Howdy!


I'm adding materials as fast as I can.  Well, pretty fast.  The materials are not yet in a logical sequence.  But they will be. Take whatever you want.  Please let me know if you can think of ways to improve what you read.  gorbelly55@yahoo.com

Educate all children well.  How are we doing?  Not so well?  
                                 
                           Learning and Knowledge
Knowledge is the core idea in teaching. What do you help students to acquire?  Knowledge.  What do you help students to examine, improve, apply, and retain? Knowledge.  But what IS knowledge?  Knowledge is how human beings represent experience. Humans represent experience in four ways---that is, there are four kinds of representations: (1) verbal associations, such as facts and lists; (2) concepts; (3) rules or propositions; and (4) routines.   

Each of these four kinds of knowledge represents a connection. Facts connect one specific thing and another specific thing.  Boston is the capital of Massachusetts.

Lists connect one thing and a list of other things.  Mitosis has four phases: prophase, anaphase, metaphase, and telophase.

Concepts are classes or set or groups of things that share certain features.  The class (concept) of things that are red, things that are constitutional republics.

Rules or propositions are connections not among individual things (Boston and Massachusetts), but among classes of things (concepts).  For example, when the demand for a good increases, the price of the good increases.

Routines are connections among steps that get something done. Sounding out words (rrruuunnn) is a routine,  So is using facts and concepts and rules to explain the American Revolution.


Each form of knowledge is acquired though the logical process of inductive reasoning.  Therefore, the most effective instruction enables learners to easily use inductive reason to figure out (construct, induce, get) what the teacher and materials are 

In other words, teaching is applied practical philosophy.

The first document below is kind of an overview.

A model of learning that says a lot about how to design instruction.  There are many theories of learning in education. Advocates of these theories are often in conflict with one another over who is right.  The model or theory presented here avoids that silly conflict.  How?  It describes how learning really happens.  So, there is nothing to argue about.  The basic principle is that human beings develop, invent, construct, "get," figure out, realize, or intuit general ideas (such as the concept democracy or red, or economic rules/laws about how the price of goods varies with the demand for goods) by comparing and contrasting example of the concepts or rules and then inducing through inductive reasoning the general idea revealed by the examples. Learning IS the process of inductive reasoning from examples.  Therefore, in the beginning, teachers should present examples, help students to compare and contrast them to find what is the same and what is different, and then help students to figure out and state what is common (what is general).


Forms of Knowledge.  This document focuses on each form of knowledge. 


Forms of Knowledge:  How they are learned and effectively taught.

This document gives more details than the two earlier documents.

  It shows the process (routine) of inductive reasoning that humans use to "get" (induce) general knowledge (e.g., concepts, rules) from examples.  And it shows how to design instruction that is consistent with the logic of learning---so that learners can more easily DO the required logical steps or operations.  This document is of such high quality that you will be stunned with amazement. Better sit down when you read it. Theory of instruction.   Siegfried Engelmann and Douglas Carnine are among the smartest designers of curriculum(what to teach and in what sequence),curriculum materials (e.g. programs that tell teachers exactly how to "deliver" the curriculum), and instruction (how teachers organize communication of information).  They wrote a book laying out how they think.  To read their book--Theory of instruction---is to share the thought processes of geniuses.  It took me a year to understand the first five chapters.  So, I wrote this document to make their ideas more easily available.  Have fun.

                        Instructional Objectives
Instructional objectives are what students will DO with what they learn.  



Instructional objectives: Introduction.  Teaching starts with what you want students to DO.  If you know what you want students to do (the objectives of instruction), then you can figure out how to (1) design curriculum (what to teach and in what sequence); (2)design instruction (how to communicate information) so that students learn the skills needed to meet the objectives; (3) assess whether they have met the objectives; and (4) use assessment information to improve curriculum and instruction. 

This document tells you what instructional objectives are, and how to develop objectives that are clear and concrete.Unfortunately, this document is totally unclear and pure speculation.  [Just kidding.]


Curriculum standards.  Many of your instructional objectives will come from the curriculum standards (sometimes called goals in a state standard course of study, or curriculum.  Often, these standards are vague.  You have to make them clear and concrete so you can use them to guide instruction and assessment of learning. Also, a state's curriculum may have gaps.  You must have enough content knowledge, and you must know enough research and expert opinion, that you can see the gaps and can find resources to fill them.

Assessment of Knowledge of Curriculum Standards.  Let's see if the document on curriculum standards did a good job teaching.

Once you know what you want students to do with what they learn---that is, you have instructional objectives---you can think about teaching, our next topic.

                                    First Look at Teaching

Lesson organization: A first look.   You find out WHAT to teach and the sequence for teaching (your curriculum) from (1) your state's standard course of study, or curriculum; (2) research; (3) experts; and (4) your own knowledge.  How do you organize this knowledge into daily lessons?  What does a logically coherent and effective lesson (that is, kids learn) look like? Unfortunately, I have NO idea.  [More kidding.] In fact, I do know. And soon, you will, too.

Good teaching: A quick look at important features.  Later documents expand on each item.  Or maybe not.  Read them and find out.

Knowledge analysis.  You can't teach kids to sound out words, like this...

see "run" say rrruuunnn --> run...

unless kids can already (1) say the sounds; (2) say the sounds that go with the letters (letter-sound correspondence); (3) segment words (say separate sounds in a word); (4) blend sounds (rrruuunnn) into a word (run); (5) visually track from the first letter on the left to the next letters on the right. These are the elements or pre-skills involved in sounding out words.

When would you teach these elements, or pre-skills? At the same time you are teaching the WHOLE routine of sounding out? NO! That would be like throwing kids in the ocean and expecting them to figure out all of the elements of swimming and then to assemble the elements into a routine.

So, LOGICALLY, you teach the elements, or pre-skills, first. And you teach these pre-skills in a logical sequence; obviously, you have to be able to SAY a sound (rrr) before you can say the sound (rrr) that goes with a letter (r).  And you have to know all the sounds that go with the letters in a word before you can sound out the word.  

What are the pre-skills (elements) of more complex skills? Well, good programs will teach the pre-skills in a logical sequence. Even so, there may be gaps which you'll discover when some kids don't learn.  "Gee, the program should have taught the pre-skill of touching under the letters while you say them."

Most materials, such as textbooks and original documents, will NOT teach pre-skills.  A poem does not tell you how to analyze it. So, YOU have to find out what the elements or pre-skills are.This is called"knowledge analysis."  
Caution!  Reading this document will make you so smart that your head will bulge with wisdom.  You'll have to wear a peach basket for a hat.  


Assessment of Knowledge of Knowledge Analysis.  Let's see if the document on knowledge analysis did a good job.





Lessons on the four forms of knowledge.  This document pulls together ideas in early documents.  The four forms of knowledge; how each form is learned; an effective format for teaching each kind of knowledge; how lessons might be organized for teaching knowledge in tightly-coupled systems (such as reading) and more loosely-coupled systems (such as history).  

Phases of learning.  There are four phases of learning: (1) acquisition of new knowledge, (2) generalization (application) of knowledge to new examples, (3) fluent use of knowledge, and (4) retention of knowledge.  This document defines, gives instructional objectives, and says how to teach and assess progress in each phase.  This document is so good even a seven year old child can read it.  So, send out for a seven year old child and have HER read it. [a Groucho Marx joke.]


Assessment of Knowledge of Phases of Learning.  Let's see if the document on phases of learning taught you.

Instructional objectives: With special reference to the four phases of learning.  This document builds on the earlier documents on instructional objectives and on the four phases of learning.  


Assessment of Knowledge of Objectives with References to the Four Phases of Learning.  Let's see if the document on objectives and phases did a good job.

Big ideas.  Big ideas might be a concept (such as freedom), a rule or principle (such as coercion from political rulers tends to provoke opposition to the rulers, which leads to more coercion), or a theory (such as a theory of revolution).  Big ideas are used to organize the content in a unit of instruction.  The big idea is like the picture that you find on the cover of a jigsaw puzzle.  The picture helps you to see where the pieces fit.  For example, you might begin instruction on the American Revolution with a general theory of revolution.  The different events in the Revolution will (like jigsaw puzzle pieces) make sense in light of the theory.

Assessment of Knowledge of Big Ideas.  Let's see if the document on big ideas taught you.



Procedures for teaching.  This amazing document brings together what's in a lot of earlier documents.  It shows how to teach different forms of knowledge (verbal associations--facts and lists, concepts, rules and routines) through all four phases of learning.  


Assessing and improving instruction and the classroom environment. Let's say your students aren't making as much progress as they should.  How come?  One explanation is that instruction is not well designed and delivered, or that the classroom environment inhibits learning.  This document helps you to see and improve your teaching.
Assessing and improving curriculum materials.  If you are teaching tool skills (skills such as reading, math, spelling, language, and writing, that are needed for learning almost anything else) you will probably be using a tested and effective commercial program.  If you are teaching content (such as history, science, or literature), you will probably be using textbooks, original documents, internet documents, and your own knowledge. How do you know if the materials are well designed? How can you decide whether to use materials or to find something else?  How do you identify weaknesses (e.g., too little work on fluency, or gaps in content knowledge)?  How do you improve materials? This incredible document answers all of these questions.
                                   

                 Reading [Lots more soon. Relax.]


Inventory of skills for teaching reading [pdf]
Inventory of skills for teaching reading [Word doc]