Guided Instruction

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Guided Instruction
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Roots of Guided Instruction

• Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development
• the distance between the actual developmental
  level as determined by independent problem
  solving and the level of potential development as
  determined through problem solving under adult
  guidance, or in collaboration with more capable
  peers (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86).
• Wood, Bruner, and Rosss Scaffolding
• requires the adults controlling those elements
  of the task that are initially beyond the
  learners capability, thus permitting him to
  concentrate upon and complete only those elements
  that are within his range of competence (Wood,
  Bruner, Ross, 1976, p. 90).

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• Guided Instruction is analogous to teaching a
  child to ride a bike. Scaffolds include training
  wheels, running alongside the bike, calling
  directions (Pedal faster!)
• The adult is there to handle the tricky parts,
  but the child begins to try out the skill or
  strategy

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Scaffolds

• In construction and in instruction
• Provides support
• Functions as a tool
• Extends the range of the worker
• Allows the worker to accomplish a task otherwise
  not possible
• Used to selectively aid the worker when needed
  (Greenfield, 1999)

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Scaffolds in Classroom Instruction

• Robust questions to check for understanding
• Prompts that focus on cognitive and metacognitive
  processes
• Cues to shift attention to sources
• Direct explanation and modeling to re-teach

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Teacher Poses a Question
Student responds
Robust Questioning to Check for Understanding
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Questioning (not quizzing) to Check for
Understanding

• Quizzing!
• Teacher What is a nocturnal animal?
• Student An animal that stays awake at night.
• Teacher Good. What is a diurnal animal?

• Questioning!
• Teacher What is a nocturnal animal?
• Student An animal that stays awake at night.
• Teacher Tell me more about that. Does a
  nocturnal animal have special characteristics?
• Student Well, it doesnt sleep a lot.

Misconception Alert!
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Intention in Robust Questioning

• Focus is on uncovering, not testing
• Looking for anticipated misconceptions or partial
  understandings
• Feed forward to plan subsequent instruction
  (Fisher Frey, 2009)
• Beware the expert blind spot! (Nathan
  Petrosino, 2003)
• Overestimating the relative ease of the task
• Overlooking the developmental progression in
  mastering a task

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Types of Robust Questions

• Elicitation questions draw on information that
  has already been taught (5 Ws)
• Divergent questions require the learner to use
  both previously taught and new information (Why
  does water in a lake look blue but is clear in a
  glass?)
• Elaboration questions ask the student to provide
  their reasoning (Why do you think so?)
• Clarification questions require extending
  thinking through furnishing an example (Can you
  show me where you found that information?)
• Heuristic questions engage them in informal
  problem-solving (How do you know when you have
  run out of ways to answer this question?)

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Teacher Poses a Question
Student responds
Is the answer appropriate?
Yes
No
Probe to elicit more information
Prompt to elicit background knowledge Focus on
cognitive/metacognitive
Prompting for Cognitive and Metacognitive
Thinking
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Prompting to Follow an Incorrect Answer

• Teacher What is a nocturnal animal?
• Student An animal that stays awake at night.
• Teacher Tell me more about that. Does a
  nocturnal animal have special characteristics?
• Student Well, it doesnt sleep a lot.
• Teacher Im thinking of those pictures we saw of
  the great horned owl and the slow loris in the
  daytime and at night. Does your answer still
  work? a prompt to activate background knowledge

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Prompts

• Focus on cognitive and metacognitive processes
• Can be declarative or interrogatory
• What does the student need to complete the task?
• Questioning is about assessment Prompting is
  about doing

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Types of Prompts

• Metacognitive
• Sense-making
• Self-assessment
• Reflection
• What worked, and what needs improving
• Heuristic and Reflective Prompts

• Cognitive
• Triggers academic knowledge
• Factual or procedural knowledge
• The reasoning needed to apply it
• Background Knowledge and Process or Procedure
  Prompts

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Background Knowledge Prompts

• Includes what has been previously taught and what
  has been experienced
• Can be built directly or indirectly (Marzano,
  2004)
• Background knowledge prompts invite students to
  use what they know to resolve problems

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Using Background Knowledge Prompts

• Context Students are creating a Jeopardy-style
  game. The teacher is building the background
  knowledge of a group of students. He draws their
  attention to a sentence in the text When you
  eat foodssuch as bread, meat, and
  vegetablesthey are not in a form that the body
  can use as nourishment. He asks Mauricio to
  retell it is his own words...

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• Mauricio So, I think it says that your body
  cant use meat like it is meat. It has to be
  changed.
• Jessica But thats what we eat to live. Thats
  good eating.
• Russell I dont eat any vegetables. I only
  like the meat and bread from this, like a
  hamburger.
• Mr. Jackson How does that meat change so that
  your body can use it? Russell?
• Russell It doesnt change. Its meat.
• Mr. Jackson So lets think about what we know
  about nourishment and our food. Theres a
  process that it goes through, right? they nod in
  agreement Whats the first step? You know this
  because you do it several times a day.
• Sarah The first thing to eat? Is that what you
  mean?
• Mr. Jackson Yeah, the first thing.
• Sarah You take a bite.
• Mr. Jackson Exactly, right on. So youve
  changed the food, right?
• Russell Yeah, but its still meat.
• Mr. Jackson It sure is. But its changed a bit,
  and will change more. Remember we talked about
  different kinds of changes. Physical Chemical
• Jessica So the first thing, when you bite it,
  its a physical change, right?
• Mr. Jackson You know it! And then what
  happens?

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Prompting for Procedural or Process Knowledge

• Performing a specific task
• Addresses the what and how in learning
• Examples Order of operations (math), peer
  response (writing), completing a lab (science)
• Prompts can be forward chaining (starts the
  process) and backward chaining (leaves the last
  step to complete)

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Prompting Heuristic Knowledge

• Informal problem-solving dispositions and
  technique
• Often apply a rule of thumb
• Make a graph so I can see it confirm my
  prediction keep track of the calculations so I
  dont get mixed up Make a list of pros and
  cons
• These are less well-defined techniques than
  procedural or process knowledge ones, and draw on
  past experiences and Eureka moments

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This means students need to have past experiences!

• Heuristic prompts work best when they have used
  the heuristic before--foster productive success
  during guided instruction so they have those
  Eureka moments.

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Heuristic prompts in reading
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Reflective Knowledge Prompts

• Trigger metacognitive thinking
• Knowing about knowing
• Includes invitations to set goals, write in an
  interactive journal, conferencing with a student
• What did you learn today?
• How did you learn it?
• What do you need to learn next?

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Teacher Poses a Question
Student responds
Is the answer appropriate?
No
Yes
Prompt to elicit background knowledge Focus on
cognitive/metacognitive
Probe to elicit more information
Is the answer appropriate?
Is the answer appropriate?
Yes
Yes
No
No
Pose new question
Pose new question
Cue to shift Attention to Information source
Cueing to Shift Attention
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Defining Cues

• Shift attention to sources of information
• Can highlight an error
• More direct and specific than prompts
• Often follow a prompt that did not elicit a
  correct response
• Attention grows with competency

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The Role of Attention

• Attention is influenced by expertise
• Expert dancers notice what novice dancers dont
  (Calvo-Merino, et al., 2005)
• Consider the expert commentator at a diving
  event--he sees things you dont
• Your teaching cues do the same thing for novice
  learners

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Types of Cues

• Visual
• Physical
• Gestural
• Positional
• Verbal
• Environmental
• Pair cues for greater impact

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Visual Cues in Reading

• Look at the cover of the book and predict what
  the story is about.
• Based on the illustration, do you think the
  character is happy, sad, scared?
• The illustration on page 6 might be helpful in
  summarizing the text.
• Take a look at this picture and think about the
  actions that take place.
• Circling, highlighting, underlining passages
• Graphic organizers

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Cueing Using Movement

• Physical cues are the most overt hand-over-hand,
  touching the elbow
• Gestural cues do not involve touching, are
  purposeful and precise
• Positional cues rely on movement (sliding forward
  a piece of a puzzle)

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Verbal and Emphasis Cues

• VERBAL
• Listen carefully to this next direction
• This is important
• Be sure to write this down in your notes
• Get your mouth ready to say this word.
• You said ____. Does that sound right?
• Look at that last part of that paragraph.
• This is a tricky part. Be sure
• Watch out. This is where lots of people make a
  mistake.

• EMPHASIS
• Repeating a students statement
• Using intonation to stress a word or phrase
• Slowing the rate of speech
• Changing the volume of speech to emphasize a word
  or phrase
• Pausing after beginning a statement in order to
  allow the student to complete the thought.

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Environmental Cues

• Proximity
• Environmental print
• Manipulatives and objects
• Interactive whiteboards
• Others?

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QUESTION
Responds
Appropriate?
No
Yes
Probe
PROMPT
Appropriate?
Appropriate?
Yes
Yes
No
No
New question
New question
CUE
Is the answer appropriate?
Yes
No
Pose new question
OFFER DIRECT EXPLANATION AND MODELING
Pose original question again
Direct Explanation and Modeling
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Inquiring Minds Want to Know

• 600 sixth graders surveyed said they wanted the
  teacher to
• Describe what he or she did to understand an
  occurrence in the text
• Demonstrate how they knew when they had the
  correct meaning for the word and
• Show how the teacher applies specific reading
  processes (Block, 2004)

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When a Learner Gets Stuck

• and prompting and cueing dont work
• Direct explanation
• Modeling
• Thinking aloud

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Defining Direct Explanation

• Explicitly state what is being taught
• Tell when and how it will be used
• Think aloud to demonstrate reasoning
• Monitor application
• Check for understanding

Take care not to re-assume responsibility too
quickly
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Defining Modeling

• Demonstration of a skill or problem-solving
  strategy by an expert
• Used widely in science, physical education,
  music, art
• Human need to mimic
• Mirror neuron systems

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Defining Thinking Aloud

• Modeling of more covert skills
• verbal protocol for explaining ones decisions
  while performing a task (Davey, 1987)
• Exposing the inner dialogue of the reader
• Disrupts students belief that teachers just
  know stuff
• Students who believe intelligence is fixed and
  outside ones control are at risk for failure