, but rarely are they well illustrated.
We have strongly em.phasized the role of examples throughout this text, and we're
continuing our emphasis here. Much of the work involved in effective concept teach
ing occurs before the lesson itself. During planning the teacher analyzes the concept to
determine essential characteristics and the most appropriate way to link the concept to
what students already know. Based on this analysis, the teacher prepares materials that
265
allow students to make the connection between the world of abstractions and the world
of students' reality. This connection is important from a learning perspective because re
search suggests that concept learning proceeds in stages, with the first step being the for
mation of an idealized image of the concept (Nosofsky, 1988; Schwartz and Reisberg,
1991). This image originates from concrete examples that the learner has encountered.
Try this yourself. What comes to mind when you think of these concepts: democracy,
love, good teaching? When we have done this with our students, they report things like "the
United States," "my husband or wife or boyfriend," and "the class from Mr. Henry, my
high school English teacher," respectively. A natural tendency is to jump from the abstract
to a concrete object that represents a prototype of the concept (Paivio, 1971).
The use of examples to illustrate concepts provides templates for this image. At a
later stage of concept learning, people are able to describe their concepts in words like
"A democracy is a form of government in which the governed have input into impor
tant decisions." Here, it is still important that the words used to describe a concept are
meaningful (i.e., the students understand the relationship of the words to their experi
ences). The teacher ensures this through the use of examples.
Keeping these ideas in mind, planning for teaching concepts involves two essential
steps: identifying a precise goal, and finding or preparing examples that will help stu
dents reach the goal.
Identifying Precise Goals

Clear goals are important for all effective teaching, and this is particularly true for
teaching concepts. As with all forms of teaching, clear thinking is important. This
thinking answers the question, "Exactly what do I want the students to know or un
derstand about this concept?" Let's look at the seemingly simple concept mammal.
What characteristics do we want the students to associate with mammals? Fur? Live
birth? Warm blooded? Nurses young? Placental? Advanced nervous system? Highly
adaptable? Four-chambered heart? Seven cervical vertebrae? Each is a characteristic of
manunals, but trying to teach all of them, particularly in a single lesson, wouldn't be
appropriate. With young children the teacher might decide to focus on fur, warm
blooded, and nurses young. In contrast, a junior high teacher in a lesson on ecology might
want to focus on mammals' ability to adapt to their environments.
The point here is that thinking about goals involves more than a vague notion like,
"To understand manunals." We must decide exactly what we want our students to un
derstand about them. The same is true for virtually any concept we plan to teach.
Goals and Examples

The reason precise goals are so essential is that they provide the basis for making deci
sions about the examples we select to illustrate the concept. For instance, if our goal is
for young children to understand that mammals are warm blooded, nurse their young,
and are furry, a child's pet (to illustrate warm and furry) combined with a videotape or
even pictures of a dog nursing puppies or a cow nursing a calf would be excellent ex
amples (Seeing a real dog nursing puppies would, of course, be better, but a video or
pictures are reasonable compromises.)
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CHAPTER 8
However, if our goal is for students to understand that mammals are more adaptable
than most other animals, the examples we just discussed would be totally ineffective.
The adaptability of mammals might be illustrated with videos of animals in a variety of
environments, such as musk ox in the arctic, rodents in the Sahara Desert, and jaguars
in the jungles of South America.
Without a clear goal, creating or finding effective examples is impossible, because
we're not sure what we want students to understand. Examples are what students use to
construct understanding, so the examples we use must be consistent with our goal.
We saw that clear thinking about goals and examples is essential even when dealing
with a simple concept, such as mammal. It is much more difficult with planning to teach
concepts like conservative, liberal, Republican, Democrat, or nationalism. However, the
thought processes for the teacher are the same as with mammal; they still attempt to an
swer the question, "Exactly what do I want the students to know about conservatives?"
for instance.
Creating examples that illustrate what you want students to understand in the case
of the concept conservative, for example, is also demanding. Examples (such as a child's
pet in the case of mammals don't readily exist, so teachers must create them. Here is
where case studies and vignettes can be powerful. For instance, look back at our discus
sion of ways to represent topics in Chapter 5, and look particularly at the examples of
the concept mercantilism. These vignettes provide clear and concrete representations of
an important historical concept that is virtually impossible to illustrate in any other way.
Writing vignettes, such as these, is initially difficult and demanding, but once they're
written and stored in your computer, they can be easily revised and, once refined, can
be used over and over.
TEACHING CONCEPTS: INVOLVING

STUDENTS IN LEARNING
We teach concepts in one of two ways. One way is to present students with a definition
and use the examples to illustrate it. This was the strategy Terry Marsden used when she
taught the concepts primary source and secondary source. A second way to teach concepts
is to present students with a series of examples and nonexamples and guide them to an
understanding of the concept based on patterns they see in the examples. The first is
called a deductive and the second an inductive instructional strategy. Each has advan
tages and disadvantages, and expert teachers are skilled in both. What is essential to each
is that teachers involve students in analyzing the examples for essential characteristics.
Let's begin our discussion of concept teaching by looking at a lesson where a concept is
taught deductively.
Deductive Concept Teaching; A Teacher-Centered Approach

AI Lombana, a middle school Spanish teacher, wanted to help his students understand in
direct objects.
As the class bell rang, he began by saying, "Class, in Spanish just like in English it's im
portant to know how words work in a sentence so we know where to place them. For ex
ample, look LIp here at the board.
Mis padres me mandaron ellibro.
"It says, 'My parents sent me the book,' rr explained AI, writing it under the Spanish.
"Who remembers what parents is? ... Aiat?"
"I think it's the subject."
"Good, Ajat. And how about book? What part of speech is book? . .. Jacinta?"
"Umrn. direct object?"
"Yes, Jacinta, book is the direct object because that's what the parents sent. Now
we've got this other funny word-me. Me is an indirect object. It's important to know
about indirect objects because in Spanish they go before the verb. Today we're going to
learn about indirect objects. I've written a definition on the board."
He continued, "Read that definition for me, Karen."
Karen responded, "An indirect object of a verb tells to or from whom or to or from
what something is done."
"Okay," AI smiled. "Let's look at the definition. First. we've been studying parts of
speech all year. What is a verb? ... Gabriella?"
"It's a word that shows action or a state of being."
"Good, Gabriella. Give me an example of an action verb. Steve?"
"Hit."
"Fine, Steve. And how about a state of being verb-s-Joe?"
"Is."
"Good everyone. Now what do we mean when we say direct object? ...
Baldemar?"
"I think they are words that receive the action of the verb," Baldemar responded.
"Like, 'Bill hit the ball.' Ballis the direct object."
"Real fine, Baldemar," AI praised. "Now remember indirect objects tell to or for whom
or to or for what something is done. Let's change Baldemar's sentence to read, 'He hit Ted
the ball.' Ball is still the direct object, but Ted is the indirect object. It tells who Bill hit the
ball to. Let's look at another example. See if you can identify the indirect object in this one
(writing it on the board): 'Mom bought Jim the jacket.' Which is the indirect object and
why? . . . Mario?"
"I think it's Jim, because it tells who Mom bought the jacket for."
"Excellent, Mario. Now let's try this one," and he wrote the following sentence on
the board: 'He told the policeman the details of the accident.' Which is the indirect ob
ject? . .. Sally?"
"Policeman," Sally responded, "because it describes who received the details."
"Good! That's exactly correct. You've identified precisely why the policeman is the in'
direct object. Now how about this one? 'The student gave the teacher the homework.'
What do you think? ... Kim? Which is the indirect object?"
"Hrnm. I think it's homework."
"Look again, Kim. What did the student give?"
"The homework."
"Okay," AI smiled. "So that's the direct object. Now, who did he give it to?"
"The teacher."
"Good, Kim. So what is teacher?"
"An indirect object."
"Good thinking, Kim!"
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CHAPTER 8
Then A1 gave the students the example, 'Santa Claus brought the kids presents: had
them analyze it, and asked individual students to provide additional examples for analysis.
After four different students had each given an example, A1 passed out a worksheet with a
series of sentences. The students were directed to circle the indirect object in each sen
tence. As he did this, he said, "Now we're going to see if you can find the indirect object
in Spanish sentences."
Now compare this lesson with one where a concept is taught inductively.
Inductive Concept Teaching: A Learner-Centered Approach

As the students entered Maria Torrez's biology class, they found trays of plants and seeds
at their lab stations. These were divided into two piles labeled monocotyledon and di
cotyledon. In the monocotyledon pile were samples of grasses, onions, and a potted flow
ering daffodil plant. In addition, there were some soaked corn seeds that had just started to
germinate and a picture of a corn plant showing the flowering part and the ears with tas
sels. In the dicotyledon pile were samples of pea and bean plants, a carrot, a rose flower,
plus the hip (fruit) from an old rose flower. The students also had sprouting bean seeds to
dissect.
The worksheet at each lab station asked them to list similarities within each group in
terms of the following criteria:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Seeds
Root pattern
Leaf vein patterns
Vascular arrangements in stems
Flowers
After the students had time to analyze the specimens, write notes in their lab manuals,
and discuss the findings in their groups, Maria brought the class together.
"Okay, everyone, let's talk about what we did in our lab today. But before that I want
to review two key terms." With that she wrote angiosperm and cotyledon on the board.
"Who remembers what these mean? What's an angiosperm? ... Angie?"
"It's a plant ... a kind of plant where the seed is inside the fruit."
"Good, Angie. Can anyone give me an example of an angiosperm? .. , Moy?"
"How about a cherry?"
"Good, Moy. There definitely is a seed inside a cherry-it's the pit or stone that we
don't eat and if we plar1l: it, it'll grow into a tree. And what about cotyledon? Who remem
bers what a cotyledon is? ... Ricardo?"
"It's like a baby plant inside the seed."
"Good, Ricardo. A cotyledon is an embryonic leaf enclosed within a seed. Now what
did we find out today in our lab about monocotyledons and dicotyledons? Let's start with
the seeds. How are the two types of seeds different? . . . Kim 7"
"They're shaped differently.... Like the corn seed was different from the bean seed
because it was in one part. But the bean seed split into two parts."
"Good, Kim. That's why we call them dicotyledons. Di means two; mono means one.
Let's write these ideas down on the board." Then, writing as she spoke, she continued,
269
"The first one under Similarities is they both have seeds. Then, under Differences, we'll
write mono cots have one seed part and dicots have two.
"Let's compare the roots next. What did you find out about the roots of mono- and
dicotyledons? ... Carlos?"
"Well, they both have roots, but they're shaped different. ... rr
"How is that?" Maria probed. "Tell us how they're different."
"Well, the grass roots are wide and spread out and the roots of the carrots and bean
roots go real deep and aren't spread out."
"Good comparison, Carlos. We call the deep root of the dicots a taproot and it's very
good at extracting moisture and nutrients from deep in the soil. Now think for a moment.
What would the grass root system be good for?"
The lesson continued with Maria comparing similarities and differences between
mono cots and dicots on the other essential characteristics-leaf patterns, vascular arrange
ment, and flowers-that she had targeted with her lab worksheet. When these features
were identified, the class created a definition linking mono cots and dicots to angiosperms.
A Comparison of Deductive and Inductive Approaches

to Concept Teaching
Let's take a look at AI's and Maria's lessons now and see how they're similar and differ
ent. Three similarities are important.
1. AI and Maria both used a combination of examples and nonexamples to help stu
dents identify the essential characteristics of the concepts-indirect objects in AI's
case and monocotyledons and dicotyledons in Maria's. This is consistent with research
about how students effectively learn concepts.
2. The concepts were linked to superordinate concepts that helped establish their re
lationship to other concepts. AI helped the students link indirect objects to parts
of speech and direct objects, and Maria helped her students link monocots and di
cots to angiosperms. The importance of linking concepts to superordinate and
coordinate concepts is also confirmed by research (Gage and Berliner, 1998).
3. Both lessons were highly interactive, and AI and Maria asked many questions to
involve their students in the lesson. For example, when Kim gave an incorrect re
sponse (in AI's lesson), he prompted her until she understood the example. Maria
also led her students through a comparison of the examples, helping them identify
essential characteristics of mono cots and dicots.
However, there were important differences between the two lessons. One was se
quence. AI began his lesson with a definition' and continued by linking characteristics to
examples; Maria began with examples and used the examples and her questioning to
guide the students as they gradually constructed understanding of the concepts.
Because of these different approaches, the teachers' and students' roles were differ
ent in each. Maria took on the role of instructional guide by displaying the examples
and assisting students in analyzing the data to identify the concepts' characteristics; AI
was more direct in helping the students link essential characteristics to examples.
These similarities and differences are summarized in Table 8.4 and analyzed in the
sections that follow.
270
7Jte- e. Lf
I
INDUCTNE AND DEDUCTIVE CONCEPT TEACHING
Similarities
Sequence
Teacher Role
Student Role
Both use examples
Examples
Present examples and help

students analyze examples to
extract essential characteristics
Analyze examples
to define concept
Concept is defined in
terms of characteristics
Definition
Define concept and assist

students to link definition
with examples
Link definition
to examples
N
D
U
C
T
I
V
E
D
U
C
Definition
D
E
CHAPTER 8
Essential characteristics
linked to example
Example
V
E
Deductive Concept Teaching: A Closer Look. In teaching concepts deductively, our pri
mary goal is to help students understand the concept by linking the definition to real
world examples. The name of the concept, a superordinate concept, and a description
of the concept's essential characteristics are included in the definition to help students
understand what the concept is and how it relates to the examples.
Let's analyze again both Terry Marsden's and Al Lombana's lessons to see how they
illustrate these ideas. Terry's lesson is a good illustration, and three important elements
are illustrated in it. First, she presented the headlines. They acted as an attention getter
and provided a framework for the concepts primary source and secondary source. Second,
Terry drew a diagram on the board that put the concepts into a larger context-research
methods in history. Third, Terry wrote the definitions on the board for ready reference
throughout the lesson. This made the information available to all the students (includ
ing the ones who were dozing when she gave the definition) and helped in note taking.
The central feature of both Terry's and Al's lessons involved linking the definitions
.they presented to the examples. They did this directly at first; then they asked the stu
dents to categorize and explain examples; and finally, the students generated their own
examples. This gradual shift of responsibility helped students develop a clear under
standing of the concepts while ensuring a high rate of success.
One final comment should be made about the lessons. Both Terry and Al taught
two coordinate concepts at the same time-primary and secondary source in Terry's case,
and indirect objea and direct object in Al's. This allowed the examples of one concept to
serve as the nonexamples for the other. The curriculum offers many opportunities to
teach concepts in this way, such as adverb and adjective in language arts, old mountains and
new mountains in earth science, longitude and latitude in geography, and positive and nega
o
o
1-
271
Teacher presents definition and writes it on the board.

Ambiguous terms in the definition are explained.
Characteristics in the definition are
linked to positive and negative examples.
Students categorize additional examples as
positive or negative and explain their rationale.
Students provide additional examples and
explain whether they are positive or negative.
r~ 8.~ Steps in Deductive Concept Teaching

five numbers in math. Research indicates that this is an effective way of teaching pairs of
coordinate concepts (Tennyson and Cocchiarella, 1986).
The sequential steps in a deductive concept lesson are summarized in Figure 8.3.
Inductive Concept Teaching: Further Analysis. Inductive concept teaching is the coun
terpart to what we saw in Terry's and AI's lessons. When using this strategy, teachers pre
sent positive and negative examples and guide students as they look for patterns in the
positive examples and compare them to the negative examples.
Let's analyze Maria's lesson as an illustration. First, Maria had displayed examples of
monocots and dicots for the students as they came in the room. The examples were ef
fective because the characteristics of the concepts were observable in them. Maria then
guided the students' analysis of the examples until they identified the essential charac
teristics of each concept. The lesson was inductive because it began with examples
which students were responsible for analyzing for essential characteristics.
The fact that Maria supplied the name of the concepts did not detract from the in
ductive aspects of the activity because the students were responsible (with Maria's guid
ance) for analyzing the examples and identifying the concepts' characteristics. Supplying
the term merely-provides a label for the concepts the students were constructing. The
steps involved in teaching concepts inductively are summarized in Figure 8.4.
When they teach concepts inductively, teachers commonly have two goals. The
first is to construct a valid understanding of the concept, and this is similar to the pri
mary goal when using a deductive approach.
A second goal is for students to learn to analyze data and think critically. Research
examining inductive and deductive teaching strategies indicates that inductive ap
proaches help students become efficient at data analysis through such opportunities
(Derry and Murphy, 1986). We reexamine the development of students' thinking skills
in Chapter 10.
As we did in our analysis of deductive approaches to concept teaching, we need
to make a final comment here. Throughout our discussion of inductive strategies for
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CHAPTER 8
Teacher presents positive and negative examples.
Students analyze examples for essential characteristics

(teacher assists through questions).
Additional positive and negative examples are presented and analyzed.
Essential characteristics are combined with superordinate concept in a definition.
Additional examples are used to reinforce and clarify concept.
r~
g. L'f
Steps in Inductive Concept Teaching
teaching concepts, we have emphasized the role of the teacher. Because Maria's ap
proach was inductive and AI's deductive doesn't suggest in the least that her teaching
role was less important than his. In many ways it was more important. Inductive strate
gies for teaching concepts are grounded in constructivist views of learning, and the
misconceptions that exist in basing instruction on constructivism (such as tacitly be
lieving that the teacher's role is less important, and believing that learning is occurring
if students are active) apply here as well. Maria had to make the same kinds of decisions
that we saw Lucy Zuniga make in the case study that introduced Chapter 7. In fact,
Lucy was also teaching a concept-conduction. It was more abstract than monocot and
dicot, but it is a concept nevertheless.
Research has examined the effects of teachers' guidance on learning, and it indi
cates that when teachers fail to provide adequate guidance, learning decreases (Hardi
man, Pollatsek, and Weil, 1986; Schauble, 1990). Without sufficient guidance in the
form of questions and prompts, students often become lost and frustrated, and this con
fusion can lead to misconceptions (Brown and Campione, 1994). Inductive approaches
to concept teaching are sophisticated and demanding, and they require high levels of ex
pertise, guidance, and teacher judgment.
Spontaneous Concept Teaching

Most of the concepts that we teach are planned, sequenced, and integrated into the total
curriculum. However, spontaneous concept teaching opportunities occur daily. Let's
look at an example:
Fey Shah's fourth-grade language arts class was reading a story about the pioneers' adven
tures as they traveled west. As they were reading, they ran across the word erik.
"What's a erik?" Jesse asked.
"It's a word the pioneers used for the word creek" Fey smiled. "Like creek and erik.
Does anyone know what a creek is? ... No one? Well, what does the story tell us? ...
How is it used in the story?"
273
"When we come to the next erik, we'll stop to let the horses drink," Esteban
responded.
"So we know it has water in it. Well, a creek is kind of like a river but it's smaller. Re
member when we took our field trip to the Bennet Farm? ... Remember that little stream
that flowed out of the fish pond? . . . That's a creek. It's not as big as a river, but the water
in it moves. That's one thing that makes it different from a lake or pond."
Then Fey remembered a cover of a National Geographic that showed a creek mean
dering through a meadow, brought it down from the shelf and showed it to the class.
Concepts pop up continually in classrooms, and their meanings are often unclear.
Sometimes students will tell us that they do not understand a term; at others we have to
infer it from frowns or blank looks. A quick question, such as "What is a (erik)?" or
"What does (erik) mean?" can serve as the springboard for a minilesson on the confus
ing concept.
Table 8.5 outlines several instructional strategies teachers can use when opportuni
ties for spontaneous concept teaching arise.
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ld
ii
ii
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UNDERSTANDING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CONCEPTS:

GENERALIZATIONS, PRINCIPLES, AND ACADEMIC RULES
To introduce this section, let's think again about Terry Marsden's lesson at the beginning
of this chapter. Terry's objective was for her students to understand the concepts of pri
mary and secondary data sources. She then presented examples and guided her students
toward a definition of these concepts. During the lesson the class concluded that "dis
tortion or inaccuracy increases when secondary sources are used." This statement is a
generalization, a statement that relates two conceptsfor which there are known exceptions. Like
concepts, generalizations are useful because they help structure and simplify the world
8.5
les
:x-
ital
et's
STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING CONCEPTS

SPONTANEOUSLY
Strategy
Example
Link to superordinate example.
It's a body ofwater.
Provide an analogy or
coordinate concept.
It's kind of like a river.
Present examples.
The stream by the Bennett Farm

The picture in National Geographic
Present nonexarnples.
A lake
A pond
Identify characteristics.
It has water in it.

It's smaller than a river.
The water in it moves.
Provide context.
How is it used in the story?
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CHAPTER 8
around us. In using generalizations, however, we should remember that exceptions

exist, so conclusions based on them can be inaccurate.
Some additional examples of generalizations include the following:
Herbivores have longer legs than do carnivores.
The earlier (historically) the musical piece, the fewer the instruments in the
orchestra.
Complementary colors balance each other, with the brighter ones standing out
and darker ones receding.
Teachers who are well organized have students who learn more than do disor
ganized teachers.
We can quickly identify exceptions to each of the statements. If a teacher is well orga
nized but uses ineffective examples and puts learners in passive roles, for instance, stu
dents will likely learn less than they will in a class where the teacher is less well organized
but uses effective examples and puts the learners in active roles. Most of what we know
about learning and teaching exists as generalizations hased upon research data.
A principle (or law) is a special kind of generalization that describes a relationship be
tween two or more concepts that is accepted as true for all cases. Principles make up an impor
tant part of the school curriculum, particularly in science. The following are some
examples.
Objects at rest remain at rest and moving objects remain moving in a straight
line unless a force acts on them (Newton's law of inertia).
The farther from the equator, the longer the days in summer and the shorter
the days in winter.
The greater the force on an object, the greater its acceleration.
In each of these instances concepts are linked in a statement describing the way the
world operates.
Finally, consider the following statements.

Pronouns must agree with their antecedent in number and gender.

In English, adjectives precede the noun they modify,
In Spanish, adjectives follow the noun they modify
In rounding off numbers, round up if the last numeral is five or more, and
round down if the last numeral is four or less.
Again, we see that the statements describe a relationship between two concepts,
but these statements are academic rules, which are relationships that have been arbitrarily
developed by people. The arbitrary nature of academic rules is illustrated by the fact that
adjectives precede nouns in English but follow nouns in Spanish. As English evolved,
it would have been equally valid to have the adjective follow the noun as it does in
Spanish (and French). This is the case with all our rules of grammar, spelling, and
punctuation. Rules are particularly important in language arts because they provide for
consistency in communication.
While academic rules are most common in language arts, they exist in other areas as
well, such as the example with rounding in math. As in grammar, spelling, and punctu
ation, this is an arbitrary rule or convention that we follow to make the process uniform.
275
TEACHING GENERALIZATIONS, PRINCIPLES,

AND ACADEMIC RULES
How are generalizations and principles learned, and what implications does this have for
the classroom? Like concepts, they are abstractions whose meaning depends on exam
ples, and these examples can be taught either inductively or deductively. Generalizations
are meaningful only if learners can relate the abstract statement to real-world events.
This is especially true for young children whose capacity for abstract thought is ham
pered by limited vocabulary, verbal ability, and experience.
Planning for Teaching Generalizations, Principles, and Academic Rules

Planning for teaching generalizations, principles, and rules is similar to planning for
teaching concepts. It involves:
Identifying the topic
Determining a clear and precise goal
Preparing examples
The topic provides a content focus. For instance, in the case study that introduced
Chapter 5, Jose Alvarez planned and implemented a lesson on heat and expansion. This
was his topic. His goals were for the students to understand the principles, "Heat makes
substances expand," and "Heat increases the movement of molecules." His goals were
clear, and their clarity helped him find examples that clearly represented the topic. The
kind of thinking Jose did was similar to Terry's, Al's, and Maria's thinking in this chap
ter. In each case the teacher was very clear about his or her goal, and they created (or
found) examples that helped their students reach the goals.
As you can see, planning considerations for teaching generalizations, principles, and
rules are nearly the same as those for teaching concepts. We want to provide experiences
that will allow students to construct meaningful representations of the abstraction (the
generalization, principle, or rule).
Implementing Lessons for Teaching Generalizations,

Principles, and Academic Rules
Like concepts, generalizations, principles, and academic rules can be taught either in
ductively or deductively. When an inductive strategy is used, we first provide students
with information and guide them to the generalization, principle, or rule, just as we do
when using an inductive approach for teaching concepts. Jose's lesson in Chapter 5 is an
example of an inductive approach for teaching the principles "Heat makes substances
expand," and "Heat increases the movement of molecules." (He also taught the concept
of expansion during the process. This was incidental to his central goal, which illustrates
the opportunity inductive approaches provide for incidental learning.)
In a deductive approach, the generalization, principle, or rule is first stated, written
on the board or overhead, terms within it are defined, and it is then related to examples.
Had Jose chosen to use a deductive approach, he would have first stated the principles
(and probably written them on the board or displayed them on an overhead), explained
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CHAPTER 8
~ 8.6 INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING

GENERALIZATIONS, PRINCIPLES, AND ACADEMIC RULES
Lesson Phase
Inductive Sequence
Deductive Sequence
Introduction
Examples are presented; students

make observations
The abstraction (generalization,

principle, or rule) is stated;
concepts are clarified
Development
Teacher guides students as they search

for patterns in the examples
Teacher presents examples and helps

students link thcm to the abstraction
Closure
Teacher guides students to a

statement of the generalization,
principle, or rule (abstraction);
students apply the abstraction to
unique real-world situations
Students apply the abstraction to

unique real-world situations
the concepts within them, and then applied the principles

tween the two strategies are summarized in Table 8.6.
to
examples. Differences be
ACCOMMODATING DIVERSITY IN
CONCEPT LEARNING AND TEACHING
As we approach the end of this chapter, we want to again consider the diversity of our
students-one of the themes of this text. To do so, let's think back to Chapter 5 where
we discussed differences in students' background knowledge. There we said that the
content representations we use should have one essential characteristic: The information
learners need to understand the topic exists in the representations. As an illustration, we sug
gested that a lobster would be a good example to teach arthropod, pointing out that re
gardless of background experience, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, learners
can feel the hard shell and coldness of a lobster and see its jointed legs and body parts.
Arthropod is a concept, and a lobster is an excellent way to illustrate it for all learners.
The same applies with principles, generalizations, and academic rules. Again, let's
think back to Jose and the way he represented the principles, "Heat makes substances
expand," and "Heat increases the movement of molecules." As with the concept arthro
pod, regardless of background his students could see the heated balloon expand and,
again regardless of background, could visualize the spacing and movement of the mole
cules from his model of the bottles and balloons. It is representations of this sort that
help accommodate learner diversity.
The same idea applies when teaching academic rules. For instance, consider the fol
lowing passage.
Jefferson County has six schools--one high school, two middle schools. and three ele
mentary schools. Five of the schools are in Brooksville, the largest city in Jefferson county.
The city's schools and the schools in three other counties hold an annual scholastic and
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(1
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277
athletic competition, and students in the counties' schools met this year in Brooksville. In
all, students from five cities were involved. and the cities' students did very well.
The two women advisors of Brooksville's debate teams were particularly proud be
cause the women's teams won both of their debates. The members of Debate- I swept the
competition. The members of Debate-Z also squeaked out a win, and theirs was perhaps a
greater accomplishment, since they haven't competed as long.
Four girlsand three boys won both athletic and scholastic honors. The girls' accom
plishments were noteworthy in math on the academic side and tennis on the athletic side.
The boys' achievements were in writing and track. One boy set a new school record in
the IOO-meterdash.
Many children from the elementary schools participated as well, and the children's ac
complishments were equally impressive. Several of the children wrote short stories. One
child wrote a story involving a woman and the woman's struggle to keep her farm in the
face of hardship. The child's story and the story's plot were very sophisticated. Several sto
ries' plots and characters were interesting and well developed. The stories were put in a
display, and three of the displays were photographed for the local newspaper. The dis
plays' contents included the stories as well as some background information on the author.
Lakesha Jefferson had her story published in the paper, and hers was the first of its type to
be presented this way.
As in the other cases, all the information the students need to understand the rules
for forming plural nouns is embedded in the passage. For instance, the passage contains,
"three other counties," "five cities," "two women," "four girls," and "three boys." Students
aren't required to memorize the rule; they see it illustrated in the example. This is the
essence of accommodating learner diversity while teaching concepts, principles, gener
alizations, and academic rules.
UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY IN CONCEPT LEARNING

It is midmorning when Lyn Chan, a teacher at Skyline Elementary School in South San
Francisco, begins to talk about dinosaurs and ancient food chains. Millions of years ago,
several types of dinosaurs roamed the earth, she tells her class of 30 fifth and sixth
graders. There were meat eaters, plant eaters, and flying reptiles, she adds as she touches
a button on a remote control. A picture of a brontosaurus appears on the video screen,
followed by a pterodactyl. As the kids watch, they callout the names of the dinosaurs
they recognize.
But one boy is curious. "How do we know how they lived back then?" he asks.
Chan is delighted. "I'm glad you asked that," she says. It is one of the moments that
teachers live for, the look in a young person's eye that says, I'm interested! Tell me more!
(Herber, 1990, p. 23)
Technology can playa powerful role in helping teachers represent abstract concepts
for learners, bringing the far away and remote into the classroom. Videotape, computer
simulations, and videodiscs all provide convenient ways to bring the outside world into
the classroom. Videodiscs, with their capacity to store 108,000 razor-sharp images along
with theater-quality sound, are especially powerful technological tools (Forcier, 1996).
>
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For example, the National Gallery of Art videodisc by Videodisc Publishing contains a vast
array of works by great artists, information that would be inaccessible in any other way.
Windows on Science, a collection of still-life and moving images, allows science teachers to
illustrate hard-to-imagine ideas and structures. One teacher shared this experience:
In a unit on the human ear, for example, I begin by asking questions: "What is an ear?"
"How does it work?" "What is vibration?" I hold up a plastic model of the ear and begin
explaining how we hear. Then I stop for just a second to click on a slide of the ear from a
life science videodisc, and my presentation comes alive. "Oh, that's how it works," says
one boy. "It looks like a little snail shell," says another.
By showing just this one slide from the many slides, diagrams, and film clips available
on the videodisc, my students can actually see inside the ear. It's so much better than a text
book. The students are really attentive and in tune with the subject. (Weiland, 1990,
p.22)
An integrated multimedia package in social studies called Grapevine combines
videodisc with a computer hypercard program. In it are contained snapshots as well as
news footage of scenes from the Great Depression (Solomon, 1989). The package not
only allows teachers to transport their students back in time but also provides opportu
nities for students to use these images in projects and reports.
These technology resources can provide powerful ways for representing concepts,
principles, and generalizations when the actual materials are unavailable. Virtually all
schools now have videotape players, and videodisc players are becoming more common
as prices come down.
In each of these cases, we're trying to represent the topics we teach in ways that are
as meaningful as possible. This means providing as much information as we can in the
representations, and technology can be an important resource in helping us do that.
Understanding Concepts. Concepts form an important part of the curriculum.

When we teach concepts, we want students to understand: (1) the concept's essential
characteristics, (2) how these relate to positive and negative examples, and (3) the rela
tionship of the concept to other ideas. This last function is accomplished by linking the
concept to superordinate, coordinate, and subordinate concepts.
Planning for Concept Learning and Teaching. When we plan for concept teaching,
our primary concern is providing examples that assist learners in identifying essential
characteristics. This requires that teachers thoroughly understand the different dimen
sions of the concept, how it is related to other concepts, and how the concept can be il
lustrated with examples.
Teaching Concepts: Involving Students in Learning. Concepts are taught in two
major ways. In deductive teaching, a definition is presented and linked to positive and
negative examples. An inductive sequence presents students with examples and then
asks students to analyze the examples to identify essential characteristics. Both types of
279
concept lessons are interactive, to encourage student involvement and to allow the
teacher to gauge whether students are understanding the concept.
Spontaneous concept teaching occurs when ambiguous concepts are encountered
in the course of a lesson. The same essential components of effective concept teaching
apply here: (1) positive and negative examples, (2) characteristics, (3) superordinate con
cept, and (4) coordinate concept.
Understanding Relationships among Concepts: Generalizations, Principles, and

Academic Rules. Generalizations, principles, and academic rules connect concepts
and describe patterns in the world. Like concepts, these abstractions can be taught both
inductively and deductively. As with concepts, examples in the form of data are essen
tial to help students link these abstractions to the real world.
Teaching Generalizations, Principles, and Academic Rules. As with teaching con

cepts, generalizations, principles, and academic rules can be taught inductively or de
ductively. In a deductive approach, the abstraction (generalization, principle, or rule) is
stated and linked to examples. In an inductive sequence, teachers present students with
examples and guide them to a statement of the abstraction.
Accommodating Diversity in Concept Learning and Teaching. To accommodate
..
background differences when students are learning concepts, principles, generalizations,

and academic rules, teachers try to provide representations that contain all the informa
tion students need to understand the topic being taught.
Utilizing Technology in Concept Learning. Technology is an important resource for

representing topics when the real thing isn't available. As with other forms of instruc
tion, it is a powerful tool for helping teachers represent concepts that are hard to illus
trate in other ways. Computers, videodiscs, CD-ROMs, and videotape all can be
utilized to illustrate concepts and the relationships among them.
tIL.
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Academic rules
Characteristics
Concept
Coordinate concept
Definition
Example
Generalization
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Nonexample
Principle
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Subordinate concept
Superordinate concept
struction to help their students understand concepts, generalizations, principles, and
academic rules. Read the following case study now and consider how effectively the
teacher implemented the ideas discussed in the chapter.
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Carl Ruiz has his art class involved in a study of the Impressionist school of art. He began
his third/period class by saying, "Let's take a look at some paintings today done by Impres
sionists. This one is by Vincent Van Gogh. It's called Seascape on Saintes Maries. Since
there are boats and water, that makes sense, doesn't it? The other is by Monet. What do
you think it might be called? . .. Isabelle?"
a How about 'Harbor Scene'?" Isabelle responded after gazing at the picture.
"That's a good idea. How about you, Tim?"
"Maybe ... 'Sailboats'?"
'Actually you're both close. It's called Bridge at Argenteuif. Argenteuil must be the
name of a harbor with a bridge that Monet painted. He has other paintings located here.
Let's take a look at these paintings and talk about how the artist put them together. Let's
focus on the Van Gogh first. What do we see in it? ... Kyo?"
" ... I see a bunch of boats on a choppy sea."
"OK, good," Carl smiled. "Anything else? ... Yolando?"
" ... They look like small fishing boats because they only have one mast."
"Good observation, Yolando.... How does the painting make you feel?"
" ... Kind oflike I'm right on the water."
"Why do you think it does that?"
"Well, I'm not quite sure .... You can see, almost feel, the waves in the front of the
painting. They sort of look almost alive, if that makes any sense."
"That's an excellent description, Yolando!" Carl responded enthusiastically. "Keep
what Yolando said in mind, everyone. Now, look over here. Does everyone see these
waves here? Why do they stand out? ... Gary."
"Got me," Gary shrugged.
"What color are they?" Carl prompted.
" ... Yellow."
"OK, and what color is the background?"
"Blue-green."
"Okay. Does anything else in the painting stand out? ... Jeremy?"
" ... The sails on the boats. Hey, they're yellow, too."
"Good," Carl smiled in response to Jeremy's revelation. "Now notice the color of the
sky surrounding these sails. What color would you call it? ... Michelle?"
" ... Mmm, purple, almost violet."
"Okay, let's keep those combinations in mind as we look at the next picture. This one
is the Monet. And it's a water scene too. But look at the water. How is it different from
Van Gogh's Seascape? . . . Duk?"
" ... It's really calm. There are only little waves and not much is moving."
"Fine, Duk. Now, let's look at this painting more closely. What do we tend to focus
on when we see it? .. , What does Monet want us to look at here? ... Anyone? ...
Sam?"
" ... I think it's the sailboat."
"Why do you think so?"
" ... Well, for one thing it's in the center of the picture."
"Good, the position of an object pulls the viewer toward it. Why else are we drawn
to the sailboat? Look at its mast. What does the mast do in this painting? ... Suzanne?"
" ... It really sticks out."
"Why do you think so?"

" ... Well, I don't know. It just does."
"Think about our observations of Van Gogh's Seascape on Seintes Maries. How does
our Monet compare to that picture?"
" ... Well, they both have light colors next to dark," Suzanne responded, looking back
and forth from one picture to the other.
"Excellent, Suzanne!"
"Now, I'd like you to look at this painting that I put together just this morning. What
does it look like? . .. Fred?"
" ... A bull's eye."
"Good, and what colors do we have here? ... Jianna?"
"Red and green."
"Okay. What happens when we put these two colors together? What does it do to
the painting? . .. Sonya?"
" ... The red kind of jumps out at you and the green sort of fades."
"Good. Who remembers what we call color pairs like the ones we've been dis
cussing? Let's write them up on the board." Carl then wrote:
Yellow-Violet
Orange-Blue
Red-Green
"George, do you remember?"
" ... They're complementary colors."
"Excellent! Everyone, look at the color wheel. Note how the color pairs are at oppo
site sides of the color wheel. Now let's look back at the three paintings we've been dis
cussing to see if we can make a statement about what happens when we put
complementary colors next to each other. Think for a minute .... Give it a try Nancy."
" ... r think they do two things. One is that they really make each other stand out. It's
a really sharp contrast. The other is that the dark colors look like they sink," Nancy said
hesitantly.
"Good ideas, Nancy. Did everyone hear them? Let's write them down here so every
one can see ..' .. What did Nancy say? Janet?"
" ... Complementary colors next to each other make each other stand out," Janet
repeated.
"Excellent, Janed That's a precise statement of the relationship we found. Now what
else? ... Suki?"
"The brighter color in the pair stands out and the darker one recedes," Steve re
sponded confidently after hearing Janet's description.
"Okay! Good work, all of you. Now let's take a look at one more painting and I want
everyone to see if these statements make sense. This one is called The Dance, and it's by
Henri Matisse. Which colors stand out and which recede? . . . Tony?"
"The oranges really jump out and the greens and blues recede."
Carl continued, "Excellent! and why is that the case? ... Ken?"
" ... The orange is lighter, so it stands out, and the greens and blues are darker so
they recede."
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\NWW,ablongman,com/kauchak4e
"Very good explanation, Ken, and good work everyone," Carl emphasized tri
umphantly with outstretched hands in the air. "Now let's see if we can apply these ideas to
our own paintings. I've set up some still-lifes over here for us to paint. Let's try to use some
of the complementary colors that we discussed to emphasize objects in our paintings."
The students went to work on their paintings and continued through the rest of the
period.

Let's look at Carl's lesson now based on the information in this chapter. In doing your
analysis, you may want to consider the following questions. In each case, be specific and
take information directly from the case study in completing your analysis.
1. What type of content was Carl Ruiz teaching? How good a job did he do in
teaching these content forms? What else might he have done to improve his
teaching of this type of content?
2. Was the lesson inductive or deductive? Why? How could it be changed to utilize
the other strategy?
3. What strategies did Carl use to actively involve students in learning? How might
this involvement be improved?
4. Comment on the quality of Carl's teaching. How might it be improved?
5. To what extent was Carl's lesson based on constructivist views oflearning? Defend
your answer using the characteristics of constructivism discussed in Chapter 7,
1. How does the importance of concepts in the curriculum vary with respect to:
a. Grade level (e.g., Is there relatively more emphasis on concept learning in the
first few grades than in high school or vice versa? How do the kinds of con
cepts change?)
b. Ability level (e.g., Do lower-ability students need more or less emphasis on
concepts?)
c. Subject matter (How does the specific focus of a content area, like social stud
ies or art, influence the emphasis on concepts?)
2. What are the implications of this chapter with respect to assessing for concept
learning?
3. Some researchers in the area of concept learning have suggested that the optimal
number ofpositive/negative examples to be used in teaching a concept is three.
What factors might influence this number?
4. What advantages are there in asking students to generate their own examples and
nonexamples of concepts, generalizations, principles, and academic rules? What
disadvantages might exist?
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of inductive and deductive approaches
to concept teaching? How does your particular grade-level focus (elementary or
secondary) influence the value of either? Content area?
283
6. What concepts have you encountered in your teacher education program? In the
class you are in right now? How were they taught? Assessed? How could this in
struction be made more effective?
1. Cognitive Goals. Examine a school district's curriculum guide for a specific area of
the curriculum (e.g., fourth-grade social studies or high school biology). What
percentage of the goals involve concept learning? In your answer construct a list
of the important concepts included. Do you think the emphasis on concept learn
ing is appropriate? If not, how would you modify?
2. Textbook Content Goals. Analyze a chapter from a content-area textbook in your

area (e.g., second-grade science or eighth-grade English). How much emphasis
(pages or sections) is given to concepts? How are they organized? Is the organiza
tion apparent to students? How would you improve the presentation of concepts
in this text?
3. Concept Teaching in 'Textbooks. Identify a specific concept being taught in a school
text. Analyze the quality of the concept teaching in terms of the following criteria:
a. Characteristics (clearly defined?)
b. Examples and nonexamples (linked to characteristics?)
c. Superordinate concept (familiar to students?)
d. Coordinate concept (clearly differentiated from the target concept?)
What could you as a teacher do to supplement the content of the text?
4. Interactive Concept Teaching. Observe a teacher teaching a concept (or teach one
yourself) and critique the lesson in terms of the criteria in Portfolio Activity 3.
What would you do differently next time?
5. Interactive Teaching of Generalizations, Principles, or Rules. Observe (or tape) a lesson
in which one of these three forms of content is being taught.
a. Identify the abstraction.
b. What examples were used to illustrate the abstraction?
c. Was the sequence inductive or deductive? Explain.
d. Were students asked to apply the generalization? How?
What suggestion do you have for making the lesson more effective?
6. Concept Learning: The Students' Perspective. Identify a concept that you feel is im
portant. Interview several students, ideally some that are high and low in ability,
asking them to explain the concept in terms of the following:
a. Essential characteristics
b. Examples
c. Links to other concepts
What do students' responses tell you about their understanding of the concept?
What implications do their responses have for you as a teacher?
I. Social interaction: Theoretical perspectives

A. Developmental theories
B. Elaboration theory
C. Motivation theory
II. Using groupwork to facilitate learning

A. Organizing and conducting groupwork
activities
B. Working in pairs: Introducing
groupwork
C. Working with larger groups
D. Combining pairs
E. Groupwork with higher-level tasks
III. Cooperative learning

A. Cooperative learning: The essential
components
B. Cooperative learning: Getting started
C. STAD: Student Teams-Achievement
Division
D. Jigsaw II
E. Group investigation
E Computer-mediated communication:
Using technology to facilitate
cooperative learning
G. Using cooperative learning to capitalize
on diversity
IV Discussions
A. Using discussions to promote student
growth
B. Promoting cognitive growth with
discussions: Planning
C. Promoting cognitive growth with
discussions: Implementation
D. Affective discussions: Promoting ethical
and moral growth
V Peer tutoring: Students as resources
A. Research on peer tutoring
B. A basic peer tutoring model
s you've studied the content of this text, you've seen that student involvement is a
critical part of the learning process, and when you studied constructivism in Chap
ter 7, you found that social interaction is an effective way to promote involvement and
increase understanding. In this chapter we return to the topic of social interaction and
examine cooperative learning, discussions, and peer tutoring, three instructional strate
gies that have social interaction as a core element. When you've completed your study
of this chapter you should be able to meet the following goals:
Explain how social interaction facilitates learning.
Explain how group goals, individual accountability and equal opportunity for
success contribute to the effectiveness of cooperative learning.
Plan and implement different cooperative learning strategies.
Describe how discussions can be used to attain both cognitive and affective goals.
Describe how to plan for and implement peer tutoring lessons.
Maria Sanchez, a sixth-grade middle school teacher, was staring out the window of the
teacher's lounge, when Terry Cummings, her friend and confidante, came up behind her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Terry asked. "You look like you lost your dog or something."
"Not really," Maria replied with a wry smile. "I'm just a little discouraged. I've been
teaching my tail off, but lean't seem to get the kids into it. I'm putting my whole self into it,
or at least I think I am, and half the class isn't even listening. They seem bored, and I hate
to admit it, but when they're that way, it drags me down. Any ideas?"
"Hmrn ... don't know ... maybe ... maybe you're trying too hard. Sounds like
you're giving a hundred percent, but maybe it's in the wrong direction. I used to be 'Ring
master Ned' too, but the rest of the circus wasn't with me," Terry replied with a sympa
thetic shrug.
"I'm not sure what you mean .... Say more .... I thought that's what good teaching
was all about-being in front of them and giving it my all?"
"Well, it is ... I mean, sure, we're giving our all. but ... and yes, there are times
when we need to stand up and explain and model things, but ... if that's all you do, you
know, I mean ... if that's all we do, ... no matter how enthusiastic we are, we'll lose 'em.
My kids need to be doing stuff-talking, writing, working with each other. I've got some
ideas if you're interested."
"Sure, can't hurt ... I'm sort of desperate. I'll try anything."
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When people think about teaching, they often picture a teacher at the front of the
room explaining, writing on the board, and asking questions. This approach can be ef
fective for learning certain types of content, such as concepts, generalizations, and aca
demic rules, which you studied in Chapter 8, and for learning skills and organized
bodies of knowledge, which you will study in Chapter 11.
Some goals, however, can't be effectively met by having a teacher standing in front
of the room and explaining. We've all heard teachers say, or have even said ourselves,
"The kid is capable. He just won't work." Often the problem is motivation, and moti
vation often suffers when teachers talk too much and students listen passively. This is
one reason to use teaching strategies that employ social interaction. They are motivat
ing to students (Zahorik, 1996). In other cases, students won't listen to each other. They
appear narrow minded and are even rude to their classmates. These behaviors reflect
students' attitudes, values, and interpersonal skills. Developing students' inclinations and
abilities to listen, to work with their classmates on projects, and to cooperate in solving
problems are important educational goals. For these goals, alternatives to whole-group,
teacher-centered instruction are needed. This chapter describes instructional ap
proaches designed to reach these goals.
SOCIAL INTERACTION: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

Theories and research examining the way people learn should guide the way we teach.
This is the conceptual foundation on which this text is based. In this section we describe
research that examines the role that language and social interaction play in learning.
The powerful role that social interaction plays in learning can be explained from
three theoretical perspectives. The first of these is the developmental theories ofJean Pi
aget and Lev Vygotsky. The second explanation for the effectiveness of social interac
tion in learning is elaboration theory. The third perspective on the effectiveness of
learning theory comes from motivational theory. Let's examine each of these now.
Developmental Theories
Devon: Look at the bugs. (Holding a beetle between his fingers and pointing at a spider.)
Gino: Yech ... Put that thing down. Besides, that's not a bug. It's a spider. (Gesturing to
the spider.)
Devon: What do you mean? A bug is a bug. They look the same.
Gino: Nope. Bugs have six legs. See? (Touching the legs ofthe beetle.) He has eight
legs
Look. (Pointing to the spider.)
Devon: So,
bugs ... have ... six legs, and spiders have eight. (Eggen and Kauchak,
200I, p. 293)
From a developmental perspective, social interaction encourages learning because it en

courages students to reevaluate their own views of the world.
Jean Piaget, the Swiss developmental psychologist, would interpret this episode by
saying that Devon's equilibrium was disrupted by the discussion since he saw evidence
that the beetle and spider were different, and he resolved the problem by reconstructing
his thinking to accommodate the evidence (Berk, 1997; Byrnes, 2001). The same oc
CAPITALIZING ON SOCIAL INTERACTION.
287
curs when we share our political views with someone else and change our views in light
of the conversation. In both instances, exposure to a different perspective caused people
to reevaluate and change their beliefs.
Lev Vygotsky (1978) explains the importance of social interaction from a different
perspective. He views development and learning as processes that begin on the outside
and then are internalized. For example, let's see how social interaction helps a father
teach his toddler how to get dressed.
"Okay, here we go. Let's get dressed so we can go visit Grandma. First, we take off your
pajamas and put on your underwear. Wow, these pajamas are tight. Next we put on your
shirt. There. Then your big boys, and now your pants. Look at those little doggies on the
pants."
"Doggy?"
"Yes, those are doggies. Aren't they cute? Ruff, ruff! Grrrl Now we put on this sock.
Then your shoe. Now you do the other one."

"Shoe?"
"Yes, that's a shoe. Wait a minute, though. What do we have to put on before the
shoe? Look over here" (pointing to the sock). "That's right, first you put on your sock, then
your shoe."
"Sock first?"
"Yeah, that's right. Put on your sock first, then your shoe. Atta boy!" (Eggen and
Kauchak. 1999, p. 48)
n
1
c:
Through interactive dialogue embedded in activity, the father helped his son learn
how to dress himself. Social interaction plays a similar role in the classroom. It provides
a forum for the exchange of ideas that are first discussed externally or orally and then
internalized. As we use language to learn new concepts, our view of the word changes.
For example, after we take an art or music history class, we see and hear things that we
didn't know existed before. Language also allows us to share our thoughts with others,
refining them in the process.
In both views of social interaction-Piaget's and Vygotsky's-social interaction fa
cilitates learning by encouraging students to listen to the views and perspectives of oth
ers. Piaget views this social interaction as a catalyst for students to reevaluate their own
beliefs about the world; Vygotsky sees social interaction as a vehicle for more knowl
edge about others to share their expertise with others. In both instances, students learn
by talking and listening.
Elaboration Theory
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Elaboration makes information meaningful byforming additional links in existing knowledge.

Cognitive research on the way people learn suggests that one of the most effective ways
to retain new information is to elaborate or restructure it and connect it to what we al
ready know (Slavin, 1995; Ormrod, 2000). For example, effective note taking is most
effective when we actively restructure the information in ways that are meaningful to us.
In a similar way when we read, active note taking encourages us to elaborate on con
tent and connect it to what we already know.
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Social interaction facilitates elaboration in two ways. It forces us to organize our

own ideas, restructuring them so they'll make sense to another person. Social interac
tion also encourages us to elaborate on the ideas of others, listening to them and con
necting them to what we already know and believe.
Motivation Theory
A third explanation for the effectiveness of social interaction in the classroom relates to
motivation theory (Slavin, 1995). In all too many classrooms, the primary mode of
interaction is teacher-student, with students not only competing for the right to speak
but also for the teacher's approval for a right answer. Since interaction is competitive,
and one student's success decreases the chances that others will succeed, many drop out,
failing to participate, or view participants as nerds or teacher's pets. Social interaction in.;
... the form of groupwork, when structured effectively, can encourage students to work to
gether towards common learning goals.
A final thought-if social interaction is so good, why don't we just let students talk
all the time? The answer is that what they talk about and how they talk about it are es
sential dimensions of effective group interaction. Ways of effectively structuring social
interaction in the classroom through groupwork are discussed in the next section.
USING GROUPWORK TO FACILITATE LEARNING

A kindergarten teacher is teaching her students basic shapes. After explaining and illustrat
ing each with cardboard shapes, she divides the class into groups of two and asks each
group to find examples of circles, squares, and triangles in their own classroom. When the
class comes back together, students share their examples.
A middle school math teacher is teaching how to solve word problems involving areas of
different geometric shapes. She divides the class into teams of four students and asks each
team to solve the next few problems. Students in each team take turns explaining their so
lutions to the problems. Later the teams take turns at the board explaining how they solved
the different problems.
A senior high English teacher is reviewing literary devices like simile, metaphor, personifica
tion, and alliteration. He assigns a scene from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and asks stu
dents in groups of two to identify as many of these devices as they can. The whole class
compares their findings after 15 minutes.
Because of the nature ofinteraction in crowded classrooms, it is all too casy for quiet
or less confident students to become uninvolved. Unfortunately, in classrooms of 25 to
30, students soon learn that the odds of being called on are small, and less attentive ones
often drift off. To reduce some of this demand and elicit the participation of all students,
teachers can use groupwork to enhance student learning. Student groupwork involves
"students working together in a group small enough so that everyone can participate on a task that
has been clearly assigned" (Cohen, 1986, pp. 1-2). The purpose ofgroupwork is to provide
289
opportunities for each student to become actively involved in the thinking task at hand
and increase his or her learning through social interaction.
To understand the process of student groupwork, consider again the teaching
episodes at the beginning of this section. In each the teacher presented a cognitive
task to students that built upon and reinforced lesson content. In each the teacher
broke the class into manageable groups and required that each member become ac
tively involved in discussing the learning task at hand. Finally, the teacher provided
feedback by discussing the products of the groups. The combination of these ele
ments-focus on lesson content, active interactive involvement and feedback-combine
to make groupwork effective.
Let's examine more closely how teachers can design effective lessons using group
work.
Organizing and Conducting Groupwork Activities

A major goal of groupwork is to provide opportunities for all students to become ac
tively involved in the learning task. The assignment of the task by the teacher provides
cognitive focus; the fact that the task is done within small groups of students provides
opportunities for student interactions, which can be both instructionally and motiva
tionally beneficial. Effective use of groupwork requires careful planning and organiza
tion to make sure that the task and the interactions contribute to learning. If the process
isn't well organized, a great deal of instructional time can be lost in the transitions to and
from groupwork. Goals and directions to students need to be very clear to prevent the
activities from disintegrating into aimless "bull sessions."
Suggestions for planning and organizing effective groupwork activities include:
Train students in groupwork with short, simple tasks. Have students practice
moving into and out of the groups quickly.
Seat group members together prior to the groupwork activity, so the transition
from the whole-class activity to student groups and back again can be accom
plished with a minimum of disruption.
Give students a clear and specific task to accomplish in the groups.
Specify the amount of time students are allowed to accomplish the task (and
keep it short). Five minutes is usually the maximum and teachers should moni
tor learner progress carefully.
Require that students produce a product as a result of the groupwork.
Effective use of student groups requires that all of these elements be employed. For
instance, seating students together prevents loss of instructional time in transitions. Clear
directions, a specific and short time allotment, a required written product, and moni
toring all help keep students on task and academically focused.
The process of repeatedly moving back and forth from groupwork to whole-class
responses requires considerable logistical planning. One way to manage the process is
to provide a signal such as turning off the lights or a clacker that makes a noise loud
enough for all to hear. Another is for the teacher to raise her or his hand as a signal to
reconvene, and students are taught to raise their own hands and stop talking when they
see this signal.
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CHAPTER 9
Working in Pairs: Introducing Groupwork

The simplest form of groupwork involves organizing students in pairs and giving each
pair a task. This strategy, also called think-pair-share, encourages students to think
about content, compare their thoughts with their partner, and share their answer with the whole
group (Kagan, 1994). The elementary and high school teachers in the episodes at the be
ginning of this section used this strategy in their lessons.
Simple collaboration in pairs has several positive features:
It is easy to implement; students can learn to work with one other person eas
ier than with a larger group.
Working in pairs encourages each member of the pair to contribute, and the
likelihood of one or more members of a group being left out is less than it
would be in groups of three or more.
For purposes of equitable distribution, the class is effectively cut in half. In
volvement is high when pairs are working, and teachers have to call on only
half as many students as they would during a whole-class discussion, since each
is speaking for a pair.
Another strategy that employs working with groups of two is called pairs check
(Kagan, 1994). In this arrangement pairs ~f students are provided with handouts containing
problems with specific right and wrong answers (e.g., math, capitalization, or punctuation
problems in English), which one member of the pair solves and the second member checks. After
every two questions or problems, each pair checks with another group to compare an
swers. The class can then discuss areas of disagreement or confusion after all the groups
have had a chance to complete the assignment.
Working with Larger Groups

Collaboration in pairs is easiest to manage, and it is a good place to begin when you are
first introducing your students to groupwork. There are times, however, when you may
want students to work in groups of three, four, or five. Groups larger than five are un
wieldy, and they are generally not recommended (Cohen, 1986).
The primary advantage in having students work in groups of three or more is the
opportunity to promote collaboration and social skills, in addition to the cognitive goals
of the lesson. The middle school math teacher used teams of four for her groupwork ac
tivities. An important difference between learning in and out of school is that in-school
learning is primarily individual, while out-of-school learning is usually collaborative
(Resnick, 1987). Giving students practice in collaborating while they work on cogni
tive tasks helps bridge this gap.
Combining Pairs
Combining pairs is agroupwork strategy thatretains the simplicity of a single pair yetpromotes
the social skill development of larger groups. Our middle school math teacher employed this
strategy when she had students first solve each problem individually, then share and ex
plain their answer with a partner, and finally had partner teams compare their answers. It
is effective for groupwork on comprehension- and application-level activities in either a
291
seatwork or class discussion setting. We look at its implementation in a seatwork arrange

ment first.
Combining Pairs with Seatwork. The process is organized and implemented in the fol
lowing steps.
1. Student pairs are formed.

2. Pairs are combined into groups of four. The groups of four can be seated to
gether, as illustrated in Figure 9.1. In this arrangement, the pairs are seated side by
side facing the opposite pairs.
3. Students are given a series of exercises with convergent answers, such as solving
math problems, identifying parts of speech in sentences, or applying a grammar or
spelling rule.
4. Individuals respond to an exercise.
5. Partners compare their answers.
6. In cases where the partners cannot agree on the correct answers, they confer with
the other pair.
In classes not divisible by four, one or more groups of five can be arranged, and in
those groups a pair and a trio will work together. Like all forms of groupwork, this
arrangement requires careful monitoring to prevent some individuals from deferring to
their partners or freeloading by merely copying their partners' answers.
Combining Pairs in Interactive Questioning. Combining pairs in interactive question

and-answer sessions is a groupwork process that can effectively promote learning in
teacher-centered lessons. It is similar to combining pairs with seatwork.
The steps in organizing and implementing this instructional strategy are:
ls
1. Groups of four are formed (with one or more groups offive).

2. The group members are assigned a number from one to four.
3. The teacher asks the class a question with a convergent answer, such as the solu
tion to a problem, the longitude of a designated city, or the correct punctuation
of a sentence.
4. The group members are responsible for seeing that all members of their group
know the answer and are able to explain why that answer is correct, so that any
member of the group can explain it to the whole class.
Student
Student
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Seating Arrangement for Combined Pairs
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CHAPTER 9
The teacher then calls a number from one to four, and the students in the groups with
those numbers raise their hands. The teacher calls on an individual to answer and explain
why that is the answer.
A simple incentive system can also be implemented with this process. If the indi
vidual answers correctly, every student in his or her group gets a point. If the student
provides an adequate explanation, each member gets an additional point.
The incentive system can be made more complex and competitive among groups if
the teacher chooses to do so. For example, one group could be called on to answer the
question, and a second could be asked to provide the explanation, which would allow
two different groups to earn a point. If a group member was unable to answer or ex
plain, a different group would have the opportunity to respond and earn the point.
This process is simple and promotes high levels of student involvement, even in
large classes. For example, a class of 33 would have seven groups of four and one group
of five. In a typical question-and-answer session, each group would have several oppor
tunities to respond and earn points. Students of all ability levels are motivated because
the whole group is rewarded if the individual called on is able to respond correctly. High
achievers will explain and even tutor others in their group with less understanding, and
the lower achievers experience success and the rewards of contributing to their group.
Groupwork with Higher-Level Tasks

Groupwork can also be used to involve students in higher-level learning tasks such as
problem solving or inquiry. When this is done, however, the teacher needs to ensure
that all members of the group participate; lower achievers or less aggressive members of
the pairs often defer to the higher achievers or more aggressive partners, resulting in re
duced involvement by less able students.
Although there is no simple answer to this problem, teachers can take several steps
to encourage equal participation. First, require that students solve each problem indi
vidually before conferring with their partners, explaining the rationale for this action to
students. Second, monitor the groups to be sure they are following your directions, en
couraging equal participation as you circulate around the room. Third, strategically call
on nonvolunteers in groups, reminding the class that all members of the group need to
understand how to solve the problems.
We next examine cooperative learning, a structured instructional approach that uses
social interaction to facilitate student growth and development.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
To begin our discussion of cooperative learning, let's return to Maria Sanchez and her
work with her sixth graders.
Maria began her Friday's language arts class by passing back the vocabulary and spelling
quizzes from the previous day. As she circulated around the room she overheard the fol
lowing comments,
"Uh oh. another D."
"I can't do this."
"I hate spelling."

A couple of students didn't say anything, instead looking at their papers, crumpling
them up, and throwing them in their desks.
"I can't really blame them; over one-third failed the quiz," she acknowledged to her
self And it seemed as if it was the same third who had problems every week.
Recalling her conversations with Terry Cummings, she decided she would try some
thing different. She called Terry on Saturday, and the two of them talked for an hour and a
half Based on Terry's suggestions, she went to work. Though it took most of her week
end, she felt she was ready on Monday.
With renewed enthusiasm, she began Monday's class by saying, "I know we've been
having problems with our spelling and vocabulary quizzes, and I've decided it's time to try
something different. I know you all can learn this information, so I've designed a different
kind of activity to help you. We're going to help each other learn this information, and I'll
show you how."
Wit~that she broke the class into groups of four, explained how each group was a
team, and how they were to work as a team and help each other learn. She had the teams
move their desks together and gave each team 5 minutes to decide on a team name.
Maria went on to explain another new feature by saying, "We're going to have some
competition in here, and it's the best kind of competition there is. You all are going to be
competing with yourselves. If your quiz score this week is above your average, you are
going to earn 'improvement points' that contribute to your team score. If your whole team
improves, you will be eligible for additional rewards. You'll all see how it works when we
get started."
Next she went over the spelling and vocabulary words as she normally did on Mon
day, explaining their definitions and helping students understand the structure of each
word. Then she asked each student to take out a sheet of paper for a pretest, similar to the
actual test they'd receive on Thursday. She explained that the pretest wasn't for a grade
but was only designed to help all students find out what words they knew and which they
didn't.
After they took the quiz, students exchanged papers and graded each other's. Then
Maria passed out an envelope and four sets of different-colored flashcards to each group.
She explained how each set was for a different student in the group and that each student
was to write the definition and correct spelling of each word that they had missed to study
in class on Tuesday.
She began Tuesday's language arts class by reminding the students of the new seating
arrangement. Each student then chose a partner from within their group for that day and
the next. As Maria circulated around the room, students took turns helping each other ei
ther spell the word or provide the definition. Maria reminded them that they were finished
only when all the members of their teams knew the spellings and definitions perfectly.
Some pairs did this very effectively, while others needed extra guidance from Maria on
helping each other.
On Thursday they took the quiz as usual. She was struck by their comments as they
left the class.
"Easy, Miss Sanchez. Piece of cake."
"Miss Sanchez, I think I got all of them right."
Even Randy, who pretended to dislike anything academic, admitted, "It was okay. I
think I did all right."
293
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CHAPTER 9
At lunchtime, rather than joining the other teachers, she decided to score the papers to
see how they did.
"Terrific?" she thought as she recorded the last score in her grade book. "No, not
quite. Some of the students are stillstruggling. but over 90 percent of the class got a B or
better and only two students failed."
Cooperative Learning: The Essential Components

Cooperative learning is a set of instructional strategies used to help learners meet specific
learning and interpersonal goals in structured groups. Cooperative learning is more structured
than groupwork, which we discussed earlier; otherwise the two are quite similar. A num
ber of cooperative learning strategies exist, but research indicates that the most effective
ones share the following characteristics (Slavin, 1995):
Group goals
Individual accountability
Equal opportunity for success
Group Goals. Think about a team sport, such as soccer or basketball. Team members
are of unequal ability, but they all contribute to the team effort, and winning a game re
wards the entire team. Group goals in cooperative learning function similarly. Group
goals reward students of unequal achievementfor working together and helping each other.
Classroom activities and grading systems often do just the opposite, creating situa
tions where students compete for the teacher's recognition and high grades. Less capable
students learn that they can't compete, and often stop trying. Group goals, in contrast,
motivate students to help each other and give them a stake in one another's success.
Maria implemented group goals when she divided students into teams of four and
structured the activity so that each team member's score contributed to the team score.
Individual Accountability. Individual accountability means that each team member is re
sponsiblefor mastering the content, and each student is assessed individually. This is an essential
idea. Students involved in cooperative learning should understand that everyone is ex
pected to learn and that cooperative activities will be followed by an assessment in
which they all demonstrate that they understand the content. Maria Sanchez's Thursday
quizzes illustrate this characteristic.
Equal Opportunity for Success. Equal opportunity for success means that all students,
regardless of past achievement, have similar chances to be rewarded for their effort. This is ac
complished by implementing a system of improvement points, which are bonus points
earned for quiz scores that exceed a student's average. This means that students only
compete with their past performance and not with each other. Increased effort will re
sult in improvement, which in turn results in points that contribute to the team score.
A low achiever who improves more than a high achiever will earn more improvement
points and thereby contribute more to the team than does the high achiever. In this way,
equal opportunity for success is accomplished.
Why Use Cooperative Learning? The simplest answer to this question is that it works.
Cooperative learning is one of the better researched instructional strategies that exist,
295
and the results of this research indicate that cooperative learning produces cognitive, af
fective, and interpersonal benefits (johnson and Johnson, 1994; Slavin, 1995).
Implemented effectively, cooperative learning strategies can improve students'
achievement more than traditional approaches to instruction, both on teacher-made and
standardized tests (Slavin, 1995). These improvements result from increased student mo
tivation, greater time on task, and active involvement.
Slavin (1995) also found that students' self-esteem increased, they felt more in con
trol of their academic success, and they began to link success to their efforts, an impor
tant factor in motivation. Low achievers tend to attribute their success or failure to luck
or other forces outside their control (Pintrich and Schunk, 1996), and cooperative
learning helps change this pattern.
Cooperative Learning: Getting Started

"I don't get it. What are we supposed to do?"
"I can't hear, it's too noisy."
"Teacher, Ken won't share the materials."
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Successful cooperative learning activities don't just happen. Instead, they are the re
sult of thoughtful teacher planning and preparation. When students have had limited
experience with these instructional strategies, the teacher needs to make a special effort
in introducing cooperative learning to students.
Teachers implementing cooperative learning strategies in their classes identify the
following potential problem areas:
1.
2.
3.
4.
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Noise
Failure to get along
Misbehavior
Ineffective use of group time (Kagan, 1994; Slavin, 1995)
Let's see how the teacher can address each of these potential problem areas.
Noise. Noise is often a healthy by-product of productive student interaction. When

implementing cooperative learning strategies, we should expect our classrooms to be
slightly noisier because students are working and talking in small groups. Excessive
noise, however, can interfere with group functioning, frazzle the teacher, and bother
other classrooms.
The most common cause of noise in cooperative learning activities is student en
ergy and enthusiasm. Students become so involved in their interactions with other team
members that they don't realize that noise is becoming a problem.
Some teachers deal with the problem by discussing and modeling the social skill,
"Using quiet voices," which encourages students to work together yet keep the noise
level to a minimum. Other teachers use signals, such as flicking the light switch, as cues
to remind students to lower the noise level.
Failure to Get Along, Learning to work together effectively doesn't automatically hap
pen; this social skill needs to be developed. Remember that in many of their learning
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CHAPTER 9
activities students sit quietly, isolated from each other. Cooperative learning requires
them to talk, listen, and help each other learn. The process is often made more compli
cated by the heterogeneous nature of the group.
Teachers use the following cooperative team-building exercises to develop students'
interactive skills (Slavin, 1995):
1. Name learning: Allocate some time at the beginning of group formation for stu
dents to learn each other's names. Make this a game and give an oral quiz where
other team members have to name each of their partners.
2. Interview: Extend the name-learning exercise to one in which students interview
each other about interests, hobbies, favorite foods, or something that no one else
knows about them. Have students present these in a short introduction to the rest
of the class.
3. Team name or logo: Encourage students to develop a name for their group. In doing
this, stress broad participation, consensus building, and respect for individual rights.
Cases where a student is a social isolate or students protest being assigned together
can be particular problems. To protect quiet students, you should have a classroom rule
that requires students to treat each other with courtesy and respect, and enforce the rule
consistently. An important goal for cooperative learning in particular, and school in gen
eral, is for students to learn to treat each other fairly. Breaking this rule should be the
one cardinal sin in your class. With effort and persistence you can enforce this rule, and
many of the problems associated with students wanting to work only with their friends
will disappear.
Misbehavior. Cooperative learning strategies are designed to be interactive, and often
the freedom and lack of structure results in increased student management problems.
Solutions to this potential problem are specific task demands and agenda setting, ac
countability, and careful student monitoring.
As we saw in Chapter 6, many management problems occur because of unclear stu
dent roles and expectations (e.g., "What are we supposed to do?"). Before you break stu
dents into groups, make sure that all students know what they are expected to do. Don't
just describe student tasks, directly model them with the same learning materials students
will be using. Student accountability also helps create structure and minimize manage
ment problems. When students know there is a product expected or a quiz that will be
given, their efforts become more focused on the learning task at hand.
Once students are in groups, monitor the groups by circulating around the room
and helping individual groups. Public praise is a powerful tool to help other students un
derstand effective and appropriate group behaviors (e.g., "Class, the Eagles group over
here has gotten right down to work and are almost done with the first part.")
Int1fective Use of Group Time. Teacher monitoring, which we described as an effective
tool against misbehavior, can also help combat wasted time. Stand back from time to
time and observe the whole classroom. Which groups are working well? Which stu
dents are busy and which ones are dawdling or playing? Spend extra time with those
groups that need extra help. Make sure that groups that do work effectively are rewarded
with group recognition, and make a special effort to call the whole class's attention to
297
the link between groupwork and group performance. This strategy works on the indi
vidual level and should also work at the group level.
Let's look now at three types of cooperative learning instructional strategies.
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STAD: Student Teams-Achievement Divisions

One of the best known types of cooperative learning is called student teams-achieve
ment divisions (STAD) which uses four- orfive-member teams to master basic skills. Maria
Sanchez used STAD to teach spelling and vocabulary. Teachers have used STAD to
teach a range of topics, some of which are described in Table 9.1.
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STAD: An Overview. When using STAD, teachers initially present the content or skill
as they normally would. For example, ifyou're teaching the concepts insect and arachnid,
rest
you could use either an inductive or a deductive approach as discussed in Chapter 8.

Then, rather than working on the concept or skill individually, such as an assignment
asking students to identify additional examples or the essential characteristics of insects,
students collaborate on the assignments in a structured setting. When they understand
the content, an individual assessment is administered and scored by the teacher and the
scores are used to calculate improvement points (which we'll discuss shortly). These are
averaged for each team, and teams earning a specified number of improvement points
are offered group rewards or recognitions (e.g., free time, pictures on the bulletin board,
or certificates).
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Planning STAD Activities. The teacher's actions in planning STAD activities are sum
marized in Table 9.2 and discussed in the sections that follow. As we see in Table 9.2,
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APPLICATIONS OF STAD IN DIFFERENT

CURRICULUM AREAS
Subject Area
Examples of Topics
Language arts
Capitalization rules
Rules for using apostrophes
Punctuation rules
Math
Adding fractions ..
Solving word problems
Simplifying expressions
er
Science
Facts about the solar system

Balancing chemical equations
Understanding concepts, such as insect, crustacean, or arachnid
re
Social studies
State and national capitols
Longitude and latitude problems
Climate regions throughout the world
Health
Parts of body systems
Characteristics of different drugs
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CHAPTER 9
we
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STEPS IN PLANNING STAD LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. Identify content or skills to be mastered.
2. Plan large group presentation and seatwork materials similar to planning for any topic.
3. PIan for assigning students to groups.
4. Plan for improvement points.
5. Plan for group rewards.
planning for the instructional aspects ofSTAD activities is similar to planning for any in
struction, as was discussed in Chapter 3. In addition, however, STAD requires planning
for the cooperative elements of the process, together with designing a system for im
provement points and group rewards.
Assigning Students to Groups. In organizing cooperative learning activities, the teacher

attempts to place students in groups of four or five-more than five are unwieldy and
less effective-that have an approximately equal mix of high, medium, and low achiev
ers and are balanced in terms of gender and cultural backgrounds. This heterogeneity is
important, and students should not be allowed to select the members of their groups.
Assigning students to heterogeneous groups is important for several reasons. One is
the ability imbalances it creates; brighter students tend to select brighter students as
members of their group, causing imbalances in the overall groups. Student self-selection
also tends to create homogeneous groups in terms of gender and ethnicity, robbing stu
dents of valuable opportunities to learn about students different from themselves. Fi
nally, allowing students to select their group partners can also lead to management
problems that result from students talking and playing with friends rather than working.
Using averages from the last grading period, present averages (if you begin cooper
ative learning sometime after the beginning of the grading period), or use pretesting as
a basis for balancing students in terms of achievement.
Planning for Improvement Points. An essential component of STAD is the use of im

provement points, which helps provide equal opportunity for success. Improvement
points are determined by comparing students' scores on a quiz to their averages-which
are called base scores-at the present point in the grading period. If you're beginning co
operative learning at the beginning of the grading period, base scores can be calculated
using their grades from the previous term. Table 9.3 outlines a simple conversion
(Kagan, 1994; Slavin, 1995).
Improvement points can then be calculated using the base score. Table 9.4 outlines
two options (Kagan, 1994; Slavin, 1995). You may choose one of these options or, de
pending on your students' motivation and history of achievement, some modification of
either.
To reflect students' most recent quiz scores, base scores can be recalculated at any
time. If you're using a computer program to help with figuring averages, this is a matter
of only a few key strokes. Otherwise, you may choose to recalculate base scores after
299
----------------------~ t!f.~ DETERMINING INITIAL BASE SCORES

A
90
A-/B+
85
80
B-/C+
75
70
C-/D+
65
60
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _i!!G.""
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~ t!f. Lf OPTIONS FOR AWARDING IMPROVEMENT POINTS

Improvement
Points
Less Difficult
More Difficult
5 or more below base score
Equal to or below base score
10
4 below to 4 above base
1-9 above base
20
5-9 above base
10-14 above base
30
10 or more above base

score or perfect score
15 or more above base score

or perfect score
every second or third quiz, depending on what is most effective and efficient. Whatever
you choose to do, it is important to explain your system to students. When students un
derstand your reasons for making the process more challenging, they usually respond
positively.
Planningfor Group Rewards. While the use of reinforcers to motivate learners is some
what controversial, teachers often offer rewards based upon improvement. This empha
sis on improvement can be motivating for some students. Team scores are determined
by averaging improvement points for the team, and awards are then given. Table 9.5 of
fers a sample reward system. As with the system for improvement points, the criteria for
group rewards can be adapted according to your judgment.
Pros might receive congratulations, Stars an attractive certificate, and Superstars a
larger certificate plus additional recognition, such as a photo displayed on the bulletin
board, buttons to wear around school, newsletters to be sent home to parents, or special
privileges. It is important to stress that teams are not competing with each other. If in
dividuals improve, all teams can potentially become Superstars.
Team composition can be changed periodically, such as after four or five weeks, to
allow students to work with other classmates and to give students on low-scoring teams
a chance for increased success.
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-- -
- - -- - - - - - - - -
- -
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CHAPTER 9
7tJte, ~5 CRITERIA FOR GROUP AWARDS

Criterion
(Average im.provetnent)
Award
10
Pros
15
Stars
20
Superstars
Implementing STAD Learning Activities. As we said earlier, initial instruction in

STAD is designed to provide an informational base. which can be done in any number
of ways. However, in place of independent practice, the students then become involved
in team study, which allows students to interact and help each other.
Team Study. Slavin (1995) recommends the following steps in team study.
1. Prepare worksheets. Worksheets should require direct application of the concepts,
principles, or skills taught in the lesson. Answers to the items on the work sheets
must also be prepared to provide feedback to students.
2. Arrange the room so groups can work together. This can be done by having
teammates move desks together or meet at team tables. During the first session, let
students select a team name. Make sure students know how to talk with each
other in quiet voices just above a whisper.
3. Within each team of four students, identify pairs (or in the case of a team of five,
identify the pair and trio).
4. Hand out two worksheets per team. Only two are given to encourage students to
work together. Each person individually works the problems or answers the ques
tions and checks with his or her partner (or both partners for a trio). If they dis
agree, they should present their arguments and resolve the problem themselves. If
they can't settle the disagreement, they confer with the other pair (or trio) on
their team. If the entire team of four or five cannot resolve the disagreement,
then-and only then-they can ask the teacher for help. (To emphasize that the
worksheets are for studying and not merely to be filled out and handed in, Slavin
(1995) recommends including answers with the worksheets. Teachers, however,
report more success when the answers are not included.)
5. Emphasize that students are finished studying only when they are certain that
everyone on their team understands and can explain each of the items on the
worksheet.
6. Circulate among the teams, promoting cooperation and offering encouragement

and praise.
Quizzes. Mter team study is completed, students are given a quiz that measures their
understanding of the content. As we saw earlier, students take the quiz as individuals,
and the quiz is scored as it normally would be. The quiz should parallel the worksheet,
301
but identical items should be avoided to prevent students from merely memorizing the
information. Improvement points are then calculated and team rewards are given.
Evaluation and Grading. When base scores are used, teachers often arrange for im
provement to be reflected in the individual students' term grades. For instance, a stu
dent who averages 20 or more improvement points on tests might have his or her grade
raised from a C to a C+ or perhaps even higher. The decision is yours, but students
should see improvement reflected in their grades. This puts them in the position of
competing only with their past performance, and it gives every student in the class a
chance for success.
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Jigsaw II
In addition to learning basic facts, skills, and concepts, cooperative learning strategies
can also be adapted to help students learn organized bodies of knowledge. Jigsaw II, de
veloped by Robert Slavin (1986), assigns students to groups and asks each student to be
come an "expert" on one aspect or part of an organized body of knowledge. These
"experts" are then responsible for teaching other team members, all of whom are then
held accountable for all the information covered by each member. Let's see how Jigsaw
works in a middle school social studies class.
Tom Harris was passing back tests from a unit on Early Americans on the North American
continent. As he finished, he noticed that there were still 5 minutes of class time so he
called the class together, "Excellent job on this test! You all worked hard and I could tell,
because it showed up on your scores. Class, we only have a few minutes but I'd like to say
a few words about our next unit of study. The topic is early explorers and we'll be looking
at the explorers from Europe who helped discover and explore not only our country, but
other countries in North and South America. Who remembers one of these early explor
ers? Anyone? Think now, you've studied these before.... Sal?"
" ... How about Christopher Columbus?"
"Good, Sal. Any others? ... Sal, did you have something else you wanted to say?"
"Yeah. Do we have to study this stuff again? We've done it so many times and it's
boring."
"I know you've studied this before ... "
Just then the bell rang and Tom concluded by saying, "Let's continue this on Monday.
Everybody have a good weekend. No homework. See you then!"
As Tom thought about this class during his planning period, he shook his head, think
ing, "The kids are right ... This chapter is a little dry. But they need to know it. How to
get them involved and excited? ... Hrnmm?"
The next Monday Tom began his American History class by saying, "I thought quite
a bit about our new unit over the weekend.... Sal, you'll be interested to know that I lis
tened to you on Friday. You probably have studied this information before, but I'm not sure
you learned it in an organized way. That's important because we're going to use this infor
mation later on when we study other topics.
"To learn this material we're going to try something different. We're going to form
into teams of four and each team member is going to become an expert on one group of
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explorers. Then that student will teach the other team members to get them ready for the
quiz. To help us organize the information, I've constructed the following sheets."
With that he passed out the following charts.
REASONS FOR
NAMES
PLACES
DATES
EXPLORING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Spanish
Portuguese
English
French
T ve divided the class into different teams of four," he continued, "and each of you
will be responsible for one of these groups of explorers. To help you put the information
into the charts, I've gathered some other books that you can use. On Thursday the experts
from each group will get together to check their information. That means all of the people
studying the Spanish explorers will get together to review their findings. The same for the
other groups. On Friday and Monday we'll go back to our groups and each of you will
share you information with other team members-you'll be the expert and each of you
will teach the other students. Then we'll take our quiz on Tuesday .... Questions? ...
Maria?"
"Who gets which topic in the group?"
"Good question. That's the first thing you need to decide when you get into groups.
Now I'd like Group I to come up here and pull your seats together. That will be Xavier,
Melissa, Brad. and Tanya. Group 2 ... rr
Jigsaw II is a cooperative learning strategy that uses task specialization to make individual
students "experts" on a particular area or topic. It is similar to STAD in two respects. First,
students work cooperatively and are held accountable for their learning with a quiz at
the end of the unit of study. These quizzes are scored like STAD, using improvement
points to provide equal opportunity for success. Second, students are mixed according
to ability, gender, and cultural background as they are with STAD.
Jigsaw II differs from STAD in three ways, however. First, the goals of instruction
are not specific facts, concepts, or skills, but rather students' understanding of the inter
connections between ideas-organized bodies of knowledge. Second, the source of in
formation is different. The teacher using STAD presents new information, whereas
with Jigsaw II students rely primarily on texts and other books.
A final difference relates to the idea of task specialization, from which the strategy
gets its name. Each member of a Jigsaw learning group becomes an expert on a partic
ular topic and uses this expertise to teach other members. When groups work together,
the different parts of the "jigsaw puzzle" fit together to make a coherent picture. This
task specialization is important because it promotes interdependence; each student must
depend on his or her partners to learn their information. For teams to do well on the
quiz, individual students must work and pull together as a group. When this occurs, stu
dents can see tangible evidence of their cooperative efforts. The steps involved in using
Jigsaw II in the classroom are summarized in Table 9.6.
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~ 'f.6 STEPS IN IMPLEMENTING JIGSAW II

Planning
1. Identify an area of study requiring students to understand interconnected or organized
bodies of information that can be broken down into subtopics.
2. Divide the content area into three or four roughly equal subtopics that will allow different
students to specialize in their study.
3. Locate resources (e.g., websites, textbooks, reference books, encyclopedias) that students can
use to study the topic.
4. Develop expert worksheets or charts that structure students' study efforts and ensure that
students will learn essential information.
5. Divide students into heterogeneous groups.
Implementation
1. Introduce and explain procedures and divide students into groups.
2. Hand out worksheets or charts and explain how they are to be used to guide individual
study and group teaching.
3. Monitor study in the different groups.
4. Convene expert groups (use groups of six or smaller) to discuss and compare information.
5. Monitor students as they teach their topic to other members of the group.
Evaluation
1. Administer quiz or test as you normally would. Make sure quiz covers all topics and
encourages students to interrelate information across topics.
2. Score, using improvement points.
3. Recognize team achievements and provide feedback about group performance.
at
nr
Ig
In
-r
A key to the effectiveness ofJigsaw II is the expert worksheets or charts that the stu
dents use. Typically, students-on their own-won't be able to identify key points of in
formation. It is essential that the teacher organize and structure the content to guide the
students' study and work with their peers. If the expert study guides are disorganized
and disjointed, student learning suffers.
:as
Group Investigation
Karen Selway was enjoying a good year with her third graders. Virtually all had made
major progress on their basic skills and she felt good about the foundation she had laid in
reading and math. She still wanted them to work on their writing and library skills and
wanted to give them some experience in handling a large group project.
After their return from lunch on Monday afternoon, she began by saying, "Class,
today we're going to begin a new unit of study. And this time, rather than everyone learn
ing the same thing, each of you will have a chance to read and learn about something that
you're specifically interested in. When I tried to think of a topic that we all could study, I
304
www.abfongman.comlkauchak4e
CHAPTER 9
asked myself, What's something that every third grader in my class likes? Guess what I de
cided? Think for a minute while I put this word on the board."
PETS
She could tell from the wiggles and excited talking that she had guessed correctly. She
then proceeded to brainstorm with the group about different pet topics. After considerable
discussion the class agreed to pursue the following topics:
Dogs
Cats
Birds
Bunnies and Hamsters

Fish
Other Pets (Turtles, Hermit Crabs, Snakes)
Students decided which topic they wanted to investigate. Then Karen asked them to
list several kinds of pets they would be interested in learning more about and used this in
formation to group them together into topic groups that night.
When the students came to class the next day, she had stacks of pet books ITom the
public library on tables at the back of the room. She also had the names of different students
divided into groups on the basis of their interest. There were two groups of four each for
both dogs and cats because of the high interest in these topics; other groups had between
three and five members. After a general overview of each group's responsibilities and pro
cedures, she broke the class into groups and had them begin researching their topics.
As she circulated around the room, a number of questions surfaced.
"What do we do first?"
"Where do we find out about the pets?"
"Who is supposed to do what?"
Karen had anticipated most of these questions. When they seemed common to all the
groups, she called the class together and discussed them. Other questions like "Do we want
to report on all the different kinds of dogs?" were particular to an individual group. When
Karen encountered these, she sat down with each group to help them work through it.
For the next two weeks her students spent their time reading books, visiting the school
library, visiting pet stores, interviewing people who owned these pets, and compiling a re
port on the room's computers, complete with pictures and posters. On Pet Day they invited
parents and the principal to come in and visit the different groups who were set up in dif
ferent places around the room. Each member of the team was assigned responsibility to
talk about one aspect of the report. On the next day Karen helped the class pull together all
the information by using the following chart.
CARE AND
PET
Dogs
Cats
Birds
Fish
Other Pets
COST
FEEDING
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
305
Analyzing Group Investigation. This was an example of group investigation, a coop

erative learning strategy thatpromotes group planning and inquiry. Like STAD and Jigsaw II, it
places students into cooperative groups to learn about some topic, but it differs in that
the focus is relatively less on content goals and more on inquiry skills.
Group investigation is less structured than the other strategies you've studied, and
this lack ofstructure has advantages and disadvantages. Group investigations have the ad
vantage of giving students the chance to wrestle with ill-structured tasks, which are the
kinds of problems we face in real life. Seldom are we presented with situations where we
are told what to learn and how to learn it. Instead we're required to first clarify and then
structure problems before we solve them (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001).
This lack of structure is also a disadvantage, and some students get lost when they
first encounter it. Karen dealt with this issue both individually and in whole-class dis
cussions. Teachers using group investigation for the first time should anticipate these fits
and starts.
One way to deal with these learning problems is to use some teacher-directed
strategies. Modeling, thinkalouds, and the liberal use of examples can help students
learn these skills. Some examples of these strategies applied to Karen's class can be found
in Table 9.7.
Implementing Group Investigation. In implementing group investigation, the teacher's
role changes from information disseminator to facilitator and resource person. As a fa
cilitator, the teacher circulates around the room helping students in different groups
work together. As a resource person, the teacher helps students understand and struc
ture the learning task as well as helping them access resources available to them. The
specific steps involved in planning and implementing group investigations can be found
in Table 9.8.
~ "f. 7 TEACHING LEARNING STRATEGIES

IN GROUP INVESTIGATION
Teaching Strategy
Example
Modeling
"Class, I've had several students ask about how to outline your reports.
Let's look up on the board and I'll show you how you might do it
with the topic of horses."
Thinkalouds
"We're encountering some problems in finding our topics in the

encyclopedia. Let's go over to the encyclopedia and brainstorm
some words that might help us find our topics."
Examples
"There have been some questions about what kinds of pictures to

put on your bulletin boards. Let me show you some examples of
ones done last year. Remember, you don't have to do it just like these.
They're just designed to give you some ideas."
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CHAPTER 9
Ute- t/f.g
STEPS IN IMPLEMENTING GROUP INVESTIGATIONS
Planning
1. Identify a common topic that will serve as a focal point for the class as a whole.
2. Catalog
or gather resources that students can use as they investigate the topic.
Implementation
1. Introduce the general topic to the class and have students identify specific subtopics that
individual groups will investigate.
2. Divide students into study groups on the basis of student interest and heterogeneity.
3. Assist students in cooperative planning regarding goals, procedures, and products.
4. Monitor student progress, assisting students
to
work effectively in groups.
Evaluation
1. Use group presentations to share information gained.
2. Provide individual and group feedback about projects, presentations, and group effectiveness.
Computer-Mediated Communication: Using

Technology to Facilitate Cooperative Learning
Technology is changing the way teachers teach and students learn. Perhaps no where is
this change more dramatic tban the internet. The Internet is a network of computer
networks that links computers worldwide. Through the Internet students are able not
only to access information from a vast array of sources but also to interact with other
students across the country and around the world.
'Technology Facilitating Student Interaction. When we talk about student interaction,
we typically think of learners talking face to face in cooperative learning or discussion
groups. This face-to-face communication has definite advantages in terms of both ease
of communication and motivation. However, computer-mediated communication
through e-mail and the Internet provides opportunities for students to communicate
and work with students thousands of miles away through electronic mail.
Students in one fifth-grade classroom are engaged in a research project on pets. As one
source of data they interviewed their classmates about their pets. Then they put the infor
mation on a computer and shared this data with other students around the country. One
class wrote back to another, "We would like to know more about your pet bear....
Where does the bear stay? How much food does the bear eat in a week?" (Julyan. 1989.
p.33)
In investigating the topic of pets through computer-mediated communication, stu
dents wrestled with the problem of definitions (Is an ant a pet?) and tried to answer
questions like, "Do dog owners in warm climates have more short-haired dogs?" and
"Do cat owners tend to have more pets than dog owners?" Through a computer net
307
work, students were able to gather data from other locations and experience the process
of doing a real investigation in their own classrooms.
Computer-mediated communication through the Internet, an interconnected col
lection of more than 46,000 independent systems, allows students to interact with stu
dents, not only across the country, but around the world (Peha, 1995; Rottier, 1995).
Through the Internet students
Are provided access to remote data sources.

Can collaborate on group projects with students at different locations.
Can send their work to other students for evaluation or response.
(Peha, 1995)
Teachers who have used computer-mediated communication in their teaching have found
it to be both motivating and challenging.
One creative use of computer-mediated communication is ICONS, International
Communications and Negotiations Simulation, a high school social studies simulation
project (Rottier, 1995). Through the ICONS system, students from countries as far
away as Germany, Korea, and Chile collaborate and negotiate in attempting to come up
with mutually agreed-upon solutions to problems such as world health, human rights,
and the spread of nuclear weapons technology. The problems are organized by the
ICONS system; students are assigned to countries and are responsible for researching
their country's position, formulating policy, and defining their roles as statespersons. For
the first four weeks, they use the Internet to gather data; during the second four weeks
students dialogue with their counterparts in other countries in an attempt to resolve dif
ferences and come up with a comprehensive, worldwide policy. During the final de
briefing phase, students reflect on their activities and apply the information they learned
to new, but similar problems.
:r
.d
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lichnology as an Information Source. Another way that technology can support coop
erative learning is as an information source. One source of vast information resources on
the Internet is the World Wide Web (WWW, or just "the Web"). The Web consists of
millions of sites of information displayed in hypermedia format; it supports formatted
text, graphics, animations, and even audio and video. Software programs called browsers
allow students to navigate the Web, bookmark valuable sites, and control how web pages
are displayed. Search engines, sites on the Internet that students can use to locate topics
of interest, make the process of information access quick and efficient.
Technology can also be used to gather and share raw data. For example, in one pro
ject, NGS Kids Network, funded by the National Geographic Society, middle school
students studied the problem ofwater pollution (Bradsher and Hagan, 1995). To do this,
they gathered water samples from reservoirs near them and tested them for acidity and
other water pollutants, using standard, predetermined procedures such as pH paper and
nitrate test strips. Then they shared their data with other sites across the country, look
ing for patterns and asking questions about other sites' data. "In essence students and
teachers explore science by doing what scientists do; they participate in a scientific com
munity devoted to learning about the world" (Bradsher and Hagan, 1995, p. 41).
All three of the projects described here can be conducted using equipment found
in many, if not most schools. For example, equipment required for the ICONS project
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CHAPTER 9
include a computer, modem, printer, ordinary telephone line, and word processing and
computer software. Through the use of conunonly available technologies teachers can pro
vide opportunities for students to interact with and learn about students from all over the
country and the world as well as accessing up-to-date information on virtually any topic.

In addition to increasing achievement, cooperative learning can also be used to help stu
dents learn about each other and develop their interpersonal skills. When groups are
mixed by ethnicity, sex, and ability, the strategy can result in improved attitudes toward
different ethnic groups and increased interethnic friendships (Slavin, 1995). The same
benefits can occur in helping students with exceptionalities integrate into the regular
classroom (Hardman et al., 1999).
One teacher reported this success.
A special education student in the sixth grade was transferred to our classroom, a fifth/sixth
grade. The classroom she was in has several special education students. The first-I'll call
her Sara-was having behavior difficulties in her first classroom and was about to be ex
pelled because of her unacceptable behavior with her peers. We offered her the opportu
nity to try our room with no special education students and with cooperative learning
techniques being applied in various subjects along with TAl (cooperative learning) math.
Sara was welcomed by her new classmates. We added her to one of the TAl math learn
ing teams, and the students taught her the program's routine. Sara worked very steadily
and methodically, trying to catch up academically and to fit in socially. She began to take
more pride in her dress and grooming habits. I have been working with Sara on her basic
facts in preparation for the weekly facts quizzes. Her attitude toward her schoolwork and
her self-concept has blossomed within the length of time she has been in our classroom.
(Nancy Chrest, fifth/sixth grade teacher, George C. Weimer Elementary School, St. Al
bans, WI, cited in Slavin, 1995, p. 58)
These are impressive results, especially when you consider that they were achieved with
little additional teacher effort and without outside heIp. They are a testimony to the power
of students helping students, in general, and cooperative learning in particular.
The positive effects of cooperative learning on interpersonal attitudes probably stem
from several factors:
Opportunities for different types of students to work together on joint projects
Equal status roles for participants
Opportunities for different types of students to learn about each other as
individuals
The teacher's implicit but unequivocal support for diverse students working to
gether (Slavin, 1995)
Slavin speculates that cooperative learning's effects on intergroup relations may re
sult from opportunities for friendships and blurring of intergroup boundaries. As stu
dents work together, they develop friendships across racial and ability groups, which
tend to soften and blur well-defined peer group boundaries and lead to other cross
group friendships.
However, developing improved relationships requires careful planning. The follow

ing strategies can be effective.
,
le
rre
ird
me
uar
Grouping
Specific tasks
Training
To maximize cooperative learning's positive effects, students should be strategically
grouped so that groups have equal numbers of high- and low-ability students, boys and
girls, and students from different ethnic and SES groups. Specifically planning for the
appropriate mix of group members has been stressed throughout our discussion of co
operative learning.
Learning tasks need to be structured so that they require cooperation and commu
nication (Cohen, 1994; Good, McCaslin, and Reys, 1992). Teachers need to rotate stu
dent roles so everyone in the group has an opportunity to perform different tasks, such
as presenting information and checking answers.
Training is required to develop effective group interaction skills (S. Kagan, 1994;
Webb and Farivar, 1994), which include the following:
Listening. Listening to each others' ideas and helping other students verbalize
and express their ideas.
Checkingjor understanding. Asking for clarification when answers are incomplete

or unclear.
Emotional support. Providing positive feedback for answers

Staying on task. Maintaining focus on the specific learning task at hand.
Teacher discussion, modeling, and appropriate reinforcement are effective ways to teach
and maintain these skills.
This completes our discussion of cooperative learning. We turn now to discussions)
another strategy designed to capitalize on social interaction.
l with
JOwer
~
309
stem
ojects
mg to-
nay re
As stu
. which
r cross-
DISCUSSIONS
Shannon Wilson's sixth-grade language arts class had been reading Sounder, the story of a
poor, African-American sharecropper family in the South during the Depression. The fa
ther, concerned about his family's diet and health, had taken to raiding rich people's
smokehouses at night to put some meat on his family's table. Shannon's class was dis
cussing the moral implications of his stealing.
"So where do you think the father goes at night when his wife can't find him?"
" ... He's going out to get food for his family," Tammy replied.
"And where is he getting this food? ... Ramon?"
" ... From other people's smokehouses."
"Which other people? ... Tanya?"
"From the rich, white folks who have big farms."
"Okay, we've got the facts of the story down. Now let's focus on the stealing itself. Was
the father wrong to steal? ... Let's think about it.
What do you think? ... Kareern?"
"
Well, ... I
think maybe he was
like ... because he's bound to get
caught
eventually
and thrown in jail or something."
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CHAPTER 9
"Francisco?" Shannon nodded, seeing his raised hand.

it's against the law."
"
I ... agree. He shouldn't have done it ... cuz
let his family starve?" Gabriela
"
I wanted to ask ... what's he s'pposed to do
interjected.
Kerry?"
"Gabriela asks a real good question, class. Anybody want to respond?
" ... I kinda think so, too. Even though it's bad to steal. he can't just
like ... let his
kids go hungry. It said right in the book that they weren't getting enough to eat."
"Hey ... You can't just break the law any old time you please ... even if you're hun
gry," Trang retorted.
"Now everyone, let's think about what we've been saying ... Shannon interjected.
The lesson continued as the class continued to wrestle with the moral dilemma raised
by the book they were reading.
U
Using Discussions to Promote Student Growth

Discussions are instructional strategies that use teacher-student and student-student interactions
as theprimaryvehiclefor learning. They are characterized by decreased focus on the teacher,
increased student-to-student interactions, and high levels of student involvement. Ef
fectively used, discussions can stimulate thinking, challenge attitudes and beliefs, and de
velop interpersonal skills (Oser, 1986; Dillon, 1987). However, if not organized and
managed properly, they can be boring for students, frustrating for the teacher, and a
general waste of time.
In contrast with the strategies we've discussed earlier in this book-which focus
primarily on cognitive goals-discussions are effective for dealing with both cognitive
and affective topics. In addition, they can help develop students' communication and in
terpersonal skills. We briefly analyze these goals in the following sections.
Cognitive Goals. Discussions are useful when we want students to develop critical
thinking abilities and investigate questions that don't have simple answers (Gall, 1987).
Because they focus on areas where there isn't a single best answer, students feel com
fortable contributing, knowing that they won't be "right" or "wrong," and involvement
often increases. As students interact, their background knowledge increases, and social
interaction helps students see problems and issues from different points of view.
Affective Goals. As we saw in Shannon's class, discussions can also be used to help stu
dents examine their attitudes and values. By focusing on specific issues, discussions can
provide the intellectual grist that allows students to examine their own beliefs, Through
teacher questioning and listening to the different opinions of their classmates, students
can evaluate the adequacy of their own beliefs while comparing them to the beliefs of
others. Research on discussions reveals that they can be an effective vehicle to clarify
values and promote moral growth (Gall, 1987; Oser, 1986).
Communication Skills. Because discussions provide extended opportunities for stu
dents to talk and listen to each other, they are a powerful tool for developing students'
communication and social skills. Developing these communication skills should be an
integral goal for all discussions. Some of these social skills include:
Expressing ideas and opinions clearly
justifying assertions
311
Acknowledging and paraphrasing others' ideas

Asking for clarification and elaboration when others' ideas aren't clear
Sharing ideas equally and avoiding monopolizing discussions
Inviting silent group members to participate
How can teachers use discussions to accomplish these diverse goals? We begin answer
ing this question by discussing the planning and implementation of cognitively oriented
discussions in the next section.
Promoting Cognitive Growth with Discussions: Planning

Planning for discussions is similar to planning for the use of any strategy. Teachers first
identify a topic and specify a clear goal. In addition, considering students' background
knowledge and the physical arrangement of the room are even more critical when discus
sions are used. Let's see why.
Identifying Discussion Topics. As noted earlier, discussions are effective strategies when
er.
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topics are complex, open ended and don't have cut-and-dried answers. For example,
topics such as solving word problems in math, identifying parts of speech in language
arts, or describing characteristics of mammals in science would not be appropriate dis
cussion topics. With them, there is little to discuss. Discussions are most effective in
low-consensus areas like social studies and the humanities, where questions are likely to
have multiple answers (Gage and Berliner, 1998).
Specifying Goals. Merely identifying a topic isn't enough, however. Teachers need to
consider what they want students to take away from a discussion. Let's examine the im
portance of goals by comparing two lessons.
Paula Marsh had assigned the chapter on the beginnings of the. Revolutionary War to be
read as homework and began her American history class by saying:
"Today we begin our discussion of the Revolutionary War. We've been talking about
all of the events that led up to the war. What were some of these? Lanai?"
"The Stamp Act."
"Good. Angelo?"
"The Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party."
"Fine, Angelo. Any others? Miguel?"
"The First Continental Congress."
"And when was that held? Does anyone remember? Go ahead, Miguel."
"In 1774 in Philadelphia."
'And what was the major outcome from this meeting?"
We leave this room and walk across the hall, where Jacinta Lopez's American history
class is studying the same topic.
Jacinta began, "We've been studying the Revolutionary War, and you all know a lot
about it. But," she continued, "some historians, reviewing all the facts about the War sug
gest that on paper the British 'should' have won. When they say this, they're not saying
'should' like 'ought' but rather that the British had important advantages but wasted them.
r d like for us to think about that notion today, and see if our conclusions agree with those
312
CHAPTER 9
of the historians .... What do you think? Take a little time to consider it while I put this
statement on the board."
She wrote, "The British advantages during the Revolutionary War should have en
sured victory," on the chalkboard.
"Okay," Jacinta went on, "now that you've had time to think, does anyone want to
take a stab at this? Sharese?"
" ... I basically agree with the statement," Sharese replied. "They had more soldiers,
more guns, and better equipment, and should have won."
.. I think Sharese's right," Martina added. "They not only had more soldiers but the
soldiers they did have were better trained. Also...."
"If the British had treated the colonists decent, there wouldn't have been a war in the
first place," Ramon interjected.
"That's an interesting point, Ramon," Jacinta smiled. "But given that there was a war,
we're considering whether or not the British should have won.... Anything else,
Martha?"
" ... No ... not really. I was just going to say that they had a physical advantage."
"Okay, Martha," she nodded. "Hank, you look like you were going to say something."
"Oh, I was just going to say that the British soldiers often weren't in the right place."
"I don't know what you mean, Hank," Jeff put in.
"Well, even though they had more soldiers, this wasn't always important. Like at
Saratoga. One big part of Burgoyne's army captured Philadelphia instead of going to Al
bany like he should've. So those troops were wasted. It would be interesting to know what
rnight've happened if Burgoyne had gone to Albany. Maybe we'd still be British."
"That's a very interesting thought, Hank. Jeremy, do you have something to add?"
" ... Just that some of the troops the British had were mercenaries. They were just
being paid to fight, so they didn't fight all that hard."
"So numbers might not be the only thing to think about when we talk about advan
tages and disadvantages. Is that what you're saying?"
" ... I ... guess so."
"Okay! Very good, everyone. Now, let's return to our question on the board. What
other advantages or disadvantages did the British have that influenced the outcome of the
war?"
Now let's compare the two episodes. While the topic was the same for both lessons
and the teachers both focused students on the content through their questioning, their
goals were very different. Paula Marsh was reviewing facts about events leading up to the
Revolutionary War, while Jacinta Lopez was trying to get students to identify relation
ships and make applications. To meet these goals, questions from the upper levels of
Bloom's taxonomy (1956) served as a conceptual framework and guide. For example,
the following questions served as guides in Jacinta's lesson.
Analysis:
Synthesis:
Evaluation:
What were the relative strengths and weaknesses of the American and
British forces? How did the French influence the outcome of the war?
Design a strategy or plan that would have used Britain's sea power to
greater advantage.
Was the American victory the result of a lucky chain of events or
superior strategy? Take a position and defend it.
313
Jacinta's goals did not stop there, however. If they had, we might argue that the
processes are little different from other instructional strategies. In addition to under
standing an organized body of knowledge that focused on the Revolutionary War and
developing their thinking, she also wanted them to develop other important skills, such
as willingness to listen to another's point of view, cooperation, and the ability to take
and defend a position. These are important goals for discussions. Because of these sup
plementary goals, discussions are much less driven by the content per se, instead pro
viding opportunities for students to use this content as they develop discussion skills.
lessons
g, their
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xample,
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werto
; or
Students' Background Knowledge. When a teacher is considering using discussion as a

strategy, student background knowledge is an essential factor in the decision. Unlike
other strategies, where the content is taught as an integral part of the lesson, discussions
require that students be thoroughly conversant with the information related to the topic
prior to the lesson. This was clearly demonstrated in Jacinta Lopez's lesson. For instance,
Sharese demonstrated her background knowledge by observing that the British had
more soldiers, guns, and equipment. Martha's comment about the soldiers' training in
response to Sharese reflected similar background knowledge. Hank's comment about
the battle of Saratoga is perhaps more significant, because he demonstrated understand
ing of a cause-and-effect relationship in addition to a knowledge of facts.
The quality of the discussion would not have been possible if students' background
knowledge had not been developed. Students must have something to discuss if a discus
sion is going to work, and the teacher must be sure that their background knowledge is
extensive before using discussion as a strategy. If the students' background knowledge is
inadequate or undeveloped, discussions can easily disintegrate into aimless bull sessions.
Arranging the Room for Discussions. A final planning task is to arrange the room to
promote communication and involvement among participants. Research indicates that
students are more likely to interact with each other if they are face to face (Gall, 1987).
To accomplish this, you might consider either circles or half-circles (Arends, 2001).
These configurations allow everyone in the class to see each other and they position the
teacher within the group. This communicates that the teacher is an equal among other
participants and encourages students to take a more active role in participating in and
structuring the lesson.
Promoting Cognitive Growth with Discussions: Implementation

In beginning discussion activities, we need to draw students into the lesson and help them
understand the lesson's goal, refocusing them when necessary during the course ofthe les
son. Finally, teachers help students to reach closure by encouraging them to summarize
the discussion at the end. These goals are accomplished through the following three steps:
Agenda setting
Refocusing students during the lesson
Summarization
Agenda Setting. Jacinta began her lesson by saying, "Some historians, reviewing all the
facts about the War suggest that on paper the British 'should' have won.... I'd like for
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us to think about that notion today, and see if our conclusions agree with those of the
historians .... What do you think?" By introducing the topic in this way, she both clar
ified the goal and presented a question that attracted students' interest. Then shc wrote
the question on the board as a way of maintaining academic focus. Effective discussions
begin with clear focusing events.
Rifocusing Students during the Lesson. It's easy in a discussion to drift off the subject and
begin dealing with issues that aren't relevant to the goal of the discussion. For instance,
Ramon's comment, "If the British had treated the colonists decent, there wouldn't have
been a war in the first place;' though appropriate as a discussion issue in itself, was irrel
evant to the issue of whether or not the British should have won the war. A less effective
teacher might have allowed the discussion to drift in that direction, but Jacinta refocused
the class by saying, "That's an interesting point, Ramon ... Hut, given that there was a
war, we're considering whether or not the British should have won...." The ability to
recognize irrelevant information is an important thinking skill, and Jacinta's comment
helped the class recognize Ramon's comment as irrelevant. At the same time her own so
cial skills and positive manner refocused the class without cutting Ramon off or admon
ishing him in any way. We examine this strategy further in the next section.
The Teacher's Role. In most classrooms teacher talk is the dominant element, and the
teacher uses this talk to steer a lesson in a clear direction (Cazden, 1988). This pattern
of teacher control can be effective when the goal is to learn facts, concepts, generaliza
tions, or skills, such as Paula Marsh's lesson on facts about the Revolutionary War. How
ever, this type of interaction is less effective when the goals are for students to learn
discussion skills and productive ways of interacting with each other. In contrast with
Paula's class, Jacinta Lopez's lesson involved more student-to-student talk, and her role
changed from lecturer or knowledge source to facilitator of the discussion process.
Because the teacher's role in a discussion is less direct and often less apparent, it ap
pears to be easier. In fact, it is just the opposite. During discussions a teacher must listen
carefully to each student's response, avoid commenting when students are interacting
appropriately, interject questions when ideas need to be stimulated, and refocus the dis
cussion when the students drift off as Ramon did in Jacinta Lopez's lesson.
Effectively guiding a discussion requires more sophisticated skills than teacher
centered lessons because the teacher is not in direct control of the activity and a great deal
of subtle judgment is required. A skilled discussion leader must do all of the following:
Focus the discussion. A primary role for the teacher is to keep the class on track,
without taking ownership of the discussion away from the students, asJacinta
Lopez managed to do so skillfully. Periods of silence characterized by student
thought are typical (and potentially unnerving).
Encourage though!fulness. In conducting discussions, the teacher must be skilled
in using questions that solicit alternate points of view, relationships between
ideas, and analysis of different points of view rather than convergent, focused
answers.
Maintain momentum. Discussion must be monitored constantly to ensure that
momentum is maintained, and the teacher must intervene when necessary.
This requires carcful judgment. If teachers intervene too often, the discussion
315
reverts back to a teacher-directed activity; if they don't intervene when neces

sary, the discussion can meander and even disintegrate. The teacher should in
tervene under the following conditions:
lesson digressions
errors of fact
logical fallacies
a small number of students dominating the discussion
when the lesson should be summarized and brought to closure
As a rule of thumb, cut a discussion off too soon instead ofletting it go too long. To pre
vent teacher domination, some have advocated teachers refrain from questioning com
pletely (Dillon, 1987). This isn't realistic, however, and in doing so, teachers abdicate
important opportunities to stimulate thought and encourage connections. Teacher guid
ance is critical in effective discussions, as we saw in Jacinta Lopez's lesson. As teachers ac
quire expertise, they develop a feel for when intervention is and is not appropriate.
Affective Discussions: Promoting Ethical and Moral Growth

The proper place of values and moral education in the curriculum is also controversial.
The controversy is less about whether or not it should be taught-most educators agree
that it is needed-and more about the form that it should take (Wynne, 1997).
One position, called character education, emphasizes the transmission if moral values,
such as honesty and citizenship, and the translation rf these values into behavior. For example, the
state of Georgia recently passed a law requiring character education programs to focus
on 27 character traits including patriotism, respect for others, courtesy, and compassion
(jacobson, 1999). Instruction in character education emphasizes the study ofvalues, prac
ticing these values both in school and out, and rewarding displays of these values.
Moral education, by contrast, is more value free, emphasizing instead the development
if students' moral reasoning. Moral education uses moral dilemmas and classroom discus
sions to teach problem solving and to bring about changes in the way learners think
with respect to moral issues.
Critics of character education argue that it emphasizes indoctrination instead of ed
ucation (Kohn, 1997); critics of moral education assert that it has a relativistic view of
morals, with no right or wrong answers (Wynne, 1997).
The strength of character education is its willingness to identity and promote core
values, such as honesty, caring, and respect for others. Few would argue that these val
ues are inappropriate. However, emphasizing student thinking and decision making is
important as well, and this is the focus of the moral education perspective.
For either moral or character education to work, there must be some public con
sensus about the values included in them. Does such consensus exist? A recent poll sug
gests that it does (Rose and Gallup, 1999). When asked whether the following values
should be taught in public schools, the following percentages of a national sample replied
affirmatively: honesty (97%), democracy (93%), acceptance of people of different races
and ethnic backgrounds (93%), and caring for friends and family members (90%). At the
other end of the continuum were acceptance of people with different sexual orienta
tions-that is, homosexuals or bisexuals (55%)-and acceptance of the right of a woman
to choose an abortion (48%). In considering which values to promote in their classrooms,
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CHAPTER 9
teachers should be aware of public attitudes toward these values. This doesn't mean
teachers should avoid discussing controversial topics or values; instead it suggests being
aware of students' current values and beliefs and building upon them. This makes sense
both pedagogically (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001; Ormrod, 2000) as well as politically. But
integrating affective content into the curriculum without proselytizing or appearing
heavy handed is a delicate balancing act.
This problem is important for all teachers, as value-related discussions are impossi
ble to avoid. Sometimes affective concerns are explicit, such as when freedom of speech
and individual rights are discussed in social studies classes. Health classes deal with sex
education, and evolution versus creationism continues to be debated in science classes
in different parts of the country.
Other instances of affective issues are more subtle, however, and teachers often ad
dress affective issues without realizing it. For example, teachers who say,
"Class, the civil rights movement was perhaps the most important event in
twentieth-century America;' or
"The effect of pollutants on our planet is the biggest problem facing modern
man," or
"Julius Caesar wasn't just a play about ancient Rome. It was a play about politics
and democracy and the potential for abuse by people in power."
are making value-laden statements that can lead to lively discussions.
Opportunities to examine values often occur as natural by-products of other
lessons. For example, a discussion in biology might consider benefits of pesticides, such
as increased productivity, with negative side effects, such as the impact on wildlife. A les
son on ethnic groups could focus on the internment of Japanese Americans during
World War II, resulting in a discussion of the importance of individual rights versus per
ceived risks to national security. A literature class reading Lordof the Flies might consider
individual responsibility versus peer pressure. A class focusing on career choices might
list different occupations and use this as a springboard for a discussion of the values un
derlying different occupational choices. A conflict of values exists in each of these top
ics, with potential as a springboard for subsequent discussion.
Clarifying Mllues through Moral Dilemmas. Value-oriented discussions can also be
started through moral dilemmas (Oser, 1986; Kruger, 1992). A moral dilemma pre
sents students with an everyday problem, the solution to which involves the resolution of a value
conflict. Shannon Wilson, in the teaching episode at the beginning of this section, used
a moral dilemma as the focus for her lesson. Was it right for the father to steal to feed
his children? This dilemma was embedded in the book the class was reading, which pro
vided both background knowledge and motivation for her students.
Teachers can also construct their own moral dilemmas to stimulate moral thought.
Consider the following:
John was working as a teacher's aid and ran across a copy of the final exam sitting on the
teacher's desk. The exam was for a course that his best friend, Gary, was repeating for
graduation. At lunch, Gary expressed concern that he wouldn't pass the course because
his boss had made him work every night for the last two weeks, and the heavy schedule
,
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had prevented him from studying. Gary asked John to get him a copy of the test. If John
didn't, Gary might not be able to graduate. John's refusal would almost certainly end their
friendship. What should John do?
The conflicts here are honesty versus friendship. Some questions to encourage thinking
about this conflict could include:
Which is more important, honesty or friendship?
h
-x
What would happen ifJohn steals a copy of the exam?
es
317
What if he doesn't?
What circumstances in the problem make a difference?
What other alternatives are there?
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In leading a discussion involving a conflict of values, there are several guidelines

to follow (Oser, 1986; Kruger, 1992). Students should be encouraged to take a per
sonal position in terms of the dilemma (e.g., What would you do?). This encourages
involvement and causes students to reflect on their own values. In doing this, an at
mosphere of acceptance for various value positions should be established. Students
should be encouraged to listen and respond to the views of others. One of the major
advantages of discussing different value positions is each student's consideration of al
ternative views.
In dealing with any of these value-laden topics, the teacher's role is to help students
understand the issues involved through strategic questions. These should establish what
the problem is, what value positions are involved, and what alternatives exist. In addi
tion, students should be encouraged to clarify and voice their own thoughts on the is
sues involved. Teachers should refrain from imposing their views on students, and
students should not feel pressured to respond.
This concludes our examination of discussion strategies. In the next section we
look at how peer tutoring can be used to facilitate learning in the classroom.
PEER TUTORING: STUDENTS AS RESOURCES
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Effective teachers use all available resources, one of which is the students themselves. In
this section, we discuss using students as peer tutors to enhance the learning of content
while developing skills outside the cognitive domain.
Jim Corbin, a resource teacher for students with exceptionalities, and Maria Sandoval, a
first-grade teacher, were talking in the teacher's lounge over lunch. Both were encounter
ing problems in the area of reading.
"I just don't have enough time to spend with my slower students," Maria commented.
"I know what they need ... quality time in small groups where I can give them individual
help and encouragement-but I've got 27 students in that class, and when I spend extra
time with them, [ feel guilty about slighting the others."
"I know how you feel," Jim replied, and after hesitating briefly he continued. "Num
bers aren't my problem; it's motivation. I'm working with fourth and fifth graders who are
really discouraged. They just don't think they can do it."
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CHAPTER 9
As Jim and Maria talked, they wondered if there was any way that they could help
each other. They'd both heard of peer tutoring but had never heard of resource students
acting as tutors for regular students. They both had their doubts, but they agreed to give it
a try.
For the next week Jim prepared his students, teaching them to explain and demon
strate the reading skills they were teaching and showing them how to provide helpful
praise and feedback. Maria helped by pulling together reading materials that would pro
vide a concrete agenda for the tutoring sessions.
The next Monday Jim brought his nine resource students down to pick up the first
graders. When they returned to the resource room, Jim circulated around the room, moni
toring each pair's progress. As Jim had anticipated, some tutors did better than others, but all
groups seemed to work reasonably well. Jim could tell it was working for his students by the
way they entered his classroom and got ready for the tutoring sessions. Before, they dragged
themselves in. and it was like pulling teeth to get them to work. Now, they arrived on time
and appeared eager to work. He wondered how it was working for Maria's students.
Research on Peer Tutoring

Peer tutoring, as the term implies, involves students teaching students. Peer tutoring offers
two specific benefits. First, because the sessions are one to one, instruction is individual
ized, which is effective for all teaching situations and especially for skill learning. Second,
peer tutoring can be motivational, both for the tutor and the student being helped. Help
ing someone learn is intrinsically motivating for the tutors (Slavin, 1995), and the satis
faction that comes with increased understanding motivates those being helped.
The idea of students helping students is not new; The ancient Greeks and Romans
used tutors, and in nineteenth-century England, where pupil-teacher ratios of 400 or
500 to one often existed, teachers coped by first teaching older monitors who then
worked with younger students. Teachers in America's one-room schoolhouses dealt
with the vast differences in grades one through eight by having older or more capable
students help others.
Two primary peer tutoring arrangements exist. Cross-age tutoring, like the Eng
lish system, uses older students to'help younger ones. Cross-age tutoring benefits from the
more mature tutor's knowledge and skills but is harder to manage logistically, because it
is difficult because of scheduling and coordination problems. Same-age peer tutoring
addresses this problem and can be used in any heterogeneous class where students are at differ
ent levels oflearning.
As we saw in the introductory episode, peer tutoring has also been successfully used
with students with exceptionalities. In one study, upper elementary special education
students were trained to act as reading tutors for first graders (Top and Osguthorpe,
1987). Mter twelve weeks of tutoring, researchers found that both the tutors and first
graders outperformed comparable control students on reading achievement tests. In ad
dition, the special education tutors showed significant increases in their perceptions of
their general academic ability as well as their ability in reading and spelling. Other re
search suggests that peer tutoring is effective in teaching content while also fostering so
cial interaction and improved attitudes toward those with exceptionalities (Fuchs et al.,
1997; Elbaum et al., 1999).
:4e
319
A Basic Peer Tutoring Model

Peer tutoring is most commonly used to supplement typical teacher-led instruction. We .
call this the basic tutoring model and examine it in this section.
The strategy has two phases: planning and implementation, each involving four
steps, which are summarized in Table 9.9 and discussed in the sections that follow.
Planning for Peer Tutoring

Identify a Topic. One-to-one peer tutoring can be used in any subject where the topic
includes convergent information with clear right and wrong answers. For example,
math skills such as two-digit by one-digit multiplication, language arts concepts such as
adjectives or proper nouns, finding the longitude and latitude of various locations, and
a variety of grammar and spelling rules can all be taught using peer tutoring. Organized
bodies of knowledge and thinking skills, with their complexity and divergence, are less
applicable to peer tutoring activities.
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Prepare Instructional Materials. Convergent topics allow the teacher to construct spe
cific practice and feedback exercises that provide structure for the tutoring sessions. Tu
tors then focus on the problems and exercises in the materials. Maria Sandoval did this
when she pulled learning materials together for Jim Corbin's students. These materials
provide valuable practice and feedback for content taught during initial whole group
activities.
Assign Students to Pairs. One peer tutoring arrangement is to pair a high with a low
achiever and let the more advanced student do all the tutoring. A different option,
called reciprocal tutoring, pairs students of comparable ability, with students taking turns
being the tutor. In this arrangement, students usually slide into a pattern where they sim
ply work together rather than having one formally designated as tutor for a period of
time and then switching.
Train Students to be Effective Tutors. Like teachers, effective tutors are made, not born.
Preparing both the tutors and the students being tutored is important for the effective
ness of the process (Fuchs et al., 1994; Slavin, 1995). Untrained tutors sometimes imitate
~ ~ 4f STEPS IN PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING

PEER TUTORING
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tal.,
Planning
Implementing
1. Identify a topic.
1. Group presentation
2. Prepare instructional materials.
2. Break into peer-tutoring groups
3. Assign students to pairs.
3. Monitor progress
4. Train students to be effective tutors.
4. Evaluate tutoring pairs
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CHAPTER 9
the worst from their teachers, including punitiveness and a lack of helpful feedback. A list
of effective training components includes the following:
Explaining objectives. At the beginning of a session, the tutor should provide
focus by explaining the major skill or concept to be learned. The teacher assists
by putting this at the top of the tutoring worksheet.
Staying on task. When an extraneous subject comes up, have tutors remind their
partners of the objective and call their attention to the numbcr of examples,
pages, or steps left to do.
Providing emotional support. Encourage tutors to make supportive comments for
incorrect answers, such as, "Not quite. Let's look at it again. What is the first
thing you did ... ?"
Giving praise and other positivefeedback. Discuss the importance of positive feed
back and provide examples of different forms of praise (e.g., "Good answer!"
"Great, you're really getting this."). If possible, have the tutor link the praise to
specific behaviors ("Good, you remembered to carry the three to the hundreds
column."). At the end of the lesson, have the tutor state what was learned and
relate this to the session objective.
Encouraging verbalization. Instruct the tutor to encourage thinking out loud,
both for himself or herself and his or her partner. This makes the cognitive op
erations being taught observable, providing a model for the partner and feed
back for the tutor.
Implementing Peer Tutoring Activities

When implementing peer tutoring, teachers first present content as they typically would
and then break students into groups, monitoring and evaluating them continually.
Group Presentation. Introduce and teach the content in the same way you normally
would. This stage is important because it lays the conceptual foundation for tutoring
that will follow by providing common understandings and vocabulary.
Break into Peer Tutoring Groups. Give students the worksheets designed to reinforce
the content you've just presented. Specify the amount of time they have for the tutor
ing session, and clearly state your expectations.
Monitor Progress. Circulate around the room to answer questions and ensure that the
tutoring is proceeding smoothly. To the extent possible, answer only procedural ques
tions. Answer content questions only when the tutor is unable to do so. This places re
sponsibility for learning on the peer teams. Check the exercise sheets at the end of the
session for any error patterns that might suggest areas for reteaching.
Evaluate Tutoring Pairs. If a tutoring pair is not functioning, rearrange the students.
One of the motivational advantages of peer tutoring is the fact that students are exposed
to different teaching styles and personalities; to take advantage of this, reconstitute the
tutoring pairs periodically.
Peer tutoring works because it places students in an active learning role and indi
vidualizes instruction. One of its advantages is that it can be easily combined with large
group direct instruction. As such, it provides individualized practice and feedback.
321
Social Interaction: Theoretical Perspectives. Constructivist theories support the

use of social interaction in the classroom by emphasizing the central role that dialogue
and verbalization play in learning. Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, viewed language as
an important medium for both learning and development. Language provides a medium
for students to conceptualize their own thoughts and refine these by comparing them to
thoughts of others.
Using Groupwork to Facilitate Learning. Groupwork provides an effective strategy

for promoting and maintaining high levels of student involvement by engaging stu
dents in tasks to be solved in a group. Combined with skilled questioning, it can also
help students develop social skills and promote the development of higher-order think
ing skills.
Cooperative Learning. Cooperative learning strategies place students on learning
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teams and reward group performance. Cooperative learning strategies can be used to
teach both basic skills and other, higher level skills. To be effective, cooperative learning
strategies should stress group goals, individual accountability, and provide equal oppor
tunities for success.
Student teams-achievement divisions (STAD) has proven effective in teaching facts,
concepts, and skills. Jigsaw techniques assign different students on a team to investigate
different aspects of a larger body of knowledge. Subsequent sharing and quizzes or
group projects make all students accountable for the information gained by the group.
Group investigation places students in teams to attack a common problem from differ
ent perspectives. In all ofthese strategies, the development ofsocial interaction skills and
inquiry can be as important as content acquisition.
Discussions. Discussions are interactive instructional strategies that can be used to

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teach higher-level thinking skills, affective goals, and interpersonal communication skills.
Content-oriented discussions invite students to use higher-level and critical thinking
skills to refine and integrate previous information they have learned. Student content
background is essential here. During discussions, the teacher's role is less directive and
obtrusive, first framing the discussion with a question or problem and then monitoring
its progress through questions and clarifying statements.
Affective discussions are designed to help students clarify their own values and be
liefs through the dual processes of articulating their own views and listening to those of
others. As with content-oriented discussions, the teacher acts as facilitator and clarifier
rather than position taker.
Peer Tutoring: Students as Resources. Peer tutoring provides another student

centered approach to teaching content. Cross-age tutoring uses older students to help
younger ones; same-age peer tutoring uses students in the same class to help each other.
Structure is essential for effective peer tutoring; student worksheets provide a focused
instructional agenda for both tutor and tutees.
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Character education
Combining peers
Cooperative learning
Cross-age peer tutoring
Discussions
Elaboration
Equal opportunity for success
Group investigation
Group goals
Groupwork
Individual accountability
Jigsaw II
Moral dilemma
Pairs check
Peer tutoring
Reciprocal tutoring
Same-age peer tutoring
Student teams-achievement divisions
(STAD)
Think-pair-share
Ken Johnson had been reading and hearing about cooperative learning. A number of his
colleagues at Franklin Middle School had experienced some success with it, so Ken had
been wanting to try it. As he looked over his language arts curriculum for the next few
months, he saw that end-of-sentence punctuation was one of the topics he needed to
cover. "Hrnrn, [ wonder if cooperative learning would work here," he thought to himself.
As the day to begin the unit drew nearer, he made specific plans for the cooperative
learning unit. He knew that students should be involved in helping each other out on
teams but wasn't quite sure how to arrange this. He'd bring the topic up in the faculty
lounge, but the explanations he received weren't clear. He couldn't quite understand the
differences between STAD, Jigsaw, and Group Investigation. "Oh, well, probably the best
way to learn is by trying it out," he thought as he looked through his teacher's edition of the
language arts textbook that he was using.
On the first day of the unit, he began by saying, "Class, we're going to try something
different. Instead of my teaching you everything, you're going to learn how to help each
other. So the first thing we need to do is get into groups of three or four and these will be
our cooperative learning teams. I thought of assigningyou to teams but thought you might
learn better with someone you know, so go ahead and find two or three other students that
you want to work with and decide on a group name. I'll give you 5 minutes to do this."
As Ken circulated around the room, he worked at smoothing over group disputes. In
some instances, teams of five arose and Ken was faced with the choice of breaking them
up into smaller units or letting them go. He decided to let them go. He also encountered
the problem of isolated students and students who couldn't find partners. He helped each
of them find a potential partner.
When most of the students had found a group, he continued, "Here's how the activ
ity will work. We're going to be learning about end-of-sentence punctuation. I know most
of you know something about the topic, but I've been noticing on some of the writing that
you've been handing in that we could use a little more work.
"So first l'd like everyone in the team to read pages 170 to 175 in your language arts
text. Then I'd like each of you to write three sentences that are declarative, interrogatory,
and imperative. Don't worry if you don't know what that means. You'll find out. Then
share these with your partners and see if they can figure out which is which. We'll con
323
tinue on with this tomorrow and I'll give each group a group quiz. Because we're using co
operative learning, I'll let you help each other and the grade you get for this assignment will
be the same for everyone in the group. Any questions? Ryan?"
"What are we supposed to do in the groups? I'm not sure 1understand."
"You're supposed to read pages I 70-175 in your text. Here, I'll write them on the
board. Then you make up one of each of the three kinds of sentences and share these
with the other members of the team. Any other questions? Then let's get into our groups
and start working."
As Ken circulated around the room, he helped students from different groups get
going. He noticed that some groups, mostly his A and B students, got right to work while
other groups were slow to start. As Ken worked with different groups, he repeated his di
rections. Finally, after about 10 minutes, most of the groups were working productively.
"Hrnm," he thought, "maybe this is going to work"
The next day he began class by saying, "Class, we did a good job yesterday learning
about different kinds of sentences and how periods, question marks, and exclamation
points can help the reader understand what we're trying to say. To help you practice for
the quiz today, I've got an exercise that asks you to punctuate different kinds of sentences.
This is exactly what you'll be doing on the group quiz at the end of our hour. So work
hard and I'll be circulating around the room if you have any questions."
After Ken distributed the practice sheets to the different groups, he circulated around
the room. He found that a number of groups had trouble deciding whether a sentence
really warranted an exclamation point or just needed a period. Students felt that they didn't
have enough background information to make a decision. While Ken half-heartedly
agreed, he urged them to make a decision anyway.
h?H/'CJd>ee/7c 0.7d>e04J.. Xe/7dY~eo $),f/O/,s 10)00),. 10 Ine front of the room.
"Class, I've got your group quiz here. I'm only going to give one to each group and
you have to work cooperatively at deciding the right answer. That's why this is called co
operative learning. When you're done, hand the quiz in with all of the members of your
group's names on it and I'll grade them for tomorrow. Good luck"
As Ken passed out the quiz, he wandered around the room answering questions and
making sure each of the groups was working okay. Some were and some weren't. He also
noticed that in most groups the brightest students was given the job of secretary and tended
to do most of the work
"I wonder if this is working like it should," he thought. "They don't seem to be coop
erating like they should."
Question for Analysis

1. What type of cooperative learning strategy should Ken Johnson have used? Why?
2. How effective was Ken in forming cooperative learning groups? What alternative
might you suggest?
3. How effective was Ken's instruction in structuring the cooperative learning activ
ity? What else might he have done?
4. Analyze Ken's cooperative learning activity in terms of the three essential compo
nents identified by research. How could he adjust his activity to be more effective?
5. Analyze the effectiveness of the learning materials Ken used. How could their ef
fectiveness have been increased?
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CHAPTER 9
1. How would you respond to parents who raise concerns about their son or daugh
ter being involved in peer tutoring, either as a tutor or student?
2. Which of the three cooperative learning strategies-STAD, Jigsaw II, and Group
Investigation-are most appropriate for the lower grades? Upper grades? Why?
3. Are the three cooperative learning strategies more appropriate in some content
areas than in others? Which and why?
4. Which of the three cooperative learning strategies would be most effective for
fostering improved intergroup relations? Why?
5. What is the place of values in the curriculum? How would you respond to objec
tions from people who contend that values don't belong in the curriculum? What
advantages and disadvantages are there to character and moral education ap
proaches to teaching values?
6. Which values should the schools try to develop? Examine the following values
and rank order the five most important values from an educational perspective.
Compare these with other people in the class.
Broadminded
Forgiving
Honest
Imaginative
Independent
Intellectual
Logical
Loving
Obedient
Polite
Responsible
Self-controlled
7. Are discussions more valuable in some areas of the curriculum than others?
Which and why? How does the value of discussion vary with grade level? What is
the lowest grade level that can still benefit from discussions?
1. Groupwork. Plan and teach a lesson incorporating student groupwork.
a. What kind of groupwork did you use? Was it appropriate for your goal?
h. How well did you plan for logistical concerns such as transitions into and out
of groupwork? What would you do differently next time?
c. How did groupwork influence student motivation?
d. How effective was the groupwork activity in promoting learning? How can
you tell?
2. Cooperative Learning. Identify a classroom that is using cooperative learning. Ob
serve the classroom and answer the following:
a. What kind of cooperative learning strategy was being used?

h. What kinds of content goals were targeted?
c. How were the groups composed (teacher interview)?
d. How did the teacher promote: 0) group goals, (2) individual accountability,
and (3) equal opportunity for success?
325
e. What special management strategies did the teacher use?

f. How could the lesson be changed to improve learning?
3. Affective Goals. Examine a blank report card. What do the categories in the report
card say about the affective goals in that school at that level? What areas are em
phasized? What areas are missing? How could the report card be modified to help
students develop in these areas?
4. Discussions: Interaction Patterns. The purpose of this exercise is to analyze the inter
action patterns in a discussion. To do this, sketch out a seating chart of the partici
pants before observing a class discussion. Mark the first person who talks with a 1,
the second with a 2, and so on. After the session, analyze your data in terms of
the following questions:
~
a. How did the discussion begin?

b. Was the prevalent interaction pattern T-S-Tor S-S?
c. What percentage of the students participated? What did the teacher do to in
fluence this?
d. What role did the teacher play?
e. How did the teacher's questions guide the discussion?
f. How did the discussion end?
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5. Discussions. Identify an instructor at either the elementary or secondary level or

the college level who is good at leading discussions and ask to sit in on one of his
or her discussions.
a. What instructional activities (e.g., readings or lecture) preceded the discussion?

b. What kinds of interaction patterns developed?
is
c. What kinds of questions seemed most effective in provoking thoughtful

interaction?
d. How was silence used?
e. How appropriate would this discussion style be in your content area or level?
6. Peer Tutoring. Identify a classroom that is using peer tutoring. Observe a peer tu
toring session and analyze it in terms of the following dimensions:
a. Goals
b. Instructional materials
c. Type of peer tutoring (e.g., cross-age or reciprocal)
d. Training (you will have to interview the teacher for this)
e. Teacher monitoring
f. Teacher's evaluation of the process (a short interview will be needed)
g. Your suggestions for making peer tutoring more effective
PROBLEM-BASED INSTRUCTION.
327
~o
this point, you've seen how the general instructional model provides a framework
{ for the strategies in this text, and you've studied both learner-centered and teacher
centered strategies designed to teach content, including concepts, skills, and organized
bodies of knowledge.
In this chapter we examine problem-based instruction, a collection of teaching strate
gies that includes project-based instruction, problem solving, inquiry, case-based in
struction, and anchored instruction.
following goals:
Describe characteristics of problem-based instruction.

Implement project-based instruction.
Implement strategies to help students learn to solve problems.
Develop learning activities to promote inquiry strategies in learners.
PROBLEM-BASED INSTRUCTION
To introduce you to the topic of problem-based learning and instruction, let's look in
on a classroom application.
Students at Bayview Middle School, on the banks of Chesapeake Bay, are actively involved
in a debate about farm fertilizers, pesticides, and water pollution. Brad Evers, their social
studies teacher, has been working with the other members of his teaching team to prepare
students for this debate. Sonya Woodside, the science teacher, has been focusing on the
chemical and biological aspects of pollution. Ted Barret, their English teacher, has been
helping students use the Internet to gather information and write reports. Kim Starrow, the
math teacher, has been focusing on graphing skills to help students integrate graphs into
their presentations.
Kasha, a member of the environmental group, rises to speak. "Our group is in favor of
House Bill 370. It prohibits farmers from using fertilizers and pesticides within 300 feet of
any stream flowing into the Bay."
"We strongly disagree," replies Jacob, a member of the Farmer's Coalition. "This bill
is unfair. It will put many farmers out of business and is unnecessary. Besides, fertilizer
helps things grow. What evidence is there that fertilizer hurts anything?"
"But what about us? We make our living off of the fish and oysters in the Bay.
Shouldn't our jobs be protected as well?" Jared counters as the moderator gives him the
floor.
The debate continues with each group given opportunities to present their perspec
tives, using charts, graphs, and printed materials. (adapted from Slavin, Madden, Dolan,
and Wasik, 1994, pp. 3-4)
Problem-Based Instruction: An Overview

Problem-based instruction is a collection of integrative teaching strategies that useproblems
as the focus for direction, teaching problem-solving skills while developing self-directed learning
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CHAPTER 10
(Krajcik, Blumenfeld, Marx, and Soloway, 1994). Problem-based instructional strategies

typically have the following characteristics:
Lessons begin with a problem or question, and solving the problem or answer
ing the question becomes the focus of the lesson (T. Duffy and Cunningham,
1996; Grabinger, 1996).
Students are actively involved in learning while investigating the problem, design
ing strategies, and finding solutions (Slavin, Madden, Dolan, and Wasik, 1994).
The teacher's role in problem-based instruction is primarily facilitative. The
teacher guides students' efforts through questioning and other forms of instruc
tional scaffolding
(Maxwell, Bellisimo, and Mergendoller. 1999; Stepien and Gallagher, 1993).
Unlike other more content-oriented strategies, teachers use problem-based instruc

tion to accomplish multiple goals. The goals ofproblem-based lessons are for students to
(1) learn to investigate questions and problems systematically, (2) develop self-regulation
and self-directed learning abilities, and (3) learn content. These goals were evident in
Brad Evers's classroom. Students learned about pollution in the Chesapeake Bay while
also developing their own abilities to conduct investigations into meaningful problems.
As the name implies, problem-based instructional strategies begin with a question
or problem. In Brad Evers's class the problem involved the effects of pollution on the
Chesapeake Bay. Later in the chapter you'll read about one classroom that atteulpts to
find the area of an irregularly shaped room and another that tries to determine whether
brand name or generic aspirins are better. These problems provide the focal point for
students' investigatory efforts.
The primary goals for problem-based learning activities are the development of
problem-solving abilities and self-directed learning; learning content is less prominent. If
learning content is a primary goal, alternate strategies, such as direct instruction, lecture
discussion, or guided discovery, are probably more effective. However, some evidence in
dicates that content learned during problem-based lessons is retained longer and transfers
better than content learned when other strategies are used (DuffY and Cunningham,
1996; Sternberg, 1998).
But what is self-directed learning, and how do problem-based strategies contribute
to its development? Self-directed learning develops when students are aware if and take
control if their learning progress. Self-directed learning is a form of metacognition, which
involves knowing what we need to know, knowing what we know, knowing what we
don't know, and devising strategies to bridge these gaps (Hmelo and Lin, 1998).
During problem-based instruction, students first assess what they know about the
problem they are facing. On the basis of this assessment, students decide what additional
information they need and develop plans to address these deficiencies. As they gather
new information, they use this information to solve the problem they're encountering.
Ifthe information is sufficient and their goal met, the problem is solved. If not, students,
on the basis of need, reformulate new learning strategies.
The teacher assists in the process by asking facilitative questions, such as:
What do you already know?
What additional information do you need?
Where can you find this information?
329
Questions such as these encourage students to think about the process they are going
through, which helps them develop as self-directed learners. Unlike some of the other
more content-oriented strategies that you've read about, in problem-based instruction
the teacher's role is more facilitator and guide rather than information organizer and
disseminator.
Problem-Based Instruction: Theoretical Foundations

Problem-based instruction is grounded in the philosophy of John Dewey, who advo
cated the use of experiential learning in classrooms, and constructivist views oflearning.
Let's look at these ideas in more detail.
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Philosophical Underpinnings. John Dewey (1859-1952), probably the most influential

educational philosopher in America, believed that children are socially active learners
who learn by exploring their environments (Dewey, 1916). He believed schools should
take advantage of children's natural curiosity by bringing the outside world into the
classroom, making it the focus for study.
In studying the world, students should be active inquirers. Dewey proposed that this
inquiry should be guided by the scientific method, which has the following characteristics:

Learners are involved in authentic experiences that genuinely interest them.

Learners examine problems that stimulate thinking and focus their efforts.
As they solve problems, learners acquire information.
Learners form tentative solutions that may solve the problem.
Learners test the solutions by applying them to the problem. Applications help
learners validate their knowledge.
We saw elements of these characteristics in Brad's classroom. Knowing that his students
would be interested in the bay that they lived on, he designed a problem-based unit that
allowed them to explore a problem that affected their lives and the lives of their parents.
Dewey believed that the knowledge students learn shouldn't be some inert information
found in books or delivered in lectures. Instead, knowledge becomes useful and alive
when it is applied to the solution of some problem. Dewey's work had a major influence
on the progressive education movement in the United States and continues to be felt in
areas such as project-based learning, thematic units, and interdisciplinary teaching.
we
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Constructivist Frameworks. As we've seen earlier in the text, constructivists believe that
student learning is most effective when students actively construct knowledge, connect
ing it to what they already know. Problem-based learning encourages active knowledge
construction by placing students in the middle of active learning situations. Students
learn by actively trying to solve problems, such as investigating the effects of pollutants
on our waterways.
One particular kind of constructivism, called sociocultural learning theory, stresses the
importance of social interactions in learning. Based upon the work of the Russian psy
chologist Lev Vygotsky, sociocultural theory emphasizes that learning is inherently so
cial and embedded within particular cultural settings (Cobb and Bowers, 1999). As
learners within problem-based lessons interact with each other, they not only learn from
each other but also create new knowledge for themselves.
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CHAPTER 10
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From a sociocultural perspective, forming a community of learners is crucial.

Teachers need to help students learn how to learn from each other. From this perspec
tive the social interaction and group problem-solving skills that are learned are as im
portant as other goals, such as learning content and higher-level analytical skills. Active
listening, turn taking, building upon the ideas of others, and constructive disagree
ment, interaction skills that are so important in cooperative learning, are also essential
in problem-based learning.
Because of the value of social interaction in problem-based learning, all of the
strategies described in this chapter will be framed as group activities. However, many of
these could be assigned as individual projects. For example, individual students could be
asked to work on Brad Evers's problem and present their results individually. In orga
nizing problem-based learning in this way, teachers miss valuable opportunities to take
advantage of social learning.
In the next section we analyze project-based instruction, one of the most widely
used problem-based learning teaching strategies.
PRO..IECT-BASED LEARNING
Project-based learning, a comprehensive approach to classroom teaching and learning, in
volves students in projects: relatively long-term, problcm-jocused, and meaningful units of instruc
tion that integrate concepts from a number oj disciplines orfields if study. During project-based
learning, "students pursue solutions to authentic problems by asking and refining ques
tions, debating ideas, making predictions, designing plans or experiments, collecting
and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, communicating their ideas and findings to
others, asking new questions, and creating products" (Good and Brophy, 2000, p. 242).
Essential Components
Project-based learning utilizes the following components:
An authentic question or problem organizes and drives the activities.
Collaboration provides opportunities for students to learn to work together to
ward a common goal.
Activities include information gathering from a variety of sources that may in
volve interdisciplinary connections.
Answers or solutions to the problem or question lead to a series of products
that result in a final presentation project in a form (e.g., debate, report, video
tape, presentation) that can be shared with others and critiqued,
Let's analyze these characteristics using Brad Evers's classroom as an example.
Authentic Question or Problem. Project-based learning begins with a question or prob

lem that is real to students and that can serve as the focal point for student investigations.
An effective problem
Fulfills a specific purpose: It relates to important learning outcomes and con
nects to a teacher's goals.
Presents an open-ended task to accomplish.
PROBLEM,BASED INSTRUCTION.
331
Compels interest by challenging students.

Connects student learning to real-world experience. (Gagnon and Collay, 2001)
This question or problem could be a social issue or problem, a topic encountered in the
regular curriculum, or a topic that interests the students. Brad Evers used the topic of
pollution in the Chesapeake Bay to focus his students' studies. The topic was authentic
or real to them because they live along the bay and could relate their studies to their
own lives and the lives of their parents, many of whom are farmers and fishermen.
In addition to being authentic, the problems should also be open ended and ill de
fined, posing a sense of mystery or puzzlement. This is important for several reasons. Ill
defined problems offer challenges to students, providing them with opportunities to
wrestle with, understand, and frame the learning task ahead of them. This challenge is
similar to the one students encounter when they write a more traditional term paper and
can be the most educationally rewarding part of the process. In addition, an open-ended
problem is motivating, providing students with both challenge and choice.
Additional examples of topics that could serve as focal points for project-based
learning are found in Table 10.1. Each of these questions or problems could serve as the
focus of a long-term investigation by students.
Collaboration with Other Students. As students work together on their projects, they
develop valuable group interaction skills. They learn to form group goals collabora
tively, to listen, to express their own ideas, and to compromise as conflicts occur. These
are valuable skills in school as well as in real life.
Collaboration also has cognitive benefits as well (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001). The
process of organizing ideas and putting them into words is a challenging task that pro
motes learning, as anyone who has had to write about something knows. In addition,
listening to others' ideas and understanding them, incorporating them with our own,
not only contributes to our own thinking but also helps create new ideas.
Information Gathering. Project-based learning activities involve students in a variety of
information-gathering activities. These could include, but are not limited to, the following:
Gathering information from printed sources
Using the Internet
~ /0./ PROJECT-BASED QUESTIONS OR PROBLEMS

Content Area
Question or Problem
High school social studies
What factors influence voter turnout in an election?
High school health
How healthy are the lunches that students eat at our school?
Elementary science
What kinds of plants and animals inhabit a nearby pond?
Middle school history
What is the history of the town or city that we live in?
Middle school social studies
Where do last names come from and what do they mean?
Elementary science/social studies
What are the advantages and disadvantages of different pets?
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Interviewing people
Gathering specimens (e.g. plants and animals)
Students in Brad's classroom used books and magazines like National Geographic as well
as the Internet to obtain basic information about the bay and the problems of pollution.
They also interviewed a number of people, including farmers and fishermen as well as
public officials such as water quality officials and wildlife conservation officers. They
also collected and analyzed water samples from different sites along the bay.
Often the process of information gathering requires crossing disciplinary or content
boundaries. Note that although all of the original questions in Table 10.1 were embed
ded in a particular content area or areas, they could potentially lead to interdisciplinary
investigations. For example, the high school health project focusing on nutrition could
incorporate science topics to frame the question, social studies to investigate issues of
sampling, math to report results, and writing to present conclusions. In a similar way the
elementary project on pets could involve a broad array of skills such as interviewing,
using math to report findings, and reading and writing in the language arts curriculum.
Project-based learning often serves as the focal point for interdisciplinary units that con
nect multiple content areas.
Products. The products ofproject-based learning are an important learning component
and need to be shared with others. The creation of a product encourages students to in
tegrate their new learning into some form of cohesive and coherent report. This is a de
manding task that fosters learning. Producing a product also brings closure to the
project, which carries with it motivational benefits (McCombs and Pope, 1994). Feed
back from others also permits the learners to reflect on and extend their emerging
knowledge and to revise their products if necessary.
Products can take a number offorms. The most obvious is some type of written re
port that can be shared with others. Other alternatives include:
A
A
A
A
letter to a politician or newspaper

multimedia presentation with an audience in mind
drama or short story
debate
Students should view the products they create not only as a worthwhile summary of
their efforts but also as functional, designed to inform or persuade a specific audience.
Brad's students reported their findings in a number of ways. To encourage them to
consider multiple perspectives on the problem, he assigned them to teams that focused
on different aspects of the problem. Prior to the debate each team presented their find
ings to the whole class using different forms of technology, including videotapes, audio
tapes, and PowerPoint. Students then used this information during the debate, in which
they assumed different roles and perspectives.
Implementing Project-Based Instruction in the Classroom

Project-based learning is complex, both from a teacher and student perspective. For
teachers, it requires a number of different roles, starting with planning and ending with
assessment. It also requires students to assume different roles, and teachers need to assist
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333
students as they learn how to perform these new roles. In this section we describe how
teachers can make project-based instruction work in their classrooms, starting with the
process of planning.
Planning. All good teaching starts with a goal that then guides teachers' subsequent in
structional efforts. Brad Evers had several goals. He wanted students to learn about pol
lution and how it affected the area in which they lived. He also wanted students to learn
to work together cooperatively on projects and develop their abilities to direct their own
learning in the future. These multiple goals are typical in project-based learning.
A second planning task is to identify a topic for study and then frame the topic in
terms of a problem for students to investigate. Topics for project-based learning can come
from several sources. The most obvious is the assigned curriculum. Though teachers are
expected to teach a number of "assigned" topics, all it takes is a little creativity to trans
form these into the focal point of projects. For example, a unit on the Crusades can be
converted into active investigations by students into the human efforts that went into the
Crusades, including reports on recruitment efforts, songs, and battle strategies (Cohen,
1991). In a similar way, a social studies lesson on local political structures or a science les
son on pollution can be converted into project-based instruction on the politics of pol
lution on the Chesapeake Bay, as Brad Evers did.
Another teacher planning task during project-based learning is to organize re
sources, both in print and media formats. This task has been made much simpler with
the advent of the Internet, but teachers still need to plan for access to computers and the
availability of relevant websites as well as more mundane things like printing.
Implementing. The first step in implementing project-based learning in the classroom
is to orient students to the problem. Let's see how Brad did this in his classroom.
"Class, I've got some pictures I'd like to show you. They're from a book called, Then and
Now: A Historical Look at Chesapeake Bay. What do you notice about the first one? Seth?"
"That's Sassafras Creek. I can tell from the old pier that's still there. But there weren't
any condos there then."
"Good, Seth. What else do you notice, class?"
Brad continues, sharing with his class both old and modern pictures of the bay, help
ing them see the changes that have occurred over time to the physical appearance of the
bay. Then he shares with them some figures on the amount of oysters and fish that were
harvested over the years and asks students to explain the decline. During the discussion, he
asks if any of the students boat or fish in the bay and asks them to share their experiences.
He asks them to go home that evening and ask their parents about their early memories of
Chesapeake Bay and how it has changed over time.
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An effective problem has several essential characteristics. First, it must be real or

meaningful to students. In addition, it must be understandable and afford a starting point
for students' investigative efforts. Finally, it must be complex and open ended so that it
provides students with multiple options for their investigations.
After orienting students to the problem, teachers need to organize them into study
teams. One of the easiest, but not necessarily the best, way to do this is by student
choice. However, the same kinds of concerns raised in Chapter 9 about this method of
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CHAPTER 10
www.ablongman.eom/kauehak4e
comprising cooperative learning groups also apply here. Groups may not be balanced
in terms of ability, ethnicity, or gender. Working with friends or in homogeneous
groups often prevents students from learning about others and how to work with stu
dents who are different from them.
After students are organized into study teams, teachers need to structure the teams' ef
forts by establishing timelines, both for intermediate and final projects. Timelines provide
concrete due dates for different groups to meet. Teachers can also assistwith these timelines
by meeting with the different groups on a periodic basis to facilitate each group's progress.
Major tasks each group will need to struggle with are data collection and analysis.
For example, the students in Brad's class chose to interview a number of people con
nected to the bay. Before they did this, they needed to construct an interview protocol
to structure their interviews. They also needed to decide whether the interviews should
be audio- or video-recorded or whether notes should be taken. Brad helped in the
process by asking groups to think ahead and consider what their final reports or prod
ucts would look like.
The final products that result from project-based learning can and should take mul
tiple forms. Students should take the audience into consideration in planning their re
ports and should be encouraged to employ a variety of media formats. Even if one of
the products is a traditional paper, students should be encouraged to consider ways to
make the information in it accessible and interesting. Doing this not only develops per
spective taking, a valuable social skill (Berk, 2000), but also employs multiple learning
tasks, a major way of addressing student diversity (Cohen, 1991). In addition, creating a
consumer-oriented exhibit or report is a valuable skill in later life.
One way to think of these final learning products is in terms of exhibits. Exhibits
are presentations of student work that document learning. Characteristics of effective exhibits
include the following:

Students produce the exhibit to document their accomplishment of a task.

Students present their exhibit publicly and explain their thinking.
Students respond to questions from their teacher or peers.
Teachers use the exhibit to determine what learning has taken place.
Teachers help students understand the learning that has occurred.
Teachers align student explanations and thinking with requirements of state or
national standards.
(Gagnon and Collay, 2001)
Exhibits provide a public forum where members of the learning community come to
gether to discuss the learning that has taken place during project-based learning.
Assessment. Assessment should be an integral part of project-based learning and should

occur in three phases. Before project-based instruction occurs, teachers should ascer
tain, either formally through a written preassessment or informally through questions,
what students know about the topic. This can provide valuable information for orga
nizing groups as well as gathering resources.
Assessment can also provide valuable information during project-based lessons.
Checklists and rating scales can provide students with valuable feedback about their learn
ing as well as the progress of their project. A rubric such as the one in Figure 10.1 can
help students assess their own planning progress as well as provide the teacher with a con
crete format to conference with students about their progress and accomplishments.
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2. Information-gathering procedures detailed
3. Data analysis procedures described
4. Final product planned
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Rubric for Assessing Project-Based Learning
Assessment can also provide valuable information to students about their final pro
ject and how effective they were in presenting this to other students. Rubrics similar to
the one in Figure 10.1 can be developed, shared with students, and used during presen
tations to provide feedback about strengths and weaknesses.
To help students develop self-direction in their learning they should be involved in
the assessment process from the beginning (McCombs and Pope, 1994). Teachers should
Inform students at the planning stage what is expected when their projects are
completed.
Use ongoing student conferences to discuss progress and provide feedback.
Involve students in providing feedback to each other.
Encourage students self-evaluations of their learning progress.
In assessing project-based learning, teachers should focus not only on the products pro
duced but also the growth and changes that are occurring in students.
Research on Project-Based Learning

Research on project-based learning is encouraging. Research suggests that it is an ef
fective vehicle to teach basic learning skills at the same time as content. Project-based
learning also has motivational benefits. In addition, there is some evidence that this form
oflearning can help develop self-directed learning in students.
Project-based learning is an effective vehicle for teaching basic learning skills because
these skills are an integral part of students' projects. In addition to developing reading and
writing skills, project-based learning can also teach a number of valuable learning strate
gies, including teaching students to

Prioritize learning objectives.

Identify areas of knowledge deficit.
Search for information broadly.
Integrate information effectively.
Present ideas clearly.
(Blumberg, 1998)
Because students are actively immersed in these processes in the pursuit oftheir projects,
they can see why they're useful and appreciate their value.
Motivation and Project-based Instruction. Research also suggests that project-based learn
ing is motivating. Motivational aspects of project-based work include:
Authentic problems that are challenging
Choice in deciding what and how to do it
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CHAPTER 10
Varied and novel tasks

Collaboration with peers
Closure in the form of a final product
(Good and Brophy, 2000)
In one study of high school English projects, students identified voice and choice as sig
nificant factors in the effectiveness of their projects (Davis, 1998).
This choice is important because it provides opportunities tor students to develop
self-directed learning skills (Blumberg, 1998; van den Heuk, Wolfhagen, Dolmans, and
van der VIeuten, 1998). Rather than sitting passively listening to a teacher's presenta
tion, students involved in projects are constantly asking themselves questions such as:

Why am I doing this?

What are my goals and objectives?
What do I know and need to find out?
How can I present my findings to an audience?
Teachers' can facilitate the development of self-directed learning by providing feedback

to students as they progress through their projects.
However, research on problem-based learning in medicine raises some cautionary
flags (Albanese and Mitchell, 1993). Though medical students using problem-based
learning became better thinkers and more adept at clinical problem solving, they also
scored lower on basic science examinations and viewed themselves as less prepared in
terms of basic science knowledge. The message from this research is clear and reinforces
a major theme of this text. There is no otle best way to teach. Each strategy or approach
has both strengths and weaknesses. Teachers need to have a clear vision of the overall
goals in their curriculum and use different approaches to teaching strategically. If the
goal is basic content acquisition, other strategies such as lecture discussion and direct in
struction may be more appropriate. If, instead, teachers want to develop students' self
direct learning and thinking skills, problem-based learning may be valuable.
This concludes our discussion of project-based learning. In the next section we dis
cuss problem solving, a second form ofproblem-based instruction.
PROBLEM SOLVING
You're a sixth-grade middle school teacher, and many of your students come to
class without their books, pencils, and other materials.
You're planning on meeting some friends for dinner at a new restaurant, but
you don't know how to get there, and your friends have already left.
You're involved in a personal relationship with someone, but the relationship
isn't as satisfying as you had originally hoped.
What do these examples have in common? While different in their orientation,
each is a problem. A problem exists when you're in a state different from a desired state, and
there's some uncertainty about reaching the desired state (Bransford and Stein, 1984). To solve
a problem, we must figure out how to move from the state we're in to the desired state.
Let's see what problem solving looks like in the classroom.
Laura Hunter, a fifth-grade teacher at Bennion Elementary, is trying to teach her students
about area by involving them in a problem-solving lesson. The class has been introduced
to the concepts of perimeter and area but is still struggling with them.
k4e
PROBLEMBASED INSTRUCTION.
337
Identify the problem
Represent the problem
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Select a strategy
Carry out the strategy
Evaluate results
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Laura begins by posing the following problem: "The principal is planning to recarpet
the classroom and needs to know how much carpeting to order." The complexity of the
problem is increased by the fact that the room is irregularly shaped and that the linoleum
part of the room, which is on the outside perimeter of the room under the computers, will
not be carpeted.
To help students in their problem solving, Laura displays an overhead with the five
step problem-solving model shown in Figure 10.2. Breaking students into groups of four,
she has each group identify what the problem is. After reporting back to the whole class,
each group is then responsible for measuring a different part of the room with rulers, yard
sticks, and tape measures. They report back to a group that is coordinating measurements
and constructing a diagram of the whole room.
Laura then asks each group to select a strategy to find the carpeted area of the
room. As the different groups work on doing this, two strategies emerge. One is to find
the total area of the room and subtract out the linoleum or noncarpeted parts of the
room. The other is to compute the area of a rectangle within the carpeted area and
then add on additional. irregularly shaped carpeted sections. As students discuss their
strategies, they use the diagram they generated and hand-held computers to find the
area.
After selecting and implementing their strategies, the groups report back to the whole
class. The class discusses not only the different problem-solving strategies but also interper
sonal problems within the groups.
In evaluating their results, the class finds that the answers generated by the different
groups differ and the class discusses why. Laura asks for suggestions about ways to make
the answers more accurate and students suggest starting with common numbers and using
the same strategies. (adapted from Eggen and Kauchak, 2001, pp. 309-311)
How was this an example of problem solving? The state Laura's students were in
was not knowing how much carpet was needed to carpet the room, and the desired
state was determining that amount. Her instruction at one level was aimed at helping
them figure out how to move to the desired state. At another level it was designed to
338
CHAPTE RIO
help students become better problem solvers. In our other cases, the desired states are
students bringing their materials, knowing how to get to the restaurant, and being in a
satisfying relationship.
From these examples we see that problem solving is actually much broader than the
way it is typically presented in schools. Problems like the ones Laura's students were
studying are common, but in the past we probably haven't thought of not knowing how
to get to a restaurant, for example, as a problem.
Adopting a more general view ofproblem solving helps us see that problems and how
to solve them are very real parts of our everyday lives. The hope is that the problem
solving strategies that students learn in schools will transfer over into other dimensions
of their lives. We examine these strategies later in this section when we discuss a general
problem solving model.
Well~Defined
and Ill-Defined Problems
All too often in classrooms students are given problems where the solution method is
quite clear. This is unfortunate because it robs students of the opportunity to wrestle
with problems that are more like the ones we encounter in real life. Problem-solving ex
perts commonly distinguish well-defined from ill-defined problems (Eysenck and
Keane, 1990). A ~ll-defined problern has only one correct solution and a certain method
forfinding it, whereas an ill-defined problem has more than one solution and nogenerally
agreed upon strategy for reaChing it (Dunkle, Schraw, and Bendixon, 1995; Orrnrod, 1999).
Getting our students to bring their materials, finding a route to the restaurant, and being
in an unsatisfactory relationship are all ill-defined problems. For example, in terms of
the last problem, we want to be in one that is satisfying, but we're often not sure what
"satisfying" means, and even if we did know, how to get there is uncertain.
The distinction between a well-defined and ill-defined problem often depends on
the learners themselves. As an example, let's look again at Laura's lesson. Finding the
amount of carpeting necessary appears to be well defined, and for an expert, it is: Sim
ply determine the total area of the floor, and subtract the area covered by linoleum.
Only one answer exists, and the solution is straightforward. For Laura's students, how
ever, the problem was ill defined. Their understanding of the goal wasn't clear, some of
them were uncertain about the difference between area and perimeter (as an interview
after the lesson revealed), and they used a variety of strategies to reach the goal.
There are several advantages to using ill-defined problems in the classroom. The
first is that they are more similar to problems learners encounter in the real world, so
they provide practice in dealing with these realistic, everyday problems. Because they are
more open ended, they can also be more motivating, encouraging students to be more
creative in their solutions.
A Problem-Solving Model
Over the last 40 years or more, experts have tried to develop approaches to problem
solving that can be applied in a variety of situations. One result of these efforts is the
five-step problem solving model illustrated in Figure 10.2 and discussed here (Bransford
and Stein, 1984).
4e
Identifying the Problem. On the surface, it appears that identifying the problem should
be simple. However, particularly with ill-defined problems and novice problem solvers,
identifying the problem is one of the most demanding aspects of problem solving
(Hayes, 1988).
Let's look at a classroom example:
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Question: There are 26 sheep and IO goats on a ship. Howald is the captain?
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Amazingly, in one study, 75 percent of the second graders who were asked this question
answered 36 (cited in Prawat, 1989)! Obviously, they had difficulty understanding what
the problem was asking.
Obstacles to identifying problems effectively include:
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Lack of experience with the process

Lack of domain-specific knowledge
The tendency to rush toward a solution before the problem has been clearly
defined
The tendency to think convergently (Bruning et al., 1999)
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Let's see how these obstacles operate in a problem involving classroom teaching.
Paula Waites, a second-year teacher, is having classroom management problems. Her stu
dents are inattentive and disruptive, and in spite of clearly stated rules and an effort to en
force them consistently, the behaviors persist.
"I'm not sure what to do," Paula confided to her friend, Linda, an eight-year veteran.
"l know that I'm supposed to be consistent. and I'm trying. I told them that I mean busi
ness, and I've written several referrals during the last week, but it isn't helping that much. )
guess I'll just have to get tougher, but I hate coming down on them all the time. I've thought
and thought about it, and that's alII can come up with."
"I'm not sure," Linda responded, "but maybe you ought to try something a little different."
"l don't know what you mean."
"Maybe try working up a few really nifty activities, even if it takes some extra work. If
the kids like them, maybe they'll behave better.... Whenever my kids are acting up, the
first thing I ask myself is if I'm doing a good job of teaching. I mean, that isn't always the
case, but it's often a factor in their behavior."
"Gee, ) guess I never actually thought about approaching it that way. ) admit that most
of what) do is sort of lead discussions about what they've read, or were supposed to read
in the book."
A week later Paula reported that she had been working very hard, but that her stu
dents were behaving much better. (Eggen and Kauchak, 200 I; p. 327)
Paula encountered two related obstacles when she tried to solve her management
problem. The first was lack of experience in thinking about teaching problems; the sec
ond was a lack of domain-specific knowledge about management and motivation. She
also thought convergently, rushing to the conclusion that her students' lack of attention
was the result of something in the students rather than something that she was respon
sible for. Fortunately for Paula, her experienced friend, Linda, was able to help her re
define the problem in a more productive manner.
340
CHAPTER 10
Even though she was working with a somewhat well-defined problem, Laura at
tempted to give her students some practice in problem finding by beginning with the
general problem of carpeting. She did this by asking students in small groups to think
about the problem. Let's see how she did this.
After the students worked together for several minutes, Laura had each of the groups re
port their results to the class.
"Fred, what did your team decide you were supposed to do?" Laura began.
"Measure the area."
"Okay. Grant, can you give me some more details?"
"We decided we should measure the perimeter around and about 2 feet from the
computers and the linoleum and measure all around."
'T m writing, 'Remember the linoleum: so you remember to go through that process,"
Laura noted, writing on the overhead.
"Okay, have we identified all the parts of the problem? . .. Paige, do you want to add
anything?"
'Ahh ... we could make a drawing of the outside of the room. Like on the graph
paper like we did yesterday. Write the measurements on the side," Paige continued.
"Okay, outside measurements," Laura repeated as she wrote down what Paige said.
"Okay, who else? ... Jamison?"
"We decided we had to get the perimeter before we could get the area. Everything
else is the same."
"Okay," Laura commented, "so now we know what the problem is." (Eggen and
Kauchak, 200 I, pp. 309-310)
Mter further discussion, Laura's students concluded that this was an area problem, al
-lowing them to connect it to what they had been studying previously. In the real world,
the process of identifying the problem can be the most important factor leading to a
workable solution.
Representing the Problem. After the problem has been identified, the next step for stu
dents is to represent it in a meaningful way. This can be as simple as merely thinking about
the problem, to as complex as using drawings, graphs, or tables to represent the problem.
The limited amount of information we can hold in our conscious memory is one obsta
cle that all problem solvers face. Putting as much information as possible on paper helps
reduce the amount we must remember. Concrete examples and drawings are particularly
helpful, because they help us rethink the problem and perhaps use analogies as a strategy.
Using something visual can be helpful because the load on our memory is reduced and
the problem becomes linked to learners' backgrounds (Lovett and Anderson, 1994).
Laura helped her students represent the problem. when she encouraged students to
measure the room and construct a diagram of it that they could use in their subsequent
problem solving efforts. This helped them focus on important aspects of the problem
like the size and shape of the linoleum while ignoring other irrelevant aspects of the
room, such as the windows and chairs.
Selecting a Strategy. Having identified and represented the problem, a strategy for solv
ing needs to be selected. In solving more well-defined problems, an algorithm, or spec
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341
ified set of steps for solving problems, can be applied. When we solve algebraic equations,
multiply whole numbers, or add fractions with unlike denominators, we are using algo
rithms. One algorithm that Laura's students used was "length times width equals area."
However, her students had to modify this by adapting it to the irregularly shaped room
they were working with.
Implementing the Strategy. Implementing the strategy is the fourth step in the process.
Successful implementation depends on how clearly the problem has been defined and
represented. If learners have trouble implementing a strategy, they need to go back to
the earlier steps.
Evaluating the Results. Evaluating results, the final step in problem solving, is often
very difficult for learners. We've all heard teachers complain that their students, partic
ularly in solving math problems, all too often write down answers whether or not they
make sense. For example,
One boy, quite a good student, was working on the problem, "If you have six jugs, and
you want to put two-thirds of a pint of lemonade into each jug, how much lemonade will
you need?" His answer was 18 pints. I [Holt] said, "How much in each jug?" "Two-thirds
of a pint." I said, "Is that more or less than a pint?" "Less." I said, "How many jugs are
there?" "Six." I said, "But that doesn't make any sense." He shrugged his shoulders and
said, "Well. that's the way the system worked out." (Holt, 1964, p. 18)
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Getting an answer, regardless of whether or not it makes sense, is typically students'

goal. Young children, in particular, have trouble at this stage, wanting to rush through,
find an answer, and get on to the next problem to finish the assignment (Schunk, 1994) .
When students learn to evaluate their results, their problem-solving abilities greatly
improve (L. Baker, 1989; Zimmerman, 1990). Teachers can help in this process, partic
ularly in math, by having students estimate answers before they begin. Estimates require
thought, and when answers and estimates are far apart, questions are raised. The habit of
estimating is an important disposition that teachers should try to help students develop.
Helping Learners Become Better Problem Solvers

Within the framework of this general problem-solving model, what specifically can
teachers do to help learners become better problem solvers? Concrete suggestions are
included in Figure 10.3 and discussed in the sections that follow (adapted from Eggen
and Kauchak, 2001).
Present Problems in Meaningful Contexts. In looking at Laura's lesson again, we see she
attempted to set the stage for area problems involving irregularly shaped figures by be
ginning with a carpeting problem involving her own classroom. Placing problems in
concrete contexts such as this improves problem-solving ability by helping students see
how problems relate to their own personal experience and background knowledge
(Mayer, 1992).
Present a variety ofExamples. We saw in Chapter 8 how critical examples are for learn
ing concepts, generalizations, principles, and academic rules, and it is true for problem
342
CHAPTER 10
Provide scaffolding for beginning problem solvers
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solving as well. We will see in our discussion of heuristics that experience is important
for developing problem-solving expertise, and another way of acquiring experience is to
solve a wide variety of examples embedded in meaningful contexts (Reed, Willis, and
Guarino, 1994). To develop expertise, Laura's students need to solve a variety of addi
tional area problems.
Discuss Problems in Detail. One of the most common weaknesses in problem solving,
particularly in math and science, is students don'tget enough practice in talkingaboutthe prob
lems they are attempting to solve. Wrestling with problem-related ideas and trying to put
them into words are absolutely critical activities if students are to become better prob
lem solvers. We all have difficulty in expressing our thoughts and ideas; this ability, as
with most others, improves with practice.
In our earlier discussion of constructivism, we saw that social interaction con
tributes to understanding. In the case of problem solving, research suggests that having
students discuss problems in detail during problem-solving activities increases their un
derstanding of the problem (Perry et al., 1993; Stern, 1993). Laura implemented this re
search by having the students work in groups as they progressed through each of the
problem-solving steps. Giving students a chance to dialogue, being patient as they strug
gle to express themselves, and holding back the tendency to provide more support than
necessary all contribute to students' developing understanding.
Provide Scaffolding for Beginning Problem Solvers. We will discuss the concept of scq[
foldi.ng in Chapter 11 when we discuss Vygotsky's work, and we will see that expert
teachers provide only enough scaffolding to help their students progress and keep them
on track. With problem solving, scaffolding is the support teachers provide as beginners
attempt to solve specific problems.
Scaffolding is often misinterpreted, however, to suggest that teachers explain a so
lution while learners watch passively and then attempt it on their own, much as skills
have been taught in the past. Effective scaffolding provides only enough support so that
learners make progress on their own. As we will see in Chapter 11, a painter's scaffold
supports the painter, but the painter does the painting; the teacher provides support, but
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343
the learner solves the problem. A major way that teachers help students learn to prob
lem solve is through analyzing worked examples.
In typical problem-solving instruction, teachers usually display one or more prob
lems, model solutions to them, and then have students try to solve them on their own.
Students tend to memorize the steps involved, often with little understanding. In con
trast, analyzing problems, discussing them in detail, and then relating solutions to them
makes the entire process much more meaningful. Laura did this in her lesson through
interactive questioning that encouraged students to compare similarities and differences
in the various ways students solved the problem.
Research supports analyzing problem solving through worked examples; students
using worked examples required less assistance from the teacher, developed more accu
rate solutions, and required less time than students involved in traditional instruction
(Carroll, 1994). They even outperformed students receiving individualized instruction.
In addition, using worked examples increases transfer and provides an understanding of
the broader principles involved in the problem (Reed et al., 1994).
The combination of the worked examples with discussion, as Laura did in her lesson,
promotes the most learning. Worked examples provide representations; the discussion
makes the representations and the solution meaningful for students (Atkinson et al., 2000).
Teadi General Problem-Solving Strategies. When we teach students to problem solve, we

not only want them to learn how to solve the specific problems we're focusing on, we also
want them to become better problem solvers in general. Emphasis on broader problem
solving strategies can increase problem-solving abilities by helping students understand the
logic and utility of the processes they are using (Mayer, 1992; Resnick, 1987).
Heuristics are general, widely applicable problem solving strategies that can be helpful
(Mayer, 1992). Some common heuristics are outlined in Table 10.2.
Each of the heuristics in Table 10.2 has advantages. Since experience is one of the
most important factors in acquiring problem-solving expertise, trial and error, al
though inefficient, is valuable for beginning problem solvers. Since ambiguous desired
states are characteristic of ill-defined problems, means-ends analysis helps people de
termine what the problem actually is, i.e., identify the problem. Working backward
7Jte- 10.Z
HEURISTICS USED FOR PROBLEM SOLVING
Heuristic
Description
Trial and error
Otten used with unfamiliar problems, it amounts to picking a

solution and seeing how it works. It can be valuable for giving
learners experience with new problems.
ners
Means-ends analysis
Effective for ill-defined problems, it involves breaking the problem

into subgoals and working successively on each. '
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Working backward
Effective in cases where parameters are known, such as what time a

class or meeting starts and how far away you are.
Drawing analogies
An attempt to attack unfamiliar problems, it compares them to

familiar ones that have already been solved (Mayer, 1992).
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344
CHAPTER 10
can also be effective for well-defined problems that lack algorithms. If you know that
you can spend $450 a month for rent, for example, working backward can help you
make decisions about amenities and whether or not you'll need to look for a room
mate. Finally, drawing analogies can be helpful for learners with experience in related
problems. Teachers can teach these strategies through modeling and thinkalouds, much
as they do with other cognitive skills.
Teachers can help students think in terms of general strategies by teaching the strat
egy and reminding students of the steps in the process. Laura did this by displaying the
problem-solving model in an overhead and referring to it continuously during her les
son. The goal in teaching general problem-solving strategies is to help students develop
the inclination to identify problems clearly, check to see if the strategies they choose will
solve it, try to represent it visually, and evaluate their results.
Teachers can also help students develop these inclinations through questioning. For
example, as students attempt to solve problems, the teacher can ask questions such as the
following to help students develop an awareness of the process:
What (exactly) are you doing?
(Can you describe it precisely?)
Why are you doing it?
(How does it fit into the solution?)
How does it help you?

(What will you do with the outcome when you obtain it?)
(Schoenfield, 1989, p. 98)
Anchored Instruction: Technology as a Tool to Teach Problem Solving

One of the dilemmas teachers encounter when we try to teach our students how to
problem solve is the difficulty of constructing realistic, complex problems for students to
wrestle with. All too often when students encounter word problems in math, for exam
ple, the goal is clear, only those numbers needed to solve are included, and even the type
of computation needed to solve the problem is suggested by the problem's placement in
a particular chapter (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1992). Unfortu
nately, these aren't the kind of problems most people encounter in their everyday lives.
Real-life problems are messier and more complicated, with a number of viable routes
providing alternate solutions. Technology provides one way to teach students how to
solve these kinds of problems. For example,
Jasper has just purchased a new boat and is planning to drive it home. The boat consumes
5 gallons of fuel per hour and travels at 8 mph. The gas tank holds 12 gallons of gas. The
boat is currently located at mile marker 156. Jasper's home dock is at mile marker 132.
There are two gas stations on the way home. One is at mile marker 140.3 and the other is
at mile marker 133. They charge $1.10 and $1.25 per gallon, respectively. They don't
take credit cards. Jasper started the day with $20. He bought 5 gallons of gas at $1.25 per
gallon (not including a discount of 4 cents per gallon for paying cash) and paid $8.25 for
repairs to his boat. It's 2:35. Sundown is at 7:52. Can Jasper make it home before sunset
without running out of fuel? (Williams, Bareiss, and Reiser, 1996, p. 2)
PROBLEM,BASED INSTRUCTION.
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This problem is part of a videodisc-based series called The Adventures ofJasper VIIood
bury designed to promote problem solving, reasoning, and effective communication,
Each segment begins with a 15- or 20-minute adventure or story. The fuel problem de
scribed is actually a condensed version; the actual problem contains much more detail,
including both relevant and irrelevant data that students must sift through for its rele
vance and value, At the end of each story the character or characters are faced with a
challenge or problem that serves as the problem.
The problem is purposefully left open ended to provide opportunities for students
to define, represent, and solve complex real-life problems, Each problem in the series
has a number of viable solutions; each solution has both pros and cons. Students are
encouraged to work in groups discussing and comparing their individual problem
solving strategies with other students. Each problem is designed to be solved in three
or four days or more. The fact that the video is contained in a hypermedia computer
program allows students to return to problem segments to extract data or reaffirm
facts.
The creators of the Jasper Series call this problem-based approach to instruction an
chored instruction. The anchor is the rich, interesting problem situation that provides
a focus or reason for setting goals, planning, and using mathematical tools to solve prob
lems. The goal of anchored instruction is to develop knowledge that is useful and flex
ible and that can be used to solve other problems.
The creators of the program claim that the research on the series has been positive.
They report that middle school students using the Jasper series did as well as controls on
basic math concepts but performed better on math verbal problems, were better at plan
ning for problem solving and generating subgoals, and had more positive attitudes toward
math (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1992). The also cite teachers'
comments to support their findings:
"The kids would go home so excited and [the parents would say] 'I've got to find out
about this Jasper. It is all my kid talks about ... ' "
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345
and
"If you have any way of getting to my kids in high school, you'll find that they re
member those four Jasper episodes. They may not remember anything else we did
worked that year but they'll remember ... those episodes because it did hit them and
make an impact on them this tear." (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt,
1992,p.307)
\
More recent development efforts in- this series attempt to make the problem
solving process more open ended by involving students in design problems. For exam
ple, in one problem called Blueprintfir Suetess students apply geometry concepts in the
design of a playground (Williams, Bareiss, and Reiser, 1996). Within physical and fi
nancial parameters established by a video, students measure lines and angles, do propor
tional reasoning, and create and read scale drawings. For additional information about the
Jasper series, consult the World Wide Web site: http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/projects/
funded/jasper/preview/AdvJWhtml
This completes our discussion of problem solving. In the next section we extend
our discussion of problem-based learning as we discuss inquiry-based instruction.
346
CHAPTER 10
INQUIRY STRATEGIES
Inquiry strategies, another form ~f problem-based instruction, actively involve students in
learning activities desiyned to answer questions about how the world operates. The term inquiry
probably seems somewhat distant from our everyday living, but that's not true. It is, in
fact, very much a part of our lives. The question of how much high-cholesterol food is
too much and how much exercise is required to provide aerobic benefit are inquiry
problems. The conclusion that secondhand smoke is potentially harmful is the result of
an inquiry investigation, and the now common ban on smoking in public places is an
outcome of these results.
Many other examples exist. Congressional investigations, probes into alleged wrong
doing, and attempts to explain catastrophes such as airline crashes are all inquiry prob
lems. The research studies cited throughout this text are all based on inquiry problems,
which have attempted to answer questions such as, "Why do students in one kind of
classroom learn more than those in another?"
Inquiry also occurs on a more personal level. An owner who compares her auto's
gas mileage when she burns 85 octane gasoline to burning 91 octane is conducting an
inquiry investigation.
Involving students in inquiry is an effective way to teach content, increase motiva
tion, and help students develop their analytical thinking skills. Let's see how this can
happen in the classroom.
Carlos Sanchez, a high school health teacher, is involved in a unit on drugs and drug use
with his health students. In the process they've discussed how drugs influence the nervous
system, the dangers of addictive drugs, and the possible overuse of prescription drugs, and
now they have turned to over-the-counter medications.
"My dad takes two aspirin every night before he goes to bed," Jacinta offers during
the discussion. "Do you think that's bad for him?"
"What kind of aspirin?" Jamie wondered out loud.
u I dunno ... I guess ... Bayer.... Actually, yes, he makes jokes that Bayer is the
best."
"Mr. Sanchez, is Bayer really the best?" asked Jacinta.
"That's an interesting idea," Carlos interjects. "Do we know if Bayer really is
better? . .. Of course, the advertisers would have us believe that it's the only one that's
any good, and way more Bayer is sold than any other brand."
"My mom takes the cheapest stuff she can find," Luanne shrugged. "We went to the
drug store to get a prescription, and the guy ... the prescription guy, said they're all alike."
"Really interesting!" Carlos smiled. "Let's see what we can find out about as
pirin.... Let's think about it for a few minutes. How could we get a handle on whether
or not Bayer really is better than another one, like maybe Norwich? ... Go ahead and
turn to the person next to you, take 3 minutes, and see if you can come up with some
ways of answering that question. We'll brainstorm for a few minutes, and we'll go from
there."
The students talked among themselves for the brief period. Carlos called them to
gether, and they began to share their ideas.
"Go ahead, someone," Carlos encouraged.
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347
" ... We thought we could check the stuff in them ... you know, look at the bottle to
see if they have the same stuff in them ... if one has more stuff, maybe it's better," Nina
offered.
"Good idea," Carlos nodded smiling. "Who else? .. , Go ahead, Tamara."
" ... We could check to see which one dissolved faster ... 'cause they talk about
how fast they're supposed to work ... like if one dissolved faster than another one, maybe
it works faster ... so ... maybe it's better."
'Also very good thinking," Carlos smiled, pleased with the responses.
"We could see which one made the pain go away faster," Jack added.
"That's also a good thought, Jack," Carlos responded. "We'll have to keep that one in
mind to see how we might get at that information."

"
Maybe we could ask some people ... You know like Luanne said her drug per'
son
the pharmacist said they're all alike. Maybe we should ask a bunch of people and
see what they say."
"That's excellent." Carlos shook his head and smiled. "That's really excellent
thinking.... These are all good hypotheses-or best guesses about how to answer our
questions. Let's go to work on them."
They decided, with some guidance from Carlos, that they wouldn't try to answer the
question about which aspirin brand made the pain go away faster until they had gathered
some information about the other questions.
With some additional guidance, the class organized themselves into teams, and the
teams set out to gather information. They agreed that they would bring in at least three dif
ferent brands of aspirin, check the ingredients, conduct experiments to see which brand
dissolved fastest, and interview their parents and pharmacists to gather their opinions.
Since this was Wednesday, the class agreed that they would have their interviews
completed by the following Monday. They would gather their samples of aspirin by Friday
and collect the rest of their data then.
Let's stop here and consider what Carlos did with his class. First, we see that his
learning activity was a form of problem solving. The students were in a state (not
knowing which aspirin was better) different from a desired state (knowing), and they
had to devise a solution to move from the present to the desired state. We also see that
they were dealing with an ill-defined problem, since the notion of "better" is some
what ambiguous.
The learning activity differed from typical problem solving, however, in that the so
lution to the problem involved gathering factual information, which would be used to
answer a specific question. The specificity of the question and the extent to which data
gathering procedures are closely linked to the question distinguish inquiry from looser,
more unstructured project-based learning. This attempt to answer a question through
specific data-gathering procedures is the essence of an inquiry investigation. Inquiry is
a process that gathers facts and observations and uses them to answer questions. Inquiry is par
ticularly valuable for giving students practice in defining informational questions, gath
ering data to solve those questions, and developing their abilities to analyze and evaluate
data.
The basic steps in the inquiry process are outlined in Figure 10.4 and discussed in
the sections that follow.
348
CHAPTER 10
Identifying a question
-1~ 10. Lf Steps in the Inquiry Process
Identifying a Question
The inquiry process begins by asking or identifying a question. The question for Car
los's students was determining which kind of aspirin is the best, or determining ifBayer
is really better than other brands.
In many cases involving inquiry problems, an operational definition, or a dcjini
tion used for thepurpose of the investigation, is required. Carlos's students, for example, were
operationally defining better as "dissolves faster," "has more effective ingredients," and "is
endorsed by more people:'
Operational definitions are also very much a part of our lives. For example, .1 per
cent blood alcohol level has been operationally defined in many states as the safe driving
maximum. (In 1995 it was redefined in some states as .08 percent, which illustrates the
fact that operational definitions are not absolute.) Borderline high blood pressure is op
erationally defined as 140 (systolic) over 90 (diastolic). Technically, death is operationally
defined as absence of brain wave activity. If it were absolute or cut and dried, contro
versies about the removal of life support systems wouldn't exist. One of the benefits of
inquiry activities is providing students experience in wrestling with operational defini
tions and how they work in our everyday lives.
For the teacher, the first step in planning for inquiry activities involves framing the
content you would normally teach in ways that will allow students to gather and ana
lyze data. Some examples ofpossible inquiry questions are offered in Table 10.3.
Forming Hypotheses
Once a question has been posed and analyzed, the class is ready to try to answer or ad
dress it. In framing the question in ways that information can be gathered to answer it,
students are involved in the process of hypothesizing. An hypothesis is a tentative solu
tion to a problem that can beconfirmed withfacts orobservations. While Carlos's students didn't
formally state hypotheses, they offered implicit hypotheses to their question with com
PROBLE.'1BASED .'5-:- . _:- _
349
~ 10.3 INQUIRY PROBLEMS IN DIFFERENT CONTENT AREAS
:ar
Content Area
Possible Question
English/Language arts
What factors influence the content of authors' works?
Science
How is plant growth affected by sunlight, water, or type of soil?
Social studies
What are the primary causes of wars and conflicts?
Building technology
What type of building material is best for different structures?
Health
What combinations of exercises is most effective for developing

cardiovascular fitness?
ments such as, cc We thought we could check the stuff in them ... you know, look
at the bottle to see if they have the same stuff in them ... if one has more stuff, maybe
it's better," and " ... like if one dissolved faster than another one, maybe it works
faster ... so ... maybe it's better." They were tacitly hypothesizing that aspirin with
more ingredients is better, as is aspirin that dissolves faster. Carlos moved the process for
ward by introducing the term hypothesis and defining it as a "best guess about how to an
swer our questions."
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Gathering Data
Gathering data follows directly from the hypotheses generated. While seemingly
straightforward, it requires guidance and direction from the teacher. To see how this
works, let's return to Carlos's class and focus on one of the groups.
The students brought their aspirin samples to class on Friday and began their work in
groups. First they wrote down the ingredients for each brand and then tried to measure
how fast the samples dissolved.
"How are we going to do this?" Andrea wondered out loud to David and Lenita.
" ... How about we drop them at the same time into the water, and watch them?"
David suggested.
" ... Good idea," Lenita confirmed.
The students poured some water from the tap into two plastic drink cups and
dropped a Bayer in one and a Norwich in the second one.
"Sheesh, its hard to teli when it's dissolved," David noted after a few minutes.
Carlos, who had been watching the students' progress. stopped by the group and said,
"Let's think about this for a minute. Look in the cups. What do you notice there?"
" ... The ... aspirins are ... dissolved," Lenita said tentatively.
"Okay, and what else?"
"It was hard to tell," Andrea added.
"All right. ... Anything else?"
"Look at the amount of water. "
'Ahh." Lenita nodded with realization. "They're different."
350
CHAPTER
"Dumb," David shrugged.

"Not at all." Carlos countered. "This is why we're doing this activity. See what you're
learning from it? What do you notice about the aspirin in these two glasses, Lenita?"
"It looks like the aspirin in the glass with more water dissolved faster."
"Good, so what are two possible explanations for what happened? Andrea, give me
one."
"This kind of aspirin (pointing to the one glass) dissolves faster."
"What's another one, David?"
"Hrnrn ... or more water makes aspirin dissolve faster?"
"Now, what might you do?"
"Do it again and keep the amount of water the same," Andrea replied after some
thought.
"Sure," Carlos encouraged. "And, as long as we're at it ... what might you do about
the fact that it's hard to tell when the aspirins are dissolved?" With some additional
prompting, the students concluded that they would conduct several trials and could aver
age the times to get the most accurate reading possible.
Carlos continued to move from group to group. Finally, as the period neared a close,
he directed, "Turn in all your results to me on Monday just before school, and I'll have
them on the board when our class begins.... Don't forget, just before school on
Monday."
From this episode, we see that teacher monitoring and appropriate intervention
are important. Carlos watched the students as they worked, and he waited to intervene
until they had considered the process and conducted a trial on their own. Had he in
tervened sooner, the opportuniry and responsibiliry of doing their own thinking would
have been taken away from them. In doing this, he demonstrated the essence of effec
tive scaffolding.
As students acquire experience-with the teacher providing appropriate support
much can be learned about gathering accurate information. Andrea, David, and Lenita,
for example, learned about controlling variables, conducting several trials to increase re
liabiliry, and averaging to summarize the information. Perhaps even more important
than the actual results of the investigation, Carlos's students learned a great deal about
the methods scientists use to gather and verify infonnation. Many curriculum experts
believe that experiencing these logical methods are among the most important goals in
the classroom (Osborne, 1996).
Assessing Hypotheses
To examine this part of the process, let's look once more at Carlos's work with his stu
dents as he begins his class on Monday.
After completing his routines, he moved to the front of the room and said, "Now, every
one, we've had a lot of fun with this activity, but now we're at what is really the most im
portant part of the whole process .... Just getting the information is one thing, but figuring
out what it means is another. We're going to really learn a lot here today, so I want you to
all be alert and think carefully about what we're doing."
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He then turned to the board, where the ingredients for each brand were written, ta
bles of dissolving times were displayed, and people's opinions were tallied.
"Let's see what we think all this means," Carlos directed. "What do you notice about
the results?"
" ... The ingredients are the same," Joanne observed.
"Not quite," Jeff countered. "Well, I guess they're almost the same."
"For the most part," Joanne confirmed.
"What do the rest of you think?" Carlos queried. The students discussed the ingredi
ents for a few more minutes, concluded that essential ingredients were virtually the same,
and decided that they couldn't conclude that one was better than another on the basis of
the ingredients.
They then turned to the dissolving rates.
"Norwich dissolves faster than Bayer," Leroy offered.
"Not always," Kevin interjected.
"Its average is lower."
"True."
Again the class discussed the results. In the process, Dana wondered, "Because it dis
solves faster, does that make it better?"
"Good point," Carlos smiled.
"
Yeah, but they advertise that it helps you fast. It has to dissolve to do
that
doesn't it? ... Sure it does .... a whole aspirin can't go into your bloodstream,"
Monica offered.
To chuckles from the class, Carlos wondered, "What do you think of Monica's
argument?"
After a couple more minutes of discussion, Brad concluded with finality, " ... It doesn't
make sense to me, that dissolving slower ... is better, since they tell us that ... fast is good."
The class then turned to the opinion poll they had gathered, discussing the results in
much the same way as they had done with the ingredients and dissolving times, and in the
process they tentatively concluded that all aspirin are essentially the same.
"Now, we've tentatively concluded that all aspirin seem to be about the same," Carlos
said, changing the direction of the discussion. "What does that suggest to us about other
products, or does it suggest anything to us? What about McDonald's, Wendy's, and
Burger King? Are they all the same? How about toothpaste ... different brands of orange
juice, milk ... or even cars? Are there any conclusions that we can draw?"
The students offered a number of comments and, with Carlos's guidance, concluded
that before they could make any sweeping conclusions they would have to know some
things, such as: Are all the ingredients the same in different brands of toothpaste, for exam
ple, and are different cars equipped similarly?They also agreed to consider the opinion of
"experts," such as Consumers Report.
"Before our time is all gone, I'd like us to think a little about what we did and why.
How did we get started on this problem? Who remembers? Antonio?"
'Jacinta asked if Bayer was really the best."
"Good memory, Antonio. That's correct. Our inquiry started with a question. Then
we had some tentative ideas or guesses. Who remembers what we call these tentative
ideas? Shanda?"
"Hypotheses?"
351
352
CHAPTER 10
www.ablongman.eom/kauehak4e
"Pine, Shanda. Hypotheses are our best guesses about how the world works. And
why was it important to use the same amount of water when we were trying to discover
which kind of aspirin dissolved the quickest?"
Just then the bell rang. Carlos dismissed his class with a smile and, "Let's stop here.
Good work, class. See you tomorrow."
The process of assessing hypotheses is arguably the most valuable part of inquiry
lessons, and, as we saw in our earlier discussion of problem solving, social interaction
and discussion are critical at this point. From their discussion Carlos's students acquired
experience in several important aspects of the process. Among them were:
Examining issues of reliability. For example, to what extent were the methods
they used to measure dissolving rates reliable?
Considering the appropriateness of peoples' opinions-and particularly the
opinions of experts-in making conclusions about hypotheses.
Using evidence (versus opinions, feelings, beliefs, or intuition) as a basis for
forming conclusions.
Developing tolerance for problems, questions, and issues that are somewhat
ambiguous.
These are important life skills that arguably may contribute more to learners' educations
than the content they learn.
Generalizing
That next step in an inquiry activity involves considering the generalizability of the re
sults. Carlos initiated this discussion when he asked, "What does that suggest to us about
other products, or does it suggest anything to us? What about McDonald's, Wendy's, and
Burger King? Are they all the same? ... Are there any conclusions that we can draw?"
In addition to assessing the results themselves, analyzing conclusions to see if they
can be generalized to other situations is an important higher-order thinking skill.
Analyzing the Inquiry Process

In the final stage of the inquiry model, the teacher asks students to analyze and reflect
upon the inquiry process. Carlos Sanchez initiated this stage when he said, "Before our
time is all gone, I'd like us to think a little about what we did and why." In response to
this request, students identified how inquiry began and how hypotheses guided the in
quiry process. By talking about inquiry processes in the context of lessons, teachers
make abstract ideas become real and help students see how inquiry plays out in real life.
Problem-Based Learning. Problem-based learning refers to a family of teaching

strategies that use a problem or question as a focal point for student learning. They are
designed to help students become self-directed learners as well as teach critical thinking
skills and content. They are based on the philosophical foundations ofJohn Dewey as
well as the psychological underpinnings of constructivism.
353
Project-Based Learning. Project-based learning is an open-ended form of problem

based learning that allows students to investigate a question that is meaningful to them.
Following the introduction of a question or problem, students work in groups to gather
information to address the issue. The product of their efforts is some type of exhibit that
serves as the focal point for a class discussion of the issues raised and content learned.
ry
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ed
Problem Solving. Problems involve situations where individuals attempt to move from
one state to another. Well-defined problems have clear goals and paths for reaching them,
whereas ill-defined problems have vague goals without clear paths for reaching them.
Teachers can help learners become better problem solvers by presenting problems
in meaningful contexts, discussing problems in detail, having learners practice defining
problems, and scaffolding beginning problem solvers. Analyzing worked examples is one
effective form of scaffolding.
Inquiry Strategies. Inquiry strategies give learners practice in defining problems, hypo
thesizing solutions, gathering data, and assessing hypotheses based on the data. Teachers
can help students develop inquiry skills through multiple opportunities to practice them
and by encouraging discussion of the process.
Jill
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Anchored instruction
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Hypothesis
Ill-defined problem
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Operational definition
Problem
Problem-based instruction
Project-based learning
Self-directed learning
Well-defined problem
struction to increase learners' problem-solving abilities. Please read the following case
study now and consider how effectively the teacher implemented the ideas discussed in
the chapter.
Leon Wilson has his high school American history students involved in a discussion of the
events prior to the American Revolutionary War. He wants them to see how the cost of
the conflicts between the Britishand French led to taxation of the American colonists, un
rest, and ultimately to the Revolutionary War.
We join him as he begins his class.
"We made a beginning yesterday in trying to understand developments that led up to
the Revolutionary War. Let's take a quick look at what we discussed," he began, after the
bell had signaled the beginning of class and he completed his beginning-or-class routines.
"Where did we leave off? . .. Juan?"
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CHAPTER 10
"... We started discussing how the French went into Canada and ... the British.
came here," Juan responded.
"Yes, good, Juan," Leon commented. 'And what did we find out? Alberta?"
Alberta and a number of other students then described a series of events and their dates,
such as Champlain creating Quebec City in 1608, and the fact that a number of cities,
such as Detroit, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Des Moines were started by France-s-origi
nally because of the fur traders, and forts were built there. They also noted that the British
were originally east of the Appalachian Mountains, but gradually moved west.
They also observed that the French employed a seigniorial system, which offered set
tlers land if they would serve in the military; they had a better relationship with Native
Americans than did the British; and the Iroquois nation was more powerful than either the
French or the British.
As they responded, Leon wrote items of information on the board until finally they
had a list:
FRENCH
BRITISH
CONFLICTS
Quebec 1608
Fur traders
Hudson Bay to Gulf
of Mexico
Forts on Ohio
Mississippi Valley
Influenced waned
after 1763
80,000 population
Wars incredibly costly
Related well to native
Americans
Native Americans hurt
by smallpox
Seigniorial system
Jamestown 1607
Expanded west
New York--center of
trade and commerce
Wars incredibly costly
Colonialists taxed
Administrative difficulty
in colonies
1,500,000 population
Powerful navy
Blockaded French in old
and new world
KingWilliam's War (1689-97)

Iroquois Nation dominant
Seven Years' War (1756-63)
Washington taken prisoner 1754
British naval blockades
Quebec falls-l 759
Treaty of Paris~ 1763
"Now let's take a look at the information we have here," Leon continued. "Let's see if
we can figure out, based on it, why some of the conflicts occurred," and he wrote on the
board:
Why did conflicts occur between the French and the British?
"To help us get started, let's make some comparisons between the British and French."
"... The British landed here ... but the French went to Canada," Andrew volunteered.
"Okay," Leon responded. "What else71 haven't heard from you, Sue," smilingat her.
After Sue and several others offered additional comparisons, Leon refocused the class
why do you suppose the British and

by saying, "Now let's think back to our question
the French initiallybegan to fight in these areas 7
Sarah 7"
" ... The British were sort of fenced in by the mountains, so the French could do as
they pleased. Then when the Britishwent west, trouble started."
'Anyone else ... How do you respond to Sarah's idea?"
After several more comments, the class generally agreed that Sarah's suggestion made
sense.
355
"Now why do you suppose the French originally were more successful than the
British?What do you think? ... Dan?"
"... Well ... they had that signor ... you know ... system, so they were more
motivated to fight, cuz of the land and stuff"
"Other thoughts? ... Bette?"
"... I think that the Native Americans were part of it. The French got along better
with them, so they helped the French."
"Okay, but what about the British? ... What advantages did they have? Stan?"
"... Well, there were more British than French. There were more than a million
British, and ... well ... also, the British came because of religion, and they brought their
families. So they were really motivated to fight. The French were trappers ... and you
know ... like ... traders and they weren't as motivated."
"Good points, everyone. So then what happened to turn the tide against the French?"
"... It cost too much .... See where it says that the British blockaded the French, and
the wars were terrible costly."
"Very good thinking, everyone," Leon gestured and smiled. "Really good."
Leon continued guiding the students' analyses of the information they had listed as well
as other information they recalled, and then he extended the discussion by asking the students
to consider what the world might be like today if the outcome of the war had been different.
After several ideas and some disagreements, he said finally, "Now for tomorrow, I
want you to consider a different question.... We know what happened in the French
and Indian Wars, and we also know that the American Revolution followed in a matter of
a few years. I want you to write one paragraph explaining how the French and British
conflict caused, or at least contributed to, the American Revolutionary War.... Then
we'll discuss them tomorrow. Be sure that you support your statements with information
that we've read or discussed, just as we've been doing here in class."

1. How effectively did Leon teach problem solving in his lesson? Describe what he
if
h."
-ed.
might have done to make it more of a problem-solving activity.

2. Describe how Leon might have planned and implemented his lesson in an inquiry
format.
3. In Chapter 9 you studied discussions as a teaching strategy. How well did Leon
implement the characteristics of effective discussions in his lesson?
4. What kind of content-concept, generalization, principle, or organized body of
knowledge-was Leon teaching? Explain.
5. As in most classes, Leon's students had diverse backgrounds. How effectively did
his lesson accommodate the background differences of his students? Explain.
ass
1
as
1. What are the major advantages of problem-based learning from a teacher's per
spective? From a student's perspective?
2. Which form of problem-based instruction-project-based learning, problem solv

ing, or inquiry-is most valuable for the content area or teaching level you'll find
yourself at? Why?
356
CHAPTER 10
3. Why do most of the problem-solving experiences that learners have in schools in

volve well-defined rather than ill-defined problems? What might teachers do to
provide more experiences with ill-defined problems for learners?
4. Inquiry is infrequently used in schools. Why is this so? What could be done to in
crease the amount of inquiry conducted?
5. How constructivist were Carlos Sanchez and Leon Wilson in their lessons? Which
of the two was the more constructivist? Why do you think so?
6. Some critics see the current emphasis on thinking skills as a fad. Others view the
development of thinking skills as antagonistic to content acquisition (e.g., the idea
of cultural literacy mentioned earlier). How would you respond to these critics?
7. Most teachers agree that teaching thinking skills is important. Since this is the
case, why thinking so rarely taught? List several reasons. What might be done to
overcome these obstacles?
1. Project-Based Learning. Design and teach a unit based on project-based learning (or
observe one taught by someone else). Analyze the unit afterwards using the fol
lowing questions:
a. Did the introductory question or problem serve as an effective focal point for
students' investigative efforts?
b. Were the teacher's grouping strategies effective?
c. Did the teacher effectively use timelines to structure students' efforts?
d. Did the teacher effectively monitor students?
e. Did the learning exhibits reflect student learning?
f. Did the teacher effectively use student exhibits as focal points for student learning?
g. What suggestion do you have to improve the process?
2. Problem Solving. Plan and teach a problem-solving lesson (or observe one taught by
someone else). Analyze the lesson afterwards using the following question.
a. Was the problem well defined or ill defined? Why?
b. How did the lesson encourage students to define the problem?
c. How did students represent the problem?
d. What type of strategies did students use to solve the problem? What heuristics
were used?
e. Were students encouraged to evaluate the results of their problem-solving efforts?
f. What did the teacher do to help students become better problem solvers?
What more could have been done?
3. Inquiry. Plan and teach an inquiry lesson (or observe one taught by someone else).
Analyze and evaluate the lesson using the following questions.
a. Was the question or problem well defined?
b. Did students form a number of hypotheses?
c. What kinds of data were gathered?
d. How successful were students in assessing their hypotheses?
e. Were students encouraged to generalize beyond their immediate problem?
f. How could the-lesson have been improved?
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e else).
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1. Teacher-centered and learner-centered

instruction
II. Characteristics of teacher-centered
instruction
III. Types of teacher-centered instruction
IV Direct instruction
A. Procedural skills
B. Direct instruction: The research base
C. Goals of direct instruction
D. Planning for direct instruction
E. Implementing direct instruction
lessons
V Lecture discussions: Teacher-centered

strategies for teaching organized bodies
of knowledge
A. Organized bodies of knowledge:
Integrating facts, concepts, and
generalizations
B. Using lectures to teach organized
bodies of knowledge
C. Lecture discussions: An alternative to

standard lectures
D. Planning for lecture discussions
E. Implementing lecture discussion lessons
358
CHAPTER 11
() n this chapter we continue our study of teaching strategies and their effect on stu
I dent learning. In earlier chapters we focused on learner-centered approaches to in
struction as we described teaching based on constructivist views oflearning, considered
peer interaction models, and examined problem-based learning. In this chapter we turn
to a detailed analysIs of teacher-centered instruction.
Teacher-centered instruction has a long history in education (Cuban, 1986). Its
usefulness is evidenced by its popularity and applicability to a wide range of teaching sit
uations. In this chapter we analyze two of these applications. First we'll examine the use
of direct instruction to teach concepts and skills at all grade levels, and then we'll look
at ways to adapt lectures to make them meaningful for students. When you're through
with your study of this chapter, you should be able to meet the following objectives:
Identify areas of the curriculum that can be taught using teacher-centered
instruction.
Identify the major steps in teaching skills using direct instruction.
Explain how lecture discussion can be used to involve students in learning.
Describe different ways to organize content during lecture discussions.
Sean Barnett, a first-year second-grade teacher, is working with his students in a unit on
addition. With his plan on his desk, Sean began math by saying, "Okay, kids, today we are
going to go a step further with our work in addition so that we'll be able to solve problems
like this," displaying the following on the overhead.
Jana and Patti are mends. They were saving special soda cans to get a free CD. They
can get the CD ifthey save 35 cans. Jana had 15 cans and Pattihad 12. How many
did they have together?
After pausing briefly to give students a chance to read the problem, Sean continued.
"Now, why do you think it's important to know how many Jana and Patti have 'together?"
" ... So they can know how much they get, like ... so they can get their CD," Devon
answered haltingly.
"Sure," Sean smiled. "If they know how many they have, they'll know how close
they're coming to getting their CD. If they don't, they're stuck. That's why it's
important. , .. We'll come back to the problem in a minute," he continued, "but before we
do, let's review. Everyone take out your counter sticks and beans and do this problem."
Sean wrote the following numbers on the chalkboard and watched as students used
their sticks and beans to demonstrate their answer.
+7
"Very good," Sean smiled as most of the students laid a stick with I 0 beans glued on it
and 5 more beans on the centers of their desks. Others laid out 15 beans, and Sean
showed them how they could exchange I0 of them for a stick with 10 glued on it.
Sean had the students do two more problems with their counters, then said, "Let's
begin by looking at our problem again."
Turning on the overhead again, he said, "Everyone look up here. Good. Now what
does the problem ask us? . .. Shalinda?"
Jc:4e
stuIn
-red
urn
Its
sit
TEACHER-CENTERED INSTRUCTION.
"How many ... they have together?" Shalinda responded hesitantly.

"And how many does Jana have? ... Abdul?"
" ... Fifteen?"
"Good, Abdul. And how many does Patti have? Celinda?"
"Twelve."
"Okay, so let's put the problem on the chalkboard like this." Sean wrote:
use
15
ook
ugh
+12
5:
"Now I'd like everyone to show me how to make a 15 at your desk by using your
sticks and beans."
Sean paused as the class worked at their desks.
"Does everyone's look like this?" Sean asked as he demonstrated at the flannel board.
They did the same with the 12, and Sean continued, "Now, watch what I do
here.... When 1add 5 and 2, what do I get? Hmrn, let me think about that ... 5 and 2
are 7. Let's put a 7 up on the chalkboard," he said as he walked to the chalkboard and
addeda7.
15
+12
"Now show me that with your beans," and he watched as the students combined
seven beans on their desks.
"Now we still have to add the lOs. What do we get when we add two l Os? Hmrn,
that should be easy. One 10 and one lOis two lOs. Now look where I have to put the 2
up here. It is under the lOs column because the 2 means two l Os." With that, he wrote
the following on the chalkboard.
15
+ 12
27
"So how many cans did Jana and Patti have together? ... Alesha?"
" ... 277"
"Good, Alesha. They had 27 altogether. Now with your beans, what is this 77" he
asked, pointing to the 7 on the chalkboard.... Carol?"
" ... It's this," she said, motioning to the seven beans on her desk.
"Good. Yes, it is. It's the seven individual beans.... Now ... what is this 2? ... Je
remy?" Sean went on, pointing to the numeral on the chalkboard.
"It's ... these," Jeremy answered, holding up the two sticks with the beans glued on
them.
"Now we saw that 1 added the 5 and the 2 before I added the two Is. Why do you
suppose I did that? ... Anyone?"
"Maybe ... you have to find out how many ... ones you have to see if we can make
a 10 ... or something," Callie offered.
359
360
CHAPTER II
"That's excellent thinking, Callie. That's exactly right. We'll see why again tomorrow
when we have some problems in which we'll have to regroup, and that will be just a little
tougher, but for now let's remember what Callie said.
"Now who can describe in words for us one more time what the 2 means ....
Leroy?"
"It's ... two, ah. two ... bunches or something like that of 10 beans."
"Yes, that's correct, Leroy. It's two groups of 10 beans or, in the case of Jana and
Patti, it's two groups of 10 soda cans.
"So let's look again. There is an important difference between this2," Sean points to the
lOs column, "and this 2," pointing to the 2 in the 12. VVhat is this difference? . .. Katrina?"
"That 2 ... is two ... groups of 10, and that one is just 2
by itself"
"Yes, that's good thinking, Katrina. Good work, everyone
Show me this 2," point,
ing to the lOs column.
The students held up two stickswith the beans glued on them.
"Good, and show me this 2," pointing to the 2 in the 12, and the students held up two
beans.
"Great," Sean nodded. "Now let's try another one," he continued, displaying the fol
lowing on the chalkboard.
23
+12
Sean watched as students used their beans and sticks to make 35, and again they dis,
cussed the problem. They did two more, and then Sean gave the students an assignment
of 10 more problems to do for homework (adapted from Eggen and Kauchak, 200 I).
j
TEACHER-CENTERED AND
LEARNER-CENTERED INSTRUCTION
A great deal has been written about the advantages of learner-centered compared to
teacher-centered approaches to instruction (e.g., Lambert and McCombs, 1998; Shuell,
1996). This might lead some to conclude that the only appropriate approaches to in
struction are learner centered, such as instruction based on constructivist views oflearn
ing, as we discussed it in Chapter 7, or the problem-based learning models we examined
in Chapter 10.
This isn't true. For some goals teacher-centered approaches are more effective, and for
others learner-centered approaches are superior (Shuell, 1996). Expert teachers are skilled
with both. Helping you understand when teacher-centered instruction is effective and
learning to plan and implement teacher-centered lessons are the goals of this chapter.
Teacher-centered instruction involves strategies "in which the teacher's role is to
present the knowledge to be learned and to direct, in a rather explicit manner, the learning process
4 the students" (Shuell, 1996, p. 731). Research indicates that teacher-centered instruc
tion is appropriate when content has one or more of the following characteristics
(Eggen and Kauchak, 2001; Shuell, 1996):
It is content that is specific and well defined. Adding one- and two-digit num
bers, as Sean's students were doing, is an example.
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iuell,
361
It is content that all students are expected to master. Sean's goal was for all his
students to master the process of addition; it's a basic skill.
It is content students would have difficulty obtaining on their own.
Making students responsible for constructing their own understanding of the pro
cedure for adding two-digit numbers-as would be the case in instruction based on
c9n~r!!tiYism. for example-is inefficient and potentially confusing; for Sean's goals, a
teacher-centered approach is more effective.
In looking back to earlier chapters, we can see that teacher-centered and learner
centered approaches are very compatible. For instance, the basic skills Sean's students
mastered with his teacher centered approach are necessary for the problem-based
learning models we discussed in Chapter 10. Sean's approach was teacher centered, and
problem-based learning is more learner centered. Similarly, teachers might use a well
organized lecture discussion, a teacher-centered strategy, to help students acquire the
background knowledge needed to carry on an effective discussion--a learner-centered
process we discussed in Chapter 9.
Having identified goals for which teacher-centered approaches are appropriate, let's
examine its characteristics.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
TEACHER~CENTERED INSTRUCTION/
To begin this section, let's look again at Sean's work with his second-graders. As we saw,
Sean's goal was compatible with a teacher-centered approach; he was teaching well
defined content that all his students were expected to master. In addition, his instruc
tion had the following characteristics:
During planning, Sean identified specific objectives for the lesson and designed
learning activities to help students meet the objectives.
The lesson remained focused on the objectives.
Sean took primary responsibility for guiding the learning by modeling and ex
plaining a specific procedure for the skill.
Students practiced the skill with the goal of developing automaticity.
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lined
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~ and
TYPES OF
TEACHER~CENTERED
INSTRUCTION
Having identified content for which teacher-centered instruction is appropriate and hav
ing listed the characteristics of teacher-centered strategies, let's turn now to three
teacher-centered approaches-direct instruction and two types of expository teaching,
lectures, and lecture discussions.
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IUm-
DIRECT INSTRUCTION
At the beginning of the chapter we said that teacher-centered instruction involves well
defined content objectives and learning activities specified by the teacher, lessons that
remain focused on the objectives, and teachers taking primary responsibility for guiding
the learning. One teacher-centered approach, called direct instruction, is a teacher
centered strategy designed to help students learn concepts andprocedural skills. Direct instruction
362
CHAPTER 11
is used when teachers want to ensure that all students master essential content (Gersten,
Taylor, and Graves, 1999).
We discussed concepts and concept learning in detail in Chapter 8, so let's turn now
to an examination of procedural skills.
J Procedural Skills
Procedural skills have three essential characteristics:
T11ey have a specific set ofidentifiable operations orprocedures (which is why they're
called procedural skills).
They can be illustrated with a large and varied number of examples.
They are developed through practice (Doyle, 1983; Eggen and Kauchak, 2001).
Adding two-digit numbers, as we saw in Sean's lesson, is a procedural skill. The four
basic operations-adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing-are procedural skills,
as are simplifYing expressions such as 9 + 3 x 8 - 10/5 or solving equations like 3(2x +
6) = 24 in algebra. Solving algebraic equations obviously requires a more developed and
sophisticated learner than do simple subtraction problems, but they are skills nevertheless.
Skills are not limited to math. Applying academic rules in any content area involves
skills. For instance,
get
jump
play
getting
jumping
playing
The academic rule we follow for adding ing to words is "Double the ending con
sonant if it is preceded by a short vowel sound, but do not if it is preceded by another
consonant or a long vowel sound." Applying this rule is a procedural skill, as are apply
ing the rules for capitalization, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and many others
in the language arts curriculum.
Examples can also be found in other areas ofthe curriculum. When geography stu
dents use longitude and latitude to pinpoint locations; or-when chemistry students bal
ance equations, they are practicing procedural skillsf_~canbeverybasic, as in Sean's
lesson, or very sophisticated, such as verifYing identities in trigf;nometry; applying study
skills such as summarizing in English; or using thinking skills such as recognizing irrel
evant information in all curriculum areas.
Procedural skills are important because they apply in a variety of contexts. As a sim
ple example, addition allows us to combine apples as welJ as dollars and cents. What we
are adding doesn't matter; addition is an essential skill because it can be applied in a va
riety of situations. In a similar way, the ability to punctuate a sentence properly allows
us to communicate in both school essays and love 1etters. Rosenshine (1983) called these
abilities the "how to" of learning versus the who, what, where, or when. When stu
dents have learned a skill, they have an ability that will be useful in later learning.
Interestingly, recognizing the importance of procedural skills has occurred at the
same time that technology has become a central component of American life and work.
The need for people who can think and use technology in an intelligent manner has re
placed the need for those who can simply remember large amounts of information
(lonassen, 1996).
363
Direct Instruction: The Research Base

A persuasive body of research exists suggesting that teacher-centered instruction is ef
fective for helping students reach certain goals (Weinert and Helmke, 1995). This re
search comes from three primary sources:
The teacher effectiveness literature

Observational learning
The work of Lev Vygotsky
The Teacher-Effictiveness Literature. The first source of support for the effectiveness of
direct instruction can be found in the teacher effectiveness literature initially described
in Chapter 1. These fmdings have been summarized as follows:
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Direct instruction can be characterized by the following features: (a) The teacher's
classroom management is especially effective and the rate of student interruptive be
haviors is very low; (b) the teacher maintains a strong academic focus and uses avail
able instructional time intensively to initiate and facilitate students' learning
activities; (c) the teacher ensures that as many students as possible achieve good
learning progress by carefully choosing appropriate tasks, clearly presenting subject
matter information and solution strategies, continuously diagnosing each student's
learning progress and learning difficulties, and providing effective help through re
medial instruction.
Many studies-both in the classroom and in the laboratory under experimental
conditions-have shown that instruction in which the teacher actively presents infor
mation to students and supports individual learning processes is more effective than in
struction in which the teacher's only role is to provide those external conditions that
make individual or social learning success possible. (Weinert and Helmke, 1995, p. 138)
Observational Learning. The second source of support for direct instruction comes
from a body of research on observational learning (Bandura, 1993, 1986). Observa
tionallearning occurs when people acquire new attitudes, skills, and behaviors by watching and
imitating the actions of others. Modeling is one of the most important aspects of observa
tionallearning. Modeling describes the tendency of people to imitate behaviors they observe in
others, and everyday examples are common. Teenagers imitate the fashion and hairstyles
of athletes and celebrities, and young people imitate the behaviors of their parents.
(Children are 10 times more likely to exercise ifboth their parents exercise than if nei
ther exercises, for example.)
Students also imitate the behaviors of their teachers, and teachers take advantage of
this tendency when they demonstrate positive attitudes such as tolerance and respect for
other people. Teachers also use modeling to demonstrate complex skills such as writing
and solving algebraic equations. Research indicates that teacher modeling is one of the
most powerful vehicles available for teaching both attitudes and skills (Bandura, 1993).
Lev Vygotsky's UiJrk: The Social Side of Skill Learning. Research on the social aspects
of)earning emphasizes the importance of verbal interaction in helping students acquire
understanding and skills (Cohen and Lotan, 1997; Wertsch, 1991), and while direct in
struction is teacher centered, much of its effectiveness results from the interaction be
tween teachers and students.
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CHAPTER 11
Two concepts from the work of Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist (1978), cap
italize on this interaction. The first is scaffolding, which is the instructional support teach
ers provide as students acquire skills. Teachers can provide instructional scaffolding in a
variety of ways, including breaking complex skills into subskills, asking questions and
adjusting their difficulty, presenting examples, modeling the steps in solving problems,
and providing prompts and cues.
The second is the zone of proximal development, which is the state of learning
in which a student cannot solve a problem or petform a skill alone but can be successful with the
help of a teacher. The zone of proximal development is instructional paydirt; it is within
the zone that teachers are most effective in aiding learning. Outside the zone, students
either don't need help (they have already mastered a new skill) or lack the prerequisite
skills or background knowledge to benefit from instruction.
When using the direct instruction model, we attempt to implement lessons within
students' zone of proximal development, using scaffolding as instructional support. For
example, when Sean first introduced adding with two-digit numbers, many of his stu
dents were not able to perform this skill by themselves. By the end of the lesson, how
ever, most of his students were able to perform the skill on their own. Sean had
successfully helped his students move through the zone of proximal development by
providing scaffolding in the form of questions, problems, and the bean counter sticks.
Goals of Direct Instruction

We have three goals when we use direct instruction to teach procedural skills-under
standing, automaticity, and transfer. They are illustrated in Figure 11.1 and discussed in the
sections that follow.
Understanding. The most fundamental of these goals is understanding, and, interest

ingly, this represents a change in thinking about teaching procedural skills. Historically,
teaching skills typically consisted of three steps: (1) The teacher would describe the skill,
(2) students memorized a series of steps and practiced the skill, and (3) teachers assessed
the students' abilities to perform the skill. Little true understanding resulted; the
teacher's goal was to teach students to follow the steps, not understand why the steps
were necessary (Perkins and Blythe, 1994).
This has completely changed, and understanding is now strongly emphasized in direct
instruction. Sean's lesson illustrates this emphasis. Let's look at some of his attempts to pro
mote understanding. First, he presented the skill in the context of a real-world problem:
Jana and Pattiare friends. They were saving special soda cans to get a free CD. They can
get the CD if they save 35 cans. Jana had 15 cans and Patti had 12. How many did they
have together?
Goals of Skills Instruction
I
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~~~-----,I
Understanding
Automaticity
Transfer
r~ 11.1 Goals of Skills Instruction
365
Then, after reviewing, he turned to an analysis of the problem. Let's examine some
of the dialogue.
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Sean: Everyone look up here. Good. Now what does the problem ask us? ... Shalinda?
Shalinda: How many ... they have together?
Sean: And how many does Jana have? ... Abdul?
Abdul: Fifteen.
Sean: Good, Abdul. And how many does Patti have? Celinda?
Celinda: Twelve.
Sean: Okay, so let's put the problem on the chalkboard like this (and he wrote the 15 plus
12 on the board).
Sean then demonstrated adding the problem and returned to questioning.
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Sean: Now show me that with your beans (and he watched as the students combined
seven beans on their desks).
Sean: So how many cans did Jana and Patti have together? ... Alesha?
Alesha: Twenty seven.
Sean: Good, Alesha. They had 27 altogether. Now, with your beans, what is this 7 ipoint
ing to the 7 on the chalkboard). . . . Carol?"
Carol: It's this (motioning to the seven beans on her desk).
Sean: Good. Yes, it is. It's the seven individual beans. Now, what is this 2? ... Jeremy
(again pointing to the numeral on the board).
Jeremy: It's ... these (holding up the two sticks with the beans glued on them).
Two aspects ofSean's teaching are important here. First, he did very little explaining;
he helped students understand the skill primarily through questioning. This strategy not
only placed them in active roles but also allowed Sean to monitor their understanding.
Second, he had his students demonstrate the meaning of the numbers with concrete ex
amples (such as having Jeremy demonstrate with the sticks and beans that the 2 in 27 was
two groups of 10). He strongly stressed understanding and deemphasized memorization.
His emphasis on understanding was even more clearly demonstrated later in the les
son. Let's look at some more dialogue that illustrates Sean's attempt to help his students
understand how the 2 in 12 is different from the 2 in 27.
Sean: So let's look again. There is an important difference between this 2 (pointing to the
2 in 27) and this 2 (pointing to the 2 in the 12). What is this difference? ... Katrina?
Katrina: That 2 ... is two groups of 10, and that one is just 2 by itself
Sean: Yes, that's good thinking, Katrina. Good work, everyone.... Show me this 2 ipoint
ing to the 2 in 27, and seeing the students hold two sticks with the beans glued on
them).
Sean: Good, and show me this 2 (pointing to the 2 in the 12, and seeing the students hold
up two beans).
Again, Sean focused on understanding by emphasizing the difference between the
units place and the tens place, and he cleverly used the same numeral (2) to help make
his point as clear as possible. His lesson clearly demonstrates the emphasis that is now
placed on understanding in teaching procedural skills.
366
CHAPTER II
Automaticity. When we teach procedural skills, we want students to "overlearn" them

to the point where they can use the skills effortlessly and virtually without conscious
thought. We call this the point of automaticity. Automaticity occurs when skills are over
learned to the point where they can be used with little mental iffort. Learning to drive a car is
an example. Initially we clutch both hands to the wheel, devoting all of our attention to
the process of driving. As automaticity develops, we can talk on cell phones, put on
makeup, and even shave-v-as we see other people doing-while driving. Automatized
skills are: (1) fast, (2) effortless, (3) consistent, and (4) free of the need for conscious con
trol (Logan, 1988). These characteristics allow us to plug in the skills while we perform
other cognitive operations.
This last point is a strong argument for overlearning (Weinert and Helmke, 1995).
Our available working memory is limited, and automatized skills free memory space
that can be devoted to more complex tasks. For example, in writing a paper, if we have
learned word processing skills to the point of automaticity, we use them effortlessly, al
lowing us to concentrate on organization and development of the paper. Similarly, if
students have overlearned basic math operations, they can focus their mental energy on
the solutions to word problems. Research indicates that one of the reasons poor math
students have difficulties with word problems is that performing the necessary proce
dural skill requires so much available memory that they have too little left to think about
or solve the problem (Leinhardt, 1987).
Transfer: When we teach skills, we also want them to be used in a wide variety of set
tings and situations. Transfer occurs when a concept or skill learned in one contextcan later be
applied in a different context. Transfer occurs, for example, when writing skills learned in
English are applied in writing assignments in science and social studies. Transfer also oc
curs when a student learns map-reading skills in geography and uses those skills to help
plan a family trip. Our ultimate goal in teaching procedural skills is to have them trans
fer both to other subject-matter areas and into the real world.
Accomplishing these goals requires careful planning. This is the topic of the next
section.
Planning for Direct Instruction

Planning for direct instruction lessons involves three steps:
Specifying a clear goal
Identifying prerequisite knowledge
Preparing examples
SpecijJing Clear Goals. As with effectively planning for any form of teaching, having a
precise goal in mind when teaching procedural skills is essential. Sean, for example, had
two goals:
For students to be able to add two-column numbers when regrouping wasn't

required.
For students to explain the difference between the ones place and the lOs place
in a two-column number.
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367
As we saw during his lesson, while both goals were important, Sean put a great deal of
emphasis on the second one. This emphasis was a result of his clear thinking about spe
cific goals. To promote understanding in skills instruction, this kind of teacher thinking
during planning is crucial.
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Identifying Prerequisite Knowledge. The direct instructional model focuses on teaching

and learning specific concepts or skills. However, research on learning indicates that all
new learning depends on what students already know-their background knowledge
(Eggen and Kauchak, 2001). Background knowledge provides hooks for new learning.
In planning for direct instruction lessons, teachers need to consider how the concept or
skill will be introduced and connected to what students already know.
Planning for accessing prerequisite knowledge is slightly different for teaching a
concept as compared to teaching a skill. For concepts, the task usually involves identi
fying a superordinate concept to which the concept can be linked. Though the goal in
direct instruction may be to understand a specific concept (or concepts), a broader goal
is for students to understand how the concept relates to other ideas.
Identifying prerequisites for a skills lesson is slightly more complicated because it in
volves identifying subskills that lay the foundation for the new skill. Task analysis, or the
process of breaking a skill into its subparts, which we discussed in Chapter 3, can be helpful
here. Sean, for example, taught-and reviewed-one-column addition before he moved
to two-column addition. And his students had to know basic math facts-additional pre
requisites-before they could solve addition problems.
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Selecting Examples and Problems. The final phase in planning for direct instruction
lessons is selecting examples or problems. A strength of direct instruction is the oppor
tunities it provides for practice, but this practice takes different forms with different
kinds of content. In learning a concept, students can relate the definition to examples
and can categorize examples themselves. In learning a skill, sample problems both help
students understand the procedures and give them a chance to practice the skill on their
own. In both instances-concept learning or skill learning-selecting concrete exam
ples and problems is essential to the success of the lesson.
In teaching concepts with the direct instruction model, the teacher has two tasks
selecting and sequencing the examples. Examples are selected based on the extent to
which they illustrate the concept's essential characteristics.
After selecting examples, the next task is to sequence them. Usually, the clearest and
most obvious ones are presented first. For example, when teaching a simple concept,
such as mammal, we would first use obvious examples like dog, cat, cow, or horse rather
than whale, seal, or bat. Once learners begin to understand the concept, additional ex
amples can be used to enrich their understanding.
The extent to which examples illustrate the essential characteristics is a second way
to think about sequencing. Again in a lesson on mammals, dog and cat are good exam
ples because they clearly illustrate characteristics such as being furry, warm blooded, and
milk producers. Further, most students have had direct experiences with these mam
mals, which makes them more meaningful.
In selecting and sequencing examples and problems for skill acquisition, student suc
cess is important. One reason for using the direct instruction model is to help students
368
CHAPTER 11
acquire proficiency with the skill as efficiently as possible. This suggests that problems
should be selected and sequenced so that students can develop both the skill and confi
dence through successful practice.
Sean helped accomplish this goal by providing the easiest problems first. He first
used problems that involved single-digit addition and then moved to two-column addi
tion. As his students' skills develop, he will move to two-column problems that require
regrouping and then to problems with three columns or more. By sequencing from sim
ple to complex, Sean provided instructional scaffolding that ensured high success rates
and minimized frustration and confusion.
Having identified goals, determined prerequisite knowledge and skills, and selected
and sequenced examples and problems, the teacher is ready to put these planning steps
into action.
Implementing Direct Instruction Lessons

Implementing lessons using the direct instruction model occurs in four phases. They are
illustrated in Table 11.1 and discussed in the sections that follow.
Phase 1: Introduction. The introduction phase in a direct instruction lesson performs

several functions. First, it draws students into the activity; without student attention, the
teacher's best efforts are wasted. In addition, the introduction provides an overview of
the content to follow, allowing students to see where the lesson is going and how it re
lates to content already learned (Gersten et al., 1999). The introduction also provides
opportunities for the teacher to motivate students, to explain how the new content will
be beneficial to them in the future. Let's examine each of these functions.
FOCUS. In Chapter 4 we defined focus as the process teachers use to attract and maintain
students' attention during a learning activity. It is important to draw students into any lesson
~ 11.1 PHASES IN DIRECT INSTRUCTION LESSONS

Step
Description
Example
Introduction
A lesson overview is provided

and an attempt is made to
motivate students.
Sean presented the problem of

Jana and Patti wanting to buy a CD
and had the students explain why it
was important.
Presentation
The concept or skill is

explained and illustrated.
Sean demonstrated addition of two

column numbers and had the students
demonstrate their understanding with
hands-on materials.
Guided practice
Students practice with the

concept or skill under the
guidance of the teacher.
Sean had his students demonstrate the

solutions to problems while he
monitored their progress.
Independent practice
Students practice on their own.
Sean gave his students 10 problems to

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369
and to focus their attention on the learning task. However, research indicates that teach
ers often neglect this important function; in one study of skills instruction, researchers
found that only 5 percent of the teachers made a conscious attempt to draw students
into the lesson (Anderson et al., 1984).
Sean used his soda can problem as a form of focus. It gave a context for the lesson
and provided an umbrella for the skill that the students were learning.
As another example, let's look at a science teacher introducing the skill of control
ling variables. He begins by referring students back to a concrete experience they had
the previous day.
"We talked yesterday about experiments and how experiments help us learn about cause
and-effect relationships. We talked about manipulating or changing something, like in our
gerbil food experiment. Today, we're going to talk about how to control variables to make
our experiment more precise. Let's talk about the experiment we did yesterday."
Similarly, an art teacher who has been working on one-point perspective and is making
the transition to two-point describes similarities and differences between drawing the
two types of pictures. In each of these examples, the teacher links new material to old,
ensuring that the new skill is integrated with familiar ones.
MOTIVATION. A second element in the introductory phase of the model addresses

motivation. Research indicates that positive teacher expectations and student account
ability contribute to student achievement (Good and Brophy, 2000). Teachers can ad
dress both of these variables by communicating that the skill is important and that they
all can learn it if they work and persevere.
To illustrate, let's look at Sean's lesson again. He presented the problem, saying that
Jana and Patti were saving soda cans to get a free CD and thatJana had saved 15 cans and
Patti 12.
Sean: Now, why do you think it's important to know how many Jana and Patti have
together?
Devon: So they can know how much they get, like ... so they can get their CD.
Sean: Sure. If they know how many they have, they'll know how close they're coming to
getting their CD. If they don't, they're stuck. That's why it's important.
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This simple step took very little time or effort, and it increased the likelihood that the
problem would be meaningful and that students would think it was important.
Having set the stage both cognitively and affectively, the teacher is ready to move to
the next stage.
Phase 2: Presentation. In the second phase of the model, the teacher presents and
demonstrates the skill or defines the concept. This part of the lesson is both the most
crucial to skills instruction and the most difficult to implement (Duffy et al., 1985).
Teachers have two goals in explaining a skill. First, we want students to understand
the skill and how it works; second, we want them to understand its usefulness and im
portance. Earlier, we saw how strongly Sean emphasized understanding in his lesson. He
developed the presentation phase with questioning and he encouraged student involve
ment throughout the presentation phase.
370
CHAPTER I
To illustrate this emphasis again, we want to repeat a portion of the dialogue where
Sean was attempting to help the students see the difference between the 2 in 12 and the
2 in 27.
Sean: So let's look again. There is an important difference between this 2 (pointing to the
2 in 27) and this 2 (pointing to the 2 in the l2). What is this difference? ... Katrina?"
Katrina: That 2 ... is two groups of 10, and that one is just 2 by itself.
Sean: Yes, that's good thinking, Katrina. Good work everyone.... Show me this 2 (point'
ing to the 2 in 27, and seeing the students hold two sticks with the beans glued on
them).
Sean: Good, and show me this 2 (pointing to the 2 in the l2, and seeing the students hold
up two beans).
It is difficult to overemphasize the importance of this type of questioning and involve
ment for student learning. Without it, direct instruction becomes a teacher monologue,
leaving students bored and disinterested.
Let's look at another example, in which Tanya Davis, an English teacher, wants her
students to understand the proper use of semicolons.
Tanya: Class, today we're going to continue our discussion of different kinds of punctua
tion. Who remembers the different kinds of punctuation we've learned about so
far? ... Shelly?
Shelley: Commas and periods.

Tanya: Good, and who can tell us why we use punctuation
10
our writing? ... Jon?
Jon: To help the reader understand what we're trying to say.

Tanva: Fine. Now we are moving on to semicolons. After today's lesson you'll be able to
use semicolons to punctuate your sentences. Semicolons are a hybrid between com,
mas and periods. They tell the reader, "There is a pause here-pause a little longer
than a comma but not as long as a period." Because they're a hybrid, they look like this
(and Tanya writes; on the board). One use of a semicolon is between two indepen
dent clauses that are not joined by and, but, or or. They're useful for adding variety to
our writing; they're an alternative to using conjunctions. For example, look at this sen,
tence (and Tanya displays, "The teacher was concerned about the quiz scores; he
planned a special review session. " on the overhead). What are the two independent
clauses here? Celeena?
Celeena: "The teacher was concerned about the test scores," and "he planned a special
review session."
Tanya: Good. Notice how the ideas in the two clauses are related. That's why we don't
use a period. Note, too, that the sentence could also be written this way (and Tanya
then displayed "The teacher was concerned about the quiz scores, so he planned a
special review session. " on the overhead)
Tanya: In this case, we wouldn't need a semicolon. Let's take another sentence and see
how a semicolon would work here (displaying "We had to wait in line for hours but
the rock concert was well worth the wait."). What are the two independent
clauses? ... Gustavo?
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371
Gustavo: "We had to wait in line for hours," and "the rock concert was worth the wait."
'Tanya: Good.... So how would I write this using a semicolon? . .. Biela?
Biela: "We had to wait in line for hours," semicolon, and then "The rock concert was
worth the wait."
Three aspects of Tanya's presentation are important:
She described and explained the skill (using semicolons in writing).
She provided clear examples of when and how the skill is used. (She gave ex
amples of using semicolons in sentences.)
She used questioning to involve the students throughout the presentation.
MODELING AND THINKALOUDS. The importance of examples in skills learn

ing cannot be overemphasized. As we saw in Chapters 7 and 8, examples help students
link abstractions such as concepts and generalizations to the real world. For skills, exam
ples provide a concrete context in which the skill is performed. We saw earlier in the
chapter that teachers model behaviors that they want their students to imitate;
thinkalouds are forms if modeling in which teachers describe their thinking while working with
examples. When teachers use thinkalouds, they want their students to imitate their think
ing. Both Sean and Tanya used thinkalouds in the presentation phase of their lessons.
Extra care and effort in the presentation phase, as we saw in both Sean's and Tanya's
lessons payoff in the next phase. Researchers have found that teachers who are effective
in this phase provide many examples, give additional explanations when needed, check
for student understanding, and involve their students throughout. In contrast, less effec
tive teachers often spend little time in this phase, instead moving too quickly to student
practice (Good, Grouws, and Ebmeier, 1983). Consequently, students are less success
ful, and the teacher often has to slow down or back up to help individual students cor
rect problems and misconceptions. In extreme cases, unsuccessful students become
frustrated, quit, and management problems occur.
Phase 3: Guided Practice. When the teacher feels that the class has a basic understand
ing of the skill, students are ready for guided practice. In this phase, the teacher provides
additional examples and gives students only enough support to ensure that they can
make progress on their own (scaffolding). As learners move through the zone of proxi
mal development during this phase, they gradually accept more and more of the re
sponsibility for demonstrating the skill.
Sean's students were involved in the guided practice phase when he gave them the
problem of adding 23 and 12 and watched carefully to be sure they were able to demon
strate the solution with the beans and sticks. As their understanding increased, Sean
would stop having them use the beans and sticks-using only the numerals instead-but
his emphasis at this point was to ensure, as much as possible, that they truly understood
the skill rather than simply memorizing the procedure.
Student answers and success rates are barometers oflearning progress in this phase. As
the phase begins, some uncertainty will exist; when it ends, learners should be 80-90 per
cent successful. Choosing appropriate examples, sequencing them from simple to com
plex, and eliciting correct answers and reasons as the students practice all influence
learners' successes. Finally, this phase provides access to student errors, thus providing an
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CHAPTER II
opportunity to correct or "debug" common errors (Bruning et al., 1999). Let's see how
this works with Sean and his students.
Sean's students have progressed to the point where they are now practicing subtrac
tion where regrouping is required. This is a more demanding skill than just simple sub
tracting, so the likelihood of misunderstanding and errors is greater than it was with the
simple two-column addition we saw earlier.
Let's see how Sean handles misunderstanding during the guided practice phase.
"Let's try one more," Sean directed. "Kim, Mario, Kevin, and Susan come up to the board
and try this one. The rest of you work it at your seat and see if they get the right answer.
He then wrote the following on the board:
46
-8
As he watched the students at the board, he noticed that all had done the problem
correctly except Kevin who was standing, staring at the board. He walked over to Kevin,
put his hand on Kevin's shoulder and said, "Kim, can you explain what you did?"
"Vvhat did you do first, Kim?"
"I tried to subtract 8 from 6."
"And what happened?"
"I couldn't."
"\Nhy not?"
"Because 8 is bigger than 6."
"So then what did you do?"
"I borrowed."
"Did everyone hear that?" Kevin asked turning to the class. "Kim tried to subtract 8
from 6 but she couldn't. So she had to borrow. Show us how you did that, Kim."
"Well, 1went to the 4 and crossed it out and made it a 3."
"Now, what was this 4?" Sean probed, pointing to the 4.
"Was it four IOs, or was it four Is?"
" ... Four IOs."
"How do you know?"
" ... It's here" (pointing to the 4 to indicate that it is in the 105 column).
"So when you crossed out the 4 and made it a three what were you doing?"
"Borrowing! Uh ... I was borrowing 10 from the 40 and making it 30."
"Excellent, Kim. And where did that lOgo? Kevin do you know?"
"Did we add it to the 6?"
"Good thinking, Kevin. Now can you subtract the 8 from 16?"
"8?"
"Good, write it down. And how much is left in the lOs column?"
"3 ... [ ... 1mean 30."
"Write that down, too. So what is the correct answer, Kevin?"
"Thirty-eight"
"Good work. Kevin. Now let's try another one to be sure."
Ae
ow
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373
Two aspects of this process are important. First, as he did throughout the lesson, Sean
emphasized understanding rather than merely performing the skill. Second, he helped
Kevin-and the rest of the class-understand the process by questioning them rather
than explaining the process to them. When students struggle to understand concepts and
skills, our tendency is to try and solve the problem by explaining but, unfortunately,
explaining-alone-often does little to increase understanding. The questioning skills
Sean demonstrated are critical to developing understanding.
CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING. Student responses are essential for gaug

ing learning progress. At least two aspects of effective interaction are important during
this stage of the model (Rosenshine and Stevens, 1986). First, be sure to get informa
tion from as many students as possible. This ensures that all students understand the skill,
not just ones who volunteer. One way to do so is to call on nonvolunteers as well as vol
unteers. (This is the equitable distribution we discussed in Chapter 5.) Other ways of as
sessing understanding are to ask for a simple show of hands or an unobtrusive thumbs
up or thumbs down on the chest indicating those who got the problem right or have
students work three or four problems and check the work by switching papers.
In this process, queries such as, "Are there any questions?" are generally not helpful.
If there are questions, the students who have them usually won't admit it. (Think back
on your own experience; none of us wants to admit that we don't understand some
thing-everyone assumes he or she is the only one who is confused.)
Second, gauging the quality of student answers is important. Correct, quick, and
firm answers indicate that students understand the skill, and the teacher can use general
praise, such as a simple, "Good answer," in response (Rosenshine, 1983). This maintains
a brisk lesson pace, allowing additional examples. Correct but hesitant answers suggest
that students are not confident about the new skill, and the teacher can respond with ap
propriate supports such as interspersed explanations and encouraging feedback (e.g.,
"Yes, the apostrophe in this case indicates a contraction, not a possessive. We see there
is no possession suggested in the sentence.")
Incorrect but careless answers also need to be differentiated from more serious prob
lems. If the teacher thinks the student understands the process but got the answer wrong
because of a rushed answer (e.g., a computational error), she can simply correct the error
and move on. If, however, the mistake appears to indicate a misunderstanding ofthe skill,
additional explanation and questioning will be needed to help correct the misconcep
tion. If a number of students are making errors, the material may need to be retaught.
THE MOTIVATIONAL BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK. As students
wrestle with the new skill, teachers provide feedback. The quality of this feedback influ
ences student motivation in two ways. First, information assists in the learning process, al
lowing students to learn the skill more efficiently Seeing their own learning progress is a
powerful form of student motivation (Pintrich and Schunk, 1996). Second, the content
and tone of the feedback influences students' perceptions of their ability as learners.
Effective feedback increases student motivation by making the process of skill ac
quisition more efficient. Effective feedback has four essential characteristics:
It is immediate.
It is specific.
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CHAPTER 11
It provides corrective information for the learner.

It has a positive emotional tone.
(Brophy and Good, 1986; Rosenshine and Stevens, 1986)
As students try out the new skill, the teacher assists by pinpointing errors, suggesting
correct alternatives and doing this in a positive and supportive manner.
A more subtle motivational aspect of feedback focuses on the implicit messages it
gives about student competence and effort (Pintrich and Schunk, 1996). As students
struggle to master a new skill, teacher comments about effort help reinforce the idea
that effort results in achievement. Comments such as, "This is a tough idea but hang in
there," and "I know your hard work will payoff," help focus students' attention on the
critical link between effort and learning. These comments are especially useful for low
ability students and students with learning problems.
However, as with all strategies, teacher sensitivity and judgment are essential. If
teachers praise profusely when effort is minimal, for example, students tend to discredit
the feedback and their own efforts and abilities as learners.
Phase 4: Independent Practice. Earlier in the chapter we said that one of the goals of di
rect instruction was to develop automaticity. This is the purpose of the independent
practice phase. This practice typically occurs in two steps. In the first, students practice
the skill as a seatwork assignment, so the teacher can give them some extra help if nec
essary and spot check their progress. In the second, students practice the skill as an out
of-class assignment, such as homework (Murphy et al., 1986).
An important transition occurs here. In previous stages student interactions were
with the teacher, and the purpose of instruction was to help them understand the
skill and how it should be performed. Now student interactions are primarily with
materials-problems and examples-and the purpose of practicing is to develop mas
tery and automaticity.
EFFECTIVE INDEPENDENT PRACTICE. Research has identified several fac

tors that can improve the quality of independent practice:
Independent practice should always be preceded by careful presentation and
guided practice to ensure understanding.
Independent practice should be directly related to the content covered earlier
in the lesson. This seems self-evident, but surprisingly seatwork, and particu
larly homework, is often unrelated to previous content (McGreal, 1985). Seat
work and homework do not teach; they reinforce earlier learning!
Monitor students as they work alone. This increases on-task behavior and helps
teachers assess learning progress. Research indicates that teachers who circulate
during seatwork have engagement rates that are significantly higher than those
who sit at their desks (Fisher et al., 1980).
Use "response-to-need" questions and success rates as measures of effectiveness
for independent practice (McGreal, 1985).
This last point needs further explanation. Response-to-need means that students are
raising their hands because they need help and they are "responding to the need." While
some teacher assistance is totally appropriate, if too many students are raising their hands or
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375
if the required explanations take too long (30 seconds or more), independent practice is
not accomplishing its goal. If this happens, the teacher should move back to the guided
practice or even the presentation phase before continuing. No rule exists to tell the teacher
exactly how many response-to-need questions are too many, so judgment is again required.
Problem situations are often quite apparent. We have observed classes where the in
troduction and presentation phases were brief and somewhat cursory, guided practice
was omitted entirely, and the teacher proceeded directly to independent practice. Stu
dents obviously had little idea of what they were supposed to do, so hands were up all
over the room, and the teacher was running herself ragged trying to keep up with indi
vidual problems. Unconsciously, the teacher had-in effect-individualized instruction;
each student had the skill explained to him or her individually. This is not only ineffi
cient in terms oflearning but also enormously demanding on the teacher. Predictably,
classroom management problems also develop because students are unable to do the
seatwork exercises, so they become frustrated and go off task.
As with guided practice, success rates during independent practice also help gauge
its effectiveness. Students should be about 90 percent successful in their seatwork if it is
effective (McGreal, 1985).
HOMEWORK. Homework is the logical extension of seatwork done in class, and it

is a common strategy for increasing the amount of time students spend on a topic. Re
search on the effects of homework indicate that it generally increases learning (Como
and Xu, 1998; Cooper et al., 1998). An analysis of 15 studies comparing differing
amounts of homework found an average effect large enough to move students from the
50th to the 65th percentile in achievement (Walberg et al., 1985).
For homework to be effective, it must be a logical extension of classroom work
(Gage and Berliner, 1998), and success rates should be similar or even higher than those
students experience during their seatwork. To provide focus and prevent confusion, as
signments should be written on the board rather than given orally.
Homework assignments should be kept relatively short; researchers suggest that
no assignment should take an elementary student longer than 20 minutes to complete
(McGreal, 1985). You may disagree with this figure, but many homework assignments
are excessive. If the presentation and guided practice phases are properly executed, stu
dents should be able to complete their assignments quickly and effectively. When this
happens, performance improves and motivation increases.
Researchers have also found that in addition to amount, the frequency of home
work is important; for example, 10 problems every night is more effective than 50 once
a week (Walberg et al., 1985). Students should expect homework as one of their class
room routines, and it should be collected, scored, and returned. Alternatives for grad
ing homework will be discussed in Chapter 12 when we examine assessment.
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LECTURE DISCUSSIONS: TEACHER,CENTERED STRATEGIES

FOR TEACHING ORGANIZED BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE
In the first part of the chapter we saw how teacher-centered instruction could be used
to help students learn concepts and procedural skills. In this section we turn to lecture
discussions and examine the types oflearning for which they are most appropriate. Let's
376
CHAPTER II
begin our study with a look at a social studies teacher using the strategy to help students
understand political compromise.
Velda Houston is an American government teacher continuing a unit on the Constitution,
including topics such as the electoral college, the branches of government, and the role
and function of each branch.
As Velda planned the lesson, she sat and outlined her topic. In her notebook she
sketched the information shown in Figure 11.2.
She put the information on a transparency and headed for her first-period class.
As the bell rang, Velda began, "Listen everyone.... To continue our work on the
Constitution, I'd like to pose a problem to you. Mrs. Shah [another teacher in the school]
has a special project she wants done, and she wants the smartest kid she can find to do it.
Manolo wants the job and thinks he is qualified. He's a good writer and gets good grades
on his essays. However, Jo also wants the job, and she thinks she is better qualified than
Manolo. She's a whiz in math. What is Mrs. Shah going to do?"
"What are they supposed to do in the project?" Katy wondered.
"Well, a variety of things," Velda responded. "Mrs. Shah will have them doing things
that involve math and some that involve writing."
"Boy, it's hard to tell," Ramon added. "How would you know?"
"Maybe take them both," Sue suggested. "Could she do that?"
"That's an excellent idea, Sue. Why not compromise and take them both? Think
about that everyone?"
Large State Plan

Constitutional
Development
Compromise
Small State Pia
Cases of Compromise
,-------~-,----~--,
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-f~ 1/.2 Organizational Scheme for Lesson

on Constitutional Compromise
Presidental
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She paused a moment and then went on, "The situation we're going to discuss today
is sort of an analogy to Mrs. Shah's problem. The makers of our country's Constitution
were in a dilemma when it came to making a decision about how to elect our leaders. The
compromises that had to be made are what we're going to discuss today."
Velda then strode across the front of the room and continued by saying, "I know I've
said it before, but it's so important I'll have to repeat it again. The Constitution was a series
of compromises between people like you and me. Just as Mrs. Shah could compromise
and perhaps take both Manolo and Jo, the people who developed the Constitution had
very different views of where this new country was heading. To arrive at something they
could all agree on, they had to compromise.
"The forms of the compromise are diagrammed on the transparency you see," Velda
said, displaying the information she had outlined on the overhead, and Velda displayed the
information in Figure 11.2.
She continued, "The nature of this compromise process came out very clearly in the
part of the Constitution having to do with the way we elect the members of Congress.
Originally, when our forefathers were writing the Constitution, there was a lot of disagree
ment about how votes in the legislature should be allocated. States like Rhode Island
wanted each state to have the same number of votes. Delaware felt the same way. On the
other hand, New York and Pennsylvania wanted the votes to be determined by the num
ber of people in the state.... Each idea seemed the most fair to the states who proposed
them. The small states wanted them allocated by state; the large states wanted the votes to
be distributed on the basis of population. Both of the ideas seemed fair, and neither side
wanted to give in.
"So, as a compromise, they created a legislature with two bodies. The House of Rep
resentatives was based on population, and today we have 435 representatives. The most
populous states, of course, have many more representatives than smaller ones. On the
other hand, the Senate has two members from each state. So now we have 50 states times
two equals 100 senators.
"Now let's analyze this process of compromise. How were the states supporting the
two proposals different? . . . Miguel?"
" ... New Yorkwas a large state, and Rhode Island was a very small state."
"Yes, good, Miguel," Velda smiled. "And what does that mean? ... Jamie?"
" ... Well, it was bigger," Jamie responded hesitantly.
"Bigger land area or bigger population or what?" Velda continued.
" ... Both, I think," Jamie continued. "But probably the bigger population was most
important."
"Yes, good, Jamie. Now why would the large states feel the way they did, and also
why would the small states feel the way they did? What do you think? . . . Sirnao?"
" ... It would relate to power," Simao answered. "If the representation was made on
the basis of population, the large states would be more powerful than the small states."
"On the other hand, what would happen if representation were completely equal
among the states?" Velda continued. "Toni?"
" ... It would sort of throw the balance in the favor of the smaller states. It would
mean a state likeWyoming with very little population could maybe stop a proposal from a
big state like California."
"So as part of the process of compromise, what part of the legislature is based on pop
ulation? ... Camille?
377
378
CHAPTER I I
"The ... the House of Representatives?"

"Excellent, Camille. The total number of representatives is 435. The number of repre
sentatives from each state is determined by population. That would make populous states
happy. And what part of the compromise made the smaller states happy? ... Kareem?"
"The Senate?"
"\Alhy, Kareem?"
"Because every state gets two, no matter how big or small they are."
"Excellent thinking everyone!" Velda commented energetically.
In earlier chapters, we asked you to think about specific strategies as they relate to
the research base we discussed in Chapter 4. Now let's do the same with Velda's teach
ing. To what extent did she apply the research in her teaching, and where did she adapt?
Let's take a look.
She established focus by posing Mrs. Shah's dilemma in selecting a student and
displaying her outline on the overhead.
Her outline WJ,S also an effective representation of content for her lesson.
She maintained high levels of student inuolvement with her questioning.
She conducted the lesson with enthusiasm and energy.
Velda effectively applied several generic aspects of the research on effective teaching
as she introduced, developed, and completed her lesson. But she also did a number of
things that specifically addressed the kind of content she was teaching. Let's look at these
content-specific strategies in more detail now.
Organized Bodies of Knowledge: Integrating

Facts, Concepts, and Generalizations
To help us understand Velda's instruction, let's examine the content and her goals more
closely. Her lesson focused on the general topic of political compromise. Within this broad
area were facts, such as the number of representatives and senators in the House and
Senate, as well as information about the relative sizes of different states. However, un
like the lessons described in Chapter 8, which focused on concepts, generalizations,
principles, and academic rules, Velda's wasn't directed at any of these elements specifi
cally; rather it was aimed at the relationships among all these parts. Velda was teaching
an organized body of knowledge, which is a combination ciffacts, concepts, generaliza
tions (andprinciples and rules}, integrated with each other.
As another example, suppose you're comparing novels by twentieth-century Amer
ican writers. Your study would deal with the relationships among a number of facts; con
cepts like plot, setting, and character; and generalizations, such as "Writers' life experiences
are reflected in their writing." Ttwouldn't focus on any of the elements separately.
Organized bodies of knowledge are an important part of the school curriculum.
For example, geography students study the topography, climate, culture, and politics of
one country and compare them to the same elements in other countries. In a study of
immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, American history stu
dents examine reasons immigrants came to the United States, the difficulties they en
countered, and the ways they were assimilated into our culture. Chemistry students
379
study the elements in the periodic table and the relationships among them. These are all
organized bodies of knowledge.
One specialized subset of organized bodies of knowledge are theories, which show
precisely described relationships among the concepts and generalizations they are composed of In
science, for example, we have the theory of evolution, molecular theory, and theories
about the origins of the universe. In the social sciences, we have learning theories, such
as behaviorism and constructivism; sociological theories, such as Durkheim's theory of
suicide; and economic theories, such as supply-side economics. Each of these theories
can be taught using a lecture discussion instructional strategy.
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Using Lectures to Teach Organized Bodies of Knowledge

As we introduced the chapter, we said that teacher-centered instruction-in addition to
teaching procedural skills-is appropriate for teaching content that would be difficult
for students to obtain on their own. Velda's topic is an example. Finding and organizing
all the historical information that led to the organization of our country's legislative
branch, as it appears today, would be difficult for her students. Presenting this informa
tion in an interactive way so students can explore relationships, as Velda did, is an effec
tive instructional strategy.
Traditional lectures are often used to teach organized bodies ofknowledge. Lectures
are the most common form of instruction in colleges and universities, and they remain
firmly entrenched in many middle school, junior high, and high school classrooms
(Cuban, 1984; Goodlad, 1984).
There are at least four reasons for their popularity:
They are efficient; planning time is devoted to organizing the content. Less at
tention needs to be devoted to teaching strategy.
They are flexible and can be adapted to a wide range of subjects.
Most people can learn to lecture well enough to survive in a classroom; learn
ing more sophisticated strategies is much more difficult.
They require less energy from teachers. Simply telling students information
helps teachers maintain control, and they don't have to do the thinking on
their feet that guiding students with questioning requires.
Lectures have two serious flaws, however. First, research on learning indicates that
learners must be actively involved if information is to be meaningfully encoded and re
tained (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001), and lectures permit-even encourage---students to
be passive. At their worst, lectures are monologues in which the teacher talks and stu
dents listen. The teacher presents and explains the content, sometimes supplementing
the information with charts, graphs, diagrams, and words on the chalkboard. The stu
dents' job is to understand and absorb what the teacher is trying to explain.
This arrangement can work for highly motivated, self-regulated high school and
college students. College students pay tor their education, and the decision to attend
class is theirs. Successful high school students are also motivated, they are reinforced
with good grades, and they've developed skills to learn from lectures. They understand
the need to monitor their own attention; when they catch themselves drifting off, they
pull themselves back. They actively take notes and use them later as a resource.
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CHAPTER 1 I
Poorly motivated high school students, typical junior high and middle school stu
dents, and virtually all elementary students lack these skills (Berk, 1997). If you talk
longer than a couple minutes to first and second graders, they start fidgeting and looking
out the window. Middle school, junior high, and high school students don't last much
longer. They're bored; there's nothing to do.
A second flaw is that lectures don't provide a means for assessing student attention
and understanding. While young children will openly yawn and fidget, high school stu
dents often hide their boredom, and glances at the clock are furtive and veiled (although
even older students sometimes openly lay their heads down on desks, making no at
tempt to pay attention).
In addition to student boredom, lectures don't allow teachers to assess student un
derstanding. It is literally impossible to determine whether or not students understand
your examples and descriptions without interacting with them. This means you must
call on them and have them describe what they are learning and how ideas are connected
throughout your lessons.
Lecture is one of the great paradoxes of teaching. It is the least effective but most
popular mode of instruction today.
Lecture Discussions: An Alternative to Standard Lectures

Lecture discussion is a teaching strategy that combines short periods if teacher presentation with
extensive teacher-student interaction. This strategy combines the positive aspects oflecture
flexibility and economy of effort-with the benefits of interactive teaching. It is an in
structional hybrid effectively suited to helping students understand organized bodies of
knowledge. Velda Houston used lecture discussion to teach her students about political
compromise. Let's see how she planned for her lesson.
Planning for Lecture Discussions

One of the first teaching tasks in planning for lecture discussions is to define and delimit
the content to be taught.
When we discussed planning for teaching concepts, principles, generalizations, and
academic rules, we identified three essential steps:
Identifying the topic
Determining a precise goal
Preparing representations in the form of examples and data
In planning to teach an organized body of knowledge, you must identify a topic and
your goal must also be clear, so the first two steps are similar to those when you plan to
teach a concept or generalization.
The third step is different, however, and it's more complex. While finding good il
lustrations of concepts or generalizations can be difficult, the task is well defined. In
teaching an organized body of knowledge, organizing and representing the content is
more difficult.
This part of the planning process requires careful decision making. The following
questions can be helpful:
How does this topic relate to previous ones?
What prerequisite ideas do students need to know?
Me
stu
How can I organize the information so important ideas are interrelated?

How should I present the organized information to the students?
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Once you've answered the first two questions, the next step is to organize and represent
the content you plan to teach. The following sections describe some different ways to
do this.
Organization and Spatial Representations: A Picture Is U1Jrth a Thousand U1Jrds. The

term organized implies that the individual ideas in the body of knowledge are related and
connected, and the graphic representation that teachers construct should make these
connections clear.
Bodies of knowledge can be organized and represented in several different ways.
Matrices, networks, hierarchies, and schematic diagrams provide sensory focus for stu
dents and illustrate conceptual relationships among ideas (Eggen and Kauchak, 2001).
Matrices. Matrices are two-dimensional tables that illustrate similarities and differences in
major ideas. These can be simple tables for elementary students or detailed charts for
older learners. Kathy Johnson, in the case study that introduced Chapter 4, used a ma
trix to organize her information on the northern and southern states. Figure 11.3 illus
trates another simpler example from the area of elementary science.
Networks. Networks are simple diagrams that link related ideas, and they have proven ef
fective in helping students learn from textbooks (Holley and Dansereau, 1984) and
teacher presentations (Novak and Musonda, 1991). Networks, when shared on an over
head or blackboard, can help students see the interrelationship of ideas when a body of
knowledge is being taught. A network from the area of physical education is illustrated
in Figure 11.4.
Conceptual Hierarchies. Special types of network, conceptual hierarchies, connect su
perordinate and subordinate ideas to each other. For instance, in Figure 11.5 we see that nouns
and pronouns are subsets of naming words; and adjectives and adverbs are subsets ofmod
ifying words. Hierarchies spatially illustrate these superordinate-subordinate relationships.
Velda used a combination of a simple network and a conceptual hierarchy to help her
students understand different aspects of political compromise in the Constitution.
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381
Examples
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382
CHAPTER 11
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Parts of Speech
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:r~ 11.5 Conceptual Hierarchy for Parts of Speech
Spatially representing ideas within a body of knowledge helps both teachers and
students (Winitzky, Kauchak, and Kelly, 1994). During planning, it helps the teacher
break large amounts of content into manageable parts. As the lesson is implemented, it
provides both focus and a form of conceptual organization for students. During study
and review students can use these spatial organizers to connect and integrate ideas.
Your tasks in the planning process are to define the boundaries of the body of
knowledge you plan to teach, link important ideas to each other, and organize and rep
resent the information so these links can be identified. Once these are accomplished,
you're ready to implement the lesson.
Implementing Lecture Discussion Lessons

Lecture discussions are implemented in four steps. They're outlined in Table 11.2 and
discussed in the sections that follow.
Introduction. Done effectively, the content in lecture discussions is presented with a
logical beginning and end, an understandable internal organization, and links to what
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383
Step
Description
Example
Introduction
Provide focus for the lesson
Mrs. Shah's problem in Velda's lesson
Presentation
Present students with background

information
Velda provided historical information

about the House of Representatives
and Senate.
Comprehension
Monitoring
Assess the extent to which students

understand the information that has
been presented
Velda asked Miguel to explain the

different positions oflarge and
small states.
Integration
Link information in different

presentations to each other
Velda asked the students to relate power

to the compromises they were discussing.
students already know. Done ineffectively, they're garbled sets of rninilessons with no
connecting theme. An effective introduction is essential to the success oflecture discus
sion lessons.
One effective way to introduce lecture discussions is to use advance organizers
(Ausubel, 1978), initial statements about the topic to be learned that provide a structure for the
new information and relate it to information students already possess.
Advance organizers can exist in a variety of forms. They can be a simple overview,
such as:
Yesterday we talked about the nomadic nature of the Native Americans who lived on the
plains. We saw that they were hunters, and their liveswere built around following herds of
large animals-particularly the buffalo. Today we're going to see how the Spanish explo
ration of the New World changed Native Americans. We'll see how the horse revolution
ized the way they lived, their economic base, the way they made war, their values, and even
their relationships with their families. Keep these ideas in mind as we go through the lesson.
Advance organizers can also be a combination of a visual representation and a verbal de
scription. For example, Velda introduced her lesson with her network and hierarchy to
gether with the problem of how Mrs. Shah was trying to select a student for a special
project.
Mrs. Shah's problem was an analogy for the problem of large-state and small-state
representation in Congress. An analogy describes a comparison between two ideas that are
similar in some, but not all, respects. Some additional examples of analogies that can be used
as advance organizers include the following:
A tree can be thought of as a city of cells in which each type of cell has a job
to do and depends on the jobs of other cells.
A learning schema is like a computer program; the content and the relations
between the content are dependent upon the learner (programmer).
Birds are reptiles with feathers; except for flight, their bodies work primarily
the same way.
384
CHAPTER 11
Outer space is the last frontier. The same dangers and hardships faced by the
pioneers are encountered by the astronauts.
Red blood cells are our bodies' oxygen railroad.
In each example, a familiar frame of reference is used to present new and unfamiliar
content. Analogies provide hooks for the new material; the more familiar the old ma
terial and the closer the fit of the analogy, the more learning is facilitated. Regardless of
the form of the advance organizer, it is intended to provide focus and a conceptual
framework for the content to follow.
Presentation. Once the topic is introduced, the teacher presents information in a mini
lecture. In her initial presentation, Velda described the conflict between large and small
states, setting the stage for the importance of compromise. The purpose of this short pre
scntation was to provide an information base for the discussion that followed.
Comprehension Monitoring. Mter some information has been presented, lecture dis
cussions move to comprehension monitoring, the process if questioning students to as
sess their understanding if the material. To illustrate comprehension monitoring in Velda's
lesson, let's return to her lesson:
Velda: Now let's analyze this process of compromise. How were the states supporting the
two proposals different? Miguel?
Miguel: '" New Yorkwas a large state, and Rhode Island was a very small state.
Velda: Yes, good, Miguel. And what does that mean? Jamie?
Jamie: .. , Well, it was bigger.
Velda: Biggerland area or bigger population or what?
Jamie: ... Both, I think. But probably the bigger population was most important.
The comprehension-monitoring step of the cycle serves two functions. First, it

makes the lesson interactive and draws students into the activity. When they know they
will be questioned about material, they are more likely to listen to the presentation, and
they're reinforced for doing so.
This illustrates the importance of expectations. If teachers expect all students to lis
ten, learn, and participate, and hold them accountable through questioning, they are
more likely to remain involved with the lesson. On the other hand, if teachers talk for
extended periods or ask questions that are answered by only a few, the rest of the stu
dents are likely to tune out.
A second function of comprehension monitoring is feedback-s-for both the teacher
and students. The quality of student responses helps teachers determine the extent to
which they understand the material, and teachers can then adjust the presentation ac
cordingly. If students are not understanding, there is no point in proceeding; teachers
need to reteach misunderstood or confusing material.
Questions also provide students with feedback, and they encourage meaningful
learning. Students' ability to answer the teacher's questions helps them gauge the extent
to which they understand the content, and it also increases that understanding through
active participation and listening to the ideas of others.
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Integration. In the fourth step of a lecture discussion, teachers encourage integration,

the process of exploring relationships in the information, relating information in one presentation
to another, and consolidating new information with previous understanding.
Integration is a natural extension of comprehension monitoring. The difference be
tween the two lies in the type of questions teachers ask. During integration, students are
asked to establish cause-and-effect relationships, make predictions, and hypothesize. The
exact type of question depends on the content being taught; the essential characteristic is
that the questions cause students to search for links with other ideas in the lesson.
This process is supported by research (Cruikshank, 1985; Eggen and Kauchak,
2001) and makes intuitive sense. When parts of a lesson are interrelated, deeper under
standing results. Links help ensure that the new content is being learned as a coherent
and interconnected body.
To illustrate, let's look again at Velda's lesson:
Velda: Yes, good, Jamie. Now why would the large states feel the way they did, and also
why would the small states feel the way they did? What do you think? ... Simao?
Simao: ... It would relate to power. If the representation was made on the basis of popu
lation, the large states would be much more powerful than the small states.
Velda: On the other hand, what would happen if representation were completely equal
among the states? Toni?
Toni: ... It would sort of throw the balance in the favor of the smaller states. It would
mean a state like Wyoming with very little population could maybe stop a proposal
from a very populated state like California.
In this short excerpt we see that Simao offered a cause-and-effect relationship be
tween the population of states and power, and Toni hypothesized another relationship
based on equal representation. Understanding these perspectives was essential to under
standing the need for compromise, the central focus of this cycle. Combining integra
tion with comprehension monitoring can result in a thorough understanding of the
relationships in an organized body of knowledge.
Lecture Discussion Cycles: The Building Blocks ofLessons. What you saw illustrated in
the preceding sections was one lecture discussion cycle, which is a recurrent sequence
ofpresenting information, monitoring comprehension, and integration, and it is the core oflec
ture discussion as an instructional strategy. Mter one cycle is completed, a second oc
curs, then a third, and so on until the lesson is complete. Each cycle includes a brief
presentation, followed by comprehension monitoring, and integration.
Integration is the essential link in lecture discussion cycles. Integration is broader
and deeper with each cycle because the information in one cycle is integrated with con
tent from earlier cycles.
Lecture discussion cycles are effective from a learning perspective because informa
tion is presented in relatively small chunks, and students are actively involved in the
comprehension monitoring and integration phases.
These cycles also assist teachers as they attempt to help students understand com
plex organized bodies of knowledge. They allow teachers to break instruction into
manageable parts, both during planning and in the lesson itself. This process helps
386
CHAPTER 11
Present
Information
Present
Information
OVERVIEW
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teachers divide potentially overwhelming bodies of knowledge into parts that are teach
able and comprehensible.
LINKING LECTURE DISCUSSION CYCLES. Each lecture discussion cycle

takes only a few minutes. By stringing several of these cycles together, the teacher can
consolidate the ideas in an organized body of knowledge into an effective lesson.
This process is outlined in Figure 11.6. Let's see how it's illustrated in Velda's lesson.
"Now that we understand how compromise produced the present form of our Congress,
let's turn to the electoral college and see how the process of compromise shaped the way
we elect our President. Note that on the overhead we just talked about the legislative
branch," Velda said, pointing at the left side of the hierarchy on the overhead.
"Now we're turning to the presidential or executive branch. This is Article 2 of the
Constitution. Let's see how our President is elected. Every four years, some time in De
cember, 535 people in the Electoral College get together and cast their votes for the next
President of the United States. When people vote for the President in the November elec
tions, they are actually voting for the members of the Electoral College and not directly for
the President.
"Let's think about this one. Why are there 535 members? Where did it come from?
Where have we seen that number before? ... Sherry?"
" ... Well ... we just learned that there are 435 members of the House and 100
members of the Senate. It must be the two combined?" she said with a question in her
vorce.
"Good, Sherry. And how are the members of the Senate distributed between the
states? ... Leroy?"
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.cle
can
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387
" ... Two each."

"Okay, two per state times 50 states is 100. And what about the House? ... Who re
members? ... Terry?"
" ... They're ... based on population, [ think ... yeah, population. The states with
the most people like California and New York have most, while those with not very
many ... like North Dakota, have only a couple or so."
"Good complete answer," Velda smiled at Terry. "So we see that there are 535 mem
bers, which are the combined numbers of the House and Senate. Using this information
now, how is this another example of compromise? ... Ajar?"
"Well ... there were two views as to how the President should be elected. The small
states wanted each state to have equal representation, while the big states wanted it done
on the basis of population. Using both was a form of compromise."
"Now let's ask a big question that pulls this information together. Why was compro
mise necessary in designing the Electoral College? What difference does it make? ...
Ajat?"
" ... The President is a big ... powerful person who influences the country. If we
had a President who liked the big states, the little ones would be upset. ... And it could go
the other way, too. If they elected a guy who only helped the little states, the others, the
big ones, would be upset. So they had to have a ... system that they all could live with."
"Good description, Ajat. That's an excellent analysis. Now let's examine a third com
promise dealing with why the President isn't elected directly, instead being chosen by an
Electoral College. To do that, we need to know about a fellow by the name of Rousseau
and his idea of an enlightened aristocracy."
Let's stop here and see how this second cycle was structured and how Velda con
nected the two. In the presentation step of the second cycle, she referred her students to
the outline and talked about the Electoral College. Her outline, together with her
statement, "Note that on the overhead we just talked about the legislative branch....
Now we're turning to the presidential or executive branch," provided a link between the
first cycle and the second. Remember from Chapter 4 that transition signals are impor
tant communication skills that help students understand and construct connections be
tween related ideas.
In the comprehension-monitoring step of the second cycle, Velda checked to see if
students remembered and understood the information about the structure of the legis
lature. She did this by asking questions such as:
Where have we seen that number before?
Where did it come from?
Having determined that students understood the link between the number in the
electoral college and the structure of the two branches of the legislature, she then began
to explore the implications of this connection by asking questions such as:
Why is that number significant?
How is this another example of compromise?
Why was compromise necessary in designing the Electoral College? What differ
ence does it make?
388
CHAPTER 11
These questions linked the Electoral College, which was discussed in the second cycle,
both to the number of representatives and senators-discussed in the first cycle--and to
the concept of compromise, which was the theme of the lesson. Once these links are
made, the next cycle was ready to begin with the presentation of new material. As
teachers use questions such as these, students develop the inclination to look for these
relationships on their own. This is a step toward self-regulated learning.
The lines between comprehension monitoring and integration and one cycle with
another are often blurred and hard to identify. It isn't critical to identify precisely where
one ends and the other begins. However, understanding the difference between com
prehension monitoring and integration is important, because we want learners to do
more than summarize, paraphrase, and identify similarities and differences; we want
them to explain, identify causes and effects, and consider hypothetical relationships. All
this is part of developing deep understanding of the topics they're studying.
RESEARCH AND THE LECTURE DISCUSSION CYCLE. Evidence sup

ports the effectiveness of lecture discussion cycles. Research indicates that the amount
learned from a lecture decreases as the length of the presentation increases (Gage and
Berliner, 1998). Over time, student attention wanes and learning suffers. These results
were obtained with college students, so we can safely predict the effects to be even
greater with younger learners.
Further, researchers found that attention increases when a question is asked and de
creases when a student is called on (Lemke, 1982). (Remember what was said in Chap
ter 5 about asking a question first and then calling on a student?) Student attention also
improved during demonstrations, debates, and student-initiated questions, providing
strong support for the idea of active student involvement.
Further support for the lecture discussion cycle comes from research on reading.
Research indicates that questions interspersed in text material increase comprehension
(Anderson and Armbruster, 1984), and the greater comprehension largely results from
increased reader attention (Reynolds and Shirey, 1988). We've all had the experience of
drifting off when we've been reading. Questions attract attention and help the reader
focus on important material. Teacher questions during the comprehension monitoring
and integration steps oflecture discussion cycles have the same effect.
How long is too long for presenting information without asking a question? As with
most questions about effective instruction, the answer depends on the situation, but a
ballpark figure is about 5 minutes. Shorter periods are necessary with younger, less acad
emically talented, or poorly motivated students and with complex or abstract content.
The specific answer to the question will develop from your own experience with stu
dents. Their nonverbal behaviors during the presentation step give clues about inatten
tion, and student performance during the comprehension monitoring step provides
additional data.
Closure. Closure, or bringing a lesson together at the end, is a characteristic of all good
teaching, and it is particularly important in lecture discussion lessons, because the
process oflinking one cycle to earlier cycles is continuous, large and complex amounts
of information are presented, and it's easy for students to lose track of the lesson's direc
tion and the overall structure of the content. Effective closure helps to tie together ideas
and to prevent this potential confusion.
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389
A powerful way to conclude a lesson is to refer students back to the organizational

scheme introduced at the beginning of the lesson. Visual representations such as hierar
chies or matrices are again useful. Velda, for example, could bring her lesson to closure
by referring students back to the overhead that began the lesson. The overhead, com
bined with summary statements by the students, provides an efficient and visual way of
helping students remember the lesson's content. Research on the way learners process
information supports the idea of combining statements of closure with visual summa
rizing devices (Schwartz, Ellsworth, Graham, and Knight, 1998; Willoughby, Porter,
Belsito, and Yearsley, 1999).
This concludes our discussion of lecture discussions. The summary that follows is
designed to help you integrate the ideas in the chapter.
Teacher-Centered and Learner-Centered Instruction. While a great deal of em

phasis has been placed on learner-centered instruction, some goals are better met with
teacher-centered approaches. When learners study well-defined content that all are ex
pected to master or when students will have difficulty acquiring content on their own,
teacher-centered instruction is desirable.
Characteristics of Teacher-Centered Instruction. Teacher-centered instruction typ

ically involves lessons focused on specific objectives that have been determined in ad
vance. In teacher-centered lessons, teachers take primary responsibility for modeling
skills and guiding learning. All effective teacher-centered lessons actively involve learners
through teacher questioning.
Direct instruction, lectures, and lecture discussions are three common types of
teacher-centered instruction.
Direct Instruction. Direct instruction is a strategy typically used to teach procedural
skills, which are forms oflearning that have a specific set of operations, can be illustrated
with large numbers of examples, and are developed through practice.
Direct instruction lessons begin with an introduction, which the teacher follows by
presenting and modeling the skill and the students practice, first under the supervision
of the teacher and then on their own. The goal in direct instruction lessons is to develop
the skill to the point of automaticity so that it transfers to a variety of contexts.
Lecture Discussions: Teacher-Centered Strategies for Teaching Organized Bod
ies of Knowledge. Organized bodies of knowledge are interrelated connections of
facts, concepts, generalizations, principles, and academic rules. Lecture discussions
combine the flexibility and simplicity of lectures with the benefits of interactive teach
ing and are effective for teaching organized bodies of knowledge.
Effective lecture discussions begin with an introduction, which the teacher follows
by presenting information in a minilecture. Comprehension monitoring and integra
tion follow the presentation.
Lecture discussion lessons are developed when one cycle of presenting information,
monitoring comprehension, and integration is linked to earlier cycles. With each suc
ceeding cycle, the process of integration becomes broader and deeper.
390
CHAPTER I I
Advance organizer
Analogy
Automaticity
Comprehension monitoring
Conceptual hierarchy
Direct instruction
Focus
Integration
Lecture discussion
Lecture discussion cycle
Matrices
Modeling
Networks
Observational learning
Organized body of knowledge
Procedural skills
Scaffolding
Task analysis
Teacher-centered instruction
Theory
Thinkaloud
Transfer
Zone of proximal development
Margaret Fontini looked over the year-long plans she had laid out for her sixth-grade lan
guage arts curriculum and saw the notes from her previous teacher year:
Students have trouble with summarization. Don't know where to start.
"I remember that unit. It was like pulling teeth. I just didn't know how to get the idea
across. I've got to do better this time," she mumbled to herself as she opened several lan
guage arts teacher editions that she had on her bookshelf On Monday, Margaret began her
language arts class by saying, "Okay, class, please put your math away. Ifyou haven't fin
ished your problems, be sure to take them home and have them ready for class tomorrow."
After pausing for a few moments while students put their math books away, Margaret
continued, "Today in language arts we're going to learn a new skill that will help us with
our writing. It's called summarization. In addition, it should be helpful in other content areas
as well. I'd like everyone to look up here on the overhead. I've got a definition for you."
A good summary restates the main idea of the passage, deletes unimportant and
redundant information and, sometimes, involves superordination.
After pausing for a few moments to allow her students to read the definition, Margaret
continued.
"Let's see what a good summary looks like. I'd like you to read this passage and then
I'm going to show you two summaries. Your job is to see if you can tell me which summary
for the paragraph is better. Here we go."
In the desert there are no clouds to stop the sun's burning rays. So the sun heats
up the earth. As a result, it gets very hot, the temperature easily reaching 120 de
grees. And rainfallis slight in the desert. Most deserts get less than 10 inches of
rain per year. Years may pass between showers. Sometimes 5 or 10 years may
go by without a drop of rain falling on the desert.
"Has everyone had a chance to read the paragraph? Now, let's look at two possible
summaries that I've created. Look up on the overhead and tell me which is better."
-:-EACHER-CENTERED INSTRUCTION.
391
I. The desert IS a txx and dry place.

2. The sun m me desert is merciless.
"Vvho has an idea? Which do you think is better? Tanya?"
"I think number I is better. It ... "
"Good Tanya, I agree with you. Number I is definitely better. Let's try another one.
Again, read the paragraph and then I'll give you two possibilities to choose from."
The heat doesn't bother the seeds from plants and they can do without water
for an extended period. After a rain, the seeds sprout and flowers bloom. Then
the desert is covered with many brightly colored flowers. The desert is a besu
tiiul place when there are red. yellow. orange, and blue flowers everywhere.
But soon the ground begins to dry up. As the ground dries, the flowers produce
new seeds and then die. These new seeds fal1 to the ground and wait for the
next rainfall. When it rains, they grow, blossom, leave new seeds, and then
die.
"Has everyone had a chance to read this and think about a summary? Okay, then,
which of these do you think is the better summary? Look up here on the overhead."
I. Desert flowers only bloom after a rain.
2. Seeds are perfectly suited to the desert.
"Ricardo, do you have an answer?"
"I think number 2 is better because the paragraph is more about seeds than flowers."
"Good, Ricardo. Does everyone agree? Any questions? If not, I have several more
paragraphs about the desert that I'd like you to summarize on your own and we'll compare
our answers tomorrow."
With that she handed out a piece of paper that had four paragraphs on it.
"Remember, class, you're supposed to write a summary for each of these paragraphs.
Get busy, and I'll be around to help."
As students started on their assignment, Margaret circulated around the room. As she
did this, a number of hands went up, asking for help. As she worked with each student,
she noticed that they were all having trouble knowing where to start.
"Hmm, I guess I better do more work on getting started writing a summary. I'll do that
first thing in class tomorrow."

1. How effective was the introduction phase of the lesson? How could Margaret's
introduction be improved?
2. How effective was the presentation phase of the lesson? How could it be
improved?
3. How effective was the guided practice phase of the lesson? Explain, making direct
reference to the case study in your assessment.
4. Analyze Margaret's examples during teacher-directed practice, using the concept
of scaffolding.
5. Analyze the quality of the independent practice phase of the lesson. How could
the independent practice phase of the lesson be improved?
392
CHAPTER II
1. How do the following factors influence the importance of procedural skills in the
curriculum?
a. Grade level
b. Subject matter
c. Ability level of students (i.e., high versus low)
2. Why is automaticity important to the following skills
a. Learning to print in first grade?
b. Learning to playa musical instrument?
c. Learning a foreign language?
3. Teachers often have to make professional compromises: You've just begun a skills
lesson and find out that because of a changed school schedule, you only have half
as much time as you had planned. How will you adjust your teaching in terms of
the four phases of the direct instruction model? Why?
a. Introduction
b. Explanation
c. Guided practice
d. Independent practice
4-. How would you teach for transfer in the following lessons:
a. Teaching map-reading skills to junior high students?
b. Teaching punctuation skills to fifth graders?
c. Teaching percentage word problems to high school basic math students?
5. Are organized bodies of knowledge more important at some grade levels or in
some content areas than others? Which and why? How is the importance of orga
nized bodies of information influenced by timing; that is, is this type of content
more important at the beginning or end of a course or unit?
6. How do the following factors influence the optimal length of one lecture discus
sion cycle?
a. Age of students
b. Difficulty or complexity of material
c. Background knowledge of students
d. Student motivation
e. The teacher's presentation skills
1. Skills and State and District Curriculum Guides. Analyze an appropriate curriculum
guide in your area or level and answer the following questions:
a. What skills are identified?
b. What suggestions or recommendations are given about how they should be
taught?
c. How are the skills sequenced?
d. How is skill acquisition measured?
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393
How helpful will guides such as this be for you as a teacher?

2. 'Textbooks and Skills. Examine a text in your area and answer the following questions:
3. How much of the text is devoted to skills?
b. How are the skills sequenced?
c. What provision is there for practice and feedback?
d. How does the text deal with long-term retention and transfer? How would
you need to supplement this text to maximize skill learning in your
classroom?
3. Homework. Interview a teacher or student and ask the following questions:
3. How often is homework given?
b. Is there any pattern to homework assignments (e.g., end-of-week or end-of
unit reviews)?
c. Is homework graded and returned?
d. How does it count toward the final grade in the course?
e. How effective is it in promoting learning?
How could homework be improved to increase learning in the classroom?
4. Interactive Skills 'Teaching. Observe and either audio- or videotape a skill-oriented

lesson. Analyze it in terms of:
3. Introduction
b. Explanation
c. Teacher-directed practice
d. Independent practice
e. Extended practice
How could the lesson be improved to increase student learning?
5. Interactive Skills 'Teaching: 'Trying It Out. Plan for, teach, and tape a skills lesson
using the basic skills model. Listen to or watch your tape and address the follow
ing questions:
3. Was your introduction clear? Did it include the following?:
(1) What the skill was
(2) How it can be applied
(3) Why it is useful
(4) When it should be used
b. Did you state a goal or objective for the lesson?
c. Did you relate the skill to material previously covered?
d. Did you think aloud while modeling the skill?
e. What did student success rates during the following practices suggest about
your pace?
(1) Teacher-directed practice
(2) Independent practice
(3) Extended practice
f. How did the amount of teacher talk vary throughout the lesson?
g. What percentage of the class can perform the skill at an acceptable level?
How do you know? Define what this level is and explain why this level is
acceptable.
What would you do differently next time?
394
CHAPTER 11
6. Organized Bodies ofKnowledge: 'Textbooks. Examine a chapter in a textbook in

your teaching area that deals with an organized body of information. Analyze it
in terms of the following (providing specific examples, if possible):
a. Introduction/overview-Is there an introduction at the beginning that pro
vides an overview of the content to follow?
b. Organizational structure--Are there any aids (e.g., diagrams, outlines) that
describe the organization of the content?
c. Comprehension checks-Are there questions inserted in the text to check
comprehension?
d. Integrative links-Do questions or exercises encourage students to link ideas
from one section to another?
e. Summary
What would you have to do as a teacher to supplement the text?
7. Organized Bodies (1 Knowledge: Organizational Aids. Take the content in the previous
exercise and organize it using one (or more) of the following organizational aids:
a. Outline
b. Matrix
c. Network
d. Schematic diagram
e. Conceptual hierarchy
What other way(s) would there be to organize this content? What are the advan
tages and disadvantages of each?
8. Interactive Teaching: Organization. Observe (and audio or videotape, if possible) a
lecture or lecture discussion. Take notes from the presentation. Organize the
content in terms of one (or more) of the organizational aids discussed in this
chapter. How could you use this type of organizational aid in your teaching?
9. Lecture Discussion: Patterns oj Interaction. Observe a teacher (or professor) using a
lecture discussion format (determine beforehand that the lesson will not be en
tirely lecture). Analyze the lesson in terms of
a. The length of each lecture discussion cycle (i.e., how long does the teacher
talk before asking a question).
b. What kinds of questions did the teacher ask? (Jot these questions down in
order, with times attached to them. Later determine whether these were
comprehension or integrative.) What could the instructor have done to make
the lesson more effective?
10. Lecture Discussion: Applying It in Your Classroom. Plan, teach, and tape a lesson
using the lecture discussion format. Analyze the taped lesson in terms of the fol
lowing variables:
a. Introduction/overview
b. Organizational aids
c. Average length of one lecture recitation cycle
d. Comprehension checks in each cycle
e. Integrative links in each cycle
f. Summary
In hindsight, what could you have done differently to make the lesson more
effective?
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us
,1
I. Classroom assessment
A. Measurement and evaluation
B. Functions of an assessment system
C. Characteristics of effective assessment
D. Teachers' assessment patterns
II. Using traditional assessment practices to

promote learning
A. Preparing students
B. Administering tests
C. Examining results
D. Research on classroom testing:
Implications for teachers
III. Alternative assessment

A. Performance assessment
B. Portfolio assessment
IV Accommodating diversity: Reducing bias
in assessment
A. Provide practice with test taking
B. Teach test-taking strategies
C. Consider use oflanguage in items

D. Make provisions for nonnative English
speakers
V Designing an assessment system
A. Grades and grading
B. Communication
VI. Using technology in assessment
A. Planning and constructing tests
B. Analyzing test data
C. Maintaining student records
s you've studied the content of this book, you've seen how teacher actions in the
form of careful planning, different instructional strategies, and classroom manage
ment all affect student learning. However, one important question remains unanswered:
How do we know if students are actually learning what we intend? In this chapter we
attempt to answer that question by examining traditional and alternative assessment,
teachers' assessment practices, grading, homework, and communication with parents,
all of which make up the topic of classroom assessment.
following goals:
Identify the functions of assessment.
Describe the characteristics of effective assessment.
Explain how effective teachers prepare students for, administer, and analyze as
sessment results.
Design alternative assessments that can be used to measure performance and
understanding.
Describe ways of reducing bias in assessments.
Explain how technology can be used to make assessment more effective and
efficient.
Steve Vockel's fourth graders were working on applying rules for adding -ing to words.
After putting several words on the board, Steve circulated among the students, making pe
riodic comments.
"Check this one again, Nancy," he said when he saw that she had written jumpping
on her paper. Later he commented at lunch, "My kids just can't seem to get the rule
straight. Either they forget about the long vowel so they double the consonant on a word
like blow or they forget about two consonants at the end of a word like jump and they
double the p. What do you do about it? If I spend more time on it, we won't get other ma
terial covered."
Terry Graham gives her high school chemistry class a one- or two-problem quiz every
other day. As she scored the students' answers to a problem in which the mass of an ele
ment in grams was converted to moles and number of atoms, she thought, "I need to do
some more of these. They can convert moles to grams, but they can't go the other way."
Marianne Generette's middle school math class was passing their pre-algebra homework in
to her. They had exchanged papers, scored the homework, and gone over problems caus
ing difficulty.
"How many got all the problems right?" she asked the class.
ASSESSING LEARNER UNDERSTANDING.
397
"Good!" she responded to their show of hands. "You get this stuff. Remember that we
have a test on this whole chapter on Friday, but for now we're going to move on to sub
traction of integers."
In each of these examples, the teacher was trying to gather information about his
or her students' achievement and progress. A seatwork assignment for Steve, a quiz for
Terry, and homework in Marianne's case provided information to make instructional
decisions, such as moving to a new topic in Marianne's class. Periodically, even the con
scientious gathering of data results in uncertainty, which was Steve's problem. He was
caught in the dilemma of concluding that his students didn't understand the rule but at
the same time feeling the need to move on.
CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT
The information-gathering and decision-making processes these three teachers were involved in,
called classroom assessment, is the focus of this chapter. These processes include ob
serving students as they work, listening to their answers in discussions, and examining
the results of teacher-made and standardized tests. They also include alternative as
sessments, which directly measure studentpeiformance through real-life tasks (Worthen, 1993),
such as having fourth graders write a letter, observing science students complete a lab
activity, or seeing technology students design and use a spreadsheet. It involves decisions
as well, such as assigning grades or choosing to reteach a difficult topic. When com
bined, these elements make up a teacher's assessment system.
Measurement and Evaluation

Two important processes are involved in assessment: measurement, which includes all
the information teachers gather aspart of the assessment process, and evaluation, which r~fers to
the decisions they make on the basis of the measurements.
Effective teachers gather information-take measurements-from a variety of
sources, including traditional paper-and-pencil tests, homework, answers in class, and
alternative assessments, such as first graders' handwriting samples.
Assigning grades is the most common example of evaluation, and this is important,
of course, but deciding when to give a quiz, what items will appear on it, and even
when to move on to a new topic are also evaluation decisions.
Formal and Informal Measurement. Teachers gather information when they listen to
students' answers, notice uncertain looks on their faces, and see that some aren't paying
attention. These are informal measurements, or measurements gathered in an incidental
way. Formal measurement, in comparison, is theprocess ofgathering information in a sys
tematic way, such as giving tests, quizzes, and homework to determine how much stu
dents have learned.
Both forms ofmeasurement are important to teachers. Decisions about grading and
reporting should be based on formal measurements, but many of the decisions teachers
make on an everyday basis are based on informal measurements. Deciding to call on an
inattentive student, for example, is based on observing the student's behavior-an in
formal measurement.
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CHAPTER 12
The assessm.ents that the teachers in our introductory case studies used were eco
nomical. Steve quickly wrote the words on the board and easily scored the responses.
Terry only took minutes to prepare her chemistry problem, and Marianne had the stu
dents score their own papers. In each case, the assessment took little valuable instruc
tional time and required minimal teacher energy.
Teachers' Assessment Patterns

How do effective assessment practices vary from grade level to grade level? Teachers of
elementary students:
Rely more heavily on performance assessments, where teachers gather and
evaluate samples of students' work, such as samples of students' writing or solu
tions to problems.
Depend heavily on commercially prepared and published tests, which help
them simplify the demands on their time.
Include affective goals, such as "Works and plays well with others." Typical
kindergarten progress reports, for example, will have a third or more of the cat
egories devoted to personal or social growth.
In the upper grades and high school, assessment patterns change:
Teachers rely less on published tests, choosing instead to prepare their own.
Teachers depend more heavily on tests than on performance measures for their
assessments.
Objective tests, such as multiple choice and fill-in-the-blanks, become more
popular than subjective measures, such as essay tests.
Emphasis on grades for cognitive performance increases, with correspondingly
less emphasis given to affective goals.
Let's examine these patterns in more detail.
The lower elementary grades are characterized by considerable agreement about es
sential content and skills. Commercially prepared tests are useful because a high degree
of consensus about the curriculum exists. Later, the curriculum becomes more difieren
tiated and idiosyncratic. One history teacher's approach and emphasis will be different
from another's, for example, so commercially prepared tests no longer meet each
teacher's needs. As a result, teachers tend to customize the assessment process by prepar
ing their own tests.
The press for simplification and time-efficient assessment is true for all teachers;
teachers use assessment items that are easy and quick to score. Analysis of nearly 400
teacher-made tests encompassing thousands of test items found (Fleming and Cham
bers, 1983):
1. Just over 1 percent of all teacher-made test items were essay questions.
2. The most frequently used item format was short answer, such as:
Which two planets in our solar system have orbits that overlap?
What is the primary climate region in Spain?
3. Matching items were the next most commonly used by teachers.
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4. Nearly 80 percent of all test items measured knowledge of facts, terms, rules,
or principles, with few items measuring students' ability to apply this knowl
edge. Middle school and junior high school teachers were the worst offenders.
Nearly 94 percent of their items were written at the knowledge level, com
pared to 69 percent for both elementary and senior high teachers.
5. Once items are constructed, teachers tend to reuse them without analysis and re
vision (Gullickson and Ellwein, 1985).
Why do these patterns exist? There are two primary reasons. The first is the need
for efficiency and simplicity, and the second is a lack of knowledge about effective as
sessment procedures and feelings ofinadequacy about their assessment capabilities (Plake
and Impara, 1997).
With these factors in mind, the research findings are not surprising. Teachers write
recall questions because it is easiest to write and score items at this level. When the efforts
of constructing and scoring items are combined, the easiest formats to use are short an
swer and matching. Essay questions, while easy to construct, are extremely difficult to
score, and teachers are notoriously inconsistent in comparing one student's essay to an
other's. Evidence indicates that even the physical attractiveness of the writer and pen
manship can influence essay scoring (Bull and Stevens, 1979).
In contrast, multiple-choice items are easy to score, but good ones are difficult to
construct; true-false questions, while appearing easy to prepare on the surface, are actu
ally very demanding if prepared well. This, in combination with the Widespread criti
cism of the format (i.e., the ease of guessing), explains why true-false is not widely used.
In addition to greater use of teacher-made tests, at the upper levels there is also
greater emphasis on grades, accountability, and quality control. At the lower levels for
mal grades (e.g., A, B, C) are often replaced with descriptive statements (e.g., "Can
print all the letters of the alphabet clearly," or "Can count from one to ten orally").
Later, more emphasis is placed on the accountability and comparison aspects of grading.
Measurement and evaluation differences also exist across subject-matter areas. Teach
ers in science and social studies tend to use more objective assessments, while those in the
language arts-including reading, writing, and speaking-make greater use of perfor
mance assessments. It is easier to make up objective items in more convergent areas,
whereas skill areas lend themselves more to performance assessments.
Having examined teachers' assessment patterns, we turn now to ways that both tra
ditional and alternative assessments can be made more effective. We begin with tradi
tional assessment.
USING TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENT PRACTICES

TO PROMOTE LEARNJNG
In this section, we look at how teachers can make testing more effective by the way they
prepare their students for tests, administer the tests, and analyze the results. As we will
see, these strategies apply to any item format and content area as well as most grade lev
els. To begin, let's look at a seventh-grade social studies teacher preparing his class for a
unit test. His goals for the unit were for students to understand the concept of culture,
to apply it to various groups in Central America and Mexico, and to know basic facts
about these countries.
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CHAPTER 12
Andy Robinson is finishing his unit on Mexico and Central America.

"Okay, everyone," Andy begins, "listen carefully, now. We finished with our study of
Central America and its cultural traditions. I've reminded you since last Wednesday that
we're having a test tomorrow."
"Oh, Mr. Robinson, do we have tor Sheila groaned in mock protest.
"Too bad. Mean Mr. Robinson gives a test every week," Andy smiled back at Sheila.
'Just think. We have it tomorrow, l'll give it back to you on Friday, and I'll even give you
the weekend off."
"ALL RIGHTI" the class shouted.
Andy held up his hand to settle them down and continued, "Now, let's think about
the test. First, let's talk about some individual items; then l'll give you an overview of the
test. I'm going to ask you to think extra hard with some of the questions, but you've all been
working hard, and I know you'll do well. Every time you've had a tough test, you've tried
harder and done better."
He continued, "We've been comparing cultures, and I want you to get more practice
in making those comparisons, plus I want you to keep working on writing clearly. Take a
look at this," Andy said, displaying the following paragraphs on the overhead projector:
Read the description, and identify (in the example) the characteristics of culture that
were discussed in class.
Jorge (pronounced Hor-hay) is a small Mexican boy who is growing up on a
farm in the mountains outside Mexico City. He rises early, goes to the small chapel in
his home for his morning prayers, and then breakfasts on a large meal of beans and
corn tortillas made from the products of the family farm. His mother always asks him if
the Virgin Mary gave him her blessings, and Jorge always says, "Yes," with a smile.
Jorge walks to school a mile down the dusty road. He leaves as his father goes out to
cultivate the corn that is the primary source of income for the family. Jorge's mother
then milks the goats and turns the rich cream into delicious butter and cheese.
In the early afternoon, Jorge comes home from school, and the family talks qui
etly in their dialect, which is Spanish with some influence from the Aztecs. As the day
cools, Jorge often plays soccer with boys in the nearby village while his father strums
his guitar and his mother hums the rhythmic Latin melodies they all love. They go to
bed shortly after sunset to prepare for the next day.
"Read the example carefully, take out a piece of paper, and answer the question that is
given in the directions," Andy continued after waiting for a few moments.
After about 10 minutes, Andy began, "Someone tell me what they wrote as a response."
"It says in the example that they eat beans and tortillas, and we discussed the food a
group eats as part of their culture," Karim responded.
"Yes, good, Karim," Andy praised. "Notice, everyone, that Karim didn't just say 'food:
but instead identified the specific foods they eat in the example. This indicates that he is re
lating the information in the example to what we discussed in class."
The class went on, with students identifying the religion, type of work, and recreation
in Jorge's family.
"They're in good shape:' Andy thought as he listened to their analysis. He went on,
"That's all very good. Now, on the test tomorrow, you're going to have to do something
like this. Remember, when you write your responses, you're going to have to relate the ex
ample to what we have discussed in class, just as we did with Jorge and his family."
403
He continued, "You're also going to need to know different countries' climates, nat
ural resources, and physical features as well as being able to locate them on a map and
identify their capitals. For example, what country is this?" he asked, pointing to an outline
map of Nicaragua. "Miguel?"
"Nicaragua!" Miguel responded instantly.
"Give us another example," the class requested.
"Okay," Andy smiled and displayed the following on the overhead:
We are about 17 degrees north of the equator and are about in the middle of this
country. We are in the most populous country in Central America. Most of the
people here are of Indian or mixed European and Indian descent. This descrip
tion best fits:
a. Belize
b. Guatemala
c. Honduras
d. Mexico
"What is the answer? Marinda?" Andy asked.
"It's Guatemala," Marinda said nervously after some hesitation.
"Yes, excellent, Marinda!" Andy encouraged, knowing that Marinda appeared to be
genuinely nervous in anticipating tests and frequently missed them, the following day pro
ducing a note saying she had been sick. "Now tell us why it's Guatemala," Andy contin
ued. "Sue?"
"First, 17 degrees only goes through sort of the middle of Guatemala and Belize," Sue
responded.
"Also, Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America, and most of the
people are of Indian descent," Martina added.
"Now, l'd like to share with you an outline that I used in preparing the test. It should give
you a clear picture of how to spend your study time." With that, he displayed Figure 12.1 on
an overhead.
"Will the essay question be like the one we practiced on, Mr. Robinson?" asked
Antonio.
"Good question. Yes, the same format, but I'll give you different information to work
with," Andy answered, concluding his review.
Type of Item
Facts about Countries:

Capitals
Climate
Natural Resources
Physical Features
Cultures of Countries
Cultures of Countries
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Fill-in-the-blank
Multiple choice
25 questions x 1 = 25 points
Short answer
3 questions x 5 = 15 points
Essay
10 Points
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CHAPTER 12
Let's look now at what Andy did and relate this to what research tells us about ef
fective testing.
Preparing Students
As he prepared his students for the test, Andy did three things that helped his students
achieve at their best: (1) he specified precisely what the test would cover; (2) he gave
them a chance to practice the kinds of skills they would be expected to demonstrate
when they took the actual test; and (3) he established positive expectations in his stu
dents as they prepared for the test. These factors work in combination with each other
to ensure the best possible results. Let's look at each now.
Specifying test content offers security for students by providing a structured set of
content and skills to be mastered (Carrier and Titus, 1981). Further, it can help reduce
test anxiety (Everson, Tobias, Hartman, and Gourgey, 1991). Andy specified skills stu
dents would have to demonstrate when he said he wanted them to practice making
comparisons, and provided structure when he said they would "need to know different
countries' climate, natural resources, and physical features ...."
In addition, he shared an overview of the test, including major content to becovered and the
types of items to be expected. This outline, called a table of specifications, serves two
functions. First, it helps teachers systematically plan their tests. A cross grid with con
tent on one axis and item type or level (e.g., high versus low or knowledge versus ap
plication) on the other ensures that the test accurately reflects the teacher's goals and
instruction. Aligning the test with instruction increases validity.
Just describing what students need to know may not provide sufficient guidance for
some students (particularly those in middle school or younger), so Andy did not stop at
that point. In addition, he illustrated the description with sample exercises that paral
leled those they would experience on the test. He offered a practice essay item and also
provided practice with a multiple-choice format. Ensuring that students understand a
particular format is important. When students take a test, two things are always being
measured-their understanding of the content being covered on the test and their abil
ity to respond to the format being used. If the second task interferes with the first, the
validity of the test is reduced.
Practice with anticipated assessment formats can increase students' test-taking skills,
which in turn reduces the impact of the format on students' performances. These pos
itive effects have been confirmed with young children (Kalechstein, Kalechstein, and
Doctor, 1981) and with cross-cultural groups (Dreisbach and Keogh, 1982).
Positive teacher attitudes and expectations about the test are also important. Andy
established high expectations when he said, "I know you'll do well. Every time you've
had a tough test, you've tried harder and done better." Research examining two decades
of studies on the relationship between expectations and performance concluded that
teacher expectations can positively influence student test performance (Good, 1987).
Reducing Test Anxiety. Test anxiety is a relatively stable, unpleasant reaction to testing situ
ations that lowers peiformance. Experts suggest that test anxiety consists of two components
(Pintrich and Schunk, 1996). The emotional component can include increased pulse rate,
dry mouth, feelings of fright, and even "going blank." Its cognitive or worry component in
405
volves thoughts about failure, concerns about parents being upset, or being embarrassed
by a low score. As they're taking a test, test-anxious students tend to be preoccupied with
test difficulty, which interferes with their ability to focus on individual items.
Test anxiety increases when:

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Tests contain unfamiliar items or formats.

High pressure to succeed exists.
Time limits are imposed.
Learners perceive the content or test as difficult (Wigfield and Eccles, 1989).
Unannounced tests and pop quizzes have an especially adverse effect on test anxiety
(Saigh,1984).
Teachers can help reduce test anxiety (Everson et al., 1991), and particularly the
worry component (Pintrich and Schunk, 1996), if they
Use criterion-referenced noncompetitive measures (we discuss criterion refer
encing later in the chapter).
Avoid comparing students to each other, such as announcing test scores and
grades.
Increase the frequency of quizzes and tests.
Teach students test-taking skills.
Discuss test content and procedures prior to testing.
Give clear directions and be sure students understand the test.
Provide students with enough time to take tests.
Administering Tests
To illustrate effective test administration procedure, let's again join Andy and his students.
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Andy came in the classroom before his students arrived, and even though his room is quite
crowded, he moved the desks as far apart as possible and had them ready when students
walked in. He opened a window and then changed his mind, reacting to the noise of a
lawn mower outside.
As the class poured into the room, he directed them to their seats, asking for their at
tention. When everyone was looking at him, he instructed them to clear everything off
their desks, as he passed out the tests.
"Tear the last sheet off the back of the test and write your name on it. Do that right
now. Now as you take the test, put all your answers on this sheet. When you're finished,
turn the test over, and I'll come around and pick it up. Then begin the assignment written
on the board. It's due on Tuesday. If anyone gets too warm as you're working, raise your
hand, and l'II turn on the fan," he continued, referring to the large floor fan at the front of
the room.
"Work carefully on the test, now," he said with a smile. "You're all well prepared, and
I know you will do your best. You have the whole period, so you should have plenty of
time."
Andy stood in the front corner of the room, scanning the class as his students worked.
As he watched, he noticed Marinda periodically looking out the window for several sec
onds at a time. Finally, he went over to her desk, looked at her paper, and whispered as he
406
CHAPTER 12
touched her shoulder, "It looks like you're moving along okay. Try and concentrate on the
test a little harder now, and you'll do fine."
Suddenly the intercom broke into the silence. "Mr. Robinson," the voice said, "Mrs.
Brown [the principal] needs to see you for a moment. Could you come down to the office?"
'Til come down at the end of the period," Andy replied to the box. 'T m in the middle
of a test right now."
"Thank you," the voice responded, as the intercom went silent.
As students finished their papers, Andy moved to their desks, picking up the tests and
stacking them on a table in front of the room. Students then began the assignment Andy
had referred to just before they began taking the test.
Now let's look at how Andy handled the administration of the test. He got to the
room early and arranged the seating in advance to ensure as much distance as possible
between the desks, and he arranged the overall physical environment to minimize dis
tractions, such as the lawn mower outside. Distractions can affect test performance, es
pecially for younger and low-ability students. Teachers administering standardized tests
often deal with this problem by hanging a sign on the closed door.
Andy waited until he had everyone's attention and then gave specific directions for
taking the test, collecting the papers, and doing an assignment after finishing. As stu
dents progressed with the test, Andy carefully monitored their behavior. When he no
ticed that Marinda seemed distracted, he went to her, offered encouragement, and
urged her to increase her concentration.
As the test progressed, he stayed in the room and refused to go to the main office
until after students were finished. Unfortunately, cheating is part of classroom reality,
and some students will cheat if the opportunity presents itself. However, external fac
tors, such as the teacher's leaving the room and the emotional climate of the class, con
tribute more to student cheating than the inherent characteristics of the students
themselves (Blackburn and Miller, 1SlSISI).
Examining Results
To see how Andy Robinson dealt with the results of his test, let's return to his class once
more.
Friday morning the students filed into the room and asked as they came in, "Do you have
our tests finished yet?"
"You know I do," Andy responded. "I was up half the night scoring them."
"How did we do?"
"Mostly well, but there were a few problems, and I want to go over them this morn
ing, so when you have another test it won't happen again," he replied quickly handing the
students back their tests.
"What does this mean that you wrote on my paper, 'You identified recreation as a
part of culture, but you didn't say what it was in the example'?" Sondra asked from the
back of the room.
"Remember on Wednesday we said that you needed to identify both the characteristic
and the example of it from the description, like soccer and music from the example with
Jorge that we analyzed," Andy responded. "Antonio swam, dived, and fished, and you
407
needed to say that in your essay. We'll discuss the essay question in a bit, but let's start
from the beginning of the test."
"A number of you had trouble with item 15," he continued. "Many of you took choice
c. What is the correct answer? ... Ann?"
Andy then discussed several of the items, in each case describing what was wrong
with the incorrect choices. He discussed the essay question in detail and finally said, "l
have placed two exceptionally good essay responses on the board for everyone to exam
ine. We'll discuss these tomorrow. I will be here after school today and tomorrow morn
ing before class. If you have any other questions, come and see me either time."
With that, he gathered up the tests, putting his original copy with notes for revising
several of the items in a special file folder, and began his lesson for the day.
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Let's turn now to Andy's actions after he administered the test. First, he scored and
returned the test the following day; second, he discussed the test; and finally, he made
positive comments about students' performance. All of these behaviors have positive ef
fects on achievement.
Students need to receive feedback on their work, whether it be a test, quiz, or
homework, and this feedback should occur as soon as possible. In discussing the test,
Andy carefully reviewed the items the students had most commonly missed, providing
corrective feedback in each case. In discussing objective items, the teacher should explain
incorrect answers, if missed by a large number of students (Linn and Gronlund, 2000).
Correct items can be skipped over unless the information is important for later study.
This uses class time efficiently.
For the essay questions, Andy provided specific feedback in the cases of incorrect or
incomplete answers. In addition, he displayed examples of excellent responses (with the
students' names removed) for students to read. Finally, Andy made positive comments
about the general performance of the class on the test.
Research on Classroom Testing: Implications for Teachers

Research on effective testing suggests several implications for teachers:
1. Test thoroughly and often. Be certain that as much information as possible is

gathered about each student. Although they are sometimes controversial, paper
and-pencil tests, used properly, provide an important source of information for
teachers (Worthen, 1993). While they should not be the only form of measure
ment, not using them on the grounds of potential damage to students simply has
no support in the research literature (Stiggins, 2001).
2. Be certain that instruction and testing are aligned; the topics and content empha
sized in class should be the same ones emphasized on the test.
3. During instruction and review sessions, give students a chance to practice on the
kinds of items they will encounter on the test.
4. After you give a test, hand it back to students as soon as possible, carefully review
commonly missed items, and then collect the copies again (Linn and Gronlund,
2000). Teachers don't have time to keep creating new test items; the learning de
rived from review of the test comes primarily from the discussion and not from
the students' having the tests available for further review.
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CHAPTER 12
5. File a copy of the test, write notes on the copy, and revise the items that may have
been misleading.
6. Choose an objective format, such as multiple choice, for outcomes that can be ef
fectively measured with these items. Use essay items when you want to measure
student ability to organize and present information or make and defend an argu
ment. Keep essay items relatively short and describe clearly what the essay is to
contain (Stiggins, 2001).
7. Establish positive expectations for students as they anticipate the test. Tests need to
be constructed so that students have an opportunity to demonstrate what they've
learned. The key is to establish positive expectations and then manage to have the
class meet them, an outcome that in turn reinforces similar expectations for subse
quent tests.
This concludes our discussion of effective use of traditional assessments. In the next
section, we examine alternative assessments, which are being increasingly emphasized in
our schools.
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
While traditional assessment formats remain popular, they are being increasingly criti
cized for the following reasons:
Traditional testing focuses on knowledge and recall of information.
Traditional tests provide little insight into the way learners are thinking.
Traditional tests don't assess students' ability to apply their understanding to
real world problems (Herman et al., 1992; Marzano et al., 1993).
In response to these criticisms, alternative assessments are being emphasized.
These assessments directly measure student peiformance through real-life tasks (Herman et al.,
1992; Worthen, 1993).
Some examples of alternative assessments include:
Writing an editorial commentary for the school newspaper
Compiling a portfolio of writing samples produced over the year with student
evaluations of strengths and weaknesses
Designing and constructing a study desk in a woodworking class
Writing and illustrating a book for young readers
In addition to products, such as the editorial, the desk, or the book, teachers want to
examine learners' thinking as they use alternative assessments (Gronlund, 1993).
Let's look at two forms ofalternative assessments, peiformance assessments and porifolios.
Performance Assessment
A middle school science teacher notices that her students have difficulty designing and con
ducting simple science experiments (such as determining which brand of aspirin dissolves
faster, as we saw in Chapter 10).
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A health teacher reads in a professional journal that the biggest problem people have in ap
plying First aid is not the mechanics per se, but knowing what to do when. In an attempt to
address this problem, the teacher has a periodic unannounced "catastrophe" day. Students
entering the classroom encounter a catastrophe victim with an unspecified injury. In each
case, they must First diagnose the problem and then apply First aid interventions (Eggen and
Kauchak, 2001, p. 609).
These teachers are using performance assessments to gather information about their stu
dents' thinking. Performance assessments ask students to demonstrate their knowledge
and skill by carrying out an activity orproducing a product.
Let's look now at the procedures teachers employ when they use performance
assessmen ts.
Designing Performance Assessments. Experts identify four steps in designing perfor

mance assessments (Gronlund, 1993): (1) specifying desired outcomes, (2) selecting the
focus of evaluation, (3) structuring the evaluation setting, and (4) designing evaluation
procedures.
SPECIFYING DESIRED OUTCOMES. The first step in designing any assess
ment is to develop a clear idea of what you're trying to measure. A clear description of
the skill or process helps students understand what is required and assists the teacher in
designing appropriate instruction. An example in the area of speech is outlined in Fig
ure 12.2 (based on work by Gronlund, 1993).
SELECTING THE FOCUS OF EVALUATION. Having specified performance
outcomes, teachers next decide whether the assessment will focus on processes or prod
ucts. Processes are often the initial focus, with a shift to products after procedures are
mastered (Gronlund, 1993). Examples of both processes and products as components of
performance assessments are found in Table 12.1.
STRUCTURING THE EVALUATION SETTING. The value of performance
assessments lies in their link to realistic tasks; ultimately, teachers want students to apply
at
to
lios.
Oral Presentation
1. Stands naturally.
2. Maintains eye contact.
3. Uses gestures effectively.
4. Uses clear language
5. Has adequate volume.
6. Speaks at an appropriate rate.
7. Topics are well organized.
__ 8. Maintains interest of the group.
r~ (Z.Z Performance Outcomes in Speech
410
CHAPTER 12
. [
rum
~ Ii? I PROCESSES AND PRODUCTS AS COMPONENTS

OF PERFORMANCE
Content
Area
Product
Process
Math
Correct answer
Problem-solving steps leading to the

correct solution
Music
Performance of a work on an
instrument
Correct fingering and breathing that

produces the performance
English
Composition
Essay, term paper, or

composition
Preparation of drafts and thought

processes that produce the product
Word
Processing
Letter or copy of final draft
Proper stroking and techniques for

presenting the paper
Science
Explanation for the outcomes

of a demonstration
Thought processes involved in preparing

the explanation
the skill in the real world. Time, expense, and safety may prevent realistic measurement
procedures, however, and intermediate steps might be necessary.
For example, in driver education the goal is to produce safe drivers. However,
putting students in heavy traffic to assess how well they function behind the wheel is
both unrealistic and dangerous. Alternate assessment options exist that vary the amount
or degree of realism. For example, at the low realism/high safety end of the continuum
students can respond to written cases or use a simulator. At the high realism/low safety
end of the performance continuum they can actually drive, first in parking lots and quiet
roads and ultimately in rush hour city traffic.
DESIGNING EVALUATION PROCEDURES. The final step in creating perfor

mance assessments is to design evaluation procedures. Reliability is a primary concern.
Well-defined criteria in the form of scoring rubrics, similar to those used with essay
items, increase both reliability and validity (Mabry, 1999; Stiggins, 2001). Clearly writ
ten criteria provide models of excellence and performance targets for students (McTighe,
1996/1997). Effective criteria have four elements (Herman et al., 1992; Messick, 1994):
1. One or more dimensions that serve as a basis for assessing student performance
2. A description of each dimension
3. A scale of values on which each dimension is rated
4. Definitions of each value on the scale
Let's look now at three further alternate ways to evaluate learner performance:
(5) systematic observation, (6) checklists, and (7) rating scales.
Systematic observations involve describing learners' peiformances based on preset crite
ria. For example, the science teacher attempting to teach her students inquiry skills
might identify the following criteria.
a. Specified the problem
b. Stated hypotheses
c. Identified variables
d. Gathered, organized and displayed data
e. Used data to assess the hypotheses
The teacher's notes as she observed students designing experiments would then be based
on the criteria, increasing their reliability and providing feedback for students.
Checklists are written descriptions of dimensions that must bepresent in an acceptable per
formance and extend systematic observation. When checklists are used, students' perfor
mances are simply checked off rather than described in notes. For example, the science
teacher wanting to assesslearners' inquiry abilities might prepare a checklist such as the
one that appears in Figure 12.3. (Notes could be added if desired, which would then
combine elements of both checklists and systematic observations.)
Checklists are useful when behaviors either do or don't exist, such as item 3, "Iden
tified controlled variables." In cases such as item 7, "Assesses hypotheses in written
form," the results aren't merely present or absent; some assessments of hypotheses will
be better than others. This leads us to rating scales.
Rating scales are written descriptions of dimensions and scales ~f values on which each
dimension is rated. They allow a better assessment of quality than is possible with
checklists. A sample rating scale, based on the checklist in Figure 12.3, is illustrated in
Figure 12.4.
Although they are labor intensive to construct, rubrics that are used as a basis for mak
ing decisions should be constructed for each of the dimensions. For example, definitions
..
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411
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Stated problem
Stated hypotheses
Identified controlled variables
Identified independent and dependent variables
Makes three measurements of dependent variables
Organizes data in a chart or table
Assesses hypotheses in written form
r~ (2.3 Checklist for Assessing Inquiry
Rate each item. A rating of 5 is excellent, and a rating of 1 is poor.

1. States problem clearly.
2. States hypotheses clearly.
3. Controls variables effectively.
4. Uses effective data gathering techniques.
5. Presents data effectively.
6. Draws appropriate conclusions.
..
5
5
5
5
5
5
Fm/llm
r~(2.9 Rating Scale for Assessing Inquiry
4 3 2
4 3 2
4 3 2
4 3 2
4 3 2
4 3 2
412
CHAPTER 12
ofvalues, such as the following, might be used to evaluate whether the problem was stated
clearly.
Rating = 5
Problem is clear and complete. It indicates that students under

stand both the content and the importance of the problem. It
provides a basis for hypothesizing solutions.
Rating = 4
Problem is reasonably clear. It is appropriate, but more significant

problems exist with respect to the topic. A clear basis for hypoth
esizing solutions is provided.
Rating = 3
The problem is stated somewhat ambiguously. The basis for hy

pothesizing solutions isn't clear.
Rating = 2
The statement isn't in the form of a problem. Understanding of

the problem and its significance isn't indicated in the statement.
Rating = 1
No problem stated.
Definitions for each of the other dimensions in the rating scale would be written in
a form similar to those above. Using these descriptions, observers can achieve acceptable
levels of reliability for both student performance and products (Herman et al., 1992).
Portfolio Assessment
The use of portfolios, another form of alternative assessment, has the additional advan
tage of involving students in the design, collection, and evaluation oflearning products.
Portfolios are purposeful collections ofstudent work that are reviewed against preset criteria
(Stiggins, 2001). Because they are cumulative, connected, and occur over a period of
time, they can provide a motion picture oflearning progress versus the snapshots pro
vided by disconnected tests and quizzes (Ziomek, 1997). The physical portfolio or col
lection of students' products, such as essays, journal entries, artwork, and videotapes, is
not the assessment; the portfolio assessment also includes the students' and teacher's
judgments oflearning progress based on these products.
Two features distinguish portfolios from other forms of assessment. First, portfolios
collect work samples over time, reflecting developmental changes, and second, portfo
lios involve students in design, collection, and evaluation. Some examples of portfolio
assessments could include:

Pieces of art produced throughout the grading period or year.

Samples of math papers including computation and problem solving.
Drafts of different kinds of essays in language arts
Drawings and written explanations for the results observed in demonstrations
and hands-on activities in science
Portfolios should reflect learning progress. For example, different essays indicate
changes that occur during a grading period, semester, or entire course. These samples can
then be used in parent-teacher conferences and as feedback for the students themselves.
When using portfolios, students should be involved in deciding what will be in
cluded and how it will be evaluated. By involving students in these decisions, teachers
help students become aware of options in assessing their own growth, which is another
way of increasing learner self-regulation.
413
One lower elementary school student had this to say about the learning progress re
flected in a year-long portfolio:
Today I looked at my stories in my writing folder. I read some of my writing since
September. I noticed that I've improved some stuff. Now I edit my stories and revise.
Now I use periods, quotation marks. Sometimes my stories are longer. I used to mis
spelling words and now I look in a dictionary or ask a friend and now I write exciting
and scary stories and now I have very good endings. Now I use capitals. I used to
leave out words and write short simple stories. (Paulson et al., 1991, p. 63)
Through the process of self-analysis and evaluation students become more aware of their
own growth as learners.
ACCOMMODATING DIVERSITY:
REDUCING BIAS IN ASSESSMENT
As we've seen throughout this text, the diversity in our students influences our planning
and the learning activities we conduct. This is true of assessment as well. We may have
students, for example, who aren't familiar with the standard assessment practices of the
school, such as multiple-choice or true-false formats. They may not understand the
purposes of assessment, they may lack test-taking strategies, and may even have difficul
ties with the English language.
Teachers can respond to differences in students' assessment backgrounds in severa]
ways:
r
Provide practice with test taking

Teach test-taking strategies
Consider use oflanguage in items
Make provisions for nonnative English speakers
Provide Practice with Test Taking

For students who are unfamiliar with test-taking routines, providing practice with dif
ferent items, as Andy Robinson did with his students, can be particularly effective.
Clearly communicating the importance of assessments is essential because some stu
dents, such as Native Americans, may not understand how assessment influences learn
ing (Deyhle, 1987). In addition, teaching specific test-taking strategies can be helpful.
Teach Test:raking Strategies

Teaching test-taking strategies helps students improve their performance through aware
ness and understanding of test-taking demands. Some specific strategies include:
Reacting to different testing formats
Efficient use of time
Carefully reading directions
For strategies to be most effective, teachers need to remind students about strategies
as tests and individual items are discussed. For example, in multiple-choice items, one
414
CHAPTER 12
or two of the choices will often directly contradict the stem, and can therefore be elim
inated. Reducing the choices to a plausible two is an effective strategy. When faced with
essay items, preparing a brief outline is a simple strategy that can be used to increase the
logic and organization of the response. Reminding students of these strategies and illus
trating them can significantly improve learners' performance, particularly with young,
low-ability, and minority students who have limited test-taking experience (Anastasi,
1988; Mehrens and Lehmann, 1987a).
Consider Use of Language in Items

With students from diverse cultural backgrounds, confusing or unfamiliar language is al
ways a possibility For example, students may have problems with items that take certain
knowledge for granted, such as familiarity with American sports, common forms of trans
portation, historical figures, or music and other elements of U.S. culture (Cheng, 1987).
This problem has no easy solution, but being aware of and sensitive to the possibil
ities of unfamiliar content are beginning points. Also, encourage students to ask ques
tions during tests, and give students opportunities to discuss the items on tests when
they are handed back.
Make Provisions for Nonnative English Speakers

What if the next exam you take for one of your classes was written in Spanish? For most
of us, this would be very difficult. Many of our students encounter a similar difficulty in
our classrooms when tests are given in their nonnative language. As with other poten
tial forms ofbias in testing, easy solutions don't exist. However, some possibilities for ac
commodating nonnative English speakers include the following:
Provide extra time to take the test. Allow students to take the test before or
after school, using a translation dictionary.
Translate the test into students' native languages until their English proficiency
lmproves.
If one is available, use an interpreter during tests.
Each of these suggestions is designed to ensure, as much as possible, that test scores re
flect actual achievement and not learners' familiarity with common background knowl
edge or vocabulary. This increases validity and also provides the teacher with more
accurate information about learning progress.
DESIGNING AN ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

While traditional tests and quizzes and alternative assessments are important, they don't
represent the entire assessment system. In addition, an assessment system includes deci
sions about grading and reporting and communication with students, parents, and
school officials. We examine the design of the total assessment system in this section.
Where to start? There are many decisions to make, such as the number of tests and
quizzes, the kinds of assignments, the weight of each, and grading, that it is hard to
know where to begin.
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415
One way to begin is to analyze your teaching situation. What information are you
expected to provide, and when is it due? Looking at a report card is a reasonable begin
ning point. In analyzing a report card, try to answer the following questions:
What areas are evaluated?
How is student performance described (e.g., letter grade, percentage, or de
scriptive statement)?
How frequently do grades need to be given?
How are affective dimensions like cooperation and following rules reported?
How are tardiness and absences reported?
These may seem mundane, but we have encountered first-year teachers who were only
weeks away from their first report cards and conferences with parents when they real
ized they were expected to give grades in penmanship and citizenship, and they had to
scurry to gather the necessary information! Talking to other teachers can help clarify
existing practices and avoid pitfalls, and your principal can be valuable in explaining the
school's and district's expectations. When you're done designing your assessment sys
tem, you should be able to confidently defend the system to a parent or administrator
(Loyd and Loyd, 1997).
Once you understand what is expected of you, and knowing that your assessments
should be valid, reliable, frequent, and efficient, you can begin designing your own
system.
Routines can be helpful in structuring your assessment system. The following rep
resents one routine in elementary math:
Monday:
Tuesday,
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Review last week's work; introduce new concepts

Develop concepts and skills with daily homework
Reinforce understanding; review for quiz
Quiz
Teachers who use a system like this one report that students like the structure that the
routine provided.
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Grades and Grading

An essential part of assessment is some consideration of grades. You already know the
form that these will take on report cards; your job now is to translate the various as
signments, quizzes, tests, and alternative assessments into a comprehensive system. Two
major ways of doing this are summarized in Table 12.2.
A point system is straightforward; the importance of each assignment and quiz is re
flected in the points allocated. Then these are added up and grades are given. Weighted
scores are slightly more complex. Let's see how one system, using Steve Vockel's spelling
exercises on the board as an illustration, might work. Suppose Steve wrote 10 words on
the board and then scored students' papers. Now imagine that he gave another short ex
ercise offive items and a third of eight items. In scoring these items, teachers typically con
vert the raw scores to a percentage. A student who got 8 of 10 correct in the first case
would have a score of 80 written in the gradebook; 2 of 5 in the second case would be a
416
CHAPTER 12
~ {C.C WEIGHTED SCORES AND POINT GRADING SYSTEMS

Point System
Weighted Scores
Every graded assignment or quiz is

given a point value. These are then
added up to provide a total score.
Every assignment is given a letter grade and

all grades are then weighted.
Example:
Example:
Assignments (20 x 10 pts.)

Quizzes (8 x 25 pts.)
Tests (4 x 100 pts.)
200
200
400
Assignments (20)
Quizzes (8)
Tests (4)
Total possible points
800
Total ==
25%
25%
50%
100%
Grade Range
A
B
C
D
750-800
700-750
650-700
600-650
score of 40; and 7 of 8 in the third case would be a score of 88. Teachers then typically
find an average to arrive at the final score on which the student's grade is based. In this
case, the student's average would be a 69, which in most grading systems is a D. In reality,
however, the student responded to a total of 23 items, 17 of which he answered correctly.
His actual percentage is 74-five points higher and a C in most grading systems. The
problem with the system we just illustrated is that each of the exercises is given the same
weight, even though the number ofitems is markedly different-l0, 5, and 8, respectively.
If this system seems flawed, why is it so common? Two reasons are often given.
First, it is simple, and as we have noted repeatedly, the need to simplify is powerful. Sec
ond, both students and parents tend to prefer the percentage system because it is simpler
and easier to understand for them as well. We have talked to teachers who have used the
raw scores, converting to a percentage only at the end of a marking period, and later
went back to the percentage system throughout because of pressure from students.
Norm- and Criterion-Referenced Evaluation. In assigning grades within either system,

teachers have two options. One, called criterion-referenced evaluation. uses preestab
lished percentages or number totals for grades (e.g., 90-100, A; 80-90, B; 70-80, C; etc.).
The advantage of this approach is that it communicates grading standards clearly and is
noncompetitive; students compete only against the criteria. The alternative, called norrn
referenced evaluation. compares students'peiformances to each other. Grading on the curve
is an example. Because it deemphasizes competition and focuses on content mastery,
most experts favor criterion referencing, and it is also the most common system in place
in classrooms (Crooks, 1988; Maehr, 1992).
Homework. Another major grading decision is how to handle homework. Research in
dicates that hom.ework ean have a positive impact on learning (Cooper, 1989), but it
provides little guidance about how to integrate it into an assessment system.
A major issue here is accountability. Students should feel responsible for doing
homework and should understand that homework is crucial to learning. They also need
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417
to be rewarded for conscientious efforts. Implementing a system that doesn't bury you
under mounds of paperwork is the problem. Some options include:
1. Assign homework, grade it yourself, and record the scores. This is the best option
for promoting learning, but it is demanding and time consuming. This option can
be viable if you have an aide or a parent volunteer who can help with some of the
routine work.
2. Assign homework, select samples from the assignment, have the students turn in
those samples, and record the score on those problems. This is a compromise. The
teacher scores the homework, but the amount is reduced. Students sometimes re
sent having done all the homework and getting credit for only part of it.
3. Have students grade their own papers in class, and score all the homework as a
group. This saves teacher time and gives students immediate feedback. However,
it takes class time, is subject to cheating, and doesn't work for written work and
projects involving higher level outcomes.
4. Assign homework, give the students credit for having done the homework
whether or not it is correct, and then use class time to cover material students
found difficult. This option has the advantage of allowing students to correct their
own mistakes. However, students often don't try as hard when homework isn't ac
tually scored.
5. Assign homework, collect it at random intervals, and score and mark it. This op
tion reduces the teacher's workload, but the homework must be collected regu
larly or students tend to stop doing it.
6. Do not grade homework, but give frequent short quizzes based on the material
covered in the homework. This is effective with older and higher-achieving stu
dents, who understand the links between homework and achievement. It is inef
fective with low achievers and poorly motivated students.
Which system should you adopt? We recommend that you talk to other teachers and
experiment to find out what works best for you.
the
Iter
Communication
t it
Communication is an integral part of an effective assessment system (Stiggins, 2001). At

the beginning of the school year, you need to explain to students what is expected of
them and share this information with parents. As information is gathered throughout
the school year, it needs to be shared with both students and parents. Ways of doing this
are the focus of this section.
We have seen throughout this text how expectations influence learning. For posi
tive expectations to increase learning, both students and parents must know what your
expectations are--this is why effective communication is critical in an effective assess
ment system. Further, researchers have documented the importance ofthe home-school
partnership, and effective communication with parents is a critical dimension of this
partnership (Epstein, 1990). Teachers use a variety of ways to communicate their ex
pectations to parents and students.
mg
eed
Written Communication. In the primary grades, communication may be more directly

with parents than with students. As children get older, the communication is directed to
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418
CHAPTER 12
both. The letter in Figure 12.5 is used each year by a fifth-grade teacher to communi
cate expectations.
At the junior high and high school levels, parents and students often are interested
in the content of the course and how student work will be graded. One algebra teacher
sent home the document shown in Figure 12.6 at the beginning of the school year.
Dear Parents and Students,
I am looking forward to an exciting year in fifth grade, and I hope you are
too! In order for us to work together most effectively, some guidelines are
necessary. They are listed below. Please read through the information care
fully and sign at the bottom of the page. Thank you for your cooperation
and help in making this year the best one ever for your youngster.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kathy Mease
Survival Guidelines
1. Follow directions the first time they are given.
2. Be in class, seated, and quiet when the bell rings.
3. Bring covered textbooks, notebook and/or folder, paper, pen, and
pencils to class daily.
4. Raise your hand for permission to speak or to leave your seat.
5. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
Homework Guidelines
1. Motto---I will always TRY, and I will NEVER give up!
2. I will complete all assignments. If the assignment is not finished
or is not ready when called for, a zero will be given.
3. Head your paper properly---directions were given in class. Use
pen/pencil---no red, orange, or pink ink. If you have questions, see
Mrs. Mease.
4. Whenever you are absent, it is your responsibility to come
in early in the morning (7:30-8:00) and make arrangements
for makeup work. Class time will not be used for this
activity. Tests are always assigned three to five days in
advance---if you are absent the day before the test, you
should come prepared to take the test because you will be
expected to take it.
5. No extra credit work will be given. If you do all the required work
and study for the tests, there should be no need for extra credit.
6. A packet of papers is sent home with the children each Tuesday.
Please look them over carefully. If you have any questions or com
ments, please feel free to call Lone Trail Elementary School
(272-8160). I will return your call promptly.
Again, my best wishes for a terrific year.
(student)
r~ IZ.5 Letter to Parents
(parent)
.k4e
419
nu
Course Expectations
ted
her
II. Course Description: This course explores basic algebraic concepts and appli
cations, including a complete review of the number system. The main emphasis
of the course is on solving linear and quadratic equations.
I.
Course Title: Algebra I
III. Course Objectives

A. To understand the basic terms and symbols used in the study of algebra.
B. To perform the basic operations with signed numbers.
C. To solve simple linear equations and inequalities in one unknown.
D. To understand the graphical properties of linear equations.
E. To perform basic operations with polynomials.
F. To solve quadratic equations using factoring.
G. To perform fundamental operations with algebraic fractions.
H. To solve quadratic equations using the quadratic formula.
I. To apply equation solving techniques to story problems.
v,
IV.
lSe
Learning Activities
A. Daily assignments
B. Teacher demonstration
C. Class discussion
D. Note taking and writing projects
E. Peer tutoring
F. Reviews
G. Student demonstration
V.
Grading Procedure: Grades will be based on test performance, notebooks,

daily assignments, and quizzes. Grades will be weighted as follows:
Tests--40%
Quizzes--40%
Daily assignments--20%
Final grades will be determined on the following scale:
93-100% A
65-72% D
85-92% B
0-64% F
73-84% C
VI.
Materials
A. Text: Holt Algebra One, Holt, Rinehart and Winston publishers, 1996.
B. Calculator: It is recommended that each student obtain a scientific
calculator.
C. Paper, pencil, and pen.
D. Learning log.
VII. Student Expectations

A. Students must come prepared to class each day with their book, notebook,
pencil and paper, and assignments.
B. School policy states that four unexcused absences will result in failure.
Make-up tests must be taken within three days of return from absence.
Make-up assignments must be turned in on the second day of return from
absence. No make-up quizzes will be given. The low quiz in each grading
period will be dropped.
C. To facilitate roll taking and grading, students are expected to sit in
the seats assigned to them.
D. Cheating will not be tolerated. Anyone guilty of cheating will receive a
zero on the test.
E. Courtesy and respect are expected to be shown at all times. This includes
not eating during class, listening to the lecture, and staying on task.
Stereos and headsets are to be left in students' lockers.
I have read this document and understand the grading procedures and classroom rules.
Please feel free to call the school at any time if you have questions or concerns
(936-1148) .
Student
Parent
--------------"'._,,"'----------------------------
r~ IZ.6 Course Expectations in Algebra
420
CHAPTER 12
Note how the algebra teacher described (1) the content ofthe course, (2) instructional
activities, (3) grading procedures and student requirements. These were addressed in a pos
itive, businesslike manner and set the stage for a productive school year. We recommend a
document like this at the beginning of the year. It is straightforward and informative and
communicates not only positive expectations but also organization and competence.
Open House. Most school systems have a scheduled open house at a specified date early
in the school year. Parents are invited to attend, and at the middle and high school levels
they move through an abbreviated schedule of a typical day's activities. Teachers describe
their policies and expectations and invite input from parents. The written expectations
teachers have are often distributed in these sessions.
The image you project as a teacher is critical at this time. Because open house is
often the only time you will see a parent during the year, the impression you make will
be lasting. Proper dress, careful use of language and grammar, clear and neatly written
communications, and a warm and pleasant but professional manner are all important in
creating a good impression.
Parent- Teacher Conferences. An additional opportunity to communicate expectations,
grading policies, and student progress is through conferences where parents and teachers
meet face to face. Some teachers have experimented with inviting students to these con
ferences and have noted the benefits of students' being informed of and rewarded for their
efforts in class. Suggestions for conducting successful parent-teacher conferences include:
1. Organize and prepare before the meeting. The files and records of each of your
students should be readily available during the meeting.
2. Begin with a positive statement (e.g., "Mary is such a lively, energetic second
grader"---despite the fact that she is about to drive you crazy.) This puts the par
ent at ease and sets the stage for later comments.
3. Be factual in your statements and use supporting documentation. At the elemen
tary level, this might consist of samples of the student's work; at the secondary
level, it should include scores and averages on assignments and tests.
4. Listen carefully to parents' questions and concerns. This shows you care, and it
provides you with information about the student.
5. To end the session, summarize the discussion and end on an optimistic note (e.g.,
'Jim can learn math, and if we both encourage him on his homework, I'm sure
we'll see a difference next report card.").
Phone Conjerences. One of the most effective forms of communication is a simple phone
call. They are effective for one important reason-they communicate that you care
enough about a student to spend your personal time discussing problems or concerns
about that individual in a one-to-one conference with a parent or caregiver. For this rea
son, a negative or defensive reaction by parents is rare, and the outcomes of these con
versations are almost always productive. Even better, a periodic phone call to tell about
improved work or behavior can pay big dividends. Parents are rarely called when their
child does something good, so a call with positive feedback can be very effective in pro
moting a positive home-school partnership.
Communication: Report Cards. We have all had experience with report cards. While the
form varies, report cards at a given level generally communicate similar information. An
excerpt from a report sent to the parents ofkindergarten children is shown in Figure 12.7.
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KINDERGARTEN PROGRESS REPORT
2001-2002
MARKING KEY
Name:
Teacher:
School:
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND WORK HABITS
o - Outstanding
Attendance
S - Satisfactory
I - Improvement Shown
N - Needs Improvement
& - Not Evaluated
MATHEMATICS
Is kind and courteous

Listens attentively
Counts objects 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10,

11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
Uses socially acceptable language
Correctly writes 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Respects rules
Accepts correction graciously
Recognizes 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20
Respects rights of others
Counts to
Reads color words: R 0 GR Y BL P BR BK WH

Identifies and uses opposites
Knows rhyming sounds
Know directions (up, down, left, right)
MOTOR SKILLS
Demonstrates large muscle control (hop,

skip, jump, throw, catch, run, balance)
Demonstrates fine motor control:
Forms letters and numbers correctly
Holds pencil and crayon correctly
Traces over lines
Can cut out geometric shapes
..(::.
-1~ 12.7 Kindergarten Progress Report
Total
Days Tardy
Recognizes shapes 06DOC=:>O
Recognizes colors: R 0 GR Y BL P BR BK WH
Days Absent
Works and plays well with others
LANGUAGE READINESS
Days Present
~--
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422
CHAPTER 12
Notice that this report (1) includes affective and personal growth goals; (2) is based
primarily on performance measures; and (3) uses an 0, S, I, N scale versus an A, B, C,
D scale for reporting. On a form like this, there also would be space for some short
written comments.
Compare this kindergarten report to one used in the intermediate grades (Fig
ure 12.8). We can see from this example that affective goals such as social behaviors and
attitudes are still evaluated at the junior high level, but a separate scale is used. In addi
tion, comparative information is provided in basic skills in the areas of absolute achieve
ment, progress made during the quarter, and effort.
As students progress into high school, less emphasis is placed on affective consider
ations, and grades are often quantified in terms of percentages (see Figure 12.9). This
latter point has strong implications for the kind of grading system the teacher designs, a
point we made earlier.
Interim Progress Reports. Report cards are commonly sent home every 9 weeks. Typ
ically, schools also report progress at midterm as well. In some cases students get interim
progress reports only when a student is experiencing difficulty, while in others all stu
dents receive them. The purpose of the report is to provide feedback to both students
and parents regarding progress, and they can be especially helpful if problems develop.
Your school will have a form and a standard procedure for completing interim progress
reports.
USING TECHNOLOGY IN ASSESSMENT

Because of its ability to store large amounts of data and process it quickly, technology is
proving to be especially valuable in classroom assessment. Technology, and particularly
computers, can serve three important and time-saving assessment functions (Newbyet
al., 2000; Roblyer and Edwards, 2000):
Planning and constructing tests
Analyzing test data, especially data gathered from objective tests
Maintaining student records
One theme of this chapter has been the value of frequent classroom assessment.
Computers provide an efficient way to store these data, analyze them, and present them
to students in an understandable way. These functions are summarized in Table 12.3 and
discussed in the paragraphs that follow.
Planning and Constructing Tests

As we saw in earlier sections, constructing effective test items can be a difficult and time
consuming task. The word processing capabilities of computers provide teachers with
an effective tool for writing and revising individual items, and once items are written,
computers are helpful for assembling them into a complete test. Initially, items focus on
specific content or topics. Later, they can be grouped into similar item types and se
quenced from easiest to hardest. This sequence helps reduce test anxiety by providing
easy entry into a test.
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7. Uses time well

8. Works well in groups
9. Abides by school rules
Mathematics
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Health
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BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDES
These behaviors are important to success in

school. These factors reflect attitude toward
school, self, and others. They have a direct
bearing on the progress being made in the
basic skills.
E - Excellent
Social Studies
Satisfactory Performance
Art"
Needs Improvement
Music"
Needs Improvement
S - Satisfactory
NI - Needs Improvement
Phys.
Ed:
Needs Improvement
" Letter grades are not given in these subject areas due to the difficulty of
precise measurement of acquired skills.
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3. Completes assignments on time

4. Shows judgment in use and care
of materials
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NAME
SCHOOL' STUDENT NUMBER
ADDRESS
PERIOD
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FROM THRU
COURSE NAME
CITY
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TEACHER NAME
HOMEROOM SCHOOL YEAR

ZIPCODE
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TELEPHONE
1ST
1ST
2ND
SEM.
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2ND
2ND
4TH
3RD
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AVG. GRD CABS GRD CABS EXAM
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425
~ {Z.~ ASSESSMENT FUNCTIONS

PERFORMED BY COMPUTERS
Function
Examples
Planning and construction
Preparing objectives
Writing and storing items
Creating tests
Printing tests
Scoring and interpreting tests
Scoring tests
Summarizing results
Analyzing items
Maintaining student records
Developing a class summary

Recording results
Preparing grade reports
Developing student profiles
Reporting results to students
A number of commercially prepared software programs can assist in this process

(e.g., Create a Test, Exam Builder, Test Writer, Test IT! Deluxe, Tests-Made-Easy, Quick
Quiz, and Test Generator). They have the following capabilities:
Develop a test file or item bank of multiple-choice, true-false, matching, and
short-answer items that can be stored in the system. Within a file, items can be
organized by topic, chapter, objective, or by difficulty.
Select items from the created file bank either randomly, selectively, or by cate
gories to generate multiple versions of a test.
Modify items and integrate these into the total test.
Produce student-ready copies and an answer key.
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Analyzing Test Data

Once administered, tests need to be scored and analyzed. A high school teacher with
five sections of 30 students and a 40-item exam faces a logistical challenge---S x 30 x
40 = 6,000 individual items! Scoring and analyzing test data, converting scores to
grades, and recording the grades can be enormously time consuming.
Most schools now have computers that can machine-score or scan teacher-made
tests. To use this time-saving feature, test items need to be placed in formats that can be
transferred to machine-scored answer sheets (i.e., multiple-choice, true-false, matching).
There are also a number of software programs available to machine-score tests (e.g.,
Test Scorer, QUickscore, and Test Analysis), and their average cost is around $200. These
programs can:
Score objective tests and provide descriptive statistics such as test mean, median
and mode, range, and standard deviation.
426
CHAPTER 12
Generate a list of items showing difficulty level, the percentage of students who
selected each response, the percentage of students who didn't respond to an
item, and the correlation of each item with the total test.
Sort student responses by score, grade/age, or gender.
A sample printout for a IS-item multiple-choice quiz given to a class of 3S students
appears in Table 12.4. The printout identifies the item number, the number of stu
dents who selected each choice, the correct answer, the statistical average for the quiz
(mean), a measure of the spread of scores (standard deviation), and the middle score
(median).
The quiz was first machine scored, and the software program provided an immedi
ate printout of the descriptive statistics and distribution of student responses. The dis
tribution of responses is particularly useful in analyzing the quality of the items and
possible student misconceptions.
Though most teachers use a criterion-referenced rather than a norm-referenced
system for assigning their own grades, the descriptive statistics included with the analy
sis give an indication of the quiz's difficulty and class performance as a whole. For in
stance, a mean of9.22 on a IS-item quiz suggests that the quiz was difficult for students,
so some questions exist about (a) the students' understanding of the content, (b) the dif
ficulty of the Items, (c) the quality of some of the items, or all three. This type of analy
sis, together with teacher reflection and revision of test items, can improve the overall
effectiveness of a teacher's assessment system.
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ITEM
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13
30
10
30
19
13
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11
34
11
21
17
33
13
20
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Responses
Correct
Answer
Total number of students processed: 35
Standard deviation: 2.084

Median: 09.00
Mean: 09.22
12
Statistical analysis
11
13
14
15
16
10
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17
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427
Maintaining Student Records

An effective assessment system frequently gathers information about student perfor
mance from a variety of sources. If this information is to be useful to the teacher, it must
be stored so that it is easily accessible. In addition, students need to know where they
stand in the course to make the best use of their time and resources. Computers provide
an efficient way of storing, analyzing, and reporting student assessments.
One teacher commented:
I keep my grades in an electronic gradebook. By entering my grades into an elec
tronic gradebook as I grade papers, I always know how my students are progressing
and exactly where my students stand in relation to each other. It does take a little time
to enter the grades, but it makes my job easier during reporting periods. All I have to
do is open my disk and record my students' grades on the grade sheet (Morrison et
a!', 1999, p. 355).
For teachers with some background in technology, general spreadsheet programs
can be converted into individualized gradesheets (Forcier, 1999). Commercial software
is available, and most of the programs designed to analyze individual test score data also
have the following capabilities:
Begin a new class file for each class or subject. These can be stored by name
and/or student identification number.
Average grades, create new grades, or change old ones, add extra credit.
Compute descriptive statistics such as the mean, median, mode, and standard
deviation for any test or set of scores.
Translate numerical or raw scores into letter grades.
Record the type of activity and the point value for each activity.
Average grades on a quarterly, semester, and/or yearly basis.
The amount of time and energy saved and the increased decision-making capability
make computers an invaluable asset in the assessment process.
This brings us to the end of this chapter and to the end of the text. We hope the
information you have read and studied has been useful and practical. As we have seen,
research has much to offer the classroom teacher, but only the teacher can translate this
research into practice. We have seen how teacher judgment is a critical element in all the
decisions teachers make. This should not be a matter of concern, for it is one of the
characteristics that makes teaching a challenging profession. With sincere effort, you
will make an important contribution to education-the most rewarding of professions.
We hope this text contributes to your efforts.
c
Classroom Assessment. Classroom assessment includes the information teachers
gather, called measurements, and the decisions they make about learning progress,
which are termed evaluations.
The process of assessment has both instructional and institutional functions. Effec
tive assessment increases learning and provides information for students, teachers, par
ents, and school and district administrators.
428
CHAPTER 12
www.ablongman.conv'kauchak4e
Effective assessments are valid when they are consistent with goals and learning ac
tivities. They should also be reliable, which means they're consistent, and they should be
practical, meaning they're efficient and usable.
Using Traditional Assessment Practices to Promote Learning. Using traditional

assessments effectively includes preparing students for tests, specifying what will be on
the test, giving students a chance to practice with the content and format, and estab
lishing positive expectations.
During testing, effective teachers create a comfortable environment, carefully
monitor students, and provide specific directions for taking the test and spending time
afterward.
Effective teachers also score and return tests promptly, discuss frequently missed
items, and make generally positive comments about students' performance.
Assessment should be an ongoing part of instruction. Teachers should take great
care in preparing items, should test thoroughly and often, and should revise defective
items.
Alternative Assessment. Alternative assessments ask students to perform in ways sim
ilar to performances that would be required in the world outside the classroom. Sys
tematic observation, checklists, and rating scales can all be used to provide assessments
that have acceptable levels of reliability.
Portfolios-collections of students' work-which are then evaluated provide an addi
tional form of alternative assessment. Portfolios have the additional advantage of allowing
students' input into the selection and evaluation of materials included in the portfolio.
Accommodating Diversity: Reducing Bias in Assessment. Teachers can accommo

date learner diversity by providing practice with test-taking skills, being sensitive to lan
guage and content that might be confusing to learners from different cultures, discussing
test items after students have responded to them, and making special provisions for non
native English speakers in administering and scoring tests.
Designing an Assessment System. An effective assessment system takes into account

tests, quizzes, homework, and other sources of information about student progress.
Talking to school leaders and other teachers can help in designing your system.
Communication needs to be an integral part of an effective assessment system. Pos
itive and concrete expectations set the stage for future learning, and this information
must be shared with both students and parents. Communication includes familiar prac
tices, such as open house, parent-teacher conferences, report cards, and interim progress
reports. One of the most effective is the simple practice of calling parents. It communi
cates commitment to students as individuals and a teacher's willingness to spend per
sonal time to help students.
Using Technology in Assessment. Technology, and particularly computers, can help
teachers reduce their workloads and use their time efficiently. Technology can be used
in planning and constructing tests, analyzing test results, and storing and maintaining
student records.
n
.....
Alternative assessment
Assessment system
Checklist
Classroom assessment
Criterion-referenced evaluation
Evaluation
Formal measurement
Informal measurement
Instructional alignment
Measurement
429
Norm-referenced evaluation
Performance assessment
Portfolio
Rating scale
Reliability
Systematic observation
Table of specifications
Test anxiety
Validity
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As you've studied this chapter, you've seen how effective teachers design and implement
assessments that gather accurate information and increase learning. Read the following
case study now and consider how effectively the teacher implemented the ideas dis
cussed in the chapter.
Darren Wilson, an English teacher at Greenland Pines Middle School. teaches three sec
tions of standard English and two sections of advanced English. We look in now as he be
gins a unit on singular and plural possessives with one of his standard English classes.
The tardy bell rings at 8:50 as Darren begins, "All right, listen, everyone.... We've
had some practice in making nouns plural ... and today, we're going to begin studying
possessives ... both singular and plural. Everybody turn to page 239 in your text. ...We
see at the top of the page that we're dealing with possessives .... This is very important in
our writing. We want to be able to write well, and this is one of the places where people
often get confused.... So when we're finished with our study here, you'll all be able to
use possessives correctly in your writing."
He then wrote the following on the board:
Add an apostrophe
to singular nouns or plural nouns that don't end in
Add an apostrophe after the
5.
if the plural noun doesn't end in 5.
If a singular or plural pronoun is possessive, do not add an apostrophe.
IC
ess
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elp
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ng
"Let's review briefly," Darren continued. "Who can spell the plural form of city for
me?"
"C-i-t-i-e-s," Horace volunteered.
"Okay, good ... So what would be the possessive form of the word?"
" ... Apostrophe after the 5," Marvella offered.
"Yes," Darren smiled. "Good, now what is the plural form of child? ... Juanita?"
" ... Children."
"All right, make it possessive," Darren probed.
" ... Ahh, 5 . . . no, ... apostrophe 5 . . . yeah, it doesn't end in 5."
430
CHAPTER 12
"Good thinking," Darren smiled. He then presented and had students discuss two
more examples, and as they finished, he said, "Now let's look at some more examples ....
Look on the overhead."
Darren showed an overhead with 10 sentences including the following four:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Did you get the card that belonged to Esteban?

The plots of the stories were quite interesting.
Joe owns a new car; the car is red.
The breeze blew the hats of the women off.
"Now," Darren continued, "rewrite the sentences in their possessive form, correctly
using apostrophes.... That's your homework for tomorrow.... If you jump on it, you
should be finished by the end of the period."
On Tuesday, Darren first went over the exercises the students had completed for
homework and then reviewed some additional examples where they had to create plural
forms of nouns, make them possessive, and properly punctuate possessive pronouns.
Near the end of class Darren announced, "Class, tomorrow we're going to have a test
on all of this stuff; singular nouns, plural nouns, pronouns ... the whole works. You have
your notes, so study hard ... Are there any questions? ... Okay, good. I expect you all to
do well. I'll see you tomorrow."
On Wednesday morning the students filed into class. As the bell rang, Darren picked
up the tests and, amid some groans and murmurs, asked, "Everybody ready?"
The test was composed of two parts. The first included 15 sentences that had to be
rewritten, as the students had done with the homework exercises. They involved combi
nations of singular nouns, plural nouns, and pronouns that had to be punctuated properly.
The second part of the test directed students to write a paragraph that included at least
one example of each rule for forming possessives.
':Just a reminder," Darren interjected before the students started working. "For the sec
ond part of the test ... remember that the paragraph has to make sense. It can't just be a
bunch of sentences on the paper."
The students went to work and Darren watched, periodically walking up and down
the aisles. Seeing that the period was half over and some of the students were only starting
on their paragraphs, he announced, "You have 20 minutes left. Watch your time and work
quickly. You need to finish by the end of the period."
He continued monitoring, again reminding them to work quickly when 10 minutes
were left and again when 5 minutes were left.
'Trang, Niksha, Nevella, and Rudy were hastily finishing the last few words of their
paragraphs just as the bell rang. Nevella turned in her paper as Darren's third-period stu
dents were filing in the room.
"Here," Darren said. "This pass will get you into Mrs. Jeffrey's class if you're late....
How did you do?"
"Okay, r think," Nevella said over her shoulder as she scurried out of the room, "ex
cept for the last part. It was hard. I couldn't get started."
'TIl look at it," Darren said. "Get moving now."
On Thursday and Friday Darren moved on to punctuating different kinds of clauses
and phrases. He scored the tests over the weekend and returned the papers on Monday.
As he handed them back, he said, "Here are your papers. You did fine on the sentences,
r4e
431
but your paragraphs need a lot of work. Why did you have so much trouble with them,
when we had so much practice?"
"It was hard. Mr. Wilson."
"Not enough time."
"l hate to write."
Darren listened patiently and then said, "Be sure you write your scores in your note
books.... Okay .... You have them all written down? ... Are there any questions?"
"Number 8," Enrique asked.
"Okay, let's look at 8," and he explained the item, finishing by saying, "Any others?"
A sprinkling of questions went around the room, and Darren responded, "We don't
have time to go over all of them. I'll discuss three more."
He then responded to three students who seemed most urgent in waving their hands.
He then collected their tests and moved on to the topic for the day.

Let's look at Darren's lesson now based on the information in this chapter. In doing your
analysis, consider the following questions. In each case, be specific and take information
directly from the case study in doing your analysis.
1. Alternative assessment was discussed in the chapter. How effective was Darren's
alternative assessment?
2. How well was Darren's instruction aligned? Explain specifically what could he
have done to increase instructional alignment.
3. Preparing students for tests, administering tests, and analyzing results were dis
cussed in the section on effective testing. How effectively did Darren conduct
each part? If you believe one or more of the parts could have been conducted
more effectively, describe specifically what he might have done.
4. Accommodating background diversity in learners is a theme of this text. How ef
fectively did Darren's assessment accommodate the diversity in his students?
5. Identify the primary strengths and the primary weaknesses in Darren's teaching
and assessment. Be specific in your analysis.
1. What advantages are there to establishing measurement routines? Are there any
disadvantages to these routines?
2. Some have suggested that grades act as motivators. Do they work that way for
you? What about the students you will teach? For what kinds of students will
grades be the most motivating? The least motivating? How does age and grade
level affect grades as motivators?
3. How does your specific teaching focus (e.g., subject matter or grade level) influ
ence the kind of assessment instruments you will use?
432
CHAPTER 12
4. Identify advantages and disadvantages of the following ways to assess student per
formance. How does the concept of validity affect the selection of one compared
to the other?
a. Essay
b. Short answer
c. Multiple choice
d. True-false
e. Performance assessment
5. Consider each of the options for collecting, scoring, and using homework that we
presented in this chapter. What advantages and disadvantages does each have in
addition to those we listed? How does the type of student (e.g., younger vs. older,
high ability vs. low ability) influence the effectiveness of any option? What other
options for handling homework exist?
6. What kind of grading system, norm- or criterion-referenced, do you prefer?

Why? Do you think your choice is similar to the preferences of the students you
will be teaching?
1. Analyzing an Assessment System. Analyze the assessment system for the course in
which you are using this book. Comment on the following dimensions:
a. Type of evaluation instruments used (e.g., objective vs. performance assessment)
b. Validity
c. Frequency
d. Course expectations
e. Norm- or criterion-referenced grading
How do each of these influence motivation and learning?
2. Report cards. Examine a report card.

a. How are grades reported?
b. How often are report cards given?
c. In addition to content areas like social studies and science, what other areas
(e.g., citizenship) are evaluated?
What challenges does the report card present to you as a teacher?
3. District Evaluation Policy. Is there a document summarizing your district's or
school's evaluation policy? If so, examine it and answer the following questions:
a. Is there a statement of philosophy? If so, summarize the major points.
b. How are parents involved in the process?
c. What are each teacher's individual responsibilities?
d. How do Ds and Fs influence promotion?
e. What is the relationship of grades to extracurricular activities?
f. How are unexcused absences and tardiness treated?
What challenges will you encounter integrating these policies into your classroom
assessment system?
t4e
433
4. 'Test administration. Observe a teacher administering a test or quiz. How did the
teacher deal with the following issues:
a. Expectations
b. Directions
c. Feedback
d. Grades
e. Makeups
What suggestion do you have to make this process more effective?
we
er,
t)
5. Homework. Interview a teacher to see how the following are handled:

a. Correcting
b. Grades
c. Late or missing
d. Makeups for absences
How do you plan to implement homework in your classroom?
6. Record Keeping. Interview a teacher at your grade level or in your subject matter
area and find out what his or her responsibilities are in terms of the following:
a. Individual attendance records
b. Tardiness
c. Report cards
d. Cumulative folders
What suggestions do they have for making the process more efficient? How will
you handle these tasks in your classroom?
\
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Brown, D., 82
Bruner,].,258
Bruning, R., 8,131,166,195,233,339,
372
Bryan,]., 132
Bull, R., 401
Bullock, A., 24, 25
Bullough, R., 107
Burns, R., 211
Burstyn,j.,217
Busmeyer,j.,258
Byrnes.]., 286
Calderhead,J., 130
Cameron, c., 207
Canter, 1., 201
Carlsen,W, 78,138
Carnine, 0.,143
Carrier, c., 404
Carrol,W,343
Carter, c., 105
Carter, K., 125
Cazden, c, 36, 135, 314
Charles, c., 196,212,213,214
Chaskin, R., 123
Chekles, K., 52
Cheng, 1. R., 414
Chewprecha, T., 174
Chinn, c., 262
Clandinin,]., 83
Clark, c., 75, 76, 83,84,88
Cobb, P., 329
Cochran-Smith, M., xii
AUTHOR INDEX
Cognition and Technology Group at
Vanderbilt, 344, 345
Cohen, Eo, 52, 53, 288, 290, 309, 333,
334,363,398
Coleman,].,6
Collins, Mo, 150
Confrey,].,258
Connell,]., 124
Cooper, Hi, 375, 416
Como, L., 375
Crooks, T., 416
Cruickshank, n, 135, 138,385
Cuban, L., 36,358,379
Curtis, L., 201
Curwin, n., 190, 192,201
Dahlof, 0., 399
Darling-Hammond, L., 4, 81
Davis, Go, 56
Davis, Ho, 336
Delgado-Gaiton, C, 209
Delpit, L., 41
Derry, So, 271
Dewey,]., 329
Deyhle, n, 413
Diaz, n., 57
Diem, n., 104
Dillon,]., 176,310,315
Dole,]., 191,261,262
Doyle,W, 18, 125, 191, 193,212,362
Dreisbach, Mo, 404
Drexler, No, 112
Duffy, Go, 170, 171
Duffy,T., 328, 369
Dunkin, Mo, 5,135
Dunkle, Mo, 338
Dunn, n., 57, 58
Dykstra, n, 78
Educational Testing Service, 19
Eggen,P.,8, 15, 16,43,55,62,79,

80,97,108,128,133,139,140,
153,159,160,162,165,172,
215,230,231,234,235,262,
286,287,305,316,331,337,
453
339,340,341,360,362,367,379,
381,385,409
Elam, So, 190
Elbaum, n. 318
Ellis, 50,207
Elwall, Eo,49
Emmer, Eo, 128, 139, 199,204
Epstein,]., 207, 417
Everson, Ho, 404, 405
Evertson, C, 128, 139, 199,204
Eysenck, Mo, 338
Farr, C, 56
Fatemi, Eo, 12
Feldman, So, 23
Fensham, P., 4
Fine, L., 51
Fisher, C, 129,374
Fitzgerald,].,43
Fleming, Mo, 400
Porcier.R;., 111, 112, 162,239,427
Frank, n., 57
Frederick,W,128
Fuchs, n, 318
Fuchs, L., 319
Furtado, L., 104
Gage, No, 6, 7,168,263,269,311,375,
388
Gagnon, Go, 331, 334
Gall, Mo, 165,310,313
Gardner, n., 51
Gay, G., 37
Gersten, n., 42, 362, 368
Gladney, L., 47
Glasser,W, 215
Glickman, C, 138
Glover.]., 262
Golden, No,64
Gollnick, o., 41, 42
Good, T., 6, 35,54,89, 130, 132, 133,

164,167,176,181,182,231,309,
330,336,369,371,399,404
Goodenow, C, 8, 124
Goodlad,].,379
454
AUTHOR INDEX
Gordon, T., 215
Grabinger, R., 328
Graham, S., 64
Greeno,]., 261
Gronlund, N., 93, 398, 408, 409
Gullickson, A., 401
Gump, P., 211
Guskey, T., 109
Guthrie, L., 112
Guzetti, B., 164
Hallahan, D., 62
Hallinan, M., 54
Hamilton, R., 164, 167
Hardiman, P., 272

Hardman, M., 50, 60, 63, 196,308
Harris, L., 217
Harrow, A., 87
Harry, B., 208
Haschak,].,104
Hativa, N., 64
Hayes,]., 46, 339
Haynes, N., 46
Heath, S., 36
Henderson,]., 164, 167
Herber, P., 277
Herman,]., 408, 410, 412
Heward,W, 59, 60, 61, 63
Hill, D., 201
Hill,]., 84
Hines, C, 135, 136
Hmelo, C, 328
Holley, C, 381
Holt,]., 341
Hoover-Dempsey, K., 209
Hudley, C, 47,217
Humphrey, E, 214
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act Amendments,
Pub.L.No. 105-17, 1,59
Interstate New Teacher Assessment and
Support Consortium (INTASC), 20
Jackson,P., 12, 18, 195
Jacobs, H., 102
Jacobsen, D., 98
Jacobson, L., 315
Jensen,A.,50
Johnson, D., 295
Jonassen, D., 239, 362
Jones,v., 191, 193,200,212,
214
Julyan, C, 306
Kagan, D., 131
Kagan,]., 57
Kagan, S., 131,290,295,298,
309
Kalechstein, P., 404
Karweit, N., 127, 128
Kauchak, D., 106
Kerman, S., 134, 167
Kika, E, 398
Klausmeier, H., 256
Knight, C, 58
Kohn,A.,315
Kounin.j., 194,209,211,212,
214
Krajcik,].,328
Krathwohl, D., 86
Kruger, A., 316, 317
Labov,W,41
Lambert, N., 153,360,
Langer,]., 172
Lankes,A.,25
Larrivee, B., 60
Leander, K., 261
Lee,]., 217
Lee,V.,125
Leinhardt, G., 18,366
Lemke,]., 388
Lepper, M., 140,234
Levin, H., 48
Levin, T., 196
Levine, D., 125
Lewis, R., 65
Limber, S., 217
Linn, R., 407
Logan, G., 366
Lopez, G., 207
AUTHOR INDEX
Lovett, M., 340
Loyd,B., 415
Mabry, L., 410
Macionis,]., 34, 44
Maddox, H., 136
Maehr, M., 416
Mager, R., 93
Male,M.,64
Manno, B., 82
Manzo,K.,83
Marshall, H., 8
Martin, D., 24
Marzano, n., 123,408

Maxwell, N., 328
Mayer, R., 8,136,230,341,343

McCarthy,]., 193
McCarthy, So, 10
McCaslin, Mo, 192
McCombs, n., 124,332,335

McCutcheon, Go,76, 80, 81, 89, 90,106,
107,108
McDaniel-Hine, L., 84
McGreal, T., 129, 167,205,374,375
McLaughlin, n., 201
McTighe,].,410
Means, Bo,48
Medley, 0.,5
Mehrens,W, 414
Meichenbaum, Do, 57
Meng,K.,57
Mercer, c., 65
Mercer.]., 51
Messick, So, 57, 410
Miller, So, 48
Missouri Department of Elementary
and Secondary Education, 81
Mitchell, M., 80
Moles, 0., 217
More Families in Poverty, 11,43

Morine-Dershimer, Go, 75, 105,
192
Morrison, Go, 427
Murnane, Ro, 44
Murphy,]., 374
Murray, E, 18
455
National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards, 20, 22
National Commission on Excellence
in Education, 44
National Council ofTeachers of
Mathematics (NCTM), 10,
81
Neale, D., 75, 105
Needels, Mo, 234
Newby, T., 65, 422
Nissani, M., 262
Noblit, Go, 124
Nosofsky, n., 258, 265
Novak,].,381
Nucci, L., 86, 214
Nystrand, M., 129
Oakes.]., 54
Office of Bilingual Education and
Minority Language Affairs, 40
Olsen, D., 82
Olson, L., 19
Oregon Department of Education,
81
Orlich, D., 98
Ormrod,]., 287, 316, 338
Osborne,]., 235, 350
Oser, E, 310, 316, 317
Paivio, A., 265
Paulson, E, 413
Peha,].,307
Peregoy, So, 38, 41, 43
Perkins, D., 364
Perry, Mo, 342
Perry, n., 132
Peterson, P, 46, 77, 89,105,107
Phillips, D., 230
Philips, S., 36
Pintrich, P, 78,131,140,164,171,195,
234,295,373,404,405
Plake, n., 401
Pogrow, So, 48
Poole, Mo, 131
Portner,]., 105
Prawat, n., 339
456
AUTHOR INDEX
Presidential Task Force on Psychology
in Education, 9
Ravetta, M., 43
Redfield, D., 176
Reed, S., 342,343
Resnick, 1., 139,290,343
Reynolds, R., 388
Rickford,].,41
Rist, R., 41
Roblyer, M., 12,64,111,240,422
Rose, 1., 190,315
Rosenfield, P, 198
Rosenshine, B., 5, 59, 175, 176,212,
362,373,374
Ross,]., 77
Roth, K., 105
Rothman, R., 48
Rottier, K., 307
Rowe,M., 166, 174
Rusnock, M., 128
Rutherford, E, 83,232
Saigh, P, 405
Saracho, 0., 57
Sardo, 0., 89, 105,106
Sattler,]., 50
Schauble, 1., 272
Schmidt, P, 42
Schnaiberg, 1., 42
Schoenfeld, A., 344
Schramm, S., 105
Schrum, 1., 12
Schunk, 0., 341
Schwartz, B., 258,265
Schwartz, N., 389
Senftleber, R., 105
Sewall, G., 83
Shields, P., 39, 41
Shimron,]., 196
Shipman, S., 58
Shuell,T., 120, 128, 164, 167, 168,261,
360
Shuhnan,].,260
Shuhnan,L.,,5,6,13,78,260
Shumow, 1., 40
Sieber, R., 214
Sikula,].,4
Skinner, E., 124
Slavin, R., 4,16,44,56,109,110,
111,287,288,294,295,296,
298,300,301,308,318,319,
327,328
Smith, 0., 61
Smith.j., 135
Smith, 1., 135, 136
Smyth,]., 128
Snider,V,58
Snow,R.,56
Snyder, S., 135
Snyderman, M., 50
Solomon, G., 278
Speidel, G., 41
Spencer, 0., 42
Spiro, R., 238
Stallings,]., 128, 176
Stepien,W,328
Stern, E., 342
Sternberg, R., 50, 51, 52, 328
Stiggins, R., 398,407,408,410,412,
417
Stipek, 0.,110,124
Stoddart,T., 8,11,40
Sund,R.,90
Taylor,]., 41
Taylor, P, 106
Teachers and Technology, 12
Teddlie, C, 191
Tennyson, R., 144,258,261,264,271

Tierney, R., 110
Tishman, S., 191
Tobin, K., 15, 174
Top, B., 56, 318
Turnbull,A., 55, 60
Tyler, R., 84, 93
U.S. Census Bureau, 11, 33, 34, 43
U.S. Department of Education, 11,40,
61
AUTHOR INDEX
van den Heuk, Mo, 336
Vars, Go, 105
Vasa, S., 204
Veenman, So, 12,79

Villegas,A., 34, 35, 36, 37
Virginia Board of Education, 82
Vygotsky, L., 287, 364
Walberg, n., 375
Walczyk,J.,57
Wang,M., 12,45,46,47, 164, 191
Washington,V.,41
Wattenmaker, W, 258
Waxman, Ho, 47
Weaver, L., 40
Webb, N., 309
Weiland, a, 278
Weinert, E, 363, 366
Weinstein, c., 195
Weinstein, R., 12
Wertsch,J.,363
457
White, B., 77, 84
White, Mo, 212
Wigfield, A., 405
Wiley, D., 128
Williams, S., 345
Willoughby,T.,389
Wilson, So, 13, 14
Winitzky, No, 38, 382
Winne,P.,176
Wirth,A.,lll
Witkin, H., 56, 58
Wlodkowski, R., 134
Worthen, B., 397, 407, 408
Wynne, Eo, 315
Yinger, n., 89,106

Young, s., 11,34
Zahorik,J., 79, 80, 105, 107,234,286
Zimmerman, B., 132,341
Ziomek, R., 412

Learning and Teaching

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Preface

~ I Research and Teaching

Research in Teaching: An Historical Perspective

Studies ~f 'Teacher Characteristics

'Teacher Effectiveness Research: Teachers Do Make a Difference

Contemporary Views of Teaching and Learning

From Behaviorist to Cognitive Perspectives

Constructivism: Students as Creators of Understanding

The Diversity if Our Learners

Hiays ~f Enhancing Learner Motivation

The Use ~f 'Technology for Increasing Learning

Knowledge of Subject Matter

Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Knowledge if 'Teaching and Learning

'Teacher Decision Making

Learning to 'Teach in an Era of Reform

Standards-Based Professional Development

Developing a Prcfessional Portfolio

Capitalizing on Cultural Diversity

Multicultural Education: The Challenge

Culturally Responsive 'Teaching

English Language Development Programs

Students Placed at Risk: Teaching the Children of Poverty

Resiliency: Capitalizing on Student Strengths

Motivation: The Needfor Challenge

Multiple Intelligences: The lMJrk if Howard Gardner

Conceptual 'Tempo: Impulsiue and Reflective Learners

Classroom Learning Styles: The Work if Dunn and Dunn

Learning Styles: Implications for 'Teaching

Students with Exceptionalities

lMJrking with Students with Exceptionalities: Supportfor Classroom 'Teachers

The Exceptional Student Population

The Teacher's Role in lMJrking with Students with Exceptionalities

Adapting Instruction for Students with Exceptionalities

~ 3 Teacher Planning: Research and Reality

Variables in Instructional Planning

Motivation: An Integral Part if Planning

Materials and Resources

The Linear Rational Model: A Sequential Planning Model

Kinds of Goals: The Three Domains

Instructional Alignment: A Key to Learning

Integrating the Curriculum: Interdisciplinary and Thematic Units

Designing and Implementing Integrated Units

Research on Teacher Planning

Planning for Diversity: Individualized Instruction

Vilrying Learning Objectives

Adapting Instructional Materials

Offering Different Learning Activities

Ifchnology as a ToolJor Individualizing Instruction

Effective Teaching: The Research Base

Classroom Climate: A Prerequisite to Learning

Acceptance and Caring: The Human Diversity oj Ifaching

Effective Teaching and the Concept of Time

Instructional Time: TimeJrom a Learner's Perspective

A General Instructional Model