Report on 

good instruction and defects in instruction.

Report on good instruction 

Master instructors are those instructors whose classrooms made the highest gains on
achievement tests. In a series of studies, a wide range of instructors were observed as they
taught, and the investigators coded how they presented new material, how and whether they
checked for trainee understanding, the types of support they provided to their trainees, and a
number of other instructional activities. By also gathering trainee achievement data,
researchers were able to identify the ways in which the more and less effective instructors
differed
Education involves helping a novice develop strong, readily accessible background
knowledge. It’s important that background knowledge be readily accessible, and this occurs
when knowledge is well rehearsed and tied to other knowledge. The most effective
instructors ensured that their trainees efficiently acquired, rehearsed, and connected
background knowledge by providing a good deal of instructional support. They provided this
support by teaching new material in manageable amounts, modelling, guiding trainee
practice, helping trainees when they made errors, and providing for sufficient practice and
review. Many of these instructors also went on to experiential, hands-on activities, but they
always did the experiential activities after, not before, the basic material was learned.
The following is a list of some of the instructional principles
Begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning.
• Present new material in small steps with trainee practice after each step.
• Ask a large number of questions and check the responses of all trainees.
• Provide models.
• Guide trainee practice.
• Check for trainee understanding.
• Obtain a high success rate.
• Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks.
• Require and monitor independent practice.
• Engage trainees in weekly and monthly review.
Begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning: Daily review can strengthen
previous learning and can lead to fluent recall
Daily review is an important component of instruction. Review can help us strengthen
the connections among the material we have learned. The review of previous learning can
help us recall words, concepts, and procedures effortlessly and automatically when we need
this material to solve problems or to understand new material. The development of expertise
requires thousands of hours of practice, and daily review is one component of this practice.
The most effective teachers in the studies of classroom instruction understood the importance
of practice, and they began their les-sons with a five- to eight-minute review of previously
covered material. Some teachers reviewed vocabulary, formulae, events, or previously
learned concepts. These teachers provided additional practice on facts and skills that were
needed for recall to become automatic. Effective teacher activities also included reviewing
the con-cepts and skills that were necessary to do the homework, having students correct each
others’ papers, and asking about points on which the students had difficulty or made errors.
This report ensured that the students had a firm grasp of the skills and concepts that
would be needed for the day’s lesson. Effective teachers also reviewed the knowledge and
concepts that were relevant for that day’s lesson. It is important for a teacher to help students
recall the concepts and vocabulary that will be relevant for the day’s lesson because our
working memory is very limited. If we do not review previous learning, then we will have to
make a special effort to recall old material while learning new material and this makes it
difficult for us to learn the new material. Daily review is particularly important for teaching
material that will be used in subsequent learning. Examples include reading sight words (i.e.,
any word that is known by a reader automatically), grammar, math facts, math computation,
math factoring, and chemical equations. When planning for review, teachers might want to
consider which words, math facts, procedures, and concepts need to become automatic, and
which words, vocabulary, or ideas need to be reviewed before the lesson begins. In addition,
teachers might consider doing the following during their daily review:• Correct homework.•
Review the concepts and skills that were practiced as part of the homework.• Ask students
about points where they had difficulties or made errors.• Review material where errors were
made.• Review material that needs over learning (i.e., newly acquired skills should be
practiced well beyond the point of initial mastery, leading to automaticity).2. Present new
material in small steps with student practice after each step: Only present small amounts of
new material at any time, and then assist students as they practice this material. Research
findings Our working memory, the place where we process information, is small. It can only
handle a few bits of information at once too much information swamps our working memory.
Presenting too much material at once may confuse students because their working memory
will be unable to process it. Therefore, the more effective teachers do not overwhelm their
students by presenting too much new material at once. Rather,
“The most effective teachers ensured that students efficiently acquired,
rehearsed, and connected knowledge. Many went on to hands-on activities,
but always after, not before, the basic material was learned”

2. Present new material in small steps with student practice after each step: Only
present small amounts of new material at any time and then assist students as they
practice this material.
Our working memory, the place where we process information, is small. It can only
handle a few bits of information at once too much information swamps our working memory.
Presenting too much material at once may confuse students because their working memory
will be unable to process it.
Therefore, the more effective teachers do not overwhelm their students by presenting
too much new material at once. Rather, The most effective teachers ensured that students
efficiently acquired, rehearsed, and connected knowledge. many went on to hands-on
activities, but always after, not before, the basic material was learned.
These teachers only present small amounts of new material at any time, and then assist the
students as they practice this material. Only after the students have mastered the first step do
teachers proceed to the next step. The procedure of first teaching in small steps and then
guiding student practice represents an appropriate way of dealing with the limitation of our
working memory.
The more successful teachers did not overwhelm their students by presenting too
much new material at once. Rather, they presented only small amounts of new material at one
time, and they taught in such a way that each point was mastered before the next point was
introduced. They checked their students’ understanding on each point and re-taught material
when necessary. Some successful teachers taught by giving a series of short presentations
using many examples. The examples provided concrete learning and elaboration that were
useful for processing new material. Teaching in small steps requires time, and the more
effective teachers spent more time presenting new material and guiding student practice than
did the less effective teachers. In a study of mathematics instruction, for instance, the most
effective mathematics teachers spent about 23 minutes of a 40-minute period in lecture,
demonstration, questioning, and working examples. In contrast, the least effective teachers
spent only 11 minutes presenting new material. The more effective teachers used this extra
time to provide additional explanations, give many examples, check for student
understanding, and provide sufficient instruction so that the students could learn to work
independently without difficulty. In one study, the least effective teachers asked only nine
questions in a 40-minute period. Compared with the successful teachers, the less effective
teachers gave much shorter presentations and explanations, and then passed out worksheets
and told students to solve the problems. The less successful teachers were then observed
going from student to student and having to explain the material again.

3. Ask a large number of questions and check the responses of all students:
Questions help students practice new information and connect new material to their
prior learning.
Students need to practice new material. The teacher’s questions and student
discussion are a major way of providing this necessary practice. The most successful teachers
in these studies spent more than half of the class time lecturing, demonstrating, and asking
questions. Questions allow a teacher to determine how well the material has been learned and
whether there is a need for additional instruction. The most effective teachers also ask
students to explain the process they used to answer the question, to explain how the answer
was found. Less successful teachers ask fewer questions and almost no process questions
n one classroom-based experimental study, one group of teachers was taught to follow
the presentation of new material with lots of questions. They were taught to increase the
number of factual questions and process questions they asked during this guided practice.
Test results showed that their students achieved higher scores than did students whose
teachers did not receive the training. Imaginative teachers have found ways to involve all
students in answering questions. Examples include having all students:• Tell the answer to a
neighbour.• Summarize the main idea in one or two sentences, writing the summary on a
piece of paper and sharing this with a neighbour, or repeating the procedures to a neighbour.•
Write the answer on a card and then hold it up.• Raise their hands if they know the answer
(thereby allowing the teacher to check the entire class).• Raise their hands if they agree with
the answer that someone else has given. Across the classrooms that researchers observed, the
purpose of all these procedures was to provide active participation for the students and also to
allow the teacher to see how many students were correct and confident. The teacher may then
re-teach some material when it was considered necessary. An alternative was for students to
write their answers and then trade papers with each other. Other teachers used choral
responses to provide sufficient practice when teaching new vocabulary or lists of items. This
made the practice seem more like a game.
To be effective, however, all students needed to start together, on a signal. When
students did not start together, only the faster students answered. In addition to asking
questions, the more effective teachers facilitated their students’ rehearsal by providing
explanations, giving more examples, and supervising students as they practiced the new
material. The following is a series of stems for questions that teachers might ask when
teaching literature, social science content, or science content to their students. Sometimes,
students may also develop questions from these stems to ask questions of each other.
4. Provide models: Providing students with models and worked examples can
help them learn to solve problems faster.
Students need cognitive support to help them learn to solve problems. The teacher
modelling and thinking aloud while demonstrating how to solve a problem are examples of
effective cognitive support. Worked examples (such as a math problem for which the teacher
not only has provided the solution but has clearly laid out each step) are another form of
modelling that has been developed by researchers. Worked examples allow students to focus
on the specific steps to solve problems and thus reduce the cognitive load on their working
memory. Modelling and worked examples have been used successfully in mathematics,
science, writing, and reading comprehension.
Many of the skills that are taught in classrooms can be conveyed by providing
prompts, modelling use of the prompt, and then guiding students as they develop
independence. When teaching reading comprehension strategies, for example, effective
teachers provided students with prompts that the students could use to ask themselves
questions about a short passage. In one class, students were given words such as “who,”
“where,” “why,” and “how” to help them begin a question. Then, everyone read a passage
and the teacher modelled how to use these words to ask questions. Many examples were
given. Next, during guided practice, the teacher helped the students practice asking questions
by helping them select a prompt and develop a question that began with that prompt. The
students practiced this step many times with lots of support from the teacher. Then, the
students read new passages and practiced asking questions on their own, with support from
the teacher when needed. Finally, students were given short passages followed by questions,
and the teacher expressed an opinion about the quality of the students’ questions. This same
procedure—providing a prompt, modelling, guiding practice, and supervising independent
practice—can be used for many tasks. When teaching students to write an essay, for exam-
ple, an effective teacher first modelled how to write each paragraph, then the students and
teacher worked together on two or more new essays, and finally students worked on their
own with supervision from the teacher. Worked examples are another form of modelling that
has been used to help students learn how to solve problems in mathematics and science. A
worked example is a step-by-step demonstration of how to perform a task or how to solve a
problem. The presentation of worked examples begins with the teacher modelling and
explaining the steps that can be taken to solve a specific problem. The teacher also identifies
and explains the underlying principles for these steps. Usually, students are then given a
series of problems to complete at their desks as independent practice. But, in research carried
out in Australia, students were given a mixture of problems to solve and worked examples.
So, during independent practice, students first studied a worked example, then they solved a
problem; then they studied another worked example and solved another problem. In this way,
they worked examples showed students how to focus on the essential parts of the problems.
Of course, not all students studied the worked examples. To correct many of the skills taught
in classrooms can be conveyed by providing prompts, modelling use of the prompt, and then
guiding students as they develop independence.
5. Guide student practice: Successful teachers spend more time guiding students’
practice of new material.
It is not enough simply to present students with new material, because the material
will be forgotten unless there is sufficient rehearsal. An important finding from information-
processing research is that students need to spend additional time rephrasing, elaborating, and
summarizing new material in order to store this material in their long-term memory. When
there has been sufficient rehearsal, the students are able to retrieve this material easily and
thus are able to make use of this material to foster new learning and aid in problem solving.
But when the rehearsal time is too short, students are less able to store, remember, or use the
material. As we know, it is relatively easy to place something in a filing cabinet, but it can be
very difficult to recall where exactly we filed it. Rehearsal helps us remember where we filed
it so we can access it with ease when needed. A teacher can facilitate this rehearsal process
by asking questions; good questions require students to process and rehearse the material.
Rehearsal is also enhanced when students are asked to summarize the main points, and when
they are supervised as they practice new steps in a skill. The quality of storage in long-term
memory will be weak if students only skim the material and do not engage in it. It is also
important that all students process the new material and receive feedback, so they do not
inadvertently store partial information or a misconception in long-term memory.
6. Check for student understanding: Checking for student understanding at each
point can help students learn the material with fewer errors.
The more effective teachers frequently checked to see if all the students were learning
the new material. These checks provided some of the processing needed to move new
learning into long-term memory. These checks also let teachers know if students were
developing misconceptions. In the classroom Effective teachers also stopped to check for
student understanding. They checked for understanding by asking questions, by ask-ing
students to summarize the presentation up to that point or to repeat directions or procedures,
or by asking students whether they agreed or disagreed with other students’ answers. This
checking has two purposes: (a) answering the questions might cause the students to elaborate
on the material they have learned and augment connections to other learning in their long-
term memory, and (b) alerting the teacher to when parts of the material need to be re-taught.

7. Obtain a high success rate: It is important for students to achieve a high

success rate during classroom instruction.
In two of the major studies on the impact of teachers, the investigators found that
students in classrooms with more effective teachers had a higher success rate, as judged by
the quality of their oral responses during guided practice and their individual work. In a study
of fourth-grade mathematics, it was found that 82 percent of students’ answers were correct
in the classrooms of the most successful teachers, but the least successful teachers had a
success rate of only 73 percent. A high success rate during guided practice also leads to a
higher success rate when students are working on problems on their own.
8. Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks: The teacher provides students with
temporary supports and scaffolds to assist them when they learn difficult tasks
Investigators have successfully provided students with scaffolds, or instructional
supports, to help them learn difficult tasks. A scaffold is a temporary support that is used to
assist a learner. These scaffolds are gradually withdrawn as learners become more com-
patent, although students may continue to rely on scaffolds when they encounter particularly
difficult problems. Providing scaffolds is a form of guided practice. Scaffolds include
modelling the steps by the teacher, or thinking aloud by the teacher as he or she solves the
problem. Scaffolds also may be tools, such as cue cards or checklists, that complete part of
the task for the students, or a model of the completed task against which students can
compare their own work.
9. Require and monitor independent practice: Students need extensive,
successful, independent practice in order for skills and knowledge to become automatic.
In a typical teacher-led classroom, guided practice is followed by independent
practice by students working alone and practicing the new material. This independent
practice is necessary because a good deal of practice (over learning) is needed in order to
become fluent and automatic in a skill. When material is over-learned, it can be recalled
automatically and doesn’t take up any space in working memory. When students become
automatic in an area, they can then devote more of their attention to comprehension and
application. Independent practice provides students with the additional review and
elaboration they need to become fluent. This need for fluency applies to facts, concepts, and
discriminations that must be used in subsequent learning. Fluency is also needed in opera-
tions, such as dividing decimals, conjugating a regular verb in a foreign language, or
completing and balancing a chemical equation.
10. Engage students in weekly and monthly review: Students need to be involved
in extensive practice in order to develop well-connected and automatic knowledge.
Students need extensive and broad reading and extensive practice in order to develop
well-connected networks of ideas in their long-term memory. When one’s knowledge on a
particular topic is large and well connected, it is easier to learn new information and prior
knowledge is more readily available for use. The more one rehearses and reviews
information, the stronger these interconnections become. It is also easier to solve new
problems when one has a rich, well-connected body of knowledge and strong ties among the
connections. One of the goals of education is to help students develop extensive and avail-
able background knowledge. Knowledge (even very extensive knowledge) stored in long-
term memory that is organized into patterns only occupies a tiny amount of space in our
limited working memory. So having larger and better-connected patterns of knowledge frees
up space in our working memory. This available space can be used for reflecting on new
information and for problem solving. The development of well-connected patterns (also
called “unitization” and “chunking”) and the freeing of space in the working memory is one
of the hallmarks of an expert in a field. Thus, research on cognitive processing supports the
need for a teacher to assist students by providing for extensive reading of a variety of
materials, frequent review, and discussion and application activities. The research on
cognitive processing suggests that these classroom activities help students increase the
number of pieces of information in their long-term memory and organize this information
into patterns and chunks. The more one rehearses and reviews information, the stronger the
interconnections between the materials become. Review also helps students develop their
new knowledge into patterns, and it The best way to become an expert is through practice—
thousands of hours of practice. The more the practice, the better the performance.

Principles of Effective Instruction

.• Begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning.
• Present new material in small steps with student practice after each step.
• Limit the amount of material students receive at one time.
• Give clear and detailed instructions and explanations.
• Ask a large number of questions and check for understanding
.• Provide a high level of active practice for all students.
• Guide students as they begin to practice.
• Think aloud and model steps
.• Provide models of worked-out problems
.• Ask students to explain what they have learned.
• check the responses of all students.
• Provide systematic feedback and corrections.
• Use more time to provide explanations
.• Provide many examples.
• Re-teach material when necessary.
• Prepare students for independent practice
.• monitor students when they begin independent practice.
Report on  defects in instruction.

Effective instructional strategies change with time; what you learned in teaching
school may no longer be relevant to the students you’re currently dealing with. The best way
to improve your own instruction–aside from reading this blog, of course–is to watch what
others do. If you have a free period, ask another teacher if you can sit in on their class. Film
your own class, hand out copies, and ask for feedback.

2. Assuming a lesson taught is a lesson learned.

We all know there’s a difference between giving a presentation and actually teaching.
But how do we achieve more of the latter? The answer really lies in Blunder 7, as you’ll read
in a moment, but a good first step is to never assume that you’ve gotten your point across.

3. Failing to establish relevance.

Establishing relevance doesn’t mean filling your lecture with analogies to the interests
of every individual student in your class. Not only would that take an eternity, but it would be
counter-productive. Establishing relevance requires a bit of creativity on your part. It can
come in the form of a lecture, an assignment, or a chosen text. But it’s not in the details–it’s
in the bigger picture.

4. Teaching without empathy.

I’m not talking about emotional empathy; I’m talking about the ability to put yourself
in a student’s shoes and imagine what they want, like, and think (or don’t want, don’t like,
and don’t think). You were a self-interested, fickle-minded student once. Don’t forget it.

5. Immediately calling on volunteers to answer a question.

When you do this, more often than not, few students will even bother to think about
the question, since they know that eventually someone else will provide the answer. Instead,
ask students to write down questions they have on a note cards or as a kind of concept-map,
then collect them as exit slips.

6. Failing to diversify your teaching.

Variety is the spice of the classroom. It’s also proven to enhance learning and
memory, and is naturally engaging. Diversifying your teaching means diversifying your
students’ learning.

7. Assessing infrequently.

Infrequent assessment encourages cramming, reduces retention, and places immense

pressure on students and teachers alike to cover a huge amount of material between testing
rounds. Giving a short, 10-question quiz every Friday will help students remember what
they’ve learned, become better test-takers, and allow you to gather weekly feedback on your
own effectiveness.

8. Setting low student expectations.

Generally, students will perform at a level consistent with performance expectations.

This means we have to consciously treat students equally, make our expectations clear and
applicable to all, and constantly encourage improvement. Know the difference between a lazy
student who claims a concept is “too hard” and a motivated student who is truly challenged
by the concept.

Keep your expectations high, but adjust your approach accordingly.

9. Not preparing for silence.

You know the feeling–when you ask a question and receive absolute radio silence.
Many of us often fail to anticipate that many students will not share our enthusiasm for a
lesson. What happens now? We answer the question ourselves, make an ironic joke, move on.

The best way to deal with silence is to not be phased by it. Smile to yourself and move on,
show you are still in control, and your students will feel more comfortable and be more
willing to volunteer the next time.

10. Letting the moment pass.

Ever heard of Malcom Gladwell’s concept of “thin slicing”? It’s the ability to find
patterns in events based only on “thin slices,” or narrow windows, of experience. When we
need to make instant decisions – ideally good ones — without much information, we rely on
this sort of thinking. If we don’t use this type of thinking, and instead get weighed down in
details and analysis, we may lose precious moments that could have been used as learning
opportunities.

11. Not getting to know your students.

Getting to know students too often comes second. The truth is, whether you learn
anything about their learning preferences or not (which you probably will), the gesture itself
is powerful enough to increase student motivation, self-expression, and performance.