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The Power of Double Sequencing. Michelle de Bari Albion College Spring 2010. Scenario #1. Imagine This: Teaching a unit on Thornton Wilder’s Our Town Have the text and video available It is Thursday, and tomorrow (Friday) is the last day of school before Spring Break
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The Power of Double Sequencing Michelle de Bari Albion College Spring 2010
Scenario #1 • Imagine This: • Teaching a unit on Thornton Wilder’s Our Town • Have the text and video available • It is Thursday, and tomorrow (Friday) is the last day of school before Spring Break • Finished reading Act I, now you want to show the video • Now decide: • Should you show the video tomorrow before break, OR the Monday you get back?
Warm-Up • Put the following events in order of occurrence: • Rinse your mouth • Spread toothpaste on the toothbrush • Put the toothbrush and the toothpaste in their proper places • Spit the toothpaste in the sink • Run the toothpaste and toothbrush under the water • Unscrew the cap from the tube of the toothpaste • Brush your teeth
Scenario #2 • Imagine This: • In one day’s lesson, you want to do the following: • Lesson on grammar (articles, prepositions, conjunction, interjections) • Drafting for Reflective Essays (assigned yesterday, peer editing is tomorrow) • Time for reading choice books for Reading Counts Program • Grammar bell work (what is a noun, verb, adjective, adverb) • Collect, grade, and pass back homework (due today) • Now decide: • In what order do you complete each activity?
Purpose • Measure lesson effectiveness (teacher evaluation and student assessment) • Build anticipation and critical thinking skills • Analyze costs and benefits of process within lesson • Why order of processes matters • Why teacher’s preparation matters
Background • Teaching, like a puzzle, works the best when all the pieces fit together in their proper order (Marzano) • Sequencing is important for making logical sense (Bransford) • Logical sequencing is one of many ways to ensure success because it enhances student comprehension and attentiveness (Marzano)
Data Collected • Student feedback in the form of an exit slip • Contained the following questions on a 1-5 scale: • How prepared was the teacher for today’s lesson? • Helps to assess teacher’s ability to anticipate and critically think • How well do you think you understood today’s lesson? • Helps to assess logical sequencing of processes within lesson • Given for 5 days
Data Collected, cont. • Teacher’s Daily Reflections • Handwritten on lesson plans during lesson • What really happened • Questions and comments • Miscellaneous notes • In-depth reflections written after lesson • Effectiveness of lesson overall • How students’ needs were or were not effectively met • Specific issues and areas for improvement
What I Learned and Why Double Planning is Useful • Enhances anticipation of lesson implementation • Strengthens critical thinking skills • Enhances “with-it-ness” • Strengthens physical presence of the teacher • Enhances critical reflection • Strengthens teacher’s ability to effectively prepare lessons
Suggestions for Future Studies • Collect data from students on lessons that were not double sequenced and compare results • Compare Sequence A with Sequence B • Teach A to one class and B to another • Collect data for more than 5 days • More data = more accurate results • Ask more questions on exit slip
References • "Bloom's Taxonomy." Old Dominion University. Web. 16 Mar. 2010. <http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm>. • Bortnichak, Rebecca. Structured Conversation. 15 March 2010. • Bransford, John. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, D.C.: National Academy, 2000. • Marzano, Robert J., Debra Pickering, and Jane E. Pollock. Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001. • Smagorinsky, Peter. Teaching English by Design: How to Create and Carry out Instructional Units. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008.