The Teaching
Of Performance

Successful instruction has a lot to do with packaging. There are only two ways to package student activity during a lesson. The first is the one we grew up with:
Input, Input, Input, Input -- Output
The second is the one that characterizes learning by doing:
Input, Output, Input, Output, Input, Output

Learning by doing focuses on performance. The teaching of performance is usually referred to as coaching: You explain what to do next. You model what to do next. Then you have the student(s) do that step while you watch like a hawk. If there is error, you fix it immediately before it becomes a bad habit. You might repeat that step a few times to iron out the kinks. Then, when youre satisfied with performance, you proceed to the next step.

If lessons are packaged in that fashion, problems of cognitive overload and forgetting are nearly eliminated, while student engagement is maximized. In addition, assessment is continuous, not something thats separated from performance and delayed until its relevance is lost.

Source: Making See, Say, Do Teaching Affordable

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09/14/2010